Ill Met by Moonlight
Ill Met by Moonlight
Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender is property of Nickelodeon. Doesn't stop me from wishing I owned it though.
Author's Note: This is a 'What If' story based on what would have happened if Toph hadn't encountered Zuko in 'The Western Air Temple,' but instead, stumbled upon a surprise visitor. Just as a warning, this fic does get a bit graphic and violent in some parts.
I'm beginning to wonder who's really the blind one around here…
Toph walked through the woods completely infuriated by the stubbornness of the group to see what lay right in front of them.
She was, of course, referring to the incident where Zuko conveniently walked into their camp and offered himself as Aang's new firebending teacher. He had groveled before them plainly, humbling himself completely. What was more amazing was that he even offered to become their prisoner.
Of course, the biggest shocker was that she, Toph, could actually tell that Zuko was telling the truth. It was something that came as a complete surprise to her. Previously, she had thought of the former Prince as nothing but a spoiled whelp intent on capturing Aang for his own power and prestige. She had never considered him as someone who could be wholeheartedly honorable or courageous. Right now, all her preconceptions about Zuko were being tested and it filled her with mixed emotions.
She was also a bit upset right not, upset that Aang and the gang could not see the great opportunity that lay before them. Zuko, the now exiled Prince, was a skilled firebender who had a lot of experience. Chances were, he'd be able to impart those skills to Aang so that the Avatar could fulfill his destiny and defeat Fire Lord Ozai, bringing back balance to the world.
I'm not having Zuko as my teacher!
Deep down, however, Toph knew that she shouldn't have gone down on her group too hard. After all, she herself had her moments of stubbornness and doggedness. There was that incident where she had refused to stop gambling even when Katara had told her to, despite the great danger it put their group in. She didn't have the high moral ground herself in some instances, she had to admit.
But still, this case was different. When Sozin's Comet came, Fire Lord Ozai and his army would become nearly invincible. They could conquer the world in one fell swoop with the powers the comet would grant them. Right now, they didn't have time to mull over past bad experiences with the former Prince. They needed somebody to train Aang in firebending and Zuko was the best prospect they had for the moment. They couldn't afford to waste anymore time searching for that one guy… what was his name again? Jeong… something?
That was why she, Toph, was out here. She had to find Zuko somehow and convince him to come back to the group. She could feel the footprints in the dirt. He had gone down this path somewhere… if only she could sense him. As of now, he was still too far off for her to properly detect.
There was no telling if she could find him or not but she had to try, if only to get him to come back somehow, even if he did come back in chains.
Rather, in her case, she would bring him back in stone cuffs if he offered it.
"Where could that knucklehead be?" Toph sighed.
Ten minutes into the woods and so far, she had not made any progress in her search for Zuko. If she could not find him soon, she would be going back to base, the cliff-hanging Western Air Temple.
"I may as well call it a night if I can't find Mr. Flaming Lips," Toph said angrily.
In the distance, she heard a twig snap on the ground. Toph immediately turned around, crouching in a fighting stance.
Everything else was quite on the ground, with the exception of those footsteps coming towards her slowly.
Toph steadied herself. She would have to be prepared for anything.
Finally, the footsteps stopped on their tracks. By now, Toph knew who it was.
Almost on cue, a powerful blast of heat rang out from the forests, aimed directly towards Toph. Using the momentum from her base standing position, Toph sank the ground beneath her to swiftly dodge the attack just as the beam narrowly missed her and struck the tree she was standing behind.
It was Combustion Man.
Finally, he stepped out to greet her. He didn't say anything, of course, but the assassin came into view as his heavily armored foot stepped down on the ground, shattering a small rock in the process.
Combustion Man had encountered them before, first during a nightly raid where the gang had narrowly escaped from him. The second encounter took place near a Fire Nation town where Toph had become addicted to gambling. He had found out about her rather quickly and arranged to have her and Katara locked up so he could deal with Aang and Sokka. In that instance, they had narrowly escaped from him.
