So, this started off as an pure avatar fic, but then I got nostalgic about Harry Potter halfway through this chapter and started musing with the idea of a crossover. So, here's the end result.
Chapter 1
Leap of Faith
For a blind person, whose sense of hearing was amplified just because of that, and also taking into account she "heard" everything around her through the ground whether she wanted to or not, Toph Bei Fong wasn't much of a light sleeper. She only woke up in the middle of the night if she recognized a danger near her, or if there was something else requiring her immediate attention.
So, it was a new experience for her to be startled awake without knowing why. She felt sleepy and her head was swimming, but she didn't need to go and she didn't sense any danger around herself, so why did she wake up, then? As if answering her question someone whose voice she didn't recognize started humming a wordless tune that sounded like a lullaby. Why couldn't she detect them through the ground, then? Toph struggled to pull herself to a sitting position. What had happened to her to make it so difficult? Had she been drugged? Had someone been able to sneak in a sleeping poison in their food?
"Hmm? Oh, now what's this? Can it be that there's a creature stirring?" The unfamiliar voice said merrily. It sounded like they were in a near panic, rather than being actually amused. Was she dealing with a psycho intelligent enough to drug them? The voice sounded strangely muted to her ears and she couldn't actually place the voice. What had they used to make her this out of it? Why wasn't anyone else waking up? The owner of the voice was coming closer, but the faint steps she was able to feel coming towards her kept fading out and appearing in a completely different place.
"Just what might you be?" The voice said as she was pulled out of her earth-tent by her right foot with their left hand. She could barely move and if she was even a fraction of a second slower than she thought she was then the person that drugged them would probably kill her, but now she knew where the assailant was. She launched a rock at the assailant's torso and rolled away, still unable to move properly. If she hadn't relied on earth bending so much on every aspect of her life she would have been unable to move anything with just one hand.
Well, yer a fun one...
"OWW! WHAT THE HELL!" Sokka screamed as he hit the ground. The strange dullness had disappeared and Toph could sense the campsite was just as they had left it when they went to bed, expect with Sokka's machete lying next to her earth-tent and the fact that she had just dislocated his shoulder, protecting herself from the unknown assailant.
Aang and Katara were up in a heartbeat and after seeing no one they didn't recognize started to fuss over Sokka, with his dislocated shoulder. The questions on what had happened and why she had done it came her way a few seconds later, but Toph was just as stumped as they were. Sokka's shoulder was put back in place and they just looked at her funny for the time it took for them to move on. They all knew something was going on and since she wasn't talking they just thought it would be better to move on.
"So, everyone, other than this guy, is a master bender? That's just unfair!" Sokka suddenly said, with a strange monotone voice, trying to express emotion, but failing miserably. It was so clearly not him and since they were riding on Appa at the time she was as blind as everyone thought she was. It was rather terrifying to think this thing controlling Sokka could do anything and she couldn't do anything to stop it.
"What do you want? Why did you attack me last night?" Toph asked, still unsure as to where the person was. The wind was near deafening and she couldn't feel anything through Appa'a saddle, so having the person talk was her best bet on staying alive until they got to solid ground. It had already demonstrated how it could take control of Sokka at will.
"Oh, I was trying to kill you that time, that's all. Right now it would be as easy as breaking the neck of a hen, by the way." Toph heard the distinct sound of the snap of fingers right by his face, when she had thought Sokka was still sitting on the other side of the saddle from her. "I believe I've made my point. Now, I think you should go toward the south about 13 degrees. This guy knows exactly where to go, so you can't get lost, but if you hesitate; I will kill him. That is all."
From the sound of it Sokka then collapsed like the strings holding him had been cut. What the hell was this thing and why was it so nonchalant about admitting attempted murder? How could it control Sokka anyways? Did the fact that Katara and Aang were benders protect them from being controlled? She doubted it, since they hadn't woken up when Sokka was possessed the first time. This thing could affect them as well.
"Sokka? Sokka, wake up!" Katara screamed in a near panic. Toph was blind and she had thought Sokka talking in a strange voice was creepy, but Katara actually saw her brother possessed by something, must have been terrifying for her.
"Okay, I think Toph was telling the truth... We need to head for those mountains, there's a valley there. We should go between those peaks and approach the base in as steep of an angle as possible; with this flying fluffball it should be possible." It was Sokka talking, but it sounded like a rehearsed speech.
"Guys? Guys, what's going on back here?" Aang finally noticed that there was something happening. Was he always so oblivious?
Huh, so that's how far his trust goes; interesting fellow this Avatar, way too naive though.
"Are you some kind of spirit? Why are you doing this? Why was I the only one awake last night?" Toph said aloud. If she could hear this thing when it wasn't talking through Sokka, then maybe it could hear her as well.
You... can hear me?
"Yeah." There was no point in being civil with something that tried to kill her. Katara and Aang were too busy questioning Sokka about how he knew there was a fire nation base there to notice she was talking to herself.
This is awkward. You're not still mad about that whole attempted murder thing, are you? I was just trying to cut off your head. NO! I mean, I was just, uh, wait... Did you know that the boomerang-guy's first girlfriend turned into the moon?
"Really?" It could be lying to her, but this was too interesting to ignore. Maybe a test was in order. Turned into the moon, you say? "Sokka, the moon sucks!"
"SHE DOES NOT! She rules the skies with elegance and grace!" Sokka shouted in response and both Aang and Katara stopped talking. She couldn't be sure, but she had a feeling they were staring at her. Sokka was an attention seeking clown by heart, but that just seemed too easy. He shouldn't have been able to hear her over the wind and their arguing. No matter how mature she acted; she was still a 12-year old girl, so should have tried a lot harder to be actually noticed.
