Appa is still in his armor and the rest of the group walks slowly on a rocky and barren land with the Sun blazing above their heads.
"This is humiliating." Katara said as she glanced at the rest of the group with tired looks and heads faced down.
"Do you mean getting thoroughly spanked by the Fire Nation, or having to walk all the way to the Western Air Temple?"
"Don't say spank. Brings back creepy thoughts." Cadi said as everyone looked at her weird. They turned away.
"Both." Katara said. "And am I the only one who got a disturbing thought?" Everyone nodded a no at her and groaned.
"Sorry guys, but Appa gets tired of carrying all these people."
"I wonder how the rest of the troops are." Teo said.
"They're probably on their way to a prison. Seems like my dad just got out, now he's going back in." Haru said.
"Hey, we're here. I can feel it." Toph said.
"Uh, I think your feet need their eyes checked." Katara said.
"No, she's right, we are here." Aang said.
Sokka looks around and brings up both his arms to show that he can't see anything.
"Wow, it's amazing."
…
Zuko is slowly slides down a rope to the temple. Zuko stops and swings himself on the rope, gaining momentum with each arc. He jumps off at the 4th swing. Zuko lands, balancing himself with a hand on the floor. He straightens up and looks around.
Appa flies down to the temple. Zuko crouches down then walks off.
…
"It's so different from the Northern Air Temple. I wonder if there are any secret rooms." Teo said.
"Let's go check it out." Haru said.
Duke and Teo enthusiastically make their way to the temple. Aang runs after them but is stopped by Katara who blocks him with his staff.
"You guys go..." Aang catches his glider and Katara lays a hand on his shoulder. "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."
"Fair enough. So, what's the new plan?"
"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." Ari said.
"Oh, yeah, that's great." He picks up a pebble and tosses it into the air nonchalantly. "No problem, I'll just do that." He lays the pebble on the bench and flicks it away.
"Aang, no one said it's gonna be easy."
"Well, it's not even gonna be possible. Where am I supposed to get a fire bending teacher?"
"We could look for Jeong Jeong."
"Yeah right, like we'll ever run into Jeong Jeong again."
"Who's – Oh, if it's important, I'll find out." Toph said.
"Oh well, guess we can't come up with anybody. Why don't we just take a nice tour around the temple?" He runs off.
"What's up with him?"
"There's got to be someone who can teach him fire bending."
Katara and Toph look down dejectedly and Cadi looks at Ari as they both look completely stunned that they weren't even noticed.
Can you hear me? Cadi thought to Ari.
Yeah.
They're all idiots. I say ignore them about it until they remember.
What about Aang learning to fire bend.
Zuko doesn't know I can hear thoughts and sense when people are around. He's an idiot if he thinks I don't know that he's sitting over there trying to find a way for the rest of the group to accept him in because he's trying to be good.
I don't believe any of it.
Well if it wasn't true, he'd be thinking something like, "Oh if I tell them blah blah then they'll think I'm serious and accept me so I can screw them over. She pauses. Now he's thinking about me. She giggled in her thoughts.
"Don't giggle like that, it's weird." Ari said out loud on accident.
"Who's giggling?" Sokka asked.
"Nobody." Cadi said. "So Katara, learn any new tricks?"
"There is one thing." She stopped and looked at Sokka. He looked slightly sad. "I learned to blood bend."
"What?" Cadi said. "You taught yourself too?"
"I didn't teach myself anything." Katara said standing up. "Why would you teach yourself how to do a horrible thing?"
"It not horrible, it's just mean. And just because I know how to do it doesn't mean I do so if you have a problem, take it somewhere else." Cadi said getting in Katara's face.
"You're probably wondering why no one has noticed that you're here and Ari is a fire bender."
"So you're ignoring us? Why?"
"Because the fire nation changes people. You're probably cruel now. You learned blood bending so you want control and you got in my face. You're meaner now."
"This," Cadi said referring to the fact they were standing in front of each other. "Is your fault. You stood up first and offered me to get in your face. Wanna know why? Because you're a child. You're a thirteen year old girl who thinks she has the world all figured out because she met a few mean fire benders and has the Avatar wrapped around her finger. You're wrong, it's much more complicated and learning how to do things people can't is a good thing. It makes you strong enough to actually fight instead of sit there and let people do it for you. That's why I look up to Sokka, no bending abilities but he stood up and made something of himself. What have you done? Learned a few tricks and let the Avatar do the rest." Cadi said backing off and turning to walk away.
