Part 3 is here. Let me know what you think.
Iroh had finally made it back to the Jasmine Dragon after what felt like hours of talking to some attendants of Toph's funeral. Ok, time to make some tea. The old man opened the shop and almost instantly people arrived to try the best tea in the city, and possibly the world. It wasn't a full house, but it was busy and he was constantly moving to and fro taking orders and brewing tea. His only helper Jin was now a fine tea maker, although Iroh loved to make it himself.
A hooded figure entered the Jasmine Dragon and took a seat at one of the empty tables. Jin took notice of this and headed over to take the new arrivals order.
"Hello, my names Jin, what can I get for you on this fine day."
"Id like a cup of ginseng please. Oh and can I talk to the owner of this fine establishment." asked the stranger
"Well of course, he will deliver your tea personally." replied Jin "Thank you."
After a few minutes, she noticed the wise old man walking towards her, and he was carrying a pot of tea. Iroh reached the table and greeted his newest customer.
"Hello, my names Iroh, how can I help you." asked the firebender.
"I would like to talk to you about Toph." replied Lily. Iroh's face morphed from calm, to concerned and surprised at this strangers complete straight forwardness.
"May I ask you your name." started Iroh
"Lily, my name is Lily."
"Well I've never met you, so I'm assuming Toph knew you?" asked the old man.
"You could say that."
"So what is it that you would like to talk about Lily?"
Lily's face didn't leave the table, If Iroh saw her it was over. "I'm here about the funeral. I think that Toph would have loved it, and she would have been really thankful for the speech you gave." Iroh raised an eyebrow
"Well thank you very much Lily."
"Anytime."
"Is that all you would like to tell me then?" questioned the Dragon of the West
"Yeah, I just wanted to let you know how much she would have appreciated it."
"Well thank you very much, but I'm going to have to excuse myself I have a lot of work to do." Iroh turned back towards the kitchen.
"Goodbye uncle." called Lily.
The firebending master stopped dead in his are only two people in the world that called him uncle. One was in the fire nation, and the other had just recently passed. He whipped around to face Lily but she was gone, all that was left was an empty tea cup and the pot that he had left. Was I just hallucinating, or did I just serve tea to a spirit?
-Two Days Later: Sokka's Wedding
"You may now kiss the bride." Sokka bent down and planted the first kiss he and his wife had shared while they were married.
Applause broke out and it seemed like the earth was shaking. This was not a small gathering of people; many who had come for Toph's funeral had stayed for the marriage. This included Aang, Katara, Hakoda, and half of Ba Sing Se. Even the earth king was there to wish Sokka, and his newly wed bride luck.
That same hooded figure was in the crowed, and she was clapping and yelling with all her might. "YAAA. WOOHOO, WAY TO GO SNOOZELES!" Lily was extremely happy for Sokka, it made her feel good to 'see' the young man so happy. Toph thought that she would be sad when it happened, but then she remembered that she was a different person now.
Sokka walked down the aisle with his wife beside him. They headed outside where the after party was being held. Soon they made their way outside, and everyone in the giant building followed their lead.
Lily had made her way outside as well and was now sitting at a table, alone, next to the food stands.
"You sure like wearing that cloak don't you?" asked the newly wed warrior.
"Yup, it's my favorite."
"I'm happy you came Lily"
"Its no problem Sokka, Toph would be proud of you being able to move on." replied Lily
"But I didn't move on, I just got married. You heard my speech at the funeral; I will never be able to move on." Sokka looked to the ground, reminiscing about his lost friend.
"Sokka that isn't healthy, she told you that it wasn't your fault. Toph wouldn't say something like that unless she meant it."
"Wait a minute" Sokka seemed puzzled "you knew Toph?" Lily paused before continuing.
"Yeah, me and her go way back, before she left Gaoling. I heard about what had happened from her parents."
"That's strange; Toph told us she never had any friends before we came along."
"Well when she left we werent really on speaking terms." mumbled the cloaked girl.
"Oh im sorry to hear that, but im positive Toph would of forgiven you if she knew you where at the funeral."