Here, he was still the same as ever. The beard on his face was there while his metal boot and hand clanked heavily. He was a strong and fit man with years of experience in the game. In addition, he was a master firebender who had proven himself time and time again in the Agni Kai tournaments he had participated. Now, he was turning the full extent of his abilities towards assassinations and other jobs fit for mercenaries, bounty hunters, and the wretched hive of scum and villainy that inhabited the Fire Nation.
Toph got into proper fighting position once more. As of yet, she was still not certain of the full strength and skill of Combustion Man, particularly his special brand of firebending where he superheated the air around him to unleash supercharged blasts of pure energy. She had never faced him alone before and now, she was beginning to feel a bit afraid.
As usual, Combustion Man said nothing. He merely stood there stoically, as if waiting for Toph to make the first move. It was especially frustrating for Toph because SHE was the one used to her opponents attacking first, particularly during her days at the Blind Bandit in all those underground tournaments.
"You've got a lot of nerve coming after me, baldy!" scoffed Toph, hoping to infuriate the assassin into making a mistake.
Combustion Man did not reply. His gaze bore into her, as if staring into the very depths of her soul. This unnerved Toph immensely, though she could not physically see him.
"If you're here for Aang, forget it!" Toph told him angrily. "He's miles away from here and I ain't talking!"
Finally, Combustion Man crouched low. He was ready to begin the battle as well. Toph tried to get a good sense of what he was doing but she couldn't. He was far too unpredictable. So far, he wasn't giving away any recognizable weaknesses. Toph was used to listening to the Earth and through the Earth, the bodily movements and abilities of her opponents. The assassin before her was proving to be much too difficult to read, much like Princess Azula.
Several moments had passed between the two opponents. Finally, Toph decided to take the initiative.
Moving her hands into Mantis position, Toph hoisted herself low and lifted the ground from beneath Combustion Man. To her surprise, Combustion Man somersaulted above the attack and landed neatly on his feat.
For a big guy with metal body parts, Combustion Man could move pretty quickly, Toph had to concede.
Ominously, he walked towards her at a slow and steady pace. Toph could still not detect what was going on in his body language. He was definitely planning something… that much she could already tell and you didn't need a lie detector for that.
She decided not to take any chances. Toph quickly used her earthbending to summon a magnificent boulder from the earth and flung it towards Combustion Man. The firebending mercenary took note and immediately blasted the boulder into pebbles. He then summoned a much more powerful blast and directed it towards her with the utmost of precision.
Quickly, Toph shifted the earth beneath her to veer left of the blast. She could feel the air around her heating up quickly as the ensuing explosion had occurred. Toph quickly felt the surroundings around her to get a sense of what had just happened.
The laser beam had annihilated an entire section of the forest, clearing a straight and narrow path, leading out of the woods.
Toph realized her opportunity. She slammed her fist into the ground and lifted the ground from beneath Combustion Man, creating four pillars of stones to surround him, each stone leaning forward to form a monument in the form of a teepee, effectively trapping Combustion Man inside.
Combustion Man looked at the four pillars of stone surrounding him like a roof. It would be a problem that he would soon disentangle.
She then used the earth beneath her to propel her forward, riding on the currents of the dirt as she headed down the path of destruction caused by Combustion Man. It was a path that would hopefully lead her out of the woods.
A distant explosion from behind alerted her that Combustion Man had broken free of the restraints she had imposed on him.
Toph continued riding the earth down the path Combustion Man had blasted open. There was something else amiss here, however. Whatever it was, she could not feel it. It was something more… elusive.
Immediately Toph stopped and lifted two stones from beneath the stone to shield her on both sides as a flurry of arrows flew at her. All the arrows embedded themselves into the stone. They were fast too. If she hadn't earthbended in time, she would have been a goner.
Toph looked around warily. There was more than just the Combustion Man at work here.
Could it be that he brought friends?
Internally, Toph told herself not to freak out. As soon as she got to the clearing, she'd be back on home turf again. From what she could sense, the clearing led to a mountainous area with more earth than there were trees. She'd be able to have a huge advantage over her attackers there.
She could hear the rustling of leaves in the distance. Whoever her attackers were, they were using the trees as their means of travel.
