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They started packing their camp. Zuko and Katara had just gotten back from their little field trip, and Zuko suggested they could go to Ember Island because his family had a house there. Initially, they hesitated; after all, staying in the Fire Lord's old home sounded a bit eerie. Plus, who knew if Zuko's family might show up unexpectedly? But Zuko reassured them that his family hadn't been there for years. The house was deserted and practically in shambles .
As they prepared to head to the beach house, Sokka went out hunting for some food before they hit the road. When he returned, his grin could've stretched from ear to ear. "Hey guys, guess what? I found some cactus juice!"
Katara's confusion as to why he didn't have any food on him dissipated, and now she was just concerned. "Sokka no! Don't drink that! Remember what happened last time?"
To be fair, all that happened was that Sokka started hallucinating and acting like an idiot. But still, it was one of the most annoying things ever.
Sokka stopped in front of her and smirked. "Oh, I wasn't planning on drinking it." Katara raised an eyebrow. If he thought he could convince her, she would pelt him with snowballs. "I wanted to give it to Zuko." Katara froze.
"Zuko? Why Zuko?" Katara's voice carried a mix of confusion and suspicion.
Sokka's smirk widened into a grin. "Well, he's always so… angsty. Imagine what the cactus juice would do." In his personal opinion, this was the best plan he had ever come up with.
Katara rolled her eyes. "I don't know, Sokka, that's-" Katara was cut off by two 12-year-olds who joined the conversation. "Let's do it!" Toph exclaimed. Sokka on cactus juice was the funniest thing ever, and if Zuko started acting the way Sokka di d…w ell, she was going to enjoy this. "Yeah! It'll be fun." Aang agreed. "Plus, I didn't get to see what happened to Sokka when he drank it."
Katara looked around at the enthusiastic faces of her friends, feeling outnumbered. "I don't know, guys. This seems like a bad idea."
But Sokka was already on board. "Come on, Katara, live a little! It'll be hilarious." Reluctantly, Katara sighed, realizing she couldn't sway their decision. "Fine. But if anything goes wrong, it's on you, Sokka."
Zuko, who had already stopped packing, was training in the clearing nearby. This was the perfect time to trick him. He would be exhausted after the session, and exhaustion led to thirst.
Sokka ran up to him, holding a cup. He needed to get the juice out of the cactus; otherwise, Zuko would suspect something. "Hey Zuko, we brought you a drink."
Zuko wiped the sweat from his brow, his body drenched from the workout. Upon hearing that Sokka had a drink, his mouth had gone incredibly dry . He hadn't realized how thirsty he was.
"What is it?" he asked, eying the milky white substance warily.
"Oh, it's uh… juice," Sokka replied vaguely. It wasn't entirely a lie. It, in fact, was juice, just not the normal kind.
Zuko, though, couldn't resist the temptation to quench his thirst. He accepted the cup with gratitude and took a cautious sip.
"Why does it taste so weird?" He said after another second. His throat was grateful for the soothing liquid, but his taste buds were not.
But before Sokka could respond, Zuko's movements stilled, his pupils dilating. The effects of the cactus juice had begun to take hold.
Suddenly, Zuko gasped, his eyes wide with wonder. "Giant fluffy cloud," he exclaimed before darting off into the distance.
The others exchanged puzzled glances, taking a moment to register Zuko's words. However, as they turned around, they witnessed Zuko embracing Appa, his arms encircling the massive sky bison. "You're so soft," he murmured in awe, a blissful smile illuminating his face. "Told you this would be a good idea," Sokka chimed in between fits of laughter. Once the effects wore off, Zuko would never hear the end of it.
"Hey, Zuko!" Toph called out, her voice filled with mischief. "Did you know that if you squint your eyes just right, you can see through walls?"
Zuko's eyes widened even further, if that was even possible, as he tried to process Toph's absurd statement. "Really?" he exclaimed, his voice tinged with excitement. "I have to try that!" Katara couldn't help but shake her head in amusement at the scene unfolding before her. "Zuko, don't listen to her," she said with a sigh. "She's just messing with you."
But Zuko was already squinting his eyes, trying to see through the nearest tree trunk. "I think I almost got it," he muttered, completely oblivious to the fact that it was impossible to see through solid objects.
Toph couldn't contain her laughter at Zuko's gullibility, thoroughly enjoying the chaos she had caused. "Keep trying, Zuko, Sokka teased, unable to resist adding to the absurdity of the situation.
Aang, Sokka, and Toph were laughing uncontrollably. "Oh, I love this version of Zuko. Can we give him cactus juice more often?" Toph managed to wheeze out.
"That depends," Katara said as she eyed Zuko, making sure he wouldn't hurt himself. "On what?" Aang asked. It's not like Zuko would know they would be giving him cactus juice. He was totally oblivious today. "If we'll still be alive once it wears off," Katara muttered.
Zuko then gasped again, the biggest grin crossing his face. "I did it! I can see through walls!" he exclaimed enthusiastically. As they all turned their attention to him, they noticed Zuko had shifted slightly away from the tree. He was convinced he could see because he was no longer staring in the tree's direction.
Then, a bird perched itself down on the tree branch, and Zuko was immediately engrossed in it. "So, how long does it take for the juice to wear off?" Aanf questioned. He was the only one out of the four who didn't possess this knowledge. But then, before anyone could answer, Suki interrupted them.
"Um, why is Zuko dancing?" Suki, who had now come back from her shower, asked, greatly disturbed. She had to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming or not.
They all looked back at Zuko, who had given up on the tree and was not listening to a bird perching on one of its branches.
He was full-on dancing and clapping along with the birds singing. He twirled in a circle and then whooped while he continued with his movements.
