They had to walk a good way of their journey. Yun could feel the blisters forming on the bottom of her feet, and the shining sun reminded her of their defeat. The band of weary travelers moved with dragged feet and downturned faces.
"This is humiliating," Katara groused.
"Do you mean getting thoroughly spanked by the Fire Nation or having to walk all the way to the Western Air Temple," Sokka asked sarcastically.
"Both," she replied.
"Sorry, guys, but Appa gets tired carrying all these people," Aang said earnestly.
"I wonder how the rest of the troops are," Teo said.
"Probably on their way to a prison. Seems like my dad just got out, now he's going back in."
"I miss Pipsqueak," The Duke said.
"I miss not having blisters on my feet," Sokka complained.
"I miss not hearing you complain, Sokka," Yun said dryly.
"Hey, we're here. I can feel it," Toph exclaimed. Yun looked around. There was nothing. Maybe the sun had gotten to Toph.
"Uh, I think your feet need their eyes checked out," Katara commented. Yun snorted thinking about eyes on feet, and then shivered in disgust when she thought about it too hard.
"No, she's right, we are here," Aang declared. It turned out that beneath them was the temple. When Appa flew them down there, Yun looked wide eyed and open mouthed at the architecture. It was amazing. Teo, The Duke, and Haru ran off to explore. Yun stayed with Katara, Sokka, and Toph, but she promised herself that once she had some free time, she would thoroughly explore the temple.
"So, what's the plan," Aang asked, his arms crossed defensively.
"Well if you ask me, the new plan is the old plan," Sokka said. "You just need to master all four elements and confront the Fire Lord before the comet comes."
"Oh yeah. That's great. No problem, I'll just do that," Aang said sarcastically.
"Aang," Katara said patiently. "No one said it's gonna be easy."
"Well, it's not even gonna be possible," Aang said, his voice rising. "Where am I supposed to get a firebending teacher?"
"We could look for Jeong Jeong," Katara suggested.
"Yeah right, like we'll ever run into Jeong Jeong again," Aang despaired. After a moment, he popped up to his feet. "Oh well, guess we can't come up with anybody. Why don't we just take a nice tour around the temple?" He walked towards the inside of the temple.
"I would like that," Yun stated before Katara silenced her with a sharp look.
"What's up with him," Toph asked.
"There's got to be someone who can teach him firebending," Sokka said rubbing his chin.
"What about we enroll him in a firebending school? Once he learns the basics, he can just read texts and scrolls to advance his bending. That's what I did," Yun offered.
They all looked at Yun and then hummed.
"Well, I'm going to explore with Teo and the others until Aang sorts out his stuff. See ya," Yun said before running through the temple.
"Teo," she called out.
"Yun," Teo called back. The echoes didn't make it easier for Yun to locate them.
"Teo," she called out again.
"Yun," came the echo-y response back. Yun ran forward again almost to trip over Teo.
"I found you," she said, steadying herself on his shoulders. Righting herself, she saw Haru and The Duke.
"Hi Haru, The Duke. Have you found any secret rooms," she asked excitedly.
"No secret rooms," The Duke said. "But we did find passages that connect the different temple towers."
"Onward," Yun cheered. The Duke, Teo, and Haru showed Yun all the cool things they found. They were able to go through a few tunnels when Yun heard Sokka's voice.
"Not really, since you followed us around the world."
"What's going on," Yun said, stepping past the temple pillars towards where the group stood.
"Stay back, Yun," Sokka warned. Yun ignored him and stepped next to Aang only to see Zuko. She immediately took a step back and looked around to find Song. She was resting on Appa's head.
"Song," Yun quietly called, and Song glided over to her. Yun wrapped her up in her arms.
"Anyway, what I wanted to tell you about it that I've changed and I, uh, I'm good now and, well, I think I should join your group. Oh, and I can teach firebending . . . to you," Zuko said, turning to Aang.
"You wanna what now," Toph asked incredulously.
"You can't possibly think that any of us would trust you, can you," Katara said. "I mean, how stupid do you think we are?"
"Yeah, all you've ever done is try to hunt us down and capture Aang," Sokka added.
"I've done some good things. I mean, I could have stolen your bison in Ba Sing Se, but I set him free. That's something. I also set your friend over there free," he said, pointing to me. "I set her free." Appa licked him.
Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Toph turned to Yun. Yun took another step back and shook her head. "I don't remember anything that happened back then. I can't remember."
"Appa does seem to like him," Toph pointed out.
"Well, Yun doesn't remember anything, and he probably covered himself in honey or something so that Appa would lick him. I'm not buying it."
"I can understand why you won't trust me, and I know I've made some mistakes in the past," Zuko said.
"Like when you attacked our village," Sokka asked.
"Or when you stole my mother's necklace and used it to track us down and capture us," Katara spat.