"Thanks Sokka, now I know why she loved you." (No, this isnt a plot hole. Sokka told everyone the whole story at the funeral.)
He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I sure wish she didn't. Then Toph would still be here." an awkward silence ensued, but Sokka broke it." Well I should get back to my wife, im glad you could make it." The warrior turned and went to find his newly wed.
"Im happy for you Snoozles." Again Sokka found himself frozen in place, he snapped around this time, but still, he was to slow, and Lily wasn't there. How the hell does she keep doing that?
-Five Years Later
"Hey did you hear that Earth Rumble XIV (14) is being held in Ba Sing Se." asked a man in a green tunic "No way, are you joking." replied his companion. Sokka was walking down the street and couldn't help overhearing the conversation, so he stopped to listen. "Nope this is the real deal bro; all of the greatest earth benders are going to be there, even king Bumi from Omashu."
"No way, he's like 120 years old!"
"This is no joke man; there are even some rumors that the Blind Bandit is entering." This made Sokka gasp from surprise. Could it be could his waiting finally be close to over? Sokka could only hope. With this new information, and an unusual spring in his step, he restarted walking.
Finally he arrived to his destination, on every Friday of the year he would go down to Toph's grave, leave her favorite flower (which happened to be a pansy.) Sokka had no idea why she liked it the most, but he figured it was because she also used it as an insult. He would talk to her about what had happened during the week prior to his visit. This time, however, he actually had interesting news.
"Toph if you're still out there, I'm going to find you." Finally he finished his visit and like always he picked the old flower out of the ground that he had put there last visit, and replaced it with the new one. He looked up at the engraved picture of his past friend. It seemed so long ago that they were messing with someone or pulling a prank, but like everytime he looked up at the beautiful girl on the wall, a single tear would escape his eye. It was like she has just died all over again, but now there was new hope, and maybe he could see the real Toph again.
Lily on the other hand was having the time of her life, she was the raining champion of Earth Rumble for five years running, and now it was about to get even better. These competitions were getting so boring. Thank god that its moving to Ba Sing Se, there might be actual competition there. Like this King Bumi, he sounds really familiar
"All Aboard, to Ba Sing Se!" yelled someone in front the railcar. It's been a year since I've been to the capitol, I wonder what has changed?
Suspected by Sokka, Lily, aka: Toph, had been frequently visiting Ba Sing Se through out four of the five years she had been gone. She would check up on all of her old friends and family, to see how they were doing and what had changed.
-The time frame is going to be hard to follow in this chapter, hopefully its not messed up. You'll understand why Sokka thinks Toph is alive in the following flashbacks.
-Flashbacks: Between the Five Years Toph Was "Dead"-
Lily was there for Aang and Katara's marriage two years after Sokka's, Toph had even been mentioned by Aang as he gave his speech.
"Can I have everyone's attention please? Thank you. This is by far the greatest day of my life, and I'm so happy you could all share it with me. I would personally like to give a toast to my dear friend Toph Bei Fong for not being able to attend personally, but I know that her spirit is with us right now." He was given a round of applause by everyone in the room. Except two people who were within ear shot of the Avatar. Sokka had his head down on the table trying to hide his tears, but this time it wasn't just tears of sorrow. It was a mix of joy for his sister and his friend, and sadness for the constant reminder of his loss. The other person was leaning against the outer wall of the building where everyone was eating. Aang wedding was too small, and Lily couldn't participate without being noticed. So she resorted to just standing outside, listening, and feeling the attendants.
Toph was also crying, not for herself like she used to, but for all the pain that she put her family through. She could not take back what she had done, so she did the best she could to be there for them.
Not only was Lily there for Aang's wedding, but she was in the hospital when Suki gave birth to little Bato, another two years later. She had felt the new life be brought into the world and she had wept at how beautiful it was. She also cried knowing that she would never experience it, and feel the love that she would have had for a child of her own. It had made her so happy for Sokka, and yet it made her feel extremely lonely. Maybe I shouldn't have stopped myself from dying at the bottom of that wall; maybe I should have hit the ground full force. It would be all over. Toph's eyes sprung another leak, and she sighed. No then I would of never have been able to be at their weddings, or here for this.
