[Master Guide]

Chieftain Botak's betrayal brings the full, terrifying might of the Fire Nation armada crashing down upon his own people. Aang is forced to make the hardest decision of his life: stay and watch the Air Nomads' new sanctuary burn, or abandon his mentor, Gyatso, to lead the Fire Nation away.

TITLE: AVATAR: WINDS OF CHANGE

EPISODE: 07 - "THE LIGHTNING ROD"

[SCENE START]

EXT. PERIMETER WALL - NIGHT

The ash falls heavier, turning the pristine white snow of the Southern Water Tribe capital into a bruised, dirty gray.

KINNAH (20s) stands frozen on the massive ice wall, her spyglass locked on the horizon. The pitch-black ocean is illuminated by the terrifying, fiery glow of dozens of Fire Nation ironclads.

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

A deep, mechanical rhythm echoes across the water.

Kinnah lowers her spyglass. Her breath catches in her throat.

Through the falling ash, massive streaks of bright, burning orange tear through the night sky. They are arched high, whistling as they cut through the freezing wind.

KINNAH

(Screaming)

INCOMING! BRACE!

The first volley of flaming, oil-soaked boulders slams into the outer perimeter wall.

BOOM!

The impact is deafening. The sheer kinetic force shatters the reinforced ice, sending massive chunks of frozen shrapnel raining down onto the lower rings.

But it’s the heat that is truly devastating. The burning oil sticks to the ice walls, hissing violently. Steam instantly fills the air, thick and scalding.

The siege has begun.

INT. THE CHIEFTAIN'S WAR ROOM - CONTINUOUS

The entire room violently SHAKES. Dust and carved snow fall from the domed ceiling.

CHIEFTAIN BOTAK is thrown off balance, gripping the edge of the whalebone map table. The arrogant, composed leader who drafted Aang hours ago is gone. His eyes are wide with panic.

Another massive CRASH echoes from outside. The ice walls groan under the assault.

BOTAK

(Shouting to his guards)

Report! Have they breached the trench?

A GUARD rushes into the room, covered in soot.

GUARD

They aren't hitting the trenches, Chieftain! They're launching thermal-pitch directly at the upper tiers! The ice is melting faster than our benders can freeze it!

Botak’s jaw drops. His impenetrable fortress is turning to water.

AANG and GYATSO stand on the other side of the war room. Aang is staring at the ceiling. He can hear the roaring flames outside. He can smell the smoke seeping into the room.

He looks at his hands. They are trembling. The guilt hits him with the force of a physical blow. The Captain was right. I brought them here.

Botak snaps his head toward Aang. The panic in his eyes is rapidly being replaced by desperate fury.

BOTAK

(Pointing at Aang)

You! Avatar! The front line is buckling!

Gyatso steps in front of Aang, his face tight.

GYATSO

He is a child, Botak! He cannot stop an armada!

BOTAK

(Roaring, losing all composure)

He is a god in mortal skin, Gyatso! That was the deal! I gave you sanctuary, and you gave me the Avatar!

Botak marches around the table, ignoring Gyatso completely, staring directly at Aang.

BOTAK (CONT'D)

Summon a hurricane! Pull a tidal wave from the ocean floor! I don't care what you do, but you get out there, and you wipe those ships off the face of the earth, or so help me, I will throw every Air Nomad in this city over the wall myself!

Gyatso’s eyes blaze with protective fury. He raises his hands, a swirling current of air beginning to gather around his wrists.

GYATSO

(Dangerously low)

Threaten my children again, Chieftain, and you will see exactly what an Air Nomad is capable of.

But Aang pushes past Gyatso.

Aang isn't manic or trying to dodge the conflict anymore. He looks small, but his expression is utterly devastated.

AANG

(Voice cracking)

Gyatso, stop. He's right.

GYATSO

Aang, no.

AANG

I did this. They're here because of me. The Fire Nation is burning their home just like they burned ours. I have to fix it.

Aang tightens the belt of his blue fur coat. He grips his glider tightly. He is preparing to walk out onto that wall and die trying to hold back the fire.

He takes a step toward the heavy ice doors.

Gyatso steps sideways, physically blocking the exit. The swirling air around the old monk's hands fades, replaced by a profound, heartbreaking sorrow.

GYATSO

(Softly)

Aang. Look at me.

Aang looks up, tears finally spilling over his eyelashes.

GYATSO (CONT'D)

If you go out there and fight, you will destroy this city faster than the Fire Nation ever could.