Not to mention they were highly skilled and much stealthier then she had anticipated.
Toph felt her pulse growing more tense as the sound of footsteps grew nearer. It was not the Combustion Man, however.
Two archers reared their strings and fired. Toph sensed it immediately and dug into the ground, disappearing beneath the surface completely as the two flaming arrows missed her by a slim margin. She reappeared from the ground in front of the two archers and bended two rock pillars in front of them. Both pillars struck them in their ribcages, knocking them down instantly.
Without delay, Toph thrust herself into the air, creating pillar after pillar from the ground as she somersaulted from one to the other, avoiding all the arrows that were being fired at her by her mysterious attackers.
Finally, he reached the end of her journey. The path of destruction Combustion Man had created was reaching its closing stages.
Before she could move faster, two arrows struck her clothes and pinned her against a tree, disconnecting her feet from the ground. Toph was amazed that the arrows had not drawn blood. In fact, they tore into her sleeves accurately while pinning her against the wood. Were these the Yu Yan Archers?
Toph had heard rumors about them before. It was said that they could pin a fly against a tree without killing it. Now she knew that some of those rumors were at least substantiated, seeing the pin-pint accuracy they had just now been proven capable of unleashing.
Without hesitation, she grabbed her sleeves and tore them off, freeing her from her burden. Now that she was on the ground once more, she felt about fifteen or so Yu Yan Archers surrounding her. With one powerful circular movement, Toph created a serpentine wall that snaked in a circular motion within the circle of the archers and knocked them flat on their backs, one after another. Inwardly, Toph allowed herself the momentarily pleasure of a smile.
Quickly sensing more archers on their way in addition to the Combustion Man, Toph began using the movements of the earth once more to propel herself forward to reach the clearing.
It she could just get there in time, she'd be able to get into the rocky area where she would be to use her bending abilities at their fullest.
"Once Zuko shows up, we'll show him a real surprise welcome!" Colonel Mongke declared.
Colonel Mongke and his Rough Rhino companions had been called in for this special mission. Their mission was to aid their leader in capturing Zuko, the Prince who was once again banished from the Kingdom. A more apt description was that Zuko had left willingly, but the charges of treason would inevitably follow. He was a fugitive to the Fire Nation now, and nothing more.
Mongke grinned at the thought of having a rematch with Zuko. He had encountered the banished Prince before along with his uncle. In that moment, Zuko had managed to humiliate and defeat him in personal combat, even knocking him off his steed. How he relished in the thought of being the one to defeat Zuko and bringing the head of the traitor back to the Fire Lord.
"You think the pampered prince will be expecting this?" asked Ogodei, one of his Rough Rhino companions.
"He'll piss his pants the moments he sees that he's surrounded!" Kahchi declared proudly. "The only question remains is who's going to do the honors of offing that brat?"
"I wish I could," Ogodei muttered.
"Don't be ridiculous," Mongke told them. "The only one who gets that privilege is the Master. However, it doesn't mean we can't have our fun with Zuko before then."
Vachir, the former Yu Yan Archer now Rough Rhino, nodded in agreement. The only member of their group who made no gestures was Yeh-Lu. He was a silent, withdrawn member of the Rough Rhinos whose armor covered his entire body. His specialty included bombs and other explosive devices. Whenever the Rough Rhinos needed a town to be torched, he would be their number one man.
"Nothing to say, Yeh-Lu?" asked Colonel Mongke.
Yeh-Lu turned his helmeted face their direction. He did not say anything, however. Despite his silence, the Rough Rhinos still knew that they could count on him through thick and thin, however.
"You know, you'd get along with that mercenary real well," remarked Ogodei.
In that moment, one of the Yu Yan Archers appeared before the group.
"Sirs," the archer bowed deeply. "I bear important and, depending how you look at it, ill tidings."
"Speak up, what is it?" demanded Mongke.
"The one our forces have encountered is not Zuko as anticipated," the Yu Yan messenger told them. "Rather, it is a young girl and she is avoiding us with the utmost of precision."
"What?!" demanded Mongke. "You allow a mere girl to thwart all of you?"