"Look, I admit I've done some awful things. I was wrong to try to capture you, and I'm sorry that I attacked the water tribe. And I never should've sent that Fire Nation assassin after you. I'm going to try to stop him."
"Wait, you sent Combustion Man after us," Sokka yelled, pointing his boomerang at Zuko.
"Well, that's not his name, but . . .,"
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to insult your friend," Sokka said sarcastically.
"He's not my friend," Zuko said sharply.
"That guy locked me and Katara in jail and tried to blow us all up," Toph said, pointing a finger at Zuko.
"Why aren't you saying anything," Zuko turned to Aang. "You once said you thought we could be friends. You know I have good in me."
Aang looked to his left where Sokka shook his head before facing Zuko again.
"We can't trust you now, not after everything you've done."
"You need to get out of here now," Katara threatened.
"I'm trying to explain that I'm not that person anymore," Zuko said, walking towards them.
"Either you leave, or we attack," Sokka warned. Zuko closed his eyes and kneeled on the ground. Yun was really freaked out. What sort of ploy was this. What was he playing at?
"If you won't accept me as a friend, then maybe you'll take me as a prisoner."
"No, we won't," Katara yelled, blasting Zuko with water so hard he was pushed back a few feet. "Get out of here and don't come back. If we ever see you again . . . well, we'd better not see you again." Zuko silently got to his feet and left. Yun watched wide-eyed as he walked back to the woods. They were silent for a few minutes, the shock really setting in. Teo, The Duke, and Haru left them alone, going back inside the temple.
"Why would he try to fool us like that," Katara asked.
"Obviously, he wants to lead us into some kind of trap," Sokka said.
"This is just like when we were in prison together in Ba Sing Se," Katara said, unfurling her sleeping roll. "He starts talking about his mother and making it seem like he's an actual human being with feelings."
"He wants you to trust him and feel sorry for him so you let your guard down then he strikes," Sokka reasoned.
"The thing is, it worked," Katara said. "I did feel sorry for him. I felt like he was really confused and hurt, but obviously when the time came, he made his choice, and we paid the price. We can't trust him."
"I kind of have a confession to make," Aang said. "Remember when you three, Yun, Katara, and Sokka, were sick and I got captured by Zhao,"
"And you made us suck on frozen frogs," Sokka exclaimed. "How could I forget? I had a wart on the flap that hangs down from the back of my throat for a month."
"Sokka, I looked at it and told you there was nothing there," Katara said crossly.
"I could feel it. It's my throatal flap," Sokka replied.
"Well, I also looked at it and confirmed nothing was there. Majority wins, Sokka," Yun said softly, unfurling her sleeping roll too. The confrontation with Zuko and having to remember her time Ba Sing Se had given her a headache, and she desperately wanted to lie down.
"Anyway, when Zhao had me chained up, it was Zuko who came in and got me out. He risked his life to save me," Aang continued.
"No way, I'm sure he only did it so he could capture you himself." Katara said
"Yeah, face it, Aang. You're nothing but a big prize to him," Sokka said.
"You're probably right," Aang agreed.
"And what was all that crazy stuff about freeing Yun and setting Appa free. What a liar," Katara said. Yun flinched when she heard her name. She was hoping that stuff wouldn't be brought up.
"Actually, he wasn't lying," Toph said.
"He wasn't," Yun asked Toph. She shook her head.
"Oh hooray, he did two nice things in his lifetime of evil," Sokka said.
"I'm just saying that considering his messed-up family and how he was raised, he could've turned out a lot worse," Toph reasoned.
"You're right, Toph. Let's go find him and give him a medal. The 'not as much of a jerk as you could've been' award," Katara mocked, her hands on her hips.
"All I know is that while he was talking to us, he was sincere. Maybe you're all letting your hurt feelings keep you from thinking clearly," Toph said. Yun winced. That was going to piss off some people.
"Easy for you to say. You weren't there when he had us attacked by pirates," Katara said. Yun did remember the pirates. She also remembered going over that waterfall. Two terrifying instances in one day.
"Or when he burned down Kiyoshi Island," Sokka said. That wasn't a great memory either. Seeing her village burn down as she left it behind on Appa filled her with guilt. She ran away from another destroyed home.
"Or when he tried to capture me at the Fire Temple," Aang said. That wasn't a great memory for sure. At that moment, she had no idea how they were going to escape, especially since they were chained to a column.
"Why would you even try to defend him," Katara yelled, infuriated.
"Because, Katara, you're all ignoring one crucial fact," Toph spat out, walking over from the column she had been leaning on. "Aang needs a firebending teacher. We can't think of a single person in the world to do the job. Now one shows up on a silver platter and you won't even think about it?"
"I'm not having Zuko as my teacher," Aang said.
"You're darn right you're not, buddy," Sokka said.
