Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or anything associated with it except my fanfictions.
It was early morning when Aang and Sokka reached the Fire Nation ship.
An irritated Jee confronted them. "Where in the Four Nations did you two go?" Before they could open their mouths, however, Jee huffed and pivoted on one heel. "On second thought, never mind. I don't want to hear about Avatar stuff."
Aang sheepishly rubbed his neck. "Um... about Avatar stuff... Sokka and I need to go to Crescent Island. To talk to Roku. Before the sun falls. Today."
Jee turned around, stared at them, and slapped his head in exasperation. "This is going to be great," Jee groaned. "A detour into Fire Nation waters. Which reminds me, we aren't exactly with our nation as of right now. Not to mention we have a prince in exile, which means we technically can't trespass on Fire Nation waters. We'd be blown out of the water - quite literally too." Jee thought about the matter at hand, and slowly nodded. "Hmm... if you guys take the bison, it'll be stealthier, quicker, and less of a hassle to get to Crescent Island. But we're counting on your word and honor that you won't leave us stranded here."
Aang nodded, but Sokka spoke up. "Actually... how about you guys sail to... let's say... here?" He pointed to a village on the map north of the location they were currently at. "From here, it's easier to to sail straight to the Fire Nation capital - assuming that's still an option on the table, which I don't think it is - and also we'll get closer to the North Pole. Besides, this is a trading village. Who knows? Maybe we'll find some useful things there."
Jee scrutinized the map and nodded. "Sounds fair enough to me." They stood there in silence. Jee's eye twitched. More precious time passed by. Jee finally exploded.
"DO YOU OR DO YOU NOT NEED TO REACH CRESCENT ISLAND BEFORE SUNSET?" Jee shouted angrily.
"Do you or do you not usually keep Appa below-decks?" Aang retorted with a raised eyebrow.
Jee flushed in embarrassment. "Oh. Uh. Right. Sorry. On it right now!" he scurried off the deck, a lowly act unfitting of a Fire Nation soldier of such high command. But then again, were any of the crew still loyal to their shameful nation?
Finally, Jee returned with with the flying bison, and after putting the saddle on Appa's back, refilling the waterskins Aang and Sokka carried, and tying a food bag to the saddle, Sokka climbed onto Appa's tail into the saddle while Aang vaulted onto Appa's neck. "Sorry buddy, no time for a reunion. Appa, yip yip!"
The bison didn't move. "Uh... Appa... did you hear me?" Aang said tentatively. He vaulted down. "What's wrong, buddy?"
The bison softly growled. "Oh... I'm sorry. But trust me, it was for the best! We can't go gallivanting halfway across the world during a war!"
Meanwhile Sokka and Jee looked at each other. "So the Avatar is also a bison-whisperer, huh?" Jee asked.
Sokka shrugged. "Hey, you guys have known Aang for longer than I have!" he said. "Don't ask me!"
Apparently Aang and Appa had come to some sort of agreement, as the bison grudgingly licked his human companion, and Aang hopped back onto Appa's neck. "Yip yip!" said Aang, and the two boys and the bison took to the sky.
"You know, it would be pretty nice if learned waterbending already. You could make a cloud covering to cloak us, and bam!" Sokka swung his fist through the air. "Sneak attack on the Fire Nation."
"Hmm, that actually sounds like a decent idea. We could come back to it if we do an invasion of the Fire Nation - after I figure everything out."
Sokka sighed miserably. Then he saw something in the distance. "Oh boy," said Sokka. "Aang -"
"Noticed it waaay before you talked to me, Sokka. I'm an airbender. I gotta be able to tell the difference between a snowball heading my way and a bird when I'm flying, you know!"
"A snowball and a bird?"
"Hey, we Air Nomads are world-renowned for our pranks! At least, I still hope we are. In fact... watch this!" Aang whipped out his marbles and made them fly in a circle. Sokka yawned.
"Pretty cool, I guess, but one, you're flying Appa, and two, we're approaching that Fire Nation blockade! Do you really want your people to end by fireball?"
Aang's playfulness disappeared. "Whoops. Guess you're right." He put the marbles back in his robes, and grabbed Appa's reigns once more.