Toph looked up at the ceiling and cracked a smile. Sokka was directly above her holding his child. Her sensitive ears could pick up their whole conversation. "I really wish Toph was here to see this, you guys." said the warrior. Next was Aang "Have you already forgotten Sokka, Toph was blind." Everyone shared a laugh, except the new father. "No Aang I didn't forget, I just wish that she was here to share this wonderful moment with us." A hint of anger tinged his voice "I'm sorry Sokka, I was just kidding." replied the Avatar "Well it wasn't funny."
Lily smiled to herself, and thought to herself. He hasn't forgotten me yet. He really did care. She waited there until everyone was gone and Sokka and Suki were asleep.
Toph headed to the newborn wing of the hospital, she opened the door and sniffed the odd smell of baby. She made her way over to little Bato and 'gazed' at him with her useless eyes. Lily lightly touched his soft arm to feel if he was healthy, she needed to be sure. His heartbeat was strong and had the same exact rhythm as Sokka's. Toph was essentially Bato's aunt and she loved him like he was her own. "Take care little Bato, if you ever need me ill be there."
"I'm not sure you're supposed to be in here, Lily." It was Sokka; she didn't hear him sneak up on her. "I'm sorry Sokka; I was in the city when I heard you were having a child. I just wanted to see him for myself." Toph nervously replied. "It's alright, but if you wanted to see him, you could have just asked." Lily giggled "Yeah, I guess that would have been smarter."
Sokka was gazing at the hooded figure before him, "You know Lily, you remind me alot of Toph."
"Well we did grow up together." the warrior shook his head "No I mean you really remind me of her. I know this is ridiculous, but would you mind taking off your hood." Lily paused for a second "Of course."
She pulled back the hood of the cloak and turned to face the new father. What the warrior saw left him absolutely speechless. He was looking at a woman with long black hair the reached down to the small of her back. She had pale, flawless skin, and was without a doubt, the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She seemed to glow, and illuminate the dark room, like a nightlight that would never go out. He could have sworn that if he took her outside on a full moon, she would have easily outshined Yue.
"Are you ok Sokka?" asked Lily finally breaking the silence. "Ummm.. yeah of course why wouldn't I be?" She sort of resembles Toph, but wow I don't think that she could ever look like that. I'm not saying Toph wasn't beautiful, but this girl unbelievable.
Thank god he didn't see my eyes; if he did it would be all over. Lily pulled the hood back over her head, and Sokka was reluctant to let her do so. "Wow now I know why you wear that hood." stated Sokka "What are you talking about?" replied Lily "Well if you didn't, every single boy from here to the South Pole would be all over you. You're the most beautiful girl I have ever seen."
Lily's cheeks burned bright red, from Sokka's unexpected compliment. "You don't have to lie to me Sokka, I'm not that pretty."
"But you really are Lily. Any guy would be lucky to be with you." the blind earth bender was speechless. He thinks I'm that pretty? The most beautiful he's ever seen? Is this a dream? Sokka took notice of her sudden silence, and decided to continue. "You even look a little like the Toph I remember. Everytime I saw her, she would only look better. When she left us it was like a part of me was ripped out. Like her friendship made me, um.. me. It sort of reminds me of Yin and Yang. One not being complete without the other."
Lily listened to Sokka's heart wrenching story; he was unintentionally stomping all over her heart. "They said that they couldn't move the body, so they buried her where she had landed." sobbed the warrior "One of the guards found the bracelet I gave her on our travels when we were kids, and gave it back." Sokka pulled up his sleeve and took off the meteor bracelet. Toph's eyes went wide. He's been wearing the bracelet for all these years! "It umm.. I'm sorry. AHEM.." Sokka cleared his throat handed it to Lily "It was engraved by her, and says please forgive me on it. Toph must have been planning it for awhile, if she learned how to read and write."
Lily felt the bracelet in her hands, it was almost the exact same as she had let it but on the exact opposite side of her writing, there was more. "I took the liberty of engraving my own message on it. Seemed like a good idea at the time and it calms me to see it." Lily could see the message with her Earthbending, it read: Your Forgiven. The young earthbender started to cry beneath her hood, and Sokka obviously noticed. "What's wrong Lily?"