"Girl? Yes," the archer replied. "Mere? Hardly… She is Toph Bai Fong, one of the traveling companions of the Avatar."
"Well, that was unexpected," Mongke said. "You are dismissed."
Bowing deeply, the Yu Yan Archer disappeared as quietly as he appeared.
"What now?" asked Kahchi. "All our well-laid plans are put to waste."
"Not exactly," Mongke told his companions. "You heard what the archer said. The target is one of the Avatar's companions. The Master will be equally interested to hear of this."
Toph felt through the tremors of the earth what lay ahead of her. It was a battalion of Fire Nation soldiers lying in wait for her. From what she felt, there were at least 20 of them. She would now have to make adjustments to her escape plan.
Plowing into the ground harder, she sped up the pace at which she traveled through use of the dirt beneath her feet. In a few moments, the lumps of dirt beneath her appeared bigger and bigger. Finally, she was riding on a massive tidal wave of dirt and soil. The momentum of the wave drove her towards the very edge of the forest where all the Fire Nation soldiers took aim towards her at once.
Toph waited until just the exact right moment. She allowed the force of the wave to propel her high into the air just as the soldiers shot fire blasts at her. Avoiding all the blasts in the air, Toph used her air-borne momentum to come down with a devastating stomp onto the earth surrounding the center of the Fire Nation battalion, setting of an enormous tremor that split the ground for several kilometers, throwing all the soldiers off their feet and knocking each and every one of them out.
With a momentous gesture, Toph formed an enormous wall blocking the opening to the forest, in order to slow down Combustion Man and the Yu Yan Archers.
Allowing no hesitation to slow her down, Toph ran off towards the highlands in the area, where she knew she would be much safer.
Behind her, she could feet the footsteps of her enemies growing much more feint in the distance. Here, she was much faster and able to make her escape.
"Where could she have gone off to?" Katara was starting to get worried. "It's not like Toph to make us wait this late."
"She could still be blowing off some steam," theorized Sokka.
"Sokka!" scolded Katara. "Blowing off steam when it's pretty much nightfall?!"
"She's right," agreed Aang. "This really isn't like Toph to keep us waiting like this."
"Should we split up and find her?" asked Haru.
"I could try to find her with my glider," offered Teo.
"Katara's right," Aang told the group. "We need to go off and find Toph. But we'll do it together."
"I bet Zuko's the one responsible for this!" Katara said in a low and dangerous voice. "When I find him, I'll make him regret laying a hand on Toph."
"We don't know if it's Zuko yet," Aang told them. "Right now, let's just go and see if we can find her."
Toph sat down on the cool night floor and drank the water from the flask she had brought along. She hated to admit it but she was totally lost. Inwardly, she was regretting coming out here in search for Zuko. For all she knew, he could've been miles away with no intentions of ever coming back.
"Sheesh, that's what I get for going after him," Toph berated herself. "Now I'm lost and I don't know where I am."
She felt the earth beneath her. So far, she felt that she was in a relatively safe place. The ground was fairly even with buttes all around her. The buttes were small isolated hills with steep sides and even small flat surfaces on top. They had formed through years of volcanic weathering and erosion. Toph felt that she could hide herself here effectively and, if possible, find her way back to her group by sometime tonight.
Finally, after getting enough well-deserved rest, Toph got up, feeling fully rejuvenated. She would now have to begin the difficult journey back to the Western Air Temple. It was a difficult task but she felt fairly confident that she could accomplish it.
Then she felt it again… the presence of Combustion Man drawing closer and closer towards her vicinity.
Toph was on alert once more.
More than that, there were more footsteps coming her way. Those of the Yu Yan Archers, ordinary Fire Nation units, and other assorted legions were also drawing closer.
Toph braced herself, preparing herself to either run… or face the fight of her life.
Before she could take any course of action, she felt Combustion Man walking towards her in a straight line. He stepped forward slowly but ponderously. His eyes narrowed, staring directly at her.
"You again!" Toph cried.
As expected, Combustion Man did not cry. He raised his hand in the air with a gesture that Toph did not recognize. Soon enough, several of the Yu Yan Archers appeared on top of the four buttes surrounding Toph and Combustion Man. They stood atop the hills, ready to rain down arrows upon her on command.
