Avan shifted into a bending pose, one leg sliding backward as he raised a fist. "Don't try anything stupid. You can't win here."

Toph huffed, holding her hands behind her back. Already she could feel the Dai Li beginning to recover from her initial assault. They likely wouldn't be caught so off guard a second time. Under normal circumstances, this might be a dire situation, but Avan was easy to goad. "Didn't take you for a coward, Avan. I'd have thought the commander of the Dai Li could handle a single old lady by himself."

"They're not here to help me fight you. They're here for your friends." The recovering Dai Li agents glided across the chamber floor to surround Azula, Anraq, Zuko, and Izumi, forcing the group into a tighter circle.

"Yep, that's what I figured," she said, with a soft nod. "I hope they're good at chasing people."

Toph raised her hands and stomped against the ground. A slanted tent of earth formed above the group behind her, forming a spear point over their heads. With a quick flick of her wrist, the ground shot upwards like a missile. An earthen pillar lifted them towards the ceiling of the chamber, broke through the stone, and continued onward to the surface above.

Avan frowned, watching them disappear. "After them!"

The other Dai Li agents ascended on their own pillars, and soon vanished through the ceiling themselves. Within moments, only Toph and Avan remained in the prison chamber. The Dai Li commander strengthened his stance. Toph straightened her posture, and shifted into her own pose, holding both her fists down by her hips.

"After you, prissy pants," she said, with a mocking smirk.

Avan thrust his fist forward. The surrounding pillars the other Dai Li had used to escape the cavern all quivered and crashed inward. Toph slid backwards across the ground to avoid the crumbling debris, and gave a single chop to the air with one hand. The pillars exploded in a cloud of dirt and stone, launching an earthen storm in Avan's direction. The Dai Li commander stomped an earth wall upward to block the stony shrapnel. When the storm ceased, he glided across the ground atop his earthen boots.

Toph waited, patient. Avan led with a shot of the earth glove around his left hand. His clawed metal prosthetic followed, fingers splayed out to grab her. Nothing new. She leaned to the side and guided the projectiles around her body, sending them back the way they came. Avan caught the projectiles and reset them in place on his body. Without missing a beat, he slid to a stop on the ground and kicked up a rippling mound of earth.

Stone crags burst forth from the ground in rapid succession, forcing Toph to retreat backwards. As she did, Avan reached out, made a fist, and yanked his arm backwards. A massive slab fell free from the wall behind her. Too large to evade. Toph fell to one knee and thrust her own fist upward, causing the section above her to explode into powder. The remainder of the slab crashed harmlessly around her.

"That the best you got, kid?" Toph chuckled, standing straight and lifting her hands. Six large boulders burst free from the ground and hovered in orbit around her. "You're being outclassed by an old woman. That's gotta sting."

Avan scowled as Toph launched the boulders at him, one after the other. He swatted each of them away, deflecting them with his fists. He caught the final boulder in an open palm and stopped it cold. With a firm clench of his fingers, the boulder crumbled to dust. In the same motion, he raised a leg and stomped downward. Jagged fissures ruptured through the earth, jolting across the entire chamber, up the walls to the ceiling. The prison quaked, loosing chunks of stone from the ceiling above.

"As I told you the first time we fought, your days of relevancy are over," Avan said, with a heated glare. He clenched his fists tight together and lowered his stance. The cavern shook harder. "I'm just getting started."


As soon as they burst free from the ground into the open expanse of the palace courtyard, Zuko reached into his shirt and pulled out his dragon whistle. He gave it a long, hard puff, piercing the air with its silent call. Druk would hear the call even several miles outside of Ba Sing Se, although the dragon would still need to fly here. That would take a few minutes. In the meantime, they had to hold out against thirty-two Dai Li agents in pursuit.

"Let's move!" Anraq called, breaking into a run. He made it only a few steps before a half dozen Dai Li agents burst free from the ground in front of him. They launched their earthen gloves forward, forcing him to shield himself with his water and jump backwards. "Never mind, not this way!"

