Avatar: The Last Airbender (c) Nickelodeon/Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko
Kazuhiro Tatsumaru and other original characters (c) Me.
CHAPTER TWELVE: The Retaliation
She reached up and pulled her hair out of the bun she usually kept it in. Her black locks fell down her back for a moment before she scooped them back up and tied it up with a ribbon at the top her head. She took pieces of Suki's armor and wrapped them around her waist and over her wrists. As usual, her feet were completely exposed. She wiggled her toes, finally feeling the cool earth for the first time in what seemed like ages. Things were still blurry, but there was no more time to wait for healing. Sokka came in, holding a mask and looking at his friend with concerned eyes.
"That's a good look for you," he said.
Toph didn't turn around. "I wouldn't know..." she replied.
Sokka sighed, making his way over towards her. "You don't have to do this. We can find another way."
"By then it will be too late," she said solemnly. "I have to do it now."
Sokka frowned, handing her the mask. "Then at least let me come with you." Toph was silent. She grabbed the mask from his hand and tied it around her head.
"This is something I have to do, alone."
"You can't take on an entire prison by yourself! It's crazy!" he whined. "You're crazy!"
Toph smirked. "Aww. And here I was starting to think you didn't like me."
"Toph..." Sokka said, lifting her mask so he could see her face. "You can't win this one." Toph felt his hands on her cheeks, her face flushing. But now instead of butterflies, the sensation made her wrought with anger. How dare he touch her like that? She didn't need his sympathy, nor did she need his affection. Right now, she just needed his support. She lifted her hand and pulled her mask down over her face. She stopped at the frame of the door.
"Come on, Sokka, who do you think you're talking to?" She gave him a slight turn, to let him know she was addressing him. "I'm the greatest earthbender in the world!"
Sokka couldn't help but smile over all the pain he was feeling. "Right. I know you are."
"I can take you to the island. It shouldn't be too far from here!" Aang shouted while on Appa. Toph clutched the bison as tightly as she could, trying not to think about how high up they must have been, considering the sensation she felt in her ears.
"You're the best, Twinkle Toes," she said.
Aang smiled. "Just promise you'll get him out safely." Toph nodded as Appa started his descent. He peered down over his furry friend, looking down at the island they were about to land on. Suddenly, Aang's chest grew tight. It was a huge metal building with a harsh rocky exterior. "Ah man..." he said in awe. This caught Toph's attention as she made her way towards him.
"What?" she asked. "Do you see it?"
Aang gulped. "Yeah, I see it." He turned to Toph, who was preparing to jump. "I thought you didn't like flying."
"I don't," she said, her knees beginning to buckle. "Being more than ten feet off the ground gives me the creeps." But she stood anyway. "What's the situation like?"
"Um..." Aang squinted. "Looks like there are guards on both the north and east pavilion. Probably earthbenders."
"Probably."
"I can fly you down to the shoreline behind those cliffs." He reached down his robe and pulled out Appa's whistle, handing it to Toph. "Once you find him, signal Appa. That way we'll know where to look for you." Aang looked again, as the prison got closer. "I don't see an entrance anywhere."
"You said the entire structure is metal?"
"Yeah, looks like it."
Toph put her foot on the side of Appa's saddle. "Then making one shouldn't be too hard." She signaled to Aang. "If I don't contact you by sunset, don't come looking for me."
Aang lowered his head. "I..." but he couldn't bring himself to speak. The thought of losing one of his best friends was too much for him to bear.
Toph sighed. "Sokka doesn't think I should do this. He thinks I'm going to get caught." She tightened her belt. "Everyone thinks so."
Aang was quiet for a moment. He knew he had his own fears and suspicions about all of this, but he trusted that Toph knew what she was doing. "You know," he began. "Zuko once broke into a maximum security Fire Nation prison by himself. They called him The Blue Spirit. You kinda look like him with that mask on."
Toph swallowed. "Why bring that up now?"
