Hey guys! Early update, aren't you excited?! I sure am! I have some news for you all once you get to the end of this chapter.

Duskrider: I don't deal with relationships when I write; it's really not my thing. I thought I would add the Ed thinking about Winry in there because I love how embarrassed Ed gets. Toph was comforting Ed as a friend, nothing more. Sorry to disappoint you. :P

A Mysterious Illusion: I hate it when I'm reading a good fan fiction and it hasn't been updated forever, and there's no author note explaining what happened. Since I'm a nice person, I let people know if my updates are going to be late…and look…early update!

AkumanoshippoNiamh: Hello my other lovely reviewer…Don't kill me. But, doesn't everyone like killing?…No?

Fangirl2013: Thank you!

Reaperfrost8: In Brotherhood, Ed resolved to not kill anyone. He would probably be devastated if he broke his promise to himself and his brother.

Hypocrisy

Appa couldn't carry the weight of both his armor and the kids for very long. When the coast looked clear, they landed and everybody walked, except for Ed, who was told to rest in the saddle. He didn't want to lie down helplessly like a piece of luggage, he wanted to shamefully walk with the kids from the invasion. Who let these children fight anyway? The only one who was older than Ed and Sokka was the guy with the moustache.

Sure, Ed's military recruited him when he was only twelve, but that was under special circumstances. Plus, he hadn't even been called to fight…yet. Katara came up briefly for another healing session and soothed the burns. The marks were less noticeable, but they would still most likely scar, not that Ed really cared.

Another thing that made Ed feel stupid was that he was wearing only his tank top and boxers, so clothes didn't rub against the tender wounds. His hair flowed freely because he didn't want to ask anyone to help him to braid his hair; that would be ridiculous. He felt like a stupid piece of useless luggage that was to be gawked at.

"Have you been scratching your wounds?" Katara asked accusingly. Of course he was, he had nothing else better to do.

"No."

"Stop itching them. Do you want to talk?"

"No."

"Fine. I'll be back in a while. Okay?" Ed grunted a 'yes' and Katara joined with the others. There were three new boys that joined the group; Teo, Haru, and The Duke. The kids with the strange names didn't converse with Ed, but then again, Ed wasn't talking with anybody. He didn't feel like talking loud so they could hear him from on top of Appa. He preferred solitude, with only Momo for company.

The lemur was curled up next to Ed's chest, sleeping without a care in the world. Ed wished he could do the same, but he simply woke up shortly after falling asleep. It wasn't fair everyone else had to walk while he took it easy. The burning pain also didn't allow Ed to get comfortable enough to sleep.

Despite Katara's protests, Ed put his hand on his leg, and furiously scratched the irritating burn. It hurt, but there was a small feeling of relief. Unfortunately, Katara came up and saw Ed's lightly bloodied hand and leg.

"Stop that, you're hurting yourself." Ed stopped festering his leg, and went for the burn on his arm. Katara grabbed his right arm gently, and pulled it away before he could scratch the raw burn. "Please stop. No one wants to see you hurt." She took out her water pouch and began to heal the wounds.

"I'm fine."

"You need to stop blaming yourself."

"Go away." Ed said softly, then added a forced, "Please."

"Okay. Get some sleep, you're body needs rest." Ed nodded dully and Katara wrapped up with the healing and left. He closed his eyes, but he wasn't sleepy. It seemed like his senses were in overload.

"What happened to him?" The voice was unfamiliar to Ed.

"He was attacked and kidnapped by the Fire Nation." Ed was pretty sure that was Sokka.

"Oh, that's awful. What did they do to him?"

"We're still not sure. He said he hurt someone, then he was captured." No, he didn't hurt the soldier, he killed him. An innocent man was dead because of him. What would Al say when he found out? Would he hate him or forgive him? Maybe he should never mention it again, but the guilt would be too strong. He would go insane from hiding a secret like that and crack. Then Al would hate him for both lying and killing a man.

