I want to thank SaoirseParisa for reviewing the previous chapter. The story is finally reaching a resolution point, with Toph now out of the hospital and getting back together with her group. We're also getting closer to the debut of the video and the live performance, so let's see how you guys react to this chapter.

Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko own Avatar.

It was not an exaggeration to say there was still unresolved tension amongst the group. Even as everyone marched into the Gaoling boardroom, they were nervous and afraid. The past meeting did not go well, ending in a shouting match between Toph and Katara, along with Suki and several others walking out. Making it worse was Toph being hospitalized for exhaustion, with her parents considering pulling the plug on the project. So to get everyone back on the same page after these obstacles, it would not be an easy task.

That said, there was Toph, sitting at the head of the table again. She did not look worse for wear, but everyone knew the scarring was not just physical. With so much emotional scarring that had to be healed, it was best to remedy that now. As everyone took their usual positions, they could not help but avoid eye contact with everyone around.

Once no more vibrations came through the floorboards and onto Toph's sandaled feet, the blind earth bender called their meeting to order. Moistening her lips, she clasped and unclasped her hands several times while struggling to find the right words. "First off, thanks for visiting me at the hospital," Toph stammered, trying to keep her tone audible and stable, "I feel a lot better now, and I'm grateful for your support when I was there."

The person in the furthest seat to Toph's left spoke first. "I think supporting each other should go without saying," Aang replied, his eyes tilting between the centre of the table and Toph. The air bender tried his best to reconcile the differences at the shouting match last time, and he was adamant about taking this mediation role again. "We've been friends for such a long time that having each other's backs should be a given. But that said, I did speak with Sweetie and the others, and I see why they're frustrated about where this project is going."

"And I think that's why Aang wanted us to stop performing it live," Kori chimed in from Toph's immediate left, "We know you take the project seriously, but you should also take your health seriously. Had we known about all the side effects on your health, we would have asked you to put the brakes on. You have to let us take some of the duties for this project."

Toph chuckled darkly. "To be blunt, I didn't even know I was living with all these side effects until I was hospitalized," the earth bender recalled, rubbing a hand on her forehead, "So when I heard it directly from Hana and Yihua's mother, it felt like an intervention of sorts."

"Do you still feel someone should work with you consistently to deal with your health?" Teo asked from the other end of the table, "When Haru and I saw you onto the ground, we were scared to death. I don't want you to lead this project again while sacrificing your health."

Toph snickered again. "A great earth bender like me shouldn't have to deal with that, but I get your concern and all," she retorted, doing her usual finger wag, "But that said, I do think we have to discuss the future direction of this project. Even without the stay at the hospital, I believe we have to get some stuff out in the open. Twinkle Toes talked about experimenting a bit more, and if something does come out of it that lessens the workload, then maybe we should do that."

"But are we determining what direction we take this experimentation?" Haru added, raising a hand from his corner of the boardroom table, "Because at the end of the day, this is our project. Toph has put this thing on her shoulders, and even if we're all shouldering it with her, we should keep it our own without taking it too far off track."

"We already have two resources that we all know and trust," Suki pointed out, flipping through her notes again, "The deaf dance troupe is still an option, and so is Zuko's extended family. I know Toph wasn't really informed with some of those decisions, but I'm pretty sure those are still on the table. And even though some people disagree, I still say we call Chong."

Toph winced at the mention of the final name. Taking a deep breath, she tried to settle her bubbling anger and kept everything even-keeled. "Part of the reason I didn't look into those sources as much as I should have is because of the pressure I put on myself," she described, "I know I asked you guys to look into them, but I was so concerned about my role that I didn't incorporate them into the project as much as I should have. My failure to produce did take the stock down, and I totally own up for my wrong decisions."

"And as the ideas guy of the group, I'm going to help you fix some of them, even though I feel you guys conscripted me to do that more than anything else," Sokka stated. That comment alone got him a sharp elbowing from Suki, but it didn't stop Sokka from expressing his views. "I think we can still ask the deaf dance troupe to do our song, both in the video and in the live show. And with Ikem being our stage director, the end product should work well."

