I'm going to start this off with a big THANK YOU to the inspiration for this story, MADJesters1.
Now, if you are familiar with MJ1's work, then you've probably seen the series of small comics and pictures of TF2, AtLA, and Portal (even though it's not much) in a crossover. When I saw it, I was SOOOO excited to see when MJ1 would make this an ACTUAL comic...
...until I realized it was never going to happen. EVER.
SO, I asked MJ1 if I could write out a fanfic pretty much entirely based off the headcanons they've made.
And they said yes.
So, here it is.
Now, I'm going to talk about myself for a bit. If you have never read any of my other stories (and don't plan on it either), then skip over this; it doesn't concern you.
So, I'm still working on 'Burning Up' and 'Arashi no doragonsureiya', but 'A-n-d''s nineteenth chapter is on hold. I'm making a crack chapter for it, as compensation for my lateness, which has NOTHING to do with story-plot-advancement. Just be patient, and you'll see what it's for soon.
'Burning Up' is going slow. Like, REALLY slow... I'm having a hard time starting up the first battle scene, mostly because I'm not good a writing action... Any tips or help offered will be gladly accepted!
Finally... 'Bijuu no hitobashira-ryoku' is on indefinite hold. I have no idea when this is coming back, and I don't really care. I'm sorry if anyone loves this story, you're just gonna have to wait until the muse returns at full power. If, for some reason, you think you can keep this story alive and make it thrive, then please, BY ALL MEANS, PM me and TELL ME SO!
I will give you the story in a heartbeat!
Other than that, I've got three published stories being worked on, and one more that hasn't quite gotten off the ground yet... I'm going to do my best, but it will take some time for me to update these stories.
Alright, story time!
I do not own TF2, Portal, AtLA, or the idea to combine all three at once. I just own these words.
Book 1: Pain
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Chapter 1: The Beginning
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...
...Scout ran through the streets, trying to escape his pursuers. He had been running for the better part of the day, pausing only for a few seconds breather. Unfortunately, he was smaller and weaker than them, so it was only a matter of time until they caught him. He kept running though; if he couldn't fight them off, or lose them in the alleyways, then he'd just have to outlast them. To keep running until she made it back.
If only his air-bending was stronger! He had discovered his ability only a few months beforehand, and he had never been happier in his life!
But, in a family of fire, water, and earth-benders, no one considered him worth their time. No one wanted to train him, so he remained weak and defenseless, while his brothers grew strong. This, of course, led to him being picked on quite often by the fifth, sixth, and seventh oldest...
...like now.
Today's bullying session began with no incident. After his mother left for work, his fifth oldest brother, Jahn, had simply started bending rocks at his face with no warning. Scout was lucky he only lost two teeth. After that, Jaca and Terron, also earth-benders, had joined in, pelting him with small, but rough, pebbles. Scout had dodged most, but the cuts had started to multiply on his body, so he cut his losses and ran.
And ran...
and ran...
and ran.
His only hope was that one of his older brothers would take pity on him, for once, but help never came.
Suddenly, Scout found himself running into a wall. He had made a wrong turn, leading him into a dead end. Dead end #18 if he remembered correctly(1)...
"Caught you, you little squirt!" Scout jumped back, and turned to the entrance to see Jaca standing there with a wicked grin on his face. Jaca whistled loudly, alerting his brothers of his location. Soon, all three earth-benders were stalking towards their brother by nothing but blood.
"Little showoff... think you can make everyone forget about us as they fawn over the 'oh-so-precious air-bender'?!"
"He's weak! Can't even make a breeze!"
"Let's see what happens when an air-bender doesn't have any air!" He stomped on the ground, and a giant tunnel opened up behind Scout, with him just standing at the edge. He started to hyperventilate.
"G-guys! Do-don't do this!" His brothers laughed.
"Aw... can't get enough air, Scout?"
