"I know you're nervous, but remember... fire bending in and of itself is not something to fear."
"Ok. Not something to fear."
"But if you don't respect it, it'll chew you up and spit you out like an angry komodo rhino! Now show me what you've got. Any amount of fire you can make."
Aang exhales, takes in a nervous breath and attempts to fire bend. He makes a small puff of smoke.
"Maybe I need a little more instruction. Perhaps a demonstration."
"Good idea. You might want to take a couple steps back."
He gestures Aang to move backward and Aang does so. Zuko takes in a breath, grunts and proceeds to fire bend. The result is a rather small pathetic burst of flame.
"What was that! That was the worst fire bending I've ever seen!"
"I thought it was nice."
Zuko grunts again and fire bends in rapid succession. All his flames are small like the first. He grunts in frustration and stares at his palms)
"Why is this happening?"
"Maybe it's the altitude."
"Yeah, could be."
…
Zuko and Aang have found a spot lower in altitude. Aang is sitting on a broken pillar and watches Zuko fire bend with the same results. Zuko grunts in frustration and unleashes another blast with no improvement. Aang yawns and lies down.
"Just breathe, and..." He pauses to fire bend again.
Aang sits up. "That one kind of felt hot."
"Don't patronize me. You know what it's supposed to look like!"
"Sorry Sifu Hotman."
Sokka walk onto the bending field with Cadi. They both have apples. Sokka finds a spot and sits down to observe the two.
"Hey, jerks. Mind if I watch you two jerks do your jerk bending?"
"Get out of here!"
"Ok, take it easy." He drops his apple core and waves his hand in dismissal. "I was just kidding around." He stands up to adjust his shirt. "Jerk bending, still got it." Zuko drops his head down and moans while Aang looks on. Cadi laughs at the entire sight and walks off.
…
Zuko is leaning on a column with his arms crossed, deep in thought. He turns his head back to the campfire where everyone is settled for dinner. He walks toward them.
"Listen everybody; I've got some pretty bad news. I've lost my stuff."
"Don't look at me. I didn't touch your stuff." Top said raising her hands, then folding her arms in front of her.
"I'm talking about my fire bending. It's gone."
Katara laughs maniacally. Zuko looks annoyed while Cadi looks like she could beat the hell out of her if she didn't stop.
"I'm sorry. I'm just laughing at the irony. You know... how it would have been nice for us if you lost your fire bending a long time ago."
"Well it's not lost. It's just weaker for some reason."
"Maybe you're just not as good as you think you are."
"I bet it's because I changed sides."
"That's ridiculous." Sokka said.
"I don't know. Maybe it isn't. Maybe your fire bending comes from rage, and you just don't have enough anger to fuel it the way you used to."
"So, all we need to do is make Zuko angry... easy enough." Sokka said. He nudges Zuko in the waist and head with the hilt of his sword several times.
"Ok, cut it out! Look... even if you're right, I don't want to rely on hate and anger anymore. There has to be another way."
"You're gonna need to learn to draw your Fire bending from a different source. I recommend the original source." Ari said.
"How's he supposed to do that? By jumping into a volcano?" Sokka asked.
"No. Zuko needs to go back to whatever the original source of fire bending is." Cadi said.
"So is it jumping into a volcano?" Sokka asked again.
"I don't know. For earth bending, the original benders were badgermoles."
"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 earth bending, not just as a martial art, but as an extension of my senses. For them, the original earth benders, it wasn't just about fighting. It was their way of interacting with the World."
"That's amazing, Toph. I learned from the monks, but the original air benders were the Sky Bison." Aang said.
"Well, this doesn't help me. The original fire benders were the dragons, and they're extinct."
"What do you mean Roku had a dragon, and there were plenty of dragons when I was a kid."
"Well, they aren't around anymore, okay?"
"Ok, ok. I'm sorry."
"But maybe there's another way. The first people to learn from the dragons were the ancient Sun Warriors."
"Sun Warriors Well, I know they weren't around when I was a kid."
"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."
"It's like the monks used to tell me. Sometimes, the shadows of the past can be felt by the present."
"So, what? Maybe you'll pick up some super old Sun Warrior energy just by standing where they stood 1000 years ago?"
"More or less. Either I find a new way to fire bend, or the Avatar has to find a new teacher since none of you want Ari to do it." Aang looks worried.
…
"We've been riding for hours. I don't know why, but I thought this thing would be a lot faster."
"Appa's right, Zuko. In our group, typically we start out our missions with a more upbeat attitude. Don't worry. You'll get the hang of it."
Appa pushes his tail down to gain some speed and soars through the cloud at a faster speed.
"Even though these buildings are ancient," Zuko says as they descend. There's something eerily familiar about them. I can tell the Fire Sages' temples are somehow descended from these."