To her surprise, the archers did not fire. Instead, she could feel the footsteps of more and more Fire Nation soldiers drawing closer. They stood behind Combustion Man, facing her with neutral expressions on their helmeted faces.
It was then that Toph found herself surrounded even further. Five komodo rhinos surrounded her in a circle, walking around her laboriously, as if they were waiting to pounce on her. On the steeds, Toph could sense that there were five riders. Whoever they were, they must be elite soldiers of the Fire Nation.
"My my," Ogodei said softly. "What do we have here?"
Toph could hear the chain weapon swinging in Ogodei's hands. It would be much more difficult blocking an attack like that since Ogodei did not have his feet planted on the ground. Rather, he was riding atop his komodo rhino. She knew she was vulnerable from attacks on horseback, especially since she had been once taken out by something as simple as a championship trophy thrown by Sokka who had been on top of Appa's back.
She could hear the swishing of blades as well. Kahchi swung his massive Kwandao back and forth while his komodo rhino paced around her steadily. The other riders she could not read so easily. Their weapons were either much better concealed or they were firebenders.
"Remember, we are not to harm her," Colonel Mongke told the Rough Rhinos.
Though Toph was blind, she blinked momentarily. Did the captain of this cavalry just say what she thought he said?
The circles that the Rough Rhinos walked around her grew wider and wider as the banging of drums was heard all around her. The soldiers pounded on them mercilessly as to signify the coming of something awe-inspiring and terrible. They grew louder and louder, only to increase the nervousness that Toph felt.
Toph raised a stone in the air in preparation for whatever may come next.
Finally, the drum beating came to an end. All the figures surrounding Toph turned towards one direction, the direction towards the tallest butte just a few meters away from them. On top of the hill was a dark figure dressed in Fire Nation armor. This armor was quite different from the rest, however. Sharp edges lined the shoulder blades while a helmet was perched across the head. As soon as the figure turned, the helmet was revealed.
It was bony and skull-like, much similar to the masks that most traditional Fire Nation soldiers wore. However, it was much more demonic in appearance, with the black symbol of the Fire Nation atop its forehead. The figure turned towards all the soldiers, Yu Yan Archers, Rough Rhino cavalry, and all other servants of the Fire Nation.
It was then that each and every one of the Fire Nation soldiers bowed towards the dark figure. The Yu Yan Archers and the Rough Rhinos bowed as well at the same moment. Even Combustion Man followed suite and did the same.
After bowing deeply, they rose and stood straight again. It was at that moment that the figure took off the mask. In an instant, she was off from the butte and on the ground, walking towards Toph as her soldiers formed a path for her to walk.
"You!" cried Toph, instantly sensing who it was.
"That's right, me," Azula smirked deviously. Her curved face and hair glistened in the moonlight.
"Like I said before," Toph spat. "If you're here to get me to squeal on Aang, then forget it!"
"Not to disappoint you," Azula told Toph. "But you're hardly the one I'm after the most."
"What're you talking about?" demanded Toph.
"Zuko was originally intended to be my quarry," Azula replied. "But since you've shown up, I'll just have to settle for you."
"Settle for?!" Toph growled. "I'll make you settle down… permanently!"
This time, Toph was ready to go all-out on Azula if need be.
"No need to get rude," Azula said soothingly. Toph, however, knew better than to fall for that seemingly gentle voice. The Rough Rhinos around them began laughing.
"I'll make you a deal," Azula told Toph. "You manage to beat me and I'll let you go, no strings attached. You lose and you tell me the location of the Avatar… and Zuko, if you know where he is."
Azula made a swift motion with her hands. All her soldiers backed away. From what she signaled, none of them were to interfere in the duel she had just began.
"No deal," Toph said," but I'll ground and pound you anyways!"
Toph shifted to a neutral position and clapped both hands together. Two pillars of rocks coalesced and smashed together in a criss-crossing manner, intending to take Azula's head off. Azula backflipped away, avoiding the blow.
"You're going to have to do a lot better than that," Azula taunted.
