When a gorgeous, friendly woman dressed immaculately arrives at a police station with a dozen, freshly baked donuts, covered in sprinkles, one could not help, but to stare in awe. A sweet giggle from the woman echoed throughout the precinct, even reaching the keen ears of the greatest earthbender of all time, making her fingers pause on the braille paperwork she had been studying. She knew the voice well, along with the set of twinkle toes that reminded her of the self-sacrificing avatar she loathed to see during her work hours.

A strange nostalgia made the earthbender's lips lift into a rare, sweet smile as she remembered a hilarious trip to the circus many years ago. The smile was quickly replaced with a characteristic grimace when her newly hired assistant stood in her doorway, however.

"Hey, Chief!" Greeted the nail-scratching, high-pitched voice. "I saved one more donut for you. The Boulder was being greedy," the woman informed her, followed by quick clicks of heels across the hardwood flooring in the chief's office.

Chief Beifong waved away the pastry, her hands then repositioned themselves against the raised braille paper.

"You're late, Ty Lee. No amount of sugar will replace the strike on your evaluation. This is your first day on the job," she warned.

Chief Beifong continued reading, fingers moving quickly as Ty lee groaned and seemingly walked away. The inner alpha in Toph was not placated, however. The moment her new assistant entered her office, her trousers became quite uncomfortable. Ty Lee's sweet-scented, omega pheromones burned her nostrils with the tell-tale signs of the end of a strong heat. Thankfully, the girl was gone, now, hopefully far enough away from any other alphas in the vicinity. The strong, lustful scent would make one lose their mind, though Toph knew better. She had two children thanks to her untamed alpha instincts and she made a vow after her last mistake with the head councilman to keep them in check.

Toph turned her attention back to her work, away from her old friend's lingering aroma.

"Omashu!"

Toph nearly feel from her chair at the squeal the acrobat bellowed suddenly. Willing her limbs to calm, she snarled through clenched teeth, "Spirits bless you".

"No, Omashu," corrected Ty Lee, her hand snatching her boss's and placing it on a braille version of the local newspaper.

The earthbender scanned the article, mouth gaping as she read over the title. The World's Greatest Earthbender Resides in Omashu.

Grimacing, Toph shoved Ty Lee off her desk, unable to stand her heat slapping her in the face along with the blasphemous words printed on the front page.

"I don't live in Omashu," she growled with pure "pissivity".

Ty Lee chuckled cutely, "No silly, they're talking about-" Ty Lee stopped, ducking Toph's metal of honor plaque flying from the wall towards her face. "Hey!" She protested at the gesture, "I'm just the messenger".

Toph stood angrily pointing a finger at the omega. "I know who they're talking about. This matter needs to be settled with Bumi and you're coming with me to witness it, Assistant!"

Ty Lee agreed happily. "Yay! Girl trip! I'll ready the air balloon!" she offered.

This time Toph heard her leave as her heels clicked down the hall, her scent following as if to tease the alpha's instincts on purpose. The earthbender began to regret inviting the woman, already.

#

If she wasn't pressed for time and had been thinking with a clear head, Toph would not have followed up on King Bumi's crazy proclamation nor would Ty Lee have been invited to witness the two benders' showdown, but alpha she was, she couldn't resist facing off against the king in front of her newest recruit.

"I haven't been here in years!" Commented Ty Lee excitedly when the angled city was in view from the air balloon.

The chief held onto the side of the vehicle, muttering obscenities. She hated flying despite years spending time with Aang on Appa's back. Oh, when she had the first chance to feel the ground again…

"Look!" Screamed Ty Lee, her voice stricken with panic.

Toph pursed her lips. "Sorry, I only see idiots, right now. I'm blind Ty Lee, can you be more specific?"

Ty Lee chuckled nervously, at which Toph sighed, sending her chi to ease the omega.

"I-I didn't mean to be so harsh," she mumbled biting her lip.

A hug around the neck was Ty Lee's forgiving answer. "It's ok, you…you just reminded me of-" her voice caught and she released the chief slowly.

Toph felt instant guilt though the omega did not finish her words. The last thing she wanted was to remind Ty Lee of her abusive ex. The alpha that sired two pups with her assistant was not solely to blame for their tumultuous relationship, yet the omega mother needed to be treated with kid gloves while their ugly, pending divorce was in the works.

"I'm sorry. Guess…we're not much different, huh?"