"Uh-oh! He's getting stronger! Look at how much air he can take in!(2)"
"Stop it..." Scout managed to get out. Jahn sneered at him.
"Oh yeah? And who's gonna stop us?"
"What are you three doing?!" All four brothers looked down at the entrance to the alleyway to see their oldest brother, Kaito, glaring at Scout's tormentors. "I've told you three multiple times to leave Scout alone; do you need another reminder?" The three earth-benders shuddered slightly at the memory of Kaito's punishments, which was damaging to the body and to their pride.
"Fine... we're going..." They hustled out of the alleyway, not even pausing to look back. Kaito sighed and turned to his youngest brother.
"I leave town for a week and they're already back to bullying you..." Scout sniffled slightly.
"W-what did I do wrong? ...why do they hate me?!" A hand rested comfortingly on his shoulder.
"Honestly? I think they're jealous..."
"Jealous?! How can they be jealous of me?"
"Because you're an air-bender! Do you know how rare an air-bender is?"
"I'm not the only one left, am I?!" Scout started to panic (comically), and Kaito laughed before hoisting Scout up onto his shoulder.
"No no no... the worst it's gotten was with Avatar Aang. He was the last air-bender, for a while, but then he had children, who had children, who had children. On top of that, random people throughout the world suddenly reported being able to bend air. So, no; you're not the last one."
"Was Avatar Aang an air-bender too?"
"All Avatar's are air-benders, silly! He was born as an air-bender, though..."
"Wow! Wouldn't that be so cool if I was the Avatar?! I'd be the best! Better than Avatar Aang!" He tried to strike a pose from his position, but nearly fell over.
"Well, you've got a lot to live up to! Maybe we could get you a teacher from the temples..."
"I'm gonna get an air-bending teacher?!"
"Well..."
...
...
The spy slowly slid down from the roof, landing onto the ground below lightly. He stopped listening after hearing that the young one was an air-bender. Imagine, that he could be the one to report to Master Gray that he found the Avatar!
But there was no sure way to tell yet...
He had to call this in.
Scout ran through the streets, not stopping for a moment. He couldn't afford to... not this time.
...
...
They had come in the middle of the night, knocking on the door loudly. Jaca went over to the door (protesting all the way, since he had been forced to), and opened it widely.
He had died instantly by a bullet to the head. The house had descended into chaos, his older brothers immediately leaping to defend their house form the murderers. Scout tried to do something, but his mother had immediately grabbed his arm and brought him over to the kitchen window on the opposite side of the house from the front door.
"Listen to me, listen to me!" she ordered, as she crouched down to face him. "You go out the window now, and you run. Don't ever look back! Go to the alley-way where I found you last month, and I'll send one of your brothers to come get you later. You wait there for a day, then you leave town. Do you understand me?!" Scout nodded fearfully, not having any clue as to what was going on. His mother teared up. "I should've sent you to the temples the moment you realized you were an air-bender... but I was selfish. Just promise me that you won't ever hate me for this..." With that, she picked him up and shoved him out the window. Scout, having been used to hitting the ground running, darted off into the night without a backwards glance.
She watched him go, crying softly, before her arms lit up on fire.
If she was dying tonight, she was taking as many of them with her as she could.
And now he was hiding; hiding in Dead-End #26, per his mother's instructions. And he waited.
And he waited.
And waited.
Waited.
...
"Hey you! What are you doing in there?!" Scout yelped, shocked at having been discovered. He tried to duck around the man, but he was too fast an experienced for a young boy to be able to pull that off. The man smirked, and pulled out a whistle.
*PSSCCHHHTTT!*
The whistle pierced the night air.
A signal.
Within minutes, the men who had been ransacking his house gathered around the signaler.
"You're sure this is him?"
"It's the boy I reported; I have no idea whether or not he's the one..."
"Well, with all the trouble we went through killing his family, and losing our men to that crazy bitch, he better be the one!" Scout, who had been squirming as hard as he could to break free, froze at the man's words.
