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Flying through a blizzard on the back of a bison is not the most pleasant experience, especially when you are aware that every moment of delay counts. And that every moment of hesitation could lead to your friend being killed or delivered to the Fire Lord. And every moment of delay means you can't be on the battlefield defending your sister tribe from the Fire Nation's attack.
Katara was supposed to be responsible for protecting Aang while he meditated.
Instead, she allowed Zuko to sneak into the Oasis, defeat her (okay, for the record, she defeated him, but then Zuko started cheating), and take the unconscious Aang outside.
Into the snow, when the Fire Nation was responsible for the ongoing siege.
Perhaps Aang is already halfway to the Fire Nation.
Katara hopes not — Tui and La, she doesn't know what she would do if she allowed the Fire Nation to capture her friend, Katara doesn't even want to think about what they would do to him, there must be a reason why the Fire Nation wants to get Aang alive, right?
With no other choice, the three of them—Katara, Sokka and Princess Yue—climbed onto Appa's back and set off in search of Aang.
He could be anywhere, if Katara is being honest. He could be on Fire Nation ships, he could be in one of the buildings in Agna Qel'a, he could be outside the city.
They don't know exactly where to go, where they might find Aang, so they just fly ahead, hoping to find him. Somehow, because there's still snow everywhere and flying out in a snowstorm was probably a crazy idea, but they're desperate, okay?
They try to find some kind of sign, something like a symbol, and—
There it is! Somewhere below, they see something bright, something that could be a flame.
They quickly signal Appa to descend, and after a moment, it turns out that they are looking at two people walking side by side, both holding flames in their hands... wait what?
Aang and Zuko are walking side by side, heading towards Agna Qel’a. And there is a flame in Aang's open palm.
Since when does Aang control firebending? Since when is he not afraid to use it?
And why do they need those flames? It's not cold enough to need them; it's not that dark. Besides, Aang never needed warmer clothes (probably because he's an airbender), and neither did Zuko, at least when Katara saw him at the Poles. The girl assumed that airbenders and firebenders are simply able to warm themselves up, so they are more resistant to low temperatures than non-benders.
Appa descends. When Aang sees them, he waves at them friendly, extinguishing the flame he was holding earlier.
“Great to see you guys!” he says. “We have to get to Agna Qel’a before Zhao kills the Moon!”
“Zuko!” Katara completely ignores her friend, jumping out of the saddle and assuming a bending stance, ready to do anything to prevent Zuko from capturing Aang. “Release Aang this instant!”
The smile disappears from Aang's face.
“So you don’t– never mind,” he says. “We don't have time for this. Katara, Sokka, Zuko is not our enemy. We have to stop Zhao, right now.”
“What are you talking about?!” Sokka pulls out his boomerang.
The flame disappears from Zuko's hand.
“Aang is right, I'll explain everything later,” he says. “For now, we have to go back to the Oasis. Zhao can't kill the Moon Spirit.”
“What are you talking about–?”
“There's no time,” Aang says emphatically. “We have to go back to Agna Qel'a, now. Zuko will help us.”
With that, he jumps onto Appa's back. Katara looks suspiciously at Zuko, who gives her a slightly apologetic look and does the same. Reluctantly, Katara jumps after them.
“Take us to Agna Qel’a,” Aang says. “We really don't have time. We have to hurry.”
Sokka glances at his worried expression, then grabs Appa's reins and the bison rises into the air again.
Taking one more person than they were supposed to.
Katara has no idea why they took Zuko with them; what is going on here.
Zuko glances at her, then smiles awkwardly.
“Hey, Katara,” he says. “Um, sorry for everything I did earlier?”
Katara can't believe his audacity.
“You captured Aang!” she accuses him. “Do you know how much danger you put him in? What if something had happened to him... What are you even doing here? Why are you here?”
“Ah, about that, um, sorry,” Zuko glances at her, then at Sokka, who is holding the reins incredibly tightly, all tense. He is clearly not happy with the situation. “It was my mistake.”
“You think that's going to fix everything?!” Katara asks furiously. “That a simple apology will fix years of suffering for our people?”