"Its just so sad how she left you. I can't believe how stupid she was to do it. Toph had no idea how lucky she was." Sokka lifted his head to the sky, let out a long sigh, and turned back to Lily. "Toph wasn't stupid, I can understand her pain. She was lonely and knew that she could never be with the man she loved. I'm starting to feel the same way that she felt, and let me tell you it's not pleasant."
"You have Suki and a beautiful baby boy, how could you feel like she did?" asked the confused earthbender. "I may not feel the loneliness that she felt, but I'm starting to wonder if I made a mistake. Maybe I did love her, everyday I miss her more and nothing I do helps. Don't get me wrong I love Suki with all my heart, but I loved Toph in a different way. Maybe even a better wa..."
"Don't you dare say it Sokka. The more you do that, the more her sacrifice gets to meaning nothing. You never loved Toph, and you never will. You married Suki because you were meant to be, that's all there is to it." Sokka was stricken by Lily's sudden aggressiveness, and all it did was anger him as well. "How the hell would you know any of this? I was with her for three straight years, and I never saw you there. So how do you know the way I or Toph really felt?"
Lily's head turned away from the warrior and back to the sleeping boy next to her "Shh.. your gonna wake the baby. Here is your bracelet back. I'm sorry if I offended you. I just don't want her to have died for nothing, that's all. I should get going anyway; ill see you and little Bato later."
Just like that Lily walked out of the room and down the hall, disappearing into the darkness. Sokka watched her go before returning to Bato's side. He looked at his son, sleeping peacefully, knowing that Toph would be his guardian angel. Knowing that she would be there for him if he needs her.
It wasn't until the next day that Sokka noticed that the writing on the bracelet had changed, now instead of 'Please Forgive Me', it read: Thank You.
Right then and there Sokka decided to bring up the possibility of Toph still being alive to his friends and family. Iroh, being the only person to actually see this 'Lily' person, agreed with what Sokka had said. Everyone else was unconvinced.
"You saw her fall yourself Sokka, she couldn't have survived." argued Katara "I think I know of a way we can prove if she is still alive. Aang you said you met a guru who told you that everything was connected, and In that swamp were you had the vision of Toph. You used some kind of magical power thingy to locate Appa right?"
"Well yeah I guess, but it wasn't magi..."
"Great" Sokka yelled cutting off Aang's unneeded explanation "then you can use your Avatar magic and try to locate Toph's spiritual energy. If you can't find her then me and Iroh are just going crazy."
"Speak for yourself Sokka." replied the tea master.
"Fine ill try, but you have to promise to give this up if I can't locate her."
"I promise Aang. I just need to know."
Aang began to meditate; he had no idea how long it would take, or if he would even find anything. After about ten minutes he began to feel something. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was familiar, and yet different at the same time. "TOPH'S ALIVE!" he couldn't contain his enthusiasm "Oh thank Agni, where is she Aang?" replied Sokka "I can't pinpoint her location for some reason, maybe because she doesn't want to be found. After all she did fake her own death."
"Great, I can't believe this, how are we supposed to find her?" The group exchanged a glace before turning back to Sokka. "She obviously doesn't want to be found Sokka. If she ever wants to comeback then it's her choice." reasoned Katara. "You don't understand, Toph thinks that we hate her for leaving us. After all we went through for her; she thinks we could never forgive her." Aang's head drooped "I'm sorry Sokka, but if you're going to look for her, it's going to have to be on your own."
The warrior glared at his family, he couldn't believe that they wouldn't want to see Toph. "Fine, ill do it by myself, I don't need any of your help." the next person who spoke chilled Sokka's heart "What about your son, what about me? Are you just going to leave us like she did all those years ago?" Sokka closed his eyes; he couldn't imagine leaving his wife and child. "I'm sorry Suki, your right. If Toph wants to be found, she'll come to us." Sokka turned away from the gaang and walked out of the avatar's home, into the streets of Ba Sing Se. He didn't want them to see him cry.
