Having finished all thirty-six stances with all four different bending styles, I brought my palms together and slightly bowed before lifting my head, gazing at the twenty elders, yet not a single one opened their mouth to speak as they were all too surprised by what I had just done; granted, as the Avatar, what I did wasn't really all that impressive, I could barely use the three other bending styles at a mediocre level, though I digress.
"A-Aang, w-when? H-How?" Asked Gyatso in shock and confusion as he voiced the thoughts that circulated through every elder's mind, causing Aang to clear his throat as he snapped his fingers, manifesting a small flame.
"Last year, I happened to learn I could bend not just air, but fire, water, and earth; it was an accident, of course, but a pleasant one; however, shortly after that, I happened to communicate with a good friend of yours and my past incarnation." Replied Aang softly as he glanced at Gyatso, who slightly widened his eyes at such words while shifting his focus to the small flame.
"…Roku." Muttered Gyatso in surprise, his words causing the remaining elders to nod in understanding while they whispered among themselves.
"If it were Avatar Roku, it makes sense; he must've been guiding Aang." Muttered Tachi quietly with furrowed brows as he looked at Aang, prompting him to suddenly shake his head.
"Yes, however, Monk Tachi, the knowledge that I know I'm the Avatar wasn't what I wished to discuss; it simply made things easier to believe." Remarked Aang with a nod as he glanced at Tashi before crossing his eyes with every elder, his words causing them to all furrow through their brows while Gyatso deeply frowned.
"To start it off, it's believed that Avatar Roku, my past incarnation, met his fate during the terrible volcanic eruption roughly 12 years ago on his home island while he attempted to stop the spread of destruction. Yes, that is true, though none know that during his most critical moment, he was betrayed by Fire Lord Sozin… A tough topic to speak about, but it is true." Stated Aangs solemnly as he slowly walked in a circle while his voice echoed off the room's walls, allowing everyone to clearly hear the shocking revelations.
"What? That can't be!?" Asked Iio in disbelief as she held her mouth while gazing at Aang, who slowly nodded, causing everyone to lower their heads in silence.
Among the elders, Gyatso was the most affected by such news as Roku was one of his closest friends, and to know the truth behind your friend's death wouldn't be an easy thing to accept; however, I couldn't stop now, I've been waiting two months for this day.
"To put it simply, Fire Lord Sozin betrayed Roku because the two had very different views on the world; one wanted to keep the peace balance that his past incarnation created, while the other wanted to spread his thriving Nation across the world. In other words… He sought world domination. And that… That is what I've come to speak about." Stated Aang solemnly, his words shocking the elders once more, yet even so, none outright denied his words, seemingly having always felt the Fire Nation was behaving suspiciously.
"This… You do understand what you're getting at Aang, correct?" Asked an elder from the Western Air Temple with a hardened gaze as she stared at Aang, who firmly nodded.
"While I'm sure it'll be hard for everyone to believe my words, just know everything I'm saying is what Roku has relayed to me; my words may not be very credible yet, but I'm sure few would doubt the words of Avatar Roku?" Remarked Aang calmly as he scanned his eyes among the twenty elders, yet seeing not a single one shake their heads, he nodded before continuing to speak.
"I've already done my research and have prepared for this day…" Said Aang as he reached into his satchel, grabbing a piece of paper before floating it to Gyatso with a light gust of wind.
"…That paper contains the date the Fire Nation is most likely to invade the world; there are exactly two months and four days until that day arrives." Added Aang softly as he silently waited and watched while every elder glimpsed at the date on the paper.
"How do you know this, Aang? Why would the Fire Nation invade specifically on this day?" Asked an elder from the Northern Air Temple as he and everyone else skeptically looked at Aang in confusion and curiosity.
"Because that is the day when the Great Comet will fly through the sky; just like every month on a full moon night when water benders will be at their strongest, fire benders will receive an exponential increase to their might. It would be equivalent to as if 100 suns suddenly appeared in the sky." Replied Aang solemnly, his words shocking the elders for the umpteenth time as they all quietly mulled over his words.
"The Great Comet?" "That comet only appears every hundred years." "If this is true, no one would be able to resist their invasion." "An army of master firebenders? There is nothing the world could do against such force." Muttered multiple elders with grim expressions as they imagined such a day.