Katara used water from her pouch and tried to whip Cadi. She turned and made an ice shield and blocked her attack. She then took water from the air and whipped it at Katara who couldn't move fast enough and it turned to ice as she hit the pillar, sticking her to it.
"Don't mess with a bro, princess." Cadi said walking off.
…
"Hello," Zuko raises an arm in greeting. "Zuko here. But I guess you probably already know me... sort of. Uh...so, the thing is, I have a lot of fire bending experience, and I'm considered to be pretty good at it. Well, you've seen me... you know, when I was attacking you? Uh, yeah...I guess I should apologize for that. But anyway, I'm good now. I mean, I thought I was good before, but now I realize I was bad. Ugh, but anyway... I think it's time I joined your group, and taught the Avatar fire bending."
Zuko was talking to a badger frog sitting on a large log. The tarp from Zuko's war balloon is in the background and it has been used as a form of shelter.
"Well, what's your answer?"
The frog croaks. Zuko slouches down.
"Yeah, that's what I'd say too. How am I supposed to convince these people I'm on their side? What would Uncle do?"
""Zuko, you have to look within yourself, to save yourself from your other self. Only then will your true self reveal itself." Even when I'm talking for him, I can't figure out what he means."
"What would Azula do? "Listen, Avatar, I can join your group," He maneuvers his body into a position he thinks is feminine. "or I can do something unspeakably horrible to you and your friends. Your choice." I guess I'm not that good at impersonations."
Zuko hears clapping and he turns to see Cadi standing there.
"How long have you been sitting there?"
"Since you starting talking to the frog about how you wanted to join its group and teach the frog Avatar fire bending." Cadi laughed. "And your Iroh impression wasn't THAT bad." She said smiling at him.
He stood up and smiled at her as he moved towards her and hugged her.
"I missed you." Zuko said.
"I wasn't even gone that long." She said into his shoulder. He was about a head taller.
"Long enough. Besides, I can miss you for all the times we weren't together since the day I first captured you. I miss seeing you every day."
"I know. I always hoped you'd come back and capture me again." They stop hugging. "It can be kind of like that again. We just need to work on your speech a little." Cadi laughed. "Don't mention anything stupid."
He laughed with her. "Okay, I'll try."
…
"Aang, can we talk about you learning fire bending now?" Katara said.
"What? The wind is too loud in my ears. Check out this loop." Aang maneuvers his glider into a loop and Momo mimics his actions in perfect sync.
"Aang, I think we should be making some plans about our future." Sokka yelled, straining his voice against the wind.
"Ok, we can do that while I show you the giant Pai Sho table. Oh, you're gonna love the all-day echo chamber."
"I think that'll have to wait."
Toph points behind as Appa moves aside to reveal a shadow.
"Hello, Zuko here."
Cadi and Ari had walked up behind them. Katara looping her arm in Katara's before using her other hand to hit her forehead.
Aang raises his staff in an attacking position and the group does the same.
"Hey, I heard you guys flying around down there, so I just thought I'd wait for you here."
Appa enters the screen and growls at Zuko as he takes a cautious step backwards and covers his face with his arms. Appa then proceeds to lick his back. Aang lowers his staff slightly. Appa licks his face affectionately. Zuko wipes off the slobber with his arm.
"I know you must be surprised to see me here."
"Not really, since you've followed us all over the world."
"Right... Well, uh... anyway, 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 fire bending... to you. See, I uh..."
Toph interrupts Zuko. Sokka remains dumbfounded in the back. "You want to what now?"
"You can't possibly think that any of us would trust you, can you? I mean, how stupid do you think we are?"
"Yeah, all you've ever done is try to hunt us down and capture Aang."
"I've done some good things. I mean, I could've stolen your bison in Ba Sing Se, but I set him free. That's something."
Appa licks Zuko's back to his surprise.
"Appa does seem to like him." Toph said.
"He probably just covered himself in honey or something so that Appa would lick him. I'm not buying it."
"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?" Sokka said.
"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 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 gonna try to stop him."
"Wait, you sent Combustion Man after us?" Sokka said.
"Who's Combustion Man?" Ari asked, surprising every one of his presence.
"Well, that's not his name, but..."
"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to insult your friend."
"He's not my friend!"
"That guy locked me and Katara in jail and tried to blow us all up." Toph said.
Cadi leaned toward Ari and whispered, "We missed a lot." He nodded.
"Why aren't you saying anything? You once said you thought we could be friends. You know I have good in me."
