In The Future || Mirai

CHAPTER 52

   After a few hours of flying, we saw the Sun Warrior temple, the three of us were surprised by the look of it. We landed and started walking into the courtyard or something, I took in the old structure, my childhood feeling almost complete.

   "Even though these buildings are ancient, there's something eerily familiar about them." Zuko said as we walked. "I can tell the fire sages temples are somehow a descendent from these."

   "Okay, we've learned something about architecture." Aang replied.

   "Too bad that's not what we came here to do." I spoke. "Hopefully we'll learn something about firbending."

   "The past can be a great teacher!" Aang said before almost falling in a hole of spikes but he saved himself making it to the other side. "Guys! I think the past is trying to kill me."

   "I can't believe it, this boobie trap must be centries old." Zuko said as he examined the vine that set off the trap. "And it still works."

   "There's probably a lot more." I said stepping back before running and jumping over the trap.

   "Maybe this means we shouldn't be here?" Aang pointed out.

   Zuko ran across the side of the wall to join us. "Where's that up beat attitude you were talking about?" He asked with a smile. "Besides people don't make traps unless they got something worth protecting."

   We climbed up a few stairs, I was admiring most of the architecture and also thinking about how accurate it was to my mothers descriptions. When we made it to the stop we saw a mural of dragons and sun warriors.

   "Look this seems promising." Aang said. "Though, I'm not sure what this can tell us about the original source of firebending."

   "They look pretty angry to me." Zuko said examining the mural.

   "I thought the dragons were friends with the sun warriors." Aang said.

   "Well they had a really funny way of showing it." Zuko said.

   "Something happened to the drangons." I said and looked at Zuko who started walking away. "Do you want to tell him or should I?"

   "Tell me what?" Aang asked. "What happened in the last hundred years?"

   "My great grandfather Sozin, happened." Zuko replied and walked away so we followed. "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. The last great drangon was conquered long before I was born. By my uncle."

   "But.. I thought your uncle was..." Aang paused. "I don't know.. Good?"

   "He had a complicated past." Zuko said. "Family tradition I guess."

   I looked at them. "Come on let's keep moving." We found a gate and Aang tried to open it but it was locked. I looked around and dug through the memories to also remember the description of his place in particular.
   "Hey genius, it'll only open when the light hits it. It's a celestial calender. You know like Fire Sages have in their temples." I pointed up to the red sun stone. "My mother said that the sun has to hit at just the right angle not a sliver away from the stone.... It's gonna hit it the day of the solstice."

   "Monkey feather!" Aang complained. "The solstice again? We can't wait here that long."

   "No we can't." Zuko pulled out his sword. "But we might be able to speed time up, let's see if we can out-smart the sun stone."

He set his sword down to the light and angled it to meet the stone exactly how it should have been.

"Nothing's happening." Aang said as we looked at it.

"Patience." I said and the ground started rumbling. It can't be a coincidence, can it?

The doors opened to the room and my heart tightened at the thought, maybe I was over thinking it, maybe she just heard the story from an accurate history book.

   "You know Zuko," Aang said as the firebender walked over. "I don't care what anyone else says about you, you're pretty smart." He nudged him and Zuko smiled but then stopped.

   We walked in and Aang gasped at the statue. "They're just statues, Aang." I said and walked in behind Zuko.

   We walked to the center and I looked around. I strangly felt at home. Which is weirds since I haven't had this feeling since I was a child. I looked at the statues and again another memory from my mother fell back into place.
When she was first getting sick she got out of bed, dad was away on a mission so I skipped school to take care of her and she told me about one of her favorite dances, doing the moved gracefully. She smiled with tears rolling down her cheeks but she told me that it always made her so happy when she was a child. I thought she was going crazy from the fever but these moves.

   "It says this is something called the dancing dragon." Aang read from the plaqueand copied the move to see the floor plate drop.

   "Aang!" I smiled. "It's teaching the dance."

   "Zuko, get over here!" Aang ran clinging to his arm. "I want you to dance with me."

   "What?!" Zuko asked.

   "Just do it." I pushed him over and told him where to stand. "Just follow the steps of the statues." I watched as they did so.
"Look they aren't just dance moves the statues are giving a lesson. A Sun Warrior firebending form. My mother told me about this."

   "This better teach us some really good Firebending." Zuko complained.

   "Oh come on you guys look aborable." I teased and saw him glare at me. "Ah, you'll ruin it if you move away from that spot." They finished and we turned to see a pedastal rise with a golden egg.

   "Hooray!" Aang cheered. "Wait.. What exactly is that?"

   "It's some kind of mystical gem stone." Zuko ran over to it.

   "Well don't touch it." Aang called and we went over.

   "Why not?" Zuko asked.

   "Remember what happened out there with the spikes?" Aang told him. "I'm just very suspicious of giant glowing gems sitting on pedestals."

   Zuko picked it up either way. "Zuko!" I hissed.

   "It feels almost alive." He said before he was shot up by some dark sludge and the door closed.

   "It's another trap." I said the fountain of sludge began to fill the room.

   "I can't break free it's like some kind of glue." Zuko said.

Aang and I climbed up the statue and he tried to free Zuko but only resulted in just flipping him over fo his face was facing up the gate.

   Still think he's smart, Aang?

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Edited; 8/1/21