Toph and Katara decided to continue Aang training with waterbending and earthbending, so Sokka and Yun decided to sit back and watch.
"Why aren't you training Aang," Sokka asked.
"I'm not his teacher, I guess," Yun said, scratching behind Song's ears. She then noticed that Aang wasn't being trained at all. Instead, Katara and Toph were arguing with each other. What was going on?
"Are we taking a break," Aang asked, while Katara and Toph began fighting.
Then Sokka decided to go in, yelling "Sneak Attack" until Aang earthbended him out of the way.
"Sokka, sneak attacks don't work if you yell it out loud," Aang explained, taking off his blindfold. Yun then decided to attack him with a water whip, sending him flying back. She stood up and dusted off her hands.
"That's how you do a sneak attack," she said.
"Show off," Sokka complained. Aang walked back to them.
"Yup, that was a sneak attack," he confirmed, rubbing his stomach.
Then the three of them watched Katara and Toph wrestle in the mud. It was a little amusing, seeing Katara act that way, but Yun wisely didn't point that out.
"Guys I thought we were supposed to be training me," Aang pointed out. Toph and Katara froze, before Katara stood up, a picture of poise except for all the mud on her.
"Very well, pupil. I believe we've had enough training for today," she said before walking off.
"While Katara cleans up, let's go have some fun," Toph declared.
The two boys cheered in agreement, and Yun had a good feeling this wasn't going to be good.
"So guys, what are we gonna get with our last silver piece," Aang asked, holding it between two fingers. Toph stopped walking, and Sokka, Yun, and Aang turned around to see what she had to say.
"We can get more money," she said, pointing to a back alley. "Right there."
They all rush to see what she was pointing at. There was a man having people guess under which bowl was the stone. Yun shook her head.
"It's a scam. They make it so you can't win," she said.
"This is where you seeing-people are at a disadvantage. Everyone guesses wrong because the dealer moves the rock at the last minute, but I can feel it with my earthbending," Toph explained.
"But I heard that sometimes, they don't even have a rock under the bowls at all. So you have to be wrong," Yun argued.
"I can take care of that," Toph said confidently, cracking her knuckles. They hung around in front of the game, and of course the man points to Toph and asks her if she wants to play a game.
"How could I possibly play," Toph asked. "I'm blind." Yun had to stop the smirk from forming on her face. Toph played the innocent, blind girl so well; it was mildly amusing, just because of how different it was from how she actually behaved.
"You don't have to see to be lucky," he explained. Toph crouched on the ground, patting the bowls and table. Yun was applauding in her mind; what a moving performance! Toph rooted around in her pocket for their only silver coin and put it on the table.
The dealer lifted the bowls to show them the turquoise stone before placing the bowls back down, the middle one over the stone. He then began moving them around. Yun tried following his actions, frantically following the motion of the bowls. She was sure it was the middle one. However Toph pointed to the left one. The dealer lifted the bowl, and there was the stone.
"Flamey-o, Toph," Aang said.
"Wow, fancy guessing," the dealer said. "You're amazing at this. Would you like to make the game a little more interesting?"
"More interesting? How," Toph questioned, her voice a higher pitch that it would normally be.
"Well, let's say you toss in your friend's fine sword there," he said. "Then I'll put up 20 silver pieces against it, and that's more interesting." Toph swiftly took Sokka's sword from him and offered it to the dealer.
"I'll do it for forty silver pieces," she said. Sokka's jaw dropped, and Yun inconspicuously hid her daggers away from the dealer's line of sight.
"Forty silver pieces it is." With this, the dealer began shuffling the bowls across the table. Yun didn't even bother looking this time. She knew Toph would get it right. Toph pointed to the middle one, and before he even looked, he began saying, "Sorry little lady, but . . ."
He then saw the stone sitting right there. His expression was priceless.
"I won," Toph yelled, and Sokka snatched his sword back. Yun grabbed the bag with the forty something silver pieces and they ran off.
"We have so much money," Yun marveled when they stopped. "We could buy supplies, so many supplies."