The remaining Dai Li agents emerged moments later, surrounding the group. Azula, Anraq, Zuko, and Izumi formed a circle back-to-back, covering all sides. Although exhausted and trembling on her feet, Izumi found the strength to stand firm, ready to defend. The Dai Li attacked in unison, shooting repeated earthen projectiles from their hands. Anraq swirled his water around the group and hardened it into a protective sphere. Bits and pieces of ice erupted beneath the barrage, but none of the earthen projectiles could penetrate. Zuko added a swirling pillar of flames around the exterior of the barrier, which grew stronger when Izumi added her own chi to the mix. The flames grew further and turned blue as Azula took charge.

The heat from the flames seared the air, forcing Anraq to double his concentration to maintain his ice in solid form. The Dai Li glided backwards, creating more distance between themselves and the inferno. With one solid push of their arms, the three firebenders sent the firestorm roaring outward. The Dai Li fell back even farther, shielding themselves with earthen walls. When the flames dissipated, the Dai Li lowered their walls in preparation to attack again.

Anraq beat them to the punch. As soon as their defenses lowered, he shoved his arms outward. The ice surrounding them ruptured into countless razor-like shards. Frozen shrapnel shredded through the Dai Li ranks, ripping flesh apart. While a majority of the agents managed to restore their earthen defenses and take cover, a handful weren't as fortunate. Several unlucky Dai Li toppled, punctured by tiny ice blades. When the attack ceased, Anraq called the ice back to himself in the form of liquid water.

"Keep them back!" Zuko said, sweeping a wave of fire across the courtyard. Several Dai Li skated out of the way and countered with shots of earth from their gloved palms, but Izumi knocked them away with a few well placed counter blasts. "We just need to hold out long enough for Druk to get here!"

"And for Toph to make it back!" Anraq added, as he ducked and weaved around several incoming earth gloves. He waved his arm through the air to counter, knocking several agents off their feet with a lashing water whip. "We can't leave without her!"

Anraq called his water back to make another attack, only for a sudden tug on the back of his coat to yank him off his feet. A Dai Li glove grabbed him from behind, pulling him along the ground towards the opposing forces. With a frantic wriggling of his arms, he managed to slip out of the coat and fall free. Ten Dai Li agents immediately surrounded him. He raised his water again, forming a barrier between himself as the agents prepared to attack with flying boulders.

"Annie!" Azula cut her fingers through the air and sliced apart several stone projectiles with lashing whips of fire. She raced across the courtyard towards Anraq, leading with a spinning kick of flames. She caught three Dai Li agents in the blast. They fell back with yelps of pain as their clothes ignited and skin burned. Two more agents turned and shot their gloves at her. Azula ducked low and slid across the ground between them, spinning atop her backside with her legs raised in the air. A whirl of fire erupted outwards, engulfing both attackers. They screamed and toppled to the ground in agony.

Azula sprang back to her feet and kicked two more shots of scorching blue fire. The remaining group of Dai Li agents recoiled, frantically patting out the flames that now engulfed them. Anraq took the opportunity to retreat, racing to Azula's side with a whirl of his arms. Water surged forward and hardened into an icy shield to block an incoming boulder soaring towards Azula from behind. The boulder shattered the ice, but deflected away to leave them both unharmed.

"I had that," Azula insisted, as she placed herself back-to-back with Anraq.

"I'm sure you did," he said, coiling a ring of water around the both of them. "Doesn't mean I can't help out."

They were putting up a decent fight, but more than half the Dai Li agents remained. To make matters worse, they had been split into two separate groups. Azula and Anraq defended against nearly ten surrounding agents, while Zuko and Izumi had been backed up by another eight. Izumi was far from top form. She shuddered atop her feet, and her attacks lacked any real power. That time locked away in her prison cell had left her exhausted and weak.