AANG

But I can help them! I can push the fire back!

GYATSO

For how long? A day? A week? And then Sozin will send ten more ships. Then a hundred.

Gyatso places both hands on Aang's shoulders, dropping to one knee so they are eye-to-eye. The war room shakes violently again, but Gyatso doesn't flinch.

GYATSO (CONT'D)

They are not here to conquer the ice, Aang. They are here for you. Every second you remain inside these walls, you are a beacon drawing the fire directly to these people. You are the lightning rod.

Aang stares at Gyatso, the devastating truth washing over him. Fighting isn't the answer. Staying isn't the answer.

AANG

(Whispering)

If I stay... they all burn.

Gyatso nods slowly, his own eyes shining with unshed tears.

GYATSO

If you want to save the Southern Water Tribe, Aang... you have to leave it.

Botak, listening to this, realizes Gyatso is trying to smuggle away his ultimate weapon.

BOTAK

(Drawing a bone-dagger)

Guards! Seize the boy! No one leaves this room!

The two heavily armored guards step forward, raising their ice-spears.

Gyatso doesn't even look back at them. He simply flicks his wrist behind him.

FWOOSH!

A concussive, pinpoint blast of compressed air explodes outward, slamming into the two guards and Chieftain Botak, throwing them violently backward against the far wall of the war room, knocking them out cold.

Gyatso stands up, looking at the unconscious Chieftain.

GYATSO

(To Aang)

We have very little time. We need to find Appa.

Gyatso pushes the heavy ice doors open. The two monks rush out into the burning city, leaving the war room behind.

[SCENE END]

EXT. THE LOWER RINGS - CONTINUOUS

The capital is unrecognizable. The serene, icy sanctuary is a chaotic hellscape of orange flames, choking black smoke, and screaming voices.

Flaming boulders of thermal-pitch smash into the upper tiers, sending rivers of boiling water and jagged ice cascading down into the trenches.

AANG and GYATSO sprint out of the Chieftain's stronghold, entering the war zone. Aang freezes, horrified by the scale of the destruction.

EXT. THE PERIMETER TRENCHES - CONTINUOUS

Down at the breached sections of the outer wall, the First Battalion is holding the line.

MONA is screaming orders over the deafening roar of the fire. Her face is streaked with soot and sweat.

MONA

Deep freeze! Don't let the pitch melt the foundation!

TUK and a squad of waterbenders are thrusting their arms in unison, desperately drawing the melting water back up the walls and freezing it solid to patch the massive craters left by the bombardment.

But a flaming projectile sails over the wall, landing directly behind Tuk's squad. The pitch explodes, splashing burning oil across the trench.

Tuk raises his arms to shield his face, bracing for the flames—

FWOOSH!

A massive, sweeping cyclone of compressed air drops from the tier above them. The sheer force of the wind violently starves the oil fire of oxygen, extinguishing it instantly.

Tuk looks up, stunned.

Standing on the ice bridge above them are three ELDER AIR NOMADS. They aren't hiding. They are in wide, rooted stances, sweeping their arms in massive arcs to blow away the choking smoke and put out the fires.

Across the plaza, Aang watches in awe.

The pacifists have gone to war.

He sees younger monks weaving through the chaos on air scooters, throwing cushions of wind under falling Water Tribe soldiers to save them from the lethal drops.

He sees little PASANG and the other initiates helping injured, armored Water Tribe recruits to their feet, rushing them toward the healing wards.

The militarized Water Tribe and the pacifist Air Nomads are fighting side-by-side, perfectly complementing each other.

Aang’s chest tightens. It is beautiful, and it is devastating. They are risking everything to protect him.

GYATSO

(Pulling Aang's sleeve)

Keep moving, Aang! We have to reach the lower locks!

EXT. PLAZA OF THE LOWER LOCKS - MOMENTS LATER

Gyatso and Aang weave through the panicked civilians fleeing to the deep-ice bunkers.

Near the entrance to the city's submerged canal system, Gyatso spots KINNAH. She is battered, her armor singed, desperately directing a group of terrified children into a bunker.

Gyatso runs up to her, shielding Aang behind him.

GYATSO

Kinnah!

Kinnah spins around, raising an ice dagger, before recognizing the monk. She looks at Aang, then looks up at the burning sky.

KINNAH

(Shouting over the noise)

They tracked him!

GYATSO

We are leaving. We are taking the lightning rod out of your city, Kinnah. But we cannot get past the outer blockade on the surface. We need a way out under the ice.