"Well, Sokka gave him cactus juice. So he's been doing weird stuff all day." Aang confessed to the Kyoshi warrior. Suki stared at the group. They had truly lost their minds. "He's gonna kill you," she warned
"Suki, he thinks the grass is made out of marshmallows. Do you seriously think he w ould manage to hurt us?" Sokka exclaimed. Zuko was like the polar opposite of how he usually acted right now .
Suki crossed her arms and stared at her boyfriend. "I meant after the cactus juice wears off." Sokka scratched his head, momentarily sobered by Suki's pointed reminder. "Right, yeah, we should probably start thinking about that," he admitted, exchanging concerned glances with the rest of the group.
Katara stepped forward, her expression serious. "We need to find a way to help Zuko come back to his senses before things escalate," she stated firmly, her maternal instincts kicking into high gear. Aang nodded in agreement, thinking. "Maybe if we can get him to drink plenty of water, it might help flush out the effects of the cactus juice faster," he suggested, recalling snippets of similar information he heard when people drank too much alcohol.
Toph smirked, her lips curling mischievously. "Or we could just let him enjoy the show a little longer," she proposed, finding amusement in Zuko's antics despite the underlying concern.
Katara shot Toph a disapproving look. "We can't just leave him like this, Toph. He could get hurt," she admonished, her protective instincts driving her to take action.
Toph crossed her arms. "Only a day ago, you didn't care if he died; now you act as if he's your brother." Katara's cheeks flushed red , furious .
"Let's just get him to drink some water." Sokka intervened, not wanting to listen to them fighting. He grabbed one of the canteens and walked up to Zuko. "Why do you always have to ruin the fun?" He muttered, and Katara glared at him before refocusing on Zuko. "Zuko, you need to drink some water."
Zuko, still caught up in his reverie with the bird, glanced at the canteen with mild curiosity. "Water? Why?" he asked, his voice absent-minded.
"Because it'll help you feel better, Zuko," Katara explained patiently, hoping to coax him into taking a few sips. Sokka nudged Zuko gently, offering him the canteen. "Trust us, buddy. You'll thank us later," he added with a grin.
Zuko eyed the canteen uncertainly for a moment before finally accepting it from Sokka. With a shrug, he took a few hesitant sips, the cool water soothing his parched throat. As Zuko drank, the others watched anxiously, hoping that the water would help speed up the process of sobering him up.
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The water did help, and the effects of the cactus juice started wearing off. As Zuko's senses returned to him, he felt both furious and embarrassed that his friends had tricked him. He remembered everything that happened as he was under the effects of embracing Appa , to trying to look through a tree.
As they continued their journey to Ember Island, Zuko remained withdrawn, his usual stoicism replaced by simmering resentment. Each glance from his friends felt like a reminder of everything, and he couldn't shake the feeling of being betrayed.
Aang noticed Zuko's shift in demeanor and approached him cautiously. "Zuko, are you okay?" he asked, his voice gentle with concern.
Zuko's jaw tensed, his anger bubbling just beneath the surface. "No, I'm not okay," he replied tersely, his tone laced with bitterness. "How could you all do that to me?"
Aang wasn't thinking about Zuko's reaction afterwards. Until Suki showed up and pointed out how angry he'd be . But he could tell now that Zuko was actually hurt, which is why he was mad.
Aang's expression softened, realizing the depth of Zuko's hurt. "Zuko, I'm so sorry. We never meant to hurt you," he apologized earnestly, his voice filled with regret. "We were just trying to have some fun, but we went too far."
Zuko's fists clenched at his sides, his frustration palpable. "Fun? You call humiliating me fun?" he retorted bitterly, his tone raw with emotion. He left after that. "Wait, Zuko!" Aang called after him, but the boy had left .
They found him a little later setting gusts of flames against a rock. Katara used her bending to take out the fire. Once Zuko realized they were there, he paused, chest heaving. "Zuko, what are you doing?" Sokka asked, but he ignored them, walking away. "Sparky, please. We're sorry," Toph called. She had never seen Zuko this upset, angry, yes, but not upset. "Could you just talk to us?" She pleaded.
Zuko stopped, thinking. "I-I need some time." He walked off, returning to the campsite. They watched him grab his things and throw them onto Appa's saddle before he jumped in as well. They exchanged glances before following him.
The ride to Ember Island was quiet. No one was in the mood to talk. The only interaction was between Aang and Sokka, who were giving Aang directions. Thankfully, Zuko had pointed out on a map where the house was before the cactus juice fiasco happened.
Once they got to the island, Zuko wasn't feeling that terrible anymore. He had cooled off a bit on Appa, and he could understand that his friends didn't mean anything by it. Sokka noticed the shift and walked up to the Bender. He hadn't fully gotten the chance to apologize yet.
Sokka approached Zuko cautiously, sensing the tension that still lingered between them. "Hey, Zuko," he began, his voice hesitant. "I know things got a little out of hand back there with the cactus juice. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. We didn't mean to upset you like that."
Zuko turned to face Sokka, his expression guarded. "It's fine, Sokka," he replied curtly, though there was a hint of lingering hurt in his eyes. "I guess I overreacted."
Sokka shook his head, a determined look in his eyes. "No, you had every right to be upset. We shouldn't have tricked you like that. It was immature and thoughtless."
Zuko sighed, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders at Sokka's genuine apology. "Thanks, Sokka," he said quietly, offering a small, tentative smile. "I appreciate it."
Sokka grinned back, relieved to see Zuko starting to forgive them. "Anytime, buddy," he replied warmly, clapping Zuko on the shoulder. "Now, c'mon, how about you give us a tour of the house?"