"He rescued me from that prison. There were thousands of guards everywhere and all he had were two swords and a mask. It was amazing." He turned to Toph and smiled. She could feel his positive energy. "Sometimes it's not what we do, but why we do it that make us who we are. If you really think this is right, then I can't stop you. No one can."
Toph turned her body away from Aang. "I don't know what's right anymore..." she said flatly. "I just have to save him, Aang. There's no reason for it, moral or otherwise. I lost that a while ago. I have to save him because...I just have to."
Aang closed his eyes and sighed with a smile. "That's as good enough reason as any." Toph blushed, leaning over the saddle. The water was getting close now, she could feel it. Appa slowed down dramatically, hovering a bit. Toph stood up tall. "It's about a ten foot drop," Aang said. Toph nodded and stepped up on the boarder of the saddle, sitting on the edge. She didn't like the sway of the animal, or having her feet dangle over the edge. But it was only ten feet down. Ten feet away from victory. She took in a deep breath.
Aang couldn't stop looking at her. He remembered that first day they met. How afraid she was to fly, how cold she was toward everyone. A strong fighter, even back then. But even with all her skill, he remembered, Toph never had a reason to fight outside of sport. Her bending was purely necessity. There was a glow around her now, a deliberate goal. He felt his eyes begin to water. A single tear trickled down his cheek. He couldn't see her face, but he didn't have to. At that moment, she was positively more radiant than he had ever seen her.
"Don't cry, Twinkle Toes," she said solemnly. "It doesn't suit you."
Aang wiped his cheek. She always knew. Toph scooted farther off the edge of Appa. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help to you."
Toph chuckled. "Hey, you saved the world. Can't expect you to do everything." They sat there in silence for a while, before Toph finally broke it. "Alright. I guess I'll see you in a few hours."
Aang nodded. "I believe in you." But she felt him turn slightly after that comment. She scooted up as far as she could, slipping onto Appa's fur and holding onto the side of the saddle with her hand. The wind caught her robe and ribbons and made them dance in the breeze, spotlighted by the sun.
"Aang?" She called, waiting a while for him to look up. She lifted her mask up while hanging on with one arm. Her smile was bright and genuine. "Thanks." With that she let go, plummeting into the solid earth. She landed on her feet, creating a crater where she stood. She watched the bison fly off, taking the whistle and stuffing it in her robe, the string still secure around her neck. She slipped the mask over her face. Reaching down to the earth, she could feel a blurry version of the entire island. She smirked. This is going to be way easier than I thought, she said to herself.
It didn't take long before Toph had snuck her way past the guards and into the main prison. Things were still hazy, but now that she was inside she could track Kazuhiro's vibrations to his location. It was difficult to locate over all of the powerful earthbenders around. They were bending, practically constantly. Tiny little pebbles to giant boulders, nothing was safe here. She wondered how an earth kingdom prison could have survived with earth completely surrounding it. Did the earthbenders use it to break free? But as soon as she touched the metal wall, she understood. No amount of earthbending could get someone in or out of that prison. Luckily, she smirked, she wasn't just a normal earthbender.
She ran passed a work area where men were breaking rocks with their bare hands. They also were carrying large boulders up hills. Everyone was barefoot. She touched the ground when she noticed no one was watching her. She couldn't feel him there either. She pouted. Where could he be? She noticed two guards coming her way and tried to hide. However, she wasn't stealthy like Kazu or Aang, so she was spotted almost immediately.
"Hey! You!" One of the guards shouted. Toph groaned. She couldn't do things the easy way, not with her talents. She ran towards the rock wall and picked up a giant boulder, ramming it into the other guards. They stopped it, but only for a moment as Toph dove over them and ran through the hall.
"He's an earthbender!"
"Get him!"
She ran until she couldn't find anywhere else to go. These guys were hardly a threat, but she couldn't exactly get away from them scott free. She needed to find Kazu first, then fight them afterwards. Finally, she touched a metal wall, feeling the vibrations inside. She backtracked. It was faint, but she could feel it. The guards ran into her, backing her up against the wall.