"Then let's do it," Toph said. So they did it.
They were laughing walking back, each of them having their arms full from supplies bought at the market. They set all of the supplies they got in front of Katara, who was making some sort of stew.
"Where did you get the money to buy all this," she asked suspiciously.
"Toph got us money," Aang explained before biting into an apple. "She scammed one of those guys who move the shells all sneaky-like."
"She used earthbending to win the game. Classic," Sokka said, sitting down next to all of them.
"Ah, so she cheated," Katara said, hands on her hips.
"It isn't cheating if you're cheating a cheater, right," Yun tried to explain, her voice dying out when faced with the full force of Katara's glare. Yun scooted closer to Sokka and hid behind him.
"Yeah, I cheated a cheater, what's wrong with that," Toph asked.
"I'm just saying, this isn't something we should make a habit of doing," Katara sighed.
"Why? Because it's fun and you hate fun," Toph asked.
"I don't hate fun," Katara said indignantly. She then put Momo on her head.
"See? Fun," she said, grimacing. Yun cringed, before Song, who saw her friend Momo on someone's head, decided to fly and land on Yun's head. Then Yun just sighed.
Aang stood up and bowed.
"Katara, I personally make you an Avatar promise that we won't make a habit of doing these scams."
Of course, how many times did doing something make it a habit? Sokka, Yun, Toph, and Aang decided it was relative, so they decided to go out for more.
When they got back to camp, they all started counting how much money they had. Yun could tell they were getting out of control.
"Guys, I think these scams have gone far enough," Katara said, walking up to them. "If you keep doing them, something bad is gonna happen."
"Could you for once stop being such a sourpuss and just lighten up," Toph begged, her hands grabbing her hair in frustration.
"Oh, I'm sorry. You think I should be more like you," Katara asked sarcastically. "Like some wild child?"
"Yeah! Maybe you'd see how great we have it," Toph said. "I mean look at us. Traveling around the world, making easy money, having fun with no parents to tell us what to do."
"Ah, I see. You're acting like this because of your parents," Katara said. Yun tensed. Bringing up parents usually didn't go down well for anyone in the group.
"Katara," Yun said, beginning to warn her not to continue. However, Katara plowed on.
"They were controlling over you, so now you act like they don't exist. You act like you hate them, but you don't. You just feel guilty."
"I do hate them," Toph said emphatically.
"I don't think so. I think you miss them. You just don't want to deal with that, so instead you act like this crazy person."
Toph leap up to her feet, facing Katara.
"Look, I ran away to help Aang."
"You know what, it doesn't matter. These scams put us at risk. We don't need that. We've already got a third-eyed freak after us," Katara said. Yun shivered. She remembered how he had attacked them during the dead of night, and how he could release some sort of explosion from his forehead.
"Speaking of that third-eyed freak, I came up with a name for him. What do you think of 'sparky-sparky boom man'," Sokka asked. After encountering silence, he continued, "Just think about it."
"I like it," Yun said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.
"Thanks," Sokka said brightly.
"We have enough money. You need to stop this," Katara demanded.
"I'll stop when I want and not when you tell me," Toph yelled. She earthbended a bag of money into her hand and stalked off.
"Speaking of money, I'm off to spend some. See you guys later," Sokka said, guantily walking off.
"Could you buy some treats for Song if you see anything," Yun called after him. Sokka gave her a thumbs up before heading to the village.
"Want to practice some water bending," Yun asked Katara and Aang. They all went to the river below the cliff edge where they were camping out, leaving Toph in her self-made tent. She would come out when she wanted to. Passing along water amongst the three of them, the three of them quieted, concentrating on the movement of the water. However, when they heard Sokka's voice, they decided to head back up.
"Sokka, tell me you didn't buy a bird," Katara said, hands on her hips.
"Not just a bird. A messenger bird," he said pointing at his hawk. Yun gasped, offense coloring her tone.