"Well, I guess that's settled," Katara said, crossing her arms triumphantly.
"What do you think, Yun," Toph said, turning to me. "He saved your life, afterall." Yun licked her dry lips nervously.
"Well, I don't think it's a good idea. He just changed sides so fast. We have no way to know if he'll do it again," she said. She honestly didn't know. There was no point in her voicing her opinion if Aang didn't want him as a teacher.
Toph groaned and then said, "I'm beginning to wonder who's really the blind around here." She then walked away. Yun worried about what she had said. After tossing in her bed roll for what seemed like the thousandth time, she went over to Aang's bed roll and shook him awake.
"What," Aang asked, confused.
"Aang, we need to talk," Yun said. "We need to talk about Zuko." Aang waved her off.
"In m'rng," he mumbled. After a few more shakes, Yun decided that Aang wasn't waking up and maybe they could talk about it in the morning. She went over to sleep by Appa.
"Appa, buddy, I really don't know how to feel about this whole Zuko thing. He did destroy Kiyoshi village, and send pirates after us and capture us at the Fire Temple and kidnap Aang and burn Song and call me weak and knock me out, but also, he saved our lives, so I'm very conflicted. You don't seem very conflicted, buddy. I saw you licking his face," she accused. Appa licked her face before snuffling and falling back asleep.
"You're lucky you're so cute. Otherwise-"
Yun fell asleep before she had a chance to finish that thought.
Stretching until her back cracked, she looked up to see Appa blinking down on her.
"Did I hold you up buddy? Sorry, I'll get off now," Yun said, getting up and kissing Appa between his eyes. She was properly awoken by a loud rumble, like rocks falling. She ran towards Aang and the others. Were they under attack?
"What happened," she asked, looking at Toph's feet in the fountain.
"My feet got burned," Toph said. Yun sat at the edge of the fountain, moving the water in a way that numbed the nerves of the areas that were in contact with the water.
"Does that feel better," she asked Toph and got a content sigh in response. The peaceful moment was interrupted by a blast, shaking the foundation of the building and sending debris raining down on them. Sokka and Aang grabbed Toph, ready to take shelter when they all heard Zuko's voice yell, "Stop!"
Yun turned to see Zuko facing down Combustion Man on a ledge above where they were.
"I don't want you hunting the Avatar anymore. The mission is off. I'm ordering you to stop."
Zuko was then flung aside and Combustion Man sent another mind blast at them. Yun, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Aang were crouching behind the fountain.
"We need to get behind that wall," Yun hissed. They then heard the blast, and Yun looked up to see Zuko getting blasted off the ledge. Aang then got out from behind the fountain and sent a funnel of wind at Combustion Man. Using that as a distraction, Sokka and Yun carried Toph to behind a wall of the temple. Aang and Katara were still out there. Katara used some of the water to throw icicle daggers at him; using that as a distraction all of them were out of direct line of fire from Combustion Man. Unfortunately that also meant they couldn't get a clear hit on him. They all flinched when another column of the building was destroyed by a violent blast.
"He's going to blast this whole place right off the cliffside," Toph realized, horrified.
"I can't step out to waterbend at him without getting blown up," Katara said. Sokka looked at Yun and wiggle his fingers.
"Can you do your dragon thing," he asked.
"While it does have a certain form of sentience, I still need to see my target properly. So . . . no," Yun said. Sokka paused for a moment, looking speculative.
"I know how to get an angle on him," Sokka declared excitedly. He lined up his boomerang. "Alright buddy, don't fail me now." With that, he threw it. Making a graceful arc, it hit Combustion Man right in the forehead, knocking him out. Sokka ran out and caught it cheering. They all ran out of their hiding place.
"Yeah, boomerang!"
Combustion Man then slowly got up.
"Awwww, boomerang," Sokka whined, looking at his beloved weapon. Now they all had to run back. From their hiding place, they heard a loud bang but didn't feel the impact. Looking out, Yun saw the blown up building. She, Katara, Sokka, and Aang ran closer to get a look and then looked at each other incredulously.
"Did he just blow himself up," Yun asked hesitantly. They all shrugged and then they all, sans Toph, looked down again.
They all regrouped when they saw Zuko walking towards them. Yun set Toph down on a rock and then went to stand next to Sokka.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but thanks, Zuko," Aang said.
"Hey, and what about me? I did the boomerang thing," Sokka said, showing off his boomerang skills.
"Listen, I know I didn't explain myself very well yesterday. I've been through a lot in the past few years and it's been hard. But I'm realizing that I had to go through all those things to learn the truth. I thought I had lost my honor and that somehow my father could return it to me. But I know now that no one can give you honor. It's something you earn for yourself by choosing to do what's right. All I want now is to play my part in ending this war. And I know my destiny is to help you restore balance to the world," Zuko said before turning to Toph. "I'm sorry for what I did to you. It was an accident. Fire can be dangerous and wild. So as a firebender, I need to be more careful and control my bending, so I don't hurt people unintentionally."