Toph nodded her head, realizing the points being made. It was true that she did try to tackle too many tasks, leading to her exhaustion. She was a great earth bender, and nobody here would ever doubt that. But even a great earth bender got here because others gave her a hand, regardless of what assistance was provided. Besides, being hospitalized was a good reminder that not everyone with disabilities was as lucky as her. She at least had earth bending to help her with her everyday life, but non-benders had no such luxury. Plus, some people had issues that even bending could not help, and it was time Toph recognized that as well.

Turning back to her left, Toph realized the person who disagreed with her the most was still silent. "I want to hear Sugar Queen's view on this, especially after what happened at our last meeting," Toph proposed, her tone neither patronizing nor surrendering, "Since I've heard from everyone else, I want her point of view on what we have to do going forward."

Katara moistened her lips as well, realizing how her argument was part of the reason the group nearly fell apart. "I also have to own up to what I did last time. I was acting like a maniac and tried to confront rather than converse," the water bender explained, "I tried to call out the problem but ended up calling out the person, and I definitely should have done better."

"But Sugar Queen, you hit the nail on the head," Toph responded, gesturing her hands in Katara's direction, "Both our actions affected the group, so we both have to own up to what we did. I definitely have to do better, and I'll make sure of that so this disagreement won't happen again. So I'm glad the crap has now all been thrown out, but we still have a project to finish."

"I genuinely think you're a capable leader, Toph," Katara emphasized, reaching her arm in Toph's direction but not touching the earth bender, "You always call things out for what they are, and you're absolutely unapologetic about it. I believe you were overwhelmed by the pressure and ended up saying the wrong things. But more importantly, I believe you can show those leadership skills again. So whatever decision you make with our suggestions, we're with you."

Katara could feel a squeeze of her hand from her left. She didn't even have to turn to know it was Aang, and the squeeze was his way of showing his approval. "I'll do Sweetie one better by saying that I not only believe in Toph's leadership, but I also believe in our entire team," the air bender declared, "We can finish this project and deliver a high quality product. Right now, we have our leader back, and I'm certain we can see this through to the end."

Even without her sight, Toph could tell every set of eyes was now on her. She now had the duty to get it right, especially with avoiding the mistakes from last time. No longer could she do this for herself, but for all those who had faith in her. But most importantly, she could truly confirm that she was not in this alone, and her friends were with her every step of the way.

It was a much different atmosphere with Toph as she sat in the front row of the theatre. Instead of her taking the lead, Toph gladly handed it off to Ikem, who happily agreed to help Toph out. As the performers took the stage, Ikem had Noriko explain the performance to Toph, relieving Sokka of the role. Much as Toph enjoyed having Sokka brainstorm with her, sometimes his commentary was just too much. "Besides, I highly doubt Sokka can explain anything if he's part of the show on stage," Noriko stated with a chuckle to Toph.

Toph shrugged, but still kept her spirits up. Even though she could not see what was on stage, she had some idea what was going on. As agreed upon in their previous meeting, they did reach back out to the deaf dance troupe, whose members were also very eager to get involved. Even though Toph would never say it aloud, but she was a bit apologetic for ignoring them while their own group suffered so much discord. "I know Sesi brought her students, and I think Lien and Kaori are working with Zuko right now, right?" Toph asked.

"You got it, and both Lien and Kaori are coaching Sokka, Mai, and my nephew," Noriko described, turning her head to the far right of the stage. There were talks that one of Lien or Kaori might join them in the music video, but nothing has been decided yet. "I'm really glad to see this come together, and it's clear a lot of progress was made since Ikem saw you last time."

"Actually, Ikem didn't see me at all. The group went to him on Zuko's recommendation, and I wasn't informed about that at any given time," Toph interjected, lifting a finger at Noriko, "That said, after I mended fences with them, I realize this is necessary. If Ikem can give some pointers on how to make this great, then he can definitely take the reins for a while."

But the mention of Zuko being a nephew brought another thought to Toph's mind. She spoke to Iroh a while ago about some ideas for the project, and the older fire bender might have some people who could contribute. She recalled Iroh pet-sitting for an autistic writer who was working on a novel about cats. That was a good opportunity to add mental disabilities to the mix, along with physical disabilities and learning disabilities. Toph made a mental note to talk to Zuko and Iroh about this later, but for now she wanted to focus on the show.