"Father, I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up," she said, with a heaving breath. A boulder crashed towards them, forcing her to throw herself to the side to avoid it. She rolled across the ground and was slow to get up, knees shaking.

"Just a little longer, Izumi." Zuko sidestepped a rippling wave of earth and stood over his daughter, defending her until she could return to her feet. "Druk should be here any—"

A deafening roar thundered through the air, as a red dragon dove into the courtyard from the clouds above with jaws opened wide. Flames exploded from the beast's throat, scorching a line across the courtyard at the attacking Dai Li. The agents immediately fell back with shouts of panic, lifting up earthen defenses to avoid the searing column of dragon's fire. Zuko, Izumi, Anraq, and Azula all made several final attacks to force the Dai Li back far enough so Druk could land between them. The Dai Li made several attempts at attacking the dragon, only to be promptly forced back into cover with another searing jet of flames.

"Everyone get on!" Zuko ordered, waving them towards the dragon.

"What about Toph?" Izumi said, as she stumbled towards Druk. Her legs nearly gave out on the way there, but Anraq caught her and helped her forward

"We won't leave without her," he insisted, "but we have to make sure we're ready to go! Druk can keep these agents back for now. I'm sure Toph will be here soon." Since none of them were earthbenders, they couldn't go back to retrieve Toph. All they could do was wait for as long as possible while defending themselves, and hope the old woman would soon join them.

As Anraq and Azula began helping Izumi onto Druk's back, a shrieking hiss surged across the courtyard. Lightning sizzled the air. The burning blue bolt erupted against the dragon's side, scorching a hole through his scales. Druk toppled to the ground with a shrieking cry of pain, weakened and stunned.

"Druk!" Zuko called, eyes flaring wide. Panic ripped through his chest. He turned towards the direction the lightning had come from. A figure dressed in casual Earth Kingdom attire strode forward. A woman, her fingers sizzling with the smoking vestiges of lightning. His gut sank, as recognition tore through him. Different attire or not, there could be no mistaking her.

"Now, now," Yula said, lowering her brow into a sharp glare. "Where do you all think you're going?"


Massive chunks sprang free from the chamber walls, crashing to the ground below. Toph slid the earth beneath her feet. Fast, mobile, weaving through the falling rubble untouched. Half the ceiling caved in overhead and crumbled down upon her. She ducked, and raised her hands, bending a slanted barrier above herself to keep from being crushed. In spite of the enormous weight of the rubble, she held firm and unyielding, even as the rubble buried her beneath a mountain of loose earth. When the quaking ceased, she tunneled her way upward, emerging at the top of the pile.

Avan was waiting for her with a pair of giant boulders. He swung his arms forward, lurching both boulders towards either side of her. With a simple thrust of Toph's fists, the boulders exploded into small, harmless pebbles. Sliding down the rubble pile, she kicked a piercing crag up from the ground. Avan burst the earth beneath his own feet, launching him clear out of the way. He clung onto the chamber wall atop his earthen boots. Reaching a hand back, he grasped the smooth stone of the wall and yanked his arm forward. An entire section of the wall tore free, including two of the platinum box cells with it. A furious shout surged from his throat, as he tossed the mass of earth and metal through the air.

Toph tunneled into the ground, moments before impact. The ground quaked, and she reemerged. Not into the open, but rather guiding herself inside one of the crumpled platinum cells. Now shielded from her opponent's view, she let out a thoughtful hum and pressed a palm against one of the smooth metal walls. A grin carved across her face. Now there was an idea...


"Come on out, Toph." Avan's voice scraped like gravel, as he dropped down to the floor. He focused a glare on the cell. "You're not the only one who can feel vibrations. I know you're in there."

The grating sound of creaking metal erupted from within the cell, as a hole ruptured through one side of it. Toph emerged into view, clad from head to toe in metal armor, only the bottoms of her feet exposed. The armor was of crude construction, but looked resilient enough to serve as functional protection. Protection, among other attributes.

