CH12: Sozin's Comet Pt.1
Yun sat on the steps of Zuko's vacation home on Ember Island. She felt the sun baking her as she watched Aang train. He looked good, but he lacked something that Yun saw when Zuko firebended.
"More ferocious. Imagine striking through your opponent's heart," Zuko called out, his arms crossed and his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Aang did a few more fire punches before he groaned in frustration.
"I'm trying," he said angrily at Zuko, his shoulders hunched forward defensively.
"Now let me hear you roar like a tigerdillo," Zuko yelled. Aang let out a half-hearted roar, three plumes of fire coming from his hands and mouth.
"That sounded pathetic! I said roar," Zuko yelled. Aang scrunched up his eyebrows and glared at Zuko before turning around and roaring, sending out sustained plumes that kept its heat for several seconds. Yun noticed Zuko giving a subtle nod. It was interesting how Katara's, Toph's, and Zuko's teaching styles were so different. Yun knew her teaching style would be closest to Katara's; she would let them grow through acknowledgement and praise. She looked up as Katara came out of the house.
"Who wants a nice cool glass of watermelon juice," she asked. Aang turned around, excited for a break, when Zuko picked him up by the back of his top.
"Your lesson is not over yet," he said.
"Come on, Zuko. Just take a break. What's the big deal," Suki said, lying on a set next to Sokka.
"Fine, if you want to lounge around like a bunch of snail sloths all day, then go ahead," he said angrily, turning away. As he walked away, Sokka spoke up.
"Maybe Zuko's right. Sitting around has made us lazy, but I know just the thing to change that," Sokka said. He then proceeded to strip until all he had on were shorts. "Beach party," he screamed, before running and jumping into the water. Wanting to escape the heat, Yun did the same thing. Yun laid on her back, letting herself ride along the waves of the ocean. She almost fell asleep like that when she heard some yelling. Waterbending her way back to shore, she and Katara ran up to the others.
"What happened," Katara asked.
"Zuko's gone crazy. I made a sand sculpture of Suki and he destroyed it," Sokka said, patting a large pile of sand. "Oh, and he's attacking Aang."
Yun began running up the path from the beach to the house with the others. They reached the house in time to see Zuko being blasted out of the second floor of the house.
"What's wrong with you? You could have hurt Aang," Katara yelled.
"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with all of you," Zuko spat out. "How can you sit around having beach parties when Sozin's Comet is only three days away?"
Yun could only look at Zuko. She remembered the conversation that the group had sans Zuko.
"Why are you all looking at me like I'm crazy," Zuko said.
"About Sozin's Comet," Aang said. "I was gonna wait to fight the Fire Lord until after it came."
"After," Zuko asked.
"I'm not ready" Aang said looking down. "I need more time to master firebending."
"And frankly, your earthbending can use some work too," Toph added.
"So you all knew Aang was going to wait," Zuko asked the group. Yun kept her eyes down.
"Honestly, if Aang tries to fight the Fire Lord right now, he's going to lose. No offense," Sokka said.
"The whole point of fighting the Fire Lord before the comet came was to stop the Fire Nation from winning the war," Katara said. "But they pretty much won the war when they took Ba Sing Se. Things can't get any worse."
"You're wrong. It's about to get worse that you can ever imagine," Zuko said, turning away from them. He told them about the war meeting he attended, about how Azula proposed burning the Earth kingdom hope to the ground, about how Ozai planned on burning the Earth Kingdom on the day of the eclipse.
"I wanted to speak out against this horrifying plan, but I'm ashamed to say I didn't. My whole life, I struggled to gain my father's love and acceptance, but once I had it, I realized I lost myself getting there."
"I always knew the Fire Lord was a bad guy, but his plan is just pure evil," Sokka said. Images of her burning village crossed Yun's mind. It would be that but a thousand times worse, hundreds of thousands of people dying.
"What am I going to do," Aang asked, his voice small. Zuko walked towards him.
"I know you're scared and I know you're not ready to save the world," he said. "But if you don't defeat the Fire Lord before the comet, there won't be a world to save anymore."
"Why didn't you tell me about your dad's crazy plans sooner," Aang asked, panicking.
"I didn't think I had to," Zuko said. "I assumed you'd fight him before the comet. No one told me you decided to wait."
