"Water... Earth... Fire... Air…" Katara voices over as the benders demonstrate as she talks. "My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept the balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked." It journeys into the map showing the world and closes in on a bender displaying all the elements. "Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished." He disappears from sight. "A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe." It shows the Water Tribe men on their boats and Katara hugging her older brother Sokka holding up a lantern. "Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow the Avatar will return to save the world."
Fire Is Life
At the Western Air Temple with the upside down pagoda, Zuko, Aang and Rin stand on the platform for their first Firebending lesson. "I know you're nervous, but remember… Firebending in and of itself is not something to fear." Rin lectures as she looks at the young Avatar as he sighs looking hesitant.
"Okay. Not something to fear." Aang says unsure of it.
"But if you don't respect it," Zuko adds in crossing his arms. "It'll chew you up and spit you out like an angry Komodo Rhino!" He raises his voice making Aang yelp in fear, Rin slaps the back of Zuko's head stopping him.
"Now show us what you've got. Any amount of fire you can make." Rin tells him, Aang exhales, taking in a nervous breath and attempts to Firebend but just releases a small cloud of smoke from his palm which dissipates within a second, he smiles sheepishly.
"Maybe I need a little more instruction. Perhaps a demonstration?" Aang suggests looking at the two Firebenders.
"Good idea. You might want to take a couple steps back." Zuko agrees, gesturing Aang to move back and Rin and Aang do so, Zuko takes a breath, grunts and proceeds to Firebend but the result is rather small bursts of flame. Aang applauds even though it was only small bursts of flames and not what he had seen before.
"What was that?! That was the worst Firebending I've ever seen! Zuko recoils back in confusion and moves his hand around.
"I thought it was, nice." Aang first looks to the floor then back at Zuko and shrugs.
"How about I show Aang what he's supposed to do while you calm yourself down," Rin suggests and Zuko nods in agreement moving out of the way as Rin demonstrates with large bursts of her purple flames. Aang claps liking the demonstration and Zuko grunts again and Firebends in rapid succession but again all his flames are small, he grunts in frustration and stares at his palms.
"Why is this happening?!" Zuko exclaims angrily at his hands, Rin walks over putting her hands in his.
"Maybe it's the altitude." Aang lamely suggests even though Rin had done fine already.
"Yeah, could be." Zuko agrees unsure after turning away from the two of them.
They move after Aang's lame suggestion to the Temple further down, Aang sits on a broken pillar watching Zuko Firebend with Rin next to him as Zuko has the same result as before, he grunts in frustration and unleashes another blast with no improvement, Aang yawns and lies down. Just breathe, and…" Zuko says to himself pausing to Firebend again and Aang sits up.
"That one kind of felt hot," Aang adds in sitting back up.
"Don't patronize me. You know what it's supposed to look like!" Zuko lashes out throwing his hand out.
"Sorry, Sifu Hotman." Aang apologises.
"And stop calling me that!" Zuko shouts raising his arms and Aang cringes at his frustration, but unfortunately, Sokka walks over biting into an apple and finds a spot to sit down and observe the three Firebenders.
"Hey, jerks. Mind if I watch you three jerks do your jerk-bending?" Sokka taunts them, not really caring.
"Get out of here!" Zuko shouts at him making hand movements to get him to leave.
"Okay, take it easy." Sokka looks amused by Zuko's frustration and drops his apple core to the ground, waving his hand dismissively. "I was just kidding around." He stands up adjusting his shirt. "Jerk bending still got it." Zuko drops his head down and moans while Aang looks on.
"Is he that annoying all the time?" Rin asks Aang, he nods as Zuko tries again with his fails at Firebending.
Later at night at inside the Temple, Appa rests near one of the fountains licking up a small bale of hay. Zuko leans on a column with his arms crossed, deep in thought, he turns his head back to the campfire with everyone settled down for dinner and walks over to them. "Listen everyone;" He calls their attention, "I've got some pretty bad news. I've lost my stuff." He drops his head.
"Don't look at me. I didn't touch your stuff." Toph voices her innocence.
"I'm talking about my Firebending. It's gone." Zuko corrects himself as they look at him as The Duke attempts to sit up and Katara laughs manically and everyone looks at her with a few looking at her annoyed.
"I'm sorry. I'm just laughing at the irony. You know… how it would have been nice for us if you lost your Firebending a long time ago?" Katara taunts him.