Toph leaped into the air. High, high into the air. She landed behind Avan and kicked a flat slab of stone at him. He caught it in his hands and sent it back at her. By the time he delivered the counter, Toph had already raced behind him again. He spun around and shot out the earthen glove from his left hand. Still too slow. Toph lunged away, racing across the ground with far greater agility than someone of her age should have. Far more agility than any normal person should have at all.

"I see," Avan muttered, as he leaped backward to create distance between them. "You're bending the metal around your own body to enhance your physical capabilities. Innovative, but stupid. Have you forgotten who you're fighting?" He reached forward and clenched his fingers into a fist. "I'll crush you inside of that metal suit!"

Nothing happened. Avan's eye twitched. Not enough time to change his stance. Not enough time to defend. Toph closed the distance in an instant and swung her metallic fist at his chin. The uppercut snapped his head backwards and lifted him off his feet. Platinum. How could he have forgotten that these cells were made of platinum? How could someone even bend platinum? Questions faded in a muddied swirl of darkness. No answers. No resolution. He crashed to the ground, and consciousness vanished.


Once Avan had toppled unmoving to the ground, Toph allowed the metal to fall from her body. An exhausted huff surged from her throat. Metalbending herself or not, she'd put an undue amount of strain on her body. Not an easy thing to endure at her age. Already, sharp stabs of pain had begun flaring in her lower back. Still, she managed a grin, chuckling at her fallen opponent.

"I believe that's a KO," she said, with a single stomp of her foot. The ground beneath her feet surged, lifting her towards the chamber ceiling.


"What's the matter?" Yula said, twisting her lips into a devilish smirk. Her eyes glinted behind the round frames of her spectacles. "You seem surprised to see me. I'm guessing you weren't expecting me to be in Ba Sing Se?"

Azula scowled, igniting a ball of fire in both hands. "No, but now that you are, we can finish things between us."

"Azula, no," Zuko said, holding his arm in front of her. "That's not a good idea." His eyes shifted from Yula to the Dai Li behind her. Had Yula been alone, perhaps they might have a chance. With this much opposition, attacking now would be borderline suicidal.

Yula raised an eyebrow at the blue flames. "Oh, I see you have your bending back. I'll bet it's lost quite a bit of juice since the last time you had it, though." She smirked, and raised a hand. Towering flames erupted above her fingers, dwarfing Azula's tenfold. "That power is mine now, remember?"

Azula's scowl deepened. "As if I could forget..."

"Your dragon isn't looking so well," Yula said, giving a cursory glance to Druk. The dragon growled in pain, still stunned from the lightning. "That's not good, is it? Considering he was your ride out of here."

"Screw yourself, Yula." Anraq spat his words with bile, hatred twisting across his face.

Yula offered a mocking pout, holding a hand over her chest. "That hurts, Anraq, really."

"I don't care," he retorted, coiling a ring of water around himself. "I'm done playing nice with you. Whatever person you used to be is long gone. We've given you numerous chances to stop what you're doing, but you keep throwing it back in our faces. At this point, there's only one way to deal with you."

"And I've given you chances to do this the easy way," Yula sighed, "but you insist on defying me. In the end, it doesn't matter. You are all traitors and enemies of my empire, and there's only one way to deal with your kind."

Yula cast her arm forward. A heated bead of flame charged in the center of her palm with a raging screech, building to crescendo. Fire belched forth in a cataclysmic wave, consuming nearly the entirety of the palace courtyard. Her arm held steady, generating a continual stream of fire. Hellish, destructive fire no one person could withstand. Fire that would obliterate her targets into nothing more than piles of ash.

Or at least should have. When she lowered her arm, allowing the flames to extinguish, all four of her targets remained standing, unharmed. Azula, Izumi, and Zuko stood together with their arms held forward, while Anraq huddled behind them with his hands raised. Lingering vestiges of melted ice dripped from the three master firebenders, an additional layer of protection as they had worked together to bend away the flames enough to survive the assault. Even so, their clothes were singed, blackened with soot.