The blockade was formed by two lines of ships, that stretched in an endless barricade across the wide expanse of blue. The ships were drifting slightly despite having cast their anchors - Aang prided himself on his sight - but the men aboard the ships had begun to take notice of the fluffy object flying in the air with patches of blue, yellow, and orange on its back, and soon shouts of an aerial offender were heard. Men scurried across the deck to haul a large, heavy object - a rock dipped in some sort of black liquid that pooled on the decks of the ships. A contraption was revealed, and Aang's eyes widened as the catapults were loaded, ignited, and cut.
"Hang on tight, Sokka!" Aang shouted as he pulled on the reins and brought Appa into a steep dive. Seriously, why did boys scream at higher pitches than girls?
Appa expertly maneuvered through the air to dodge the flaming rocks aimed at him. One rock came a little too close, and once the boys caught a whiff of the stench, they covered their noses with their clothes. Or at least, Sokka did. Aang was too busy trying not to fly into a fireball to free his hands.
They had no rest. The literal firestorm they were in was never-ending. When they had finished dodging the last of one salvo of flaming rocks, another quickly took to flight in its single-minded attempt to take down the Avatar. Some of the fireballs exploded in mid-air, sending smoking embers everywhere. When one exploded in the face of Appa, embers stuck to his fur, singing the already-strained sky bison who let out a roar of pain. Sokka and Momo frantically tried to beat out the flames and get the embers off of Appa.
In a last-ditch attempt to avoid the fireballs, Aang flew Appa above the clouds. This turned out to be a horrible idea, as fireballs simply came up from below, and what was worse - with the clouds obstructing their view - there was no way to dodge them. Sokka had not stopped screaming for the past five minutes, which Aang considered impressive. He never knew a non-airbender could go without breathing for so long, much less scream all the while.
Suddenly, two fireballs collided just above Sokka's head. The resulting explosion threw Sokka off the bison, and after a moment of recovering from the shock, Sokka screamed so high-pitched that Aang was certain he would never recover his hearing.
"Sokka!" Aang yelled. He quickly brought Appa into another dive, and just before hitting the surface of the sea, Appa had positioned himself under Sokka, and the watertribe boy fell onto the saddle with a high-pitched "Ow!"
"Betcha weren't expecting this when you left Katara and your Gran-Gran back home, Sokka," Aang said dryly.
"Don't you have some fire-dodging to do?" Sokka squeaked back.
"Right. Sorry."
Being close to the sea wasn't doing the unlikely quartet any favors, either. There was no way of predicted where the fireballs would fall based on how high in the sky they were. Finally, they were close enough to the ship to see the face of the commander of the fleet. A cruel man with sideburns and a sneer on his face. He had his hand up, likely waiting for the right moment to fire. They were too close for Appa to dodge. Aang knew what he had to do.
Time passed in slow motion. The commander brought his arm down. The catapults were released. The balls of destruction rocketed towards the bison. With a yell, Aang leapt forward, and airbent a kick at the missiles, destroying them. The explosions knocked him back, and he was caught by Sokka.
Appa flew past the blockade.
Aang looked back in relief. "Phew! Glad that's over! We made it!" he said, wiping his forehead.
Sokka looked back in fear, and clutched Aang tightly. "Yeah. That's over... we're in enemy territory," he said, eyes wide, afraid of what would happen next.
Commander Zhao growled in exasperation. He had the Avatar right in his clutches - but his grip was lose enough for the Avatar to escape.
He realized that heading into the Fire Nation would not have been a vacation break, no matter how silly the Avatar was. "Captain, where do you think the Avatar is heading?" he asked the captain.
The captain shrugged. "I don't know, sir," he said.
Zhao narrowed his eyes. "Follow that bison at whatever cost!" The ship left the blockade and lurched towards the bison in the sky. Maybe this day was still salvageable, he thought to himself.
The sky had begun to darken, and both Aang and Sokka were lying on Appa's saddle, eyes closed. The ordeal - coupled with the long hours of soaring through ocean and sky - had taken its toll on the two young boys, and both were snoring side by side.
Momo, having kept a vigilant lookout, finally spotted something that wasn't blue, and started jumping up and down on Aang. Aang sat up, rubbed his eyes, grinned and pointed. "Sokka! We're here!" he turned to see Sokka unconscious on the bison. Aang shook his shoulder. "Sokka, wake up! We're here!"
Sokka yawned and groaned. "Finally. I was wondering how long it would be before I started viewing Momo as a meal again. Hey, I was only joking!" Sokka said when Momo threw a lychee nut at his head. "Wow, lemurs throw hard."