"You did that, didn't you?" Toph said under her breath, Katara and Aang were more than happy to take Sokka's attention away from her. The situation was more than confusing for them, anyways. They didn't even know that they were being manipulated by an unknown entity. The fact that she did was something she didn't understand either, but it seemed she had a degree of immunity against whatever this thing was doing. "He might be an idiot, but he has bigger issues to deal with right now."
Yeah, I was trying distract you from the whole attempted murder thing; Seems like I failed rather thoroughly. I still can't get over the fact that you can hear me like this. It's kind of new to me. I'm more used to hearing and controlling the minds of others, so someone like you appearing is rather abrupt and totally throws me out of whack. Now there's a weird saying; what's "whack" anyway? I keep thinking that it's something like a frozen banana on a unicycle, but I might be wrong there. I probably am.
"Do you ever shut up?" Toph asked, getting more and more annoyed as the thing kept on babbling.
Wow, you've heard all of that, didn't you? As I said, this is kind of new to me, I usually don't have the chance to actually "talk", you know. Of course you don't, how could you? Well, I usually have to take control of someone, or, in the lack of a better term," scream" for someone to "hear" me. You're different, though. If that wasn't obvious already, but you really are. I don't know if it's because you're an earth-bender, a child, blind, or just you, but you're the only one that can hear me anyways. It's not really that easy for me either, I thought I could make snide remarks about those guys without anyone hearing me.
"Are you leading us into a trap? If you're not, then why not try to kill us again? Who or what are you?" Toph blurted out the first questions she could think to ask this thing; to shut it up for a second and if that failed, then at least make it talk about something relevant.
No, I am not leading you guys into a trap, even though that's what it would look like, taking my past actions into account and all. But despite all that, I am not, I really am not. I want you guys to save me. I am in that military base as a captive and when they found out that I had this power they offered me my life in exchange for yours. After you could fight me... well, I thought you were awesome and felt bad about the whole thing. Since my life was still at stake I had to choose between having you rescue me, or trying to kill you again.
"Well, I guess that's okay. I still don't like your attitude."
"Toph... Who are you talking to? Are you okay?" Katara asked her, clearly concerned about her mental health. It was rather interesting what you could discern from a person's voice when that was what you had to go on with most of the people you met.
Nosy bitch.
Toph stifled a reflexive "shut up!" when she realized that anyone other than her couldn't actually hear the offensive remark. If it was really talking into her mind, like it had hinted towards, then it just might be that they couldn't help but bring their opinions out, or maybe the voice in her head was just messing with her on purpose.
"Whatever possessed Sokka has been talking to me, in my head, its freaking annoying!" Katara's five second pause before saying her name in a soothing manner told her more than enough about whether or not she believed she heard a voice in her head.
"Hello, Katara, my name is Zuri. I tried to kill you and capture the avatar last night, but right now I'm angling for you to save me. You're getting closer to me, so controlling this guy is getting easier." Toph heard Katara sigh at the realization that she couldn't act like everyone was just acting crazy. "Now, first of all I would like to thank you for saving me from that place. The food is terrible and there's not much in terms of entertainment. I hope we can put the whole attempted murder behind us and you don't get me killed instead. I would rather live after this whole thing, you know. I am now open for any questions and if you can talk for this guy, then please do. If you insist on having him join the conversation, then I could relay my questions through the blind girl."
"Are you a spirit of some kind? If you're doing this because someone in this world is affecting you, then I can help." Aang asked, climbing onto the saddle by the sound of it.
"No, no, I ain't no spirit. Frankly, I don't know what I am, but I'm pretty sure I am not a spirit. I'm a human just like you and I just happen to have this ability. But you can indeed help me, like I have proposed already." Zuri said through Sokka in a freaky monotone voice. Strange name, but it sounded like a fire nation name.
"Are you a member of the fire nation?" Katara asked before Toph could get a word in edgewise.
"I was born here, if that's what you are asking. Not everyone in the fire nation is bent on destroying the world, you prejudiced bitch. Right now, I would just like for you to get me out of there. I'll tell you the rest when you get to me. See you soon." Sokka said these words in the same monotone voice, but it was obvious that Zuri hadn't liked the tone Katara took.
"Nice one, Katara, you were once again able to baffle us with your generous nature." Toph said sarcastically. It was a valid question, but someone who was a prisoner in a fire nation base clearly didn't share the firelord's views on world domination. Katara's question would probably sound terribly prejudiced to someone who was desperate to get out of the fire nations clutches.
"It was a perfectly reasonable question! We are obviously flying right into a trap! What I don't get is why you don't see that! Aang, he hasn't screwed with your head; why are you so adamant on doing this?" Katara was once again desperate to be right, but she was making a valid point. Zuri had been talking into her head and she just couldn't imagine such an awkward person leading them into a trap, but what was Aang's reason? There was a pause and Toph thought Aang wouldn't answer at all, it wouldn't be the first time he'd do something without knowing why.
"Last night, when Zuri attacked us... I've never felt such loneliness. I cannot pick and choose who I save. It goes against everything I believe and the avatar represents all of the elements, not just the ones that's major population agree with me." Aang had been a pacifist from the start and he really did treat everyone equally, but would he just forget a thing like attempt murder like that?
I didn't do anything, I swear.
They flew towards the mountains Sokka had pointed out and after several uncomfortable minutes of silence, with Katara quietly brooding and Aang and Sokka trying not to set her off, they landed and Toph was the first one to jump off Appa. As soon as she hit the hard ground she was sure that Zuri hadn't been lying about the fire nation base. There were countless people and fire nation machinery in the mountainside, probably part of a mining operation of some sort. She did sense a base in the heart of the valley, but even with the vibrations of the mining operation she couldn't make out the shape of the building.
