Author's Note: Hi! This is the first fan fiction I have written in an extremely long time, and this is my first Avatar fan fiction, so I know it's not really good. I thought I would try, though. I made this the prologue because it is somewhat short, and I want the real chapters to be longer. Besides, I thought this was kind of a lead-up to what is happening.

This is slightly AU. I changed a lot of things. I mean, obviously you have to if you're writing a non-canon fic, but yeah.

This takes place during Season 3 Episode 11: The Western Air Temple. There are some important things to note, though. I made it so that the other kids that were with them ARE NOT THERE. It is just easier for me, and I am lazy. I don't think I could even begin to write them, and I didn't want to mess it up. So it is just Sokka, Toph, Katara, and Zuko right now. They are going to be at the air temple for a longer time, because I changed the time as well. Sozin's Comet is farther away than it is in the show.

I apologize for any mistakes in this chapter (or prologue-whatever).

I'm trying to keep some of the humor from the original show, because I don't want it to be dark like a lot of the fan fictions here are. Zuko is not going to be abusive either.


Prologue

Zuko had burned Toph's feet. Toph had claimed it was an accident, but Katara was not hearing any of it. He thought he could just walk into their camp and simply say, "Hello! Zuko here!" and everything would be completely fine? She had trusted him. She had trusted him, and he had betrayed her. She almost healed his scar. The thought made her sick. If she had used the spirit oasis water to heal his scar, Aang would have died, and there would be no hope for the world. The avatar cycle would have been broken, and all because she had trusted the crown prince of the Fire Nation.

Now, he had the nerve to claim he was good again and then burn a blind twelve year old girl's feet. It was easy enough for her to heal Toph's feet, but it didn't change what he had done. Katara had stormed off as soon as Toph's feet had been healed, despite the warnings of Sokka, Toph, and Aang. They hadn't gone after her, because they knew they couldn't change her mind. Katara was stubborn.

So, there she was, standing next to Zuko's campsite. He was talking to a giant toad. In fact, he was so into his conversation that he didn't even see Katara standing right there. "I am so stupid," Zuko groaned, throwing his head into his hands in frustration.

"Yes you are," Katara responded, shaking in fury. She made a quick water whip from the water she had brought with her, and she put it up as a defense. "You burnt Toph's feet!" Zuko was standing now. At first, he had gone to a fighting stance, but when he realized who it was, he hesitated.

"I didn't mean to. She snuck up on me," he said, obviously exasperated. Katara ignored what he had said.

"Toph sees with her feet, Zuko. You expect us to believe that you are 'good' now? Well, maybe you shouldn't go around hurting our friends."

"Seriously, I am on your side now. How can I prove that to you?" he asked, and Katara clenched her jaw, not responding. The wind blew Zuko's hair out of his face, and his scar was now completely visible. It only made Katara angrier. He had used his scar for pity before.

"You want to know how you can prove it? You can leave. You can go back to where you came from and leave us alone. You can't play the 'I'm just a poor guy with a damaged past that led me over to the dark side' card anymore. You lost that right. We all have problems, Zuko, and most of them are the result of your own family's doings." A vision of her mother's face went through her mind, but she immediately shook it off. A small flame shot out of Zuko's hand, but it was quickly diminished.

"How can you judge me for what my family has done?" Zuko was yelling now. Katara's words were affecting him. She walked closer to him, and he stood his ground. He wasn't scared of her. He was stronger than her. He wasn't going to hurt her. He meant it when he said that he was on their side now, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't attack him.

"I'm not judging you for what your family has done. I'm judging you for what you have done. You're just following in your family's footsteps." They were both fuming now, staring at each other and preparing for a battle. Right when Katara was about to use her whip, there was a loud explosion. Katara's whip disappeared as she and Zuko both turned towards the source. There was smoke coming out of a spot on the cliff. "Aang!" Katara yelled, turning to run towards the smoke.

Zuko stopped her by grabbing her shoulder. She was about to attack him when he pointed to a spot on the other side of the cliff. "Look," he said quietly. There, in all of his glory, was the assassin that Zuko had sent after them originally.

"You didn't call off Sparky Sparky Boom Man?" Katara asked slowly, through clenched teeth. Zuko looked at her weirdly.