Appa landed at the base of a long, winding stone bridge snaking to the Fire Temple and promptly flopped on his back, tongue lolling in the bliss of rest. Aang, Sokka, and Momo began the walk to the Temple. Although Aang had visited the place in the Spirit World, only now was he truly able to appreciate the magnificent sight. The picturesque scene of the elegant Fire Temple was complemented nicely by the warm orange of the soft sunset and the clouds floating by. To the right, there was a small building - likely a shrine of some sort - perched on a lesser mountain. However, it paled in significance to the multi-story building that dwarfed it. Its elaborate roofs and fanciful pillars truly paid homage to the great Avatar that preceded the young airbender now entering its expanse.
"Hello?" Aang called out, as he and Sokka entered the temple. "Anyone home?" No sound returned to the visitors except the rebounding echoes of Aang's voice. Then, he felt a presence behind him. He turned around to see a cadre of red-clad men with pronged hats blocking the entrance to the room. The man at the center, wearing a gem in his hat, said, "We are the Fire Sages, keepers of the Temple of the Avatar."
Aang smiled hopefully. "Great! I'm the Avatar."
The Sages regarded him impassively. "We know," said the Head Sage before blasting fire at the unsuspecting trio. Aang quickly deflected the incoming fire blasts with a sweep of his legs, and he shouted to Sokka, "Now seems like a good time to put our running skills to use, Sokka!"
They ran down the hallway, but found that they were trapped in a labyrinth of passageways, all of them looking identical to one another. Aang quickly sped down one hallway. "Just follow me!" he shouted to Sokka.
Sokka didn't take two steps in Aang's direction when the airbender doubled back, barreling the way they had just came from. "You don't know where you're going, do you?" Sokka phrased his question as a statement of fact.
"Nope!" Aang called over his shoulder. Sokka sighed, and started to run in Aang's direction, Momo perched on his shoulder, when Aang suddenly burst from the corner and crashed right into Sokka. "Wrong way again!" he cried.
"Stop!" They turned around to see a Fire Sage before them. Aang and Sokka readied themselves for a fight, but were shocked when the Fire Sage knelt and placed both his hands on the floor in supplication. "I know why you are here, Avatar. You must speak with Roku." The Sage stood up, and slid a lamplight on the wall. He palmed the orifice left behind, and a secret passageway slid open. "Follow me," the Sage hissed.
"Why should we?" Aang asked suspiciously. "When you were so eager to catch us before?"
A distant voice resonated throughout the Temple. "Find the Avatar at all costs!" They turned to look at the Fire Sage, frightened. The Sage gestured towards the passageway. "There is not much time!" the Sage said. "Hurry!"
Sokka and Aang didn't need any more encouragement. They entered the doorway, and the Sage closed the door behind them.
"My name is Shyu," the Fire Sage said. "Although I did not know Roku, my grandfather did. We Fire Sages have a strong spiritual connection to this place that stretches across generations."
"Then why are you fighting the Avatar?" Sokka asked.
Shyu hung his head. "Things have changed. In the past, the sages were loyal only to the Avatar. When Roku died, the sages eagerly awaited for the next Avatar to return. But he never came."
Aang nodded. "I was a century too late," he said sadly. Sokka patted his shoulder in sympathy.
Shyu continued. "They lost hope the Avatar would ever return. When Fire Lord Sozin began the War, my grandfather and the other sages were forced to follow him." He shook his head. "I never wanted to serve the Fire Lord. When I learned you were coming, I knew I would have to betray the other sages."
"Thank you for helping me," Aang said to Shyu, and the Fire Sage smiled down on the young airbender.
They reached a set of spiraling stairs that extended high into the sky. "These stairs will lead us to the sanctuary. Once you're inside, wait for the light to hit Avatar Roku's statue. Only then will you be able to speak with hi-" Shyu gasped. "No... this can't be..."
The doors to the sanctuary were closed. Shyu covered his face with his hands. "It's hopeless. Only a fully realized Avatar can open the doors. Otherwise, the Sages must open them with five simultaneous fire blasts."
"Hmm..." everyone turned to look at Sokka. "Five fire blasts? I may have just the thing for it," he said with a gleam in his eye and a grin on his face.
