The off in the distance a battle between General Old Iron and group of humans lead by the Avatar. There was figure watching over them from the shadows.
"Seems that the humans have once again become powerful" the figure stated
General Old Iron who despite being weaker then when he was at his peak. Should not really be losing this easily even to the Avatar. After all he was a spirit that pre-dated the Avatar and had far more experience then them. The reason he was losing was because there was a single human that was actually able to rip off his armor and then use it against him.
"Oh My...Oh My...What do we have here? I guess this was eventually bound to happen but for someone learn a secret of earthbending on their own. It has been awhile since this has happened" the figure said intrigued.
Stepping into the light, this figure was the guardian of earthbending in its purest form. After all what human learned was from the animals and/or spirits who couldn't bend in its purest form. Only the Lion Turtles knew the purest form of bending and they never granted that to anyone. Not even Wan, the man who would become the first Avatar and host of Raava, was granted such a honor. That was because they did not really trust him or any human for that matter with the knowledge.
However there was nothing stopping people from learning parts of the purest form of their bending art on their own. Thus the Lion Turtles left the guardians that would test them to see if they were worth of the knowledge they had started to tap into.
Though the guardians were left to use their own judgment as testing a person would be based on just how deep they would go into the zen that pure bending was. Some just did not have the talent to go beyond the tip of their potential while a scant few could. Those that did were indeed tested as no one was safe from these tests, not even the Avatars. They were tested as well...or would have been if one ever tried. This never happened as the Avatars were convinced they could do things possible only for them. Of course that was wrong as anyone skilled and talented enough could do what they could...it was just highly unlike as the amount of training to do them naturally would take countless years.
A human that was naturally gifted and talented was rarely born if ever. Not only did they need the natural talent but the proper training where they would not develop habits that prevent them from reaching heights they could have otherwise. The guardian thought back as the one known as Bumi could have been such human however this girl...Toph Bei Fong was.
She 'created' metalbending and then managed to 'teach' it to others, reaching a level that they were able to use it against Old Iron himself. Her potential was one that required testing as she could prove dangerous if she left unchecked. The possibility existed even if she hadn't done anything so far. There was no telling just what she could do in the future as all it take is just one bad day to go from good to catastrophic.
Regardless of what she was planning to do next, testing her was required immediately. After all the water guardian messed up allow bloodbending to spread. Though one was currently good and the other evil with both needing a full moon to access that power. There was no telling how long that balance would last. After all the most dangerous bender to have unchecked powers would be Earthbenders and Airbenders.
The Earth Guardian was glad they were around perform their duty before things spread too far. At the moment it seem that metalbending could only be acquired through training with Toph. So that at least was good thing as he was not too late like his water counter part (though fire guardian kind of screwed up with lighting as well but that still rather hard to use. The process of creating it currently was itself a continuous test).
It was few month after the events at the her father's Earthen Fire Refinery...
Toph was asked look over the mines to make sure there weren't any other hidden areas that Loban had created against her father's wishes and orders…again. Only to discover what seem to be a cave that connected to the mines. though as Toph entered the cave and walked a decent ways into the path behind her vanished without her or anyone else on the outside world being aware of it.
Deciding to look it over she wondered into it as walked around she felt something. The possibility that she was not alone here but that should not be as she came in here alone to ensure that it was safe. The deal was that she went in by herself and if she did not come out in time then the others would come looking for her. Toph's seismic sense was great but if she was not focus on the large enough area her, she could easily be fooled.
This was how she was tricked by the Earth Guardian that merely waited until she was deep enough in then just moved the entirety of the mine around her which didn't trip her seismic sense of the area along with her. Making so that Toph was unaware she was being moved miles away from the Earthen Fire Refinery.
Thus Toph just continued walking completely in the dark unaware what just happened to her and that she was now somewhere completely different then where she assumed she was. A frown appeared her face as this feeling of being watched was getting worse and worse. It was like there was someone just outside of her seismic sense that was cause to wondering if she should turn around leave this place.
