I'm continuing in Toph's POV. It's fun to write in her perspective, since she's blind, but so stubborn and stuff. Anyway, I didn't get reviews for the previous chapter, so I decided to put in that part I was talking about here. Enjoy!

------------Toph's POV-----------

I lay in my bed in the Western Air Temple. I don't know what's come over me, just that I've changed since I left my parents back in Gaoling. Certainly my feelings have changed, but I think it's more than that. My very personality has changed; I'm not that stubborn little girl anymore. I've grown up in the time I was away, become more mature, understanding, and I don't think I will ever break down like that again, now that I realized that I can let go of the steam building up inside me every few days. Life would be much easier that way.

As I lay thinking in my room, I felt Sokka come up the stairs and in my direction. I turned around, so that my back was facing the doorway, but I left one foot firmly on the floor. Sokka came and stopped at my doorway. His heartbeat, I could feel was above normal, and he was fidgety.

Twisting his fingers within themselves, he began slowly and hesitantly, "Toph? Are you okay? I want to talk to you." I didn't answer, but with a twist of my foot, I caused a small mound of Earth to rise in front of him, like a stool. I didn't know what to say.

Sitting down, he said, "Toph, where did you go for the past -almost two- hours?" I turned and sat up, wrapping my arms around one leg, the other still on the ground. I kept my face hidden from him, though.

"I was around the temple. What's it to you?" I was hurt, but I knew that I had to be subtle, since he would never be able to handle too many emotions.

He was speaking gently, and still a bit hesitantly. "I was worried. You ran away, and I thought maybe something happened."

I felt a blush come across my features. So, he did care after all. But how much did he care? I took a deep, shaky breath, and said, "I was…I just needed time to think. But Sokka, I'm the World's Greatest Earthbender, and the last people to forget that were locked in a metal box for eternity. I think I can take care of myself." My voice was bold, and strong, not reflecting the butterflies that flew wildly in my stomach.

"I know. I guess that…I'm a little paranoid. Every girl that I ever knew, something bad happened to her. Well, except for Katara, but I'm not worried about her. She has Aang, and I know that he will take care of her better than anyone else. Both Yue and Suki were taken away from me, and call me selfish, but I'm not going to let them take you, too." I could tell he was blushing furiously, as was I.

"I won't lose you." He was standing now, his heart beating much faster than usual. I felt guilty at being able to know that, but my foot never left the ground, for I still needed to 'see'.

I was quiet for a few moments, which seemed an eternity. "I never planned on leaving, Sokka." It was the first time I had called him by name in a long time. Usually I just called him Snoozles, or did not address him at all. It felt strange, and I picked up his surprise within his heartbeat.

"I just am in a very confusing place right now. There is so much going on, and still, I'm just a kid, who has to absorb it all. I feel sorry for Aang, because he has the weight of the world, and more on his shoulders. I wish I could just understand everything going through my head. There's so much, and I have to sort it all out, try to make sense of it all." I took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, as if clearing my mind.

Sokka, obviously not used to being a shoulder to cry on, said, "Um, would it help if you talked about it a little? I don't know what to say really, that's Katara's job, but I want to help either way." He got up from his makeshift stool and sat next to me. Slowly, he raised his arm, and put it on my shoulder. "You can talk to me, Toph."

I was suspicious now. What had happened to the Sokka I knew? Who was this mature, understanding person next to me? I reached up and put my hand on his forehead. "Are you okay? What's gotten into you? Before, this morning, you were exceptionally quiet, and now you're acting like Katara. Did you swallow some cactus juice or something?"

He was obviously confused, but then, after a couple of minutes, he burst into laughter, and I knew he was Sokka again, my Sokka, not the one that acted like Katara. His laughter was contagious, so in a few moments, I began laughing too. Soon, I realized our close proximity to each other, and felt my cheeks grow warmer and warmer as Sokka continued to laugh.

To cover my blush I put my hand over Sokka's arm, trying to keep his gaze far from my face. "Calm down, you've been laughing for almost five minutes straight!" I said.

Sokka's laughs soon subsided into silent giggles, and my blush was almost gone, so I started to remove my hand from Sokka's arm, when he caught it. He raised it up to his face, his giggles gone. He turned my hand this way and that, inspecting the lines, and veins that traveled across it. My breath caught in my throat, and my blush came back to my face.