"Well, it's not lost. It's just weaker for some reason." Rin corrects him giving Katara daggers.
"Maybe you're just not as good as you think you are." Katara spits out holding her bowl to her face glaring daggers at Zuko.
"Ouch," Toph comments adding herself in.
"I bet it's because we changed sides," Rin suggests thinking it over.
"That's ridiculous." Katara dismisses it drinking the contents of her bowl.
"I don't know. Maybe it isn't. Maybe your Firebending comes from rage, and you just don't have enough anger to fuel it the way you used to." Aang suggests thinking about it.
"You may be right, my Father uses to tell me that my fear of the flames would get in the way of my bending. Maybe our emotions are connected to our bending." Rin theorizes looking at Zuko.
"So, all we need to do is make Zuko angry... easy enough," Sokka says and proceeds to nudge at Zuko in the waist and head with the hilt of his sword a few times.
"Okay, cut it out!" Zuko bellows making Sokka stop and his sword falls on his head. "Look… even if you're right," He rubs the bridge of his nose, "I don't want to rely on hate and anger anymore. There has to be another way." He tells them.
"You're gonna need to learn to draw your Firebending," Toph tells him as Sokka walks over rubbing his head, "from a different source, I recommend the original source." She continues to get her food.
"How's he supposed to do that? By jumping into a volcano?" Sokka asks looking too amused by that thought.
"No. Zuko needs to go back to whatever the original source of Firebending is," Toph advise after finishing swallowing her food.
"So it is jumping into a volcano?" Sokka asks her, not getting the point.
"I don't know. For Earthbending, the original benders were badgermoles." Toph tells them as she remembers first meeting them. "One day, when I was little, I ran away and hid in a cave. That's where I met them. They were blind, just like me, so we understood each other. I was able to learn Earthbending, not just as a martial art, but as an extension of my senses. For them, the original Earthbenders, it wasn't just about fighting. It was their way of interacting with the World." She tells them thinking back.
"That's amazing, Toph. I learned from the monks, but the original Airbenders were the Sky Bison." Aang comments and looks around Toph over to Appa outside the metal doors. "Maybe you can give me a lesson sometime buddy." Appa just growls in acknowledgement.
"Well, this doesn't help Zuko. The original Firebenders were the dragons, and they're extinct." Rin replies thinking about it.
"What do you mean? Roku had a dragon, and there were plenty of dragons when I was a kid." Aang argues remembering hearing about it.
"Well, they aren't around anymore, okay?" Zuko snaps defensively.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." Aang apologises moving his arm around.
"But maybe there's another way. The first people to learn from the dragons were the ancient Sun Warriors." Rin tells them remembering her time there with her Father as Zuko walks over to the fountain.
"Sun Warriors? Well, I know they weren't around when I was a kid." Aang says walking over joining Zuko.
"No, they died off thousands of years ago, but their civilization wasn't too far from where we are now. Maybe we can learn something by poking around their ruins." Zuko remarks.
"It's like the monks used to tell me. Sometimes, the shadows of the past can be felt by the present." Aang reminisces.
"So, what?" Sokka asks and the two turn their heads towards the rest of the group. "Maybe you'll pick up some super old Sun Warrior energy just by standing where they stood 1000 years ago?" He asks moving his hand in a fluttering motion.
"More or less. Either I find a new way to Firebend, or the Avatar has to find a new teacher." Zuko tells him sharing a worried look with Aang.
"Well, least he'll have a Firebending Master," Ban comments and they all look at him. "General Rin, I mean Rin, she's been a Firebending Master since she was eight." They all look at her and the twins giggle as she blushes trying not to hide, but she gets up and smoothly walks over to Zuko and Aang and hugs Zuko making the others laugh (just not Katara).
The next morning, Appa flies away from the Air Temple over a vast ocean with Zuko and Rin on his saddle, Zuko looking bored while Rin looks relaxed as the wind messes up her hair. "We've been riding for hours. I don't know why, but I thought this thing would be a lot faster." Zuko complains looks down as Rin moves her head onto his lap and he hears Appa growl a warning.
"Appa's right, Zuko. In our group, typically, we start out our missions with a more upbeat attitude." Aang miss interprets.
"I can't believe this." Zuko groans in a low voice sighing and rest his head back.
"Don't worry. You'll get the hang of it." Aang chimes in and Appa pushes his tail down gaining more speed soaring through the clouds at a faster speed and soon near the intended island. Zuko wakes Rin up, she gets up and they all look at the buildings and temples around the island and the two boys look at them with surprise while Rin already visited once smiles at the happy times in her life as they get closer.