Now, you... Your friends at least, should be able to see the base. I'm in the little tower thingy in the centre of it. Tell your friends to take out the mechanical catapults aimed at me before making a move to save me. They'd rather kill me than allow me to escape.
A power to control minds does seem like something they wouldn't want out there, where it could do them harm. As much Toph hated the fire nation, she could understand their reasons for keeping someone like Zuri locked up. Was setting this person free really the right thing to do?
"Okay, the base doesn't look like it's that heavily guarded. The only thing out of the ordinary is that tower and that catapult aimed at it. I'm going to presume Zuri is in it..." Sokka was taking this whole "saving the guy who tried to kill us" rather well. Thinking whether or not Zuri had something to do with it was pointless. Zuri had them all in a choke hold as long as there was a reason for him to do them harm. It was up to them if that reason was to have them save him, or to keep his own life by capturing Aang.
After Sokka drew some things in the sand and muttered things to himself he came to them with a plan to get Zuri out of the base alive. Sokka explained all kinds of complex maneuvers and timing issues, but because of Zuri's interruptions and opinions Toph only caught what she was supposed to do. Toph seriously doubted if anyone other than Aang actually listened, since Katara was still against the whole idea of what they were going to do.
So, with Sokka and Katara taking Appa and launching a dive for the tower after one lap around the mountain Toph and Aang should have enough time to take out the catapult, fight their way through the guards and break into the tower that housed Zuri, Katara and Sokka then would make a dive for the tower and Aang would get both Zuri and Toph on Appa as they passed. Toph bended the earth under her to speed along the hillside and kept picking up speed until jumping of the rock she hda been riding and letting it crash onto the wall of the base. It was not a military base, so the whole wall the mass of rock hit crumbled and the men in the watchtowers couldn't fire at her because of the trembling. Toph raised the earth on one side of each tower and felt how the towers, along with the soldiers stationed started to topple over. They wouldn't be a danger anymore.
Earth wasn't an element known for swiftness, but for Sokka's plan to work she'd have to fight through the base pretty quickly, so she started running. She had to concentrate on what she felt ahead of her each time her heel hit the ground. Whenever she felt a heavy sideway step that was the default start of a fire-bending technique, she sent a heavy tremor that way and continued running. If she wanted to make it in time she couldn't stop completely at any point. It was lucky that the base was not heavily guarded and they had taken them by surprise, but Toph couldn't help but think how strange that was. If this base had a person capable of taking over minds, then why wasn't there a heavier guard on such person? Someone like that would either be an invaluable asset, or a threat, so putting them in a backwater mining base under the most basic of guards didn't make any sense. There was more here than met the eye, there had to be some reason for someone like Zuri to stay hidden.
Toph found that she was coming close to the tower, leaving only confused fire-benders in her wake. The interesting thing about that was that the guards were set up in a way that they were as far away from the metal tower as possible. They seemed to be unwilling to chase after her as she ran towards it. Just who was this Zuri person to make fire-bending soldiers wary of going near him?
Toph put aside all of those doubts when the metal tower was just a few paces away. There were no fire-benders near her, so she leapt in the air and smashed her elbow on the steel frame of the tower. She had learned that there was earth to bend there, she just had to be determined enough to find it. As she knew, the metal gave in under her elbow and she continued to beat the metal into submission until there was a hole big enough for her to squeeze through. Stepping a foot inside the tower-like structure she found out that the only way up was the staircase she had just tore her way into. She was pretty certain that the fire-benders now pursuing her couldn't fit through the hole she tore in the wall. The staircase was made out of metal as well, so destroying it as she went up would slow down the pursuers long enough. She then proceeded to go up the stairs and break the one behind her as soundly as possible. After five steps she decided she should just keep going up the stairs, the supposed pursuers probably wouldn't even get that far before they were out of there.
Damn, you're so freaking awesome! Also, you might want to DUCK!
Toph did as Zuri suggested and felt a wave of heat pass right by her head, possibly scorching some of her hair by the smell. Rather than trying to get up and make a proper stance she just decided to rip some of the metal from the ground to use as a shield and go from there. The next blast of flames hit the slab of metal Toph had ripped out from floor and then threw at the general direction of the attacker. She still couldn't feel through the metal as well she could through normal earth, but she wasn't blind, she just had to hit the metal with some part of her body to send enough of an impact through it to picture her surroundings.
YOU'RE A GIRL? Also, could you hit him about seven more times on the head? I really didn't think you'd be a girl... How the hell did I miss that? Then again, I can't "read" you like the others. Probably should have picked up on that a little sooner, but I was kind of preoccupied. Okay, I'm over here. No, not there, over here! I know you're blind, but at least point your head towards me!
"Yeah, I'm blind! Thanks for noticing! I can't see very well when standing on metal, so make a sound!" Toph retorted angrily. Sure, this guy was basically blackmailing them into doing this, but he could at least been civil about it. Again, as if on que Aang swung in through the supposed window and landed next to her.
"Took care of the catapults, but we really should be going now." Aang sounded short of breath, so there must have been more catapults than originally speculated. Toph couldn't really "see" while standing on metal, but her hearing was still that of a blind person's and Aang's breathing stalled and she heard him take a step back from where Zuri supposedly was. So, there was something shocking about his appearance, which wasn't that surprising since they were breaking out someone who had been in a Fire nation base, supposedly kept captive for years.
Oh, stop staring at me and get me out of here! Hey, tell him to stop gawking and start moving, the dynamic duo of water tribe siblings started their dive already. And also tell him that it does hurt as much as it looks, thus no restraints. Actually, fuck that for now; just get me out of here!
It had been established that Aang, or anyone else, could not hear Zuri "talk", but now Toph was interested in what exactly made Aang pause in the middle of a rescue mission. Aang had proven time and time again that he was born and raised to be a pacifist, so he should be the one to be all for this.
