It took a few days to reach Makapu Village but she made good time. Earth Kingdom soldiers patrolled the roads though she managed to hide from them easily enough since she could see them coming long before they saw her. For once she was thankful for her petite size. If they had caught her they might have tried to deter her from going to Makapu Village and it just wasn't worth the hassle fighting them.

On her fourth day of travel, she finally reached Makapu. The scout had been right about the trench which was now halfway around the village. Men, women and children all worked to widen it and make it deeper. Zhao was wearing these people down and in doing so he made them too weak to revolt. His cleverness was only outshone by his cruelty.

Now all she had to do was willingly join the poor saps. With her vision, she could see an armed patrol nearby and they were heading her way so Toph got ready to be captured. She threw her pack into the bushes and picked up a clump of wet mud, smearing it over her clothes and even rubbing it on her face and arms. Now she looked like someone who had been digging for days on end.

As the patrol got close Toph hid away in a bush. When she was sure they would hear her she deliberately snapped a twig. "What was that?" came a gruff voice, "I heard something."

"It came from that bush!" came a second voice, "Go check it out."

"You check it out, I outrank you!"

"Fine," sighed the second man, "You barely do anything as it is," he then grumbled.

"What was that?" his superior shouted at him.

"Nothing sir just happy to help!"

When the soldier got close Toph made a run for it but quickly fell over on purpose. The soldier grabbed her and pulled her to her feet. "A runner," he said with a snarl, "Thought you could escape peasant?"

"Let me go!" Toph shouted, pretending to struggle, "Get off of me!"

"Put her back to work but don't report it to Zhao," the soldier was told by his superior, "Consider yourself lucky little girl. If we catch you running again we'll take you straight to Zhao and he won't be so pleasant!" All things considered, she felt lucky that they weren't taking her to Zhao.

Toph was led to the village and unceremoniously thrown into the trench. Toph rolled down the steep incline but was caught by one of the villagers. "Grab a shovel," she was told by the soldier, "Unless you're a bender, in which case you know what to do." He left and the villager who had caught Toph helped her to her feet.

"Never seen you before, you a traveller?" it was a girl about her age with her hair tied into two long buns though they had started to come undone, "Did they catch you on the road?" The girl was holding a shovel which meant she wasn't an Earthbender.

"Yeah," Toph told her as she rubbed her arm which was sore from the fall, "I came here to see Aunt Wu, what happened?"

"These Fire Nation guys just showed up and took the village," the girl said sadly, "I thought the war was over?"

"So did I," Toph forced a smile at the girl, "I'm Toph, what's your name?"

"Meng," the girl smiled back. She had a missing tooth but Toph decided it just added to her adorable charm. "I used to work with Aunt Wu but their leader locked her away, if we don't dig then he said he'll hurt her,"

"Yeesh what a slave driver, okay I gotcha," Toph said with a nod, "Tell me what I need to do."

Meng turned out to be a blessing for Toph. She was infectiously optimistic which had kept most of the villagers in good spirits since the occupation. She also showed Toph what needed doing and where she might best be able to work. As the day drew to a close the villagers were sent back to their homes. "They don't make us work in the dark," Meng explained, "But we can't go out at night or they'll punish us." Meng pointed to a cage in the centre of town which was currently holding one of the village men.

Meng led Toph to a small home and let herself in. "The family here have been taking care of me since I'm not allowed to use my room at Aunt Wu's place." Meng pushed open the door and encouraged Toph to follow her inside. From what she could feel, it was a spacious home belonging to someone of the lower class.

"Meng, who's this?" Toph heard someone say, a woman.

"This is Toph," Meng pulled Toph to stand in front of the woman, "Toph, this is Su." Toph offered a shy smile. She honestly missed her old confidence when it came to meeting new people. "The Fire Nation soldiers grabbed her on the road, I guess nobody knows what's happened yet."

"I was coming to see Aunt Wu," Toph said with a shrug, "Guess even she didn't see this coming."

"By Kyoshi, you poor thing, that must have been horrible." the woman said with a gasp, "Where are your parents, did they escape the patrols?"

"What?" Toph said stupidly then corrected herself," I-I mean no, I'm on my own," she blushed as she fumbled with her words. "I'm travelling alone b-because I'm an...I'm an...Orphan."

Why was that so hard to say? She realised that she'd never actually called herself an orphan until now. She'd called herself such horrible things in her darkest days but she'd never called herself an orphan. The word made it hit home just how alone she was. The last Beifong. While she owed Katara and Azula so much for taking her in, they were still kids like her. They were like sisters and as wonderful as they were, there was still something missing in her life. She remembered the motherly affection Pama had shown her back in Omashu.

