"Avatar Kyoshi! I need your wisdom. Tell me what I need to do." But Avatar Roku already knows what she will tell him.
She materializes in front of him and his heart sparks with fear and reverence, as he gazes carefully into her red lined, strikingly sharp eyes.
"Kill him." Kyoshi responds to Roku's question before he even asks it.
"Bbb..but..." Roku begins to protest but Kyoshi cuts him off with a stern look.
"In my day, Chin the Tyrant was conquering the Earth Kingdom and initially, I did not intervene because it was an internal Earth Kingdom affair but when he came to the neck of the peninsula where we lived, I realized that his global ambitions would not stop with the Earth Kingdom. After conquering our peninsula and Ba Sing Se, Chin would have invaded the rest of the world and thrown everything out of balance. I terminated Chin and the world entered a great era of peace." Kyoshi sighs with pleasure. "When the tyrannical Earth King was bearing down on his people, I humiliated him and demoted him to a figurehead monarch."
Roku wonders if he should tell Kyoshi about how Kyoshi's creation, the Dai Li, have been terrorizing Ba Sing Se civilians and how the symbolic monarchy has been more counterproductive than productive.
"Sometimes, killing is necessary. Unfortunate as it is, it must be done." Kyoshi states solemnly.
Roku pleads. "Avatar Kyoshi, Sozin is my friend. I canno..."
Kyoshi's face droops into a compassionate smile and she responds gently. "Yun was my friend but I had to kill him. It was for the best. Roku, as the Avatar, we must put the interests of the world above our own feelings. The Avatar must make the hardest decisions, sometimes at the expense of ourselves."
Roku lowers his head in sorrow.
"Sozin will wreak havoc on this world if you do not terminate him. This Earth Kingdom incursion of his is only the beginning. The worst is yet to come." Kyoshi sees visions of Air Temples burning, Water Tribes destroyed, Earth Kingdom in ruins...
"I will stop him." Roku promises.
If he had more time, Roku would also consult Avatar Kuruk, Avatar Yanghchen, Avatar Szeto and all the way until Avatar Wan, perhaps even Raava herself but there is no time. Dragon Feng signals to Roku that they are already approaching the Fire Nation palace.
Roku goes in to confront Sozin.
Their encounter happens.
"Fire Lord?!" A concerned and baffled servant walks up to the rocky pillar where Fire Lord Sozin is hanging by his pants.
"Get me down and build a new palace." A humiliated Sozin barks at the palace ruins.
Construction of a new palace will take long.
"You struck fear into Sozin and he understands that if he moves again, it will be his permanent end." Kyoshi first lauds Roku.
"I couldn't kill him. I was not strong enough." Roku lays his head down in shame.
"Yes, you were weak but the Avatar is only human. I struggled too." Kyoshi soothes him. "Keep an eye on Sozin and as long as he dies before you, it will be fine. But if he outlives you..."
"...all hell will break loose." Roku finishes her sentence.
"So be wary. Never trust Sozin again."Kyoshi warns. "Now, you need to go take care of an issue in the Southern Water Tribe."
Avatar Roku and the dragon, Feng, fly to the South Pole.