Aang looks towards the rest of the Gang. Sokka shakes his head at Aang.
"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."
"I'm trying to explain that I'm not that person anymore."
"Either you leave, or we attack."
…
"Argh, I can't believe how stupid I am. I mean, what was I thinking? Telling them I sent an assassin after them? Why didn't I just say Azula did that? They would've believed that. Stupid!" Zuko said.
"I'm still here. I'm right here." Cadi said sitting next to Zuko, letting him lean his head on her shoulder.
…
"Why would he try to fool us like that?"
"Obviously, he wants to lead us into some kind of trap."
"This is just like when we were in prison together in Ba Sing Se. 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."
"The thing is, it worked. 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. Remember when you two were sick and I got captured by Zhao?"
"And you made us suck on frozen frogs? How could I forget? I had a wart on the flap that hangs down from the back of my throat for a month!"
"Anyway, when Zhao had me chained up, it was Zuko who came in and got me out. He risked his life to save me."
"No way, I'm sure he only did it so he could capture you himself."
"And what was all that crazy stuff about setting Appa free? What a liar."
"Actually, he wasn't lying." Toph said. "All I know is that while he was talking to us, he was sincere. Maybe you're all just letting your hurt feelings keep you from thinking clearly.
"Easy for you to say, you weren't there when he had us attacked by pirates."
"Or when he burned down Kyoshi Island."
"Or when he tried to capture me at the fire temple."
"Why would you even try to defend him?"
"Because Katara, you're all ignoring one crucial fact. Aang needs a fire bending teacher. We can't think of a single person in the world to do the job and the one person in our group who can, you're telling him no. Now one shows up on a silver platter, and you won't even think about it?"
"I'm not having Zuko as my teacher."
"I'm beginning to wonder who really the blind one around here is." Toph walks off.
"What did she mean one person in our group who can?" Aang asked.
"Ari."
"Why not him?"
"We don't trust him fully yet." Katara said.
…
"Who's there? Stay back."
"It's me! Ow!" Toph throws her head back in agony and falls down. Zuko rubs his eyes and brings them down to take a good look at whom he has accidentally burned.
"You burned my feet!"
"I'm sorry, it was a mistake!"
"Get away from me!"
She gets on her knees and crawls while earth bending chunks of earth back to Zuko. Zuko dodges the chunks deftly. Zuko catches up to her.
"Let me help you. I'm sorry."
Toph earth bends another slab of earth as Zuko dodges it again. He lays a hand on her shoulder.
"Get off me, get off me!"
"I didn't know it was you. Come back! Why am I so bad at being good?" He throws his limbs out into a star shape and relaxes.
Cadi comes up. "Okay, I know I'm late on this, but what the hell?"
"Nothing, I'll tell you later. Just lay next to me." Cadi lay on the ground, cuddling next to Zuko.
…
"Has anyone seen Toph? Or Cadi?"
"I haven't seen Toph since she stormed off yesterday and I haven't seen Cadi since Zuko."
"Maybe they're just exploring the air temple. There are some pretty fun spots to practice earth bending."
"I think we should go look for Toph."
"Yes, let's look for Toph and not my sister because she's not who she was before we were captured. You're all immature and we even fought on your side during the invasion. I'm leaving, hope you have fun finding someone who you trust enough to teach you fire bending."
The ground shakes and a big hole appears.
"Toph, what happened?" Katara asked.
"My feet got burned."
"Oh, no, what happened?"
"I just told you, my feet got burned."
"I meant how."
"Well, I kind of went to see Zuko last night."
"You what!"
"I just thought he could be helpful to us. And if I talked to him, maybe we could work something out."
Katara bends water out of her water skin and around Toph's feet to heal them.
"So he attacked you?"
"Well, he did and he didn't. It was sort of an accident."
"But he did fire bend at you?"
"Yes."
"See, you trusted Zuko and you got burned... literally."
"It's gonna take a while for your feet to get better. I wish I could've worked on them sooner."
"Yeah, me too."
"Zuko's clearly too dangerous to be left alone. We're gonna have to go after him."
"I hate to go looking for a fight, but you're right. After what he did to Toph, I don't think we have a choice."
"He's crafty, but we'll find a way to capture him."
"Maybe just invite him back here. He's already offered himself up as a prisoner once."
"Yeah... get him to come back and say he'll be our prisoner. Then we'll jump him and really make him our prisoner. He'll never suspect it."
"You are a master of surprise, Sokka."