"Ok, we learned something about architecture. Hopefully, we'll learn something about fire bending too. The past can be a great teacher."
Aang's foot nears a black wire and he trips it. He yells in surprise. The ground in front of them drops to reveal a bed of black, deadly spikes. Aang exhales a huge gust of air from his mouth to prevent himself from falling into the trap and propels himself across it, landing rather shakingly to the other side. He struggles to control his balance, flailing his arms about. Aang pushes himself forward and regains control.
"Zuko, I think the past is trying to kill me."
Zuko kneels down and inspects the wire. "I can't believe it. This booby trap must be centuries old, and it still works."
"There's probably a lot more. Maybe this means we shouldn't be here."
Zuko takes a step back and starts to run on a wall and lands in front of Aang. "Where's that upbeat attitude you were talking about? Besides, people don't make traps unless they've got something worth protecting."
…
"Look. This seems promising. Though I'm not sure what this tells us about the original source of fire bending."
"They look pretty angry to me."
"I thought the dragons were friends with the Sun Warriors."
"Well, they had a funny way of showing it." He looks away and takes 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."
"My great-grandfather Sozin happened. He started the tradition of hunting dragons for glory. They were the ultimate fire benders. And if you could conquer one, your fire bending talents would become legendary, and you'd earn the honorary title "Dragon"."
They reach the end of the bridge. They're 2 dragon statues at the end. One of the statues is missing a head. "The last great dragon was conquered long before I was born, by my Uncle."
"But I thought your Uncle was, I don't know, good."
"He had a complicated past. Family tradition, I guess. Let's just move on."
…
There is a column with a red jewel embedded in the center of the structure. The column is positioned in front of a structure with 2 yellow doors. Zuko and Aang walk towards the doors. Aang walks towards them, drops his staff and attempts to open them with his bare hands to no avail. "It's locked up."
Zuko touches his head, looks behind and steps aside to reveal the red jewel from the column beaming light on his head.
"Wait." He steps aside to reveal the beam of red light resting on a circle on the ground. "It's a celestial calendar. Just like the Fire Sages have in their temples. I bet that Sun Stone opens the door, but only when sunlight hits it at just the right angle, on the solstice."
"Monkey feathers! The solstice again? We can't wait here that long."
"No we can't." He unsheathes his broadsword and lays it in the path of the red beam. "But we might be able to speed time up. Let's see if we can outsmart the Sun Stone."
He attempts to adjust his sword. The beam of light is seen moving shakily across the doors and successfully hits the Sun Stone. It glows brightly.
"Nothing's happening." Aang said.
The doors open.
"You know, Zuko, I don't care what everyone else says about you, you're pretty smart."
Zuko smiles. It falters for a moment. "They don't think I'm smart?"
"I do. Ari does. Cadi does. Everyone else just doesn't know." Aang said.
"Cadi thinks I'm smart huh." He laughs. "She better." His smile is back.
"What's with you two anyways?"
"It's nothing." He says, but his smile is still there.
Aang shrugs and turns. Once his face is away from Zuko he smirks. Aang walks in and squints his eyes. Aang gasps in surprise.
"Relax. They're just statues."
Aang scratches his head and reads the description at the foot of the statue. "It says this is something called The Dancing Dragon."
He lays his staff against the statue, takes a step-back and imitates the crane-posture of the statue. A plate sinks under his feet as he does so. Aang takes a step off the plate to observe it and the plate moves back into position. He looks around at the remaining statues.
"Zuko, get over here. I want you to dance with me." He tries to pull Zuko along.
"What?"
"Just do it. Let's follow the steps of the statues."
Both of them step on the first plate and move on to the next.
"Don't you see? These aren't dance moves. These statues are giving us a lesson." Both of them move in synchronization as he speaks. "I think this is some kind of Sun Warrior fire bending form."
Zuko gets into punching position and move into another position with his arms spread in a low arc above his shoulders. "This better teach us some really good fire bending." Zuko says.
Aang is doing the same 2 moves. He gets into a position with his arms stretched forward. Aang bends his torso to the right with his fists out-stretched and Zuko does a mirror image. A sound echoes in the room and a hole appears in the center of the room and both turn to look at it. A pedestal with a golden egg-like object ascends from the hole and glints in the light.
"Hurray! Wait. What exactly is that?"
"It's some kind of mystical gem stone."
"Well, don't touch it!"
"Why not?"
"Remember what happened out there with those spikes? I'm just very suspicious of giant, glowing gems sitting on pedestals."
Zuko ignores him and removes the gem stone off the pedestal. Aang's eyebrow twitches.
"It feels almost alive."