Sokka tied the last bag up with a piece of twine. "This is a little trick I picked up from my father. I seal the lamp oil inside an animal skin casing, Shyu lights the oil soaked twine and," he held up a bag proudly. "Ta-da! Fake firebending!"
Shyu nodded, hope gleaming in his face. "It might actually work," he said.
After setting up everything, Sokka turned to Aang. "This is going to be loud. The Sages will hear it, so once the doors open, you jump right in, alright Aang?"
Aang nodded, and Shyu readied himself. "Get ready," he breathed. He shot a bolt at the fuses, lighting them up. The four of them backed to the pillars, hiding behind them, bracing for the explosion.
Aang jumped out of his place, rushing towards the door - and face-planted in ashes on metal.
Shyu sagged. "It didn't work."
Sokka dully examined the scorch marks on the door. "I thought it would."
Before they could do anything, however, a wall of fire surrounded them. The other Fire Sages walked up to them, along with a face Aang remembered seeing earlier that day.
"I'm Commander Zhao," the man said with a haughty air around him. "And you're all my prisoners."
Sokka, Shyu, and Momo were all tied to a pillar. Aang was placed in the hands of two rough Fire Soldiers, his arms bound by ropes. It seemed as though the world had forgotten how to deal with airbenders.
"Why in the world would you betray the Fire Nation?" Zhao spat at Shyu. "For a group like this? A weakling of an airbender and a failure of a water peasant."
"Because the Fire Sage's duty is to the Avatar. It always has been, and always will be. As far as I am concerned, I am not the true traitor here."
"Silence!" Zhao snapped. His eyes widened with a gleam. "But that doesn't matter. You've been caught, and all your efforts have gone to waste. You know what? To make your defeat all the more humiliating... Fire Sages! Unlock the sanctuary!"
The four sages and Zhao walked up to the door, and blasted the gates open. Zhao turned back to his prisoners with a sneer. "It's all over. So close... and yet too far. Avatar, what do you have to say about being defeated so easily when you almost succeeded with your mission?"
Aang saw the bowed faces of Sokka, Shyu, and Momo. Apparently the world had forgotten. "All I'm gonna say is, the world is very forgetful," Aang replied with a blank look on his face.
Zhao raised an eyebrow. "And what is that supposed to mean, A-va-tar?" he mocked, emphasizing each syllable of the word.
Aang shrugged. Then he blew forcefully, sending Zhao flying across the hall and slamming the two soldiers holding him against the wall. They groaned as they collapsed unconscious on the floor.
"Clearly you've never fought an airbender before. I defeated you even with my hands tied behind my back!" he paused. "Oh wait..." he lifted up his hands, the ropes binding them before having fallen to the floor. "That doesn't happen! You can't capture an airbender!" He turned to see the sanctuary doors already beginning to close. With no time to waste, he vaulted gracefully over the Fire Soldiers and the Fire Sages, and dove through the spikes of the sanctuary's door just before they slammed shut.
Sokka and Shyu smiled. "He made it!" they cried to each other.
Zhao got up, rubbing his back, an angry look on his face. "The Avatar might have gone in," he began. "But sooner or later... he has to come out," he finished ominously. Sokka and Shyu looked on in fear as Zhao gathered his soldiers around the doors of the sanctuary.
Aang waited. The light was striking the eyes of Roku, but nothing was happening.
Finally, he lost his patience. "What's going on? Why isn't anything happening? I don't know what I'm doing! All I know is airbending! Please, Avatar Roku, talk to me!"
Suddenly, he was immersed in smoke, and when the cover dispersed, he was on the top of a mountain, clouds below him, standing in front of an old man... one he'd seen many times before... who was the person the temple was dedicated to.
"It's good to see you Aang. What took you so long?" Avatar Roku said with a smile.
Aang stood in shock and awe, and then placed a fist to his hand, and bowed in respect to his predecessor.
I have something very important to tell you, Aang. That is why, when you were in the Spirit World, I sent my dragon to find you.
Aang perked up. "Is it about that vision? About the comet?"
Roku nodded. "Yes," he said.
"What does it mean? What's it about?"
Roku began. "One hundred years ago, Fire Lord Sozin used that comet to begin the War. He and his firebending army harnessed its incredible power, and dealt a deadly first strike against the other nations." The comet appeared above them, shooting a fiery path across the sky. "This comet gave unbelievable power to firebenders. It made Sozin's firebenders become stronger than you could even imagine."