"Sokka, there is already one bird in this group. How do you think Song will feel after seeing you brought in another bird into the group? What if they fight," Yun asked, gesturing to Song resting on Appa's head.
"But I already told Hawky not to fight with Momo or Song," Sokka explained. "And besides, now we can send messages all over the world, even to Gran Gran."
"Wow, how does it work," Aang asked excitedly, while Yun just looked suspiciously at the messenger hawk.
"Uhhh, I never actually thought about that," Sokka admitted before turning his head to face his bird. "Hawky, Gran Gran, South Pole."
"I think he gets it," Sokka said, satisfied.
"He so clearly shook his head," Yun stated, shaking her head in disappointment. "You bought a messenger bird without knowing how it works. Only you, Sokka."
"Hey, that's not as bad as not naming my pet for half a year! You didn't even know Song's gender until after Ba Sing Se," Sokka said, pointing at Yun.
Her eyes widened as she said, "What does that have to do with anything!"
"I'm just saying, if we are going by pet disasters, you're definitely number one."
Sokka and Yun began glaring at each other, before Yun took a deep breath.
"Why don't we settle by saying what you did was dumb and what I did was idiotic," she said.
Sokka thought about it for a moment, before saying, "Deal," and held out his hand to shake. They shook on it firmly while Katara and Aang looked at them oddly.
"Your idea of conflict resolution is . . . interesting," Aang said. Then Momo saw Hawky and they began fighting. Yun sighed and walked towards Song.
"Behave, okay," Yun said, holding out her arms so Song could glide into them. "We're going to be the best behaved pet-owner duo here."
Yun was helping Katara prepare dinner when Sokka and Toph came in holding more bags of money.
"Well, look who decided to join us. Where have you two been? Off scamming again," Katara asked accusingly.
"Yes, we were," Toph said.
"And I suppose you don't think what you're doing is dangerous at all," Katara said, walking over to Toph.
"No, I don't."
Yun, Aang, and Sokka began backing up. Yun really didn't want this argument to be happening, but she wanted to be involved in the argument even less.
"You're the Avatar, bridge between two worlds, peacekeeper of the Four Nations. Shouldn't you be doing your job and helping these feuding people out," she hissed at Aang. Aang shook his head and scuttled back even faster. They sat on a ridge and decided to see how this would pan out.
"You've been so out of control lately. I knew you were hiding something and you were," Katara said brandishing a wanted poster of Toph. Yun noticed they captured Toph's likeness pretty well. Toph tore the poster out of Katara's hand and threw it on the ground. She then proceeded to stalk away.
"Don't walk away while I'm talking to you," Katara demanded.
"Oh really, mom," Toph said sarcastically. "What are you going to do? Send me to my room?"
"I wish I could," Katara snapped.
"Well you can't," Toph yelled. "Because you're not my mom, and you're not their mom." She then gestured to their audience: Aang, Yun, and Sokka.
"I never said I was," Katara protested.
"No, but you certainly act like it," Toph said viciously. "You think it's your job to boss everyone around, but it's not. You're just a regular kid like the rest of us. So stop acting like you can tell me what to do. I can do whatever I want." By the time she was done ranting, her finger was pointed rigidly at Katara. Yun thought she could see it shaking slightly in frustration.
"I don't act that way," Katara said. She then turned to Sokka.
"Sokka, do I act motherly," she asked furiously.
"Hey, I'm staying out of this one," he said, putting his hands in front of him in surrender.
Knowing that Katara would turn to her next, Yun squeaked out, "Same. Staying out of it."
"What do you think, Aang? Do I act like a mom," Katara asked, putting her full concentration on Aang.
"Well, I," Aang started saying while rubbing his left eye.
"Stop rubbing your eye, and speak clearly," Katara interjected.
"Yes, ma'am," Aang said immediately, straightening up.
"I can't be around you right now," Toph snapped, walking away.
"Well, I can't be around you right now," Katara yelled before stomping the other way.
The sun was starting to set and Katara and Toph were still not talking. Yun decided to try to make things better.