Maybe he would never be able go home. He failed at saving this country, so how was he supposed to save his own? There were no Philosopher Stones here, so what was he going to sacrifice to the Gate? It was going to be impossible to get home…unless…

"I could make one." Ed said dryly, then he panicked. Why did he just say that?! He would never kill anyone just so he could go home. No one would ever forgive him then. The burnt skin was starting to bubble, so he ferociously attacked the blistering skin with his hand. Momo chattered obnoxiously and hissed.

"Ed!" Katara called. "Stop itching." Damn lemur; it wasn't some stupid animal.

"You traitor." Ed grumbled to Momo and poked the lemur's nose. Momo curled back up and made noises whenever Ed threatened to fester his wounds. Fire left terrible pains, and Ed couldn't help but think of Mustang. Was this how Lust felt, but on a much larger scale, when Mustang destroyed her? Ed shuddered and made a mental note to never cross any lines with the Flame Alchemist.

"We're here!" Toph exclaimed and Appa stopped walking. Ed peered carefully over the saddle without exerting himself and saw a massive canyon. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be looking at. He didn't even remember where they were going, since he had been out when they fled.

Everyone boarded Appa, and the great beast flew down into the canyon, revealing a massive temple, filled with upside down buildings. The architecture was fascinating, and it was nothing like Ed had ever seen before. Unmindful of his wounds, Ed sat up to get a better view and took in the wonderful surroundings.

Appa landed in the temple next to a large fountain. Katara helped Ed out of the saddle and walked him over to the water. He put his injured leg and arm awkwardly in the water, trying to avoid getting his automail wet. The water felt amazing, and it only felt better when Katara started another healing session.

"Can you please tell me what happened?" Ed sighed and drooped his head; he knew he would have to tell his friends what happened sooner or later.

"I was taking out the battlements, just like you were. I…I was being careless, and I killed him." Ed gulped and looked into Katara's kind eyes.

"Who?" Ed shrugged his shoulders.

"A soldier." Katara seemed to be at a loss of words, but she was still going to try.

"…He was the enemy. It's not your fault." Ed stood up and almost fell in the process.

"He was innocent! Just because his leader is evil, it doesn't mean he was!" Ed shouted and got the attention of everyone else. They all came over to see what the problem was.

"He was Fire Nation, of course he was bad." Sokka said, although, Aang didn't seem to approve.

"Shut up! You're all just a bunch of ignorant morons!" Ed limped away as fast as he could towards the inside of the temple. He knew he was being followed, so he transmuted a wall to block off the door, even though Toph could tear it down if she wanted to.

As expected, Toph destroyed the wall, but Ed continued to limp down the winding corridors. He didn't want them anywhere near him until he had a chance to cool down, but they were persistent on finding him. It didn't take them long to catch up with him because of his limp.

"Hey, what's your problem? Running away again?" Sokka demanded. Ed turned around and glared at all of them.

"Go away. I'm not going anywhere. Leave me alone." Ed slumped against a wall and waited for them to turn around. Instead, they came closer, and Ed was growing angry with them.

"Are you upset about the soldier?" Katara asked, to which Ed snorted. Of course he was.

"Listen, my country is just like the Fire Nation. We invade other countries and send soldiers away to control the people." Ed then stared at Aang. "We've even killed off an entire race. So, does that make me, as an individual, bad?" The group was slightly shocked at Ed's revelation.

"But, you're not a soldier. You didn't fight for them." Sokka said reassuringly. Ed's eyes widen a bit, and he began to laugh deliriously.

"I've been in the military since I was twelve. Does that make me an evil person? Are you going to kill me without a second thought?" Ed stood tall with his hands at his waist. He glared at his friends defiantly, waiting for an answer. They stared at him silently, which pissed him off; these people were oblivious to everything.

"You've been in the military for three years?" Sokka asked, surprised.

"Almost four. So, does that make me the bad guy?" His friends slowly shook their heads, still unsure of themselves. "These people aren't evil. None of them deserve to die; you don't know how I feel." Ed slumped his head and looked at his feet. He had ended a life, and that soldier was never coming back.

"What about the people who burnt you?" It was one of the new kids in the group. The answer was not difficult to find.

"No. They were defending themselves." Sure, they hit Ed when he was down, which made them cowards, but they weren't villains because of that.