"Hurry up, Twinkletoes! Sokka and Katara are coming already, so start air-bending!"
"What? Yeah, right. Okay, I'll take Zuri first." Aang said in a strange choked voice. It was like he had been punched in the throat and since Toph had no recollection of doing so, then Zuri must be really fucked up to cause that strong of a reaction. Aang continued to fumble around while Toph tapped the metal frequently to see how far the pursuers had gotten. Surprisingly, there were none even trying to get in the tower.
They are regrouping out in the courtyard to shoot down our ride. I've already instructed Sokka and Katara to break their ranks before passing the tower. Appa has more than enough force to cause that much damage.
Toph heard how a great big gust of wind hit the tower and a single soldier slammed into it. Appa and company were here, it seemed. Aang blasted off with another powerful gust of wind and presumably took Zuri with him. After a minute he came back and instructed Toph to climb onto the glider. What followed was the most terrifying ten seconds of her life, other than that time she almost drowned back in Serpent's pass.
There are stars, I can actually see stars. It's finally over! It's almost too good to believe, I'm out! I can smell the pine trees, this smelly flying centipede and feel the wind in my hair! I would laugh if I could, but you wouldn't believe the grin on my face right now.
"Why would they do something like this?" Katara choked out, again in that "I'm struggling to breathe" voice. Was Zuri going around punching people in the throat?
"I don't scream, I'm dangerous and they can justify their violence. They know I can commandeer minds, so putting me in chains would be useless. The best course of action for them is to cripple me in such a way I couldn't run away even if I wanted to. Oh, right, I'm mute, by the way. I'm sure Sokka doesn't appreciate being possessed, so I'll be relaying my messages through Toph."
"You're mute? You poor thing..." Katara's voice was full of pity and Toph scoffed at it. It made her feel uncomfortable and she suspected that someone that just had orchestrated their own escape from imprisonment through threatening to kill them would appreciate pity much.
She has pretty eyes... and that hair is so fluffy, but if she doesn't try and heal me in the next ten seconds she's going to walk off this thing.
"Katara, you should heal Zuri instead of pitying him!"
"Oh, right! Sorry."
Damn, that feels nice... I think I'll just... Tell her to keep... going... I'd like waffles, that'd be sweet... The cake is... a lie!
And with that last, seemingly random, thought Toph felt the hairs on the back of her neck relax. She had not been aware that she had any to begin with, but there had to be something there to relax, otherwise her statement would be insane. Well, she was hearing voices in her head no one else could hear, but unlike anyone else with the same problem other people could see the person talking in her head.
Uncomfortable silence fell over them as they left the base further and further behind. Toph was pretty sure she wouldn't hear it if someone did talk, but something about Zuri's condition made the others uncomfortable. Could it really be that bad? How could someone with such seemingly horrendous injuries sound so upbeat in her head?
"Why is no one bothered by the fact that we just broke out a dangerous criminal with the ability to control minds?" Toph shouted out after a solid minute of uncomfortable silence.
"We didn't break out any criminal, we saved a prisoner." Aang commented from his position piloting Appa.
"You ever stop to consider that this person was locked up for a reason? You think a poor little prisoner would try to kill us before blackmailing us into saving them? He was locked up because he was DANGEROUS!"
"These burns make it almost impossible to move without unbelievable pain. What possible reason could condone this kind of torture?"
"Hello, the power to control minds for one! Just think of what someone like that could do if they got a hold on the fire lord! Sorry for sounding cruel here, but I'm amazed they didn't kill him instead of imprisoning him."
"Zuri happens to be a malnourished, scarred girl with white hair, Toph. She also seems to be about your age, but that could just be the malnourishment... Just thought I'd correct you..."Sokka cut in and even though it shouldn't really matter with the point she was making, it did. His voice was even and serious, so any point of trying to dismiss it as Sokka being his over reacting self was gone. For them to do something so cruel to someone who probably hadn't even been introduced to the concept of cruelty when it started... She couldn't think of any justification for that.
"Oh... It's still a valid point..." But I won't be pursuing it any further, that's for sure. Zuri should at least have a chance to make the required mistakes to be labelled a danger to the status quo. The rest of the ride to a location Aang and Sokka deemed secure was spent in tense, uncomfortable silence. As soon as Appa landed Toph jumped off and the comfort of "seeing" around herself was kind of downplayed by what was going through her head. She was embarrassed about her outburst about Zuri's power and what it meant to save such an invidual. She had been raised in a noble family and out of all of them she was the one that understood politics even to some extent. The power Zuri seemed to wield was dangerous.
"Careful, Aang. Let's try not to wake her." Toph felt how Aang helped Katara get Zuri off Appa's saddle by using water bending. She knew it was water bending from the constantly moving centre of gravity and the way Aang moved his feet. There was a small creek near to where they had landed, so she presumed that they got the water they used to support Zuri's body from there. She was still thinking about all the things Zuri would think of her about the things she had said, calling her a danger to the world and all that. She still thought Zuri was a potential threat, but it's not like it was any justification for the things that had been done to her.
It never even crossed their minds. They pitied the monsters that had tormented me, that had loved me and clothed me. They were my family and they tortured me, just to protect their precious conquest! For the war they were winning, they hid me, feared me, used me and loathed me! There is no such pain as to know exactly how disgusted your parents are of you, or the cruel things your brother plans for you!
Toph awoke just as she was about to crash to the ground from her sitting position. What the hell was that? Did she just dose off, or was it Zuri messing with her mind again? It wasn't like Zuri simply talking to her this time. This time it felt more like a genuine memory being played in her brain. A random assortment of sounds and feelings that somehow formed the image the words represented. It might have been because she had been blind for her whole life, but the whole thing felt unhinged to her.
