Bei Fong
Zuko and Toph walked past the gates of the southern Earth Kingdom town, Zuko leading the Ostrich-horse's by the reins. His wide brim hat covered his eyes. Villagers strolled past them back and forth around the street. None seemed to notice the two random travelers. "Were are we?" Toph asked.
Zuko glanced back and the sign. "It says this is the village of Gaoling. Do you know where that is?"
Toph sighed and turned to look away. She did so on instinct, rather than from any desire to avoid eye contact. "This is my old home town. My family lives here."
"Hm, do you want to go visit them while we're here?" Zuko asked.
She crossed her arms. "I don't really know. I've kinda wanted to see them for a while, but now that I have the chance, I don't know how to feel about it. Will they be glad to see me? Will they even want to talk to me again?"
Zuko walked along side her, listening to every word. To him, it all sounded so familiar. This was almost exactly like what he'd said when he was going back to the Fire Nation after Ba Sing Se. His lack of confidence. All to familiar.
Speaking of familiar, as Zuko turned to look around the town he spotted two people he recognized. Two people from his travels around the Earth Kingdom. Song and her mother.
Zuko turned back around in an instant. Why were they here? How long had they been standing over there? Did they see him? He sure hoped not, he didn't want to be deal with something like that.
"What's the matter?" Toph asked. "Your heart-rate just skyrocketed. You okay?"
"Yeah," Zuko whipped sweat from his forehead, "I'm fine."
"I can tell when you're lying." Toph said smuggly.
"Lee? Is that really you?"
Zuko tensed up at the sound of that voice. Slowly, he turned around and waved. "Hey, Song."
"Lee?" Toph asked.
"My Alias, just go with it." Zuko whispered from the side of his mouth. "What bring you out here?" He asked louder as Song and her mom stepped over.
"We're in the market for a new Ostrich-horse." She said, crossing her arms. Her eyes seemed to burn into Zuko's mind as she stared at him.
"Oh, sorry about that." Zuko scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.
Toph turned to him. "Why are you sorry?"
"He stole our last one." Song snapped.
"You what?" Toph shouted.
"I was desperate. It was a rough time for me and uncle." Zuko reasoned. Even as he said it, he felt horrible for trying to justify his earlier mistakes.
"Where is the old man now, anyways?" Song asked, still as angry as before.
"Oh, he's back home, running his tea shop in Ba Sing Se." Zuko sighed. "Look, Song, I'm really sorry about taking your Ostrich-horse." He thought for a second and then walked over to the two behind him. He untied one from the other and walked it to Song and her mother. "Here." He held out the reins to them. "I know it's been a few months, but I hope it's not to late to make up for it."
Song starred wide-eyes at the reins held out to her. After some hesitation, she took them from Zuko. "Well, um, thank you."
"You don't have to thank me." Zuko replied. He took the other animal's reins and prepared to leave. "Quinn," he said, motioning to Toph, "we need to go."
Toph glanced back at him in confusion, then shrugged and complied. As they started to walk away, Song shouted out to them. "Lee! When you see your uncle again, tell him not to serve White Jade in his tea shop!"
Zuko turned back and smiled, waving in recognition. As he turned to walk away again, he past by a poster of the Peace Declaration with both him in full Fire Lord attire and Avatar Aang painted on it. Song happened to see the poster and her eyes grew wide with shock. Was he? No, he couldn't be. Lee the refugee she knew could never be the new Fire Lord. It was just impossible.
"Good going, lame brain!" Toph snapped after a few minutes of walking. "I thought your whole idea was to sell one of the Ostrich-horses. And instead you just give it away to the first girl you meet in town."
"I didn't know I was going to run into her." Zuko retorted.
"Hm." Toph snorted. "I guess that limits our options, doesn't it. Come on, we're going to my place."
/
A small ship landed on the banks of the Wulong forest. The skeletal bare trees reached for the sky against a landscape of rock pillars. Sokka stepped off the ship and stretched his legs on dry land again. His one leg still felt a little stiff since Katara had healed it. Following behind him, Suki and a small number of Kyoshi Warriors.
Among the Kyoshi Warriors was Ty Lee, in full uniform. "So what are we looking for again?" She asked, picking her ear with her pinky finger.
"My meteor sword and boomerang." Sokka said. "I know I dropped them around here somewhere."
"We've been dragged out here to find some sword and boomerang? This place is huge, there's no way we can do that." One of the warriors snarked.
"It's not just some sword!" Sokka shouted. "That's my Meteor sword, you know, crafted from a meteor, from space. It's a one of a kind sword. And there's also my special boomerang."