Cadi enters through the hole. "Toph, you are a master at maneuvering through a big ass temple I can barely get through." She laughed at first, and then stopped. "What's going on?"
"We're helping Toph then leaving." Ari said.
Ari carries Toph off and Katara follows them. He sets Toph down on the fountain, letting her dip her feet in the water.
"Ahh, that's the stuff. Now I know how the rest of you guys feel. Not being able to see with your feet stinks."
…
Combustion Man stands on a ledge high above them. Combustion man rears his head back and inhales, preparing to fire a blast of energy. Zuko quickly swings on a vine towards Combustion Man, bumping into him just as he fires. The beam hits the ledge above the fountain and explodes.
"Stop! I don't want you hunting the Avatar anymore. The mission is off. I'm ordering you to stop!"
Combustion Man shoves Zuko out of the way and fires another blast at the top of the fountain, destroying it. Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Toph take duck behind the ledge, covering their heads as Ari and Cadi run off to distract the man.
"If you keep attacking, I won't pay you!" Combustion Man stops Zuko in his tracks by grabbing him by the shirt. Zuko throws his fireball, but misses and it hits the ground. "All right, I'll pay you double to stop!"
Zuko swings his arms down, making Combustion Man let go. He turns and executes a shot jumping sidekick just as Combustion Man fires another shot, knocking his aim off and knocking Zuko away.
Combustion Man attacks Zuko and their fire explodes and Zuko slides back. A cloud of dust appears and when it is gone, Zuko isn't where he was before.
"He's going to blast this whole place right off the cliff side." Toph said after many other hits.
"I can't step out to water bend at him without getting blown up. And I can't get a good enough angle on him from down here." Katara said. Ari and Cadi have already hid behind some pillars.
"I know how to get an angle on him." Sokka said.
Sokka gently pushes Katara aside and pulls out his boomerang. He presses his back against the pillar. He raises his boomerang towards the source of the blasts and measures their trajectory.
"All right buddy, don't fail me now."
Sokka throws the boomerang. The boomerang flies through the air and curves behind a stone pillar. It hits Combustion Man in the forehead and everyone moves from behind the pillars as Sokka grins.
"Yeah, boomerang!" He and Katara look up smiling, but quickly frown. "Aw, boomerang..."
The group starts to run back towards the stone pillar they were hiding behind. Combustion Man sways and rears his head back for another blast. Sparks fly from his forehead. Small explosions erupt from his head. He puts a hand over his forehead. Out of the smoke and debris is a glint of light, and Combustion Man's metal, clawed arm flies. Zuko is climbing up the vine from earlier. He reaches the ledge and pulling himself up.
…
"I can't believe I'm saying this... but thanks Zuko."
"Hey, and what about me? I did the boomerang thing."
"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 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."
Zuko looks to Toph.
"I'm sorry for what I did to you. It was an accident. Fire can be dangerous and wild. So as a fire bender, 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 fire bending teacher. When I first tried to learn fire bending, I burned Katara. And after that, I never wanted to fire bend again. But now I know you understand how easy it is to hurt the people you love. I'd like you," He looks to Ari." And you, to teach me." He looks back to Zuko.
"Thank you. I'm so happy you've accepted me into your group."
"Not so fast. I still have to ask my friends if it's ok 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."
"Sokka?"
"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."
"Ari?"
"I could learn a few things."
"Cadi?"
"I'm okay with it." Toph fake coughed and Cadi nudged her.
"Katara?"
Katara looks at Zuko and frowns.
"I'll go along with whatever you think is right."
"I won't let you down, I promise."
The group turns and walks away, Sokka carrying Toph. Zuko smiles as he watches them leave.
…
"So here you go, home sweet home. I guess, you know, for now. Unpack... lunch soon. Uh...welcome aboard?"
"You might have everyone else here buying your "transformation". But you and I both know you've struggled with doing the right thing in the past. So let me tell you something right now. You make one step backward, one slip-up, give me one reason to think you might hurt Aang... and you won't have to worry about your destiny anymore. Because I'll make sure your destiny ends right then and there... permanently."
Katara turns and walks away.
Cadi walked in. "That seemed rude." She shrugged. "Lunch is soon so you might have to be talking to me and Ari for a few days before everyone is warmed up to you."
Zuko nodded. "I like Ari. He's nice now that he doesn't hate me."
"I think he likes you too."
"But I like you more."
"I know."
"How'd you find me?"
"What do you mean?"
"When I was practicing my speech."
"It's a long story." She laughed, not wanting to tell him just yet about hearing thoughts. "Let's go."