"Water." "Earth." "Fire." "Air." "Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony." "Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked." "Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them." "But when the world needed him most, he vanished." "A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar an airbender named Aang." "And although his airbending skills are great." "He has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone." "But I believe Aang can save the world." "Previously on "Avatar"..." "When the Avatar dies he's reincarnated into the next nation in the cycle." "But there's no one who can teach me how to be the Avatar." "Monk Gyatso said that Avatar Roku would help me." "The Avatar before you?" "He died over a hundred years ago, how are you supposed to talk to him?" "There's a temple on a crescent shaped island, and if I go there on the solstice I'll be able to speak with him." "But, the solstice is tomorrow." "Yeh, and there's one more problem." "The island is in the Fire Nation." "Book One:" "Water |" "Chapter Eight:" "Avatar Roku (Winter Solstice, Part 2)" "Let's go Appa!" "Come on, boy!" "Look, I'm sorry, but Katara and Sokka aren't coming to the Fire Nation with us." "If they got hurt, I'd never forgive myself." "So get your big butt off the ground and let's go!" "I think his big butt is trying to tell you something." "Please don't go, Aang." "The world can't afford to lose you to the Fire Nation." "Neither can I." "But I have to talk to Avatar Roku to find out what my vision means." "I need to get to the Fire Temple before the sun sets on the Solstice." "That's today." "We're not letting you go into the Fire Nation, Aang." "At least not without your friends." "We got your back." "It's a long journey to the Crescent Island." "You'll have to fly fast to have any chance of making it before sundown." "Good luck." "Thank you, for your..." "Go!" "Having trouble sleeping?" "Seen the Avatar lately?" "Come on, boy!" "We've got a long way to go!" "Faster!" "Sailing into Fire Nation waters of all the foolish things you have done in your 16 years, Prince Zuko, this is the most foolish." "I have no choice, Uncle." "Have you completely forgotten that the Fire Lord banished you?" "!" "?" "!" "?" "What if you're caught?" "I'm chasing the Avatar." "My father will understand why I'm returning home." "You give him too much credit." "My brother is not the understanding type." "There they are!" "Helmsman, full steam ahead!" "Aang, we got trouble." "Yeah, and its gaining fast!" "Really, Prince Zuko, couldn't you shoot them down with something more fragrant?" "On my mark..." "Fire!" "Fire ball!" "I'm on it!" "We have to get out of Zuko's range before he shoots another hot stinker at us!" "Can't you make Appa go any faster?" "Yeah, but there's just one little problem." "A blockade!" "Technically you are still in Earth Kingdom waters." "Turn back now and they cannot arrest you." "If we fly north we can go around the Fire Nation ships and avoid the blockade." "It's the only way." "There's no time." "This is exactly why I didn't want you to come." "Its too dangerous." "And that's exactly why we're here." "Let's run this blockade." "Appa!" "Yip!" "Yip!" "He's not turning around." "Please Prince Zuko, if the Fire Nation captures you, there is nothing I can do." "Do not follow the Avatar." "I'm sorry, Uncle." "Run the blockade!" "The Avatar... and the banished Prince." "This must be my lucky day." "Commander Zhao, what are your orders?" "Shoot the Bison down, Captain." "But there's a Fire Navy ship out there, Sir, one of our own." "What if it's hit?" "So be it." "It belongs to a traitor." "Ignite!" "Launch!" "Appa!" "Are you ok?" "Prince Zuko, the engines are damaged!" "We need to stop and make repairs!" "Do not stop this ship." "Launch!" "Sokka...!" "Ready..." "Fire!" "We made it!" "We got into the Fire Nation..." "Great..." "Where do you think the Avatar is headed, Sir?" "I'm not sure." "But I bet a certain banished prince will know." "We're on a collision course!" "We can make it!" "The boarding party is ready to apprehend Prince Zuko, Sir." "Wait." "Cut the engines." "Let them pass." "Sir?" "There it is!" "The island Roku's dragon took me to!" "You did it buddy." "Nice flying." "Oh!" "You must be tired!" "No." "I'm good." "Refreshed and ready to fight some firebenders." "I was talking to Appa." "Well, I was talking to Momo." "I don't see any guards." "The Fire Nation must have abandoned the temple when Avatar Roku died." "Its almost sundown." "We'd better hurry." "Wait..." "I think I heard something." "We are the Fire Sages." "Guardians of the temple of the Avatar." "Great!" "I am the Avatar." "We know." "I'll hold them off." "Run!" "If the Avatar contacts Roku, there's no telling how powerful the boy will become." "Split up and find him!" "Follow me!" "Do you know where you're going?" "Nope!" "Wrong way!" "Come back!" "I don't want to fight you." "I am a friend." "Firebenders aren't our friends." "I know why you're here, Avatar." "You do?" "Yes." "You wish to speak to Avatar Roku." "I can take you to him." "How?" "This way." "Time is running out." "Quickly!" "What's he up to, Uncle?" "Why didn't Commander Zhao arrest me?" "Because he wants to follow you." "He knows you'll lead him to the prize you're both after... the Avatar." "If Zhao wants to follow our trail of smoke, then that's exactly