When Hatred turned to Love (ATLA Zuko x OC)

Chapter Ten - Winter Solstice Part 3: Avatar Roku and his Defender

"Wrong way!" Aang said coming back to the siblings who were trying to catch up with Aang and Iris in the halls.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Sokka asked.

Only to be greeted from Iris who came running from behind and Aang disappearing out of sight. "Nope!" She asked and before she was able to run to another hall she heard Aang's voice saying...

"This way!"

They all followed him coming to a dead end. "That is a wrong way," Iris said.

One of the Sages came towards them. Aang, Katara, and Sokka got immediately on their stances. Aang turned immediately his staff against the old man.

"I don't want to fight you," The Sage said.

"Shiyu!?" Iris asked surprised getting off her stance.

"Iris?" Shiyu asked.

"How do you guys know each other?" Aang asked confusedly.

"I once found her on the shore. What are you doing here?" Shiyu asked "I thought you promised never to come back in the Fire Nation,"

"I had to, my brother needs to talk to Roku," Iris answered.

"Roku wants to talk to you too," Shiyu said and then he turned and looked at the others "There's no time, I can take you to him,"

None of them seemed to trust him but hearing the other Sages speaking at each other made Iris turn and look at her friends saying "I vouch for him, you have to trust me,"

The finally got off their stances and Aang nodded at Shiyu. He opened a secret door from the hall's right wall and they all walked in it as the door closed leaving no trace behind.

After a short moment of walking around, the hidden halls and stairs under, the Temple Shiyu finally spoke "Avatar Roku, once, called this Temple, home. He himself formed these secret passages out of the magma,"

"Did you know Avatar Roku?" Aang asked.

Shiyu chuckled "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?" Aang asked.

"A few weeks ago, an amazing thing occurred, the statue of Avatar Roku, its eyes began to glow," Shiyu answered.

"That's when we were at the Air Temple, Avatar Roku's eyes were glowing there too," Katara noticed.

"At that moment, we knew you had returned to the world," Shiyu said. "But it wasn't Avatar Roku's eyes that started glowing, the eyes of his Defender started glowing as well,"

"His Defender?!" Aang asked.

At that Iris lifted her gaze and focused it on the Sage. She had a pretty bad feeling about this when she realized that there was another statue in the room Roku's Dragon had taken them. "Who was his Defender?" she asked.

"Defender Gershwin from the Western Air Temple..." Shiyu answered.

This was the answer she was so afraid to hear. She closed her eyes and she remained behind as everyone stopped walking. Shiyu turned and looked at her and he continued.

"When Avatar Roku died, Gershwin was born to end this war, but Fire Lord Sozin's forces ambushed the Western Air Temple not because it was closer to the Fire Nation, but because he knew that Gershwin would come for him..." He tried to continue and Iris caught him...

"He died... Gershwin died in my arms when he was sixteen," She said keeping the upcoming tears behind.

"...he passed the Defender's role down to you. You were the only one he trusted and he gave you that necklace," Shiyu said and they continued walking upstairs.