Disclaimer: I don't own any of the AtLA characters. Do you? :D

A/N: Another alternate perspective/missing moment one-shot. We all felt really bad for Zuko during "The Western Air Temple"...he was so bad at being good. But of all the Gaang, was there someone who actually wanted to defend him? Somebody who maybe understood where he was coming from?

Outsider

"Toph, I think you may have finally gone crazy."

I was used to talking to myself. Plus, being in the middle of a dark forest at night isn't the most comfortable place to be, so talking distracted me from the empty loneliness of it.

I felt outwards with my feet in all directions, searching for the tell-tale vibrations that would tell me where the place was.

Meanwhile, I tried to make up a plan. I'm not so good at that, honestly; Sokka's usually the one with the ideas. But since I was the only one who was going to do this, I needed to do it myself this time.

Then again, what kind of plan do you come up with for confronting the supposedly exiled prince of the Fire Nation who's decided to become good all of sudden?

Speaking of which…

I felt the slightest disturbance, about a hundred yards to my right. Something definitely big enough to be a human.

Oh boy. How was I going to handle this? Should I even be doing this?

This kid was dangerous. He was Fire Nation. I'd hardly met him, but I'd heard plenty of horror stories from Aang and Katara and Sokka.

But he wasn't lying. He hadn't been lying when he'd come and talked to us earlier. People could change.

Agh, I can't believe it's me saying this junk. Katara's usually the Miss Hope and let's-find-the-good-in-everyone girl.

I could probably take him, even if he was dangerous. After all, I was the greatest earthbender on earth.

And besides, I knew what it was like to be an outsider. I knew what it was like to have to try and join a group that had already bound itself together so tightly you had to fight to find a place. I'd been there, done that.

Maybe this guy Zuko was trying to do the same.

And no one could deny that Aang needed a firebending Sifu. And one walks up ready made, and they just kick him out? Talk about not even trying.

Closer, closer…there.

I felt some kind of structure…a lean-to maybe? And a very distinct figure, long and lanky, sprawled out on the ground. I could hear his breathing through the earth, the vibrations faint and steady. Asleep.

So…how was I going to do this, exactly? Creep up and stand over him until he woke up? Nah, I'd scare him out of his mind for sure. Yell from a safe distance? Also a little intimidating. I just wanted to talk to him, if that was possible.

Too bad he wasn't as easy to approach as his uncle. If I'd had more time to do this, I'd have tried to make tea or something as a peace offering.

I shifted one foot on the ground to get a better idea of how he was oriented…and my foot snapped a stick.

Uh oh. How stupid was I? I couldn't do anything stealthy.

One thing's for sure, he was a warrior. He woke up right away, and I felt his muscles tighten up immediately. Light sleeper, alert, quick to respond. Definitely a fighter.

Well, now that he was awake, maybe I could just try the direct approach. I started out from under the tree cover. For one amusing moment, I thought of imitating his goofy introduction. Hi, Toph here…

That's when I felt the fire. Coming straight at me, like a wall of heat.

Bleeding hogmonkeys…

I leaped back, but apparently not fast enough. My feet seared suddenly, the piercing, blistering pain rushing over the bottoms. I tripped and fell.

I yelped, me, who hardly ever cries. I could hardly believe it. He had attacked me. There was no mistaking the directness of that fire blast.

I started to scramble on my hands and knees, fingers digging viciously into the ground for purchase. I was out of there.

That's when I heard the pounding footsteps behind me. So now he was going to run me down? Maybe my feet had been wrong. Maybe he had been lying through his teeth to us earlier. Or maybe he and his sister shared that freaky lying skill that I couldn't pick up.

"Wait! I'm sorry!" Well…that was unexpected. Not enough to make me stop running though. But I had to say, the guy knew how to sound convincing.

He was gaining on me. Dang. My feet were killing me…I didn't think I'd ever been hurt this badly.

"I didn't know it was you! Please!" Was his voice breaking? He sounded so desperate. But he could lie. Maybe he could act.

I wasn't about to let him catch me after that.

I scraped my hand hard along the ground, throwing up a rock spike. Even with my feet burning, it was still a perfect shot. I practically felt the breath leave his body when it hit him, throwing him backwards. That ought to take care of him coming after me.

I practically hurled myself into the safety of the bushes, reassured when my hands told me he wasn't following anymore. Twigs caught my tunic, and my feet still hurt like heck. But I could dimly sense the Western Air Temple, so I knew which way to head.

See Toph? This is what happens when you have crazy ideas. This is what happens when you try to be nice. You get burned. Literally.

Somewhere behind me, I heard a strangled moan of frustration. It had to be him. My ears, honed to hear everything, even made out the faint words. "Why am I so bad at being good?"

Weird. It was crazy, but I almost felt sorry for him. Even with my feet throbbing and blistering. Maybe he'd only made an honest mistake.

Yeah, right. A mistake that ended with me getting the bottoms of my feet taken off.

It looked like this guy was doomed to stay an outsider. Again, I felt a twinge of guilt.

After all, I'd more or less attacked Aang the first time I'd met him. Maybe he wasn't supposed to have an easy time finding his Sifus.

I kept crawling. It was going to be a long trip back. But this time, I didn't need to talk to myself. The memory of his pleading shouts kept my head plenty occupied all the way.