"This is bad. This is really bad," Aang said, holding his head in his hands. He sank to his knees.
"Aang, you don't have to do this alone," Katara said.
"Yeah, if we all fight the Fire Lord together," Toph said. "We got a shot in taking him down."
"We've faced so many things together. We'll be here for you, Aang," Yun said, smiling at him.
"All right! Team Avatar is back," Sokka crowed. "Air, water, earth, fire, fan and sword!"
"Fighting the Fire Lord is gonna be the hardest thing we've ever done together, but I wouldn't want to do it any other way," Aang said. They all hugged. Yun looked at Zuko standing apart from them, and Katara noticed her looking.
"Get over here, Zuko," she said. "Being part of the group also means being part of group hugs." Yun and Suki parted to accommodate him. Then Appa came in carrying Song and Momo. He landed so his head knocked into them, pushing them to the ground. Yun laughed while being squished by Toph and being partially on top of Zuko. Untangling herself, she called for Song. When she flapped into Yun's arms, she nuzzled her and smiled. They could do this.
Sokka called them to a cliff's edge. On it was a stick with a dress and a melon head. The group all sat in a half circle around Sokka.
"In order to take out the Fire Lord, or in this case, the Melon Lord, our timing has to be perfect. First, Suki, Yun, and I will draw his line of fire. Then Katara and Zuko charge in with liquidy hot offense, and while he's distracted, Aang swoops in and BAM! He delivers the final blow," Sokka explained, drawing out his diagram in the dirt.
"In the real fight, we might not be on a cliff's edge," Yun added. "So we're going to need to attack from as many sides as possible to confine the Fire Lord to a smaller space. Ideally, Sokka, Suki and I will come from these directions." Yun drew over Sokka's diagram. "Katara and Zuko will come in from one direction to draw in his line of fire, and give him only one path of escape. Then Aang will come from there to do his thing."
"Excellent, young pupil," Sokka said proudly, ruffling Yun's hair. Yun slapped his hand away and smoothed down her hair.
"Um, what about me," Toph asked.
"For now, you're the Melon Lord's forces," Sokka explained.
"So I get to chuck flaming rocks at all of you," Toph asked excitedly.
"Whatever makes the training more realistic," Sokka said.
"Sweetness," Toph said. Yun raised her hand.
"Yes," Sokka asked.
"Can I change sides and be with the Melon Lord's forces," Yun asked. She wanted to be on Toph's side.
"Permission denied," Sokka said. Yun pouted but acquiesced.
Once everything was set up, everyone took their positions. When Sokka signaled go, the three groups headed out. Yun, Suki and Sokka began running up the path. Yun drew out her dragon, smashing the rock soldiers in her path. As she began following the path again, she noticed the flaming boulder falling, leaping to the side the she rolled, then leapt up and kept running forward. As she reached the area where they were supposed to wait with Aang, Sokka yelled, "Aang, now!" Aang flew up, staff ready to strike but then he stopped.
"What are you waiting for? Take him out," Zuko yelled.
"I can't," Aang said, shaking his head. Sokka stalked up to him, his back stiff in anger.
"What's wrong with you? If this was the real deal, you'd be shot full of lighting right now," Sokka said, pointing a finger at him. Yun and the group decided to walk towards Aang as well.
"I'm sorry, but it just didn't feel right. I didn't feel like myself," Aang said miserably. Sokka then drew his sword and cut the melon himself, the halves of it falling to the floor. Yun got to see horror pass over Aang's face. He then just walked away, and Katara went after him. Yun glared at Sokka.
"What," he asked, resheathing his sword.
"You shouldn't have done that," Yun said.
"What, cut a melon," Sokka mocked.
"You know it was more than just cutting a melon," Yun said, crossing her arms.
"If he can't even handle that, how will he handle killing the Fire Lord," Sokka said, his voice rising.
"Well, not traumatizing him," Yun shot back.
"War is traumatizing," Sokka said back. "It's his job as the Avatar to win the war. How is he supposed to do that when he can't even strike down a dummy?"
"He's also a twelve year old kid, Sokka. A twelve year old kid with the weight of the world on his shoulders," Yun yelled in frustration. "Neither you nor I are in a position to lecture him because we will never know what that is like." At that point, Suki and Zuko found it prudent to separate the both of them. Zuko walked with Yun to the beach where she summoned a giant dragon from the beach and let it rear up and splash back down. As she calmed down, it's movements became less erratic, and as she finally calmed down, it was just darting around in the water. With a sigh, she let it dissolve.