"Katara, is Zuri awake? I think he- she tried to do something just now!" Toph shouted out, since she felt her sitting quite far from her and she was probably too focused on healing Zuri. Toph stood up from her seat and waited for Katara to respond. She might have been able to tell how people moved their bodies through her earth-bending, but she still had to concentrate to know things like if someone turned their head, or if they reacted to their name, other than moving their feet. As far as she could tell, there was no response.
I was so afraid. I feared every morning and every night.
Katara was still in the same place, but now she was fidgeting. Toph concentrated on the vibrations from her and found out that Katara was crying and wiping her eyes. She couldn't really hear if she was sobbing at this distance, but when she looked for Sokka and Aang she found them doing the same respectively. Could they hear Zuri, then? Sure, it was a sad story and unfair, but why weren't they freaked out about hearing a voice in their head? They were a little too quiet for her liking as well, but she understood it for Sokka and Aang, since they were probably trying to hide the fact they were crying.
A woman in heavy clothing with blue eyes and dark skin, guys with spiky uniforms, A girl with dark skin and white hair, old guys in robes, a backwards temple, great big centipedes, plural. No Toph, I can't find her.
It had become rather apparent that Toph couldn't discern Zuri's gender from her voice, but now she realized it wasn't even a "voice". It felt just like the time when she went over what she was going to say in her head. Granted, she didn't do it as much now, when she was with Aang and gang, but she had done it a lot back with her parents.
"Why do you keep calling Appa a centipede?" Toph asked aloud as she started walking towards where Katara was. Either Zuri was awake as she faked it to have Katara concentrate more, or she was asleep and was dragging them all down with her without knowing it. Whatever the case, she should try and keep her preoccupied.
Oh, hi there, Toph. It might have looked like I was trying to find and influence your mind like I do with these schmucks, but I wasn't, really. I was... I was just browsing. Yeah, that's it; I was browsing their minds. They had quite dramatic lives and it was amusing for a while, but now I'm just getting pissed off. Have you noticed that the extraordinary of your group think they're below average and the normal ones have illusions of grandeur?
"You didn't answer my question." Toph pointed out as she reached where Katara was sitting and made herself a seat from the ground. Katara glanced at her and from the way she moved her body she didn't approve of her coming and disturbing her healing. From the way Katara then glanced at Zuri told her that Zuri must have waved her hand, or something like that, since she didn't say anything about it. "Also, I can't "see" you. If you really have read my friends' minds, then you know I see with my earth-bending. Any idea why?"
None at all, but I can't "see" you like I see your friends, either. All I know is what they know of you. I know nothing of yours. You're a blind spot in my mind, if you pardon the analogy. I also have no idea why you can hear me like this when I can't do the same. Quid pro quo, I guess. You can't see me and neither can I. Blind leading the blind, so to say. No, that doesn't quite fit the situation does it? I guess it just popped into my mind because of your condition. No offence to blind people, but when they're not born into wealth, or aren't genius benders, they're quite useless and – God, I am so sorry for that! This isn't like talking, where you can actually think about what you're going to say before you do. Hell, I can't speak to anyone else than you, so this is unfair to begin with. I monologue a lot in my mind and you just happen to hear any thought I have of you.
"It's hard to feel especially guilty, since you've been manipulating and reading my friends' minds from the get go." Toph "heard" Zuri chuckle and then felt Katara flinch and squirm like she felt uncomfortable. Zuri had probably actually smiled at her comment and there was something shocking about it she was blissfully unaware of. What had this girl gone through? Both Sokka and Aang were unusually quiet and the things they were doing only reassured her that they were shocked by what they've seen. Aang was leaning against Appa's leg and poking the ground with his staff. Sokka was whittling away at a piece of wood he'd found while sitting near the fire he'd set up.
They see me as a victim. They all pity me and wish they could have saved me sooner. I would have appreciated that, of course, but if they had seen the avatar charging towards the base in normal circumstances, I would have been dead before you breached the walls. I was a carefully kept secret and my family would rather kill me, than allow me to fall into enemy hands.
"Your family did this?" Toph asked out loud and felt everyone, except Katara, stop what they were doing and turn towards her voice. She felt a blush creep on her face for blurting something like that out without asking if it was okay. Sokka threw his huge knife at a three, Aang just sat there, staring upwards and Katara focused on healing the girl. "Sorry about blurting it out like that, Zuri."
Nah, they hardly ever acted the part after my "gift" first appeared. At least they didn't kill me outright, but I wonder if that had been more humane. I had time to wonder about a great many things, now that I think about it. There was this time I took to watching the skies and charting the lights I saw to see if they moved. They didn't move much, but I think they did. Can't be sure of course, but I stand by what I said... thought.
"We're going to end this war and make sure anything like this will never happen again." Aang stated, sounding resolute. He jumped up and then flew off somewhere by the sound of it, probably somewhere high up where he could think and away from the awkwardness in their makeshift camp. By the time they had travelled on Appa they were still relatively close to the base where they had found Zuri, so Toph hoped Aang was somewhere where he could see if war-balloons were coming their way.
Blaming a war for all evil would be neat, but he should know better than that. He's supposed to be the freaking avatar, but I guess you gotta take into account the fact he's twelve. I did except for the avatar to be more, you know... knowledgeable, since he has all of the information of past avatars, or something.
"I heard it just came out when he was agitated, or in mortal peril, like a defence mechanism, but with bending." Toph said, feeling like she should cut in to spare herself from another random speech. Strange how it took the ability to hear someone's thoughts to realize how your mind wandered into unknown areas, instead of directly dealing with the question. Well, at least this girl's mind did and Toph did remember it happening to her as well.
