When Worlds Collide: Book Three, Fire

/////Sam's POV\\\\\

The sun was blazing hot, and we were walking.

"This is humiliating," Katara sighed.

"Do you mean getting thoroughly spanked by the Fire Nation," Sokka asked, "or having to walk all the way to the Western Air Temple?"

"Both," the water bender stated.

"Sorry guys, but Appa gets tired carrying all these people," Aang apologized, lightly petting the sky bison.

After a while, Teo, a boy in a wheelchair, spoke up. "I wonder how the rest of the troops are."

"They're probably on their way to a prison," Haru, a guy with a long beard sighed. "Seems like my dad just got out, and now he's going back in."

It was the first time I met the two. Apparently, the others had met them one of the many times I was with Zuko.

Zuko. I left him there, in the Fire Nation. Was he mad at me? Would I see him again?

"I miss Pipsqueak," the Duke complained up ahead of me.

"I miss not having blisters on my feet," Sokka countered.

Toph suddenly stopped next to me, and I turned to look at her. She had a large smile on her face as she looked up. "Hey, we're here!" she grinned. "I can feel it."

I furrowed my eyebrows and looked around. "Do you need your feet checked?" I asked. "Do you want me to carry you for a bit?"

She glared, and I smirked.

"No, she's right," Aang said, looking around. "We are here."

Sokka raised his eyebrow at me, and I shrugged.

"Wow," Toph continued. "It's amazing."

We climbed on Appa, and flew down the side of the cliff. I gaped at the city before us.

Buildings seemed to hang, and walkways and stairs led to unknown destinations. We landed next to a flowing water fountain, and immediatly, the Duke, Teo, and Haru ran off to explore. Aang went to follow them, but Katara stopped him.

"Why can't I go?" the monk asked.

"We need to decide what we need to do now," Katara told him. "And, since you're the Avatar, maybe you should be a part of this."

"Fair enough," he pouted, sitting down. "So, what's the new plan?"

"First," I started, leaning against a wall, "I want to know what I missed."

"Nothing much," Sokka rolled his eyes. "Except for, you know, the whole planning for the invasion. Oh, and there's this weird guy trying to kill us. I call him Combustion Man."

"Combustion Man?" I asked. "You've some sort of assassin after you?"

"Katara and I went to jail," Toph piped up, and my jaw dropped.

"Anyway," Katara rushed, "our new plan?"

Sokka was quick to jump in. "I think our new plan, should be our old plan," he said. "You just need to master all four elements, and confront the Fire Lord before the comet comes."

"Oh," Aang sighed. "That's great. I'll do that."

"Aang, no one said it would be easy," Katara told him. "But Sam is here now, and she can fire bend. She can-"

"Actually," I interrupted, "I don't think I can. I barely know basic forms, let alone how to teach the Avatar. And Azula didn't bother to teach me anything, because she was too busy following her dads orders on teaching me to be the 'legend.'"

"But you took down those balloons no problem," Katara pointed out.

My gaze shifted to the fountain, and the water shot into the air, holding itself there until I blinked, and it splashed back down. "I can do stuff with my mind. That's what this whole legend thing is. Apparently, I decide the fate of the war, and these... abilities are the special perks." I looked down, avoiding Aangs gaze. "I'm sorry, Aang. But I can't help."

"So where am I supposed to get a fire bending teacher now?" he asked, slouching down.

Katara got a thoughtful look, before smiling. "We could look for Jong-Jong."

The name sounded familiar, but I couldn't put a face to the name.

"Yeah, right," Aang huffed. "Like we'll ever run into Jong-Jong again."

"Who's-" Toph started before shaking her head. "Oh, never mind. If it's important, I'll find out."

"Guess we can't come up with anybody," Aang shrugged. "Why don't we just take a nice tour around the temple?" And before we could stop him, he took off on his glider.

After a few moments of silence, I sighed. "Iroh's in prison," I said softly, glancing up. "I wish I could send word to him, then maybe we could do something. He would know exactly what to do."

Katara gave me a sad smile, and put her hand on my shoulder. "Sam... we didn't really ask what happened while you were gone... are you okay?"