"Whoa!" The boys' marvel and Appa descend onto the ruins of the island.
They land on the outer ruins and make their way further in towards the large temple in the middle of the ancient city. "Even though these buildings are ancient, there's something eerily familiar about them. I can tell the Fire Sage's temples are somehow descended from these." Zuko completed looking around holding Rin's hand as they all walk.
"Okay, we learned something about architecture. Hopefully, we'll learn something about Firebending too. The past can be a great teacher." Aang gleams looking around.
"We should watch out for any traps," Rin advises and as she finishes says this Aang's foot nears a black wire which he trips, he yells in surprise, as the ground in front of them drops revealing a bed of black, deadly spikes. Aang exhales a huge gust of air from his mouth preventing himself from falling into the trap and propels himself across it, landing rather shakingly to the other side of the trap. He struggles to control his balance, flailing his arms about, Aang pushes himself forward and regains control of his balance.
"Zuko, RIn, I think the past is trying to kill me," Aang tells them frightened at the potential death threats, Rin kneels down inspecting the wire trap.
"I can't believe it. This booby trap must be centuries old, and it still works." Zuko muses looking at it.
"It feels familiar," Rin says to herself.
"There's probably a lot more. Maybe this means we shouldn't be here." Aang worries and Zuko takes a step back and starts running on the sidewall then lands in front of Aang with ease. Rin takes a step back and runs at the wall before landing for a second then jumps landing on the other side next to Zuko.
"Where's that upbeat attitude you were talking about? Besides, people don't make traps unless they've got something worth protecting." Zuko dusts himself off as he asks his new friend and takes Rin's hand again then continue on their way to the large temple in the centre, Rin gets a funny feeling as they get closer to the temple structure.
They make it to the temple steps and walk up to the top of the structure to see a person in the middle being surrounded by concentric circles of fire breathed out by two dragons on each side of the image. "Look. This seems promising." Aang says looking at the image. "Though I'm not sure what this tells us about the original source of Firebending."
"They look pretty angry to me," Zuko comments looking at the image as Rin looks around the vast ruins.
"I thought the dragons were friends with the Sun Warriors." Aang ponders.
"Well, they had a funny way of showing it," Rin adds on and Zuko looks away taking a few steps before he's interrupted by Aang.
"Zuko, something happened to the dragons in the last 100 years. Something you're not telling me." Aang looks at him expecting an answer but Zuko continues to walk.
"His Great-Grandfather Sozin happened," Rin answers as she walks past Aang and they continue on walking.
The three of them walk across a stone bridge with dragon protrusions at the side, "He started the tradition of hunting dragons for glory. They were the ultimate Firebenders. And if you could conquer one, your Firebending talents would become legendary, and you'd earn the honorary title 'Dragon'." Rin informs Aang as they reach the end of the bridge to two dragon statues at the end, with one missing a head.
"The last great dragon was conquered long before I was born," Zuko finishes patting the eye of the fallen dragon head, "by my Uncle."
"But I thought your Uncle was, I don't know, good?" Aang questions with a shrug not sure of the right words.
"He had a complicated past. Family tradition, I guess." Zuko replies lost in thought of his Uncle who he missed dearly.
"Let's just move on," Rin instructs and they walk over to a platform with a column positioned in front of a structure with yellow doors, Aang jogs over to the doors, dropping his staff and tries yanking them open but they won't budge.
"It's locked up," Aang announces the obvious, Zuko scratches at his head in thought, then looks behind him stepping aside to the red jewel at the top of the column beaming light that had beamed light onto the back of his head.
"Wait," Zuko calls out to the Avatar, he sidesteps to the beam of light resting on one of the circles on the ground.
"It's a celestial calendar. Just like the Fire Sages have in their temples. I bet the Sun Stone opens the door, but only when sunlight hits it at just the right angle, on the solstice." Rin points out looking around the area.
"Monkey feathers! The solstice again? We can't wait here that long." Aang exasperates at the thought of having to wait that long.
"No, we can't." Rin agrees and shares a look with Zuko who unsheathes his broadsword and lays it in the path of the red beam.
"Bue we might be able to speed time up. Let's see if we can outsmart the Sun Stone." Zuko says and adjusts his sword to the light till it lines up with the Sun Stone.
"Nothing's happening." Aang points out still by the doors.