"W-...what did you just say?"
"That's right! You're family's dead now!" The rest of the group began to laugh and jeer at the sobbing boy.
Scout was in turmoil: his family was dead, and it was his fault. All his fault...
...and then he snapped.
...
...
Far away from Scout, in a place few people can travel to, a woman in white woke up(3).
'This... this power... It feels like hers, and his...' She closed her eyes, concentrating on her surroundings. She twitched slightly, in response to her senses picking up a great power. Her eyes snapped open, and her face morphed into that of hatred.
'Raava... My revenge is coming soon...'
She closed her eyes once more, and returned to her sleep.
...
...
He woke up the next morning, in the middle of the street in broad daylight. As he looked around confusedly, he became more and more terrified at what could possibly have transpired last night.
The entire town he lived in was reduced to a pile of wreckage and splinters. No one seemed to be alive as far as he could tell, since he was the only one moving. The most disturbing part of this was the ring of untouched earth surrounding him perfectly, and the dead bodies of the men from last night lining it.
"You wait there one day, then you leave town and don't look back!"
There was no telling what day it was... he could've been lying here for a week. All he knew was that no one was coming to get him.
He got up and started walking.
And he didn't look back.
"Oof!"
"Ack! Oh! I'm so sorry ma'am!" His target laughed lightly as she dusted the front of her robes.
"That's quite alright, young one. Just make sure to watch where you're going from now on!"
"Don't worry ma'am, I will!" With that, Scout darted off into the bustling crowds, away from the orange-clad woman. She stared for a moment, then continued to walk before stopping up short.
'Wha... that little sh-... punk!'
Etsuko always carried her wallet in her hands, hidden by the giant sleeves of her robes, as an extra precaution against pick-pockets.
And, somehow, that little punk just stole it from her without her realizing it.
...
...
Scout sighed as he put his newest prize on the shelf. He sat down on a rusted old bucket, and tried hard to not to feel guilty.
But he always did...
This was his newest goal; saving up the money he needed for-
"I found you!" Scout yelped as a figure opened the shed and he scrambled away from the light. As the figure stepped in, he saw that it was the orange-wearing woman with the blue tattoo on her head from before, the one he just robbed.
"You just stole my wallet, didn't you?!" Scout shook his head no, in a desperate attempt. She raised an eyebrow, amused. "Oh really? Well, then I guess you just have a hobby of collecting wallets and stuffing them with money, am I right?" She walked over to the shelf and 'admired' it. "This is a wonderful collection! I love how some of these actually have other people's names on them! And this one... oh this one is like an exact replica of mine!"
Scout finally broke.
"Please! Please don't call the soldiers!" The woman turned back to Scout, and saw the worry and distress on his face. What she did not see was the reason behind it.
"Why? You are obviously breaking the law, and lawbreakers must be punished in some way."
"I-I can't go to jail; not after being so close to getting the money I need to-" he clapped his hand over his mouth. Why didn't he know when to shut up?
"Need to do... what, exactly?" she inquired. Scout shook his head.
"I... I don't want to talk about it..." She crossed her arms and gazed down at him sternly.
"Well, you can either tell me now, or you will tell the soldiers later; which do you prefer?" He looked up at her, hopelessness evident, and broke down sobbing.
Etsuko hadn't been expecting this.
"Y-you d-don't u-understand! I n-need to go t-to the Air T-temples, so I c-can be an a-air-bender!"
She really hadn't been expecting this.
"Well, how can you join the Air Temples if you use stealing as a means to get there?!" Scout shook his head.
"I was going to return everything I stole back to them; look!" He went over to one of the wallets, and rummaged around inside until he pulled out a folded up piece of paper, which he handed to Etsuko. She opened it, and gasped when she saw a beautifully done pencil-portrait(4) of some random woman. "I have a good short-term memory, so I memorize their faces and draw them, so that I can give back to money if I ever see them again." Etsuko suddenly felt remorse, but could not figure out why.
