The Fire Prodigy {ATLA}

{30}: The Truth

"Hana, wake up, something's happened," Katara's voice startled me awake in the middle of the night.

I rubbed my eyes and yawned. "What's going on?"

"That's what," Sokka said, pointing at a man who was just gawking down at us from a cliff above.

I frowned, studying his face the best that I could. The marking on his forehead felt familiar somehow. It finally dawned on me. I widened my eyes. "GUYS, TAKE COVER!"

Just in that moment, the first explosion went off, knocking us all away. I barely managed to stand back onto my feet again after the hit. The man didn't take long before launching another attack, however this time, Aang and Toph managed to create some cover with their earthbending.

"Guys! He can create explosions using his mind! Watch out!" I yelled, as we all ducked behind some giant protective boulders.

"This is crazy! How can we beat a guy who blows things up with his mind?" Sokka asked.

"We can't! Jump on Appa! I'll try to distract him!" Aang said, as he left our hiding stop to try and get the attacker's undivided attention.

We did as he asked in a hurry, watching the flashes in the distance from the ongoing explosions. I was really worried about having left Aang by himself, even though I knew he was a capable airbender and could do well on his own.

"How can someone use only their mind to blow things up?!" Toph asked me frantically.

"It's rare, but some people train their minds to be able to use their bending just with their thoughts," I explained quickly, just as we caught Aang in time as he fell on the saddle. "I've only seen a few people do it before."

"Why was he following us?" Katara asked.

"I don't know. But something tells me he knows exactly who we are," I told them, making them all give me worried looks. "And I don't think he'll stop trying to get to us that easily."

"What is it with crazy firebenders chasing us around all the time?!" Sokka complained.

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"There it is. That's Roku's home," Aang said, as we landed on what appeared to be a dead volcanic island.

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure he gave you the right directions?"

"Actually, he did. There's an entire village, hundreds of houses... all completely buried in ash," Toph said, using her seismic sense to make out what lay under us.

"Well, then I hope you find what you're looking for, Aang," I said, making him nod.

"Stay here guys. I'll be right back," Aang said, as he made his way deeper into the island.

"What do you think happened here?" Katara asked out loud.

"Oh, well, I don't know... MAYBE A GIGANTIC VOLCANIC ERUPTION THAT DESTROYED EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH?!" Sokka retorted to his sister. "I don't even know why we are wasting valuable time in this dead island when we should be preparing for the invasion."

"Aang said Roku wanted to talk to him here during the Summer Sostice. There must be a reason for that," I replied.

"Why is it always on a Solstice? Isn't Avatar Roku available, I don't know... Any other day?!"

"Oh, stop complaining. He'll probably be done with the meeting soon," Toph told Sokka dismissively.

"I heard about this island before, I think," I said, trying to recall some of Iroh's earliest Fire History classes. "This island was the birth and death place of Roku. He died here protecting the people of his village from the devastating volcanic eruption."

"Well, he didn't do a very good job," Toph retorted.

I rolled my eyes. "I guess stopping a full-powered volcanic inferno is a bigger feat than even an Avatar can take."

"But if this was such a sad place for Roku, why did he invite Aang to come and talk to him here?" Katara asked.

"I don't know. It must have something to do with the war, but I don't--" I frowned for a moment, suddenly recalling something I'd read about Fire Lord Sozin in a history book once. "Wait a second. I think I remember something about Fire Lord Sozin forbidding anyone from ever coming to this island. I never knew the reason, but it sounds to me like he had a reason to erase all evidence of Roku's existence."

"Fire Lord Sozin?" Toph asked.

"He's the Fire Lord who began the Hundred Year War. Most history books say he spent his early years secretly preparing for it. He was as patient as he was clever. He waited for the comet, later renamed Sozin's Comet, and used its power to launch his full-scale invasion of the world."

"The comet he used to destroy the Air Nation," Katara continued, sadly.

I nodded. "Yes. But if Sozin had any relation to Avatar Roku... I wonder. Did Roku play a role in the beginning of this war?"

"Avatar Roku? No. There's no way. Besides, Sozin didn't strike the Air Nomads until twelve years after Roku died," Katara said.

I sighed. "Something tells me we may not fully like what Roku has to tell Aang."

We waited all day. Aang didn't really move that much from his meditating position, other than a few times where he made some questionable sounds and gestures. Sokka assured us that there were no bathrooms in the Spirit World, which only brought up a bunch of new questions.

Aang suddenly opened his eyes, panting heavily. Katara immediately walked up to him and helped him sit up and calm down.

"I know what happened. I know what happened between Roku and Fire Lord Sozin."

"What did Roku tell you?" Katara asked him.

"Roku and Sozin were friends. They were best friends," Aang went on to explained everything he'd seen during his spiritual trip. Apparently, I had been right. Turned out the two of them were more related than we all knew. Roku had put all his trust in Sozin, who betrayed him when the time came, and initiated a war that would cost millions of people their lives for the next century.

We all watched Aang talk with our eyes widened. Katara was the first to respond. "You mean, after all Roku and Sozin went through together, even after Roku showed him mercy, Sozin betrayed him?"

"It's like these people are born bad," Toph said with a sigh.

I looked away. I wanted to tell Toph she was wrong, but I was saddened to realize that I couldn't. As much as I tried to think of someone from the Royal Family who was good other than Iroh, I couldn't. Azula, Fire Lord Ozai, even Zuko... They all had proved where their heart and intentions really were.

But there was one person that came to mind that didn't fit the description. Someone I hadn't seen in a very long time, someone else who had only ever shown kindness to a peasant girl like me. "Lady Ursa wasn't bad."

The others gave me surprised looks. Katara seemed to be the only one having the slightest clue of who I was talking about. "Zuko's mother?"

I nodded. "She was the kindest person living in that palace. She was never cruel or hateful. Even though she and her husband were forced to be married."

"Zuko didn't say what happened to her..."

"That's because he doesn't know. None of us ever knew what happened to her. But there is no doubt in my mind that it had something to do with Ozai."

"I think that's what Roku was trying to show me. Roku was just as much Fire Nation as Sozin was, right? As much as Hana is. If anything, their stories prove anyone's capable of great good and great evil. Everyone, even the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation have to be treated like they're worth giving a chance," Aang said, smiling warmly at me. "And I also think it was about friendships."

"Do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?" Toph asked, making us all give her a surprised look.

"I don't see why not," Aang said taking her hand in reassurance.

"Well, scientifically speaking, there's no way to prove that..." Sokka began, before Katara snatched his hand and mine and we all held hands in a circle.

"Oh, Sokka, just hold hands."