Zuko closes his eyes for a moment—and does she imagine him muttering something like “again?” under his breath? When he opens his eyes again, he takes a deep breath.
“I know I've done a lot of bad things over the past few months,” he says. “I don't expect you to forgive me. But right now, I'm asking you to work with me. We have common goals. We can't let Zhao kill the Moon Spirit.”
“Since when do you want to fight against the Fire Nation, huh?”
“Since Zhao's actions put the Fire Nation at risk,” Zuko replies. “Killing the Moon Spirit will have unimaginable consequences for the Fire Nation. We are an island nation. We depend on the tides. Killing one of the Great Spirits is a crime.”
“Besides,” Aang interjects, “if Zhao kills the Moon Spirit, waterbending will cease to work. The only way to appease the Ocean's wrath and save the Moon would be...”
He glances at Princess Yue, who has not spoken yet.
“I understand,” she says after a moment. “Avatar Aang, do you promise that Prince Zuko will help us stop Zhao?”
“I promise,” Aang says without hesitation.
“I swear on my honor,” Zuko adds. Then he nods toward Yue. “It's an honor to meet you, Princess Yue. I apologize for the circumstances.”
“It's nice to meet you, Prince Zuko,” Yue, as polite as ever, smiles at him.
Katara snorts under her breath.
“Zuko will probably try to betray us in a minute.”
“Exactly,” adds Sokka. “We can't trust him.”
“Hey, Zuko freed me instead of, you know, capturing me and taking me to the Fire Lord,” says Aang. “So he can be trusted. As long as he doesn't do something stupid again.”
Zuko stiffens slightly.
“Or if he doesn't try to kill himself,” Aang adds, bitterness in his voice. “Again.”
Zuko glances at him.
“Is this about Yu Dao?” he asks. “This is about Yu Dao, isn't it? Aang, am I imagining things, or are you mad at me?”
“Yu Dao?” Katara doesn't understand. She begins to regret not looking at the maps more closely. Where is that?
“It’s one of the Fire Nation colonies,” Sokka says. “We flew over it.”
“Yes, this is about Yu Dao!” Aang says. “And everything that happened there.”
Katara frowns. Zuko and Aang met in Yu Dao? But how? When?
“Hey, you admitted I was right back then,” Zuko protests. “You know very well that both Fire and Earth people lived there, we couldn't just kick them out of their homes–”
“That's not what I mean, Zuko!” Aang interrupts him. “I'm talking about your approach to this problem. Oh no, Aang disagrees with me, I'll just let Avatar Roku kill me and that will be the end of the problem! Not to mention what happened before — what you made me promise!”
“I had my reasons for asking you to–”
“Friends don't ask each other to kill themselves!” Aang raises his voice. “They don't do that! I couldn't even kill Ozai, so why would I kill my friend? If you feel like the situation is too much for you, or like you can't see the difference between good and evil, then you come talk to us! Your friends! We would have found a solution! Something else that wouldn't cost you your life!”
“Guys, what are you talking about?” Sokka tries to understand.
“Meanwhile, you seem to be doing everything you can to get yourself killed!” Aang says accusingly. “If you want to commit suicide, do it yourself, don't use others to do it for you, you coward!”
Anger flashes across Zuko's face.
“I'm not suicidal!”
“Not actively, but passively? I think so!” Aang shouts, and oh, he really shouts. Katara has never heard him shout like this before. “Yu Dao is one thing. That promise is another. But before that? Do you know how many times you risked your life before, for nothing?”
“For nothing?” Zuko protests. “Are you listening to yourself? I'm not going to kill myself! And even if I risked my life before, I had reasons–”
“Like when you let Azula strike you with lightning? In the air, Zuko! You had no way to redirect it properly, you almost died!”
“I'm confused, who is Azula?” Katara asks. “And what's this about lightning bolts?”
But neither Aang nor Zuko are listening to her.
Instead of answering her questions, Aang points an accusing finger at Zuko.
“You didn't have to do that! You were practically asking to die!”
“If I hadn't done that, the lightning would have hit Katara, and she would have died! I was trying to save her life!”
“No, because that never happened,” Katara tries to interject.
Again, she is ignored.