"I'm just getting warmed up!" Toph growled as she sent rock after rock hurling towards Azula's body.
Azula swiftly moved towards Toph, dodging each and every stone thrown at her. She flared up with the firebending as well and used it to smash one of the stones to pieces, shattering it completely. She stood before Toph confidently, without betraying any inch of fear.
"You're gonna get it now!" Toph growled and launched herself forward with a wave of granite.
As soon as she neared Azula, she unleashed the wave, allowing it to travel towards the direction of the Fire Nation Princess. In turn, Azula summoned a wall of blue flames, using it to decimate the wave of earth headed towards her. As the dirt rained down on both opponents, Toph could sense the formation of a smile around Azula's face.
Not giving up so easily, Toph launched herself in the air with a pillar, using that force to propel her onto the side of one of the buttes. From her position, she launched a part of that butte directly towards Azula who smashed it apart with a spin kick surrounded by her characteristic flames. Toph launched herself from one pillar of butte to another. Her keen sense of the geographic surrounding of the area helped to guide her from one butte to the next, despite not being able to see at all. Finally, she landed on top of the butte near Azula. Toph took action and surrounded herself with the stones surrounding her, forming her rock armor. Taking note of exactly where Azula stood, Toph leaped up and dove down, smashing her feet into the ground near the area Azula was standing. Though Azula leaped out of the way in time, the shockwave of the impact still struck her and threw her back.
Azula landed on her back as Toph charged her at ramming speed in her Earth armor.
Not losing the desire to win either, Azula leaped back swiftly and cupped both hands together, gathering enough energy for a concentrated assault. Finally, as Toph neared, Azula unleashed the blast of blue flames directly towards Toph. Toph, however, had gained even more momentum as more stones covered her body, giving her extra protection.
Nevertheless, the blast of fire struck Toph, knocking her clear across the air. Thanks to her extra protection, she had not suffered from the full brunt of the blast. Sailing across the air, Toph's body smashed against one of the geological pillars she had formed.
Toph got up. She was indeed in for the fight of her life. Even Aang could not claim a clear-cut victory against Azula and he was the Avatar. How would she get out of this situation unscathed?
"I know about your past," Azula said as she headed Toph's direction. The other Fire Nation soldiers gave them great leeway for their battle against one another.
"If you're gonna try that, it's not going to work this time!" declared Toph resolutely.
"It won't?" Azula smiled venomously. "Did I ever tell you that I found out some of the circumstances of your birth?"
"Spare me," Toph spat. "Whatever you'll try, it won't work."
"You know, you and I are a lot alike," Azula said to Toph. "We were both born into the best of families in our respective nations."
"Except I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth when it came to training," Toph shot back. "I'm self-taught! You've probably had daddy come and pamper to your every need, getting you the best teachers money can buy."
"Hmm, you got me there," Azula confessed. "Though the difference between you and I is that my daddy didn't want to hide me from the rest of the world."
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, I've looked quite deeply into the history of your family," Azula told Toph. "When you were born blind, your father was so ashamed that he considered hiding you from society. And since then, society at large has heard of the Bai Fong family… but never the daughter of the Bai Fongs!"
Toph did not say anything but the expression of her face grew steadily more furious.
"Funny really," Azula stated. "You remind me of a brother I have."
"Aaaaahhhhh!!"
Toph unleashed a flurry of earthbending attacks at Azula. Azula flipped across the ground, leaping and bounding across the air gracefully, making it so that Toph had a very hard target to hit. It had always been one of Toph's great weaknesses… fighting airborne opponents who had the capacity to take her down from above. And Azula was almost as acrobatic and flighty as Aang.
While across the air, Azula sent another concussive blast that struck the boulder Toph had just gotten into the air. The force of the explosion knocked Toph back once more. The young Earth Kingdom girl got up groggily. The blast had taken a lot more out of her than she would've liked.
"What's wrong?" Azula goaded her opponent. "Jealous that while your family wanted to hide you from the world, my family wanted to present me as heir to the Fire Nation throne?"
"Shut up!" cried Toph.