"There was this game that sailors would play that I learned from my travels. Sometimes they would play it to resolve conflicts. Katara, Toph, how about I teach you and-," Yun started to say, before both Katara and Toph yelled, "Shove off, Yun."
Defeated, Yun hung her head and went to sit beside Sokka.
"There, there," Sokka said, patting her head. "You tried your best. Now time for my plan. Do you want to test out my messenger hawk with me?"
"What's your idea," Aang asked.
"I'm going to send a note to Katara and say it's from Toph, who wants to apologize. Then everyone will be friends again," Sokka said.
"I gotta say, Sokka, your ideas continue to impress me," Aang said and Yun nodded. It seemed like a solid plan.
Sokka wrote out the letter and gave it to Hawky to send to Katara. The three of them waited to see what would happen. When Katara read the letter, she turned to Sokka.
"I know this is from you, Sokka. Toph can't write. You're all driving me crazy," she yelled, ripping up the letter and leaving.
"I can't believe we forgot Toph can't write," Aang despaired. Yun felt her face heat up from embarrassment. She couldn't believe that she had missed that.
"Yep, we're idiots," Sokka said.
"Yup," Yun agreed miserably.
"I guess Plan B would be to send a note to Toph pretending it's from Katara," Aang said.
"I think we're gonna run into a similar problem," Sokka said. "Sorry, Hawky. I'll have to do this without your help."
Sokka took Toph somewhere to talk, leaving Aang and Yun behind. They both leaned on Appa and relaxed.
"Keeping peace is hard work, huh," Yun asked Aang. "I can't believe that's what you'll have to do your entire life."
"Yeah, it's hard. What would you do for your entire life," Aang asked Yun.
"Beat stuff up," Yun shrugged.
"Really?" Aang sat up and looked at her incredulously.
"Nah," Yun said. "Haven't planned my life much past helping end the war and finding my parents."
"Right, your parents. So you didn't find them at the North Pole. Where are you going to look next," Aang asked, lying back down on Appa.
"Probably the Southern Islands. They might have been able to hide." Yun then changed the subject. "So, what are your future goals, other than getting married with Katara and being the Avatar," Yun asked, looking at the setting sun and pink clouds.
"W-w-what? Katara? Married? Me? Avatar?"
"Yeah, Aang. Your crush is so obvious, someone could probably see it from a million miles away," Yun explained.
"Really? Do you think she knows," Aang asked, frantically but with hope.
"Honestly, probably not. She has kissed you on the cheek a few times, though," Yun said.
"That was a sibling thing, I think," Aang sighed despondently.
"Well, I've never kissed anyone on the cheek in a sibling way," Yun said. Aang turned his head towards her.
"Not even Sokka," he asked.
"Yeah. I mean I know he sees me as a little sister, and I know I see him as a big brother, but I mean we aren't biologically related. So I have no idea if it would be awkward to be close with him. I enjoy what I can get, though. I haven't really had a touchy-feely relationship with anyone since my parents. It's complicated," Yun said.
"Yeah, stuff's complicated," Aang sighed.
"Oh, everyone's coming back," Yun told Aang. They both walked over to where Sokka, Toph, and Katara were standing.
"I want to . . . ," Katara started before Toph interrupted her.
"You don't need to apologize," Toph said. "I was being stupid. These scams are out of control and I'm done with them."
"Actually, I wasn't going to apologize," Katara said, smirking. "I was gonna say, I want to pull a scam with you."
Sokka's, Aang's, and Yun's jaws dropped. Even Toph was visibly taken aback.
"What? You want to pull a scam," Toph asked, leaning forward with her hands on her hips.
"Not just any scam," Katara stated. "The ultimate scam. What do you say, Toph? Just me and you. One last go. You in?"
"You know I'm in," Toph declared.
When Katara finished explaining her plan, Yun felt even more uneasy.
"Guys, please don't do this," Yun pleaded. "What we did before was low risk, low stakes. I admit we did escalate a bit, but this is too much. There are so many factors that could go wrong."
