Disclaimer: I do not own any of the fictional characters or other elements of ATLA. THis fic was written for pure fun.
A/N
Team: Earth Kingdom
Round: One. Betrayal
Category: Themed
Prompt: (First Line) I/He/She stopped to gaze at the water. (Action) Crying.
Word count: 1926 words (without A/N and disclaimer).
She stopped to gaze at the water. At least that's what her body appeared to be doing. To be quite honest, she couldn't see the liquid element. At least that's what Toph's eyes wouldn't allow her to do so. But thanks to her connection with the earth, Toph was aware that she was kneeling in front of a lake.
The young earthbender was petrified like a rock. Her clothes that once represented the Earth Kingdom's shades were now painted with a crimson color. The fabric had been permeated with a metallic odor and a sticky texture. The fluid that ruined Toph's attire didn't come from her veins. It used to belong to a person that ambushed her group.
She was supposed to clean the mess that was covering her body. Still, Toph wouldn't move. After all, it symbolized what she had just done a few moments ago. Yet, the earthbender thought it wasn't good enough. What was the point of it? Her friend was dead. And it was all because of her.
…
The Avatar's team had decided to take a break and rest in a hidden area in one of the Fire Nation's forest. But the banished prince was the only one who didn't agree with the gang's decision.
"We shouldn't stop right now. We need to arrive to the beach house as soon as possible".
"Relax, Zuko", said Aang, "Appa also needs to rest. The last time he didn't, we had an unpleasant experience with your sister. Besides, didn't you say that we weren't that far from the Ember Island?"
Zuko raised his hands to the air. "Exactly! Which is why we should keep moving. We cannot risk getting caught in such a crucial time".
Toph yawned to interrupt the firebender's statement before lying on the ground.
"Geeze, Zuko, you sound like an old man who wants to control everything. No wonder why you reminded me of my dad".
She started to shiver to exaggerate her comment. Aang couldn't help but laugh at his friend's action. "Are you sure you're going to be a good Fire lord after Aang defeats your father?"
Zuko frowned at the blind girl. "Who said I wanted to be the Fire Lord?"
Toph simply snorted and cleaned her right ear. "Whatever you say, your highness. By the way", she pointed her index finger towards Zuko, "you still owe me an adventure that will change my life".
Zuko rubbed his temples and sighed as a sign of his resignation. He decided to offer his help to Katara when she mentioned that she was going to search for some water to prepare the dinner. Meanwhile, the rest of the team started building up the camp.
Sokka unsurprisingly failed at his hunting mission and ended up empty handed. Knowing that it would happen, Toph had located some trees that provided some fruits. With the help of some earthbending, she managed to bring them down and take the food back to the campsite. With Aang's approval of them, for the young earthbender couldn't distinguish if those fruits were edible, the squad gathered around the bonfire to start eating.
However, just when Toph was about to take a bite, her feet alerted her senses of an upcoming threat.
"Get down!", she yelled.
Everyone was a bit confused but ended up doing what she had told them after they saw a giant spear directing towards them. A lot of fireballs followed the weapon's lead, but they were dissipated by Aang and Zuko.
"Oh, I'm sorry! Am I interrupting the losers' party?"
A maniacal laugh followed those words after Azula appeared from the woods. Of course, she didn't come alone. There were firebenders, tundra tanks, two Yuyan archers, and even some Dai Li members. The gang was surrounded. The Avatar team, with the inclusion of Appa and Momo, stood back to back and adopted a fighting position.
Azula smirked and pointed a finger towards them. "Get them!"
The enemies roared a battle cry and launched against the gang.
The blind girl stomped her right foot at the grass, causing a small earthquake that threw their opponents towards different directions. Appa also used his tail to help the blind girl. Still, that didn't stop their attackers.
The Dai Lis created some walls at the middle of the battlefield to separate the group. Before either Aang or Toph could stop them, each one was quickly engaged in a quarrel with at least five opponents. There were now small groups that consisted of Katara and Zuko fighting against the Dai Li; Sokka and Suki were going toe to toe against the Yuyan archers; Aang and Appa were defending themselves against Azula and the tundra tanks; Toph was subduing the firbenders.
The blind girl stopped a giant rock that was thrown at her. The attack wasn't done by any member of the Dai Li. The earthbender that tried to hit her was familiar to the young girl.
"Xin Fu?"
Standing in front of her was none other than one of the men who kidnapped her back at Ba Sing Se.
"Yes", smirked Xin Fu, "it's me". He directed some earth spikes towards our favorite earthbender, but she easily pulverized the objects.
"Why are you with them?"
He cackled before continuing his attacks. "The answer is simple: money".
