Me: are you guys ready?

All: yup.

_

BOOK 3: FIRE

CHAPTER 6: THE AVATAR AND THE FIRELORD.

_

All: oh.

Aamg: I have a feeling what this is.

Zuko: same.

_

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

(The scene begins with Roku emerging through a wall of fire. He is speaking to Aang through a dream.)

_

Sokka: ooh.

_

Aang, it's time you learned my history with Fire Lord Sozin. You need to understand how the war began, if you want to know how to end it. Meet me on my home island on the day of the summer solstice.

_

Katara: oh I remember this.

_

(The dream changes, and an island in the Fire Nation with two volcanoes is now shown.

The scene cuts to Aang, asleep on Appa. He rolls over onto his side.)

(talking in his sleep) Okay, Roku.

(The scene cuts to Zuko. He is in his room, sleeping on his side. Footsteps can be heard in the hallway outside his door. The sound wakes him and he rushes to the hall to investigate. As he opens the door, he sees a mysterious cloaked figure disappear down the hall. As Zuko gazes down the hall, a strong breeze blows through the drapes of the hall. Zuko starts off after the figure but is distracted by a scroll placed upright in the hall. Surprised, Zuko picks up the scroll and begins to read.)

_

Sokka: ooh how mysterious.

_

(speaking aloud) You need to know the story of your great-grandfather's demise. It will reveal your own destiny.

_

Suki: oh wow.

Aang: so fire lord sozin?

Zuko: yes and no.

_

(Zuko closes the scroll. Intrigued, he stares down the hallway. The drapes are still rustling. The scene cuts to a view from the opposite end of the hallway. The camera focuses on Zuko, still standing outside his bedroom, drapes still rustling from the breeze.

Cut to a bright blue, cloud filled sky. A very large cloud moves quickly forward. Cut to the inside of the curious cloud. Appa and Aang are shown inside the cloud. Aang, positioned on the neck of Appa, bends the elements around Appa to create a cloud of camouflage. His arms move quickly around his body in a circular motion. Katara and Sokka look over Appa's saddle for a better look. The island is unnervingly desolate.)

_

Suki: of course the cloud disguise. Don't you think that people will find it strange how fast the cloud is traveling.

Sokka: yeah but it's not like anyone was around.

Suki: I guess.

_

There it is. That's Roku's home.

(confused) But there's nothing here.

(Toph jumps from Appa's saddle. Once her feet hit the ground, she solemnly tells Katara and the gang what she can see with her unique vision.)

(somberly) Yes, there is. An entire village. Hundreds

of houses. (A strong breeze moves a layer of ash along the ground, brushing past their feet.) All completely buried in ash.

_

Suki: must of been one heck of a volcano.

Aang: yes it was.

_

(The scene changes to show an amazing Fire Nation City, surrounded by walls that appear to have been made by waves of lava. Cut to a large and impressive hall, full of paintings of Fire Nation Royalty. Zuko stands before one of the portraits. Azula passes by Zuko, and makes a suggestion.)

It's never too early for a sitting with the court painter, Zuko. (sarcastically) Make sure he gets your good side.

_

Zuko: :/

Katara: how mean but yet again it's azula.

_

(Zuko, glints away from his sister, clearly upset with his sister's off color comment. Suddenly his face changes. He turns to speak to her as she continues down the hall.)

Wait. I need to ask you something. What do you remember about our Great-Grandfather's history?

(sighs) Ah, Zuko. (The camera angle changes to an overhead view of the hall, the siblings, and the majestic paintings.) It's so strange how your mind works. (The camera focuses on Sozin's portrait. It slowly pans up from the bottom of the painting. It rest's on Sozin's face, a comet arching in flight over his head. Azula continues to tell Zuko Sozin's history.) Fire Lord Sozin began the war, of course. He spent his early years secretly preparing for it, but he was as patient as he was clever. He famously waited for the comet, later renamed Sozin's comet, and used its power to launch his full-scale invasion of the world. (The camera angle changes. The siblings are shown, standing side by side, looking up at the painting, Azula finishes the story.) In the end, he died a very old and successful man.

_

Sokka: hmmmm.

Suki: that's good to know. Cause the earth kingdom version is more of that the fire nation is evil and fire lord sozin was curel and stuff.

Zuko: that's probably true but of course the fire nation would also put into comtext where he was brilliant and stuff.

Sokka: and he is.

All:???

Sokka: he is but I'm not saying that what he did was acceptable.

