Aang found the Western Division sprawled in defeated heaps on the rampart, groaning and struggling to move. It had the imprint of Ty Lee all over it. He caught a flicker of pink out the corner of his eye and side-stepped just in time to avoid her dive-bomb punch, letting her fall past him. She quickly planted her palm on the ground and shifted into a one-handed cartwheel. A smile curved her lips as she straightened to her full height.
"Hello again," she said brightly.
"What have you done with Toph?"
After leaving Iroh, he had been stopped by one of the Terra Team and had learnt, much to his dismay, that Toph had been taken captive. He didn't know how Ty Lee had managed it since Toph was one of the hardest people to sneak up on, but the fact was that she had succeeded. This did not make Aang happy. In fact, he was getting pretty sick of Azula and Ty Lee making everything go kaput with their interference. Not that Ty Lee seemed to notice. She just scratched her cheek and tilted her head to the side like an innocent bird.
"You mean Chibi Tofu?" she asked.
Aang blinked. "A chibi what now?"
Ty Lee looked at him with wide, earnest eyes. "I didn't hurt her, if that's what you're worried about. I just took away her bending." She raised her finger to the air. "Oh, and I added a paralysis effect."
"Those are both terrible things!"
She shrugged. "It wears off after a while. Just look at you."
The reminder that she had done the same to him did little to soften his mood. He scowled and took up a bending stance. Ty Lee had a knack for throwing people off guard with her chirpy friendliness, but Aang didn't have time to muck around. He wouldn't let her distract him anymore.
"Tell me where you're keeping Toph!"
He fired a blast of air. Ty Lee flipped to avoid the attack, moving gracefully before landing on her tiptoe in front of him. She flashed her teeth in a grin and curled backwards, aiming to disable his legs. He jumped and thrust down with his palm. A gust of wind came forth to give him an extra boost to get away.
"Hold still," Ty Lee complained.
"You hold still!"
The two of them clashed. Or, rather, they weaved and ducked around each other, both trying to use the other's momentum to get the advantage so they could counter. Aang gritted his teeth. Their fighting style was too similar. It was like battling another airbender. Ty Lee might not manipulate the wind, but she knew how to move with the currents. He'd have to change tactics if he wanted to defeat her.
Aang stamped his feet. Instantly, rock sprung up, spreading over his body until he was coated in a thick shell. Ty Lee jabbed at his armour uselessly. She yelped and pulled her hand back, sucking on her injured finger.
"That hurt!" she pouted.
A crackling boom ripped through the air. Aang frowned and glanced to his right. Blue sparks were shooting off on top of the drill. It looked like lightning. As he watched, he saw sapphire and orange flames rising and dissipating in explosions of colour. That had to be Azula and another firebender fighting. Was it Zuko?
Ty Lee made an odd sound. He turned to see that she was also watching the battle on the drill with an intent expression. That's right, Ty Lee was Azula's friend. Perhaps she was worried.
Aang let his rock armour slip off him and sink back into the wall. "Are you really going to keep siding with Azula?" he asked. "I know you said she helped you in the past, but …"
He trailed off, unsure how to put his feelings into words. Saying that Azula was evil was a bit too blunt of a statement for him. Still, that she was a cruel, horrible person was an undeniable fact. Aang shuddered when he thought about what had happened to Mai.
Ty Lee met his gaze. The bright glow had faded from her eyes. "If I leave, Azula will be all alone."
The words were said as if they were all the explanation Aang needed. He didn't understand, not really, but there was no time to delve deeper. Another flash of lightning went off and then there was only the rumbling of machinery. One of the tiny figures who had been fighting on the drill had escaped. There were no more fire blasts.
"Looks like that's my cue," Ty Lee said.
Aang blinked. "Huh?"
"I'm gonna borrow you for a sec."
"Wha—woah!"
Her arms wrapped around him and then they were falling—right over the wall and towards certain death. A scream escaped his lips, though the sound was muffled. His face was mushed into her breasts.
"What are you doing?" he yelled.
"I needed a lift back down," Ty Lee said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world to jump off a ridiculously high wall with the Avatar. "It's not a problem, is it?"
"I'm not a bird! It's not like I can just flap my arms and fly!"
"But you're an airbender."
"I need my glider to control the air currents in that way!"
"Oh. I guess we're gonna die then."