He tries to put back the gem stone and yells in surprise as a jet of green goo spurts out from the pedestal and pushes Zuko towards the grating in the ceiling, sticking him there.
"Oh, no, it's another trap!"
More green goo starts to flow from the pedestal and Aang backs away cautiously.
"Ugh, I can't pull free. It's like some kind of glue."
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 air bends a strong gust of wind toward Zuko in an attempt to free him. The force from the wind only pushes moves Zuko from his back to his front but he is still stuck. The goo is rapidly rising and Aang tries to pull his staff out of the goo to no avail. He jumps up toward the grating as the goo rapidly engulfs the room.
"I can't move. Zuko, do something!"
"Me? I can't move either."
The goo suddenly stops pressing against them.
"It stopped." Aang stated.
"At least we have air. Maybe if we stay calm we can figure a way out of this."
…
"You had to pick up the glowing egg, didn't you?"
"At least I made something happen. If it were up to you, we'd never have made it pass the courtyard."
"Help!"
"Who are you yelling to? Nobody's lived here for centuries."
"Well, what do you think we should do?"
"Think about our place in the Universe."
"Who is down there?" A Person asked.
…
"For trying to take our Sun Stone, you must be severely punished!" The man said.
"We didn't come here to take your Sun Stone. We came here to find the ancient origin of all fire bending."
"Yeah, right. They are obviously thieves, here to steal Sun Warrior treasures."
"Please, I don't normally play this card, but... I'm the Avatar. Just hear us out."
"My name is Zuko, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. Or at least, I used to be. I know my people have distorted the ways of fire bending, to be fueled by anger and rage. But now I want to learn the true way, the original 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." He and Aang bow their heads down in respect.
"If you wish to learn the ways of the Sun, you must learn them from the masters Ran and Shao."
"Ran and Shao? There are two of them?"
"When you present yourselves to them, they will examine you. They'll read your hearts, your souls, and your ancestry." He takes a step towards Zuko and towers over him. "If they deem you worthy, they'll teach you. If they don't, you'll be destroyed on the spot."
…
"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. It was given to Man by the dragons. We have kept it going for thousands of years."
"I don't believe it." Zuko said to himself.
"You will each take a piece of it to the masters, to show your commitment to the sacred art of fire bending."
"Um, Mister Sun Chief, sir Yeah... I'm not a fire bender yet. Couldn't my friend here carry my fire for me?"
"No."
"This ritual illustrates the essence of Sun Warrior philosophy. You must maintain a constant heat. The flame will go out if you make it too small. Make it too big, and you might lose control."
"I'm sorry. I'm just a little nervous. It's like a little heartbeat."
"Fire is life, not just destruction. You will take your flames up there." The Chief points to a rocky mountain nearby and the boys turn their heads toward that direction. "The cave of the masters is beneath that rock."
…
Zuko has reached the top of the incline and turns back to Aang who is lagging quite a distance behind.
"Hurry up."
"I can't. If I walk too fast, my flame will go out."
"Your flame's gonna go out because it's too small. You're too timid. Give it more juice."
"But what if I can't control it?"
"You can do it. I know you can. You're a talented kid."
…
Zuko and Aang have just arrived at their destination. The warriors are already there and are poised in an alternating standing and sitting position.
"Facing the judgment of the Fire bending masters will be very dangerous for you. Your ancestors are directly responsible for the dragons' disappearance. The masters might not be so happy to see you."
"I know I wouldn't be."
"But once they find out I'm the Avatar..."
"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 drives his staff into the ground and Sun warriors get into a "ready" position at either side of the staff. It is noted that both warriors are mirror image of each other. The Chief grabs a section from each flame and places it on the Sun Warriors' palms. They move away and the Chief removes his staff.
"We could turn back now. We've already learned more about fire than we hoped." Aang said.
"No, we're seeing this through to the end. We're gonna meet these masters and find out what's so great about them."
"What if they judge us and attack us?"
"Well, we're the Fire Prince and the Avatar. I think we can take these guys in a fight, whoever they are."
"Bring 'em out." Zuko said.
…
Zuko and Aang glance at each other and both take a deep breath before ascending. Zuko and Aang climb the steps. Aang looks back, seemingly wanting to go back but he presses forward with an "I've got no choice" look on his face. The music stops when they reach the top. Both of them 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."
Aang and Zuko turn towards the caves and bow down with their hands extended in front of them."
A warrior takes a deep breath and blows into a wind instrument. The loud sound it produces sends a flock of birds scattering in the background. The cave Aang is facing rumbles and vibrates as the rocks dislodge. He trembles in fear. Aang accidentally places his hand down, extinguishing his flame and turns towards Zuko.
"What's happening?"