"Come on…" Zuko mutters to himself then it all starts to shake and it stops when the doors open to the inner temple room.
"You know, Zuko, I don't care what everyone else says about you, you're pretty smart." Aang compliments him as he picks up his staff and Zuko sheaths his sword, Rin giggles but stops when Aang walks inside and gasps as he's taken by surprise from the statues inside.
"Relax. They're just statues." Rin tells him and they look around the room of statues in various fighting positions with the other half doing the same making it symmetrical.
"It says this is something called The Dancing Dragon." Aang reads scratching his head reading the description of the statue, he lays his staff against the statue and takes a step back and imitates the position of the statue. As he does this s plate sinks under his feet, he steps off observing it and the plate moves back and he looks around at the other statues. Thinking about it he runs over to Zuko who is standing next to Rin, Aang grabs hold of Zuko's elbow in a hold. "Zuko, get over there. I want you to dance with me." He tries pulling Zuko along but he pulls his arm back in shock.
"What?" Zuko asks him looking at him with wide eyes.
"Just do it," Aang tells him grabbing at him again and dragging him away, Rin moves to the centre as the boys stand behind the statues with Zuko groaning in slight protest. "Let's follow the steps of the statues," Aang instructs, and they both step onto the first plate and move to the next, Zuko's boot steps onto the plate with a look of surprise. "Don't you see? These aren't dance moves. These statues are giving us a lesson." They both sync up as he speaks. "I think this is some kind of Sun Warrior Firebending form." Zuko gets into a punching position then moves into another position with his arms spread in a low arc above his shoulders.
"This better teach us some really good Firebending," Zuko complains yet again.
"I can't wait for the others to see this," Rin smirks like the Cheshire cat as she watches them, Aang gets into another position and they meet in the middle with their fists outstretched, with this a sound echoes in the room then a hole appears in the centre next to Rin and they turn looking at it, as a pedestal with a golden egg-like object rises from the hole and glints in the light. Aang seeming happy at their little victory raises his arms up into the air.
"Hurray! Wait, What exactly is that?" Aang asks rubbing his head.
"It's some kind of mystical Gemstone," Zuko says running over to the pedestal.
"Well, don't touch it!" Aang warns him raising his arms as a warning making Zuko stop in his tracks.
"Why not?" Zuko questions looking at Aang and Rin.
"Remember what happened out there with those spikes." Rin reminds him as Aang raises his arms as if giving a physical description of spikes.
"I'm just very suspicious of giant, glowing gems sitting on pedestals," Aang says warily but Zuko ignores them and removes the gemstone from the pedestal making the other two worry.
"It feels almost alive." Zuko gleams at the object and tries to put the gemstone back and yells in surprise as a jet of green goo spurts out from under the pedestal pushing Zuko up towards the grating in the ceiling, sticking him up there.
"Oh, no, it's another trap!" Aang panics as the doors close trapping them inside, as more green goo starts flowing from the pedestal and Rin and Aang back away cautiously. Zuko looks down at them worried for his wife as he is stuck to the grating and struggles to break free but can't.
"Ugh, I can't pull free. It's like some kind of glue." Zuko struggles again, Aang jumps across the goo to grab his staff on the other side of the room, he jumps up on the statue's head and Airbends a strong gust of wind towards Zuko in an attempt to free him from the good but the force of wind just moves him onto his front still stuck to the grate. The goo rapidly rises and Aang tries to pull his staff out of the goo but it won't budge and he jumps up towards the grate with Zuko as the goo rapidly engulfs the room.
"I can't move. Zuko, Rin, do something!" Aang struggles trying to move his hands or feet off the bars but again they won't budge.
"Me? I can't move either. Where's Rin?" Zuko asks trying to look around but fails, Aang looks but the goo has engulfed everything on the floor and still rises and reads the both of them and presses them into the grate as they groan in discomfort and worry for their female companion, the goo final stops pressing against them and any hope of finding Rin at this point.
"It stopped." Aang sighs in relief.
"At least we have air. Maybe if we stay calm we can figure a way out of this and get to Rin." Zuko suggests trying not to let his mind wonders down the depressing path, a few hours pass and the boys are still stuck with night fallen over with no sign of Rin either making the boys panic but trying not to show it.
"You had to pick up the glowing egg, didn't you?" Aang inquires making Zuko feel even more guilty.
"At least I made something happen. If it were up to you, we'd never have made it past the courtyard." Zuko snaps back, his anger and worry for Rin rising as the minute pass.