I chuckled and nodded. "Nothing really happened, other than getting lessons from Azula. We went to the beach and flooded some guys house, and I went to school... but other than that, nothing."

"Wait, you went to school?" Sokka asked. "But you can't read or write."

"I didn't say I passed," I laughed.

Appa roared, and Katara sighed. "Come on," she said. "We need to talk to Aang, and figure something out. Sam, you stay here and get some rest."

"But I'm fine-"

"I said, rest." Katara raised an eyebrow, daring me to object, but I just huffed, and plopped down on a rock.

They left on Appa, chasing after Aang, and I watched them until I heard a cough behind me. I jumped, thinking it was one of the boys, and turned around.

I gasped, seeing Zuko. His hair was down, and he shifted uncomfortably, blushing.

"Zuko?" I asked, my voice hoarse. "What are you doing here? What if they others see you - how did you find us?"

"I'm not here to fight you guys," he said, raising his hands. "I need to talk to-"

Aang landed, jabbering on about some trick, and Appa landed next. The minute Toph set foot on the ground, she glared ahead. "I think that will have to wait," she stated.

My eyes widened as Toph pointed behind us, revealing Zuko to the others. They all glared, and I winced.

"Hello," Zuko greeted, raising a hand in a half wave. "'Zuko here."

I could have almost laughed at how nervous he sounded, but I was too scared of how the others would react. They got into defensive positions, and I shifted.

"I heard you guys flying around down here, so I... just thought I'd wait for here," Zuko continued.

"Sam?" Katara asked, and I blinked.

"He just showed up, I was-"

"She was telling me to leave," Zuko finished. "But I-"

Appa roared, and sniffed at Zuko, before licking him. I saw Aang soften in confusion, but I didn't pay attention to it.

"I know you must be surprised to see me here," Zuko said, rubbing off bison saliva.

"Not really," Sokka stated, raising an eyebrow, "since you follow us all over the world."

"Right...," Zuko trailed, looking down. "Well, uh... anyway, what I wanted to tell you about, is that I've changed. And I, uh, I'm good now. Uh, I think I should join your group. Oh, and I can teach fire bending to you." He looked at Aang when he said this. "See, I wanna-"

"You wanna what now?" Toph demanded.

"You can't possibly think that any of us would trust you, can you? How stupid do you think we are?" Katara asked, and Zuko's gaze shot to me.

Along with everyone elses.

My mind went back to our conversation earlier in my room, when Zuko was acting strange. "You've been planning this, haven't you?" I asked. "That's why you came into my room the other day... you were going to leave? Without me?"

"You can't be serious," Sokka groaned. "All he's ever done is try to hunt us down and capture Aang."

"I've done some good things," Zuko defended himself. "I can't count the times I've had to bail Sam out of trouble. And I mean, I could've stolen your bison in Be Sing Se, but I set him free. That's something." To prove his point, Appa licked him again.

"Appa does seem to like him," Toph pointed out.

"He probably just covered himself in honey or something so that Appa would lick him," Sokka shrugged. "I'm not buying it."

Zuko sent me a begging look, but I didn't know how to help him. "Guys... I know how sketchy he is, but Zuko really has helped me out. In fact, he's probably the only reason I'm still sane right now."

"Sam," Zuko called, and shook his head before directing his words at the others. "I can understand why you wouldn't trust me. And I know I've made some mistakes in the past."

"Like when you attacked our village?" Sokka asked.

"Or when you stole my mothers necklace, and used it to track us down and capture us?" Katara added.

"Look," he insisted. "I admit I've done some awful things. I was wrong to try to capture you, and I'm sorry I attacked the Water Tribe. And I never should have set the Fire Nation assassin after you..."

All of our eyes widened, and Zuko's words were no longer being listened to.

"Wait, you sent Combustion Man after us?" Sokka asked.

"Well, that's not his name, but-"

"Oh, sorry," Sokka scoffed. "I didn't mean to insult your friend."

I could tell Zuko was about to lose his tempor from the way his eyes narrowed. "He's not my friend!"

"That guy locked me and Katara in jail and tried to blow us all up!" Toph accused.

"Zuko...," I trailed, stepping forward. "Why did you do it?"