"It's over, boy!" one declared. "You've got nowhere else to go."
Toph gave a cheeky smile under her mask. Touching the metal, she gripped it as tight as she could, crushing it in her hands. This wall was thinner than the exterior wall, so it crushed without much hassle. The guards stood in shock.
"H-how the-"
"What the heck is going on here?"
Toph only lifted the metal so much so that she could slip her way through the top. She used her foot to straighten it after she had landed. The guards were trapped on the other side.
"Come on!" she heard. "We can catch him at the entrance!" She heard the pitter patter of little feet move as she exhaled. This was way too easy. She felt her foot around the area she was in. She was surrounded by men, most of them earthbenders. She frowned. Kazu wasn't with them.
"Did you just bend metal?" one of the prisoners asked.
Toph grabbed him by the throat and thrusted him against the wall. The rest of the people gasped. "Hey, Grandpa," she spat. "I'm here for a boy. Maybe you know where I can start my search."
"Who are you?" a skinnier guy asked.
"He's got a narrow body, on the shorter side. Name's Kazuhiro. Know him?" The old man shook his head. Toph grumbled. She slammed him against the wall again. "Firebender."
"What do you want with the firebender?" a younger boy, only a few years older than Toph, asked.
"Probably wants to tear his skin off like the rest of us," Another man hissed.
"Or maybe he wants to bust him out," the man next to him shouted.
The man Toph held in her hand glared at her. "What business do you have with the fire-breather?"
Toph clutched him tighter. "We have unfinished business."
"Wants to finish him off," the younger boy said. "Won't be too hard."
"Where is he?" she growled.
The old man trembled. "H-he's just down the hall there. Got his own special cell cause he ain't like the rest of us." Toph let go of the man. He landed on the floor with a thud. She walked over to the cell door, where her path was blocked by metal bars. She exhaled in annoyance and kicked the side of the bar, bending it so she could get through. Without hesitation she ran down the hall.
Toph reached out and touched the metal wall. A dead end. She scrunched her eyebrows feeling the vibrations. Everything in her gut told her he was just behind that wall. She kicked it, causing a large indent in the metal. But there was something on the other side blocking it. A stone? She scowled. It was just like in the catacombs. She focused her energy on the stone wall, lowering it before bursting through the metal. She could tell light was shining into the small room for the first time in a long time. The coolness of the walls made it certainly seem like a prison. She smiled, knowing she was in the right room at last.
"Fear not, fair maiden! For I, your shining knight, have come to rescue you from this dreadful place!" she shouted, not concerned with drawing attention to herself at all. However, she didn't feel any movement from her friend. She could hear his breath. She knew he was alive. Why wasn't he answering. He wasn't a heavy sleeper. She began to approach him, taking off her mask. "Hey, Kamikaze. Didn't you hear me? I came to get you out of here." She walked closer, taking her hand and moving to place it on his shoulder. "Kazuhiro?" Her hand touched his skin, but it was nothing like she was expecting. It was wet. The smell of sanguine soon perpetrated the air, causing Toph to recoil slightly. Now that her mask was off, she could catch the scent. "Kazuhiro!" She said, shaking him. It was the only thing she could think to do. "This isn't funny! Answer me! Please!"
Kazu shook, using his right arm as a base to try and pull himself up. Toph caught him and brought him up to the seated position. "T-Toph..." he managed to say before collapsing onto her. She could hear his breath tickle her ear. It was shallow, loud. He started to mumble something, but she couldn't quite catch it. She couldn't find the words to say. She leaned in closer, trying to identify his words. He lifted his head so his lips were right next to her hear. "It's not...worth it..." he managed before his head fell back down.
Toph scowled. Her entire body grew hot. She picked him up and slung him over her back. He didn't protest, he was barely conscious. "I'll decide whether or not it's worth it." She stood up, barely having any trouble lifting his light body. She could feel footsteps of guards coming towards her. Her ears turned red. She picked up her mask and put it back on. Angrily, she ran out of the cell, carrying Kazu on her back.