"Sparky Sparky Boom Man? Didn't Sokka call him Combustion Man?" Zuko questioned, and Katara elbowed him. He groaned and rubbed his side.

"That is not the point! He is going to kill us," Katara shouted, and Zuko shook his head.

"Not if I can help it," Zuko said, standing proudly. Katara rolled her eyes.

"Being on the good side doesn't mean saying cheesy things," she told him, annoyed. "If you can help us get 'Combustion Man,' I will consider letting you teach Aang firebending, but I will never trust you." He nodded and stared at her for a second before jumping up and creating a circle of fire around himself. Katara followed him, re-summoning the water whip. "Maybe I can knock him off the cliff," Katara said, but she quickly realized she didn't have enough water when her whip didn't even reach a couple of feet. "Or not," she added to her last sentence, blushing.

Zuko sighed. He began moving his arms around in a pattern, and Katara watched as more and more fire was gathered around him. She was amazed, not that she would ever admit it to him. Firebending really was beautiful when it wasn't being used for evil. He launched the fire at Combustion Man, who wasn't expecting it. At the last possible second, however, Combustion Man saw it and dodged it. Now he was looking straight at Zuko.

Things weren't looking too good. Combustion Man shot at where Zuko was standing, and he jumped out of the way and landed on the ground. Katara was blown back by the force of the explosion. "Where did you find this guy?" Katara shouted with her head in a pile of dirt. Zuko got up and walked towards her with his hand out. He was going to help her up.

She ignored his hand and got up herself, brushing some dirt off her clothes. "He is sort of famous in the Fire Nation," Zuko said, afraid of Katara's reaction. She summoned the water again, and this time, she slapped him lightly in the face. It was enough to cause pain, but not enough to actually hurt him. He grabbed his face.

"You deserved that," Katara said. "Wait, we need to get rid of this guy. What is your plan?" Katara asked Zuko, and he shrugged. They both looked at Combustion Man, who was once again trying to kill Aang. Aang, Sokka, and Toph were hiding behind a wall. Sokka threw his boomerang at Combustion Man. It knocked him over, but he quickly got back up. "Wait, I actually have a plan." Katara picked up a rock and started running along the edge of the cliff, looking for a better angle to get Combustion Man. She stopped when she had a clear view of him. She pulled her arm back and then threw as hard as she could. She missed him by a lot. It was laughable how far she was off. Fortunately, it worked as a distraction.

Combustion Man stared at the rock that had landed a couple of feet away from him, and Zuko was able to hit him with a huge blast of fire. "Toph, earth bend!" Katara shouted, hoping Toph would hear. She did. The rock that Combustion Man was standing on immediately disappeared into the wall of the cliff, and Combustion Man fell down.

Katara looked away. She was still disgusted by what they had done, even if it was necessary. "Your plan was to throw a rock at the best assassin in all of the four nations?" Zuko was standing beside her with a look of disbelief on his face.

"Well, it worked!" she shot back, balling her hands into fists. Katara looked up at Zuko. They stared at each other for a couple of seconds. His good eye was wide, and he looked hopeful. "I guess you're teaching Aang firebending now." She wasn't happy about the fact, but her personal feelings towards Zuko were not what were important. Aang mastering the four elements was more important than anything. "Come on."

Zuko followed closely behind Katara as they made their way back towards the Air Temple. Sokka, Toph, and Aang were watching them. "Zuko is going to teach Aang firebending," Katara said quietly, and they stared at her. They never thought Katara would ever agree to it. Even when Aang, Sokka, and Toph were okay with it, Katara had stood her ground.

"Really?" Aang asked. Katara nodded.

"He helped beat Combustion Man," Katara said, crossing her arms. Zuko was standing behind her, still somewhat afraid to join them.

"Welcome to Team Avatar!" Sokka said, and everybody stared at him. Katara slapped her hand to her face, embarrassed by her brother.

"I'm going to get you back for burning me, though," Toph said. Nevertheless, she looked happy. Aang just smiled at Zuko.

Katara turned around and stared him down.

"Don't screw this up," she said, and Zuko nodded.

"I won't."