Chapter 10: Healing, Murder and More Lies-

A few days later, things were starting to get better for Toph. Katara had gotten most of the metal off of her, which allowed her to be off of the sedatives. If Zuko thought her face had looked bad, it was nothing compared to what used to be her back. Right now Katara had Toph lying face down on the infirmary bed while Katara worked on her back. Toph hadn't said much, nor was her mind changing very much. Katara hoped helping her pain would help. The sooner she could get Toph to say it was Zuko, the better. The only time that Toph had spoken that day was to ask how the twins were doing.

"They're getting stronger." Katara told her. "They just love people, especially Zuko." Hearing this Toph scowled. She didn't like Zuko, but only because her destroyed mind hated the Fire Lord. "I don't want him near my kids." She said and tried to push herself up, but the straps prevented her from doing so. She wasn't allowed to be free of the straps yet, not until she was back to normal. Katara was afraid that if she was allowed to get up and down freely that she would try and kill someone else. That wasn't something the gang needed right now. Katara lightly moved a hand from Toph's back to her neck and held her down until Toph tired herself out and laid back down on the bed. "He's just trying to help them. I don't want him around them either." Katara replied.

Then Katara had a sudden thought. If she was trying to heal Toph's mind, then why didn't she heal it? She helped Jet like that when he was brainwashed. If Toph's mind had been broken then maybe it could be healed. "Here, let me try something." She said pulling the blanket up over Toph's bare back. Toph looked confused but stayed silent. Katara moved her hands up to Toph's head and concentrated. All of a sudden she began to see memories, torture memories, the twins being born, being attacked at the palace. Katara took her hands away, her whole body shaking. The scenes she had seen were unbearable to watch, especially to see her best friend in them like that. She looked at Toph to see if it had worked, but Toph had fallen back asleep.

Katara got up and started to walk out of the infirmary to head to the nursery next door to feed the twins. There was one thing she heard that confused yet scared her. During one of the memories she had heard Aang's voice, but not the voice she always heard. It was dark, and every word she wouldn't use to describe Aang would describe the voice. 'Speak of this and I will kill you' It had said. What didn't Aang want Toph to tell? What had happened now?

~o.O.o~

That night Aang walked into the nursery after Suki had gone to sleep after feeding the twins. Everyone was now asleep except for Zuko's guards, but he easily avoided them. Now was the perfect time. No one would hear anything, no one would know something was wrong until they woke up in the morning. Going to the crib Aang made sure both of the twins were fast asleep. Pulling out a small knife he picked up Miki and began to speak an old ritual in the ancient language of the Air Nomads.

"I destroy your life young airbender, so that no one will know that I broke the vow of the air nomad traditions." He said in the ancient language. It was an old tradition to get rid of any baby born to the air nomads that was not a bender before they were old enough to know anything. Miki was but a week and a half old, too young to know she was an airbender, too young to understand what her life would be like. Aang raised the small knife and went to bring it down on the defenseless baby when he heard footsteps outside the nursery door. He dropped the knife while muttering a string of curses about how bad his luck was. Could he not dispose of a simple baby? Quickly dropping Miki down in the crib Aang bent himself underground and started to bend a tunnel to his room.

Zuko burst into the room hearing the twins screaming. "What's going on?" He shouted to the empty room then went over to the crib. He gasped seeing Miki flopped on top of Rien's neck and shoulders, both of them screaming. Zuko quickly picked Miki up moving her off her brother. Rien's crying was getting quieter, but he wasn't calming down. He was having problems breathing. Zuko went to run out to get Katara when, thank Agni, she ran in.

"What's going on?" She shouted and pushed through him to get to the crib and covered her hands with water from her pouch. She placed one hand on each of the twins to see what was wrong. Zuko followed her over watching Rien with worry. "I don't know, I came in here to check on them and just as I opened the door they started crying. Miki was on top of Rien's neck. I don't know how."

Hearing this, Katara placed a hand on Rien's neck, gasping to see his collarbone was broken and stuck in his throat. Quickly she bent the blood around the chipped bone to move it back to where it went. Then she began to heal Rien's throat. "Luckily I heard him and came so fast. He was going to drown in his own blood. But he should be okay now." Zuko let out a sigh of relief and looked around. What had happened? How did Miki end up on Rien when she could not crawl with her broken arm? She felt the same pain as he did, but there is no way she could have done it on her own.

