After the failure to seize control of the Fire Nation capital during the eclipse, they initiated a retreat to the shores. However, the new war balloons of the Fire Nation army were much faster than they had anticipated. They lost the subs they had come in, leaving them trapped on the harbor. The only means of escape they have left was Appa.
With a slightly heavy heart, the adults sent off the children to safety, surrendering themselves as war prisoners. They fled away from the Fire Nation and retreated to the safety of the Western Air Temple.
"It's so different from the Northern Air Temple." Teo mused as he looked around with unmasked curiosity. "I wonder if there are any secret rooms..."
Haru was curious as well and ran ahead. "Let's go check it out!"
Aang was about to follow them but was stopped by Katara using the airbender's own glider to block his path. "You guys go," She called to the others. "I think we need to talk about some things."
"Why can't I go?"
"We need to decide what we're gonna do now, and since you're the Avatar, maybe you should be a part of this."
He joined the rest of the group with a huff and sat down on a fallen slab of rock. "Fair enough. So what's the plan?"
Sokka scratched his chin. "Well if you ask me, the new plan is the old plan. 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." Sarcasm was heavy in Aang's tone as he distracted himself with a pebble, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.
"Aang, no one said it's gonna be easy."
He felt tired and frustrated. "Well, it's not gonna even be possible! Where am I supposed to get a firebending teacher?"
"Hello, Zuko here! Uh, but I guess you probably already know me... sort of... Uh... so, the thing is... I have a lot of firebending experience, and I'm considered to be pretty good at it. We'll you've seen me... you know... when I was attacking you? Uh, yeah, I guess I should apologize for that... B-but anyway, I'm good now. I mean, I thought I was good before, but now I realize I was bad. But anyway, I think it's time I joined your group and taught the Avatar firebending."
The badgerfrog looked at him with unblinking eyes.
"Well?! What's your answer?"
It croaked once before jumping on his head and leaping away.
Zuko sighed in defeat. "Yeah, that's what I'd say too." The former prince was never really one to make friends with anyone. It was always either, as subjects or as enemies. The awkwardness made him cringe at himself, but he knew he had to find a way to join the Avatar's group. It might be the only way they could defeat the Fire Lord. But they would probably think that he was lying and attack him.
"How am I supposed to convince these people that I'm on their side?" He pulled at his loose, dark hair as he paced. At times like this, he wished he had his uncle by his side. "What would uncle do?"
He placed a hand on his chin as he stroked an imaginary beard, and place his other arm behind his back, just like how Uncle Iroh does before imparting wisdom to his nephew. "Zuko, you have to look within yourself, to save yourself from your other self. Only then will your true self reveal itself."
He sighed and slapped a hand to his forehead. "Even when I'm talking for him, I can't figure out what he means!" He thought of other avenues of inspiration and thought of his sister. "What would Azula do?"
Zuko placed a hand on his hip and turned his chin up, his nose high in the air just like his sister's. "Listen, Avatar! I can join your group, or I can do something unspeakably horrible to you and your friends! Your choice..."
Frustrated more so than ever, he slumped on the ground. "I guess I'm not that good at impersonations."
The badgerfrog returned with a mocking croak of agreement.
It was dark. Her tired, bloodshot eyes struggled to adjust in stark darkness of her isolated cell. The heat was worse. She felt like she was being boiled alive.
But maybe she deserved it.
Lady Suiren died because of her.
Chiyo refused to eat what little meals were rationed to her. The guards had to force at least water down her throat to keep her alive.
"I will make you wish for death, but I shall deny you that satisfaction!"
She didn't know how long she had been in that cell. For all she knew, it could have been a matter of hours, or years. In truth, she didn't care.
The Fire Lord's words came true. She wished to die.
A new guard entered with a tray of food. "Dinner."
Chiyo turned away with great effort, considering her injuries were still fresh and untreated.
"You have to eat." The lady guard received no reply from her. She thought of ways to elicit a response from the young woman. "You could've had it all, you know. You could've been the Fire Lord's wife and lived a luxurious life."
Chiyo seethed with anger. She grabbed the bowl of rice and threw it towards the guard.
She was unfazed and calmly nudged the bread towards her. "You are angry, aren't you? You want to take revenge against the Fire Lord?" The girl was silent, her mouth parched and her throat ached. "Then live."
Those two words confused Chiyo, coming from a guard of the Boiling Rock. "L-live?"
"Live long. Live long enough to think about his demise. Live long thinking of the day you will exact revenge for your mentor." The guard whispered in a low, determined voice, loud enough for only her to hear.
"Who...Who are y-you?"
"I am a friend." The lady guard removed one of her gloves and showed Chiyo a ring much like her own red amber resin with a petal from a fire lily. Except hers had a different flower inside.
A single petal from a white lotus.