Oh, my... That is very... What would happen if the past avatars were assholes? You know, all their minds pour into this impressionable kid and what does he do? Go berserk, of course! I totally think that past avatars were all assholes and they're just taking it out on the world whenever they can. At least that's my theory. You would think that the wisdom of all past avatars would know that violence only breeds more violence... But then again, it does send a message not to mess with the avatar...
Toph sat there in silence. She sincerely didn't know what to say to that bit of her ramblings, partly because she actually agreed with most of it. Aang had the ability to use all of the bending disciplines; at once if he trained hard enough and from what she'd heard he always lashed out at everything he saw when he started glowing, no matter how they had tried to sugar coat it.
If the "wisdom" of the avatars boils down to "kill or be killed", then this world is better off being at war. I do not want to see the day with an avatar without an enemy to defeat, or one with a bit of ambition. The power of a near all-powerful god and it's in the hands of one person. That spells disastrous consequences, if you ask me... Then again, I was trapped in a tower and burned in a way I could barely move, just because I had hold over people's minds. How is the avatar any different from me? What is the difference between our powers? Why is he revered as a divine being and I'm tortured?
Toph didn't know what to do and regretted she couldn't just fly away like Aang had done. Zuri was angry and confused and to make matters worse, unlike Sokka for instance, she could form comprehensible and convincing arguments to justify her anger. As snarky and cynical Toph was she couldn't just say that the girl was wrong in her thinking, but couldn't actually just let her keep believing what she did. Being that bitter about something that wasn't her fault to begin with and undirectly blaming an innocent bystander, who just happened to be the avatar couldn't be good.
"Tough luck, deal with it." Toph just blurted out. She almost immediately felt bad about it, but she had learned to be true to her true colours and going around in circles about an obvious, but possibly offensive subject was more for noble-types, like her parents. Toph herself valued straight forward honesty over all that, since she had known when people lied from a very young age.
"Toph! That isn't very nice... whatever you were talking about." Katara hissed to her, instantly feeling protective over this broken girl she was trying to fix. It was like they had just forgotten that this same girl had threatened to kill all of them in their sleep if they didn't come and save her...
"You didn't wipe their memories, or something, right?" Toph asked the girl, ignoring Katara for the moment.
I saw no reason to do so yet. What did you mean with what you said? That doesn't seem like something you'd say to someone... in my position.
"We'll fix you and you can go off to marry a prince, or something. Well, that is if these guys don't decide to drag you along, I guess. They tend to do that. With all of those things you can do, you'll do fine whatever happens." Toph said, again feeling kind of sorry about saying what she had said, but still deciding to stay true to her colours. This girl had everything she needed to make something of herself. She just would have to stop sulking and do it. Hell, the Dai-Li would probably stumble over themselves to recruit someone who can bend minds.
I wish that was true.
"You calling me a liar? Hey, I keep my word when I decide to give it! I might not be willing to sign a contract, but my word is just as good!"
You lied to your parents to go off and hurt people with the avatar.
"I did not! I just didn't see it necessary to inform them of my decision. I'm sure there's a difference if you look hard enough." Toph crossed her arms and huffed, feeling her bangs move slightly. As gestures go, that was one of the first ones she had mastered to get stuff from her parents, or just to show them she was angry without actually offending them. Adults thought it to be endearing. She was actually starting to regret doing it at all; it seemed awfully childish, now that she thought about it. Especially the way she had done it, just like she had when she was the small blind girl her parents thought her to be. It must have been because they had been talking about them. Didn't seem like either Katara or Sokka had noticed it, though, but she couldn't be sure about Zuri. Well, they had been having a conversation, so she'd just be safest to assume that she had seen it and thought her to be a child for it.
You saved me from a small army of fire-benders and we're hardly a year apart. Is the only difference between us that you were smart enough to –
"No, you stop that, right now. Thinking about it like that won't help anyone. Stuff happened, you can't do anything to change that. Plus, my family are traders, not part of an army."
Our families are similar. They both loved us. I just didn't get a chance to run away.
"Toph! Would you stop berating my patient!" Katara hissed at her. Seemingly she had caught on to Zuri's agitation and thought it wasn't good for her patient. Toph wouldn't know if it was, or wasn't but she knew she was losing an argument she could win.
"Aang and his merry little gang saved me, which then lead to me being here to save you. If I had not been there, you would have killed them in their sleep, right? If they had not given me a way out, then I'd probably be miserable, locked up in my family's mansion, playing my part as the small blind girl. See, I can play this game too! It's not that hard! The only difference between me then and you now is that I threw away all the if's and took a leap of faith." Toph blurted out. She had originally planned to say only about a third of what she ended up saying and she definitely hadn't planned on shouting at the poor girl, but it was her own fault really, pointing out the similarities in their situations.
"Toph, she needs rest. You're agitating her." Katara said softly, trying a more peaceful approach to get Toph away from her patient.
"Fine, fine, I get it!" Toph shouted and started walking off, not bothering to make a scene out of it, even though the girl had been the one to start the argument. She was hurt and confused, so she would have to give her some slack. She made a tent and then lied there in the apparent darkness. She couldn't be sure, but it had felt like it was a cloudy day. It had something to do with air pressure and ears, according to Aang, but she just accepted it as something she was a little less than sure on and left it as it was unless it had any true meaning. For her, "weather" was either sunny or raining. If it was anything else, she was all kinds of indifferent, for obvious reasons.
Thank you.
Toph shot up and found Sokka to be in another place from where she remembered him to be, so she must have dozed off. Katara was still sitting next to where Zuri apparently was lying and doing her thing. Aang was out moping at the tip of some tree a ways away, so she couldn't see anything other than Zuri's show of appreciation as the cause of her sudden wake up. She felt groggy and very, very sleepy and wasn't sure if she should be angry at Zuri for waking her up, or confused about what she had said. She did a quick check on their makeshift camp's surroundings to make sure it hadn't been some sneaky fire-bender that woke her up and then laid her head back onto the ground when she found nothing out of place.