-End Flashbacks-
-Back to Present: Day of Earth Rumble XIV
Sokka had made his way to the newly built stadium in the middle ring of the city, and it was huge. The only bigger building in the earth kingdom had to be the earth kings palace. Great, how am I supposed to find Toph after her fights are finished? There are just way to many people here. I bet all of Ba Sing Se could fit in there. Sokka shrugged and made his way to the gigantic structure to find his seat.
Just like in Goaling the first rows of seats were completely void of spectators. In fact people actually chose to stand in the back instead of put themselves in the danger zone. Sokka on the other hand had other ideas. First off it's the best view, and secondly I can get a little reaction training by avoiding the flying rocks.
The announcer appeared out of the ground using some rudimentary Earthbending and began speaking to the crowd. "Welcome to Earth Rumble XIV, are you ready for an amazing show?" the crowed cheered and clapped for the man center stage "Good because not only are some of the best earthbenders in the world here, but the undefeated Blind Bandit is here to add another belt to the six she already has." this time the crowed didn't just cheer, instead they were on their feet screaming "Bandit, bandit, bandit." and Sokka couldn't help but join in. "Well I guess that means you want this show on the road. In the left corner we have the boulder basher," a super buff guy exploded from the floor into the ring. "And in the right corner we have the challenger, the one the only King Bumi." unlike his counterpart, Bumi simply walked up the steps into the ring. Boulder basher almost died laughing "Oh my god, I can't believe this. I'm fighting an ancient relic." the spectators must have also taken notice of Bumi's extreme age, because the only person wildly cheering the king on was Sokka. "Yeah Bumi, mop the floor with this loser."
The king of Omashu turned to look at his lone fan, and smiled when he realized it was an old friend of his. "Hey old man, are we gonna fight, or do you just want to trip and break your own hip?" asked the basher. This got him a round of laughter from the crowed. "No, think that beating you will be fun enough for me." snorted the king. Boulder basher scowled at Bumi "Well let's get this over with."
"Fine by me." replied the crazy old man.
In one move, it was all over. As soon as the basher had picked up is right leg Bumi created a piston made of earth that slammed against the bashers left leg and sent him flying out of the ring. Everyone in the stands was speachless, besides the hollering water tribe warrior, who had expected it would be over in a few moves. Finally the spectators realized what had happened and appluded for the King of Omashu and his amazing abilites.
Most of the fights ended the same way as the first; the crowed was even starting to resent Bumi's ability to end the fights as soon as they started. They paid to see real fights, not a flick of the wrist and that be the whole fight. When Bumi finally got through fighting his way to the championship match, his demeanor changed. The king was no longer laughing and cracking jokes. Instead he just stood there and waited for his final challenger. Sokka took notice of his seriousness and knew why Bumi no longer was kidding around. He knew how good the Blind Bandit was, just like Sokka did.
The room darkened and left only one spotlight on the host of the show. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce the self proclaimed greatest earthbender in the world. The amazing, the spectacular, the Blind Bandit!" the whole building seemed to explode with cheering. This is what they had come to see. They had come to see the two best in the world duke it out for the title 'Greatest'.
Two more spotlights snapped on, one on Bumi, the other on a petite, dark haired, amazingly good looking girl. Sokka couldn't pick out the fine details of her, but as soon as he saw her, he knew it was the real Blind Bandit. Sokka knew it was the same Toph that had supposedly died five years ago. The warrior broke down, no longer crying for his gone friend, but the amazing feeling of seeing her again.
"Well, well if it isn't the great king of Omashu. I thought I recognized your name." called the Bandit. "Do I know you?" asked Bumi. "You most likely can't remember me; we met about eight years ago during the war. I always wanted to test my abilites against you, now I get the chance." Bumi looked like he was trying to remember her. "Oh I remember, I told you how I freed my city when you were in Ba Sing Se right?"
"Yup that's it."
"Well I'm glad to see you again, but be warned just because your a beautiful young lady, doesn't mean ill hold back on you."
The room went silent for a moment that is until Sokka burst out laughing "Oh Spirits that was a good one Bumi!"