"Feeling better," Zuko asked. Yun turned and smiled tiredly.
"You didn't have to wait for me, you know," Yun said.
"Yeah," Zuko shrugged. Then Yun processed what had happened.
"I yelled at Sokka," Yun whispered, horrified. Zuko looked at her.
"You're trembling," he pointed out, walking beside her. She looked down at her hands, which were indeed shaking.
"I yelled at Sokka," she repeated. "I need to go apologize before anything happens." She took off towards the house, but Zuko grabbed her wrist.
"Hey, hey," he said, making her face him. "What's wrong?"
"I can't yell at people," Yun said, near tears. Zuko's eyebrows scrunched in confusion.
"Every time I yell at people, bad things happen," Yun explained tearfully.
"Okay, let's go find Sokka. It was his turn to cook dinner, so he's probably in the kitchen," Zuko said. He then started pulling her to the house and into the kitchen. When they saw Sokka in the kitchen, Zuko gave Yun a little push before leaving the room.
"Sokka," Yun said a little hesitantly. Sokka turned around facing her. His eyes widened and his mouth opened to say something. However, before he could say anything, Yun bowed.
"I'm so sorry," she said, remaining in her bowed position. Sokka rushed over to her and pulled her into a hug.
"I should be the one aplogizing to you. I acted like a jerk," Sokka said.
"You're not mad at me," Yun mumbled into Sokka's shoulder.
"No, no I'm not. Are you mad at me," he asked.
"No, just mad at this situation we're in," Yun said.
"Yeah, that's . . . yeah," Sokka sighed. They separated and then laughed at each other's teary eyes.
"Wanna help me pass out dinner," Sokka asked. Yun nodded, picking up bowls. As she was giving Zuko his, he raised an eyebrow. Yun nodded and he smiled slightly. Once dinner was passed out, Aang sat by himself. Yun wanted to go over to check on him, but maybe he wanted to be alone.
"I have a surprise for everyone," Katara said, holding up a rolled up scroll.
"I knew it! You did have a secret thing with Haru," Toph exclaimed. Yun's eyes widened. She didn't predict that. She was the Love Master. She would know if that was true.
"Uh no," Katara said. "I was looking for cooking pots in the attic and I found this." She unfurled it to reveal a painting of a baby boy. Yun cooed.
"Look at baby Zuko. Isn't he cute," Katara asked. There was some laughter and coos of agreement. Katara saw Zuko's displeased face and said, "Lighten up. I'm just teasing."
"That's not me. That's my father," he said.
"But he looks so sweet and innocent," Suki said, pointing to the scroll.
"Well, that sweet little kid grew up to be a monster and the worst father in the history of fathers," Zuko said.
"But he's still a human being," Aang said, his back turned to the group.
"You're defending him," Zuko asked incredulously.
"No, I agree with you. Fire Lord Ozai is a horrible person," Aang said, getting up and facing them. "And the world would probably be better off without him. But there's gotta be another way."
"Like what," Zuko asked.
"I don't know," Aang said. Then his face brightened up. "Maybe we could make big pots of glue and use gluebending to stick his arms together so he can't bend anymore."
"Yeah, then you can show him his baby pictures and the happy memories will make him good," Zuko said in a mockingly light tone. Sokka, Suki, and Toph laughed.
"Do you really think that would work," Aang asked excitedly.
"No," Zuko said sharply. Aang then started pacing.
"This goes against everything I learned from the monks. I can't just go around wiping out people I don't like," Aang said.
"Sure you can. You're the Avatar. If it's in the name of keeping balance, I'm pretty sure the Universe will forgive you," Sokka said flippantly. Yun sighed at that statement. She then saw Aang start to shake in anger.
"This isn't a joke, Sokka. None of you understand the position I'm in" Aang yelled.
"Aang, we do understand, it's just-," Katara said.
"Just what, Katara," Aang asked. "What?"
"We're trying to help," Katara snapped.
"Then when you figure out a way to beat the Fire Lord without taking his life, I'd love to hear it," Aang yelled, throwing his hands in the air in frustration. He then stalked away.
"Aang, don't walk away from this," Katara yelled. She was about to follow, when Zuko caught hold of her shoulder.
