Inner Fire - ATLA fanfic

The Avatar and The Fire Lord

It was the middle of the night, Zuko was fast asleep in his room but the sound of footsteps awoke him. He jumped out of bed and rushed out into the hall. 

He opened the door and saw a cloaked individual disappear down the darkened hallway. 

Zuko began to fun after the figure but stopped when he noticed a scroll placed upright in the hall. Surprised, he picked it up and unrolled it. 

"You need to know the story of your great-grandfather's demise. It will reveal your own destiny" He read out loud. 

Zuko closed the scroll, intrigued. He stared down the hallway as the drapes rustled in the cool night breeze. 

*

The next morning, Aang explained to the Gaang how Roku spoke to him in his dream the previous night, saying they had to go to his home island by the Summer Solstice. So now, with Appa disguised as a cloud, they flew over the ocean towards Roku's home island. 

"There it is. That's Roku's home" Aang pointed to it

The Gaang landed and looked around. The island was completely barren and unnervingly desolate. 

"But there's nothing here," Katara said as they looked around at the blackened landscape.

Toph jumped down from the saddle "Yes, there is. An entire village. Hundreds of houses. All completely buried in ash" 

Later, as the sun began to set over the horizon, the Gaang was sitting on a hardened wave of lava.

Aang was sat on the tip, facing the ocean, and meditating. Soon, his arrows began to glow and he entered the spirit world. 

"He's in" Zira spoke up, seeing his tattoo's light up. 

"And now we wait" Shai lay down on his back. 

"Now we wait" Zira repeated quietly, watching her boyfriend. 

In the spirit world, Aang opened his eyes and found himself on a mountain top, surrounded by clouds. 

Roku's dragon, Fang, flew over to him as he stood up. Avatar Roku was seated on his back and smiled at the young Avatar. 

*

Back in the Fire Nation, Zuko lay on his bed thinking. He rolled over and saw the mysterious scroll on his bedside table. He picked it up and read it again. 

"What does it mean?" He asked himself, frustrated. He tossed the scroll away, where it gently landed over his lantern.

The light from the lantern shone through the paper, revealing a secret message. Zuko gasped when he saw it and quickly picked the scroll up. 

"The Fire Sages keep the secret history in the Dragon Bone Catacombs" He read out loud. 

Grabbing his cloak, Zuko quickly left to find out what this secret history was. 

He snuck his way into the temple and hid behind a pillar, watching as a sage walk into the middle of the courtyard floor where a large medallion fashioned in the shape of a flower was seen. 

The Fire Sage stopped directly over the ornate medallion on the ground, crouched low, and delivered a blast of fire into the centre of the design. It began to open, revealing a hidden passage under the courtyard of the temple. 

Zuko waited behind the pillar for most of the night, until finally, it was safe for him to enter the catacombs. 

He shot a blast of fire into the centre of the medallion, just as the sage had done, and began his way down the spiral staircase into the secret passage. He walked along the hallway, lined with dragon skulls until he came to an ornate door with a metal sculpture of Fire Lord Sozin on it. The chest of the sculpture had a Fire Nation emblem. He placed his hand on it and bent a fire blast into it. The fire filled the door and came out from the statue's eyes, nose and mouth. The door then slid open with a creak and Zuko walked inside, holding a lantern to look around the dark chamber.