"I'm sorry, we'll get through this." Aang seemed to be the only one who truly understood Ed's anguish. "Come on, we're going to explore the area." Aang smiled hopefully.

"No thanks. It hurts when saddle bounces around." It wasn't a complete lie, but Ed really wanted to be left alone.

"Okay, but I want to check your burns before we go." Ed heeded Katara's words and followed them back to the water fountain. He shrugged off anyone who tried to help him walk as he limped down the hallway. Katara made Ed lay down in the shallow water, which he wasn't to fond of because of his inability to swim. The others seemed to be struggling to take Appa's armor off, and Ed groaned at his own uselessness.

The healing sensation felt fabulous on Ed's prickling burns. Once the session was over, Ed managed to get out of the fountain and he let Katara dry him off with bending.

"Are you sure you want to stay here?" She asked sweetly. Ed's eyebrow twitched; he felt like he was being treated like a child. Ed nodded and sat down carefully with his back against a stone pillar.

His friends climbed onto Appa and Katara shouted out, "Don't itch yourself."

"Yeah, yeah." Ed realized he was scratching his arm, and he stopped until they flew away to check out the forest above. Ed sighed and picked himself up. The breeze felt refreshing, but the effects of the healing were already starting to fade. He groaned and staggered on the outer perimeter of the vast temple.

Ed peered over the edge and gasped slightly. The drop off was so far, he couldn't even see the bottom of the ravine. He backed away quickly, in case the rock decided to give away. Al would kill him if he died a stupid death.

Aimlessly walking soon grew old, so he stopped, then noticed a figure climbing down a rope in the distance. Ed hobbled to the swinging person, who had now jumped onto solid ground, until he could make out distinct features. He could see red clothes and dark messy hair.

"Mustang?" Ed asked incredulously. The kid turned around and held up his fists defensively. It was definitely not the colonel, as there was a very large scar around his left eye.

"Who are you?" The boy asked angrily.

"My name is Ed." He was curious about the scarred newcomer.

"Don't lie to me! Did Azula send you?" Sheesh, this guy seemed very paranoid. Azula? Was that another strange country? Ed raised his arms, with slight difficulty, to show he didn't want to fight. The boy was obviously a fire freak, and Ed didn't feel like getting burned again. The stranger let his eyes wander the deep mark on Ed's flesh arm, and he dropped his stance a little.

"What-?"

"I'm not a spirit!" Ed assumed that the kid was going to ask what he was. "I'm tired of you idiots saying that!" Ed was also tired of losing so many fights. It seemed the way people fought here was cheating, and they liked to attack from behind like cowards. He was going to show this fire bastard that alchemy was far superior to their lame 'bending'. Ed clapped his hands and winced in pain, and encased the unsuspecting boy in rock, leaving only his head sticking out.

"I was only going to ask what happened to your arm! And how did you bend lightning and earth?" The kid looked terrified and struggled to find a way out of the box. Ed breathed heavily and placed his automail arm on his forehead.; he was tired of explaining how alchemy worked. No one really seemed to understand fully the science behind alchemy, but at least they accepted it.

"Don't worry about it. Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Zuko." The kid looked nervous, and gave Ed a big smile, which looked fake. "I'm good now." The name sounded vaguely familiar, and Ed recalled the memory of his first encounter with his friends. They had asked him if Zuko sent him, and at the time, he assumed it was an enemy country after he was attacked for saying yes. As it turned out, Zuko was a person, who happened to be trapped Jack-in-the-box style.

"Zuko? Doesn't ring a bell." Ed hoped he could get some information out of the kid. Zuko took a breath of relief.

"So Azula didn't send you."

"No. What's Azula?" It sounded like it could be the name of a country, or a color.

"She's my little sister." Ed didn't hear the disgust in the voice.

"Oh, are you lost? Is that why you think she sent me?" Zuko laughed half-heartedly.

"I'm not lost anymore; this is where I'm supposed to be."

"But, this is an abandoned temple." Something then clicked in Ed's mind. "You…ran away from home?" Zuko nodded and had a tiny smile on his face. Ed's lip twitched, and he clapped his hands forcefully, ignoring the pain that shot through his arm. The healing affects had completely worn off, but he didn't care.