Shit, Id know that laugh anywhere. Sokka's here, I knew that there would be a risk, I should have never come. I was just to excited to fight in Ba Sing Se, I ignored the obvious dangers. Well I guess it's too late to take it back, it's not like he didn't know I was alive anyway. I had left him way to many clues. So I guess ill beat Bumi then hightail it out of here.
"Are you ready to do this Bumi?" called the Bandit. "I'm always ready." snorted the king. The two took their fighting stances. Toph's style was more fluid which meant that hers was less aggressive and used more precise attacks than powerful ones. Bumi's on the other hand was pure power; if one of his attacks connected it would be all over. This left Bumi with a weak defense, just one opening is all that Toph would need.
"Fight!" called the announcer.
Bumi took the offensive which is what Toph had expected. The king lifted a boulder the size of a house and punched it with all his might at the Blind Bandit. Sokka watched in horror as his friend stood there, not even attempting to avoid the huge rock coming straight for her. Bumi's attack connected with its target, but as soon as it collided with Toph she seemed to melt into the rock. She had passed right through the huge boulder, and when the rock slammed into the far wall you could distinctly tell the outline of a small figure in a fighting stance. She hadn't even moved an inch; it was an exact copy of the stance she was in now.
Bumi snorted "Well, well I knew you were tough, but I didn't even think you could do that." Toph smiled "Sounds like your done underestimating me."
This time she took the lead, picking up hundreds of tiles from the stadium and sending them all flying towards Bumi at amazing speed. The crazy king just barely had time to pull up a dome shield before the tiles met their mark. Toph again had anticipated it, so she crushed the dome Bumi had made and trapped him with only his head poking out. "Ha, is that all you got." She tried to raise her hand and point mockingly at Bumi, but met resistance. "Maybe you should look down." called the old man. Toph did and what she saw amazed her. How did he do it? How had he trapped me when he couldn't move his arms? Bumi took notice of her confusion and answered the unasked question. "You're not the only one who has a few tricks up their sleeve. I can bend any earth I can see with my eyes." Toph's gasped How arrogant can I be. I'm the one that had underestimated him. If I'm going to do this I have to expect anything.
Both benders broke the rock cocoons like someone ripping paper, and returned to their previous stances. Neither spoke a word, they knew this was the biggest challenge they would ever face from another earthbender, and both were equally excited. Maybe I should scare him, it might be fun?
The blind bandit entered her horse stance, stuck both of her arms straight out, and slowly lifted them. The whole stadium started to shaking, and the ring slowly started to levitate. The audience watched in amazement as the small women lifted up thousands upon thousands pounds of rock by simply raising her hands. Bumi wasn't surprised by this display of power and ability, so he simply stood there with a bored look on his face. Toph took noticed and smiled to herself He let his guard down. Time for the surprise. Toph pointed one of her fingers down toward the earth, which caused the tile Bumi was standing on, to sink through the floor of the ring. The king gasped as the he fell though. If he didn't stop himself he would technically be outside of the ring, and lose the match. The king flung his arms out on either side and tried to wedge himself in the hole. He found purchase and halted only inches above the floor below the ring. Bumi flung himself back to the top of the ring to find a chuckling bandit sprawled on the ground. "Wow, I can't believe I almost got you with that one." The old man didn't reply. Instead he raised a pillar meant to send her flying into the stands where the crowd was watching.
Toph easily rolled to avoid it, still laughing. Bumi was starting to get frustrated, this small women was making fun of him. He sent rock after rock flying toward her but none hit, she simply side stepped them all. Ok so if I cant hit her when she's on the defensive, maybe I can when she goes to attack. Got to love neutral jing. For a minute neither moved obviously they were both trying the neutral jing stratagy. Both stood there in silent contest as the crowd watched. In the end Toph lost, letting her anticipation get the best of her.