"Are you certain that you are an air-bender?" Scout nodded emphatically.
"I'm not very good at all yet... but I can do this!" He thrusted his palms forward, and a weak current of air shot out. Etsuko nodded, a small smile on her face.
"Well, I can take you with me to be trained, provided I have your parents' permission to do so."
And just like that, Scout's smile fell from his face.
"...that's not going to happen," he said quietly, head bowed low.
"Why? Surely, they can see the reasoning be-"
"THEY'RE DEAD, OKAY?! MY ENTIRE FAMILY, MY MOTHER, MY BROTHERS, ALL OF THEM; DEAD!" Scout broke into sobs again, and fell to his knees in despair.
There was no way Etsuko had been expecting this.
...
...
"I... see. I'm not sure it will be much, but, for what it's worth, I'm sorry this ever happened to you..." Etsuko said. Her companion shrugged, emotionless.
"It hurt when I found out, and I cry sometimes over it, but... I just don't feel the pain anymore..." Etsuko sighed.
"You never mentioned what happened after you found out..." The boy shivered involuntarily.
"I... I don't remember what happened..." Etsuko raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Well, what was the earliest memory after you found out?"
"I woke up... in the center of the town. It was all gone. The buildings were in pieces, and I think I was the only one left alive... and I woke up in the center of it all, a perfect circle of empty earth around me." Etsuko froze.
'Of course... that's why Gray sent his minions after this boy!'
"Ma'am? Are you okay? You're staring at nothing..." Etsuko blinked, snapping out of her daze.
"I'm sorry... I was thinking on something... important." The boy nodded, slumping down depressingly.
"You don't hate me... do you?" he asked sadly.
"No! I could never hate someone like you! You have gone through too much misfortune in your short life to be blamed for what happened! You are coming with me to the Air Temples, and you will learn how to air-bend!" She took in some extra breaths after her angry monologue.
"You... you really mean it?!" She smiled at the boy softly.
"Of course." She was granted a reply in the form of a tackle-hug from the boy, who seemed intent on squeezing her as hard as he could.
"Thank you! Thank you!" he sobbed in joy.
(9 years later)
"So... I was the Avatar the entire time?"
"Yes."
"Is that why my family was attacked? Because someone wanted to kill me?"
"...yes."
"Oh, okay... just tell me: WHAT THE HEL- HECK HAPPENED TO THE FIRE NATION'S AVATAR?! Why did they go after ME?!" An air-bender's staff came down hard on Scout's head. "OW!"
"No yelling, Scout. Now, remember your studies of the past Avatars. Who was from the Earth Kingdom?" Scout thought hard for a moment.
"Ummm, Saxton Hale, yeah?" Etsuko nodded.
"And what was his date of death?"
"Like... 330 A.G.(5), right?" She nodded again.
"You weren't even born until 432 A.G., so..." she motioned for him to finish the thought.
"The last Avatar... did they go missing?" Etsuko nodded in triumph.
"Perfect. Now let me explain a bit more; no one knows what happened to the Avatar of the Fire Nation. They were never found after many years of searching, so, after twenty years of no discovery, everyone assumed Avatar Saxton was the last. With you here, however, along with air-bending being your first awakened element, I have concluded that the Fire Avatar was taken at a young age."
"But that's impossible! No one can accurately tell whether a person is the Avatar or not until at least twelve years of age!" The staff came down once again. "OW!"
"No yelling. Now, that isn't entirely true; remember what age Avatar Korra was discovered?" Scout pouted.
"...six."
"Exactly. So, it stands to reason that the Fire Avatar had discovered some of their bending much like Avatar Korra. It's highly unlikely, though... more people would have reported something if the Avatar had begun to bend more than one element... So, there's still no clue as to how the Avatar had disappeared..." Scout groaned and put his head in his hands.
