Ch 20 the fire bending masters
"Guys, I lost my stuff." Zuko said, approaching the group at night, after a bad day of training.
"I didn't steal it." Toph replied.
Olivier quit sharpening the Kilij she captured during the invasion and looked up.
"No. My fire bending." Zuko said.
Olivier wondered how that could have happened, when Katara sourly laughed.
"Sorry. I'm just ironic how it would have been better for everyone if you have lost your bending a long time ago." Katara said, smirking at Zuko.
"Wow. You are the biggest bitch I'd ever seen. Guess what, it's the present. Aang needs a fire bending teacher. Zuko is the only fire bender who's willing to work with us. And he's the fire lord's son. Who else could provide the Achilles heel needed right now? But all you can do is just scorn and not focus on the present." Olivier said to Katara, glaring at her.
"Zuko, what happened?" Olivier asked.
"It's not really lost. It's just weaker for some reason." Zuko said.
"Maybe you're not as good as you think you are." Katara sourly replied.
"I bet it's because I changed sides." Zuko said, not bothered by Katara's rudeness.
"That's impossible." Katara replied.
Aang glanced at her and then at Zuko. He briefly noticed Olivier sharpening her sword at a furious pace.
"Maybe your fire bending comes from rage." Aang said. "And you don't have enough rage to fuel it like it used to."
"So all we need to do is make Zuko angry. Easy enough." Sokka said, and started poking his sword at Zuko, gauging his reaction.
"Cut it out!" Zuko snapped, scaring Sokka for a second.
Better him then me. If Sokka tried that to me, I'd break both his arms. Olivier thought. She quickly went over her thought, and was surprised at how bloodthirsty she was becoming.
"Even if you're right, I don't want to rely on anger and hate anymore. There's got to be another way." Zuko said.
"You're going have to learn to draw your fire bending from a different source." Toph said, gathering her thoughts. "I recommend the original source."
"What's that? He supposed to jump into a volcano?" Sokka asked.
"I don't know. For earth bending the original masters were badger moles." Toph said.
"The original masters of fire were dragons, and they're extinct." Zuko said.
"There were dragons when I was around 100 years ago." Aang said.
"Well they're gone." Zuko growled towards Aang.
"But there is another way." He continued.
"The first people to learn from the dragons were the ancient sun warriors. But they died thousands of years ago. Their civilizations aren't too far from here. Maybe we can find something by poking around the ruins. If there are any ruins at all." Zuko said.
"So what? Maybe you'll pick up some super old sun warrior energy just by standing where they stood a thousand years ago?" Sokka asked.
"More or less." Zuko replied.
That morning, Katara pulled Olivier aside.
"I want you to go with them." Olivier said.
"Why?" Olivier asked.
"Because he's our enemy! He's going with Aang, alone." Katara hissed.
"He's our enemy. You've had plenty of time to kill him. Why didn't you? And do you trust the Avatar?" Olivier asked.
"Of course I do. It's Zuko I don't trust." Katara said.
"Just think for a second. Zuko doesn't have his fire bending. Aang is a master of three elements. If Zuko were to try something, Aang can easily kick his ass." Olivier said.
But Katara wouldn't see reason. She was still paranoid about Zuko.
"Fine. I'll go. But only to stop myself from cleaving your head off." Olivier said.
And Olivier went with Aang and Zuko to the ruins.
She walked behind the pair as they looked at the ruins. Olivier noticed that much of the ruins was cracking and about to wither away.
She also noticed that there were parts of the ruins that didn't have dust accumulation. Which meant that people still lived here. Olivier put that in her mind and waited for them to show up. No use searching for them in their backyard.
As they arrived at a well-maintained gate, a fact which went unnoticed by Aang and Zuko, Zuko pulled out a sword and used the shiny blade to manipulate the sun rays to open the door. They walked into a large room, with many statues in a circle.
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Aang copied a pose from a statue, and noticed that the statues were dance moves. He immediately grabbed Zuko.
"Zuko, come dance with me." Aang said.
"What the hell?!" Zuko asked with wide eyes, wondering if Aang had temporarily lost it.
"Just do it." Aang said.
Both Zuko and Aang copied the statue's various movements and arrived at the end of the circle. A pedestal appeared from the ground holding a golden egg. The egg was well maintained. That tipped Olivier off. That gold should have rusted long ago. She left the room and waited as a booby trap was tripped by Zuko. Olivier walked up another path and found Zuko and Aang with their heads sticking out of the ceiling.
"Olivier, get us out of here." Aang said.
"Can't do that. I'm not a bender. And if that stuff can pin two humans with ease, I can't break it with a sword." Olivier said.
Olivier stopped down and touched the ground. There was little dust collection, and the concrete was somehow intact, with a few cracks here and there. Olivier stood up and walked away.
"Where are you going?!" Zuko shouted.
Olivier didn't respond but continued walking. She hid and watched the two from a distance. Someone would show up. If they freed Aang and Zuko, good. If not, she'd kill them.
When I became apparent that no harm was intended, Olivier walked out of her hiding space and joined her friends as they confronted the sun warriors.
"I don't normally play this card, but I'm the Avatar."
"My name is Zuko. I'm the fire lord's son. Or I used to be."
"Olivier Armstrong. I'm a friend of theirs."
"What are you doing here?" the leader asked.
"We wanted to learn the true way of learning fire bending. I never imagined the sun warrior society was still alive. I'm truly honored to be in your presence." Zuko said, bowing to the leader, with Aang following.
Zuko and Aang traversed the mountain side, carrying parts of the eternal flame given to them by the chief. Olivier wondered how it was all supposed to go. They were to show the flames to the two masters. Olivier also wondered who the two masters were.
The Amestrian general watched as the two benders walked up the steep steps and faced two opposite caves. After tense minutes, the masters came.
"Oh shit!" Olivier shouted, noticing that the two masters, were two dragons!
How the hell am I gonna explain this to Katara? Oh well. That bitch won't listen at all. I'll just leave them and fight the war on my own. Olivier thought.
She watched as the two performed the same dance they did in the temple. After a few seconds, both dragons spewed out fire.
"No!" Olivier shouted, apparently witnessing their deaths. She pulled out her sword and approached the leader of the sun warriors, intent on getting vengeance for Aang and Zuko's death.
"Look." A sun warrior said.
Olivier looked and saw that Zuko and Aang were still alive. They walked down the stairs and displayed their newfound fire bending in front of everyone.
Back at the temple, Olivier sat with the rest of the group as they watched Zuko and Aang demonstrate the dance they did in front of the dragons.
"Yeah, that's a great dance you two learned there." Sokka said.
"It's not a dance. It's a fire bending form." Zuko defended.
"Okay. We'll just tap-dance our way to victory over the fire lord." Sokka continued.
"It's a sacred form that happens to be thousands of years old!" Zuko said, walking up to Sokka.
"What's your form called?" Katara asked.
"The dancing dragons." Zuko said, much to his embarrassment.