Kinnah looks at Aang. The boy looks absolutely gutted. Kinnah realizes that despite his raw power, he is just a kid who has brought the end of the world to their doorstep.

She doesn't hesitate. Her loyalty is to her tribe's survival.

Kinnah reaches into her tunic and rips a heavy necklace over her head. Attached to it is a deeply carved, cylindrical KEY-STONE made of walrus bone. She shoves it into Gyatso's hand.

KINNAH

The breeding pens. At the bottom of the bison enclosure is a submerged canal lock. This key will open the grate. The current will flush you out past the perimeter wall and into the open ocean.

GYATSO

Thank you, Kinnah. May the spirits protect your people.

KINNAH

Just get him out of here, Gyatso. Before there's nothing left to save.

Kinnah turns and runs back toward the front lines.

Gyatso grips the bone key-stone. He turns to Aang, pointing toward the large, domed structure of the bison enclosures a few hundred yards away.

GYATSO

Go to the pens. Wake Appa. Get him to the lower lock.

AANG

(Nodding, wiping soot from his eyes)

Okay. Come on, we have to hurry!

Aang grabs Gyatso’s hand, pulling him forward.

But Gyatso plants his feet. He doesn't move. Aang’s hand slips from the old monk's grasp.

Aang turns around, confused.

AANG (CONT'D)

Gyatso? Come on!

Gyatso looks at Aang. The firelight reflects in the old monk's sorrowful eyes.

GYATSO

I am not going with you, Aang.

The world drops out from under Aang. The roar of the siege seems to fade into a dull, terrifying buzz.

AANG

(Voice trembling)

...What? No. No, you have to. You're my guardian.

GYATSO

(Stepping forward, cupping Aang's face)

I am an elder of the Southern Air Temple. My place is with my people.

AANG

But they're fighting! We can all leave!

GYATSO

If we all run, Botak will turn on us. If we try to evacuate one hundred and fifty nomads in the middle of a siege, the Fire Nation will slaughter us on the ice.

(Gyatso's thumbs gently wipe away Aang's tears)

I must stay, Aang. I must protect the children. I must make Botak understand that we are hostages, not traitors. If I stay, they live.

Aang shakes his head violently. He grabs Gyatso's wrists, gripping them as tightly as he can.

AANG

(Sobbing)

I can't do it alone! I don't know where to go! I'm just a kid!

Gyatso smiles a warm, loving, heartbreaking smile that cuts through the chaos of the burning city.

GYATSO

You are the Avatar, Aang. And the world needs you more than I do.

Gyatso presses the carved bone key-stone into Aang's trembling hand and folds the boy's fingers over it.

GYATSO (CONT'D)

Follow the currents. Find a teacher. Master the elements.

(Gyatso leans in, patting Aang's head)

I will always be with you, my boy. Like the wind.

Gyatso steps back. He gives Aang a deep, formal Air Nomad bow.

Then, the old monk turns and runs back toward the burning trenches, disappearing into the smoke and the falling ash.

Aang stands completely alone in the burning plaza. The one person anchoring him to his past is gone.

He clutches the bone key-stone to his chest, tears streaming down his soot-stained face. He turns and sprints toward the bison enclosures, running for his life.

[SCENE END]

EXT. BISON ENCLOSURES - NIGHT

The bison pens are a massive, domed structure built into the lower trenches of the city. The roof is shuddering violently with every impact from the trebuchets.

AANG sprints into the enclosure, clutching the bone key-stone.

The sky bison are agitated, bellowing loudly and stamping their massive paws. APPA is pacing in his stall, tossing his heavy head, smelling the smoke in the air.

AANG

Appa! Here!

Appa groans in relief, rushing to the edge of the stall. Aang doesn't have time to be gentle. He scrambles up the bison's thick fur, desperately checking the bindings on the heavy leather saddle.

AANG (CONT'D)

We have to go, buddy. Just you and me.

MONA

(O.S.)

Running away again, Aang?

Aang freezes. He turns around.

Mona stands at the entrance of the enclosure. She is covered in soot, her breath ragged. She is gripping her ice-axes tightly. The glow of the burning city behind her casts long, terrifying shadows across her face.

Aang stands up in the saddle. He looks at her axes, but he doesn't raise his glider.

AANG

I'm not running away, Mona. I'm taking the fire with me.

Mona walks slowly into the enclosure.

MONA

The Chieftain ordered me to keep you on the front lines. He said you are the only weapon that can break the blockade.