"Help!" Aang yells out, hoping for someone to help them.
"Who are you yelling to? Nobody's lived here for centuries." Zuko reminds him.
"Well, what do you think we should do? Rin's still down there." Aang protests.
"Think about our place in the Universe?" Zuko mumbles not wanting to think of the worst, Aang sighs when a man walks over to them.
"Who is down there?" The man demands to know, they look over to see the man in a tribal gear wearing a hat and warpaint on his face. The boys share a look of shock at the man and then happiness at his presence in the ruins when they hear cracking coming from the roof near them, then pits of the roof fly into the sky along with a beam of purple fire rises into the sky, the Sun Warriors all look at it in shock but the boys look at it in relief. A hand comes out of the roof/floor and Rin pushes herself up breathing heavily and lies down on the floor catching her breath.
"Zuko never do that again," She complains catching her breath and looks up at the Sun Warrior in front of them.
Back outside the Gemstone room with the yellow doors, the boys are finally free along with Rin as they are all still covered in goo with Anteaters one for each of them lick off the goo. The little group are surrounded by men and women all Sun Warriors with four of them holding small flames in their hands. "For trying to take our Sun Stone, you must be severely punished!" The Chief exclaims, looking at the accused.
"We didn't come here to take your Sun Stone. We came here to find the ancient origin of all Firebending." Zuko corrects him looking him dead in the eyes with earnest.
"Yeah, right. They are obviously thieves, here to steal Sun Warrior treasures." One of the Warriors cuts in and steps forward next to the Chief and holds the Sun Stone protectively in his arms.
"Please, I don't normally play this card, but…" Aang tells them looking confident and places his hand on his chest as a sense of pride. "I'm the Avatar." But this just washes over them as they had no idea what that was and he stands up giving a weak smile.
"They don't know about the Avatar," Rin tells him and gets up next to him.
"Just hear us out," Aang tells them.
"My name is Zuko, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. Or at least, I used to be. I know my people have distorted the way of Firebending, to be fueled by anger and rage. But now I want to learn the true way. When we came here, I never imagined the Sun Warrior civilization was secretly alive. I am truly humbled to be in your presence. Please, teach us." Zuko asks them and they bow their head in respect.
"If you wish to learn the ways of the Sun, you must learn them from the Masters Ran and Shao." The Chief tells them.
"Ran and Shao? There are two of them?" Aang asks the Chief.
"When you present yourselves to them, they will examine you. They'll read your hearts, your souls, and your ancestry." The Chief warns them taking a step towards Zuko towering over him. "If they deem you worthy, they'll reach you. If they don't you'll be destroyed on the spot." He steps back finishing his little lecture and Aang and Zuko look at each other then at Rin as if for help but she just shakes her head. "But I must ask, who is the blond one with purple flames?" He asks looking at Rin.
"I am Rin- Rinako, daughter of the spirit of life Chava," Rin answers expecting them to disagree but they all bow their heads to her as they can feel the power of her flames, Aang and Zuko share a look of surprise while Rin looks at them all awkwardly waiting for them to stop.
The next morning they stand at the main structure, they stand at the top in front of a fire, with the Warriors standing in a semi-circle again with Aang and Zuko right at the front with the Chief standing in front of the fire. Rin stands to the side watching as the Chief explains what they have to do as she remembers her time here long ago. "If you're going to see the Masters, you must bring them a piece of the eternal flame. This fire is the very first one." He raises his arms in pride turning back towards the three outsiders. "It was given to Man by the dragons. We have kept it going for thousands of years."
"I don't believe it." Zuko looks at it in bewilderment.
"You will each take a piece of it to the Masters, to show your commitment to the sacred art of Firebending." The Chief informs them.
"Um, Mister Sun Chief, sir? Yeah… I'm not a Firebender yet. Couldn't my friend here carry my fire for me?" Aang asks pointing at Rin as she wasn't going to be tested as they saw she knew the real message behind her flames.
"No." The Chief answers sternly and turns back to the fire, Aang still looks uneasy as the Chief pulls the fire towards his palms with a fluid motion, "This ritual illustrates the essence of Sun Warrior philosophy." He turns in a full circle and splits the fire into two equal amounts of fire. "You must maintain a constant heat." As he says this Aang seems transfixed with the flame. "The flame will go out if you make it too small." That sentence causes Aang to cringe knowing that may happen to him. "Make it too big, and you might lose control." He passes the flames over, Zuko stares at the flame cooly and cradles it in his hands and looks at Aang who still hasn't collected his flame yet.