what I'll let him do." "Avatar Roku once called this temple his home." "He formed these secret passages out of the magma." "Did you know Avatar Roku?" "No." "But my grandfather knew him." "Many generations of Fire Sages guarded this temple long before me." "We all have a strong spiritual connection to this place." "Is that how you knew I was coming?" "A few weeks ago, an amazing thing occurred." "The statue of Avatar Roku, its eyes... began to glow!" "That's when we were at the Air Temple." "Avatar Roku's eyes were glowing there too!" "At that moment, we knew you had returned to the world." "If this is the Avatar's temple, why did the Sages attack me?" "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." "They were waiting for me." "Hey, don't feel bad." "You're only a hundred years late." "They lost hope the Avatar would ever return." "When Fire Lord Sozen began the war, my grandfather and the other Sages were forced to follow him." "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." "We'll follow these stairs 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 him." "No!" "Shyu, what's wrong?" "The sanctuary doors, they're closed." "Can't you just open them with firebending?" "Like you opened that other door?" "No." "Only a fully realized Avatar is powerful enough to open this door alone." "Otherwise the Sages must open the doors together with five simultaneous fire blasts." "Five fire blasts, huh?" "I think I can help you out." "Uncle, keep heading north." "Zhao will follow the smoke trail while I use it as a cover." "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 tada!" "Fake firebending!" "You've really outdone yourself this time, Sokka." "This might actually work." "The Sages will hear the explosions, so as soon as they go off, you rush in." "Its almost sunset." "Are you ready?" "Definitely." "They're still locked." "It didn't work." "Why won't it open!" "Aargh!" "Aang, stop!" "There's nothing else we can do." "I'm sorry I put you through all this for nothing." "I don't get it." "That blast looked as strong as any firebending I've seen." "Sokka!" "You're a genius!" "Wait, how is Sokka genius?" "His plan didn't even work." "Come on Aang, let her dream." "You're right." "Sokka's plan didn't work... but it looks like it did." "Did the definition of "genius" change in the last hundred years?" "Come Quickly!" "The Avatar has entered the sanctuary." "How did he get in?" "I don't know." "But look at the scorch marks and down there!" "He's inside." "Open the doors immediately before he contacts Avatar Roku." "It's the Avatar's lemur!" "He must have crawled through the pipes!" "We've been tricked!" "Now, Aang!" "Aang!" "Now's your chance!" "The Avatar's coming with me!" "Close the doors!" "Quickly!" "Go!" "He made it!" "The light hits the statue and I talk to Roku." "So why isn't anything happening?" "Why isn't it working?" "It's sealed shut!" "It must have been the light." "Avatar Roku doesn't want us inside." "Why isn't anything happening?" "I don't know what I'm doing!" "All I know is airbending!" "Please, Avatar Roku, talk to me!" "It's good to see you, Aang." "What took you so long?" "Why did you help the Avatar?" "Because it was once the Sages' duty." "It is still our duty." "What a moving and heartfelt performance." "I'm certain the Fire Lord will understand when you explain why you betrayed him." "Commander Zhao..." "And Prince Zuko, it was a noble effort." "But your little smoke screen didn't work." "Two traitors, in one day, the Fire Lord will be pleased." "You're too late, Zhao." "The Avatar's inside and the doors are sealed." "No matter." "Sooner or later, he has to come out." "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." "Is it about that vision?" "The one with the comet?" "Yes." "What does it mean?" "One hundred years ago, Fire Lord Sozen 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." "So the comet made them stronger?" "Yes." "Stronger than you could even imagine." "But that happened a hundred years ago." "What does the comet have to do with the war now?" "Listen carefully." "Sozen'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." "But I haven't even started learning waterbending, not to mention earth and fire." "Mastering the elements takes years of discipline and practice." "But if the world is to survive, you must do it by summer's end." "When those doors open, unleash all your fire power." "How's Aang going to make it out of this?" "How're we going to make it out of this?" "What if I can't master all the elements in time?" "What if I fail?" "I know you can do it Aang, for you have done it before." "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." "When you need to talk to me again, you will find a way." "A great danger awaits you at the temple." "I can help you face the threat." "But only if you are ready." "I'm ready." "Ready..." "No!" "Aang!" "Fire!" "Avatar Roku!" "Avatar Roku's going to destroy the temple!" "We have to get out of here!" "Not without Aang!" "We got your back." "Thanks." "Where's Shyu?" "I don't know." "No prince." "No Avatar." "Apparently the only thing I do have is five traitors." "But Commander, only Shyu helped the Avatar." "Save your stories for the Fire Lord." "As far as I'm concerned, you're all guilty!" "Take them to the prison hold!" "Subtitle by rendy1287 [at gmail dot com]" "Thanks to Savitri for The Transcript."