She had forgotten about why she had woken up in the first place when she fell asleep again.
What woke her up next was definitely an explosion. It was far away, but the sheer magnitude of it shook the earth. After springing up from her tent and listening if there was anything hurtling towards them she noticed how strangely both Sokka and Katara were behaving very strangely. They were sitting back to back on the ground and blankly staring in front of themselves, ignoring the explosions they should be able to hear in the distance. From her point of view it sounded like there were mountains being levelled not that far away, half an hour on Appa at most.
"HEY! Can't you hear that? Get up!" Toph shouted as the tremors of whatever was happening hit them and Toph felt disoriented for a second. When she did regain her footing Katara and Sokka were up and staring towards whatever was making the earth tremble. There was a constant tremor in the earth now, so her "sight" was blurred. "What's going on? What is it? Where's Aang?"
A sudden realization hit her as she went over the way their camp was set up and regained her sense of direction. The tremors and explosion were coming from the direction of the base where they had saved Zuri from. In any situation where the earth rumbled and there were explosions to be heard Aang would be next to Katara by now, his juvenile instinct to protect her was... well, obvious. It might have been a monk thing, or he was just sweet on her. His heartbeat did skyrocket whenever he was close to her... Anyways, the fact that Aang wasn't there and destruction of an cataclysmic scale was happening somewhere else painted a picture even a blind person could discern. There was just one thing that could make this thing even more disastrous.
"KATARA! Stop staring and listen! Is Zuri in the camp? Do you see her?" Toph shouted, nearly stumbling over her own feet because of the tremors while trying to get where Katara and Sokka were staring at whatever they saw in the distance. Katara only snapped out of it after Toph grabbed her arm and spun her around to face her.
"Oh, Toph! I'm not supposed to wake you. You are very tired and deserve the rest. Did I wake you, I'm so... sorry?" Katara's words sounded rehearsed at first, but the longer she spoke, more confused she was about what she was saying. The moment she did stop talking she had her hands on her temples, like she had a headache. Zuri must have done something to both Sokka and Katara for them to not interfere with her plan for revenge. Actually confronting them about it seemed to snap them out of it, though, unlike when Zuri had made them fall asleep and had taken control of Sokka, maybe it was just the strain of controlling the avatar, but this seemed to be considerably weaker show of her power, did she have any reason to go easy on them?
I had hoped you wouldn't wake up. This is hard enough as it is. You can't stop me anymore, but I hoped you wouldn't try.
"What, stop you from killing hundreds of people just because your life sucked? Of course I'd freaking stop you! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!" Toph shouted towards where the earth was shaking and things were being destroyed. She had actually trusted this girl enough to fall asleep and then she does this. There was a pause when she didn't hear Zuri say anything, if what she had said about not being able to read Toph's mind, then she would have to hear what she said through Katara and Sokka.
I found my leap of faith. I do not have the luxury of hesitating. I wish we could have been friends. I want to know you. I want to live and hear you make a name for yourself. I want to save the world with you.
"I want to live, but I don't have that luxury either..." Katara muttered out loud, probably not even aware of what she said, since she was staring at whatever Zuri was making Aang do in the distance. Whatever it was it must have been something on a scale she couldn't even imagine, since she was more blind than she had been since she was a child, well, a child without earth-bending, and it was just from the earth-bending Aang was doing.
I am sorry to do it like this, but... Goodbye. I sincerely hope we'll meet again.
And then, without even giving Toph time to question the meaning of her words the world suddenly lost all sound and she could feel how both Sokka and Katara reflexively covered their eyes and stumbled back. Whatever it was it must have been rather bright, but the silence unnerved her. There was no wind and the air felt absolutely still, but that lasted barely long enough for her to get worried about it. A wall of air slammed into her with the force she thought only earth-bending could produce. Aang could throw air around, but he either couldn't, or wouldn't throw it with the force that the air that knocked her off her feet did. What Aang did was push people, this wall of air slammed into her and tried to tear through her. Also, it wasn't silent anymore, it was the exact opposite, but she still couldn't hear anything from the sound of trees being uprooted and earth rumbling down cliffs around them.
As fast the wall of air and unspeakable noise had come, it was gone. Leaving Toph, Sokka and Katara sprawled out on the opposite side of the hill they had camped on. She wasn't sure if they could have actually lived through the fall if there was a steeper hill behind them and the hill seemed to have shielded them from everything but the initial blast. They were bruised all over, but she doubted anyone had broken anything. The ground was covered with tall grass and young trees that weren't strong enough to stop their fall, but slow it down; Lucky, to say the least.
"What the hell was that?" Sokka shouted the moment he could catch his breath. His silent demeanour must have been because of Zuri tampering with his mind, since he was his usual hyper self now. He was the first one to run up the hill and see what had the explosion (she presumed that it had been one) had caused. He fell silent again and Toph had a feeling that this time it wasn't because of Zuri.
"Oh my god, Aang was there! We have to see if he's okay!" Katara shouted when she saw what Sokka did. What Toph saw was a field of earth still settling into where it had been displaced for as long as she could "see". It didn't look good, as survivability goes, but Aang was probably the cause of it, so if anyone could survive, it would be him. They then hastily settled Appa, who was still slightly dazed from the blast, but as worried about Aang as they were, so they rode on the unbalanced bison to where the explosion had originated from and as soon as she hit the ground she regretted not wearing any kind of footwear. The ground was hot as hell and what she could feel only confirmed what she had already suspected. There was a huge crater where there had been a fire nation mining base and it also seemed like even the mountains surrounding said base had been levelled by the way the sun was hitting her face. She jumped from foot to foot as Katara and Sokka frantically searched for Aang.