Toph suddenly realised she had stopped speaking. "Sorry, they-uh-they died in the war so I just travel from place to place now." She hated having to lie but as nice as this woman was, Toph still didn't trust her yet. Su believed her lie though. She gave Toph a sympathetic smile and lightly grabbed her shoulders. "Don't worry dear, you can stay with us until this whole ordeal is over," she was assured, "Okay?"

"Thanks," Toph couldn't help blushing, "That's-that's very kind of you." She had wondered what she would do about food and shelter. Begging on the street would've gotten her unwanted attention and stealing was just as bad so she was relieved to have found Meng, who seemed overjoyed at the news and pulled Toph into a tight hug. Just as Toph was starting to go blue, Meng let go.

"Hey, wait a second," Meng suddenly leaned closer and stared Toph right in the eyes, "No way, are you blind!"

"What?" Su turned Toph back around to see. She was starting to get dizzy from all the hugs and being pulled around. "Spirits, why did they make you work?"

"Yeah but it's not a problem," Toph said quickly. It took some convincing but she managed to explain how she could see. Meng was eager to test this.

"Oooooh, so that's why you don't wear shoes," Meng smiled excitedly now. "How many fingers am I holding up?" she said as she held her hand behind her back.

"Six," Toph said with a confident smile, "Two on one hand and four on the other."

"Whoa!" Meng giggled excitedly, "You're so cool!"

"Alright Meng, settle down," Su placed her hands on Meng's shoulders like she was helping to keep the girl from jumping through the ceiling. "Are you hungry, we're about to eat dinner?"

"Thanks, I'm starving," Toph said with a nod.

Su had a husband, Mao, who was an Earthbender. He was just as nice Su and was also incredibly impressed with Toph's unique abilities. "Where you from then kid?" he asked as they ate a thin broth with slivers of meat and vegetables in it. The food was being rationed after all.

"Gaoling originally," she told them, "But lately I've been travelling all over."

"Didn't the Fire Nation take Gaoling too?" Su asked and Toph nodded. "I heard they rounded up the Earthbenders and sent them to this horrible labour camp." Everyone now fixed Toph with an inquisitive stare which she felt keenly even though she was blind. Toph then lifted her fringe, showing the scar she had received when Tau had whipped her.

As much as she hated it when people pitied her, she knew that if she was going to earn the villagers trust then pity might help. "I was one of the lucky few who got out alive but I didn't come out whole," Toph said glumly. It had been months but she still had nightmares and every time they woke her up her scars would be hurting all over again. She then lifted the bottom of her shirt, showing them a red handprint that was over her belly button. Lastly, she held up her hands and spread out her fingers to show them the few that were slightly crooked from the breaks.

Su covered her mouth and Mao seemed to go Pale while Meng looked at Toph with glassy eyes. Showing them her injuries felt awkward. They were a part of her but acknowledging them just made her feel ashamed like she had shown something so intimate she may as well have been sitting naked at the table. Toph lowered her hands and hid them under the table, now blushing. "I know it isn't pretty," she said quietly, "Even when they healed I was still broken inside, I couldn't even Earthbend until not long ago."

The room was deathly silent until Meng spoke. "Man and I thought I had it tough because I don't have a boyfriend," she said glumly.

"I can't believe they'd treat a child so cruelly, your hands and those awful scars, it's just so barbaric," Su had gone pale like her husband and her voice quivered slightly as she spoke, "What's wrong with these people?"

"They're nothing but animals," Mao sounded disgusted though it wasn't a surprise, "Nobody expected the Fire Nation to stick to the peace treaties, we just never thought they'd attack Makapu." Toph wanted to tell them this wasn't the Fire Nation, that these people were renegades, but she couldn't expose her true intentions yet.

First, she needed to make sure these people wouldn't just sell her out...

"Halt!" called a guard on the narrow pass leading into Omashu, "State your business!"

Azula signed irately as she looked at Omashu again. Despite all the time she had spent here during Toph's time relearning control with King Bumi, she still hated this place. In the weeks they spent here Azula had tried to make life better for the Fire Nation nationals who opted to live in Omashu but barely anything had changed.

They had docked at the closest port to Omashu but it was still a long ride to the city. Zuko had forgone the usual methods that a Fire Lord used when travelling on land in favour of Komodo Rhinos so that they could go faster but it had still taken days to reach Omashu. During that time Azula had worried about Toph near constantly though she tried not to show it. It didn't change the fact that she would have been in Makapu for three or four days by now. Was she safe? Had she found somewhere to stay? Azula hated not knowing.

Zuko dismounted his Rhino and approached the guards who had challenged them. "My name is Fire Lord Zuko," he told them, "I've come at the request of King Bumi to explain the attack on Makapu Village."

"Yeah and I'm the Earth King, oh great Fire Lord," the guard said mockingly, "Turn around and go home Ashmaker!" Zuko was about to retort but he was pushed aside by Katara.