With two fingers, he traced the lines that meandered down my palm, and then he squeezed my hand. "You are an Earthbender, and you're one of the toughest people I know, but you have the softest, most beautiful hands." Without waiting for me to answer, he wrapped his arms around me in a bear hug, then left the room abruptly, leaving me and my thoughts more confused than ever.

As he left, speech came back to me. "You really care about her, don't you?" I asked.

He stopped in the doorway. "Who?" I could tell he was staring straight at me. I looked away.

"Suki." I said it quietly.

"Well, I just feel like it was partly my fault she was captured, you know?" He stopped for a moment, and then said "She's a good friend, and I'm not going to sit here and let her be tortured by Azula, that maniac. But, it's…complicated."

He trailed off, and taking a step forward and out the door, he said "But I don't feel the same way about her as I used to. I don't want to break her heart, though. For all I know, I may have already done that by not being there for her when she needed me." With one look back at me, he walked away.

I sighed, and sat down on the dirt floor. A wave of pleasure and happiness washed over me. It wasn't that I did not like Suki; she'd even saved my life once. But, it did hurt to think that Sokka felt towards her what I felt towards him. Now that I knew he did not like her that way anymore, I feel that I have a chance, finally.

------------------Later that Day------------------

It was getting dark, and Zuko started a fire from the wood Sokka collected before. I sat now, a little away from the others, and I listened to the fire crackle. Gray began her story.

I put both my palms on the ground, feeling for the truth. I could 'see' everyone and everything now. Gray's heartbeat was far stronger than everyone else's. She took a deep breath now, and started to speak.

"I met the old man, Guru Pathik, a few months ago, when I was walking around my backyard in the dark. Where I live, you see, it gets dark really early in the winter. I was outside, just finished watching the sun set once more. There was so much going through my head, things that I've learned aren't that important anymore. Things have changed so much since then."

She stood and paced, a little agitated, as if this was the first time she took to remember. "I was thinking, and I saw someone in the woods behind my house. I called out, 'Who's there?' But no one answered. I walked a little back into the woods, and I was able to see him more clearly. He was old, and had a long white beard. I asked him what he was doing behind my house, and he just chuckled."

She walked away from the fire, everyone's eyes upon her. Well, not mine. I had my head cocked. I wondered what was wrong, why she seemed so upset. The others were quiet, their curiosity not aroused by her behavior.

"He said, 'Ah, you will do well. My name is Mr. Dumbledore. I already know your name.' Then, he started telling me about this universe, and how there were many parallel universes in which things were different, and when one universe ends, another begins. I…didn't believe him, and I told him he was a liar, and to get off my property. God, I was so foolish!" She shook her head, and sat back on the floor abruptly, with a soft, but resounding boom.

"He did come back, though, later. I listened then, but inside, I still did not believe him. But, he taught me about the Fire Nation, the job of the Avatar, a little about how and why Aang couldn't master the Avatar State before. He actually blamed that part on himself. He said it was foolish on his part to spring so much on Aang on such short notice, not giving him time to think, to absorb it all. I was ever skeptical, and I told him that he should come and teach Aang himself, if all this was true. What I didn't understand was that his days were numbered."

I listened to Gray's story, she was telling the truth, but something didn't match up. I interrupted, and asked, "Wait. If you didn't believe any of that, then what made you come here?" Silence fell over everyone, and the sounds of the fire crackling and popping filled the night once again, along with the sounds of the insects that buzzed through the sky.

"He always came back, and I knew he wasn't dangerous. I never told anyone that I knew that I'd met someone from another world. For you see, after a while, I actually did start believing him. Not for the reasons you'd expect though. It wasn't so I could save the world, or even help to do so. No. I was selfish. I only believed him, because I thought that another world that no one else knew about, well that'd be great, wouldn't it? I could run away here when life got too much, and I could just be alone with myself to figure things out." She let out a long sigh, and Momo chirped from his perch on the "roofs" on one of the buildings.

He glided down and landed on Gary's shoulder, from what I 'saw'. Aang then asked, "Well what happened? I know that you obviously believe it now, and by the way you act, you obviously care."