“Katara isn't weak enough for something like that to stop her!” Aang objects. “Don't get me wrong, I appreciate that you saved her back then, but didn't you think that Katara could have just jumped out of the way? Dodged the lightning bolts?”
“I knew she couldn't! Water conducts lightning, and Katara wasn't expecting an attack!”
“Somehow, she was able to defeat Azula!” announces Aang, and again, who is Azula? “You should have let Katara step aside, avoid the attack! Didn't you think for a moment about what would have happened if Azula had killed you? About all the consequences? No, of course not, because then you would have died an honorable death and everything would have been fine! So what if Azula, as Fire Lord, would have continued her attacks on the rest of the world?! That's just a minor detail!”
“I can't believe you're mad at me for something like that,” Zuko says incredulously. “I did what was necessary. I knew I wouldn't die–”
“Not to mention the Western Air Temple!” Aang interrupts him.
“Guys,” Sokka says. “We've never been to the Western Air Temple.”
“I didn't know you were such good friends,” Princess Yue glances at Katara.
“Because we're not,” Katara replies. “Aang, Zuko, what are you talking about?”
“About how irrational Zuko is!” Aang says emphatically. “What was that about, huh? Why did you fight Azula alone? Do you know how many times you almost died that day?”
“It was necessary, Aang,” Zuko protests.
“Nonsense! You could have escaped with us! But no, Zuko had to play the hero and try to distract Azula! And almost die in the process! If we had been a little late and didn't caught you as you fell from those airships–”
“But you weren't, were you? Nothing bad happened, and Azula was there for me. Someone had to take care of her!”
“And you decided that you were that someone? Aside from the fact that you were my friend, Zuko, we spent months in the Fire Nation looking for a friendly Firebender and found no one! I needed you then more than Katara or Toph!”
“Who's Toph?” Katara interjects.
“Nonsense,” Zuko retorts. “You didn't need me back then. I taught you the basics. You could have mastered the rest without my help, you're a talented kid.”
Is it just Katara, or are they implying that Zuko taught Aang firebending?
“If you had died back then, at the hands of Azula, I'm sure I would never have wanted to firebend again!” says Aang. “Besides, it wasn't the first time you decided your life wasn't worth much. Remember Boiling Rock!”
“Aang, you weren't even there!”
“Sokka told me enough!”
“Uh, no,” Sokka objects. “I think I would remember that kind of field trip with Zuko.”
“First you got yourself captured — again, unnecessarily! — and then you almost got yourself killed! Not to mention the coolers–”
“Agni, who told you about the coolers?” Zuko looks sick for a moment, but quickly regains his composure. “Aang, I didn't mean to get caught. Just a few things didn't go as planned.”
“You could have warned Sokka and Suki that the guards were coming! Or you could have come up with a reason why Sokka was in Suki's cell — I'm not that stupid, Zuko, I know how it would have looked if Sokka was just a regular soldier–”
“Suki's cell?!” Sokka turns his head toward Aang, looking quite concerned. Then he remembers that he was supposed to lead Appa to Agna Qel’a, so he refocuses on the road.
“I wasn't thinking, okay?” Zuko hisses. “I'm a bad liar.”
“That doesn't excuse you jumping into the gondola! You almost burned to death!”
“Sokka caught me, so nothing bad happened.”
“But you could have joined them faster!”
“And risk the guards stopping our escape? Aang, I know my abilities, I knew what I was capable of. I knew I could do it! I knew how much time I had! And everything went well!”
“Yes, but it could have gone wrong! You never think! It was the same at the Western Air Temple when the Combustion Man tried to attack us! You risked your life–!”
“If I hadn't done that, you would never have accepted me into the group!”
“Not to mention all your exploits when we were enemies!” Aang concludes.
“I did what I had,” Zuko looks at him defiantly.
“Oh yeah?” asks Aang. “Agna Qel'a? How about when you decided to swim through the Arctic waters using underwater tunnels when you didn't even know where they led or if you could catch your breath?”
“Oh no, no, no, you're not going to tell me now that it was a suicidal plan,” Zuko says quickly. “I didn't do it without thinking. I saw the turtleseals. I knew that if they could survive, so could I.”