Fists of earth popped out of the ground and hit the trapped brat, which sent him flying.

"What was that for?" The boy bellowed and jumped back onto his feet, ready to attack.

"You abandoned your family. How could you do that to your sister?"

"You're crazy!" Ed sent more fists, but Zuko managed to narrowly dodge them.

"You bastard! An older brother is supposed to protect his siblings! Get out of here and apologize to your family." One of Ed's angry attacks finally hit Zuko in the chest, and the boy went down with a thump.

Ed limped slowly to Zuko, trying with difficulty not to apply pressure to his injured leg. He stooped over the boy who was breathing rapidly to catch his breath. "You're a disgrace. Do you have no decency? No respect? No honor?" Ed spat as he spoke, and his eyes were like orbs of fire.

At the last part of Ed's rant, Zuko quickly got to his feet and aimed a punch at him. Ed easily moved out of the way and watched as fire spurted from the boy's fist. To cause no further harm, Ed grabbed the outstretched hand and pinned the arm behind the moron's back. It didn't take much to force Zuko to the ground, but it did hurt Ed's leg to bend and keep control of the arm.

"Get off of me! Who are you? Where's the Avatar?" The boy turned his head and gave Ed an angry glare.

"Shut up. I'm not telling you anything." Zuko struggled, but couldn't escape Ed's iron grip. Ed loosened his automail hand slightly, otherwise he risked seriously damaging the boy's arm. Zuko continued to struggle and yell at his captor to let go. In an attempt to throw Ed off, Zuko raised his legs and managed to kick Ed in the back of his knees. Ed released his grip and buckled, then he held his leg tenderly. Zuko stood up and threw his arm back, like he was preparing to punch Ed.

Knowing fire would be coming, Ed rolled out of the way and felt the heat of flames behind him.

"Where is he?" The angry jerk demanded.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to be more specific." The boy threw more kicks and punches, all which resulted in spurts of fire. Ed dodged most of the blind attacks easily, and he laughed deliriously. He hadn't sparred like this since ending up in the country.

"Stay still, you little peasant!"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PIPSQUEAK SO SHORT THAT-" Ed stopped in his tracks and cut his rant short. A fireball went flying near his face, so he rolled away. He clapped his hands and transmuted his signature blade onto his automail. The adrenaline that had been pumping in his veins started to calm down, and pain from the strenuous fighting started to take over.

Ed managed to catch the boy off guard and aimed the blade at his vulnerable neck. Zuko held his hands in surrender and glanced at Ed furiously.

"Not short!" Ed spat out. The boy looked down at Ed and stared at the blade that threatened him, which still had dried blood on it. "Sit down!" Ed demanded the boy who was at least a foot or two taller than he was. Zuko slowly bent down and sat with his legs crossed, and still gazed at Ed.

"What have you done with the Avatar?" The kid breathed and was noticeably calmer.

"Nothing. They just went for a ride. Why do you care?"

"I need to teach him firebending."

"And why the hell would he need to learn that?" Ed snapped as his injured arm and leg started to tremble. He backed his automail away a little, so he didn't accidentally slice Zuko's neck.

"So he can defeat my father." Ed withdrew his arm, but kept it ready at his side.

"Why? What did your old man do?" The kid let out a quick laugh when he saw Ed's angry face.

"My father is the Fire Lord." The two stared at each other in brief silence.

"Oh. Then why do you want to beat him? Doesn't he care about you?" Zuko's hand went up to his face and he gingerly touched the large scar on his eye.

"No. I finally just saw him after three years." Ed understood the gesture; Zuko's father had caused the burn. Ed didn't imagine Zuko's father had been the one to leave, so maybe he had his kid locked away. The problem was Zuko was good at fighting, so there was no way he spent the last three years in prison. His father had to of sent him away. That bastard!

Ed looked down at his automail and wiped the blood off, then transmuted it back to normal. Ed offered his metal arm to the sitting boy, which he accepted and pulled himself up.