"He's telling the truth!" Katara yelled at the guard, "This is the Fire Lord and you will tell King Bumi we're here!"

"And what are you going to do if I don't?" the guard said with a laugh before studying her, "Attack me?" he laughed again and indicated the walled city across the chasm from him. "Try it, see how far you get."

"That's enough Katara," Zuko said to her and moved her aside gently.

"Katara?" the guard said suddenly, "That doesn't sound like a Fire Nation name."

"Maybe that's because I'm not Fire Nation," Katara told him.

"So you're Water Tribe?" Katara nodded to him, "What in Kyoshi's name are you doing with these people?" He looked at Azula and Zuko, as well as the guards who had accompanied them. "You the scarred kids concubine or-"

Azula moved forward quickly and slapped the guard across the cheek. The sound of it echoed through the canyon, leaving everyone stunned to silence. "Sorry, I thought I saw an Ant-Fly on your cheek," she said calmly, shaking her hand which had gone numb.

"Azula what have you done," Zuko said worriedly. The guard stared at the group angrily as he rubbed his throbbing cheek.

"Fine then, if you wanna go to the palace so badly then we'll take you!" the guard lifted a hand and brought it back down quickly. The soldiers behind him began to Earthbend and suddenly the ground shook as the entire procession was encased in earth, holding them still. "We'll take you to the dungeons."

"Nice one Azula," Zuko spat at his sister, "That little stunt just made things worse."

"Hey at least we're being allowed in," Azula said with a charming smile, "You should be thanking me." Zuko rolled his eyes at her. Suddenly he heard a panicked scream to his side and looked over at Katara who was struggling harder than anyone to get free.

"Calm down love, I'm here!" Azula sounded panicked. Zuko was speechless, Azula never panicked. One of the Earth Kingdom guards seemed to be worried she would break free so he reinforced the restraints by raising them higher. Katara began to shake even more violently, her eyes wide with fear.

"Azula, what's wrong with her?" Zuko asked his sister who was still trying to calm Katara down, "Why's she acting like this?"

"Think about it dumb dumb," Azula said like it was obvious, "When she was a little girl she spent weeks in a small cell aboard Yon Rha's ship." Zuko knew of Yon Rha. He was the one who brought Katara to the Fire Nation in the first place and he did remember hearing about her journey. "Every since then she's been afraid of small spaces, she can barely stand to be on board a ship let alone stuck the way she is." Azula kept trying to calm Katara but her words weren't getting through. The guard was about to chain her wrists when a yell came from the wall.

"What in Kyoshi's name are you idiots doing!" the wall was bent open and someone was shouting at the men as he crossed the rocky bridge towards them. It was the same Captain who had accompanied them to the Iron Pit and back. "That's Lady Katara and Princess Azula, they're both good friends of King Bumi who, I might add, is expecting them!" He ordered them all released and Azula went to Katara, who was still shivering, while Zuko spoke to the Captain.

He bowed to Zuko. "Apologies for the way my men treated you Fire Lord Zuko," he said politely, "But as you can no doubt tell, we're very wary of the Fire Nation due to the recent attack on Makapu." He did not attempt to blame him outright. Zuko was starting to like this man.

"Things got a bit heated and my sister acted rashly," Zuko admitted to the Captain, "I take full responsibility for her actions but the soldier she hit was still out of line with what he called Katara."

"Apologies again," the Captain said with a bow. "I assure you this will be dealt with but for now I'll escort you to the palace myself, follow me please."

Zuko walked over to Azula as she stroked Katara's arm. It still amazed him how gentle Azula was around Katara. "Are you alright Katara?" he asked her, his usually sharp expression softening.

Katara shook her head and it took her a moment before she could speak. "I still have nightmares about the cell I was in when Yon Rha took me." Zuko thought it was no wonder she was traumatised by it. She had come out of it in a horrible state, weak and malnourished and what was worse was she was just an eight-year-old girl grieving over the death of her mother. He didn't doubt that Toph had gone through worse but Katara wasn't nearly as strong as that girl. "Sorry, I know it's stupid."

"It isn't stupid," Zuko said warmly. He offered her his arm which Katara took with a smile. Azula took Katara's free hand in her own. "Shall we?" Zuko smiled at the girls who smiled back and they set off after the Captain.

As they passed the man who had arrested them he watched in disgust as the Water Tribe girl walked hand in hand with two Fire Nation folk. He spat at her as they walked by, hitting her on the cheek. "Ashmaker whore."

The Captain had also heard his jibe but before he could react, Zuko beat him to it this time. He moved quickly and grabbed the man by his armour before holding him over the edge of the cliff. "What in Agni's name is wrong with you!" he snarled at the man, "How dare you spit on my sister, apologies!"