She slid her right leg along the ground towards Bumi, sending a wave of earth his way. Instead of trying to avoid the avalanche of rock, he ran straight for it. Letting the landslide envelope his body. The crowd gasped in surprise. Toph's senses were slightly weakened with all of the vibrating her attack had made and didn't notice Bumi tunnel underneath her. When he erupted from the ring only a step away from the bandit, she let out an inaudible "Uh oh". The crazy king grabbed the light girl by her waist and lifted her off of the ground like she wieghed nothing. The king started laughing and snorting "Its all over, you can't win now." Slowly Bumi made his way to the edge of the ring, and about ten feet away he lifted Toph over his head and threw her toward the ground outside of the ring. The blind bandit let a faint smile cross her face while she was hurled toward her first loss. She had almost left the ring, but at the last second a rock wall lifted out of nowhere and caught her. She landed a foot away from the edge and stood to face the king.
Bumi instantly stopped his deranged laughter, baffled and confused. "How did you do that? You couldnt feel the earth."
Toph's smile spread wide across her face.
"I have to tell you something Bumi."
"What would that be?" replied the king
"I know you're aware of how I see with my feet. Well I have learned to sense anything made of earth or metal no matter where it is. If something is hanging in the air, let's say a boomerang. I can now feel the slight vibrations in the air and when it connects with metal or rock I can feel exactly where it is. That means I can see every rock and piece of metal in this stadium."
Bumi's mouth dropped "So you can use anything in here against me?"
Toph's already wide smile grew even more. "Yup."
The blind bandit raised her hands into the air, and pieces of metal started attaching themselves to her. She was taking the armor of the soldiers in the stadium and combining them to make a steal shell that contained the champion inside. Then a very familiar black sword flew towards her and connected itself to her right arm. When did he find this? I never thought he went back to go get it.
"Hey bandit not cool!" yelled Sokka from the stands.
Toph stood there in her shiny shell of thick armor that had no joints or any dents on its surface other than where her mouth would be, allowing her to breath.
"I suggest you surrender Bumi." The king still hadnt recovered from his shock. Finally he snapped out of it and smirked "Sorry, but if I'm not the type to give up."
Then the king raised his hands and did exactly as Toph had done except his suit was made of rock.
He charged at her ignoring the fact that Toph's suit was far superior in strength and mobility.
The blind bandit smiled behind her mask of metal. Bumi knows he can't win but he's trying anyway. If anything he's gained my respect.
Toph lifted the space sword and sliced every which way with remarkable speed and accuracy. When Omashu's king finally halted his attack, he backed away, and his armor fell apart, leaving the old man standing on a pile of rubble. Toph had used her 'vision' to see where the suit had ended and Bumi began. She had sliced the suit apart without leaving a scratch on him.
Toph extracted herself from the metal contraption she had created. She stood next to the empty shell of armor and pulled the sword from the suit. Toph inspected the blade; it was just as sharp as the day Sokka had made it. The bandit smiled and turned to the old man who was watching her inspect the black sword.
"It's over Bumi. You can give up or I can force you out of the ring."
The crazy king snorted "Well you're just going to have to do it then."
Toph knew he would say that and already had prepared for it. With a flick of her wrist the empty shell of armor flung towards Bumi, wrapping him in a casing of metal. Slowly the bandit lifted it into the air and sent it flying out of the ring.
"The blind bandit wins!" yelled the announcer.
The crowd practically exploded with clapping and cheering. Toph turned back to the still trapped king and released him. As she did the metal she had took reformed to its original state and was sent back to their owners. She 'looked' one last time at the greatest sword in the world before throwing it back towards Sokka. He caught it with practiced ease.
The announcer made his way to the champion, gave her a magnificent looking belt, and dismissed the crowd.
Sokka was already making his was towards Toph, but she started for an exit below the ring. Sokka started running. I can't lose her; I might not get another chance. Toph had noticed Sokka trying to catch up with her so she began to run as well. Sokka had longer legs and was gaining fast.
"Bandit please stop, I need to talk to you."
Finally she was with in arms distance, he reached out but his hand didn't connect. Toph had sunk through the floor. She really doesn't want to be found. Sokka let out a long sigh. He wasn't going back home yet. First he had to get a couple drinks in him.
-End Part 3
Will Sokka ever be able to talk with Toph? Find out next time. Remember to review!