"Let him go. He needs time to sort it out by himself," Zuko said.
"Maybe we can brainstorm ways to defeat the Fire Lord without killing him," Yun suggested.
"Do you really think that would work," Zuko asked incredulously.
"I think it's less of a question of would it work and more of a question of whether that's what he deserves, if that makes any sense," Yun said, fiddling with her fingers.
"Yeah, after all the people he's hurt or killed, I don't know if he deserves anything better than death," Toph commented. The group was silent for a bit, contemplating that. Yun gathered all the bowls and walked over to the kitchen. She piled them into the sink and decided she'd take care of them in the morning. Feeling a presence behind her, she turned around.
"Zuko," she said, watching him standing in the doorway.
"Let's take a walk," he said, turning and walking away. Yun followed, rolling her eyes a little. He didn't even check to see if she would follow him. Typical royalty. Though, that wasn't how Princess Yue acted. Maybe it was just Fire Nation royalty? Maybe it was another teenage firebender thing?
Yun had to jog a bit as he walked to a large room with a sizable balcony. Yum watched his hair move with the slight breeze as he stepped on the balcony. Hesitantly, she joined him.
"What happened today," Zuko asked. Yum stiffened.
"You know with Sokka? You were shaking, and you, you almost cried," Zuko continued. He then paused and looked at Yun for an explanation. Yun licked her dry lips nervously. Zuko deserved an explanation. More than that, Yun wanted to give an explanation. She wanted to talk about what happened, and get it off her chest.
"I don't really get mad you know? It's so tiring, and I'm just not very good at it," Yun started. Zuko nodded in agreement but stayed silent.
"But when I was younger, I got mad a few times, and every time, something bad happened. I remember once, my dad didn't let me buy a flute from a market on a nearby island. I was so mad at him for such a dumb thing," Yun said, laughing humorlessly.
"I yelled at him. I told him that my friends' parents would have bought it for them and that I would never go on another trip with him. On the trip back, I stayed mad at him and so I made sure I was on a different part of the boat than him. But we got caught in a storm and part of the cargo came loose on the boat. There was this big crate crashing towards me, but my dad saved me. But he broke his arm. He couldn't forge for a month, because of me."
"That wasn't your fault," Zuko interjected.
"But if I wasn't mad at him, I wouldn't have been near the cargo in the first place," Yun argued. "And also, it's my fault my sister left!"
Tears started to leak out of her eyes and drip down the sides of her nose. Her head hung down but she kept speaking.
"As she got older, she was always mad at me and she always bossed me around. And she would shove and hit me. But I took it until one day. I don't even remember what she said. But I didn't like it. And I became mean. And I told her that it was because of her that our parents were fighting. That she was a disappointment to them. It wasn't true. It wasn't her. It was just a bad time. But after that fight, she packed up all her things. She left a measly note saying she was leaving and don't look for her. But my parents didn't listen. Every day, they looked." Yun's labored breathing was the only sound for a second.
"And then the worst was when I yelled at my parents. I told them that they were too busy with a daughter that left them, that they couldn't even see the one still here. And that's the day the Fire Nation attacked," Yun said, looking out at the ocean. She wanted to tell Zuko the worst part, but she couldn't. She didn't want to think about that day. She startled as she felt a hand rest over hers which gripped the balcony railing for dear life.
"Those weren't your fault," Zuko said firmly. "We all make mistakes, and we need to learn from them. But holding back emotions and pretending will never help you. It will only hurt you. I hid behind my anger. However, sometimes anger is good. As long as you can grow from it, as long as you can face it and figure out why you feel that way. You aren't letting yourself do that."
"But what if something bad happens again," Yun whispered. "I can't go through that again."
"What? The guilt?"
"I guess."
"Sometimes it's not our fault. I used to think that it was my fault that I got banished from the Fire Nation. It was my fault for embarrassing my father and forcing him into an Agni Kai. But was it," Zuko asked. Yun shook her head vigorously.
"We need to learn when to blame ourselves and when not to. We can't let our fear paralyze us from living," Zuko said, looking in Yun's eyes. Yun wiped her eyes, sniffling noisily.
"Yeah, we can't."
Yun looked out at the ocean and felt at peace.
"Thanks," she said. She was glad she had met Zuko. So, so glad.