Toph got up and sent a small wave towards Azula's feet, managing to take her off balance momentarily. As Azula got up again, Toph fired a small rock brace that connected with Azula's stomach, sending her staggering back. Toph fired off rock after rock, hoping to crush Azula where she stood.
Azula seemed to regain her senses, however, and avoided the rocks. In addition, she danced nimbly over the waves that Toph was sending towards her feet until she finally made close contact with Toph.
Toph gathered the rocks over hand, forming twin gloves while Azula formed twin daggers in her hand, constructed from the blue flames of her prodigious firebending skills. They struck at each other, dancing and bobbing as if they were engaged in a ceremonial ballet. Azula aimed for the throat while Toph used her gloves to punch at Azula. They twisted and turned, attempting to take each other down until finally, Azula flipped out of the way after she sensed the ground beneath her moving steadily towards Toph's advantage.
"You're good," conceded Azula. "But I'm better!"
"We'll just see about that!" Toph smirked.
Toph shot forth waves and waves of earth, stone, dirt, and other precious minerals from the ground. Azula blasted back with her blue fireballs, destroying Toph's attacks and putting both fighters at equilibrium. Azula finally leaped over one of Toph's boulders and charged. This time, Toph was able to sense the movement of Azula's feet running towards her steadily. She lifted the ground from beneath Azula to trip her but to her surprise, Azula somersaulted over her with the precision of an Air Bender.
Azula clasped both hands together just as Toph gathered steam for her next attack. Turning around at once, both fighters unleashed their attack as Azula let loose her volley of flames just as Toph slammed forth the fistful of earth she had bended. In the ensuing explosion, both Azula and Toph were thrown back as their bodies hit the floor.
Azula was the first to get up. She stood beneath the shadow of one of the buttes. In the moonlight, she was almost demonic to behold.
Toph stood up as well.
"You're alone, helpless, and worst of all, you're going to die young," Azula informed Toph. "It looks like I've got you exactly where I want."
"No Azula," Toph breathed. "I've got you!"
Toph leaned back and split into a horse stance. She drew her fists back and raised them up high, only to bring them back against with gusto.
At first, Azula did not see the significance of what Toph was doing. From behind her, the entire butte twisted forward and began falling, right on top of where she was standing. Toph smiled. The mountainous pillar crashed down as the Fire Nation soldiers looked on in amazement. With an earth-shattering noise, it smashed into the ground, causing the ground to rumble portentously.
"Looks like I'm home free," Toph declared triumphantly.
Then she realized she had declared victory prematurely. From the dust that had not yet settled, she felt a pulse. And it was not a weak or dying pulse by any means.
Almost dramatically, Azula stepped out of the dust, wiping off the dirt on her costume as she gave Toph a contemptuous look.
"Was that really all you had to offer?"
"No, this it!" Toph cried and sent an entire shockwave of raw earth in Azula's direction.
Azula anticipated the move and charged up her most powerful attack. Just inches before the earthbending maneuver reached her, Azula had both fingers together, sending a powerful blast of lightning that destroyed the ground-based attacks bit by bit. Toph pressed on, hoping to wear Azula down. Finally, the final defense that Toph had erected was blown to bits with one blast.
Taking the advantage of her situation, Azula flipped around and used the two fingers on her other hand to send another lightning bolt, this time more concentrated, that struck Toph in the chest.
The battle was finally over as Toph fell back. Instead of hitting the ground, she felt two powerful arms catching her. Combustion Man had caught her as she fell. Under ordinary circumstances, she would have grabbed his metal arm and dislocated it with her metalbending. This time, however, she was barely strong enough to stand as she felt entire body go numb. Grasping her tightly, Combustion Man held her as Azula walked forth.
She looked worn out and almost exhausted from the intense battle, but Azula looked triumphant all the same.
"Now, about the location of the Avatar," Azula asked Toph after regaining some of her composure. "Tell me where he is."
"N-Never…" Toph spat out blood this time.
"That's too bad," Azula told her. "Looks like I'll just have to set an example... starting with you!"
Toph felt her body growing weaker and head growing groggier as Azula produced a dagger from her wrists like the one she had with her during the siege of the Fire Nation capital.