Zuko looked down with his eyes closed. He was silent for a bit until he looked up at Aang. "Why aren't you saying anything?" he asked. "You once said you thought we could be friends. You know I have good in me."

Aang looked to us, but I stared at Zuko. He sent an assassin after my friends?

"There's no way we can trust you after everything you've done," Aang decided. "We'll never let you join us."

"Aang," I whispered. "He can be trusted. He's a good person, and he's changed-"

"You need to get out of here," Katara cut me off. "Now."

"I'm trying to explain that I'm not that person anymore," Zuko insisted, stepping forward.

Sokka stepped up to meet him, pulling out his boomerang. "Either you leave, or we attack."

Zuko and I both looked at Sokka with shock.

"If you won't accept me as a friend," Zuko sighed, falling to his knees and holding up his wrists, "then maybe you'll take me as a prisoner."

"No, we won't," Katara snapped, sending a wave of water at the ex prince. "Get out of here, and don't come back."

I started to rush towards him, but Sokka held my arm.

"If we ever see you again," Katara started, but faltered. "Well,we better not see you again."

Zuko looked hurt, but stood up. He sent me one last look, and I tried to break free of Sokka, but I couldn't. Zuko sent me a small smile before sadly walking away.

When he was out of sight, the others collapsed onto the ground.

"Why would he try to fool us like that?" Katara asked.

"Obviously he wants to lead us into some kind of trap," Sokka sighed.

"This is just like when we were inprisoned together in Be Sing Se," Katara huffed. "He starts talking about his mother, and making it seem like he's an actual human being with feelings."

"Stop it!" I shouted, making them jump. "You don't know what he's been through. You have no right to say those thing about him, Katara. You haven't seen him like I have. You don't know-"

"He just wants you to trust him and feel sorry for him so you let your guard down, and he strikes," Sokka interrupted. "He's already got you hooked. You're lucky he hasn't sent an assassin after you."

"He was scared," I snapped. "He was finally home, and was scared to lose it. He's confused."

"We cant' trust him," Katara insisted.

"I kind of have a confession," Aang said, and we turned to face him. "Remember when you three were sick, and I got captured by Zhao?"

"And you made us suck on those frozen frogs?" Sokka asked. "How could I forget? I had a wart on the flap that hangs down from the back of my throat for a month!" He opened his mouth wide and pointed, but Katara rolled her eyes.

"Sokka, I looked at it, and told you there was nothing there," she said.

"I could feel it," Sokka insisted. "It's my throatal flap!"

"Anyway," Aang continued, "when Zhao had me chained up, it was Zuko who came in and got me out. He risked his life to save me."

"No way," Katara stated. "I'm sure he only did it to capture you and Sam."

"Yeah," Sokka added. "Face it Aang. You're nothing but a big prize to him."

"And what about me?" I snapped. "What's my excuse for sticking up for him?"

"You've been stuck in the Fire Nation for months," Sokka shrugged. "You're probably brain washed."

It took everything I had to not attack him then and there.

"And what was all that crazy stuff about setting Appa free?" Katara asked. "What a liar!"

"Actually, he wasn't lying," Toph spoke up, leaning against a pillar.

"Oh, hooray!" Sokka spat, waving his hands in the air. "In a lifetime of evil, at least he didn't add animal cruelity to the list."

"I'm just saying that considering his messed up family and how he was raised, he could have turned out a lot worse." Toph shrugged.

"You're right, Toph." Katara gave a short laughed. "Let's go find him and give him a medal. The 'not-as-much-of-a-jerk-as-you-could've-been' award!'"

"All I know is, that while he was talking to us, he was being sincere," Toph said, crossing her arms. "Maybe you're all just letting your hurt feelings keeping you from thinking clearly."

"Exactly," I nodded.

"And maybe you are letting your mushy lovey feelings think too much," Toph added.

I spluttered, and stomped my foot. "What is that supposed to mean?" I asked, glaring.

The others ignored her comment.

"Easy for you to say," Katara snapped. "You weren't there when he had us attacked by pirates."

"Or when he burned down Kyioshi Island," Sokka added.

"Or, when he tried to capture me at the Fire Temple," Aang glared.