Aang frowned. "But that happened a hundred years ago. What does the comet have to do with the War now?"
"Listen carefully. Sozin's Comet passes the world once every hundred years. This means that Sozin's Comet will return by the end of the summer, and Fire Lord Ozai will use its power to finish the War, once and for all. If he succeeds, even the Avatar won't be able to restore balance to the world. Aang. You must defeat the Fire Lord, before the comet arrives."
Aang paled. "But I haven't even started learning waterbending! Not to mention earth and fire! How am I supposed to defeat the Firelord with what I have?" he cried.
Roku became grim. "You can't. Mastering the elements takes years of discipline and practice. But if the world is to survive, you must do it by summer's end."
He had less than a year to master all four elements. "What if I can't master all the elements in time? What if I fail?" Aang asked frantically.
Roku smiled. "I know you can do it Aang. For you have done it before." Aang was confronted with images of men and women, all diligently mastering their bending. Reassured, Aang smiled back at Roku. "The solstice is ending. We must go our separate ways, for now."
"But I won't be able to come back to the temple. What if I have questions? How will I talk to you?"
"I am a part of you, Aang. When you need to talk to me again, you will find a way. A great danger awaits you at the temple." Aang noticed that Roku's mouth had ceased to move. He closed his eyes, and a vision came to him.
"When the doors open, unleash all of your power!" Zhao shouted.
"How will the Avatar get out of this?" Shyu murmured, bound tightly against the pillar.
"How will we get out of this?" Sokka said.
Aang could hear Roku's voice in his mind. "I can help you face the threat. But only if you are ready."
Aang took a deep breath, gathering his courage and power. But then, an incredible flow of energy poured into Aang's being, and when he opened his eyes, his tattoos and eyes began to glow. "I'm ready," said the determined voices of a thousand people.
The door glowed bright white. Smoke poured out of the door as it slowly slid open. A blinding light filled the room, forcing everyone to look away.
Zhao covered his eyes. "Ready!" he shouted. The troops took their stances.
Two glowing eyes came into view. "Fire!" Zhao shouted with glee.
"No!" Sokka whispered with horror.
As one, the soldiers combined their efforts to shoot a fireblast. The heat emanated throughout the room, and Sokka cringed, sure that he saw the last of his friend.
But instead, the fire coalesced into one large mass, and a tall man with a white beard strode into view.
"Avatar Roku..." whispered Shyu.
"NO!" shouted Zhao in horror and fear.
Roku drew the fire together, and sent it out in a powerful wave that decimated the soldiers and destroyed the bindings of Sokka, Shyu, and Momo. But Roku did not stop there. He split the floor in two, bringing lava up to the surface, and it became apparent to everyone what was going to happen.
"He's taking down the entire Temple! We must leave, NOW," shouted Shyu as Momo flew away.
"Not without Aang!" Sokka cried as Shyu fled. He rushed up to his friend, sinking to the floor. He caught him, and Aang opened his eyes. "Aang! We gotta get out of here! Quick to the - oh no..." he said as he saw the stairwell already submerged in lava. He turned to the opening in the wall Roku left them, and the two rushed to the hole.
They were on the top of the building. Aang didn't bring his glider-staff. They had no way of escaping. They were doomed.
Then a flash of white caught Aang's eye. He gasped in surprise and saw Momo flying towards them - with Appa right behind him. They wasted no time in hopping onto the saddle and sailing away from the destruction they had witnessed.
Zhao glared at the retreating Avatar. He turned to look at his five new prisoners. He gnashed his teeth. "Apparently the only thing I've caught is five traitors!" he yelled angrily.
The Head Sage objected. "But Commander! Only Shyu helped the Avatar -"
"Save your stories for the Fire Lord!" Zhao snapped. "As far as I'm concerned, you are all guilty! Captain!" He turned to face the captain of the ship. "Take them to the prison hold!"
As he walked away, a flash of white caught Zhao's eye. He reached out his hand, and a clump of white fur landed on his extended palm.
He glared at it in anger, and let his flames send the fur up in black smoke.
The Avatar would be his.
Aang sat huddled in Appa's saddle wondering what to do next. When would he be able to talk to Roku again?
Then he felt an arm around his neck, and grinned up at Sokka. "C'mon, let's get back to the Fire Nation ship to cause misery - er, I mean, be good prisoners!" Aang said cheerily.
And they flew off into the night.
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