"Come on. Aang should be back soon with the others." Ed started to head over to the fountain, but his path was cut off by Zuko. The kid seemed to be very concerned.

"What happened to you? Those look fresh."

Ed grumbled, "Invasion." He began to scratch the oozing mark on his arm.

"Don't scratch it, trust me." Ed stuck his tongue out and Zuko rolled his eyes.

"I'm fine. It doesn't hurt that much." The continued to walk to the fountain, and they sat down when they finally reached their destination. The aftermath of their fight was still visible, especially Ed's attacks. Ed dipped his damaged arm into the brisk water, and he used his automail leg to rub against his leg wound.

"Stop doing that! You're going to make it worse." Ed grumpily spread his feet apart, but his whole leg started to violently twitch. "I'm sorry, I can't remember what my uncle used to heal mine." Ed shrugged, but smiled at the notion; a few minutes ago, they had been trying to kill each other, and now they acted like nothing happened.

"When you were away from home, did you know Aang? They seemed to recognize your name." Ed made sure to choose his words carefully, since Zuko had a fuse as short as Ed's.

"Yeah." Zuko hesitated, and seemed like he didn't want to talk about it, like if he said something wrong, he would lose the trust of the alchemist.

"Well, they thought I was sent by you."

"Oh. What did they do?" Zuko raised an eyebrow.

"They attacked me and stole my arm and leg."

"Sorry about that." Ed shook his head.

"It wasn't your fault, it was mine. What did you do to make them hate you?"

"I, uh…betrayed them, but I now regret it." Zuko said hopefully. "But I know they hate me. How am I supposed to convince them I'm on their side?"

"Did you try practicing what you were going to say?" Zuko crossed his arms and mumbled something about a 'badgerfrog'. "Don't worry, they're good kids…Aang has been trying to help me…" Ed trailed off and involuntarily thought of the dreaded killing. Ed shook his head and looked at Zuko. "I did something terrible and Aang is the only one who understands what I did. I assure you, whatever you did to them isn't as bad as what I've done. If they forgave me, they'll forgive you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. If not, I'll knock some sense into them." Ed held his right arm into a fist to prove his point, and Zuko put a small, but real, smile on his face.

"Thanks." Ed nodded once and Appa came into view. Both boys stood up and walked over to the area the bison would land. Zuko looked nervous and he was taking very deep breaths.

"Hey guys! I found a friend of yours." Ed yelled over to the group when Appa landed. Everyone climbed off to see what Ed was talking about. As soon as they saw the boy next to Ed, they switched to defensive mode, and Zuko raised a hand.

"Hello, Zuko here."

"Ed! Are you okay?" Katara asked with a panicked voice.

"Get away from him!" Sokka shouted to his friend. Ed stared at Zuko curiously and waved unenthusiastically at his friends to show he was fine. Zuko must've done something bad if his friends hated him.

"I heard you guys flying around down there, so, I just thought I'd wait for you here." Appa growled and sniffed Zuko, which was followed up by a slobbering lick. "I know you must be surprised to see me here."

"Not really, since you've followed us around the world." Ed raised an eyebrow at Sokka's statement.

"Did you stalk them?" Ed asked quietly so only Zuko heard.

"Something like that." Zuko then spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "What I wanted to tell you about is that I've changed and I, uh, I'm good now, and well I think should join your group. Oh, and I can teach firebending to you." Zuko nodded his head towards Aang. "See, I, uh…"

"You want to what now?" Toph sounded shocked, and she even dropped her stance a little bit. Ed looked back and forth from Zuko to the group of kids. He didn't think Zuko was that bad of a kid, but his friends seemed to think so.

"You can't possibly think that any of us would trust you, can you?" Katara sounded rather harsh, and Zuko looked at Ed, then pointed a finger at him.

"He does."

"He doesn't know who you are. All you've ever done is hunt us and try to capture Aang!" Ed snorted at Sokka's accusation; he, himself, had done worse things to the group.

"I've done some good things! I mean, I could've stolen your bison in Ba Sing Se, but I set him free!" Appa licked Zuko again. "That's something!" Ed didn't know what Zuko was talking about, but his friends still didn't appear to trust the kid.