"Calm down, Sokka." Suki placed her hand on his shoulder. "We'll find it. We just have to start looking."
/
Ozai, former Fire Lord, rested in the back of his cell. A scattering of lifeless rat bodies littered the prison floor. His head shot up as the door of the prison opened. He watched intently as six figures in long black robes and hoods walked in. They stopped in front of his cell. The leader pulled the keys from his robes and unlocked the cell. The door creaked open.
Five of the robed figures knelt to the former Fire Lord, placing their foreheads to the ground. "My life I give to my country. With my hands I fight for Fire Lord Ozai. With my mind I seek ways to better my country. And with my feet may our march of Civilization continue." They chanted together.
The sixth figure pushed back her hood. Azula. Her powerful eyes stared down at Ozai. "Father, come. It is time we reclaim our throne." She calmly stated.
"Azula." Ozai pushed himself up, bracing against the stone wall. "How did you get here? Who are these people?"
The leader sat up and pushed back his hood, revealing the phoenix tattoo clad in blue flames on his forehead. "We are the Children of Fire. We are loyal to the true Fire Nation and to the true Fire Lord. We are dedicated to the true meaning of fire and to purging this world of all other Elements. We are loyal only to the Fire Nation and swear our allegiance to you, Fire Lord Ozai." He lifted his hood back into place and knelt back down.
Ozai sneered down at the people before him before looking back to Azula. "What is the meaning of this, Azula?"
"We are taking out kingdom back, Father." Azula's sinister smile crept across her face.
"Hm," Ozai held his hand up in front of his face, then looked down at one of the robed people kneeling to him. He staggered over to one of them. "Sit up." He commanded. The young man complied without a moments hesitation. Ozai placed his hand on the young man's head. A brief flash of blue light filled the cell, and the follower collapsed to the ground.
Azula stared down at the fallen follower. "Father, what did you…"
"The Avatar stole my Firebending, but he gave me something in return. I can kill just by touching people. I've been practicing on these prison rats. With this power, along with these new loyalists, we can reconquer the Fire Nation and the world along with it."
/
Toph and Zuko stood at the front gates of the Bei Fong estate. The Insignia of the Flying Boar posted prominently above the doors. Zuko knocked his knuckles against the door. The seconds ticked by as they waited. A trickle of sweat dripped down Toph's face. To her, the seconds seemed like hours. "Someone's coming."
Like clockwork, the large stone door opened. A guard stepped out and scanned over the two. His eyes fell on Toph and he gasped. "Toph! Is that really you?"
"Yes. It is." She said in a hesitant voice.
"Oh, it's so good to see you again. Please, come in. Both of you. I will go tell your parents!" The Guard pulled the door all the way open and Toph and Zuko stepped inside, pulling the Ostrich-horse behind them. "Here," the guard reached and took the Ostrich-horse from Zuko, "I'll take it to the stables. And I'll bring your parents here, Toph." The guard took the animal away, leaving Toph and Zuko to wait.
After several minutes, Toph's parents came running across the courtyard. They both grabbed Toph and held her in their arms, embracing her as tight as they could. Toph, while gasping for breath, felt a sense of warmth flow through her. Her parents finally stepped back, letting their daughter breath. "Toph," her mother said, tears streaming down her face, "we're so glad your safe."
Warm water fell down Toph's face. "Mom." She threw her arms around her mother's waist.
Zuko stood back and watched. A smile had crept over his face. Just from watching, he could feel the love that they felt for each other. His chest began to ache, he was watching the love of a family right in front of him. Was this going to be what it would feel like when he found Ursa?
Mr. Bei Fong let go of his daughter and looked down at Zuko. "Thank you, young man. I am in your debt. Would you like to stay for dinner tonight?"
Zuko smiled and bowed. "I would be most grateful, sir."
"It is settled then. Tonight we will have a feast tonight to welcome my daughters return. And tonight we will accommodate our honored guest. What did you say your name was, boy?" Mr. Bei Fong asked.
"Lee."
Mr. Bei Fong nodded. "Come along, Lee, my servents will show you to the guest room." He gestured to his servents who walked over to Zuko.
"Follow me, good sir." The servent led Zuko away, leaving Toph with her parents.
"Oh, my, Toph. You are just so dirty. Come on, we need to get you washed up." Her mother said.
"I'll call for her personal aides." Father said.
"No," her mother brought her arms around Toph. "It's been so long since the last time, I'll bathe her myself."