He looks at Zuko's cave which remains undisturbed. Zuko turns and gives Aang a puzzled look. Aang quickly returns back into his "flame-giving" position. He realized that his flame is gone and gasps, turning back towards Zuko again.
"Zuko, my fire went out."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Give me some of yours." He reaches for Zuko's fire and Zuko gently pushes him back.
"No, just make your own."
"I can't."
"Get some from one of those warriors."
Aang continues to reach for Zuko's flame but is unable to do so due to the differences between their heights. Zuko raises his arms higher so the flame remains out of Aang's reach and Aang tries to grab it by sticking close to Zuko's back and 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. They look at each other, unsure.
"Uh-oh." Zuko and Aang said together.
A pair of yellow eyes glow in the dark and suddenly, a red dragon roars and shoots out of the cave. It circles around the bridge and the duo. The boys are 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 boys.
"These are the masters."
"You still think we can take 'em?"
"Shh. I never said that."
…
"Oh, here it comes. Any moment now... dinner for the masters."
"Quiet, Ham Gao."
"What? Everyone's thinking it."
…
"Zuko, I think we're supposed to do The Dragon Dance with them."
"What? What about this situation that you think they want us to dance?"
"Well, I think they want us to do something. Let's just try it."
"Fine."
They get into the first position of The Dragon Dance and proceed to the next. Aang spreads his arms out and the blue dragon behind him following the shape of his arms. Aang turns his arms to his side and the dragon turns as well.
Zuko pushes his hand up and the red dragon behind him angles upwards as well. Zuko dips and the dragon dives down as well. The boys slowly begin heading towards one another and the dragons complementing their movements.
…
"Judgment time." The Chief said.
…
The blue dragon snarls at Zuko. Aang is visibly trembling. Zuko looks at it, mouth agape. Aang gives out a series of timid, unsure shrieks. The red dragon beings to breathe fire out of its mouth. The blue dragon does the same. Zuko and Aang yell in fear as they are engulfed by a rapidly rising multi-colored flame.
…
The flame slowly dissipates and the dragons curl their bodies, spring up and circle each other one final time before they retreat to their caves.
Zuko and Aang slowly descend on the steps.
"Their fire was beautiful. I saw so many colors, colors I've never imagined."
"Like fire bending harmony."
"Yes. They judged you, and gave you visions of the meaning of fire bending."
"I can't believe there are still living dragons. My Uncle Iroh said he faced the last dragon and killed it."
"So, your Uncle lied."
"Actually, it wasn't a total lie. Iroh was the last outsider to face the masters. They deemed him worthy and passed the secret onto him as well."
"He must have lied to protect them, so no one else would hunt them."
"All this time, I thought fire bending was destruction. Since I hurt Katara, I've been too afraid and hesitant. But now I know what it really is... it's energy, and life."
"Yeah, it's like the Sun, but inside of you. Do you guys realize this?"
"Well, our civilization is called the Sun Warriors... so yeah."
"That's why my fire bending 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 fire bends twice with a rather large sized flame. Aang follows his example and bends. His flame is large as well.
"Now that you have learned the secrets, and you know about our tribe's existence, we have no choice but to imprison you here forever. Just kidding. But seriously, don't tell anyone!"
…
"With this technique the dragons showed us, Zuko and I would be unstoppable." Zuko and Aang are demonstrating The Dragon Dance and they're fire bending at each step. They get into their final pose and the group applauds.
"Yeah, that's a great dance you two learned there."
"It's not a dance. It's a fire bending form."
"We'll just tap-dance our way to victory over the Fire Lord."
"It's a sacred form that happens to be thousands of years old!"
"Oh yeah? What's your little form called?"
"The Dancing Dragon"
The group laughs.
"Doesn't matter if it has a name or not, Ari and I have you both beat." Cadi said.
"Yeah right. I'll believe it when I see it."
Cadi and Ari look at each other. "Field trip!"
…
Cadi and Ari stand next to each other. "We've been working on this for a while but it's not perfect yet so no laughing." Cadi said smirking. "Any volunteer?" She asked.
"I want to see how much this will affect people, so I will." Sokka said.
"Don't get mad." Ari said.
Ari stood still before criss crossing his arms in a side-ways eight making fire. Cadi stood beside him before making a bubble around her and moving in front of Ari's fire. He pushed his fire out. Cadi's concentration didn't falter once as she pushes the water from around her, off of her bubble. Her water pump was surrounded by lines of fire as it hit Sokka, knocking him down several feet away.
Ari stopped his fire and Cadi dropped her bubble. She bent over, gasping. "That's enough concentration for a while." She laughed at herself. Zuko walked over and picked her up over his shoulder.
"I'm hungry, let's eat." He said as Ari followed him after helping Sokka up.