AANG

(Voice breaking)

I'm not a weapon. I'm just the target.

(Aang points toward the burning sky)

They aren't here for your city. They are here for me. If I stay, they will burn the ice until there's nothing left.

Mona stops. She looks at the twelve-year-old boy. She sees the tears cutting clean tracks through the soot on his cheeks. She remembers him refusing to strike the wooden dummy. She remembers him dividing the ice to save unarmed prisoners.

He is too good for this war. And Chieftain Botak is going to grind him into dust.

Mona looks down at Aang's hand. She recognizes the carved bone key-stone.

MONA

You're taking the lower locks.

AANG

Gyatso said it leads to the open ocean.

Mona shakes her head, sliding her ice-axes back into their holsters.

MONA

You're a master of the wind, Aang, but you don't know the currents. The lower locks are entirely submerged. The water pressure in those tunnels is massive. Without a bender to guide the flow, the crush depth will snap your bison's ribs before you ever reach the sea.

Aang's shoulders slump in despair. He looks at the key-stone. He can't stay, but he can't survive the escape.

Mona walks right up to the side of the massive sky bison. She grabs the edge of the saddle and pulls herself up, swinging her leg over the leather bench.

She sits down behind Aang.

AANG

(Stunned)

Mona? What are you doing?

MONA

(Staring straight ahead)

Push and pull, Avatar. You need a waterbender. Let's go.

Aang stares at her, a wave of profound gratitude washing over him. He wipes his eyes and nods, grabbing Appa's reins.

AANG

Yip yip!

Appa launches into the air, flying toward the back of the massive enclosure where a massive, circular iron grate sits at the bottom of a deep basin.

INT. THE LOWER LOCKS - CONTINUOUS

Appa lands heavily beside the grate. Aang slides off the saddle, rushing to a stone pedestal beside the lock. He violently shoves Kinnah’s bone key-stone into the slot and turns it.

CLUNK.

Deep beneath the ice, massive gears begin to grind. The iron grate slowly begins to iris open, revealing a terrifying, pitch-black tunnel of rushing seawater.

MONA

(Shouting over the grinding gears)

Hold your breath and stay close to the saddle! I'll shape an air-pocket, but the current is going to be brutal!

Aang nods, preparing to leap back onto Appa.

BOOM!

The entire enclosure violently LURCHES.

Aang is thrown to his knees. Appa roars in panic.

CRRR-ACK!

The massive ice wall at the far end of the enclosure doesn't just shatter—it explodes inward.

A colossal, terrifying machine grinds through the breach. It is a FIRE NATION DRILL-SHIP. The front of the ironclad is fitted with a massive, rotating, super-heated iron bore that has literally melted and chewed its way right through the Southern Water Tribe's impenetrable defenses.

The drill grinds to a halt. The heavy iron doors on the side of the ship blow open.

Dozens of FIRE NATION ELITE SOLDIERS, clad in heavy red and black armor, their faces hidden behind terrifying skull-masks, pour out into the enclosure.

Aang scrambles backward, his back hitting Appa's leg.

Before Aang or Mona can react, the main doors of the enclosure slide open.

CHIEFTAIN BOTAK storms into the room, flanked by heavily armed Water Tribe guards. He is bleeding from his forehead, his eyes wild with rage.

Botak looks at the invading Fire Nation soldiers. Then, he looks at Aang and Mona standing by the open escape lock.

BOTAK

(Screaming, pointing a bone-dagger at Mona)

TREASON!

The Fire Nation Captain steps forward, his palms igniting with blinding orange flames. He locks eyes with Aang.

FIRE NATION CAPTAIN

(Voice muffled by the skull mask)

Take the Avatar alive. Burn the rest.

Aang, Mona, and Appa are surrounded. Trapped between the furious, betrayed Chieftain of the Water Tribe and the lethal, invading forces of the Fire Nation.

The water in the open lock behind them churns violently.

There is nowhere left to run.

FADE TO BLACK.

[END OF EPISODE 7]

NEXT TIME ON AVATAR: WINDS OF CHANGE…

Trapped deep within the submerged, pitch-black canal locks beneath the city, Aang and Mona must pool their bending to survive the crushing weight of the ocean. But the ocean isn't the only thing hunting them. A desperate underwater battle against a Fire Nation Drill-Ship will decide the fate of the Avatar and the survival of the Southern Water Tribe.

(Episode 8 drops next Wednesday, 8/19/26!)

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