"There! The intruder!" one of the guards said. Toph used her metal bending in order to knock him out. Another slew of guards came hustling back, but she didn't stop. She ran as fast as she could, climbing over the tall wall. She told Kazu to hold on as tight as he could, but soon realized he was having trouble staying conscious. When they were clear of the guards for a moment, she set him down and untied her hair, fastening his wrists together with the ribbon. It wasn't long before they were spotted again. She picked him up and let him hang around her neck.
She ran until she reached the labor yard with all of the earth. There, she fired rocks at the guards mercilessly. She couldn't help herself. She was angry. Furious. They were the ones who were abusing him. She wanted to shout at them, scream at the top of her lungs. She hated them. She hated her parents and the war. Her anger began to cause the earth below her to rumble. Spikes of earth came flying out passed the metal floor. Shards of it flew toward the guards, who ran away, not knowing what to do. Toph didn't care what she hit or destroyed anymore. She ran through the solid metal wall, tearing it with her bare hands. She closed it again before the guards could follow her.
Sprinting down to the water, she reached down her robe and brought out the whistle. She set Kazu down and unlaced his hands. The ribbon fell to the floor as she picked him up, her hair flowing in the wind. She blew Appa's whistle, but it didn't make a sound. Suddenly a rumble was heard from the other side of the prison. The guards were moving around the gates, soon to be open.
"Come on, Aang. Give me something..." she mumbled. She heard a gasp come from a little distance away.
"Toph!" the voice called. Toph tilted her head.
"Katara? What are you-"
"Hurry up and dive in before they see you!" she shouted.
But Toph shook her head. "I can't swim!"
"Just trust me!" she yelled, diving back under.
Toph felt a bead of sweat roll down her neck. She gripped Kazu tightly and took a running dive into the water. She could practically taste the salt in her nose as her mask fell off her face, floating to the surface. As soon as they touched the water, though, Kazu let out a scream. Bubbles flew out of his mouth, filling his lungs with the salty sea. He kicked furiously, trying to get out of the water. Toph managed to keep a strong hold on him. A hand reached out and grabbed her, pulling her down further into the water. She felt the water suddenly disappear and she fell to the ground, coughing.
"Toph! Are you okay?" Katara asked, rushing down to her. "Aang!" she said, turning to the Avatar. "We need to keep moving."
"On it," he said. Toph understood now. They were bending the water around them, like a kind of barrier. It was just as they had done it in the Serpent's Pass.
Kazu stopped screaming, only to be replaced with heavy grunting and breathing. Katara made her way over to him. "The salt must have gotten into the open wounds," she concluded, picking the boy up. Toph offered to take him on her back, which Katara readily accepted. "We need to get him looked at as soon as possible." She joined Aang in bending the water.
"What are we going to do then?" Aang asked. "We can't take him back to the Earth Kingdom. The Fire Nation is too far of a trip. He wouldn't make it."
"We can take him back to the Metalbending Academy," Toph said, dragging her friend on her back. "It's only an hour on Appa. Besides, my students probably think I ditched them by now. I promised I would be back on the Summer Solstice."
The group agreed and once they were safely a few miles out to sea, Toph lifted the earth under her to lift them up out of the ocean. Aang called for Appa with the whistle. It wasn't long before the giant flying bison swooped down, with Sokka at the helm. Suki leaned over the front of the saddle and grabbed each of her friends up. They didn't waste much time before they were off. Aang took over flying. No one said a word almost the entire way to the academy. Katara worked hard to heal as many of Kazu's wounds as possible, but she couldn't really help until they reached their destination. Toph wrung out her hair, just letting it fall over her face. She had stripped off her armor and the outer part of her robe. Unwrapping one of the gauze strips from around her waist, she tied it around his head. Her lips formed a slight smile. She did it. It was over.