A/N: So, this is new, obviously. This story will be very… interesting to write. So, bear with me. I've been contemplating writing this for over a year mainly because I was nervous of my portrayal of Toph. She's fun to write and all, but a single slip up can guarantee her OOC for the rest of the story. But I just want to give it a shot. Now, sit back, pull up a chair, and enjoy…

The Untold Story

Tell… the truth…

Those words continuously played through Toph's mind. Each word brought a heavy, painful feeling. They were heavy as boulders and were cold as ice. Toph wasn't very fond of regret, let alone feelings. She disliked the notion that whenever she looked back, she'd share both the pain and joy of her memories. She hated that whenever she thought about anything, she'd start to tear up. She would feel her eyes water and a large bulge would grow in her throat. She sat down and stared up at the ceiling, in an attempt to relax and think. She didn't feel the same way like the others, she was just sad. It was understandable too, because that was how one was suppose to feel when they grieved.

There she sat, Toph Beifong—the world's greatest earthbender—alone in the living room. She was sat on the recliner, staring at the ceiling. She did not dare to recline the chair in worry of not being able to get out. Her back was sore and healers had advised not putting any stress onto it. The last thing she wanted was to be stuck for the rest of her life in a recliner whilst mourning. However it would be a very comfortable way to go.

She had lived a great life, long enough to see her friends grow old and have children of their own. Long enough to see their children grow as well. It came as a shock to most when everyone discovered Toph had children of her own, it was a shock that she had ever fallen in love with anyone—her included. Life wasn't how any of them expected it to be. That was what Toph loved most about their story. The fact that none of them imagined they would be apart of something bigger and even in the end, it was still different. She had achieved great feats in her prime.

She had become the world's greatest earthbender, the world's first metal bender, and even had a school of metal benders. She was still going strong once she became Chief of Republic City Police. Then the face of metalbenders everywhere. She was certainly a force to be reckoned with, and she liked that. Back then, recalling those memories was always joyful—aside from the regret and guilt every now and again. Now, all those memories were filled with pain. How could one look back at the good times when there was always pain. Each memory was just another part of someone she lost, and when she looked back she only saw what she didn't have anymore.

There it was again, those tears. She felt her eyes water up. She closed them and sighed softly. A tear then proceeded to stream down her face. "Toph?" A voice had suddenly alerted her, nearly causing her to jump. Toph instinctively wiped away her tear and a let a sniffle escape her.

Toph turned to the voice, which she could sense was stood at the door. "Uhh, yes Tenzin?" The light steps of his feet, which were slowly approaching her, were easily recognizable.

"Everyone is gathered outside," he said softly. "I… I thought you would want to join us," he added. There was an obvious hesitation in his voice, Toph knew this. He wasn't really sure what Toph wanted at the moment. Everyone mourned in different ways.

Toph nodded as she rose out of the recliner and glanced over to him. She could feel his eyes meet hers, but she kept her gaze to the floor like usual. "I'm coming." Tenzin smiled and nodded back, waiting back at the door. Toph slowly made her way over and followed him down the halls. The small, light sounds of their steps were the only thing suppressing the silence between the two. Toph walked with her hands tucked behind her back, whilst slouching. Despite the awkward silence, it was not like the two weren't close. Toph and Tenzin were really close, Toph had known him since he was baby.

Tenzin was not sure if small talk was necessary at the moment. The walk from the living room to the courtyard wasn't long. Not much needed to be said between the two. Neither of them could really say anything to the other, as it was a shared loss. Tenzin was widely aware of this. He couldn't just say, "Sorry for your loss," since it was his loss as well. He took a glance at Toph every so often, observing her expression. Though it was silly to worry about social skills and awkwardness in a time of grief, he always felt like he had to be strong with Toph—a like father like son scenario, something he had gotten from Aang.

Toph's expression was the way it always was. A blank look with distant eyes that showed no interest in anything. Despite the fact that he'd just seen her cry, her expression was neutral. It really worried him how she much she was hiding. After all the pain and mourning, he was beginning to realize not everyone he loved would be around forever. He knew Toph was the type to mask herself, to hide her feelings and conceal her thoughts. It was only people like Aang, Katara, and Sokka who could get her to be more open, and just by a smidge.