"Places, everybody," Ikem called from the front. That was Toph's cue to lean forward slightly while pressing her sandaled feet to the ground. This would be even harder than when Sokka explained the moves, because the stage was elevated. Toph's seat was at a level below the stage, meaning she had to work extra hard just to feel the vibrations. "Music and action!"

Kori's piano keys echoed through the stage, putting Toph right into the rhythm again. Ikem insisted that Kori took the stage instead of using the demo version, as to make it as realistic as possible. Toph could understand why, given they had to do a live version later on. Toph could hear the muffled steps of the dancers on stage, but she could not tell their identities. "Noriko, who is dancing now and what moves are they doing?" she asked Zuko's aunt.

"They're starting with the chorus part, and it's your group dancing," Noriko responded. Toph tried to divide her attention between the vibrations from the floor and Noriko's much clearer and less unorthodox description. Her words gave Toph a much clearer picture of what moves were made, unlike Sokka's over-the-top but imaginative version. "After the chorus is done, the deaf dance troupe will take over while your group goes into the background."

Indeed, when Kori was finished with the chorus, a different set of vibrations took over the stage. Toph could still hear Haru and Teo, but they weren't moving around as much. Toph would expect herself be up there as well, given the chorus was her role. But Ikem insisted that Toph stayed put for now, just so she had a better idea of what the performance was really like. "And at the second chorus, will the sign language group be going on?" Toph queried.

"You got it, and from the way it looks, it's Lien joining Sokka, Mai, and Zuko on stage," Noriko reported, craning her head to view the people gathering on the side of the stage, "It's just about timing it right and getting the right people to appear in the right places."

Indeed, another set of footsteps vibrated along the floor, suggesting to Toph that another group of people took the stage. Noriko's commentary confirmed that it was Lien and the three members of Toph's group that Noriko mentioned earlier. Toph figured that they would do the sign language, and then it was off to the big finale. "So what do we have in store for the end?"

As if on cue, the piano music halted before the supposed ending of the song. Ikem trotted up to Toph and proposed his vision of the ending. "I say we take out a couple bleachers of at least three levels and line up every disabled person there," he suggested, "So during the bridge of the song, when it's just music and no lyrics, those folks will make their way onto the stage. And then, when the final chorus starts, they will all be backing vocals to you."

Toph tapped her chin thoughtfully. Their own group had eight people, Zuko's group had three, and both Sneers and the Duke could also join in. That gave them thirteen, which could probably fill up most of the first row. "How many people in the dance troupe wants to be in the final chorus?" Toph inquired, "And where do we fit people outside of the group?"

"I guess that'll depend on how many people you're inviting," Ikem responded. He waved at the people on stage, signaling that they could take a break. On the other hand, he specifically requested that Kori, Haru, and Teo made their way down. The paraplegic had to roll himself down a special ramp at the side of the stage, but the rest just slid off and trotted up to the front row where Toph was. "Who are you inviting to take part?" Ikem asked the group.

To no one's surprise, Kori named Sneers while Haru and Teo named the Duke. They also brought up the dance group, but no one seemed to know how many members would participate in the ending. "We should have asked Aang and the others before getting into this," Haru stated, craning his neck back towards the stage, "They should have a better idea than us on this."

"And Duke said he might get some of his school friends to get involved as well," Teo chimed in, rubbing his hands on the rims of his wheels, "We didn't really follow up with him either, so we should probably do that in the next few days."

Both Haru and Teo glanced at Toph, wondering if she would erupt again. Fortunately, Toph took it very calmly, merely inhaling and exhaling a deep breath while keeping her arms crossed. "If you can both follow up with those parts ASAP, then we can keep this moving," the blind earth bender instructed, her voice neither frustrated nor combative, "The dance troupe is still here, and we can consult with them after our little meeting here."

"And I better follow up with Sneers, just to see what ideas he has," Kori pointed out, pulling out her cellphone. She scrolled through her text messages, all the while proposing new ideas for the video. "Do you actually want to have everyone at the beach for the music video, or is this just for the live version? If we want it in the music video, then we have to get everybody together for a mass rehearsal, not to mention dragging all that equipment onto the sand."