"How did you acquire this information, Aang?" Asked Pasang curiously as he looked at Aang.
"During my trip two months ago, I followed Roku's advice and visited Wan Shi Tongs Library as it has a Planetary Calendar Room. It was a lengthy and tedious process going through nearly four months' worth of dates, but it was necessary." Replied Aang lightly as he glanced at Pasang, his words once again surprising everyone, though the intensity was far less than before.
While everyone quietly talked to each other, I returned to my spot beside Monk Gyatso; I had relayed all the information I had, so for now, I simply waited for the elders to come to a decision.
'I hope you don't mind me abusing your name, Roku.' Thought Aang lightly as he closed his eyes and meditated, awaiting the elder's decision
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Grabbing everyone's attention by clearing his throat, Monk Gyatso clapped his hands and began speaking while standing in the center of the room.
"Now, I'm sure all of here wish Aang's words were false and he was merely spouting lies, but ever since… Avatar Roku's death, the Fire Nation has been slowly changing." Stated Gyatso softly as he gazed at the several elders, who all silently nodded in agreement, wishing Aang was spouting a child's lie.
"What… Do you suggest we do? Does anyone have any ideas?" Asked an elder from the Eastern Air Temple as she glanced at Gyatso before looking around, only for everyone to lower their heads.
"Haa, I-I wish I knew; I-I truly did." Muttered Gyatso softly as he sported a troubled expression while rubbing his head.
"How about you, Aang? Seeing how much preparation you've been doing, you may have already thought of what to do." Asked Iio lightly as she glanced at Aang, who had been silently meditating, her words causing everyone to shift their focus to him.
"I have a few ideas, but they are nothing special; they're merely ways to protect our Air Nomad heritage. The Fire Nation will heavily target the Air Temples first, simply because of my presence; Fire Lord Sozin knows the biggest obstacle to his idea of world domination is the Avatar. With the Avatar out of the equation, his plan becomes significantly easier." Replied Aang softly with a sigh as he glanced at Iio, his words causing everyone's expression to worsen.
I didn't even want to continue speaking when I noticed the elder's expression, though it looks I didn't need to, as Monk Gyatso clapped his hands, gathering everyone's attention once again.
"According to Aang's research, we've got a little over two months until the Fire Nations invasion; for now, I suggest we all retreat to our rooms to mull over everything. Best to discuss important things like this in a much calmer spirit." Stated Gyatso softly as he glanced at the numerous elders while they all looked at each other before nodding and standing.
"Yes, I think that's for the best." Said Hitsugaya with a deep frown, his bubbly personality nowhere to be seen as he slowly walked towards the exit.
Watching the elders quietly leave the room, I glanced at Gyatso, who gave me a wry smile before sighing.
"Haa, this was far worse than I anticipated." Commented Gyatso lightly as he looked at Aang, who couldn't even spark a faint smile and simply nodded with a sigh.
I was much better than everyone else, given the fact I knew this would happen for the past twelve years, but still, knowing your home was in danger of being eradicated wasn't a good feeling by any means; the thought of dying and never being able to meet my wife and child was terrifying, but, I couldn't just leave this family, I would do everything I could to save them.
Exiting the room with Monk Gyatso, we parted ways at a staircase while I headed back to my room to meditate, contemplating ways to prevent the war.
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Instead of the three days the elders originally planned on, the meeting took nearly a full week before we eventually reached a conclusion regarding the Fire Nations' invasion; however, to say everyone was satisfied would be me lying; a matter of fact, most of us weren't satisfied, me included, but there really wasn't much we could do in this situation.
We prioritized keeping our heritage alive since that was the true essence of the Air Temples; of course, we do plan to resist the invasion to the best of our ability, but even though the Great Comet will only last about half an hour, not many were confident in our survival chances.
'That's with my presence as well.' Thought Aang lightly with an unsightly expression as he sat on a snowy hill, looking out to sea while Apaa lay beside him.
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It's stated the Great Comet (Sozin's Comet in the future) lasts around five minutes, but honestly, that doesn't make any sense; they wouldn't be able to accomplish much in only five minutes, so that's why I bumped it up to half an hour. It makes a little bit more sense, in my opinion.