AUTHORS NOTE: Sorry I'm a little late! I know, I know, but I've had guests over this week. But, here's a plot twisting, mind boggling, escape planning, chaotic chapter, Chapter 21! The wait makes up for it, plus the longer length! Thanks for the enormous amount of response to Chapter 20 (great amount of hits and visitors, plus alerts and especially reviewers!) I love you guys' inspiration to keep me writing! Comments and reviews appreciated, but not required. :D
Pipinpadaloxicopolis (The Fourth)
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Avatar: the Last Airbender or any of the characters/ideas inside of this Fanfic. All property is trademark of Nickelodeon. Avatar was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. This story is for entertainment, not profit. But i hope you enjoy!
Toph ran and ran and ran. She ran as fast as her feet could carry her, as fast as anyone could bend an element, as fast as lightning. Feng ran along, sprinting to keep up with her capability to run on. The immense hallways of bedrooms would have to end soon, Toph knew it.
Somehow, her energy beat that of Feng Xiu's. He had to stop, putting his hands on his knees. He bent over in pain, putting his back against the wall. He slid down to sit along the floor. He put his hands unto his stomach, grimacing at his much energy he had used. He coughed out a mess of saliva, covering his mouth. He looked at his hands- blood. Warm, fresh blood.
Blood? Was I running that hard? He spit on the floor- but only clear saliva was visible. He looked at his hands for any cuts, but nothing was there. Where was it coming from?
But as he looked down, his white shirt now had a deep, crimson stain- it was his blow from Long Feng, bleeding out, once again.
"I can't believe this!" he yelled as he punched the wall.
Toph jerked around. "Feng, we have to keep going!" she said, not seeing his shirt.
"Go.. go on ahead!" he waved, panting. "I'll… catch up!"
Toph ran over to him. "No, I'm not losing you because- Feng, what did you do!" she exclaimed, analyzing his shirt. She got down on her knees and placed her hand near his stomach. "What happened!"
"Nothing," he said, "Go, I'll be with… with you in a minute."
Toph's eyes began to water up. "Feng-"
He took her wrists, calming her down. "Go." She looked him in the eyes. It's like he had planned this, almost as if he knew this would happen; he was so calm. His eyes showed her reflection, her determination to get off the boat. She looked at herself with her pride. She had come this far, and nothing was going to hold her back.
But she couldn't just leave him.
Right as she was about to protest, she heard footsteps. Click, click, click, she heard. The Dai Li had already begun to recover and re-group. "Feng! I can't just leave you!-"
Feng took Toph's face in his hands, shaking her. "Go!" he said, tearing up.
Toph gave one good look at him; he had turned into a brother within the past hours. She couldn't leave him.
Toph, go! He wants you to go!
But I can't just leave him here! He's bleeding, he's dying!
He wants what's right in the world, what's right for you! He wants his life settled. Maybe it's by finally rejoining his father, showing him his blood, showing him he's still innocent by blood. His blood, their blood.
But he's gonna get killed if he does that, he knows it! He can't face his father anymore!
He planned out this entire escape idea; he knows what he's doing. Go Toph, go. Just go, go…
"Go!" he said, pushing her on. His arms flailed as she was pushed. She was pushed up towards the hallway she would need to finish running. She began to run. She turned around one last time. Feng gave her a wave, and a slight smile. "You can do it!" he yelled. His stomach throbbed as he covered it with his hands. "Go!"
Toph stifled her sorrow, hid her pain as well as she could until he was out of sight of her. Her eyes streamed out tears. She couldn't believe there was nothing else she could do to help him. After all he had done for her, there was nothing. She sobbed her heart out as she left him; it was heart breaking.
Yet another she cared for, gone.
Feng stayed in his position, bleeding freely over his shirt. He took off his shirt, wrapping it around his stomach. It would have to act as a bandage for now; he needed to get to Toph before she was too far.