Aang couldn't believe what he was hearing. Ty Lee had just thrown them both over the wall, and now she wasn't even fazed by the prospect that they might go splat when their free-fall finished. He raised his head—at least, after some struggling—and caught a glimpse of her expression. She was smiling. It was like gravity didn't bother her at all, like this was all just an exhilarating rush.
Like she knew he wouldn't let them get killed.
Aang gritted his teeth. He looped one arm around her waist and glanced over his shoulder. The ground loomed before them, getting closer and closer by the split-second. Suddenly, he thrust his hand out. A huge blast of wind shot forth from his palm, expanding to make a cushion to cradle him and Ty Lee. Their descent slowed, then stopped entirely. Together, they touched down on the ground.
"Wow," Ty Lee breathed.
Her cheeks were flushed and her grey eyes sparkled. Aang's heart skipped a beat.
"Thanks for giving me a lift," she said, then swooped down and kissed him on the cheek.
Pink bloomed on his face. "U-uh—"
Ty Lee winked, blew him a kiss, and then darted off for the drill before a person could even say "monkey feathers". Aang blinked. Then he blinked some more. Then he realised that he had just been standing there like an idiot while Ty Lee was getting away.
"Hey, wait!" he yelled.
He started to run after her, but it occurred to him that he had, in a roundabout way, completed his mission. Ty Lee was no longer making havoc on the wall. What he really needed to do now was regroup with the others and come up with a plan to find Toph and stop the drill.
Aang shook off his lingering confusion. He kick-started into a run, propelling himself up the wall with an air booster so that he was running directly up the massive barricade of stone. Being an airbender really did come in handy sometimes. Still, this wasn't the time to have fun. He was worried about the fight that had happened on the drill. He was worried about Toph and Zuko and so many other things.
"Please let everyone be alright," Aang muttered. "Please, just let us get out of this safely."
oOo
"I'm sorry, but Changpu is dead. Not even your healing powers can save him now."
The words echoed over and over in Zuko's mind. He trembled. His throat burned, his chest constricted. It was so hard to breathe. All he could do was clutch the unresponsive body in his arms, not even trying to hold back his tears. This was his fault. He was the reason Changpu had been hit with lightning. His stubbornness. His pride. His impulsiveness.
If only he had listened. If only he had waited before rushing out to fight Azula.
"People should work together, right?"
"I'll make sure to come and give you backup as soon as I can."
"We're a team, aren't we?"
Zuko let out a half-choked sob. His guilt, his despair, it was all forcing itself out of him in pained little sounds. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. This wasn't—he couldn't just—
"Nephew," Iroh said gently. "We can't stay here. Let me—"
Zuko flinched away from his uncle's touch. "Don't." He sucked in a breath, curling over Changpu. "Don't touch him. He's not—I can't just—I can't let this—"
"Nephew."
"Stop it!" Zuko screamed. "He's not dead! I won't let him be!"
"You are not a great spirit. You cannot bring the dead back to life."
"Just watch me!"
It was a snarl, a child's retort to an adult's unwanted truth. Maybe the words were spoken out of desperation and denial, but that didn't mean Zuko wouldn't try. That didn't mean he couldn't hope. He had never given up without a fight; he wasn't about to start now.
Zuko placed his hands back over the smoking wound and closed his eyes. He didn't care if Changpu wasn't breathing. He didn't care if there was no heartbeat or even any real chance of success. Zuko was a Child of the Undying Fire. He had felt the sheer mass of power within him when he had unlocked the seventh chakra. He had seen a glimpse of his potential.
Fire is life.
He inhaled deeply and searched for a connection point. Changpu's body was still warm to touch, but it was obvious he had been fatally wounded. Making a connection was like stepping into frozen tundra: Changpu's meridian paths were cold and barren. There seemed to be no energy flow, no hint of life at all except for the crackling traces of Azula's lightning that still lingered in the wound. Zuko gritted his teeth and searched deeper.
Come on! he begged any spirit that would listen. Please let this work!
All he needed was a spark. Just a tiny spark. It didn't matter how small or weak.
Zuko was about to give up when he felt a flicker of response, barely a whisper amidst the overpowering silence of Changpu's life force. But it was still there. It was still something.
He seized hold of the spark and called upon the burning sun that thrummed within him. The flames responded to his desire in an instant, spreading through him in radiant, golden waves and gathering in his palms. Threads formed, anchoring him to Changpu. He could feel the creeping chill of death that was trying to smother any sense of warmth, feel the pain and fading awareness. Changpu would not last much longer.