"Don't be such a sourpuss," Toph mocked, sticking out her tongue.
"Yeah, Yun. We're going to do this and come back rich," Katara said, putting her arm around Toph's shoulders.
"Well, I'm going to say 'I told you so' when this plan doesn't work out for you," Yun said, crossing her arms.
"See you in a bit," Toph called out as she and Katara went into the village.
Yun looked at Aang and Sokka and began anxiously biting her lip.
An hour went by and Aang and Yun started pacing.
"Do you think this scam should take this long," Aang said.
"It really shouldn't," Yun said. "How long should it take to turn in a wanted poster, get money, and return. And Toph is great at metalbending. She should have been out by now too."
"We'd better check it out," Sokka said.
"You three behave. Appa's in charge," Sokka said sternly, looking at Song, Hawky, and Momo. Song meowed and walked to sit on Appa's foot. Hawky and Momo glared at each other. Yun, Sokka, and Aang began rushing to the village, but it was so empty. There wasn't a soul in sight.
"Where do you think they might be," Sokka asked.
"Where do you think anyone is," Aang asked. Yun looked at the silent village, and eerie feeling settling in the pit of her stomach.
"I knew this was going to go badly," she sighed. "Do any of you remember seeing a prison here?"
Sokka and Aang shook their heads. Then Aang stopped.
"Guys, watch out!" Aang pulled Yun and Sokka behind the gigantic statue of Fire Lord Ozai in the center of the village.
Yun popped up from behind the statue to see what had caused the explosion.
"It's sparky-sparky boom man. He's on the rooftop," she cried out.
"I'm starting to think that name doesn't fit," Sokka said, rubbing his head.
Then sparky-sparky boom man jumped on the ground, his metal prosthetic leg and arm leaving indents in the stone cobblestone. He started walking towards them and breathed in again.
"Move," Yun yelled as they leapt away from their hiding space. They started running, trying to stay ahead of the explosions. They ran and hid behind an overturned cart.
"This guy is too good. He shoots fire from his brain," Sokka whisper-yelled, gesturing to his own forehead with a finger.
"We should split up. He can't chase all of us at the same time," Aang reasoned.
"Aang, he's probably after you, you know? Being the avatar and all. So you have to stay out of this guy's way, okay," Yun said. With that they split up, Aang running right past sparky-sparky boom man. Yun facepalmed. Did that kid listen to anything she said? She ran after him and sparky-sparky boom man. She then saw Aang getting blown off a roof, land across the statue Ozai's pecs and then fall flat on the ground.
"Aang," she cried out, rushing to him. She stood in front of him and faced sparky-sparky boom man. Maybe he did need a new name. She didn't carry her water skin around, so all she had were her daggers. Holding them out, she slid downwards, thinking she could injure his kneecap. She did manage a solid stab to his thigh, but then she was pulled off by his prosthetic arm and thrown aside like a ragdoll. She felt her vision fade for a moment before it came back. She stood up again, only to see sparky-sparky boom man being encased in stone.
"Aang, get up," Katara demanded, while Sokka helped Yun up.
"Let's get out of here," Toph said, as they all ran towards the village exit. Yun looked back only to see sparky-sparky boom man punch his way out of his stone enclosure with just his metal arm. Impressive but mostly terrifying.
Toph pushed Yun in front of her and then turned and fired a chunk of rock at the man.
"Hey, I got it. The perfect name for that guy. Combustion Man," Sokka said.
"Good job, Sokka. Now let's get out before Combustion Man catches us," Toph said.
"See, it fits so well."
When Appa landed far enough from the village, it was already nighttime and Yun was tired. She decided she needed to do one more thing before she fell asleep.
"Katara, Toph," Yun said. "I have something to say to you."
"What," Toph asked suspiciously.
"I told you so," Yun said triumphantly, before sliding off of Appa, gathering her sleeping roll and setting up a place to sleep. The sounds of Katara and Toph humphing lulled her asleep, but she was awake long enough to hear Toph say, "Katara, I need your help."
Yun fell asleep smiling.