He opened the door of one of the bedrooms to keep the Dai Li away from him. He threw his back to the door, staying entirely still; he heard the footsteps grow louder, louder, louder…
He had to hide; there was no way they wouldn't see the blood stains across the floor. He looked around the room; a bed, a closet, and a bathroom. He frantically chose one. He closed his eyes as he rested, waiting either for an escape attempt- or death.
Long Feng reached the door. He examined the blood everywhere, the tear stained floor. "Check this room," he ordered. The Dai Li members put on gas masks to avoid any of the smoke coming from the fire Toph and Feng Xiu were releasing, covering their entire face.
One opened the door, directing the others to go in. Four in total went inside, and the door was closed. The sounds of mattresses flipping and doors slamming were the sounds of distress to no avail of finding anyone. Soon, four Dai Li dressed agents came out empty handed. They stood in the presence of Long Feng, staring at him through gas masks.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Move on!" he yelled. The entire Dai Li group began charging again, with Long Feng in the lead.
One agent began to slow down, trailing behind the rest of the group. Once they were out of sight, he took off the gas mask. "How's Toph gonna know who I am?" Feng asked himself, disguised as one of the men. But he had no time to think. He threw the mask back on, chasing after the group.
Toph was about ready to collapse. She was on her own now, neither Kilu nor Feng with her. But she was at the end of the hallway, she was almost there.
Once she would reach the surface of the boat, all she'd need was to get on the escape boats. They had emergency boxes, full of survival needs- plus, the box was made of metal. With the box alone, she could ride herself out, but the utensils inside could help herself even more.
Finally, she could see the light leak in from the end of the hallway. She sprinted up the stairs, nearly tripping but continuing on. I made it! she thought. Right now, she didn't care about anything. She almost didn't even care about leaving Feng and Kilu. She had survived through the worst, lived through Long Feng. She was free.
She stepped up and let the sun bash her eyes. She blurred up a bit, but instantly cleared up. She had gotten used to it now. She laughed, screamed, yelled, and just expressed her emotions, hysterical at her success.
But she wasn't done. Frantically, snapping out of her dream state, she searched for the escape boats. She ran near the poles and checked along the edges. But none were to be found.
"Looking for something?"
Toph jerked around. "What did you do with them?" she yelled towards Long Feng.
"Why would we carry escape boats with us? We're all great swimmers- oh, wait," he said, pleased.
"How did you know I can't swim?" she barked.
"I didn't confirm my suspicions until now," he smirked as Toph mentally slapped herself, "but I always guessed you had to have had at least one major flaw. And with your hands, I'm not surprised."
"I'd rather jump sea right now and drown than surrender to you," she said, backing up. Her burnt hands felt the borders. "I'd choose death any moment, because anything to do with you, even this mere conversation, can't over satisfy the feeling of being dead."
"Oh? Wouldn't you like to know what happened to your friends?" he grinned.
Toph gasped, and stepped forward. "Where are they?"
"Boys?" Long Feng addressed. Two Dai Li men came out, holding Kilu with two arms. His wrists were attached to an enormous block of wood by metal cuffs; the wooden block measured what looked like four feet. He wore tattered clothing, and seemed to have every part of his body covered in scratches and bruises. You couldn't look at any part of him without seeing a gruesome scene.
"Kilu!" Toph yelled, running over to him. Before she could reach him, the two men threw his body to her. She took him in her arms. "What did you do to him!" she screamed, keeping her distance.
"Don't ask me, it's what he did to himself. He betrayed what we are, and he doesn't deserve to live- just like you." He gave her a death glare, "You'll drown without living company."
"Company… Kilu.. Feng… Feng! What did you do to him!"
"Honestly? I have no clue as to what happened to him," he said, smiling. "It's only a matter of time before we find him."
Suddenly, the boat shook. Toph started moving, along with everyone else. It died down. What was that? she thought. Did we explode anyth- the gas! The pipe! It's gonna explode!
"What?" Long Feng asked, "Too in shock of losing that worthless child? No worries, we'll kill him. Just. For. You."