"Oh, so you're going to make this difficult," she sighed, with a roll of her eyes. A fireball sprang to life in her palm. "If you insist."

The four of them scattered when she threw the fireball. Flames hit the ground with a roaring explosion, expelling a heated wave in all directions. Anraq shielded himself with a bubble of water, as the blast lifted him from his feet. He hit the ground hard, landing awkwardly on his shoulder. Azula flipped herself over a earth wall one of the Dai Li had left behind during the previous battle. She huddled behind it with her arms held over her head, while scorching air surged above her.

Izumi tripped over her own exhaustion and fell to her knees. Zuko pulled her away and shielded her with his own body. Explosive heat seared across his backside. He stumbled to his own knees, a pained groan coughing from his throat. Yula's focus snapped to the stumbling pair out in the open. She pressed her hands together, igniting a larger fireball in her palms. With a wicked smirk, she lifted the flames above her head, prepared to strike.

Not quick enough. Izumi spun away from her father and jabbed a quick shot of fire through the air. Flames streaked across the courtyard, erupting against the Dragon Empress' chest. Yula staggered off balance. The fireball in her grasp warped out of control and exploded, lifting a surprised shriek from her throat as the blast launched her clean off her feet. She thudded against the ground, sliding to a stop with smoke billowing from her singed clothing.

Yula scrambled upright, a hateful, seething glare burning across her faze. "Kill them!"

The Dai Li sprang into action, skating forward across the ground to surround their targets. Earth ruptured skyward in their path, catapulting each of them into the air with surprised yells. While they were still in midair, a barrage of rocky projectiles surged upward, battering into them like a storm of tiny earthen missiles. By the time they hit the ground, only half of them were still moving.

Toph tunneled out of the ground moments later, hunched forward with her hands clasped behind her back. She smirked, glancing blankly back at the others. "You see? Like children." With a simple shift of her feet, she erected a thick earthen wall between them and Yula. "That dragon ready to take off, yet? We don't really have a lot of time here."

Druk responded with a roaring bellow, pushing himself upright. His wings spread wide, ready to leave.

"Everyone on," Zuko said, assisting his daughter onto Druk's back. When Izumi was in place, she slumped against the dragon and closed her eyes.

Anraq sat upright with a groan, clutching his shoulder. "Damn, pretty sure that's dislocated." Fighting through the pain, he clambered back to his feet and hurried towards the dragon.

Azula made her way towards them, giving one last look at the earth wall between themselves and Yula. "We should be ending this..."

"Now isn't the time," Zuko said. "We need to get to safety while we still can. We can stop Yula another—"

Earth ruptured, heated gouts of flame erupting clean through the wall with explosive force. Zuko lifted off his feet, spinning wildly to the ground. Druk stumbled, still weakened from his previous injury, while Izumi desperately clutched his scales to hang on. She lost her grip, crashing with a dull grunt against the ground. The remainder of Toph's wall crumbled into smoldering rubble, as flames extinguished. Yula leaped into the air, propelling herself forward atop a pair of scorching fire jets from her palms.

"We're not finished here!" she shrieked, landing in front of the group.

Toph immediately shifted her stance to attack. Yula was ready for her. The Dragon Empress swept her foot across the ground, expelling out a carpet of fire. Flames scorched over Toph's feet. She screamed and fell backwards, unable to stand. Unable to see, as bright red burns pulsed across her feet. No feet, no seismic sense. Without that, she truly was blind.

"You're first, you old hag!" Yula snapped a quick punch at the downed earthbender. Flames erupted from her knuckles, roaring forth to engulf the old woman.