She inclined her head towards him, and said "I'm not sure. After about a month of him teaching me, I just realized one day that I actually did care, and that I wouldn't come here to just run away form my problems. Over the next two months, I always daydreamed about how I'd get here, and what I'd do. I was in a sort of trance, almost. Everything around me just seemed…unreal. This was the only thing on my mind, and I desperately wanted to fulfill the last wishes of Mr. Dumbledore. Guru Pathik. It was important. It still is. But, I can finally rest with the knowledge that I have managed to fulfill his dreams for me. I've gotten here, where I was needed, and I'm teaching Aang what he needs to know. That's what's important now."

I thought a bit. Maybe she wasn't the most unselfish person, but she came through in the end, didn't she? She's been helping everyone. She helped Aang and Katara finally see that they were meant to be together, and she made me see that I didn't have to be alone, and that I should just let it all out sometimes. Maybe she'll even make Zuko happy. I chuckled to myself at the thought.

She was quiet. Suddenly, I felt little drops of water fall onto the ground from where she sat. I tapped my feet to get better vibrations. She was sitting, barely moving at all, with her back turned from us. "What's wrong?" I asked. Why on Earth would she be crying?

She turned her head for a few seconds and glanced at me, from what I could tell. "I can't go home. Ever. I miss my family, my friends, my old life. I feel like a small part of me is…missing. And nobody even knows. I actually am supposed to be at school, and my presence will be missed, at least by my family. I've been gone about a whole week now. People will talk. It's not that I don't want to help here. But, I would rest easier if there was some way to know…to get back…even just maybe to know what's going on there. It's a lot different than life here." She turned away again, and more teardrops reached the dry ground.

I felt Katara get up and walk over to her, but at the last moment, stopped, as if unsure. I got up, and put a hand on Gray's shoulder. "Come with me. I have an idea." She sniffed, and followed me back into the temple.

I lead her to the place where I'd found my true self, and understood so much about me that I didn't know. She walked quietly, silently. I could tell there was grief in her, and nothing would be able to fix that. But, one can always try and help.

When we got to the Hall of Statues, I stopped in front of the center statue. That was Avatar Yangchen, the previous Airbender Avatar, who also happened to be female, according to the inscription. "I came here earlier today, in the morning. It's a great place to think, and a great place to talk, too. I'm going to be honest with you, I don't know how to get you back to your world, but I do know a way that you can maybe see what's going on. Possibly."

It still felt weird to me, being nice and caring. But, if Katara didn't do it, who would? Gray just simply turned her head and said, "Thanks. It means a lot." Her tone was somber and sullen, but she wasn't lying or being sarcastic. Just filled with sadness and emotion.

Her life back home must have been a good one, nothing like mine. Her parents must have actually cared about what she thought and felt. But I don't want to assume that. After all, I know that she's a strong willed person, who will stop at nothing. She's just hit a bump in the road's all.

"This is the Hall of Statues. They are all female, since this is the Air Temple where the female Airbenders lived. What does it say on the Avatar Yangchen Statue?" I didn't really know how to start.

"Avatar Yangchen. Saved the Water Tribes.
Built the first Air Temple.
'There is no such thing as being lost. Someone will always know the way out. You will find your way if you try hard enough.'"

Wow. That was oddly fitting. I hadn't taken the time to read any of the other statues' inscriptions, but I thought that whatever this one said, it would be important. And it was.

"See? Gray, all you need to do is stay true to what you're doing, and I promise you, that you will find a way back. 'Never give up hope, even when there is almost no way you'll win. Grab the last possible chance you have, and you will somehow come out better than you were before.' I learned that from my idol, Bumi Buke, the first blind Earthbender."

She nodded, and said, "I'm not giving up. Just letting go before I get too far, so I don't fall." I thought a moment. There had got to be some way I could cheer her up. Then, she'd be able to think, and we could find a way to get her back when she needed to.

She was looking back at the statue, and then, she touched the arrow that was engraved on the statue's forehead. She gasped, and fell to the floor, slowly, as if something was keeping her from hurting herself in the fall.

"Gray? Are you okay?" No answer. I checked her wrist for a pulse. She was alive, and well, as far as I could tell. But, why did she faint? Suddenly it hit me. She was in the Avatar State again. I sat beside her motionless form, not wanting another scene like this morning. I didn't go for help.