She felt Ty Lee's chi swirl in a hazy cloud to tell her not to worry. It felt almost normal, making Toph's chest lighten.

"You're my best friend, forever, remember?" The girl said with a laugh. "Can't get rid of me that easy".

The chief mockingly clicked her teeth.

"But," continued Ty Lee, "the problem is that giant wall around Omashu. That wasn't there before".

Toph's head jerked left and right. Wall? How were they going to get into the city? Obviously, Bumi was expecting a visit from the real greatest earthbender alive.

But, I can't see. Thought Toph.

They were in the air, so she had no clue where the wall was to dismantle it. Hmm… She contemplated.

"How far away are we, Ty Lee?" She asked, feet searching for any sign of land.

"Not far, um," the former acrobat jerked the wheel, making them nearly topple over the balloon's sides.

"The fuck, Ty?" Growled Toph, knuckles nearly breaking from gripping the vehicle in panic.

"S-Sorry, those muscle-y soldiers are throwing rock dart thingies!" She screamed, steering the balloon back to avoid being caught by a "rock dart thingy".

Frustration set in instantly for the chief. "What is going on?" She asked, mostly to herself.

"I don't know! I don't know! Maybe we…should turn around?" Suggested her assistant.

"No way! We're going head on. Drive this thing towards the wall, now!"

"B-B-B-"

"NOW!"

In seconds, the balloon was heading straight for the wall. Toph struggled to stand, senses catching the oncoming torpedoed rocks. She sent them back effortlessly in the direction they were coming from.

"Keep going, Boss!" Cheered the omega.

Toph felt a sense of pride from Ty Lee's praise. With a smirk, she executed a move, stamping her barefoot hard against the wooden floor, so hard, in fact that the flooring splintered and terror took hold when she felt herself plunging towards spirits knew what below.

"Toph!" She heard, followed by strong hands under her armpits. Pure fear that the alpha could not remember last feeling shook her as she dangled, unable to feel anything below her. Ty Lee held on to her, but her grasp was steadily slipping.

To make matters worse, a loud pop could be heard, followed by the rapid loss of precious air that could only come from above them. She heard Ty Lee's fearful gasp next to her ear and could almost feel her rapidly beating heart.

Toph felt like the noose around their necks. If only she could feel something…anything!

"I-I'm going to let go, now Boss," the acrobat's voice filled her ears.

What? Thought Toph, panic rising higher.

"You are the greatest earthbender ever to me," were the last words she heard before she was released, screaming and flailing into a pile of…cabbages?

Toph scrambled to stand, but was thrown backwards as she was moving fast down a slope of some sort, air stinging her pale skin and releasing her short, cropped hair into a wild frenzy. Battling gravity's hold, Toph grunted, pushing two hands in front of her to make the cabbage cart come to a screeching halt.

Hopping off, she bent a mound of dirt to land safely on level ground, gasping for breath with her hands on her knees. "Ty?" She called, worriedly. "Ty Lee where are you?"

A high-pitched cackled that wasn't Ty Lee's seemed to shake the ground. "Oh goodness, was there someone else in that ball of hot air with you before it exploded on the side of our new wall? Ouch! Hope they were earthbenders".

Toph's eyes burned with sudden, hot tears draining down her cheeks, voice cracking as she answered the king of the horrid place, "What the fuck is WRONG with you? She…she was a mother," the woman managed to choke out, struggling to hold herself together.

She could not imagine what had happened to the woman. The earthbender regretted everything in that instant. She should not have come to Omashu in such haste. Her blind arrogance had cost her assistant her life! Bumi was a slowly cracking lunatic! She should have known better.

"Oh, cheer up, you're still the greatest earthbender, right? I mean, who could survive that, huh?" Asked the man, chewing on something hard that made Toph cringe, hatred rising for the lunatic.

With quick hands, she squeezed her fingers. The rock candy lodged in the king's throat, making him instantly fall to his knees for air.

Between breaths, the king managed to mutter, "You…wouldn't-"

Fingers trembling Toph struggled internally. How would she face her friend's pups? What could she tell them? Bumi wasn't to blame for what happened to their mother, she was. Toph felt sick to her stomach. Her friend was not an earthbender or any sort of bender, but she was one of the few people Toph trusted with her life. Ty Lee had given hers. Now she had a choice to make and she was no Aang…

Part one for the Nets challenge. Prompt: Write a story about embarking on a treacherous journey. Element: Earth