Azula raced forward and lunged between them, hands pressed together. With a deep, controlled breath, she parted her hands and swept her arms outward. Yula's flames parted. Not much. So powerful, these flames. So destructive. A power that had once been hers. A power she now fought against. Too much power. Even as she forced the flames to extinguish against her touch, Azula fell backwards with a scream, clutching her hands against her chest. Her palms pulsed and tingled, as though a thousand needles were piercing into her flesh. She attempted to move her fingers, but the slightest twitch sent jolts of pain shooting up her arms.

"Azula!" Anraq ran forward, putting himself between her and Yula. One of his arms hung limp at his side, but still he managed to bend a ring of water around himself. He narrowed a spiteful glare at the Dragon Empress. "Get back. Now."

"Or what?" Yula pointed two fingers at him. A small bolt of fire sprang from her fingertips and exploded against his water. Liquid evaporated into steam. A second shot of fire exploded at his feet, launching him with a thud next to Toph and Azula. "Pitiful."

"You..." Azula struggled upright, a seething growl of hatred rumbling in her throat. She made it as far as her knees, hands shuddering in pain. "Monster..."

"That's funny, coming from you," Yula said, with a roll of her eyes. "After all, you're the one who taught me, remember?"

"I'm going to end you."

"No, you won't." Yula smirked, shifting her stance to attack. Electricity crackled at her fingertips. "Goodbye, Azula."

With a fierce thrust of her fingers, Yula fired a sizzling blast of lightning. Azula stumbled, attempted to raise her hands to catch it. Zuzu had taught her how. This was why. For this moment. She could do it. Try as she might, her burned hands refused to respond, remaining limp in front of her. She could only watch, as the flash of blue filled her vision.

A silhouette lunged in front of her. The silhouette of an old man. Zuzu. He caught the lightning in his arms, guided it through his body, and released it back out his fingertips. Unlike the last time he'd caught her lightning, this time he released it straight back from where it came. Yula's eyes widened in horror. She stumbled backwards, lunged away. Lightning ripped apart the ground at her feet, sending her violently spinning into the rubble of the earthen wall behind her. When the lightning left his body, Zuko heaved a pained groan and slumped to his knees. Wisps of smoke billowed from his clothing. He held a hand to his chest and stifled another groan, jaw clenched.

Azula scrambled forward, racing to her brother's side. "Zuzu, are you okay?"

"Fine," he uttered, forcing himself back to his feet. His gaze shifted towards Yula and the Dai Li agents, all of whom had begun to stir. "We need to go. Everybody on Druk, now."

The red dragon bellowed as he crawled over to them, setting himself low so they could get on. Anraq carried Toph, ignoring the pain in his own shoulder to get her on first, while Zuko once again assisted Izumi into place. Anraq crawled up to join them, and pulled Azula into the spot in front of him. When they were in place, Druk lowered his head so Zuko could climb on.

"Almost there," Zuko said, grabbing at one of the dragon's horns. "Just a little more and we're—"

His words cut into a scream, eyes flaring wide as a flash of lightning seared into his backside. He toppled to his knees, staggering with a moment of desperation to hold himself upright. The moment vanished, eyes rolling into the back of his head. With a wavering breath of air, he collapsed against the ground.

"Zuzu!" Azula lurched in her seat, a bubble of panic bursting in her throat. That panic boiled over when Izumi's voice joined hers, shrieking in horror. Not Zuzu. Dear spirits, not Zuzu!

Yula stumbled atop her feet, a second bolt of lightning already charging at her fingertips. "I said we're not finished!"

Druk turned his head towards her and unleashed an angry howl. Searing waves of dragon's fire raged forth, forcing Yula to run for cover. That momentary lapse was all the dragon needed. With another furious roar, Druk grabbed Zuko and took to the skies, leaving the palace and all of Ba Sing Se swiftly behind.

"What happened?" Toph questioned, her blind eyes widening with unknowing distress. "What's going on? What's wrong with Zuko?"

"It's nothing," Anraq urged, swallowing a lump in his throat. "It's just... Don't worry. Everything will be fine. Right?"

He received no answer.