Zuko enveloped Changpu's life force within his own energy, like a mother duck-hen folding her chick beneath her wings. The spark was so fragile, so faded. It was a dying ember in burnt out ashes.
Come back, Zuko encouraged, infusing more and more of his energy into the little spark. Burn with life again.
It was like trying to fill a bottomless chasm. He poured everything he could spare into Changpu, but it wasn't enough. The chill got stronger, the spark got weaker. Zuko's hands trembled. His heart fluttered in a sickening roll. Every instinct told him to stop, but he refused to let go. More. He just needed to give a bit more.
"Zuko!"
Iroh was calling his name. Hands tugged at his arms, his wrists. Zuko did not budge. He gritted his teeth and dug deeper into his reserves of power, letting it all flow unchecked. The pain was unbearable. Too cold, too demanding. It was like the deathly chill was creeping into him now. Like the draining grip on his energy had gone beyond the physical and was tearing at his soul, threatening to shatter the very fabric of his being. He should stop; he needed to stop, but Zuko had at last got a response. Changpu's life force pulsed and flickered, so, so close to rekindling.
Live!
The word was a scream within him. Something snapped inside him, or maybe it was more like a door had opened. Either way, an influx of energy flowed: warm and gentle, like the flames around a campfire. Zuko had never felt such an exhilarating rush. It revitalised his chi and rushed through his palms to connect with Changpu's life force. The threads that linked him to Changpu brimmed with overwhelming power. A heartbeat stirred. Changpu's chest rose and fell under his palms.
Zuko let out a breath. Tears rolled down his cheeks. It had worked. It had actually worked.
He opened his eyes to see that the colour had returned to Changpu's cheeks. The soldier was still unconscious and the lightning wound on his back had not completely healed, but that was okay. Changpu's heartbeat was strong and his breathing was even. He would live. That was all that mattered.
Zuko slumped, suddenly feeling a whiplash effect of exhaustion. He was just waiting for his uncle to start scolding him for using his healing powers, but no reprimand came. A crease formed on Zuko's brow. He glanced to the side, only to have the breath knocked out of him. Iroh had collapsed. In fact, the old man barely seemed conscious.
"W-what the—"
Zuko scrambled to his knees. He touched Iroh's hand, flinching in surprise at the shock of ice. Iroh's skin was cold. Far, far too cold.
"Uncle?" Zuko gave him a light shake. "Hey, snap out of it! This isn't funny!"
Iroh didn't respond. An awful thought entered Zuko's mind. He remembered the moment he had felt something snap inside him, the moment when his own energy had felt like it would be depleted, but then a new source had suddenly become available to him. He remembered the warm and gentle flames.
He remembered a door with no handle and a golden thread that connected him to the person beyond.
"No way," Zuko murmured, clenching his trembling hands into fists.
If his suspicions were correct, he thought might have just got an idea why the Children of the Undying Fire had become so feared and hated. The possibility terrified him as well. He didn't want it to be true, couldn't accept what he had done. Because now it looked as if he didn't only have the ability to give energy in order to heal others. Somehow, without even realising it, he had stolen his uncle's chi and absorbed it into himself.
This was not good.
"Zu—Lee!"
Aang dropped down next to him. One of the earthbender soldiers who had been stationed on the central rampart watched from behind, standing on top of a floating platform of earth. Aang looked a bit pale.
"Are you okay?" Aang demanded. "I felt our bond get all strained and weird before, but then it just went away." He blinked when he took in Changpu and Iroh's unconscious forms. "Woah, what happened?"
Zuko just shook his head. He didn't even know where to begin in explaining what had just occurred.
"Firebender," the soldier said, stepping forward. "General Sung is requesting your presence on the wall. Bring your uncle as well."
Zuko's mouth twisted. So, he didn't even get a name now. It was just "firebender".
"Hey, hey," Aang cut in, holding up his hands in a placating gesture. "Lee and Yingjie aren't your enemies. There's no need to act like this. Can't we just—"
"Orders must be obeyed," the soldier said. "Now, come." He picked up Changpu and placed him on the platform, then stared expectantly at Zuko.
Zuko eyed the man warily. He and his uncle had both blown their covers during the struggle with Azula. There was no saying what General Sung wanted to do with them. Still, he didn't have the energy to fight, not against the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. In this case, he'd just have to take the lesser of the two evils.