"See!" Ed interjected. "He set Appa free, but I stole him. This guy is already better than me." Ed crossed his arms, which sent pain through his arm, and he hoped Zuko would get a second chance from whatever he had done.

"Appa does seem to like him." Oh, so they were going to just ignore Ed? How immature.

"He probably just covered himself in honey or something so Appa would lick him. I'm not buying it." Leave it to Sokka to try and find an explanation. That idiot; who would cover themselves in honey so they could get covered in saliva?

"I can understand why you wouldn't trust me, and I know I've made some mistakes in the past." Ed knew exactly how it felt to be in Zuko's position.

"Like when you attacked our village?" Sokka accused.

"Or when you stole my mother's necklace and used it to track us down and capture us?" Katara fumed.

"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 have sent that Fire Nation assassin after you." Everyone's eyes opened wide with shock. "I'm going to try and stop-" Ed face palmed; why the hell would Zuko admit to that? Stupid fool…

"Wait, you sent Combustion Man after us?" Sokka asked while he pulled out his boomerang.

"Well, that's not his name, but-" Okay, this kid needed to stop talking. He was only making the situation worse.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to insult your friend."

"He is not my friend!" Ed backed away slightly, so he didn't get caught into a fight.

"That guy locked me and Katara in jail and tried to blow us all up!" Thanks a lot Toph, she hadn't mentioned Ed was there, too. This whole thing was going terribly, and it didn't look like his friends were planning on forgiving Zuko.

"You said they'd forgive me." Zuko hissed to Ed between his teeth.

"You didn't say you did all of those things to them." Ed retorted.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Zuko turned to Aang. "You once said we could be friends. You know I have good in me."

"There's no way we can trust you after everything you've done. We'll never let you join us." Aang spoke and Ed could hardly believe the hypocrisy, since they let Ed join them after he attacked them.

"You need to get out of here. Now." Katara was not usually the one to sound so malicious, but so far, her words to Zuko were the ones that sounded the most harsh.

"I'm trying to explain I'm not that person anymore!" These idiot kids just needed to get whatever grudge they were holding, but Ed didn't feel like interrupting, fearing he'd make it worse.

"Either you leave or we attack." Sokka was always the one to be blunt and to the point. Why couldn't they just get over the things Zuko did? He obviously regretted his actions.

"If you won't accept me as your friend, then maybe you'll take me as a prisoner." Zuko knelt down and Ed knew the kid was desperate. Why couldn't his friends see Zuko was sorry? Ed was going to knock sense into them very soon…

"No, we won't!" Katara blasted water at Zuko. "Get out of here, and don't come back! And if we ever see you again, well, we better not see you again!" Oooh, how threatening. Ed still couldn't believe he was allowed a second chance from his friends, but Zuko was being denied a chance. He had some ruthless friends, and idiotic ones at that.

Zuko walked away with his head slumped down, and he eventually vanished from sight. Ed furiously limped over to the group to apprehend them about their stupidity and hypocrisy.

"Why would he try to fool us like that?" Katara asked, and she looked peeved.

"He's not trying to trick you. He's sorry about what he did, why can't you see that?" Ed was met with some angry glares.

"He corrupted you. This has to be some sort of trap." Sokka just always had the explanation. Ed threw his arms up in defeat, and turned around, with his arms crossed.

"This is just like when we were trapped in Ba Sing Se. He starts talking about his mother and making it seem like he's an actual human being with feelings." Did Katara really just say that? Ed whipped around and stared at her with shock, then anger.

"What did you just say?" Ed was hoping he simply misheard her.

"He was talking about his mother, then he struck." So Ed had heard Katara right, she thought Zuko was an non-empathetic monster.

"Of course he's human with feelings. I'm starting to think you're the ones who don't have any." Ed hoped his friends would snap out of it and listen to his words.

"If you're such good friends with him, why don't you go and hang out with him?" Sokka's arms were crossed, and Ed had enough of their stupidity.

