Aang decided that the safest place for the group to reconvene and rest was at the Western Air Temple. It certainly was a pretty sight, with hanging gardens, waterfalls, and architecture that could only be reached by airbenders. It was certainly a beautiful sight. Aang was under a lot of pressure, as the new plan was still the old plan: Aang would have to confront the Fire Lord before Sozin's comet. However, Aang preferred to distract himself rather than face the music.
"Hey, we should really talk about the plan," Naia called after him as he rode around on his glider. She held onto Appa's saddle, staring up at the air bender.
"What? I...can't hear you. The wind is too loud in my ears!" Aang said.
"Aang, I can tell when you're lying," Naia called out again.
"Let me show you the giant Pai Sho table!" Aang exclaimed, flying towards an entrance to his right. Appa landed beside him. Katara, Toph, Sokka, and Naia all got out of the saddle. "You're going to love the echo chambers!"
"I think that will have to wait," Toph mumbled.
Naia looked down at her with a confused look. She pointed behind her, where a figure was standing. It emerged from the shadows.
"Hello, Zuko here," He said.
Naia unscrewed the cap to her water skin, ready to slice Zuko open with jagged pieces of ice at any second. Everyone stood in a fighting position, but Zuko didn't seem to catch onto it. "I saw you guys flying around out there, so I thought I would wait for you here."
Appa roared at him, but then gave him a giant lick. Naia frowned at Appa. He only did that when he liked someone, and he couldn't possibly like Zuko, right? "I know you must be surprised to see me here," Zuko said.
"Not particularly, considering the fact you've followed us all over the world," Sokka said.
"Right...well...I wanted to tell you that I've changed. And I'm good now. And, I think I should join your group. And I can teach fire bending—"
Naia started to laugh, boisterously. Everyone shot her a weird look, but she couldn't seem to stop. "You're funny," She said, wiping a tear from her eye. She couldn't believe Zuko. He wanted to capture Aang so bad that now he pretended to be nice.
"What's funny?" Zuko asked.
Naia laughed even more. After a few seconds it died down. Katara frowned at him. "You can't think any of us would trust you, right? I mean, how stupid do you think we are?" Katara growled.
"All you've ever done is try to hunt us down and capture Aang," Sokka added.
"I've done some good things," Zuko protested. "I could've stolen your bison in Ba Sing Se but I freed him instead."
"Well, I'm glad that out of all the bad things you've done, animal cruelty isn't on your list," Naia shot at him.
"Appa does seem to like him," Toph pointed out.
"I know I've made some mistakes in the past," Zuko looked away.
"Like when you attacked our village?" Sokka asked.
"Or when you threw me against a tree so hard that I lost consciousness?" Naia asked.
"Or when you used my mother's necklace to try to capture us?" Katara asked.
"Look, I admit I've done some awful things. I was wrong and I'm sorry I attacked the water tribe," Zuko said. Naia glared at him. "Both of the water tribes. And I never should've sent that assassin after you—"
"Wait! You sent combustion man after us?" Sokka asked, dumbfounded.
"Well...that's not his name—" Zuko started.
"Who gives a shit about his name? He tried to blow us all up! Twice!" Naia hollered.
"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 pondered for a few seconds but ultimately shook his head. "There's no way we can trust you after everything you've done. We'll never let you join us."
"You need to leave, now," Katara demanded.
"I'm trying to explain that I'm not that person anymore!" Zuko exclaimed.
"Either you leave or we attack," Sokka said, brandishing his weapon.
"If you won't accept me as a friend—" Zuko said, starting to kneel on the ground. "Then take me as a prisoner."
"You're pathetic," Katara said. She used her water bending to push him backwards. "Get out of here and don't come back."
Zuko's head hung low as he walked away in defeat. Once he was out of sight, Naia turned to Sokka. "What the hell was that?" She asked.
Sokka shrugged. "I have literally no idea."
"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 how he acted when he was in prison with Naia and I back in Ba Sing Se," Katara said. "He starts talking about his mother and making it seem like he's actually capable of emotions. And...it worked. I did feel sorry for him. I felt like he was just a confused and hurt kid. But when the time came, he made his choice. And we paid the price. We can't trust him."
"Well, remember that time you guys were sick and I was captured by Zhao?" Aang asked.
"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!" Sokka exclaimed.
"You mean...your uvula?" Naia asked.
"No! My throat flappy thing," Sokka corrected her.
"So...your uvula?" Naia asked again.
"Sokka, I already told you nothing was there!" Katara rolled her eyes.
"Anyways," Aang started again, clearly growing impatient. "When Zhao had me chained up, it was Zuko who came and got me out. He risked his life to save me."
"He only did it so he could capture you himself," Katara argued. "And what was all that crazy stuff about setting Appa free? What a liar!"
"Actually...he wasn't lying," Toph chimed in. "Considering his messed up family and how he was raised, he could've turned out a lot worse. While he was talking to us, he was sincere. Maybe you're all just letting your hurt feelings keep you from thinking clearly."
"Why would you even try to defend him?" Katara asked.
"Because you're all ignoring one crucial fact! Aang needs a fire bending teacher. And we can't find anyone in the entire world to do it! Now one shows up on a silver platter and you won't even consider it?" Toph asked.
"I'm not having Zuko as my teacher," Aang said defiantly.
"Well, I guess then it's settled," Katara said with her arms crossed over her chest.
Toph groaned. "I'm beginning to wonder who's really the blind one around here," She grumbled before walking off.