----------- Gray's story------------

Gray awoke to find herself yet again in a strange place. A moment ago, she had been in the dark Hall of Statues, and now she was on an open field.

The wind flowed through the long grass, almost like a comb brushing through hair. Wildflowers littered the ocean of green every few inches, each a different color and shape. The sun shone brilliantly, illuminating the silver bracelet she wore on her left hand. It had been her birthday gift that year.

She turned in a full circle, examining her surroundings, but stopped abruptly when she noticed the person who was standing behind her and a little to the right.

It was a beautiful woman, dressed in saffron robes, and slippers of a deep orange. She had long, flowing brown hair, which was accented with soft bands of a darker shade. An arrow graced her forehead, blue like Aang's. Below, her eyes were of a deep grey, mirroring those of a future Avatar.

"I am Avatar Yangchen. I know that you are having a little trouble, child. You see, there is a way for you to get home."

Gray's eyes glowed with the renewal of hope. "Really? How?" her voice trembled from the relief.

The woman smiled. "That you will find out in due time, but I can tell you how to see what's going on in your world. Actually, I can show you."

Gray accepted it. What more could she do? At least she'd get this much. "Thank you. I would be honored if you would show me." (Aang taught her a little airbending, along with how to talk to the Spirits.)

The past Avatar waved her hand, as if showing off the field that lay all around them. "This is the field of sighs. It is the one place where you can hear the wind whistling through the leaves, through the grass. It's actually right above the place where your body is right now."

Gray nodded. She had been, in fact hearing a strange noise throughout the time she'd spent there, but it was not really on her mind. It was a beautiful sound, almost ethereal, like the shadow of a dream.

"It's beautiful." She was still upset.

Avatar Yangchen cast an understanding look at Gray. "Follow me. I have much to show you. Pay attention to the way, for you will find a need to re-trace it soon." She turned, and walked towards the sun. Eastward.

Gray heeded her words well, and noted the direction they were traveling. She took the time to observe her surroundings. Soon, they came upon a well, where Avatar Yangchen stopped.

"This well used to supply water this entire settlement. This field, the people who lived in the Temple, their Air Bison, the Flying Lemurs, everything. It was a source of great power, for it had an endless supply of water that, when it got low, magically refilled once more. I do not know what has come of it now, although I dearly hope and wish that it still works. Maybe someone could restore the Temple."

Gray nodded. "What kept the well full? Was it you?" She understood that she must be near the Western Air Temple, for that was where Avatar Yangchen lived. She also knew that there must have been a reason to why things happened the way they did.

"No. Most people believed that the Spirits kept the well full, because they wanted us to continue to live. Unfortunately, that did not really happen. We were most cruelly wiped out in a devastating attack by the Fire Nation at the beginning of the war. They used the comet to their advantage, and to the downfall of the Air Nomad civilization. No one survived except for one boy of twelve years. That was a hundred and one years ago."

"That was after your time, wasn't it? And that boy was Aang?" Gray's mood was now lifting, and she was genuinely curious about the fate of the Airbenders.

The Avatar smiled. "Yes." Lady Yangchen was glad that this girl's mood had lifted, however slightly, because there was much to learn.

Gray looked thoughtful for a few minutes. "Lady Avatar ma'am? I was wondering if you knew…what will happen to me when I die? Will my soul be transported here since I'm the Avatar of my world? Or will it…" She trailed off, having no idea what could happen.

Avatar Yangchen looked a little irked that Gray's thoughts had turned so morbid. She calmed down, however, and her voice betrayed no emotion. "What…do you think? Where will your soul go?"

Gray shook her head, at a loss. Finally, she said, "I guess it would come to the Spirit World, but no one else's --from my world-- would, right?"

Lady Yangchen nodded. "Yes, I think so. But, I cannot be sure, in view of the fact that nobody has ever come here from another world, certainly not another Avatar. Maybe your world has its own Spirit World, to which all the lost souls go."

Gray nodded once more in understanding. Avatar Yangchen cast another glance at the girl before moving on. Behind the well, in its shadow, was a little engraving on the ground. "Pay close attention, for you must be able to open this correctly."