Aang: I guess that makes sense.

_

(confused) But how did he die?

Didn't you pay any attention in school, Zuko? (Azula begins to

walk away. She walks off camera as she finishes her sentence.) He died peacefully, in his sleep. He was ancient.

_

Toph: no kidding.

_

(Zuko stares, his face furrows in frustration. Cut to Roku's island. The gang is shown, from a distance. They are sitting on the tip of a hardened wave of lava. Cut to Aang from the back. He is facing the ocean which is ablaze in gold and orange as the sunsets. Aang is meditating. His arrows glow, and he is shown sitting atop a mountain top in an alternate reality, possibly the Spirit World. He is surrounded by an ocean of clouds. Roku's dragon flies into the shot. He flies in behind Aang, who is now standing. Roku smiles gently, and a breeze tussles his white hair and beard. The scene cuts.

_

Sokka: oh your bald again.

Aang: yup.

Suki: oh that's weirdz.

Aang: why?

Suki: I just got used to seeing you with hair.

Aang: oh okay.

_

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

Zuko is in his room, laying on his back on his bed. He rolls over on his side and stares at the puzzling scroll. He picks up the scroll and reads it to himself again.)

(frustrated) What does it mean? (Annoyed, he tosses the

scroll aside. It lands on his bedside lantern. The light from within the lantern shines through the parchment. It reveals a secret message on the scroll. Zuko gasps and grabs the scroll from atop the lantern. He reads aloud.) The Fire Sages keep the secret history in the Dragon Bone Catacombs. (The camera focuses on Zuko's eyes as he finishes reading the

discovered message. )

_

Sokka: oh that's so cool.

_

(Zuko quickly turns to leave. Cut to a dark and ominous temple. It stands stately, bathed in soft red light. Fire Sages walk the grounds. Zuko is hiding and waiting behind a pillar, out of sight. He sees a Fire Sage walking through a courtyard. The courtyard is large. In the middle of the courtyard floor, a large medallion fashioned in the shape of a flower is seen. The Fire Sage stops directly over the ornate medallion on the ground. He crouches low, and delivers a blast of fire into the center of the design.)

_

Sokka: that's also so cool.

Aang: what is this place.

Zuko: the dragonbone chamber where all the previous fire lords are held

Aang: oh

_

( It begins to open, a hidden passage is under the courtyard of the temple. The Sage disappears into the floor. Zuko sits behind the pillar to wait until it is safe for him to use the secret passage himself. When all is quiet, Zuko goes to the secret passage, and bends a blast of fire into the medallion just as the sage had. The passage opens, and a spiral staircase is revealed along with a very large secret chamber. )

(Zuko travels through the chamber and down a hall lined with what appears to be the bones of dragons, all lined up along the walls of the hall. He then comes to an ornate door with what appears to be a metal sculpture of Fire Lord Sozin on it. On the chest of the sculpture is a Fire Nation emblem.)

( Zuko places his left hand over the emblem, and delivers a powerful fire blast. The fire fills the door, and pours out from the statue's eyes, nose and mouth. As the door opens, cobwebs pull apart and fall to the side of the door. As Zuko enters the room, he pulls his cloak from his head and

_

Sokka: that dragon thing is also cool.

_

raises his lantern to look around the dark chamber. The room is filled with artifacts and various vessels. A large and intricate dragon statue sits in the middle of the room. Under the dragon's head, Zuko finds what he is looking for.)

(reading aloud) The final testament of Fire Lord Sozin.

(The scene cuts to Aang reaching for Roku to climb on the back of the dragon.)

Come, Aang. (The three fly off over the clouds)

(curious) Where are we going?

(smiling) To visit my past. Our shared past.

_

Sokka: so are going to see that too?

Aang: probably.

_

(Aang smiles, and the three fly out of the shot. Cut to the chamber where Zuko sits, reading fervently. While Zuko reads, Fire Lord Sozin's voice is heard. He narrates the following story.)

(narrates) As I feel my own life dimming, I can't help but think of a time when everything was so much brighter. (The scene cuts, and we see a lush and green Fire Nation Courtyard. Two young firebenders are sparing. The young men exchange fire blasts in an impressive display of firebending. The two young men are Sozin and Roku.) I remember my friend.

(While they spar, Sozin notices that Roku's feet are too close to a tree root. Sozin smiles, and uses this to his advantage. He steps up his attack to drive Roku back, causing Roku to trip and fall back. As Roku falls, Sozin grabs Roku by the shirt to keep him from falling. While he holds him, he raises his hand as if to fire blast, but instead he lets Roku fall to the ground.)