"Alright," Zuko said slowly.
Aang looked like he wanted to protest, but a simple shake of Zuko's head had him deflating. Zuko had done a lot of reckless things today. He'd almost got Changpu killed and then he'd weakened himself, and even more so his uncle, while trying to heal. It was a huge mess, and it wasn't going to be fixed easily. That was why Zuko knew he had to be smart now. Acting impulsively or resisting General Sung's orders would only cause more problems.
Zuko half carried, half dragged Iroh towards the platform. Aang came to help. Together, they managed to get Iroh settled safely.
"You should find the others," Zuko said to Aang. "Try to come up with a new plan."
"But—"
"The drill still needs to be stopped. No matter what, that should take precedence."
He realised that now. He wished he had learnt his lesson sooner.
Aang hesitated, but then he just sighed. "Alright. I didn't get a chance to tell you, but Toph has been captured. I was actually hoping to round up everyone so we can rescue her, but I guess that isn't going to work now." He frowned. "I'll see if I can get Sokka and Katara to help. We'll stop the drill while we're at it."
"Be careful. Azula is more dangerous than usual today."
"Yeah, I know."
The soldier cleared his throat. It was an obvious sign for them to quit the chit-chat. Aang glared at him and said that he had better not let anyone, not even General Sung, mess with his friends; they'd have a very angry Avatar on their case otherwise. The soldier gulped.
"Well, I'd better hurry," Aang said, shifting back to his usual good-humoured self. "See you in a bit!" He waved at Zuko before speeding off with a gust of wind.
"There he goes," Zuko muttered.
The soldier still looked a bit uncomfortable. "Shall we?"
Zuko nodded. The soldier raised his arms and guided the platform with his bending back up the wall. Whether Zuko liked it or not, it was time to pay the consequences for blowing his cover as a firebender. All he could do now was hope that the others would pull through to stop the drill. There would be no victory for any of them until that happened.
oOo
Toph could not see. At first, it was because her bending had been snatched away from her by that overly chirpy, bouncy-footed sneak. Now, it was because all she could feel around her was something cold and hard. Metal. She couldn't even move much. An exploration of the walls and floor had revealed that she was in some kind of tiny room with bars. She also got the sense that her prison was in motion; it swayed and rattled and there was a loud, rumbling hum in ears, like a monstrous heartbeat. All the clues put together told her that she was inside a machine. More specifically, the Fire Nation drill.
She inhaled and forced herself to stay calm. In truth, she had been doing that a lot. Toph was good at putting on a brave face. As a blind girl who people just assumed needed to be protected, she had perfected the art of keeping up her "tough" act so they could never have the satisfaction of saying "I told you so". Still, the fact remained that right now she was pretty much helpless. She knew it, her enemies knew it. Fear was a sticky chill creeping down her spin. It made her fidget and huff, as if movement could somehow make her feel better.
What she wouldn't give for some earth right now. Even a handful of dirt would make her happy.
"Did you hear?"
Toph perked up at the low voice. Her seismic sense might have been nullified, but her hearing was still as good as ever. Voices, footsteps, breathing—the sounds could all be used to create a picture of the outside world. Granted, all the rattling and rumbling machinery muffled the finer details, but she was still able to piece together that there were at least two soldiers standing not far from her cell. The men were discussing the battle. It seemed things were not going well for the Ba Sing Se soldiers.
Bendy, the girl who had nabbed Toph, had been flittering around the battlefield and chi-blocking people right, left and centre. This had allowed the tanks to put pressure on the soldiers guarding the wall. In turn, the unified attempt to slow the drill's progress by patching up the stone as fast as it was broken had been dangerously weakened. It wouldn't be long now before the drill broke through. That was not good; however, what made Toph freeze—what made her hands clench and her heart quicken that little bit faster—was the news that Gramps and Sunshine's covers had been blown.
There had been a fire duel on top of the drill. No one was sure what had happened exactly, but Princess Crazy had returned to the command centre more determined than ever to smash through the wall. She was also gathering soldiers to capture the traitors. Toph's guards speculated in hush-hush voices whether her return meant that she had been forced to retreat.
"The Dragon of the West is scary," the man who had first come with the news said with a nervous quiver. "There are rumours that he redirected the princess's lightning back at her."
"Don't be stupid," the other guard, a man with a rather nasally voice, replied. "There's no way to stop a lightning attack. That's what makes it the ultimate technique."