They followed Aang after he had unceremoniously walked out on them. Appa maneuvered through the magnificent upside-down architecture of the Western Air Temple trying to follow the Avatar on his glider. "Aang, can we talk about you learning firebending now?" Katara called out to him.
"What? The wind is too loud in my ears!" He lied so she would hopefully drop the subject. "Check out this loop!" He airbended the wind beneath his glider and pulled upwards, demonstrating a single effortless loop.
Sokka tried his luck. "Aang! I think we should be making some plans about our future!"
"Okay! We can do that while I show you the giant pai sho table!" The followed him as he landed in by the fountain area the monks used for meditation. "Oh! And you're gonna love the all-day echo chamber!"
"I'm afraid that will have to wait." Toph said in a serious tone and she pointed behind her and Appa.
The bison moved to the side and revealed the former Fire Nation prince standing there with an awkward smile on his face. "Hello, Zuko here." They all assumed fighting stances at once at the sight of him. "H-hey, I heard you guys flying around down there, so I just thought I'd wait for you down here..."
Appa roared at his side, finally recognizing him as the human that had set him free from Lake Laogai. He gave Zuko an affectionate lick, shocking everyone.
"I know you must be surprised to see me here," He tried his best to wipe the bison's saliva off him.
"Not really, since you followed us all over the world!" Sokka gripped his boomerang cautiously.
"Right... Well... I-uh..." His words failed him, and he decided to get straight to the point. "What I wanted to tell you about is 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." He looked to Aang who slightly loosened his grip on his glider.
"You want to what now?!"
"You can't possibly think that any of us would trust you, can you?!" Katara relived all those days they had spent running away from him and his uncle, all the way from the South Pole to the North Pole, and to Ba Sing Se. "I mean, how stupid do you think we are?!"
Sokka backed his sister up. "Yeah! All you've ever done is try to hunt us down and capture Aang!"
"I've done some good things!" Zuko argued. "I mean, I could've stolen your bison in Ba Sing Se, but I set him free! That's something!" To add to his point, Appa gave him another affectionate lick.
"Appa does seem to like him." Toph commented as she felt the bison's hearty rumble beneath her feet.
"He probably just covered himself in honey or something so that Appa would lick him. I'm not buying it!"
Zuko looked down at his feet, already expecting their rejection in the first place. "I can understand why you wouldn't trust me, and I know I've made some mistakes in the past—"
"Like when you attacked our village?"
"Or when you stole my mother's necklace and used it to track us down and capture us?"
"Look... I admit I've done some awful things. I was wrong to try and capture you, and I'm sorry that I attacked the water tribe." He hoped to convey the sincerity in his tone. "And I never should've sent that Fire Nation assassin after you. I'm gonna try and stop him—"
Sokka was livid. "Wait, you sent Combustion Man after us?!"
"Well, that's not his name, but—"
"Oh sorry! I didn't mean to insult your friend!" His retort was loaded with sarcasm and anger.
"He's not my friend!"
Toph spoke up and pointed an accusing finger at him. "That guy locked me and Katara in jail and tried to blow us all up!"
Zuko sighed in defeat as he realized he was fighting a losing battle. He turned to the only person who had remained silent all throughout the exchange. "Why aren't you saying anything? You once said you thought we could be friends. You know I have good in me."
Aang turned to his friends, gauging their expressions for their opinions. He caught Sokka's eye who shook his head. He made his decision. "There's no way we can trust you after everything you've done. We'll never let you join us!"
"You need to get out of here. Now." Katara prepared herself, focusing her chi on her fingertips.
"I'm trying to explain that I'm not that person anymore!"
Sokka pulled out his boomerang and aimed for Zuko. "Either you leave, or we attack."
He was left with no other option. He knelt on the ground, offering his clenched fists together. If you won't accept me as a friend, then maybe you'll take me as a prisoner."
"No. We. Won't!" Katara opened up her water skin and sent a forceful wave of water that sent the prince back few pace, flat on his back. Slowly, he struggled to get back on his feet. "Get out of here now, and don't come back. And if we ever see you again... Well, we better not see you again!"
Her arms and legs felt heavy like they were made of concrete. It ached too much to move.
"Chiyo, if you do not stretch, your body will become weak and rickety like Lo and Li's. Would you like that?"
Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes as yet another memory resurfaced, one of Lady Suiren patiently waking her up in the early hours of the morning with a teasing smile on her lips.
More memories came to her during those times when she was awake. And even when she was sleeping, her nightmares were filled with images of her limp body and lifeless eyes.
Peace eluded her so she resigned herself into the torture and misery of reliving memories of the lady.
"Oh? What are you doing there, little one?"
"It is a part of you as much as your head and hands."
"Stop frowning, you'll get wrinkles fast."
"I'm proud of you."
A sob wrenched its way out of her chest and she buried her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry I wasn't able to protect you, Lady Suiren... I'm so sorry..."
