Chapter 36: The Return of Sparky Sparky Boom Man
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC.
"They're never going to let us join now. Aang will never learn firebending and my Father is going to burn the world down." Zuko moaned despondently over breakfast. Ever since the incident with Toph during the previous night, he had been verbally beating himself up at every given opportunity.
Frowning into her bowl, Liling told him, "It wasn't your fault, Zuko. Like you said, you didn't know it was her. How were you supposed to know it was her?"
"But how could it not have been the Avatar or one of his friends? You even said yesterday that if they changed their minds they would find us. And it looks like you were right. But now they'll definitely never want me or you in their group." Zuko threw back, throwing every offering of optimism Liling threw at him right back at her.
Liling opened her mouth to respond when an incredibly loud crash rang out through the forest.
"What was that?" Zuko exclaimed, taking a firebending stance.
"It sounded like it came from the air temple," Liling replied thoughtfully.
Zuko's eyes suddenly widened at the thought. He had never officially gotten around to telling the bounty hunter to quit hunting the Avatar. Knowing what he had to do, he grabbed Liling's hand and shouted, "Let's go!"
Upon arrival at the cliff face that separated the area of the forest where they had camped with the temple, Zuko and Liling surveyed the scene. Sure enough, there was the assassin, or 'Combustion Man' as team Avatar had dubbed him, attacking the four kids. As he reared back in preparation to fire a powerful blast of energy at the Avatar, Zuko grabbed onto a vine and swung at him, knocking the man aside.
"Stop! I don't want you hunting the Avatar anymore." Zuko shouted at him, holding both his hands out, palms up, to further emphasize his point. "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 above the temple, destroying it. Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Toph take duck behind the ledge, covering their heads.
"If you keep attacking, I won't pay you!" Zuko threatened. Combustion Man, not liking the sound of that, 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!" he modifies, hoping to be released.
"He told you to stop!" Liling shouted suddenly, swinging down on her own vine. She rammed into Combustion Man's back, causing Zuko to tumble out of his arms. She then turns and executes a shot jumping sidekick just as Combustion Man fires another shot, knocking his aim off and knocking Zuko further away from his hired help as the fountain explodes, debris flying everywhere.
Combustion Man inhales deeply and fires a blast at Liling. She creates a bubble of bright blue fire around herself. The blast hits it and explodes outward, propelling Combustion Man into the cliff face.
Zuko lands on his hands and feet and quickly turns around, a look of shock on his face. Liling jettisons backward by the force of her own blast and disappears over the edge of the cliff.
Combustion Man turns his back on the two, ready to finish the job. Aang, sensing the danger he and his friends are in, jumps in mid-air, airbending a tornado and kicking it at Combustion Man. Combustion Man leaps over the tornado and fires another blast as he descends. Aang lands and quickly backflips away from the blast, landing next to Katara and Sokka. He jumps into the middle of the floor and sends beam after beam of energy, hitting a different pillar every time and causing them to explode. The group raises their arms to protect themselves from any flying debris.
Eyes widening in comprehension, Toph urgently shouts, "He's going to blast this whole place right off the cliff side."
"I can't step out to waterbend at him without getting blown up. And I can't get a good enough angle on him from down here." Katara points out frustratedly.
"I know how to get an angle on him," Sokka says after a moment. He gently pushes Katara aside and pulls out his boomerang. He presses his back against the pillar and looks around the pillar as smoke billows past. Sokka raises his boomerang towards the source of the blasts and measures their trajectory. "All right buddy, don't fail me now," he mutters before throwing the boomerang. It flies through the air and curves behind a stone pillar.
Combustion Man turns at the sound of the boomerang. There's a white flash as the boomerang hits his head and he's knocked down by it.
Sokka grins happily as he runs out from behind the pillar, followed by the rest of the group. He jumps and catches the boomerang triumphantly. "Yeah, boomerang!" He and Katara look up smiling but quickly frown. They see Combustion Man standing back up and putting a hand to his forehead. "Aw, boomerang. . ." Sokka says sadly, looking down at his boomerang in disappointment.
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 when two fireballs collide into either side of him; one gold, one blue. He roars in pain as Liling and Zuko emerge from the smoke, having climbed back up from being knocked over the cliff.
"I've changed my mind. You're definitely not getting paid." Zuko snarls as he sends another blast at Combustion Man. Zuko's blast, coupled with Liling's effectively knocks into the assassin. Small explosions begin to erupt from his head. He puts a hand on his forehead, grimacing in pain. The upside down pagoda he is standing on is destroyed by a massive explosion.
Both Liling and Zuko jump out of the way as the explosion blows a small crater into the stone's surface. Once the explosion settles, the pair walks towards the group facing them.
"I can't believe I'm saying this. . . but thanks." Aang says, smiling slightly.
"Hey, and what about me? I did the boomerang thing." Sokka whines, gesturing towards his boomerang.
"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."
"And I want to help, too. I know my country has done a terrible misdeed towards the world and I know nothing I do will ever help make up for it, but I would like to try. So please, let me, let us, help you stop the Fire Lord and teach you firebending.
Zuko looks to Toph, then. "I'm sorry for what I did to you." He bows to her before adding, "It was an accident. Fire can be dangerous and wild. So as a firebender, 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 firebending teacher. When I first tried to learn firebending, I burned Katara. And after that, I never wanted to firebend again. But now I know you understand how easy it is to hurt the people you love. I'd like you to teach me." he bows to them.
"Thank you. I'm so happy you've accepted us into your group." Zuko says gratefully, smiling warmly.
However, Aang held up a hand and said, "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." Toph says, cracking a small grin.
"Sokka?" Aang asks, turning to look at him.
With a shrug, he replies, "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."
Aang nods to Sokka and turns to Katara. "Katara?"
Katara looks at Zuko and frowns. Closing her eyes, she turns to Aang and says, "I'll go along with whatever you think is right."
"I won't let you down, I promise." Zuko eagerly promised.
Smiling a relieved smile, Liling added, "Nor will I. Thank you all for allowing us to join. You won't regret it."
The firebending cousins had finally done it. They had found the Avatar and were now working with him to save the world. Things were certainly looking up for them.