Chapter 10
"Captured"
Zuko smiled as he walked through the streets of the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se. It was a beautiful evening; perfect for a walk. They had just finished setting up the final touches in Uncle's new tea shop, the Jasmine Dragon. Uncle had gone back to their apartment to start dinner while Zuko walked around the Upper Ring, simply looking at and enjoying the sights.
Ahead, he saw a small, familiar figure pass through an intersection. Tilting his head, Zuko followed out of curiosity. They had freed the Avatar's bison, so… why was Toph still in the city?
He continued to follow her, staying well back and moving carefully, but she appeared to be distracted. She was clutching something to her chest—a scroll? But she couldn't read…
They walked closer to the wall separating the Middle and Upper Rings, towards an uninhabited section of the Ring. Quiet alarm bells started going off in the back of Zuko's mind—but before he could catch up to Toph to stop her, she opened one of the doors to a large home and walked inside.
Zuko followed, pressing his back to the closed door, listening carefully to what was happening inside.
"Mom?" That was defiantly Toph. "Mom, are you here?"
There was a quiet clanking and a loud metallic ringing, and Toph yelled in surprise.
Zuko eased his eye around the door; two men in green were standing in front of a large metal case and Toph was…
Where was Toph?
The more muscular of the two men lifted the cage, and Zuko could hear the dull thunk a body makes when it hits a metal plate.
Toph was inside.
They went to a back door, and Zuko slipped away around the edge of the house, moving quickly enough to see them walk out and chain the box to a waiting cart.
A wooden cart.
He waited for the men to sit, then shot a spark forward, lighting the seat underneath them.
They jumped into action at the same time: the one in fancier clothes bent a chunk of earth out of the ground, smashed it into sand, and smothered the small fire; the other leapt off the seat and punched out towards where the spark had come from. Zuko took half a step back and a column of earth shot up and caught him in the chest.
He grunted, flying back several feet, and landed hard against the ground. He sat up, chest aching, just in time to see the wagon pull away, taking Toph with it.
Zuko groaned, lowering his head and resting it on the ground. He lay there for a minute, panting, then forced himself to stand, and go after the wagon.
There wasn't a very good chance that he would catch up to them, but still… he had to try.
-0-
Toph stopped banging on the walls when they left Ba Sing Se. No one had heard her, and no one had come to help her, and she didn't know why. All she knew was this tiny little metal box. Her sight didn't extend any further than this—it was just her and the unforgiving metal.
She sat and pulled her knees to her chin, taking deep, shaky breaths. That was a despicable ruse that Xin Fu and Master Yu used… using her mother to lure Toph back. She had been so excited. From the way Katara had read the letter, it sounded like her parents had forgiven her, and were willing to accept her.
But that wasn't true. That would never be true.
Her parents knew that she was an earthbender—Dad had even seen her take out Xin Fu and all his cronies, and yet… they still thought of her as weak. Helpless. They saw her as a doll to be carefully dressed up and put on display. They wanted her to be a lady, and Master Yu and Xin Fu were bringing her back to make her be that lady.
In frustration, she smacked her fist against the metal. Her sense rippled through it, and she noticed something she never had before.
There was earth here.
She sat in shock for a moment, then hit the metal again. The sound rang around her even as her "sight" moved through the metal. She stood and took her stance, hands shooting out to hit the metal again as a memory moved through her mind.
"You guys sure use a lot of metal."
Min nodded. "Yes. Long before the war began, we discovered that if you refined the earth in fire, then you could create metal—a substance that was unbendable, stable, and firm."
"Earth's in metal, huh?" Toph asked, raising an eyebrow.
Min nodded again. "But it's been put through so much pressure and refinement that there's no way an earthbender could use it to bend."
Toph grinned a little, despite the throbbing in the backs of her hands. Not anymore.
You're not gonna force me to be what I'm not anymore.
She dug deep with her sight, each stomp and smack bringing her closer to conquering the metal.
I won't give in.
BANG!
I won't go back.
BANG!
I won't be a cultured lady.
BANG!
I won't pretend to be someone I'm not anymore!
BANG!
From outside came another banging on the metal. "Quiet down in there!" Xin Fu shouted.
"Let me out!" Toph yelled back. "I have to go to the bathroom."
There was muffled talking between the two men, but Toph wasn't paying attention. She stretched out with her bending again, hitting the back of her hands against the metal. It thunked painfully, but refused to move.
The most stubborn part of the most stubborn element… but I can out-stubborn you.
She hit it again, and it still didn't move.
The wagon started moving, and again she felt the pressure rise—pressure from her parents, from their stuffy traditions, from the life they wanted and forced her to live… and how much worse it would be if she went back.
"Come on… metal… budge…"
She shoved out with all her bending, all her desperation, all her anger and all her desire—
BANG!
The metal finally gave way.
"Woo!" She shook her hand against the stinging, and grinned wide. "Toph, you rule!"
She reached out, grabbed the metal, and ripped the doors open, reveling at the feel of the metal bending to her will. It shrieked in protest, as if startled that someone had actually managed to conquer it, and Toph leapt out, grinning wide and loving the feeling of the dirt beneath her feet again. She ran into the cover of the trees.
Behind her, the wagon stopped, and the two men clambered down. Toph paused in her running as an idea occurred to her, and her grin turned wicked.
Master Yu and Xin Fu were standing behind the wagon, staring at the opened metal cage and arguing. Toph leapt out from the trees, startling them, and then her hands and feet moved, pushing the earth and shoving them in the cage she had just been a prisoner in. She jumped onto the wagon, the earth giving her a push, and she grabbed onto the metal again, shutting it on them.
The box closed with a satisfying screech, and she leapt on top, stomping her feet on the roof.
"I am the greatest earthbender in the world!" She shouted, proudly declaring it to the two in the box and anyone around who cared to listen. "And don't you two dunderheads ever forget it."
She jumped back to the ground, and the earth bent like a wave under her, then propelled her forward, and she shot back to Ba Sing Se.
-0-
Zuko walked back into their apartment several hours later, hand clenching at his chest, where a large bruise had already formed and was growing dark. Uncle was sitting at the table, drinking tea, and looked up when Zuko came in.
"There you are Lee!" He said, clambering to his feet. "I thought you said you would be back in time for dinner."
"Sorry Uncle," Zuko said, hiding his pain with a few deep breaths. "I just got distracted, that's all."
"Well, here, have some food."
Zuko ate in silence, and Iroh drank his tea just as quietly, both lost in their thoughts. Zuko looked out the window after every few bites, his face calm, but his spirit scowling. He had searched through a large portion of the Upper Ring, but the wagon with the kidnapped Toph had managed to leave the city long before he had a chance to track them. He grit his teeth, and wondered why he felt as if he had let her down.
If there's anyone who has a chance to escape, it's Toph Beifong. Nothing and no one can hold her for long, not even a metal cage. She's the strongest Earthbender in the world.
I know she'll get out.
Soo…. It's late, but it's still Friday! :D
This week has been so strange; I didn't even realize it was Friday for a long while haha. When you have no school/work, the days tend to blend together.
Short chapter, sorry, but it's still something. With a few feels at the end. :P