"What?" She stopped another boulder and threw one of her own earth projectiles.
Xin Fu moved to the side and continued the conversation. "Since we were never able to return you to your family, Yu and I were never paid the money we were promised. But at least I got some advantage from the experience. You see, ever since I tried to catch you, I became an expert on following your tracks. I knew that you were traveling with the Avatar. So, I told myself, who could pay a good ransom if I happened to know the airbender's location?"
Toph's eyes went wide opened.
"You…".
"I was the one who led the Fire Nation to the Western Air Temple. I was the one who followed you to this place".
Toph knew that this man was greedy. But to come this far…
"Why? Why would you betray your own kingdom?"
Xin Fu couldn't help but cackle. "That's the exact thing that your former master told me right before I killed him. I was kind enough to offer him part of the payment. But of course, he wouldn't accept it. Well then, even better for me".
"You are a disgrace! Not only to the Earth Kingdom, but to everyone who's fighting for what's right!" She opened the earth beneath her opponent's feet, but he managed to avoid falling.
"Foolish girl! My loyalty will always be with whomever suits me better. I only work for my own benefit!" But as he talked, Toph was able to smash some rocks at Xin's back. He always underestimated Toph, or that's what she thought.
The blind girl restrained the man's body with some earth blocks, and her fist connected with his face.
"Submit!"
He grinned at her. "Oh, what difference would it make? I'm just a distraction".
"What…?" But it was too late.
…
Aang was blocking the blue fire that tried to burn him. With every move he made, Azula responded with twice the speed. Appa couldn't help his friend because he was occupied with the tundra tanks. Aang tried to defeat his opponent, but his attention was quickly driven away to a wooden projectile that one of the tanks had thrown at him.
Aang sliced it in half with an air whip. But, to his astonishment, it only contained some water that poured all over the Avatar.
Why would they try to get my clothes wet if…?
But the Avatar's thought was not completed. His distraction had caused him to get hit by one of Azula's lightning. The cunning girl smirked as she saw his body hit the ground.
…
The gang stood still after what they had just witnessed. Katara screamed Aang's name but was silenced after being knocked out by a Dai Li. Zuko went to her aid, but he was imprisoned by a pair of earth cuffs. Both Sokka and Suki were injured by some arrows.
After blocking the firebenders' path, the only one that was able to come to the Avatar's side was a young earthbender who couldn't stop the tears that were pouring down her face.
"Aang…?"
She tried to help her friend stand up. But she couldn't do so with a now lifeless body. Xin Fu laughed and taunted the sobbing girl.
"This was your own doing. If you would have let yourself get captured, none of this would have happened. Now you'll witness all of your friends' deaths!"
The remaining members of the Avatar's team were about to be strike with the objects that were threatening their lives. At last, I'll finally be able to see their blood run all over the ground. But Azula's wish was never granted for the raids were never able to hit their target.
Arrows, earth, tanks, and even some people stood in midair. It appeared as if the time frame was frozen. Only that the creator of this act was a now enraged girl who wouldn't allow any other of their friends to get hurt. It was a mistake of them to be wearing metal as part of their attires.
All the attackers were thrown a lot of yards away. The tanks were being crushed until nothing was left of them. Azula squinted her eyes. She knew that she couldn't fight against this type of power. At least not until she was prepared for it. She called out her men and told them to retreat.
"This isn't over…"
Everyone started to leave quickly. None of them were of Toph's interest except one. She was able to view his heartbeat that was accelerating like a mad being that tried to run for his life. But what caught her attention were all the different metals that were flowing through his veins.
…
Xin Fu thought he had managed to escape and was safe. How wrong was he. His limbs had abruptly stopped and made him fall. He couldn't move and the only thing he was able to see were a pair of barefoot feet.
"This was your own doing…".
An agonizing scream echoed across the forest. Then, everything became quiet.
…
After finally cleaning her face with some water, Toph wiped out the last tear that she would shed for the rest of her life. She turned around to face her friends who were mourning Aang's loss.
Later, when they decided to burry their friend, Toph decides to speak.
"This was my fault...".
"Toph, don't…".
"No, Katara, let me finish". The waterbender went silent.
"I ran away from my house to pursue some adventures. What did I end up with? Our friend is gone. Aang always stood up for what was right. But now he will never be able to accomplish that goal. So today, I make a promise. I won't let Aang's death be in vain".
She clenched her fists with which she had recently discovered a new ability. Katara had regretted the fact that she had learned to manipulate a human's body. The old Toph might have agreed with this. But she was gone. Her new self was now thinking of diverse ways to use this new bending style to their advantage.
With a menacing tone, she gave the following speech.
"From now on, no more peaceful acts, no more mercy. This is war".