He spotted something on the ground and went over picking it up. It was a small knife, a short blade atop a handle with a pentagram carved upon it. Zuko had never seen a symbol like this, but the symbol in the center of the pentagram was the symbol of the air nomads. An airbender knife? Where did this come from? Was Aang in here before the twins started crying? Was Aang trying to hurt the twins? What in the world was going on here?

~o.O.o~

At the same time as Aang snuck into the nursery, Toph was lying awake in the infirmary. She couldn't sleep, the memories were all seeping back into her brain. Memories of all the torture Azula had done, her sleeping with Azula, and Aang raping her. She just wanted to have it all leave her. "I am Toph Bei Fong, not the Iron Empress. You changed me into something I wasn't Azula. And I hope you rot in jail until the the jail falls down on you."

Walking into the room she looked at Aang, a little worried. "Aang is everything al-" What happened next went by too quickly, but for Toph it was too long. Aang collapsed beside her exhausted. "Speak of this and I will kill you." He said before falling asleep. Toph turned her head away crying. "I hate you." She whispered between sobs. She whispered it over and over until she fell asleep.

Now she was running down the street away from the tea shop. How could Zuko ask her all those questions? Couldn't he see that she didn't want to be interrogated? She had to get away. Away from him and everyone else. She needed to be alone. She sat down in an alleyway and curled up muttering to herself, asking for help. Then Azula showed up promising help, then attacked her and drug her off to the deserted island to destroy her, and make something that resembled nothing of her.

Mental images of memories of torture passed. Whipping, stabbing, burning and dripping liquid metal. Quick bursts of pain passed with the images up until the moment when she had just snapped out of herself into a blank mind-state. Azula hovered over her. "What is your name?" And there was silence as the raw power now released in Toph thought over the question. Toph was covered in iron, and was the master of metal, the power chose it's name. "I am the Iron Empress." It replied and Azula smirked. "What are your plans?" She asked. "To destroy all those who don't bow before me!"

Plans were made, but soon the Iron Empress grew weak from pregnancy, but she refused to kill the babies. A month passed before anything happened. Then, after hearing the Iron Empress had gone into labor Azula left the island to the Fire Nation and killed Mai, which would start the chain reaction to bring up the end of the Fire Nation and then the end of the world.

As the memories passed, Toph closed her eyes clenching her hands. What had she done? How could she have become this monster? Sleep would not come to her no matter how hard she tried or how tired she was the sleep would not come. Each time she closed her eyes another memory played in her mind.

~o.O.o~

After helping the twins with their injuries Katara was heading to her room in the palace when she heard Aang cursing from his room. Quietly she knocked on the door. "Aang is everything alright?" She asked through the door and the cursing and all other noise on the other side stopped. Katara slowly walked into the room. It was a mess, papers all over the place with the pillows and blankets ripped from the bed.

"Aang what happened? Are you alright?" She asked worried. Aang was standing in the shadows looking away from her. "Nothing, I just lost something." He said, keeping his anger hidden. "Do you want me to help you find it?" Katara asked, trying to be helpful. Aang turned to face her and yelled. "No! Just get out!" Katara took a step back surprised at his anger. She didn't want to leave him like this, but there was still one thing she needed to ask him.

"Aang did you and Toph have a fight?" She asked and Aang looked at her. "A fight? What do you mean Katara? We always fought." He said. What had Katara found out? Was Toph starting to tell her stuff? That's the only way Katara would find out. Toph must be telling her things. Now Toph was more of an enemy then Miki. "I didn't mean like training, but when I was healing her I saw some of her memories. And in one you were threatening to kill her... What happened?"

"It was nothing... We just fought over something stupid and I beat her with my powers. I don't want her to say anything." He said then looked away. "Can you just leave me alone?" Katara looked down but headed out of the room wanting to let him cool down on his own.

Once the door was closed Aang sat on the bed. Now Toph's mind was back, would she tell everyone what he did? Yes she would. She wanted to kill him when she was the Iron Empress so she must want to get revenge for him raping her. Now he had to find a way to get rid of her and Miki before she told the others anything.