"I'm sorry. I'm just a little nervous." He tells him and proceeds to gather the flame into his hands, the fire grows slight, he looks at it relieved and in awe. "It's like a little heartbeat."
"Fire is life, not just destruction," Rin tells them, and Aang reassures himself with a smile.
"You will take your flames up there." The Chief points to a rocky mountain nearby and they turn their heads towards the direction. "The cave of the Masters is beneath that rock."
They make their way through the forest together and make it to a steep grassy incline, Zuko reaches the top of the incline and turns back to see Aang lagging some distance behind, he looks down to see Rin joining him at the top. "Hurry up," Zuko calls down to him as he and Rin wait for the younger one.
"I can't," Aang tells them placing one hand on the rock in front of him. "If I walk too fast, my flame will go out." He looks down at his rather small flame.
"Your flame's gonna go out because it's too small. You're too timid. Give it more juice." Rin advises him and Aang climbs up and looks at them worried.
"But what if I can't control it?" Aang asks the two experienced Firebenders.
"You can do it. I know you can. You're a talented kid." Zuko compliments him.
"Aw, and I didn't even have to tell him to say that." Rin teases Zuko, he blushes and walks off faster with Aang in a lighter mood and smiles and pushes himself up and continues to follow after them.
The trio arrives at their destination at the mountain with the Sun Warriors already there waiting for them all poised in an alternating standing and sitting position with stair leading up a bridge in between the two halves of the mountain. "Facing the judgment of the Firebending Masters will be very dangerous for you. Your ancestors are directly responsible for the Dragons' disappearance." The Chief shames Zuko who looks to the side in shame. "The Masters might not be so happy to see you."
"I know I wouldn't be." The sidekick puts in placing a hand on his hip trying to intimidate Zuko but with poor results.
"But once they find out I'm the Avatar…" Aang weighs in.
"Have you forgotten that you vanished allowing the Fire Nation to wreak havoc on the world? The decline of the Dragons is your burden too." The Chief remarks and Aang too look away with shame and the Chief drives his staff into the ground and the Sun Warriors get into a ready position at either side of the staff. The Chief grabs a section from each flame placing it on the Sun Warriors palms and they move away then the Chief removes his staff. The Warriors who receive a flame bend it around into a circle a few time before the next Warrior standing bends a small part of the flame towards them and repeat the process.
"We could turn back now. We've already learned more about fire than we hoped." Aang points out showing the two teens his flame in his hand giving them a weak smile.
"No, you're seeing this through to the end." Rin dictates, Zuko agrees with her.
"We're gonna meet these Masters and find out what's so great about them," Zuko adds on.
"What if they judge us and attack us?" Aang trembles at the thought of being barbequed.
"Well, we're the Fire Prince, The Avatar and the Spirit of Death," Zuko smirks unsheathing his broadswords slightly emphasize his point. "I think we can take these guys in a fight, whoever they are." Aang feeling slightly better nods but still feels uneasy. "Bring 'em out," Zuko demands.
"Chanters!" The Chief exclaims opening his hand to the side, the music begins and the Warriors sitting downbeat in sync on their drums making a nice rhythm. The Warriors hold their circle of flames remaining in position, Zuko and Aang walk-off ready to the other half of the circle and the Warriors rise and bow alternatively. The boys near the bottom of the steps and the Warriors and the Chief step aside letting them pass, but Rin stops Zuko, she kisses him quickly on the lips and kisses Aang on the cheek for luck, Aang blushes a little at the action.
Zuko and Aang glance at each other and both take a deep breath before making their way up the stairs as they can still hear the Warriors drums beating at the bottom. The boys continue to climb up the steps, Aang looks back, he wants to go back but pressed forward, they make it halfway up and the Chief look at their progress from the bottom with Rin. Zuko and Aang near the top of the stairs with the sun shining upon them in the background and the beat stops once they reach the top, they look at the caves on each side of the bridge. "Those who wish to meet the Masters Ran and Shao will now present their fire." A Sun Warrior uses a horn to project his voice to the boys at the top of the bridge, the boys turn towards the caves and bow down with their hands extended in front of them.