Instead of shuddering at the thought of sand bending, Toph had a different thought in mind. She wasn't just the leader of this project, but also the leader of a metal bending club. While metal bending and sand bending were two different techniques, there was no way she would let her lily livers get out of doing this. "I think I have some people who can help," she replied, uncrossing her arms and rubbing her hands together.

Toph leaned back against the back of her chair while kicking her sandaled feet up on a table at the Jasmine Dragon. There was one person she really wanted to speak to before going forward with their music video. It was also the one person who irritated her most during this project. To be on the safe side, she asked Iroh to help her out, in case she lost it on the visitor.

Toph rolled the teacup in her fingers a few times, even taking a small sip, all the while thinking about what she expected might happen. Suki was the one who suggested they brought the visitor back, and Toph assigned her the task of bringing him here. Between when Suki first announced her idea at their meeting, to when Toph witnessed the rehearsal on stage with Ikem and Noriko, and up to now at the Jasmine Dragon, Toph heard the updated recordings from Kori and team several times. While the sound was more complete already, she did agree that some more work could be added. That was where she hoped this visitor would help more than hinder.

"Toph, how are you doing?" an older male voice called. Toph tilted her head towards the direction of the voice, immediately pressing her feet onto the ground. Sensing from the limited vibrations, she could tell it was Iroh coming her way. "Do you still want me to be present when you talk to Chong, or are you okay speaking with him alone?" the older fire bender asked.

Toph blew at the strands of hair dangling down to her forehead. It was true that Chong was not her favourite person around, but if she wanted this project to succeed then she had to change her attitude. If she wanted to own her wrong decision to sideline Chong, then the least she could do was be civil with him. Still, her patience could only last so long with the way Chong spoke, and Toph was better off having Iroh give her some guidance.

Turning to Iroh, Toph gave a small nod while a soft smile spread across her face. "Yeah, I hope you can stick around for a while," she responded, "I can start the discussion with Chong, but if things get out of hand, then maybe try to give me a hint."

As if right on cue, Suki came into the Jasmine Dragon with an older man in tow. Chong was his usual chill self, strolling in like he didn't have a care in the world. Toph could even hear the musician's monotone voice mumble about Suki being too stressed out, and that she should let it all loose. Taking another drink, Toph tried to calm herself down before Chong took a seat. "Hey, it's the tiny but powerful earth bending lady again," he greeted Toph with his odd manner.

Toph smirked. While she would never get used to Chong's weird mannerisms, it's good to know he always recognized her skills. "Yes, I'm a powerful earth bender, but next time, just Toph will do," the blind earth bender stated. She tilted her head towards Suki and gave her a nod of gratitude. "Thanks for bringing him here, because I can't stand his torture like you do."

"Not a problem, Toph," Suki replied, taking a seat to Chong's left. Toph was to Chong's right, while Iroh took a seat to Toph's right. Taking a teapot, Suki poured both her and Chong a cup of tea each. "Anyway, Chong has agreed to give us some pointers. I've already given him the latest demo versions and he does have some ideas. I did make him promise not to go too overboard, so hopefully we can at least come to a consensus."

Chong lifted the teacup to his mouth in almost slow motion, swishing the liquid several times before swallowing. "Well, I'll do what I can, but different sounds to your song can't just be made on the spot. I told the tiny but powerful earth bending lady that changing the purpose of your goals will change how you feel about the goals," Chong described, placing his cup back on the table, "So how does she feel about the goals since we last met?"

Toph inhaled deeply, trying to stay calm while processing Chong's odd way of asking that question. Realizing that Iroh's to her right, Toph focused on her experiences in the past few days. "Yes, I think my goals have changed since we last met," Toph responded to Chong's question almost verbatim, "I agree that I was too worried about the end product and not enough about getting to the end. Thankfully, I met with the group again and we talked about this. I have a much better idea of what we should do, and it's just about how we do it."

"Oh, that's great," Chong replied, a soft smile creeping across his face, "Sometimes, you worry so much about having a roadmap to get to where you want to go. But really, you don't have to use a map, because all you have to use is love."