Regardless of his thoughts, Toph could feel Tenzin's vibrations pulsating incredibly. He was obviously nervous and worried, to which Toph decided to engage. "We would walk through these halls," she spoke up softly. Tenzin gazed at her, prompting her to continue. "All four of us. On the days we were free, we would meet up here, catch up and just… have fun." A smile formed on her lips as she reminisced the memories. "When Zuko was available, that was when we would all plan a great dinner, one that would develop into a party. When it was only one, it'd be a small lunch date."

"I remember," Tenzin responded, mimicking her smile. "I enjoyed those times when I saw you, Sokka, or Zuko visit. It would always mean a fun and pleasant evening. Then on those trips he took me on, we always stopped by to see you whenever we could." He sighed. "You all made my childhood exciting."

"I'm surprised the son of the Avatar would have an even more exciting childhood than that title alone," she remarked.

"Well, that was exciting, but meeting the people who were friends of my father and learning from them also got me excited." Tenzin's smile grew more. "I'm glad to have met all of you."

Toph scoffed. "Don't worry about me kid," she muttered softly. "I'm fine."

The two had just arrived at the doors that led out to the courtyard. Tenzin stopped in his tracks to which Toph mimicked. He glanced at her and said, "You've been inside the Temple for two weeks and have only talked to the Acolytes when you needed to, which for your case, is a rarity." The light joke made her smile. "We're all concerned, Toph. Yes, we are all grieving and as much as we miss—"

"I told you," Toph interjected. "I'm fine Tenzin." She glanced over to him, her eyes meeting his chest. "It's been hard. Especially being in this place, not only am I in the city of which he created, I've been living in the temple where he had trained you. Where he lived the rest of his life. He did not make it easy for us to forget him." A humourless chuckle escaped her lips. "It's as if wherever he went he left a memento, a legacy. Then when we had to move on, all we see his face. And now, every memory of him, is a memory of all of us. You can't think about the Avatar, without thinking about all of us."

"It's hard, I know," Tenzin nodded. "I had those same issues when my father passed away. The legacy he left me."

Toph sighed as she shook her head. "So what is this about?" she asked, changing the subject abruptly. "A small gathering between friends and family?"

Tenzin briefly laughed as he shrugged. "I honestly don't know." He grabbed the doors and slid them open. The two walked through the wooden archway, and directly to the right, was the gathering. "A small campfire and friends," Tenzin noted. He was right about that. They were all there, sat on a circle of earth stumps and benches that were no doubt recently created. She could feel a couple of glances meet her way. "They all thought that a few stories and some recollection of the mind would help ease the pain."

Another scoff by Toph. Then a voice neared them, "Toph, Tenzin."

Toph smiled at the source and greeted, "Evening Korra." Her voice was still soft and she had cleared her throat afterward.

"So, Korra, what did you have in mind again?" Tenzin asked as he and Toph followed her to the campfire. Korra walked over to the other end and sat on the earth bench Bolin had made for them. The seating arrangement was Asami, Korra, Mako, and Bolin respectively. Then, to the left of their bench were a few scattered stumps. There sat Tenzin's kids and Pema. Ikki and Meelo were obediently sat together near Pema who had Rohan in her arms while Jinora sat closer to the Team Avatar bench. Adjacent to them were six other stumps. Lin and Suyin, Kya, Bumi, and an extra stump left for Tenzin no doubt. Then a final one for Toph, by itself, right across from the Team Avatar bench.

The two sat down and Tenzin looked over to Korra, prompting everyone to do the same. She smiled and stood up. "I know that these past few weeks have been rough and that we all are still mourning, but I thought we should all get together and share a few moments of happiness." A pause, leaving a few of the group to smile. "It's times like these we should be glad to have friends who can be their for us, friends and family we can be with. So, I thought one of the best ways to honour our fallen friend, is to share some memories and say a few words! But first," Korra turned around and reached behind the bench. She pulled out a tray of cups and began passing them around the group, quickly as possible.

By the time Toph received her cup, she got a whiff and smiled. Earl Grey tea, it was her favourite. Once Korra had returned to her seat she sighed in satisfaction as she looked upon her group of friends. She rose her cup and announced, "To one of the greatest waterbenders ever known, Katara of the Southern Water Tribe."

Everyone else rose their drinks and said, "To Katara!" then proceeded to sip them. Few had actually finished the drink immediately and left them aside their seats, others held on and awaited Korra to continue.