Gray moved closer so she could see. The Avatar placed her fingers in little grooves on the sides of the circular engraving, and twisted. When she finished turning it, Gray saw that it looked like a girl dancing, or jumping. She held a long ribbon (made of air/water/fire/earth?) that turned, twisted, and curled around her body.

Lady Yangchen pulled from inside her robes a necklace, which was of a simple red ribbon, and a colored rock (Bornite, the mineral, if you need to know). She pulled it from her neck, and pressed it to a small dent that was below the girl's feet. The engraving rose up about an inch, and the Avatar proceeded to pull it up and out of the ground. There was a rumbling noise, and dust rose up in a large circle around Gray and Avatar Yangchen.

The ground started to shake and vibrate. Gray held on with an alarmed look on her face, but dared not to step out of the circle. Avatar Yangchen yet had a serene look about her, as if she'd done this a myriad of times. Suddenly, they began to sink, and Gray fell to the ground with a squeak of terror.

When she recovered from her temporary shock, Gray looked around and found herself in a big room, which was filled with maps, statues, posters, propaganda, and countless strange items she couldn't name. "Wow." She breathed.

Avatar Yangchen dusted off her robes, and gestured towards the door on the other side of the room. "There is not much of importance in this room right now. Well, if you do feel the need to get up there from anywhere else in the Temple, just lift up this tapestry, and pull the handle towards yourself. This stone will descend for you to climb on." She pointed to a long tapestry on the wall which had the same picture as the engraving above their heads.

Gray lifted the tapestry to find the handle. It was easily identifiable. "Okay. I've got it so far. It's all simple enough, albeit somewhat unexpected, like the floor rising and falling." She let it fall, resulting in a cloud of dust.

As they left the room, Lady Yangchen turned and surveyed the whole thing. She missed this place, her childhood home.

The rest was not complicated. Gray followed Avatar Yangchen through the temple, as the significance of certain rooms were explained to her. Finally, they ended up back in the room where Gray's body lay, along with Toph, who sat and played with her meteorite bracelet.

Lady Yangchen turned to Gray. "On the sixth moon of the year, go up to the well, and, with this, gather some water, which you must freeze onto a small slab of wind-blown Earth. To see what is happening in your world, you must light a small fire under the stone, which will cause the ice to start melting. You have to keep it frozen, though, with your Wind form (Airbending). Speak then the name of the person you wish to see." She handed her a small, silver cup, which had a design of autumn leaves in gold filigree etched on the surface.

"Take this as well." She pulled out the necklace once more, and handed it to Gray, with the look of someone being forced to abandon their best friend. "Keep it well."

Gray nodded, and gave the past Avatar a hug. Then, she bowed low. "Thank you, Avatar Yangchen."

The older woman smiled and said, "Please, call me Kayya." With that, she vanished.

Gray stared at the place where Avatar Yang--Kayya had been standing for a moment, then stepped back into her own body once more.

-----------Toph-----------

I was playing with my Space Earth bracelet, when I felt someone stirring beside me. Gray was finally regaining consciousness.

When she opened her eyes, I asked her, "Who'd you meet this time?"

I assumed that I must have gotten a surprised look, since she paused before saying, "How did you know I was in the Spirit World?"

I shrugged. "Earthbender's intuition?" She giggled. Good. Someting good must have come of her visit.

She said, "Well, to answer your quesrions, I met Avatar Yangchen. She taught me a way to see into my world. But I can only do it at a certain time, at a certain point in the year. What moon is it?"

I was a little bit thrown off, because she seemed so happy, unlike what she'd been only a few minutes ago. "Um...I think that it's about the end of the fifth. Actually, yeah. It's the beginning of the last week of the fifth moon."

"That's great! I have to go to The Field of Sighs next week, and I have a lot to learn before I can go. A little Earthbending, a little Firebending, a little Waterbending, and a little Airbending. This is going to work. I know it. I'll get to see my family again!" She leaned over from where she sat and gave me a hug, while I, unaccustomed to such things, simply patted her back.

"I'm really happy for you." I meant it, too.

Whatdya think?

The last part, believe me, did not want to get written. But, I kinda sat and muddled through it, and though I'm not happy with it, it's okay for now.

R&R!!!

-iamtheblindbandit-