_

Suki: so that's sozin who's that?

Aang: Who knows.

_

(smiling) Looks like I win again, Roku. (Sozin extends his hand to help Roku to his feet.)

_

All: ooh.

Suki: that's roku?

Sokka: their friends.

Aang: best friends.

After saying that he looked over to zuko then back to the screen.

_

Are you kidding? (Raises eyebrows, and takes Sozin's hand.) The tree root did all the work. (Roku gets back on his feet, and pats Sozin on the shoulder to praise his clever maneuver.) Nice one, Sozin. (The two young men walk off camera while Roku and Aang watch.)

(surprised) You were friends with Fire Lord Sozin?!

Back then, he was just Prince Sozin, and he was my best friend.

_

Suki: they're so cute together. I wonder what happened.

_

(Roku and Sozin leave the courtyard. A lovely young Fire Nation woman enters the scene. As she walks past the friends, Roku stares at her and blushes. Sozin notices.)

_

Toph: oh that's like twinkletoes with sugarqueen.

Aang blushes.

The rest chuckles.

_

(nudging Roku) Say something to her.

(Roku walks after the young woman. He raises his hand and attempts to greet her.)

Uh...ahhh.

_

Toph: yup.

_

_

Toph: this is just a repeat of sugarqueen and twinkletoes.

Suki: more like katara and aang are the repeat.

_

(Embarrassed, and overcome by her presence, Roku sighs and puts his hands on his head and falls back onto the ground. Sozin sits down next to him and sprinkle's blades of grass onto Roku's face. Roku and Aang can now be seen in the back, watching Roku's history unfold. The camera closes in on Aang and Roku.)

Love is hard when you're young.

You don't have to tell me.

_

Katara(whispers): defiantly.

Sokka: it really is.

_

(puts his hand on Aang's shoulder) Don't worry, It gets better. Now come with me. We have a party to attend. (Cut to a lovely outdoor celebration in a courtyard. Cheerful golden lanterns are strung above a large crowd of Fire Nation citizens. The camera pans down, and we see a large staircase with two figures standing at the top.)

Wait, whose party is it?

Sozin and I shared many things, including a birthday.

_

Sokka: that's also cool.

_

(The camera now focuses on Roku and Prince Sozin at the top of the stairs. As they walk down the stairs, the camera focuses on two young women in the crowd. One of them is Roku's love interest. She watches Roku, then looks down and blushes. )

_

Suki: she really likes him too.

Aang: yup.

_

(Her friend leans over her shoulder and giggles. Roku has noticed the young woman's interest and blushes while he continues down the stairs. Distracted, Roku begins to fall down the stairs. Sozin acts quickly and grabs Roku by the hand, saving him from falling. Roku, composes himself, and blushes again from embarrassment. Sozin laughs at his love smitten friend. The moment ends quickly, as the crowd suddenly grows quiet. A group of Fire Nation Sages have entered the courtyard. They are walking toward Prince Sozin and Roku. Sozin hurries down the stairs to meet them.)

(concerned) Did something happen to my father?

No, Prince Sozin. We are not here for you. We are here to announce the identity of the next Avatar. (The guests are no longer quiet as whispers travel through the crowd. Cut to Roku and Sozin, both in shock. Cut again to a close up of the sages. The Sages make the announcement, and they bow to respect the new Avatar.) It is our honor to serve you, Avatar Roku.

_

Zuko: oh there it is.

Aang: yup.

_

(Cut to a close up of Roku, standing with his jaw dropped, in disbelief. The camera shows the crowd on the ground, all bowing. Sozin, who is still in shock himself, looks around at the crowd. Then he quickly turns to kneel before Roku. The scene slows fades and ends with Roku still standing at the top of the stairs.)

_

Suki: oh wow even sozin is bowing.

Sokka: zuko why don't you do that.

Zuko: I don't have to.

Sokka: aang?

Aang: he doesn't have to.

Sokka: do we?

Aang: of course not.

_

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

(The scene opens with Zuko sitting in the chamber reading. The camera pans down to show him holding the scroll. His lantern still casting an orange glow against his body. Cut to a side close up of his face reading Firelord Sozin's history. As he reads, Sozin's narration is still heard. Fade from Zuko's close up, to a close up of Roku, sitting in his room. He is staring down towards the floor.)