"All of which Sam was there. With him."

I whirled around on Katara, and got in her face. "I didn't ask to be here!" I shouted. "It's not my fault I kept getting kidnapped. You can't keep blaming me for things that out of my control!"

"Then why are you two trying to defend him?" Katara asked.

"Because, Katara," Toph spat, jumping up from against the wall, "you're all ignoring one crucial fact: Aang needs a fire bending teacher. We can't think of a single person in the world to do the job, and Sam is useless. Now one shows up on a silver platter, and you won't even think about it?" She stomped to get her point across, and I nearly lost my balance.

Katara got an almost guiltly look on her face, and turned to Aang, who shook his head.

"I'm not having Zuko as my teacher," Aang said.

Toph and I both looked at him, shocked.

"Darn right you're not, buddy," Sokka agreed.

"Well," Katara said, crossing her arms, "I guess that's settled."

Toph growled, and turned around. "I'm beginning to wonder who the blind one is around here," she called over her shoulder as she walked away.

I watched her go, before turning back to the others. "I love you guys. You know I do," I told them, but glared. "But this is stupid. You're acting like little kids, and you won't even listen to what I have to say." I started to walk the opposite way Toph had, but before I left the courtyard, I stopped. "I'm going to bed. Don't bother me unless your IQ's went up, or someones dying."

/////\\\\\

It was the next morning, and I had finally calmed down enough to at least try to have a civil breakfast with others.

"Has anyone seen Toph?" Katara was asking as I walked towards the group.

"I haven't seen her since she stormed off yesterday," Sokka shrugged.

I sat on the edge of the fountain and rolled my eyes.

"Maybe she's just exploring the air temple," Haru suggested. "There are some pretty fun spots to practice Earth bending."

Katara frowned. "I think we should go look for her."

"Ah, let her have fun with her rocks," Sokka said, kneeling down by the fire. "I'm in no rush to have her yell at us again."

I glared at the pot of rice over the fire, and the flames slapped up, pushing Sokka back. It earned me a glare, which I sent back.

"We can go check for her," the Duke offered.

"Yeah," Teo rushed, looking at us uncomfortably. "I wanna ride that tunnel down the hall of statues again. It'll work a lot better now that I've fixed my brakes." He wheeled off, and Haru and the Duke chased after him.

When they were gone, a shaking made me lose my balance, and I landed on the ground next to Aang. We looked over to see a giant hole appear in the wall, and Toph climbed out.

"Toph!" Katara yelped. "What happened?"

"My feet got burned," Toph whined.

"Oh no," Katara cooed, kneeling down next to the Earth benders feet. "What happened?"

"I just told you, my feet got burned," she repeated.

"I meant, how?" Katara asked.

"Well, I kind of went to see Zuko last night," Toph said sheepishly.

"What?" I asked. "And you didn't bring me?"

"You what?" Aang asked, shooting a glare at me as well.

"Zuko?" Katara asked.

Sokka made a sound of disgust, and I pushed him away.

"I just thought he could be helpful to us," Toph argued, as Katara pulled water from her pouch to start the healing process. "And, if I talked to him, I thought we could work something out."

"So he attacked you?" Sokka asked.

"Well, he did, and he didn't," Toph sighed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"It was sort of an accident."

"But he did fire bend at you," Aang clarified.

Toph hesitated, but sighed. "Yes."

"See? You trusted Zuko, and you got burned. Literally."

Katara stood up from her work and nodded. "It's going to take a while for your feet to get better. I wish I could've worked on them sooner."

"Yeah, me too," Toph drawled.

"Zuko's clearly too dangerous to be left alone," Sokka said thoughtfully, putting a hand to his chin. "We're gonna have to go after him."

"I hate to go looking for a fight, but you're right," Aang sighed as his shoulders sagged. "After what he did to Toph, I don't think we have a choice."

"He's crafty, but we'll find a way to capture him."

"Maybe just invite him back here," Toph offered as Aang and Sokka lifted her up. "He's already offered himself up as prisoner once."

The boys started to carry her to the fountain, and I stomped ahead. "It really wasn't his fault," I huffed. "It was night. He's a traitor to the Fire Nation. You probably snuck up on him while he was asleep, and acted on instinct."