"I think you are supposed to be my firebending teacher," Aang said. "When I first tried to learn firebending, I burned Katara. After that, I never wanted to firebend again. But now I know you understand how easy it is to hurt the people you love. I'd like you to teach me." Aang bowed to Zuko. Zuko bowed in return.
"Thank you," he said. "I'm so happy you've accepted me into your group."
"Not so fast," Aang said. "I still have to ask my friends if it's okay with them. Toph, you're the one that Zuko burned. What do you think?"
"Go ahead and let him join. It'll give me plenty of time to get back at him for burning my feet," she said, her face promising revenge.
"Sokka," Aang asked.
"Hey, all I want is to defeat the Fire Lord. If you think this is the way to do it, then I'm all for it," he said, shrugging.
"Yun," Aang said, looking at her. Yun sighed.
"I mean he almost died saving us from an assassin. We can hardly doubt his sincerity."
"Katara," Aang asked hesitantly. Yun understood why he asked her last. She was the final obstacle. Yun could tell she was still angry and deeply hurting.
"I'll go along with whatever you think is right," she said begrudgingly.
"I won't let you down, I promise," Zuko said, overjoyed, but the rest of the group went off ahead of him. They couldn't accept him as a friend, not yet. He was . . . a tentative ally for the time being.
Yun treated Toph's feet, running water over her soles, increasing blood flow to accelerate healing.
"You're lucky your feet are so tough. If it was any regular person's feet, they might need a month to heal. With you, I just need to do this twice a day, morning and night, and you should be walking just fine by the end of the week," Yun said.
"Aw yeah," Toph cheered. "Not seeing with my feet sucks."
"You know, Toph, I was trying to think of ways that your ability to see could be replicated with waterbending, but so far, I haven't had any luck," Yun said.
"What were you thinkin' of," Toph asked, picking at her teeth.
"Well if I had a fine mist spread around wherever I was battling, I could theoretically sense vibrations like that, but honestly that means wasting my water reserves and even then focusing on vibrations with a medium like water vapor. It just doesn't seem feasible. I just have to accept you are one of a kind and not able to be replicated."
"That's right," Toph said proudly. Yun picked her up and sat her down on her bed roll. She then picked herself up and sighed deeply. She probably should check Zuko for wounds or such, because Katara definitely wouldn't do it. Rolling her shoulders wearily, she made her way over to Zuko's place, isolated from the rest of them. She knocked on the door. At the "Come in," she entered.
"If you're here to threaten me about betraying your group, you've come a little late," Zuko grouched.
"I'm not one for threatening," Yun admitted. "And besides, I don't think it would really be effective considering I knocked and everything." Zuko then turned to properly face Yun.
"Then why are you here," he asked.
"You did get blasted off a ledge by Combustion Man. I know how much his blasts hurt, so I just wanted to check for injuries," Yun said.
"No injuries here," Zuko said, turning away again.
"What about your hands," Yun pressed. "You had to climb your way back up."
"I'm fine," Zuko persisted.
"Then show them to me, so I can be sure," she said, crossing her arms and planting her feet. As if sensing that Yun didn't plan on leaving, Zuko reluctantly showed her his hands. Yun hissed in sympathy. The palms of his hands were red and blistered while some of his fingernail beds were bloody, probably from the impact of grasping onto that vine for dear life.
"Your definition of fine is very flawed," Yun let him know before waterbending on his hands.
"You're a bender," Zuko asked, his hands jerking reflexively. Yun grabbed tighter, determined to finish treating him.
"Yeah," Yun said, wondering why this was surprising.
"I-I didn't know," Zuko confessed. Yun then got what he was talking about.
"Oh, do you mean in the North Pole. When you knocked me out," Yun said flatly.
". . . yes," Zuko winced. Yun didn't reply. She really didn't owe him an explanation. She didn't owe him anything. Even if he did save her, he did so many other horrible things. Still, Yun felt as if she owed him for Ba Sing Se. That was an issue she would ignore for now. After she finished the treatment, she wrapped his hand in cloth.
"Just leave it overnight, just to avoid infection," Yun said, getting up out of her kneeling position.
"Thanks," Zuko said, looking at his bound hands.
Yun walked to the doorway and paused before she exited.
"Well, you saved my life in Ba Sing Se, so I suppose I should be thanking you."
With that, she made a speedy exit to where the rest of the group was sleeping. She settled on her bed roll next to Aang and Teo.
"Where were you," Teo whispered. Yun paused, wondering if it was worth explaining.
"Just wandering," Yun whispered back. She was tired. Yawning, she snuggled deeper into her bed roll and fell asleep.