The lady guard came in and found her in that pitiful state. Her heartstrings were pulled towards the young woman and she knelt beside her, patting her short hair matted and caked with dirt and dried blood. "Shhh... it's alright... Everything will be alright..."
That night, he slept uneasy on the cold, hard ground, but it wasn't because of the uncomfortable position he lay in. Something bothered him. He couldn't quite place it, but somehow he felt... sad.
The rustling of leaves roused him and he got up, looking warily around him. "Who's there?" He called out. He saw a shadow out of the corner of his eyes and sent a wave of flames towards it.
"It's me!" Toph, who had been hiding behind a rock, tried to tell him but it was too late. As she backed away, she stepped on the flames that coursed through the ground. "Y-you burned my feet!"
Zuko got up, realizing what he had done and ran to her. "I'm sorry! It was a mistake!"
"Get away from me!" She crawled away and sent flying rocks towards his general direction.
He dodged them as much as he could. "Let me help you! I'm sorry!" He tried to stop her by placing a firm hand on her shoulder, but that only seemed to increase her panic more.
"Get off! Get off me!" She flailed away from his hold and raised a sharp rock from the ground, effectively tossing Zuko away from her as she made her escape.
"I didn't know it was you!" Zuko grunted in pain as he tried to get up. "Come back!" Toph never once looked back as she escaped and he screamed in frustration. "Why am I so bad at being good?!"
Aang and Sokka help the injured Toph place her feet into the fountain. She sighed happily as the cool, soothing water engulfed her soles. "Aaah... that's the stuff... Now I know how the rest of you guys feel. Not being able to see with your feet stinks!"
While they were tending to Toph, an all-too-familiar explosion shocked them off their feet. Once the rubble and smoke of the explosion dissipated, they looked up and saw Combustion Man facing Zuko. "Stop! I don't want you hunting the Avatar anymore!"
The large burly man ignored him and resumed his attack. Zuko ran in front of him with his hands held out. "I'm ordering you to stop!" He was cast aside effortlessly and the man sent another wave of explosion towards the group by the fountain.
"If you keep attacking I won't pay you!" The statement seemed to irritate the man further and Zuko took back his words. "Alright, I'll pay you double to stop!" Zuko broke free from the hold on his collar and kicked him to misdirect another explosion.
The man turned to the prince, anger marring his dark features as he prepared to blow him off the precipice. Zuko braced himself for the impact, shielding himself with a wall of fire. The force did send him off the edge, but he managed to hold on to the thick vines that crawled throughout the temple.
Aang and Katara distracted Combustion Man with attacks as Sokka took Toph to a safe hiding place. Once the dust cloud of the explosions had settled, they were hidden from sight.
Toph felt the foundation of the temple weaken and crumble with each new explosion. "He's going to blast this whole place right off the cliff-side!"
"I can't step out to waterbend at him without getting blown up. And I can't a good enough angle on him from down here!"
The proclaimed man-with-a-plan thought hard. "I know how to get an angle on him!" He pushed Katara aside and took out his trusty weapon. He traced the angle at which the explosions come in and readied his throwing arm. "Alright, buddy, don't fail me now!" He threw his boomerang and they watch as it flew in an arc before disappearing from their line of sight.
Combustion Man was about to send another explosion their way when he heard a whizzing sound fast approaching him. As he turned his head, the boomerang hits him in the tattooed third eye. This sets him off balance and partially blinded.
He got up abruptly and decided to end things with one final blow, but with the damage inflicted by the weapon, the explosion failed and his chi surged through his body trying to find an escape. He imploded on the spot, destroying a large portion of the temple where he stood.
Everyone was still in shock that the deemed undefeatable Combustion Man had gone down on his own flames. But what surprised them more was how Zuko had tried to stop him from killing the group, even risking putting his life at risk.
Once everything had settled, Zuko approached them cautiously.
Aang stepped forward to meet him halfway. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but thanks, Zuko."
"Hey, but what about me? I did the boomerang thing!"
Zuko took a deep breath. "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 I had to go through all those things to learn the truth."
He expected them to cut him off again, and when they didn't he gratefully continued. "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 your 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."
He turned to Toph and bowed, even if he knew she could not see it. "I'm sorry or 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."
Aang pondered his words as he remembered the incident that happened when he last attempted firebending. Fear gripped him at the thought of hurting Katara, or anyone else for that matter. The prince's words rang true. "I think you are supposed to be my firebending teacher. When I first tried to learn firebending, I burned Katara. After that, I never wanted to firebend again."
He had approached Zuko more willingly now."But now I know you understand how easy it is to hurt the people you love, I'd like you to teach me." He placed his hands properly as he had learned back in the academy and bowed to Zuko.
It has been long time since he had done it, but he genuinely smiled as he returned the bow to Aang. "Thank you."
"You know, Prince Zuko, destiny is a funny thing. You never know how things are gonna work out, but if you keep an open mind and an open heart. I promise you will find your own destiny someday."