"So, I think we should all try to reconcile some memories we had of Katara," Korra spoke up with a smile as she looked around. "Does anyone want to go—"

"Me!" Bumi rose his hand first, eagerly waiting with a smile.

Korra gestured to him and said, "Floor's yours Bumi."

He stood up happily holding onto his cup. He glanced back and forth between his siblings and then said with a smug face, "Our mother, was one of the coolest moms out there. It wasn't because she was married to the Avatar, or was one of the world's greatest healers, or was master waterbender, or could bloodbend, or water whip ya with her sweat," his siblings laughed at the inside joke. "She was amazing because she understood us. She saw each one of my siblings and knew that things were difficult. I couldn't bend, Kya was treated different once Tenzin came, and Tenzin was seen above all else. Despite all of that, our mom did a bang up job of keeping our bond alive."

He confidently nodded and said, "Though I couldn't bend at the time, she tried not to treat me any different. She still tried to teach me about how healing and bending worked and made sure that I equally understood it just as well as my brother and sister. She showed me that bending wasn't the only powerful thing in the world. Sure, Dad had done the same, but I think Katara's stuck the most. Those two always fell into arguments when it came to parenting us. I think Tenzin was the divide. But I'm amazed that she still tried to meet me halfway. In the end, I'm glad that I had a mother like Katara." He sighed and took his seat.

Kya immediately rose her hand and looked over to Korra, who nodded. She slowly rose up and sighed. "Our mother truly was an amazing woman. Not to rag on the airbending thing more, but the fact that I wasn't an Airbender didn't mean much to her! Katara taught me everything she knew and showed me that I still had a purpose. She inspired me to go around the world, and use her teachings to heal others. She taught me how to be compassionate and caring. She taught me that water could be a delicate, calm element, but also could be fierce and aggressive, that was also how I would describe Katara.

"Our mother truly was an amazing woman. She was just perfect." Tears started to swarm in Kya's eyes. "I might be what's left of her legacy, and I will honour that." She sunk back down in her seat. Tenzin reached out to her and placed his hand on her shoulder reassuringly, leaving her to whisper, "I'm fine."

Tenzin cleared his throat as he rose up from his seat with his cup of tea in his right hand. "She was a mother like no other. She was always there for us to confide in. She always believed us, and knew that we all were destined for greatness. Her optimism and wisdom helped guide me through rough times. At the end of the day, she was someone we could all love. A friendly face we loved to see, a person we… would cherish." His expression fell as he sighed. "Katara will continue to live on in our hearts and mind, she'll always be there for us." He sat back down and closed his eyes for a moment, regaining his composure.

Some nodded in agreement to Tenzin's words. Pema beamed a happy smile at Tenzin while the rest of his kids—aside from Rohan, who was sleeping—proudly grinned at their father. After a brief moment of silence, it was clear everyone was expecting someone else to go. They exchanged glances and waited for someone to rise. Toph however, was surprised by the intense vibrations the others were giving off. She could infer some were nervous to speak up, in fear of not having something worthy to say.

But she figured now was the best time to do so. Katara had left her one task before passing before her eyes. She recalled it all too quickly. From the moment she sensed her, all the way in the swamp, Toph could feel her faint. Within an instant Toph made her way over to Republic City, as fast as she could. By the time she arrived, everyone had sorrow looks on their faces and the atmosphere immediately felt grim. Tenzin had stepped out of the room and stared at Toph with an eyeful of tears. He told her that Katara wanted to tell her something and was going to have him pass it on.

Right from there Toph knew that the end was near for her soon, and that the truth had to be told. She walked into the bedroom and teared up at the sight of a dreary Katara. Then when she made her way over to her, Katara had whispered the words, "Tell… the truth…" and she was gone. Her chance of saying anything back faded when Toph heard her, she had to let it sink in before should say anything. She understood now, the responsibility had been left onto her. She internally laughed as she thought more about the topic. Maybe it was everyone's plan to die before Toph, just to stick her with the hard job. Toph rolled her eyes, assuming that would be something Aang would do.