I'm sorry guys thought Toph as a wave of darkness surrounded her. I… I can't…
"See her anywhere, boy?" Aang asked Appa.
Appa grunted. He was just as worried about where Toph was as the rest of them.
Aang had taken his glider several times, searching through the forests for her. He had come up short on actually finding her but he did see traces of where a great battle had apparently taken place in the forests. Now he was flying over the rocky terrain with the buttes lying scattered across the land.
"If anything happened to her, I swear…" Katara began.
"Katara," Sokka put a hand around her to comfort his sister. "We'll do our best to find her, I promise."
"Wait, I think I see something!" Aang cried.
The flying bison flew down towards the location Aang had directed him towards. As soon as he landed, however, the shock on everyone's face had immediately been registered. The sight before them was so horrifying that even Appa's eyes widened in shock.
What Katara saw immediately drove her to the brink of tears as she held on to Aang tightly and sobbed uncontrollably.
"Hey Azula," Ty Lee said to her friend cheerfully. "Wake up, sleepy head!"
"Mmm," moaned Azula. "Is it time already?"
The young Fire Nation girl had walked into Azula's tent to try to get her friend and leader to wake up. Ty Lee had not yet been briefed on what Azula was up to with the Rough Rhinos or her troops. But whatever it was, she bet it was something important that required the Fire Lord's immediate attention.
"Of course Azula!" Ty Lee told her. "Why are you this sleepy?"
"Mmm, I was up a bit late," Azula said sleepily, barely opening her eyes up.
"You'll be meeting with War Minister Qin soon," Ty Lee told her friend chirpily. "I'm sure he'd be glad to talk to you about his new invention."
"Okay… in a minute," Azula groaned and managed to sit up.
"Say, what's in this bag?" asked Ty Lee.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Azula gave a small warning, but it was one that did not carry the weight of any threat from her so Ty Lee relaxed.
She walked over to the bag and undid the strings on it.
"Don't say I didn't warn you," smiled Azula.
For the next minute or so, Ty Lee's bloodcurdling scream was heard across the entire Fire Nation campsite.
"Told you so," Azula got up and began braiding her hair while putting on more formal clothing for the day.
"Y-You…" Ty Lee pointed to the ground at the decapitated head of Toph Bai Fong.
"It's nothing to get all squeamish over, I can assure you," Azula told her companion. "She's lucky I made it swift and merciful. I left her body out there for her friends to discover."
Ty Lee backed away in fear. Just as she was near the entrance, she bumped into someone. She looked up to see the face of Combustion Man leering down at her. Nervously, Ty Lee backed away from Combustion Man while still keeping her distance from the "trophy" that Azula had claimed.
The Fire Nation assassin looked at Azula, locking eyes with her. There was an unspoken mutual agreement between the two.
Azula opened the drawers and took out medium-sized sack filled with coins. She tossed it towards the assassin who caught it swiftly with his metal hand.
"You did a real bang-up job," Azula said to Combustion Man. "But next time, try to make it Zuko… or the Avatar."
Combustion Man nodded and left.
Azula turned her attention back to the matter at hand. With the Earthbending girl gone, that was one less ally on the side of the Avatar. Even if she didn't find the Avatar directly, she could whittle away at his forces until he had no allies left to turn to. That Water Tribe girl would especially make an appropriate target for the instruments of Azula's psychological warfare. The Avatar was attached to her… perhaps just a bit too attached. Severing her from him would make the loss all that much more painful and Azula would be there to see it happen.
Not only would she be there, but she would enjoy every moment of it too.
The End.
A/N: With this fic, I wanted to portray Azula in all her bloodthirsty glory. I hoped I portrayed her well, from her fighting prowess to her sadism to her cunning, and that I kept her in character(considering this is my second Avatar fic). I know it got a bit violent and graphic in some places(particularly the end) but that's what happens in war. What Azula did to Toph she probably wouldn't mind doing to any of Aang's friends and her brutality and desire to see people suffer are a part of what makes her such a powerful and memorable villain in my opinion. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this!