"Well, Kosuke saw some of the fight and he said that's what it looked like happened."
"I'm telling you it's not possible," Nasal Voice retorted. "General Iroh probably dodged it and fired back his own lightning."
"Yeah, but—"
"Hey," Toph said casually. "Is there a toilet around here? I really need to pee."
The guards fell silent. She waited, listening intently as footsteps came closer to the bars. Toph could almost feel the eyes peering at her. She tried her best to look as small and harmless as possible. Which actually wasn't that difficult. Not being able to bend put a real damper on her intimidation factor.
"You really need to go?" Nasal Voice asked.
"Yeah."
"You really, really need to go?"
"Uh-huh." She amped up the helpless little girl act. "So, can you please let me out?"
The man snorted. "Like we're really going to fall for that. Shut up and sit tight, brat."
Quivery Voice made a small sound of protest. "Yuto, you don't need to be mean about it. She's just a kid."
"Do you want to take the risk of her escaping?"
These words seemed to have quite the effect on Quivery Voice, judging by the silence that followed.
"I didn't think so," Yuto said flatly. "We both know what the princess is like. Don't let pity get in the way of common sense."
Quivery Voice sighed. "Sorry, kid. I guess you'll have to hold it in for now."
Toph made a tsking sound and leant back against the wall. Well, it had been worth a shot. Too bad Yuto had caught onto her scheme.
The guards continued to chatter among themselves. After a while, Toph heard the sound of new footsteps: four sets of heavy, thick-booted ones and then there was one that was feather-light yet almost bouncy in its touch. That last one had to be Bendy. No one had footsteps that light aside from Twinkletoes.
Bendy greeted Toph cheerfully. Stupid girl was still calling her Chibi Tofu.
"Honey, you should leave the nicknames to me," Toph told her in a flat voice. "It's obvious you ain't got it."
Bendy giggled. "You're so funny."
Frustration clawed at Toph. Dealing with this ditz was like bashing her head against a wall with no bending. Ain't nothing was getting through.
"So, what's up?" Toph asked, deciding to change the subject. "Why the entourage? There must be, what, seven of you watching over me now?" She flashed her teeth in a grin. "I didn't realise you were so scared of a little blind girl."
Some of the soldiers murmured in annoyance, including Yuto, but Bendy remained unfazed.
"Oh, we're not scared," she said brightly. "As an earthbender, you really can't do a thing to us while trapped inside all this metal. Azula just wants to make sure we have you well-guarded for when your friends come to rescue you." A smile entered her voice. "We're going to capture the Avatar, you see."
Toph blew her fringe out of her face. "Yeah, that ain't gonna work."
"I don't know," Bendy mused in a thoughtful voice. "The Avatar cares a lot about his friends. I don't think he'd be able to resist coming for you, even if he knew he was walking into a trap. He wouldn't fight if it meant putting you in danger either."
Toph gritted her teeth. That was true.
Bendy clapped her hands. "Anyway, let's enjoy our time together! How about a game? You soldiers can join in too."
The drill gave a particularly violent shake. Toph scowled. "What's wrong with this machine?"
"Oh, nothing is wrong," Bendy replied. "Those big muscly guys stopping the drill from moving forward probably just got too tired to keep up their efforts."
There was no malice in Bendy's voice as she explained that she had purposely put pressure on the soldiers by hitting them on their weaker flanks. Azula had predicted that the platoons who had united would have been forced to split in order to protect the wall from the tanks. It seemed she had been right. Now the drill was able to progress unhindered.
"So," Bendy continued, "about that game—"
A voice suddenly came over the intercom and ordered Bendy to return to the control room. She sighed, genuinely disappointed that they did not have time to play a game together.
"I guess I'll see you 'round," Bendy said.
Her bouncy footsteps faded until Toph could no longer hear any trace of her. The six firebenders who remained did not bother to speak to Toph; they were too busy musing over how long it would take to break through the wall. Some of them seemed quite eager, itching for a chance to have a fight instead of just being shut up inside the drill. Yuto and Quivery Voice just hoped they wouldn't be stuck on guard duty the whole time.
Frankly, Toph thought the whole situation sucked.
She didn't know what had caused Princess Crazy to summon Bendy back, but her instincts whispered that nothing good could come from the combination. Add in the fact that the drill was now making swift progress, as well as her own fate as a hostage, and it was no surprise that Toph was frustrated. She hated how pathetic she felt. She cringed at the thought of being used as bait or to make Aang or anyone else surrender.