"Sound the call." The Chief orders and a Warrior takes a deep breath and blows into a wind instrument, the loud noise produces sends a flock of birds to scatter in the background. The cave Aang is facing rumbles and vibrates as the rocks dislodge, he trembles in fear at the prospect of what it could be. Aang accidentally places his hand down, extinguishing the flame and turns towards Zuko, Rin looks up at them with worry.
"What's happening?" Aang asks looking at Zuko, but his cave remains undisturbed, he turns and gives Aang a puzzled look, Aang quickly returns to his former position but realises that the flame is gone and gasps, he turns back towards Zuko again. "Zuko, my fire went out," Aang whispers pleading.
"What do you want me to do?" Zuko whispers back at him.
"Give me some of yours." Aang pleads with him and tries to reach for Zuko's fire but he gently pushes him back.
"No, just make your own." Zuko grunts trying to push him away.
"I can't." Aang tries again to reach for Zuko's flame but fails miserably.
"Get some from one of those Warriors," Zuko tells him and the others at the bottom can hear them. "Hurry. Stop cheating off me!" He raises his voice and they exchange look with each other.
"Quit being stingy!" Aang exclaims irritated and continues reaching for Zuko's flame but Zuko raises his arms higher so the flame remains out of Aang's reach but he tries to grab it by sticking closer to Zuko's back flailing his arms. He uses two hands to grab the flame from under Zuko's armpits and they struggle briefly before Zuko drops his hand, extinguishing the flame and they look at each other, unsure of what's going to happen next.
Both caves on either side of the bridge rumble, and the boys look troubled and they turn to their caves, bowing their heads towards it, into the black emptiness within. "Uh-oh." They gasps, and a pair of yellow eyes glow in the dark, suddenly, a red dragon roars shooting out of the cave. It circles around the bridge and the boys, they look overwhelmed by the powerful winds and pressure and stagger slightly, Zuko looks shocked and follows the dragon's trail. A blue dragon flies out of the other cave and joins its partner in circling around each other, the bridge and the boys.
"These are the Masters." Zuko marvels at them as they circle them.
"You still think we can take 'em?" Aang whispers to him.
"Shh. I never said that." Zuko takes back, at the bottom of the stairs the others watch the Dragons circling in the air generating powerful winds as the Sun Warriors all bow down and Rin follows suit.
"Oh, here it comes." The Sidekick gushes at the thought. "Any moment now… dinner for the Masters."
"Quiet. Ham Gao." The Chief shushes them.
"What?" Ham Gao sulks turning his head away. "Everyone's thinking it." He yelps and looks behind him at Rin who has a mischievous smile on her face and a small flame lit on her index finger as up on the bridge where the dragons continue to fly in an elaborate formation of turns, twists and curves.
"Zuko, I think we're supposed to do The Dragon Dance with them," Aang whispers breathing from his thoughts.
"What? What about this situation that you think they want us to dance?" Zuko asks him looking at him annoyed.
"Well, I think they want us to do something. Let's just try it." Aang tells him.
"Fine." Zuko reluctantly agrees and they get into the first position of The Dragon Dance and proceed to the next, and the dragons follow the movements of the boys as they do the dance. Aang turns his arms to his side and the dragon turns as well, and the dragons perform the movements the same and are symmetrical to one another.
Zuko pushes his hand up and the red dragon behind him angles upwards as well, following his movements the same as Aang and the blue dragon. The boys slowly head towards one another and the dragons complementing their movements, and they get into the final pose and the dragons stop and flap their wings on either side of the bridge. "Judgement time." The Chief announces and the blue dragon snarls at Zuko as Aang trembles and Zuko looks at it, mouth agape thinking of his wife. Aang gives out a series of timid, unsure shrieks of fear and the two dragons settle into another position with their legs being anchored at the bottom of the bridge and their arms supporting their weight at the top. The red dragon begins to breathe fire out at the boys and the blue dragon does the same and the boys yell out in fear as they are engulfed by the rapidly rising multi-coloured flames.
The boys look at the vortex of colours shell-shocked at the sight before them, the two dragons angel their mouths up, a fire still breathing out with the swirling rainbow vortex of fire, Aang gasps in amazement and Zuko looks at it amazed too.
"I understand." Zuko realises what his Uncle and Rin and others had been saying all this time, and slowly the flames begin to dissipate and the dragons curl their bodies, springing up and circle each other one final time before they go back to their caves and the boys remain on the bridge. Ham Geo looks at them annoyed they survived but Rin looks relieved, and the Warriors holding the circle of fire move their arms in a circle, extinguishing the flames and end their hands in the Fire Nation position of respect. Zuko and Aang make their way down the stairs and get near the bottom, Rin and the Chief meet them at the bottom as they walk down the stairs. "Their fire was beautiful. I saw so many colours, colours I've never imagined. Like Rin's." He comments.