"Or what?" the man said back, "You'll drop me?" Azula was stood in front of Katara defensively as she wiped the spit from her cheek. "I'd have pissed on her if I had the-" He was cut off when Zuko kneed him the stomach. His armour didn't do much to protect him.

"The next words out of your mouth better be an apology," Zuko said threateningly. The Captain came up behind Zuko and held him by the shoulder.

"Fire Lord Zuko, I promise this will be dealt with internally," the Captain said sternly, "But I must insist you release him, things are already tense enough." With a final glare at the man Zuko pulled the guard back from the ledge and threw him to the ground. Katara ran back to him and held his arm again.

"Thank you," she said to him. Katara had always thought of him as a brother and she knew full well Zuko thought the same of her but neither had called one another brother or sister until now.

Zuko smiled at her. "Anytime." Without another word, he followed the Captain into Omashu. He was starting to hate this city...

When they arrived at the palace Zuko made it clear that he was to do the talking but Azula was still determined to step in if things went sour. They entered King Bumi's throne room and bowed before the old King.

"Greetings young Fire Lord," King Bumi said politely, "I understand you've had a long journey but for now let's get right to business, why has the Fire Nation broken the peace treaties?" Katara and Azula knew that King Bumi wasn't playing games and Zuko picked up on their non-verbal warnings to take him seriously right now.

"King Bumi, we've come to say in person that the Fire Nation did not order this attack," Zuko said right away, "The soldiers who occupied the village are nothing more than renegades who fell out of my control."

"Then you should have informed me!" King Bumi waved his words away like they were nothing, "One might think you would have sent a messenger hawk?"

"We tried but we've long suspected they were being intercepted."

"Excuses, excuses," Bumi stated, "Why not come to me in person sooner or just send someone else?" Zuko visibly twitched at that last statement. Another option he had stupidly overlooked. Azula was worried, it seemed like King Bumi had already made up his mind about the situation. She looked at Zuko but instead of fear, she saw a fiery determination in his eyes. He wasn't going to give up, not yet. Zuko thought about what to say. King Bumi was known for being far more clever than he chose to appear and at this moment Zuko knew he had to say the right thing.

"I'm inexperienced," Zuko finally said, "I was so busy worrying about the future like it was inevitable that I never stopped to consider present solutions." Zuko took a deep breath to steady his nerves. He was a proud person by nature and openly admitting his flaws was difficult. "I can only hope to learn from my mistakes and become a better leader but right now I promise, the Fire Nation still wants peace."

King Bumi studied the young Fire Lord before looking over at Katara. "Lady Katara, you look well, it's a pity you're here under such dire circumstances."

"I am well, thank you, and yes it is unfortunate King Bumi," she replied quickly, hoping she didn't sound nervous.

"You've lived with these people for years, witnessed the fall of Ozai and aided them in establishing a lasting peace," he said to her, "Can you honestly say that this boy isn't plotting to restart the war behind your back?"

Katara almost got mad but she reigned herself in and spoke calmly. "Zuko may as well be my brother, King Bumi," she said with a hand on her heart, "Like me, he's suffered at the hands of the Fire Nation but still chooses to lead them and does so with kindness and sincerity and always to the best of his abilities." Katara looked at Zuko now whose fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles has turned white and then looked back at Bumi. "The Fire Nation did not attack Makapu," her voice was stern and serious. King Bumi rubbed his chin as he contemplated her words. He looked back at Zuko.

"You said the attackers are renegade soldiers?" Zuko nodded to the question, "So who leads them?"

"Zhao," Zuko said simply and King Bumi's brow furrowed deeply at the mention of the name.

"But of course it is. That man is proving to be a real pain in my butt," Bumi said with a nod. "Why is he doing this then?"

"He refuses to let the war end and seeks to turn the world against the Fire Nation to make me fight back," Zuko said angrily now, "He assumed I would hide in my palace and shore up our defences but instead you sued for a peaceful negotiation!"

"Your willingness to talk first instead of fighting is something Zhao couldn't have planned for, he couldn't have known that we know each other," Zuko clenched his fists tightly as he spoke, "I am eternally grateful for your wise and kind actions." He bowed low to Bumi.

King Bumi nodded in understanding. "Very well young Fire Lord, I believe you," he said to him with a wide grin, "You should know that my decision was more of a favour to an old friend, your Uncle Iroh who sent me a message through more...secure...channels."

"You know my Uncle?"

"Just an old Pai Sho buddy," Bumi said with a shrug of his shoulders and he idly began to pick at his ears. The teenagers looked at one another with confusion but King Bumi had already diverted the subject. "So, how do you propose we put a stop to Zhao?"

Zuko knew he wasn't in any position to demand answers from Bumi so he dropped the matter for now. "I already have men stationed in the colonies," Zuko told him, "They'll fight under your orders..."