Damn it. If only she could bend metal.
She slammed her fist against the ground in irritation. A jolt passed through her. It was very faint, but she had picked up what felt like traces of crude earth. Not daring to get her hopes up, Toph closed her eyes and honed her senses in, then slammed her fist even harder. Sure enough, the tiny bits of earth that had escaped purification pinged on her radar. She could "see" them. All that remained now was whether she could make use of them.
Toph got to her feet and began stamping and hitting the walls. She could kind of get a grasp on it. Maybe if she pulled the bits of crude earth all together.
"Oi, brat!" Yuto snapped. "Stop making such a racket!"
Toph slammed her palms into the ground. The metal dented, sinking in a few good feet. Her mouth curved into a grin. Perfect.
"H-hey!" Someone rushed to the bars. "What do you think you're doing?"
Toph's response was to slam her hands into the ground again, but this time she gouged her fingers into the metal, twisting and ripping it apart until she could feel the exposed earth below. She planted her feet on either side of the hole and raised her arms. Earth rushed up at her command, enveloping her in a hardened armour. It would have been easier to just escape, but Toph had a bone to pick with the Fire Nation soldiers. No one kept the Blind Bandit hostage.
"I'm the greatest earthbender in the world!" Toph announced, laughing a little maniacally.
"Someone stop her!"
The shouts did not faze Toph. Instead, her grin widened. Those idiots had just told her their positions. She let the rock armour break off her and shoot through the bars, knocking down four of the six men. The other two had managed to dodge her attack, but that was fine. Toph ripped the bars apart and summoned the earth back to her hands, then waited. Footsteps sounded to her right. Without hesitating, she unleashed her element at the firebender in an extended rock punch. He fell. The other shot a fireball—she had well and truly learnt the sound of that bending move and its signature heat—but an expertly built rock wall put a stop to that.
"Listen, kid," Yuto said, "maybe we can talk—"
Toph shoved her wall forward, slamming him against the side of the drill. His silence confirmed her win. That was six down. All the points to her!
She tied up the men using the bars off her cell, twisting the metal around their wrists and legs. It was a little annoying that she had to touch the metal to bend it, unlike earth that seemed to spring to her command, but still. There was no way any of the soldiers were getting out of those bonds.
"Take that, you bastards!" Toph said, giving the closest soldier a kick.
Now to go take down the drill. She hadn't seen the blueprints Zuko had stolen—being blind did mean that paper stuff didn't hold much interest or relevance for her—but that was okay. Toph was good at smashing things. Plus, she remembered that there were some support beams in a chamber that needed to be broken. That was good enough for her. Now that she'd learnt how to manipulate the crude earth in the metal, she could use her seismic sense to get a rough idea of the drill's layout.
Toph grinned. "This is going to be easy."
oOo
"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Aang urged.
Sokka and Katara sprinted after him. They had been horrified to learn that Toph had been captured. Now the three were heading to the drill to save her and stop the machine once and for all. Or, at least, that had been the idea. They had barely made it off the wall when a loud groan tore through the air. Aang blinked. The drill was collapsing in on itself, spraying sludgy earth everywhere.
What in the world?
A huge dust cloud formed even as something barrelled through the battlefield, knocking tanks aside and, in general, causing havoc for the Fire Nation. A small figure emerged when the cloud dissipated. It was a girl clad in green and looking rather pleased.
"'Sup," Toph greeted, giving them with a casual nod. "You all took too long, so I decided to take the drill down for you."
Sokka's jaw dropped. "You—you just—"
"Oh, and did I mention I can bend metal now?" She blew on her nails. "Because I can."
A laugh escaped Aang's lips. "It's good to have you back, Toph."
"It's good to be back," she admitted, and then a crease formed on her brow. "By the way, where's Sunshine and Gramps?"
Aang's smile faltered. "About that. We might have a problem."
I want to make it clear that Zuko didn't actually bring Changpu back to life. That is impossible. Zuko just got in there fast enough before "true death" set in. He also would not have been able to heal such a fatal wound without drawing upon Iroh's power or killing himself in the process. Fire healers are special, but they're not that special.
Finally, credit goes to Advocaat for the nickname "Bendy". I was stumped on what Toph would call Ty Lee.