Toph was placed on the side of the fountain, and she sunk her feet into the water. Aang went to grab some towels, and when he came back, the Western Air Temple shook again. Rubble fell from the ceiling, and we quickly covered our heads.

"What was that?" I asked, as Sokka and Aang pulled Toph out of the fountain.

"Stop!" we heard, and I looked up to see Zuko advancing on a giant buff guy. "I don't want you hunting the Avatar anymore!"

I rushed to help Toph, putting her on my back, and nodding at the boys. "I got her," I told them. I was avoiding having to watch Zuko get into a fight with an assassin; it was something I was worried about the outcome of.

Another shock wave almost sent me tumbling to the floor, but I brought Toph to a safer place behind a wall. The others joined us shortly, and we huddled together, trying to stay out of the guys sight.

"He's going to blast this whole place right off the cliffside," Toph gasped.

"I can't step outside to waterbend anything at him without being blown up," Katara huffed. "And I can't get a good enough angle at him from down here."

I traded places with Katara, and glanced out, before quickly ducking as another blast surged towards us. "I can't focus with all this noise and shaking," I said, closing my eyes. "If I could just focus, I'd be able to set him on fire or something."

"I know how to get an angle on him," Sokka grinned, stepping in front of me.

He pulled out his boomerang, and glanced out right as another blast shook the cliff. His gaze followed the next two blasts, and he pulled out his weapon.

"All right buddy, don't fail me now," he begged, and chucked the boomerang with all his might.

It soared out of sight, and we all held our breath. When we heard a faint thud, Sokka grinned, and raced out to catch it, hooting in delight. Our faces fell when we saw the massive man start to stand back up, and I groaned. We ran back to safety, and waited for more attacks, but the next blast was back with Combustion Man.

We ran back out to see that where the assassin had been standing was blown off, and Combustion Man was gone.

I looked up to see Zuko struggling up a vine, and I grinned. He slowly walked towards us, and I grinned, running towards him, and jumping into his arms. My arms wrapped around his neck, and I hugged him fiercly, refusing to let go.

"I can't believe I'm saying this.. but thanks Zuko," Aang said, scratching the back of his head.

"You idiot," I scolded. "You could've died."

He chuckled and put me down. "Listen," he said, walking towards the others, "I know I didn't explain myself very well yesterday. I've been through a lot in the past few years. 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 some how 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, like choosing to do what's right. All I want to do now is play my part in this war. And I know, that my destiny is to help you restore balance to the world." Zuko turned to Toph, and bowed. "I'm sorry for what I did to you; it was an accident. Fire can be dangerous and wild, so as a fire bender, I need to be more careful, and control my bending, so I don't hurt people unintentionally."

Aang nodded. "I think you are supposed to be my fire bending teacher," he admitted. "When I first tried to learn fire bending, I burned Katara. And 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 put his hands together and bowed. "I'd like you to teach me."

Zuko smiled, and bowed as well. "Thank you. I'm so happy you've accepted me into your group."

"Not so fast," Aang rushed. "I still have to ask my friends if it's okay with them. Toph, you're the one that Zuko burned. What do you think?"

"Go ahead and let him join," the girl shrugged. "It'll give me plently of time to get back at him for burning my feet."

"Sokka?" Aang asked.

"Hey, all I want is to defeat the Fire Lord," Sokka said. "If you think this is the way to do it, then I'm all for it."

"Sam?"

"Zuko's the only person that I can think of that's really up for the challenge," I smiled. "And I trust him."

Katara had a hard glare on her features, and Aang stepped towards her. "Katara?"

Katara hesitated, and turned to the monk. "I'll go along with whatever you think is right," she decided.

Zuko grinned. "I won't let you down, I promise."

He stepped forward, but the others just walked away. I stepped up and lightly took his hand.

"They'll come around," I told him. "They just need time. Toph will be easy; she's already planning revenge, so you're on her good side more or less."

Zuko smiled, and tighted his grip on my hand. "It's a start."

I smiled, and pulled him to one of the temples. "Come on," I told him, "I'll show you your room."