"Fine! I'm going to apologize to him, and when I come back, I'm going to beat sense into all of you." Ed stormed away, trying his best not to fall or trip from the pain that shot in his leg. No one yelled for him to come back, or even just yell his name. His eyes drooped slightly, but Ed knew his friends' judgment was being clouded by a resentment.

Ed walked out of sight and wandered the forest, hoping he would find where Zuko was hiding.

"Ugh! I can't believe how stupid I am!" Ed smiled. He found the confused boy and walked through the trees. "I mean, what was I thinking? Telling them I sent an assassin after them?"

"Clearly, you weren't thinking." Zuko zipped around to see who had spoken, and he relaxed when he saw it was Ed.

"I should have told them Azula sent him. They would've believed that! I'm stupid!"

"Yeah." Ed agreed, and Zuko stared at him.

"What are you doing here?" His voice sounded curious, not bitter.

"My friends aren't wanting to see reason. I tried talking with them, but…"

"Did they kick you out? I'm sorry, you shouldn't have helped me."

"No. I left. They just need some time to calm down. I didn't realize you did those things to them, it would've helped if I knew that before hand." Zuko shrugged. "You know, that assassin of yours tried to kill me." Zuko looked nervous. "You should've hired a better one." Ed grinned and sat with difficulty next to the fire.

"You don't hate me?" He sounded shocked.

"Of course not. I don't know you."

"But now you know what I did to them."

"So. It doesn't affect me. People shouldn't dwell on the past." Images of the failed transmutation, Nina, Hughes, and the dead soldier filled Ed's mind. Great, now he was the hypocrite. "So, what exactly did you do?" Zuko sat down, and he told Ed about his past year persisting the Avatar. Night fell by the time Zuko finished, and Ed fell into a deep, nightmare filled sleep.

"Stupid! Stupid!" Zuko was banging his hand against his head when Ed groggily wiped the sleep out of his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Ed yawned and stood up to stretch, forgetting he was injured. When he moved his arm, he noticed his arm was feeling much better today.

"I burned her! Stupid!"

"Who did you burn?"

"I don't know! The little earth girl." Toph had been here in the middle of the night? Did she come to bring Ed back?

"I didn't mean to! She startled me, so I accidentally burned her feet! What should I do?" Toph's feet were burned? But that's how she echolocated. Hopefully she was safe.

"We need to go back. I have some unfinished business with those morons. They will accept you, if they like it or not." Thankfully, Ed's leg was also feeling better, so he was able to walk easier to the ruins.

"Oh no." Zuko gasped.

"What?" Zuko pointed and Ed saw the freaky assassin going towards the temple.

"I have to stop him." Zuko darted off and left Ed behind.

"Okay." Ed shouted after Zuko, even though he knew it wasn't going to be heard. By the time Ed managed to get to the temple, it was half destroyed. Zuko was talking with the other kids, and Aang motioned Ed to come over.

"Ed, what do you think?" Ed had no idea what Aang was talking about.

"Huh?"

"Him joining our group." Aang nodded his head to Zuko.

"Oh, so now it's okay for him to join? And you really need my input?" Aang nodded his head sheepishly. "Of course I think that's a good idea." Aang smiled.

"I won't let you down!" Zuko announced as the group dispersed. Just because they let him in the group, it didn't mean they accepted him.

Ed told Zuko to follow him and he showed him a spare room. "Don't worry, they'll lighten up. Eventually. We're going to eat soon, so settle in and come out for lunch." Zuko smiled and Ed walked out to give him some privacy. Katara rushed passed Ed and stormed angrily into Zuko's room.

"Nice to see you too." Ed grumbled to himself. He was glad his stupid friends finally saw reason and forgave Zuko's past. Too bad Ed wasn't going to be able to forgive his own past anytime soon.

Bad news first: College is around the corner, and I just got a second job. I highly doubt this will be finished before then, so I will no longer be able to do my typical update every other day thing.

Good news: My chapters are getting longer, but that's not the news… I currently have a plan and plot for another FMA ATLA crossover! That's what I was doing this past week, drawing cover art for that and writing down ideas. I won't actually type it out until this one is done. I'll explain more when this is nearly complete.

Next update: 8/17

As always, thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting, following, and whatever else it is you do.