☽
The next morning, nobody had seen Toph since she stormed off. Naia began to grow worried, that Zuko could have something to do with it. Toph returned back, crawling on her hands and knees. Her feet were burned when she visited Zuko the previous night. She claimed that it was unintentional, but Naia had trouble believing it. The group decided it was best that they would have to go find Zuko and capture him.
Naia and Sokka carried Toph other to a water fountain and placed her legs into it. She sighed of relief. "Wow, I know how you guys feel. Not being able to see with your feet stinks."
Naia and Sokka exchanged looks and shrugged. Suddenly, an explosion shook the entire temple, causing rocks to tumble down the sides of the mountain. Naia quickly grabbed Toph's arm and pulled her out of the fountain. The took cover behind a wall.
"Stop! I don't want you hunting the avatar anymore," They heard a voice. Naia looked up and saw Zuko confronting the assassin he sent after them. He shoved Zuko out of the way and blasted him off of the cliff. Despite Aang's air bending attempts, combustion man swiftly dodged them and jumped off a platform to be closer to the rest of the group. Naia quickly gathered all of the water out of the fountain. Using a jump as momentum, she quickly froze the water into small sharp edges, raining down onto the man. It did delay him, but he ultimately stood back up again. Naia felt Sokka grab her hand and lead her in and away from the cliff.
He then blew up the entire fountain, which sent debris everywhere. Toph had a panicked look. "He's going to blow the whole place right off the cliff side!" She exclaimed. Naia's stomach sank.
"We can't step out there and bend without getting blown up," Katara said nervously. "And we can't get a good enough angle on him from down here."
"I know there's something I can do," Sokka said. He pulled his boomerang out. Once there was a break in the explosions, he threw the boomerang with full force. It circled around and hit the man right in the forehead. He stumbled and fell to the ground.
"Great job," Naia complimented.
The guy stood up again, but this time his explosions were less precise. However, it caused an entire portion of the air temple to collapse and fall into the ravine. What caught Naia's eye was Zuko climbing a vine nearby. He landed on the same platform as the rest of the group.
"I can't believe I'm saying this but thanks," Aang said.
"Listen, I know I didn't explain myself very well yesterday," Zuko said. "I've been through a lot in the past few years. I'm starting to realize that I had to go through that to learn the truth. I thought I lost my honor and the only way it could be restored was somehow by my father. But I know now, that no one can give you your honor. It's something you earn by choosing what's right. I know my destiny is to help end the war and restore balance to the world," Zuko turned to Toph. "I'm sorry about what happened. It was an accident. Fire can be dangerous and wild. So as a fire bender, I need to learn how to control it better so I don't hurt anyone intentionally."
Aang's eyes widened. "I think you are supposed to be my fire bending teacher. When I first tried to learn, I burned Katara. 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," Aang bowed to him. "I'd like you to teach me."
Zuko returned the favor. "Thank you. I'm glad that you decided to accept me as part of the group."
"Not so fast," Aang said. "I still have to ask my friends if it's okay with them."
"Go ahead and let him join," Toph said. "It'll give me plenty of time to get back at him for burning my feet."
"Sokka?" Aang asked.
"Hey, all I want is to defeat the fire lord," He said with a shrug.
"Katara?" Aang turned to her.
She sighed. "I'll go with whatever you think is right," She said gruffly.
"Naia?" Aang asked.
Naia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Aang, I've always told you that I will support you no matter what. Even if I have animosity towards Zuko, it's not up to me. It's your decision. Whatever you decide I'll stand behind it."
Zuko smiled. "I promise I won't let you down!"
The group looked unenthusiastic. Sokka shrugged and walked towards him. "Come, I'll show you to your room."
The pair walked away and everyone dispersed. A heavy feeling sat at the bottom of Naia's stomach.
He's taken advantage of her trust before, and she told herself it wouldn't happen again. Naia thought back to how helpless she was when Yue died. She couldn't do anything to stop it. She couldn't fight, barely water bend, and didn't know how cruel the world could be. But now, she wasn't helpless. She was a stronger now. Naia couldn't lose anybody else the same way she lost Yue. So, she decided to take matters into her own hands. Once she saw Sokka exiting his room, she walked in with her arms crossed.
"I know everyone is willing to give you a second chance. You being here and us choosing to trust you is an absolute privilege. You've done this once before, where you have struggled between what is right and wrong. I'm willing to give you another chance, despite what happened in Ba Sing Se. This group, Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph, mean everything to me. I've already lost someone close to me, and it's never going to happen again," She said calmly. Naia stepped closer to him, maintaining intimidating eye contact. "But I'm here to tell you, you're on thin ice. If you make one slip up, one mistake, give any reason to think that you would harm anybody in the group or especially Aang, I will make sure that you're no longer a threat. Permanently."
Zuko's eyes slightly widened. Naia quickly turned on her heel and walked away. What she said was harsh and uncalled for, but she wanted to be absolutely certain that Zuko understood what would happen if he tried anything again. Perhaps this is what drew Hama to Naia. As much as Naia didn't want to admit it, she had a dark side.
She began to think back on everything that has happened since Yue died. Immediately after, she would have killed Zhao and almost killed Zuko. Naia learned how to blood bend and felt almost no remorse for using it. And now, she was threatening to kill Zuko again if he made any mistakes. Naia didn't like this part of her personality, but she didn't know how to stop it. So for now, she kept it locked away deep inside, where it only saw the light of day in very certain situations. She didn't want Toph, Aang, Katara, or Sokka to see this frightening part of her.
a/n: hey guys! i know this update was kind of short but the next one will be quite lengthy. hope you enjoyed!