She didn't even need to use her earth-bending to point them towards the epicentre of the blast, but she did use it to confirm her suspicion before telling them to go to it. They did find Aang in the centre of the whole thing and Toph jumped next to him, since the ground around him was cool compared to the rest of the newly created crater. The question going through her mind was why would Zuri have Aang do this in such an extravacant way, if it had been for revenge, for whatever her family had done to her. If she wanted to blast everything reminding of her painful memories of the map, then why commit suicide at the same time?
"Aang, god, are you alright? Open your eyes, come on!" Katara shouted frantically as she rushed past Toph to shake Aang awake. He was probably exhausted from all the bending he had just done, but now that Katara was so close and in the spotlight Toph remembered what Zuri had made her mutter, like it was just an "by the way".
"Katara, what did Zuri mean with "I don't have the luxury of living"? Could you have healed her of her injuries?" Toph asked, her voice seething with anger and her insides boiling with frustration. If Katara answered the way she thought she would, then Zuri's motives for doing what she did were all too clear and everything made too much sense. Katara tried to avoid the subject by tending to Aang, but a quick stomp on the ground made Katara fall on her ass at Toph's feet. "Answer me."
"I... I tried, I really did, but her chi was... There was nothing I could have done! I could only alleviate her pain and make it comfortable..." Katara said, sounding sincerely sorry for her incompetence, but still not realizing her stupidity. Toph tapped the ground with her foot to make sure where Katara's face was and then punched her in the face as hard as she could. She couldn't bend human, so it hurt more than punching through rock, but did wonders for her temper.
"She could read minds! She repeatedly took control of Sokka and you didn't realize she knew she was going to die as soon as you did? What is wrong with you? Were you too caught up in feeling sorry for her to realize that?" Toph paused and tried to calm herself. Yelling at Katara at this point wouldn't accomplish much, but she had to know exactly what she was guilty of, since she didn't seem to have the brainpower to realize it herself. "You were there; I was sitting right next to you! I told her she shouldn't give up and take a leap of faith and this is what she did! She knew she was going to die and she knew she couldn't live while staying with us, so this is what she did!"
Now that she had laid that on Katara she didn't feel as angry as she did feel guilty. She was the one who drove Zuri to do this, no doubt. The circumstances and opportunity might have forced her to do it in this specific way, but her whole speech of taking a leap of faith and not giving up was what drove her to commit this atrocity. Even the whole part about throwing away all the "what if's" could be what made her kill her whole family, as to cut away all ties to this world. Did she think she could cross over to the spirit world through Aang, or something? Had she actually succeeded? Anything else was in ruin or just disintegrated around them and no matter how much she searched were no bodies except for Aang, who was still alive, but just knocked out.
Zuri had either blown herself up, or crossed over, whatever the case, Toph was sure it was her fault.
Zuri
Hush, Silent Child, your life is yours again. A life you fought for and deserve.
What Zuri became aware of first was how silent the world was, she couldn't hear anyone in her head and she found herself to be confused and alone. She didn't know where she was and what was going on. Had she been doing something before this? She had been chained and... hurt, burned, to be exact. Then there was a girl, this wonderful strong girl, pulling her away from the darkness, telling her not to give up, no matter what. She had found her leap of faith in the mind of a near all-knowing entity, the avatar. Yes, that was what she had been doing.
Her silence was broken by something she had become very familiar with; pain, unspeakable pain of everything that had been burned and what was gone. Before she had been able to tell herself not to feel it and concentrate on living her mockery of a life day by day, but now it was bearing down on her with the whole weight years of systematic torture brought. Moving made it unimaginably worse and she just lay there on the hard ground. She started hearing voices around her, full of panic and worry. She could also sense disgust and hate and everything they didn't want her to know. Her ability to hear minds was back, it seemed, although weaker and more obscure, but it was back.
And instead of giving her even the limited control she used to have on her pain, it added insult to injury by making her aware of the pity and shock the people around her felt and the unwillingness they had on touching her, even though they did want to help. She hadn't opened her eyes yet and she already hated wherever she was. Either she had just made the fruits of her torturous life worse by making her leap of faith, or she was in a strange world, powerless and in pain.
As sick it might have sounded; she would prefer it to be the latter. She didn't want to face Toph Bei Fong in such a sorry state. She wanted to live, to become something before she would meet her. She wanted time to know everything about that wonderful girl, who was a mystery to her.
"Can you hear me? Can you feel your legs. Where does it – Nevermind..." Someone from the crowd of voices and feelings had rushed in to kneel before her. She could hear analytic reasoning and wonder and feel excitement and dread mixed together. Was this person a healer, then? From what she had learned of their mind from Katara was just this; excitement over having someone to fix and dread over the fact they might not be able to do so. This person forced her eyelids open and a bright light assaulted her eyes. She moved to stop this person from doing this, but they were done as soon as she reacted and muttering about her irises responding to stimuli or some such nonsense. This person had no ill will towards her at all, so when her consciousness started fading and the same voice was telling people to call a number and stand back she wasn't as terrified as she could have been...
Saying she woke with a start would not be quite truthful; she was too groggy and comfortable for that kind of sudden movement. She was frightened and wondered where she was and if she was in peril when she did regain consciousness. She fought her own eyelids and finally saw a plain white ceiling with a blindingly bright light just out of her normal field of vision. It did bother her when she had her eyes open, but they tended to drift closed and time seemed to slide past her without her control. The lights were turned off for some periods of time, but she found she only wanted to sleep and rest her body on the warmth the bed she was laying on offered. Couldn't she allow herself some rest after all she'd been through?
She slept and dreamed of a world she belonged in.
Tell me what you think. Zuri'll be enrolling in Hogwarts next chapter and will meet Harry and Co. on the train there.