She took a deep breath and rose up from her stump with her drink in her hand. Everyone drew their attention toward her. "Whelp, she certainly was a Sugar Queen in her youth." She chuckled. "I envied Katara when we were fighting Ozai. She was always so approachable and kind. She was the mother of our group. She constantly nagged us when we didn't listed and scolded us when we misbehaved. She was always high maintenance. She always had to be right, always had to be the perfect little waterbender." A few of the grins on everyone's faces began to fade. Something about Toph's tone and attitude seemed off putting. "No matter what she did Katara did no wrong. Heck, all her stories note her as the perfect one. But when you look at it on paper, she didn't really accomplish much on her own." Tenzin, Kya, and Bumi looked at Toph with wide eyes, obvious offense in their eyes.

Korra cleared her throat. "Uh… um Toph? Is there a point to this?" she asked nervously.

Toph shrugged. "I'm just commenting on how I knew her. Don't get me wrong, I loved her, she was like the sister I never had. I'll never know what it was like to grow up with a sibling, Katara is the closest representation I have of that. In some ways, she acted more like a mother to me. A better mother than my own real mum. But no matter the bright side, I always compared myself to her. I thought that I was better than her, that I was stronger. I had to compare myself. It gave me reassurance.

"In the end, we had our small moments together. I could list them but I'm sure Aang or Katara had already told those stories. There was the time she took me to a spa, just to make me feel pretty—which I hated. Then she tried to prove she was fun by pulling a scam with me. Then all those times she and I had arguments about basically anything, when we travelled the world it would be about the food. There were times she and I just had to make up because Aang or Sokka told us to. Despite what was on paper, she had her not so pleasant moments. It was mainly because of me, since I knew how to get underneath her skin.

"That was something I always liked about our relationship. No matter the image she was portraying, Sugar Queen could easily lose her temper if she was pushed the right way. She and I didn't have many stories together, we were always bickering." Toph had a very satisfied grin on her face. At this point, the group could sympathize with her, understanding this was how she coped. Tenzin and Korra had smirked at her proudly, both were glad she could be open in a time like this. Toph immediately shook her head and said, "But I don't think Sugar Queen would want us down in the dumps so easily. Katara was better than that."

"Indeed she was," Tenzin commented.

Toph sighed once again as a small grin formed on her face. "There are plenty of ways we could honour Katara's memory!" she announced. "Tell jokes, write poetry about her, make art about her that defines her image, or even tell stories." The group began to nodded in agreement.

"Ooh, ooh!" Bolin eagerly rose his hand and quickly said, "I'd love to hear more about the stuff that happened after the war." He elbowed his brother. "Right?"

Mako shrugged as he smirked. "I'm more personally interested in the war story."

"It was the legacy of the lifetime," Suyin commented quietly.

"Regardless of those stories," Toph spoke up once again, "I'm sure you all have heard these stories sometime before." Her kids began to nod much like Katara's kids. "And not everything was worthy of a story. Somethings were too small to even bring up, let alone even think about. But others were definitely worth telling. Hundred Year War, Zuko's mom, how we met, the journey of training Aang, all that stuff." A few smiles grew at the recollection of hearing those stories again. Obviously, those related had heard the stories millions of times before and though some may say otherwise, they all enjoyed listening to them.

Suyin gently nudged her sister and mumbled, "The last one." Lin laughed at her half sister's comment, she and Suyin had heard a lot about their mother training Aang in their youth.

"But there was one that was never told, one that we all had sworn not to talk about." Toph swallowed hard as she took a pause. Her gaze had rose up and glanced around the group, intending to meet their eyes. Though it was not accurate, everyone knew what she was going for and got the feeling that it was serious. Toph looked to her left, where her and Katara's kids were sat. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that we never told the truth, and in the time that we—that I do, it's only me who is left to take the blame. But in the end, we all love you."

"Mom," Lin leant forward, lowering her cup to the ground. "You're kinda worrying me. What are you talking about?"

"It's just… before you all freak out and start to lose it, I want you all to keep calm and let me explain the situation we were in, and how it all fell into—"

"Toph," Tenzin spoke up. "It's okay, we'll hear you out."

She choked back as she sat back down. The last person she wanted to motivate her, was Tenzin. At this point, Toph just wanted to run and give up. But she had gone too far in, she had to move forward. It was time she told the story. Another sigh, followed by a proud smile. Toph gazed toward the burning campfire and said, "Tenzin is my son."

A/N: That's right, things are not what they seem! Please, review and follow! Lemme know your thoughts! There's no turning back for me now...

Until next time...

— Bleh