A smile appeared on the Earth Guardian as she did not seem to be aware of being move but she was slightly detecting his presence when he let his guard down for a instance. He raised up his left hand which had symbol on it, that began to glow and from it a volt of power leap out and struck Toph dead on in the back. Causing her to jump with her hand up in front of her as her entire body was covered in this power.
Now fully aware there was someone or something here attacking her, she swipe at them using her earthbending to launch some rock at them however something was wrong. It was very wrong indeed as her feet were not moving anymore.
It was not that her feet were injured but more like they could not move them period, as all the way up to her ankles and continuing to grow they were turning to stone. The little bit of clothing she wore on her feet in place of shoes were crumbling away. Leaving that part of her body converted to rock, as she was becoming a hard as her element itself.
Panic started to set in as most of her legs were now solid stone and outfit was crumbling away as the process worked its way up her body.
"Listen hear buddy I don't know who you are but you better stop this. As I am the greatest Earthbender alive and I've clobbered blockheads like you over far less!" Toph yelled at them as she turned to face them with no real idea where her opponent was.
As this was happening the entirety of her legs had converted to stone with her clothing crumbling away to dust leaving Toph with no modest coverings.
Out of the shadows came a echoing voice "Of course you are that is why this is working so well. Along with how fast you are being converted too. This symbol on my hand grant me the power to convert benders into their own element. The more powerful the bender, the faster the process goes. In a sense your own talent and skill are being turned against you" the Earth Guardian stated
At this point Toph was almost fully transformed as the last bit of her outfit crumbled to dust leaving her naked stone form standing there with only her hands and arms and face left as flesh and blood. The rest of her form was left bare for any to see, but being blind Toph didn't care about her foe seeing her naked body as she struggled desperately to move an inch.
"Come oooon body!...move!" Toph said trying to grit her teeth and force her body to move again.
However as the process began converting her arms they did begin to move.
"Yes...Huh!?" the blind bender stated
Though her arms began to move they weren't as she wanted them too. In fact she was seemingly posing with one hand behind her head and the other lying against her left breast with her hand facing down much to her deep confusion.
"I forgot to tell you, the more powerful the bender. The more control I have over them once they have almost been completely converted. How does it feel to have your own body bent against your will? Must have been quite something now that you'll soon completely turned into very element you've taken granted having control over, now its your turn" the Guardian stated.
"Why are you doing this?!" Toph said as her time was running short as head was being converted.
"This is a test and until you regain your ability to move, consider yourself...looks like you can not hear me anymore" he stated.
The reason being that Toph Bei Fong the Master Earthbender, One of the four master of Avatar Aang, and 'founder/creator' of Metalbending. She was now merely a statue of stone with orbs for eyes and slightly open mouth.
"Wonderful, simply stunning, but there one thing I would like to change, that expression doesn't suit your graceful figure. better fix that before you finish cooling off" the guardian stated.
Using the symbol on his hand gave him the power to change, the Toph Statue's expression for one of shock to a happy expression that one would expect to find from a statue of her in such a pose.
"There that is much better" he said cupping her face in his hand feeling that he changed it just in time as it was now stone cold to the touch.
"Now to get you some light to shine on your wondrous form" he said
A crevice in the ceiling formed by the guardians will to do just that, shine radiantly down upon the Toph statue as he stood back admiring a job well done
"Phase one of the test is complete. If you can bring yourself back from this state on your own then you pass and will have a place among the "true benders". However fail and well I guess you will forever be a monument to yourself, though if your ever discovered by mortals you can probably make someone a lot money when they sell you" the Earth Guardian said "Not that I really care as my job here is done for now. You will be seeing me again if get yourself out this prison, until then...stay beautiful, hehehe"
And with that the Guardian vanished leaving a the once mighty Toph Bei Fong standing statuesque in the middle of a empty Cavern several feet down into the ground and miles away out in the barren country side with nobody around to disturb the posed statue as light glistened the dew on off her form, deep down inside Toph was still in there, but until she summons the will power to regain her sentience, she remains trapped in her own stone body for however long it takes to break free, be it months, years, decades, even centuries, someday she'll either emerge a true bender, or end up in a museum being admired by rest of time.