"No!" she yelled, now running up to him, Kilu on the floor. "If you dare lay a finger on him!-" she began, threatening him. A Dai Li agent jumped up and grabbed Toph, keeping her away from Long Feng. "If you dare!-"
The floor shook again, this time almost knocking everyone over. Toph and the man holding her almost fell over, Kilu at her feet, rolling around. Long Feng kept his stance, trying to be as intimidating as possible. "Don't worry, you'll see him again; when you're all dead!" he yelled, as the Dai Li began cornering Kilu and Toph. "Now, are there any last words before I let you and your friend drown?" he said.
"…Toph.." the agent holding Toph whispered. "Toph.. it's me, Feng." He felt her arms tense up. "Stay calm! Stay in there!"
"..Fe.." she tried whispering back.
"What was that, dear?" Long Feng mocked her. "What do I tell him your last goodbye was?"
"Tell him…" she said, "Jump."
Long Feng gave her a look. "Jump?"
Toph 'broke free' of Feng's grasp. The boat gave one last shake. "Jump, jump, jump, Jump, JUMP!" she yelled at Feng Xiu. He grabbed Kilu's stiff body and threw him over his shoulder- and jumped over the railing, the three falling to a safer place- or certain death.
Long Feng ran over to the railing. Before the trio even hit water- BOOM! A corner of the entire boat blew up, shattering into the water, breaking off into pieces. Everyone on the boat shook and fell; backlash. Long Feng screamed from the floor of the boat, "What in Agni was that!"
Someone ran over to the railing. "They're gone," he said, addressing the rest of the group. "Gone."
"But, sir? Didn't we need Toph's body to bride the Bei Fong family?" Someone else asked Long Feng.
Long Feng's face grew red. "They may be gone," he yelled, twisting the man's collar, "but not dead. Gone. Starving. Dying. But never dead." With that, he threw the man into the border pole. "Tell everyone to report to bed, now. You will be the new leader in chief-?"
He coughed out, "Stuu, Sir."
"Stuu. Now, Stuu, find out why this boat is shaking. Find out now; leave!" he commanded in a booming voice. He threw his robe back, and walked back inside the boat.
It was only the beginning.
Toph was plummeting to her doom- she was hurt, she couldn't swim, she was in pain, she couldn't swim, she couldn't bend water, and she couldn't swim. She screamed the entire way down, her high pitch comparing to the lower pitches of Kilu's and Feng's. As they fell in mid-air, she could feel energy push her forward. Suddenly, she saw flying debris pass her, some even hitting her. The boat had exploded. Finally- they hit water.
Toph went under, quickly rising up. "Feng!" she bobbed up and down. She could see Kilu floating, due to the help of his wooden bar. She tried grabbing the debris floating everywhere, but just couldn't reach. "I!.. Can't!.. Swim!" She went under, not keeping much air.
Feng finally popped out of the water, hearing Toph's screams. "Toph!" he yelled, going under. Underwater, Feng found Toph slowly sinking, as if she had stopped moving. He grabbed her arms, wrapping them around his neck. He kicked himself to the surface, breathing large amounts of air. "Keep kicking!" he instructed Toph as she choked out the water she had just swallowed. The pair were able to do that, reaching Kilu's floating body and bar. "Toph, I need you to bend the metal off of Kilu's wrists!"
Toph grabbed the metal, ripping off the chains holding him to the wood. She did it to both wrists, freeing him. As he was released, she immediately grabbed the block, keeping her afloat.
"Okay, everyone good?" Feng asked, treading, grabbing a piece of debris to float on. Kilu was now fully conscious, on his own flotation material. Toph floated on her block of wood, metal around her wrist, not wasting what she had.
"Now, what can we do!" she yelled at Feng. "We're in the middle of nowhere, without a map, without food! All we have is junk everywhere!"
"Feng," Kilu asked with a calmer approach. "What now?"
AU: Nnoo! End of our chapter as our heroes plummet to their doom! What comes next? Will they all be okay? Thanks for all feedback, hope you continue to enjoy! Check profile for all update days, spoilers, and more! Next chapter out due around Friday!