"Like Firebending harmony," Aang adds him.
"Yes. They judged you, and gave you visions of the meaning of Firebending." The Chief tells them.
"I can't believe there are still living dragons. My Uncle Iroh said he faces the last dragon and killed it." Zuko argues thinking back to the story.
"So, your Uncle lied." Aang points out thinking about it.
"Actually, it wasn't a total lie. Iroh was one of the last outsiders to face the Masters. They deemed him worthy and passed the secret onto him as well." The Chief informs them and Zuko's eyes widen in surprise.
"He must have lied to protect them, so no one else would hunt them." Zuko ponders. "Wait you said one of the last, who was the other one?" He asks.
"Jou Yuu, he was a kind man, and he too was deemed worthy." The Chief answers, Zuko looks to Rin who smiles at him.
"Yeah, I've been here before, when I was like four and I was terrified of the colour of my flames and my Father showed me there was nothing to be scared of. And I met my Mother here." Rin tells them and hugs Zuko smiling.
"Wait, as in your birth Mother?" Zuko asks her, she nods.
"I got lost and set off one of the traps and she saved me and got me back to my Father. I always thought it was a dream till now." She reminisces and looks at her husband.
"I see, so you know the Sun Warriors were still alive?" Zuko teases her.
"Well, like I said I thought it was a dream I was like four and a new Firebender." Rin dismisses and looks at Aang to see him look troubled. "What is it Aang?" She asks him.
"All this time, I thought Firebending was destruction. Since I hurt Katara, I've been too afraid and hesitant. But now I know what it really is… its energy, and life." Aang says feeling glad that they had come here.
"Yeah. It's like the Sun, but inside of you. Do you guys realise this?" Zuko makes a fool of himself.
"Well, our civilization is called the Sun Warriors… so yeah." The Chief answers with Rin giggling at Zuko.
"That's why my Firebending was so weak before. Because for so many years, hunting you was my drive… it was my purpose. So when I joined you, I lost sight of my inner fire. But now, I have a new drive. I have to help you defeat my Father and restore balance to the world." Zuko proclaims halfway turns to Aang and Firebends twice with a rather large sized flame, Aang follows his example and bends, his flame large as well. Aang looks overjoyed as he has now conquered his fear and the walk towards each other, happy at their achievement and Zuko grabs Rin in his arms into a passionate kiss.
"Now that you have learned the secrets, and you know about our tribe's existence," The Chief tells them and his face turns serious suddenly, "we have no choice but to imprison you here forever." the boys look at him with their mouths in shock but Rin just smiles shaking her head. "Just kidding." He teases them and the boys relax. "But seriously, don't tell anyone!" He warns them.
They make it safely back to the Western Air Temple they all sit about watching as the boys demonstrate The Dancing Dragon and they Firebend at each step. "With this technique, the dragons showed us, Zuko and I would be unstoppable," Aang tells the others and they finish the dance and get into the final pose and the group applaud them.
"Yeah, that's a great dance you two learned there." Sokka taunts them.
"It's not a dance. It's a Firebending form." Zuko snaps defensively.
"We'll just tap-dance," Sokka teases moving his finger in a dancing motion, "our way to victory over the Fire Lord."
"It's a sacred form that happens to be thousands of years old!" Zuko snaps again and walks towards Sokka.
"Oh yeah? What's your little form called?" Katara asks in a teasing tone.
"Don't tell them Zuko!" Shin laughs as her sister covers her mouth.
"The Dancing Dragon," Zuko answers embarrassed and the group laughs at this and he tries to still his temper but Rin just laughs as she jumps into his arms and calms him down whispering something in his ear. He blushes and takes her hand and leads her away with Shin, Shai and Ban laugh the loudest and the others seem lost.
Hey, there it's DeadGirlEternal here, thank you all you amazing Readers and please favourite, follow and comment and I will update as soon as I get three reviews even if they say 'Please Update' as long as I know, you are, enjoy my story please let me know and don't forget to put your vote on the next story after I've finished Bounty Hunter Part 1 & 2 then Daughter Stein while writing The Strawhat's Red Devil, just go onto my profile and find the link to the poll and please let me know, see ya at the next Chapter!