“They're not humans, Zuko!”
“I can hold my breath for a long time and I kept warm with my Breath of Fire,” Zuko says with a stony expression.
“Breath of... what?” Sokka turns back to him. “Is that normal for most Firebenders?”
“Not now, Sokka,” Zuko replies, keeping his eyes on Aang. “Anyway, it wasn't a suicidal plan.”
“But it was borderline insane,” Aang insists. “Besides, besides – Pohuai.”
“Pohuai? Really, Aang?”
“Aside from the fact that your plan was to act against the Fire Nation, what were you thinking when you shot me with a fireball? I was literally your only ally at the time, and you wanted to chase me away? What if Zhao's men had caught you?”
“I had a concussion, Aang, I wasn't thinking!”
“And that's exactly why you should let me help you!” says Aang. “Do you see now, Zuko? How many times have you risked your life unnecessarily? So yes, to answer your question, I am mad at you for Yu Dao. For Yu Dao and everything else. For all your suicidal tendencies–”
“And haven't you ever thought that maybe you're not so holy and innocent either, huh?” asks Zuko. “You left me alone, Aang. You left me alone in the Fire Nation, in a country that hated me, that considered me a traitor, an usurper! I wasn't prepared for my role. I was thirteen when my father banished me from the country. All my preparations were focused on finding the Avatar, not ruling the country! Yes, I may have returned to the Fire Nation for a while, but it was only for a few months! And then I was suddenly supposed to take the throne and stop the war! A war that had lasted a hundred years! The Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes demanded reparations, my own country didn't want me! Ozai was still alive, and every moment someone was either demanding his release or his death! I wasn't safe in my own palace, I couldn't trust my own people! Aang, it got to the point where I trusted the Kyoshi Warriors more than my own guards! I had no one to trust, I wasn't ready to take the throne, and I had no one to trust!”
“You could have asked us for help!”
“Everyone wanted to go home! And I understand that, I understand it perfectly, but didn't you really think about the position that put me in? Azula was half-mad, my father was still alive, and Uncle was in Ba Sing Se! How many times do you think the Earth Kingdom made it clear to me that his life was in their hands?! None of you had any problem with that— fuck.”
Zuko stops abruptly. He takes a few deep breaths.
“I'm sorry, Aang,” he says after a moment. “I didn't mean to take it out on you. I know you tried your best. It's just that this past year has been...”
“Hard?” Aang asks.
“Hard,” Zuko confirms.
Aang looks at him with wide eyes, looking as if he is about to cry. Katara would like to be angry at Zuko... if it weren't for the fact that the conversation she just heard makes her realize that there is more going on here than she originally thought.
“Zuko,” Aang says quietly after a moment. “I'm sorry. I know we weren't there for you when you needed us. You're my friend, and I don't want to lose you. You're... you're like family to me, and I really don't want to lose you.”
“You won't,” Zuko quickly reassures him. “I won't do anything stupid and—shit, are you crying?”
Indeed, tears begin to roll down Aang's cheeks. Katara moves toward him to hug him, but Zuko is first. He grabs Aang in his arms, not to crush or capture him, but to hug him.
And Aang lets him.
Aang lets him, clinging to Zuko, hugging him as tightly as Zuko hugs him.
“I'm sorry, Zuko,” he says. “For being gone.”
“No, it was my fault,” Zuko quickly objects, and... is it just Katara's imagination, or are there tears streaming down Zuko's face too? “I should have contacted you. And I should never have asked you to make that promise, it was selfish and cruel of me. You're... You're my friend, Aang. Family. I don't know much about family, but if I had a brother, I'd want it to be you.”
Aang responds by hugging Zuko tighter.
For a long, long moment, they hold each other, both crying and saying something quietly, quietly enough that Katara can't hear it.
When they finally compose themselves, they both turn toward them as if they've just realized they have an audience.
Katara looks at them expectantly.
Princess Yue clearly doesn't know what to do with herself.
Sokka sighs heavily.
“Let me guess, spirit mumbo jumbo?” he asks. “Or just good old time travel?”
Aang and Zuko look at each other.
“Time travel,” they reply simultaneously.