"This is getting us nowhere..." Etsuko sighed.
"I have to agree with you on that. Now, let's begin your water-bending exercises once more."
"I still don't understand why we can't just go to the Water Tribe to do this..." Scout huffed. A third time, the staff rapped his head. "STOP IT!"
"No yelling. I've told you multiple times that it's not safe to cross through the Earth Kingdom right now. With the Cold War between the Fire and Earth, any whisper or glimpse of the Avatar will spark the fire, which is the last thing we need with you still working on mastering air-bending."
"I can hold my own against anybody you pit me up against in the temple!"
"That does not prove mastery. You still have yet to understand the secret of air-bending."
"Well, what's the dam- dang secret?!"
"That is something that cannot be taught, only learned." Scout plopped onto his back with a groan.
"I'm never gonna get this!"
"You are doing good, Scout, I promise. However, until you can discover the true secret to air-bending, we might as well give you a minor head-start on water-bending. It can always come in handy in the future." Scout sighed again, closing his eyes.
They snapped back open, a mischievous glint in them. Etsuko glared at him.
"Scout we don't have time for this. Do not-
"YOU GOTTA CATCH ME FIRST~!" Scout sang as he went sailing out the window with his glider.
"SCOUT! GET BACK HERE DAM- DANG IT!"
...
...
He landed gently in his room, trying not to make a sound in case Etsuko was waiting. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he quickly packed up his clothes and other necessities that he thought he would need.
"Scout? What are you doing?" Scout swore in his head and whirled around to see Gyako(5) standing behind him. He relaxed slightly, and returned to packing.
"I was thinking earlier..."
"Don't hurt yourself," came the quick reply. Scout chuckled softly, used to his friend's teasing.
"Remember my story? From before Master Etsuko found me?" Gyako nodded. "I can't let that happen here... I don't know how long it might take, but whoever sent those guys after me might assume that I made it to one of the Temples. I can't allow any of you to be hurt simply because some guy wants to kill me. So, I decided I'm gonna leave tonight. I'll head up to the Northern Water Tribe; maybe I can get a true water-bending Master to teach me... It'll be a win-win scenario!"
"But... what about the rest of us? We're gonna miss you!" Scout turned around and smiled at his friend.
"I'll do my best to send you all letters whenever I make it to a town. For now, though, give this to Master Etsuko tomorrow at noon. It'll explain what I can; her decision on whether or not to come after me is all on that letter." Gyako nodded, a tear coming to his eye.
"I'll miss you Scout!"
"I'll miss you guys more! Bye!" He jumped out of the window, snapping open his glider mid-fall, and took off to the north.
'I'm gonna do it, Kaito; I'll be the best Avatar that's ever existed!'
Notice how it says 'Book 1' at the beginning? That should be a nice hint as to how long this is (hopefully) going to be. I've got the plots set out, so I'm gonna start doing little hints here and there as to what the future will bring for Scout.
I'm also going to start the first several chapters as back-stories for the crew, as well as how they meet Scout and join him. There might be some filler chapters in between, but I'm doing my best to keep things straight.
A.N. Time!:
(1): Here, I'm just trying to emphasize how many times Scout has to go through this...
(2): ...I dunno... just trying to come up with some sort of insult for air-benders...
(3): Guess who?! You're all gonna shit yourselves when you figure it out!
(4): Scout is a good drawer; it's practically canon for fuck's sake!
(5): Just some random OC I made up on the spot. He's gonna have little to no consequence to the outcome of the story. Forget about him completely.
Any guesses folks? Review anything that you think is possible, or P.M. me if you don't want others to know (meanies...). I've already given a hint for who, you just have to find it. I'll tell you when somebody got it right, but not WHO did... *snickers evilly*
MADJesters1: I hope I'm living up to your expectations so far. Any comments, questions, concerns, or tips will be greatly appreciated.
Until next time!
~Kage Musha