Before Toph's hospitalization, she would have threatened to send a boulder at Chong for that deluded remark. But now that she had time to think, Toph realized Chong did have a point. Toph did this project because of her love for disabled people. Yes, she did want a challenge where she would continue to push boundaries and change people's views. But at the end of the day, this project was for the disabled, and Toph would never forget that.

Turning back to Chong, Toph pointed out her dual and dueling reasons for accepting this project. "I think it also depends on the kind of love you're talking about," the blind earth bender pointed out, "I do love the disabled, and I do love a challenge. It's weird that you came up with such a good point, especially when I can't understand you half the time."

Suki and Iroh both chuckled. "Anyway, let's focus on the task at hand," Suki suggested, pulling out her own notebook, "Chong he has some ideas for both new sounds and the actual video. Kori's piano should still be the main sound, meaning we won't change what we already have. But he has some ideas on where more sounds can be added."

Suki and Chong soon proposed various instruments be used throughout the song. Given Chong was a guitarist, a stringed strumming instrument was suggested for the rap verses. While Toph would not mind just a simple bass guitar, Chong had something a bit more unusual. They also proposed drums at the chorus, but not with an orthodox drum set. Iroh also commented, given he knew some people in the Fire Nation who were quite musical. Thankfully, Suki brought her laptop to let Toph hear sample sounds, which made life easier for Toph.

"So just to end it off, what suggestions do you have for the visuals?" Toph queried, drumming her hands on the table, "We have a music video that Ikem has kindly offered to help direct, and we also have the live performance. How do you and your group want to contribute, and if we do make you appear, what suggestions do you have?"

Chong rubbed his head melodramatically. "You know, Trustfully in Love might just do that," the guitarist stated, "We're playing this for love, even if the love is too strong for us to handle. Besides, did you know that we also have some ties with the disabled communities? My band's drummer, Moku, has a relative who is deaf. This is why we know how some deaf people can only hear certain sounds, and we can adjust our instruments to cater to that."

While Suki and Toph marveled at that fact, Iroh chimed in with his own proposal. "I also have a couple of autistic people in mind for the performance," the older fire bender pointed out, "I am friends with a writer who has a cat that I often pet-sit for. In fact, most of you already met him before. He has another autistic friend who is a water bender, and they both agreed to appear in the video and the live performance. I think our representation of disabilities is more successful and comprehensive than we originally envisioned, and all we need now is a large enough stage."

Suki glanced at Toph, and even though Toph didn't glance back, Suki knew Toph had the same thoughts she did. This was why they brought Ikem aboard, as he would have ideas to assist. Not to mention that Ikem's daughter was best friends with a girl whose father had an expertise in carpentry and construction. Designing a proper stage and props would be no problem at all. Suki made a couple more scribbles in her notes, underlined the final point, and the video could begin.

"I still don't think this is the best idea," Teo remarked, watching the group navigate a grand piano off the back of a truck. It was the day of the video shoot and they decided to set up the equipment bright and early. One of the ideas the group agreed on was to bring a grand piano into the sand and have Kori play it there. That meant borrowing the piano at the community centre, even if it was for one day. "Even with all you benders, how can we transport this safely?"

Indeed, six earth benders all used the concrete and asphalt on the parking lot pavement to slowly inch the piano down to the sand. Thankfully, there was a ramp for Teo to go down first, which allowed the paraplegic to avoid being crushed by a runaway piano. Meanwhile, Haru and Kori took the lead, changing the slope of the ramp to make sure the piano did not go out of control. From the back, Toph and two of her metal bending club members manipulated the concrete to still keep the piano moving. "I think we're making good progress," Haru commented, glancing at the sand just before them, "Ho-Tun, do you still have the piano bench?"

"Yes, I still have it," the heavyset metal bender stated, even lifting the bench a bit to show the group at the front, "Earth bending it down this ramp is tough and all, but won't it be tougher when we have to sand bend the piano into place on the beach?"

With one final push, the metal benders in the back managed to send the piano onto the sand. "Yes, and that's a totally different bending style," Toph described, changing her stance slightly, "Unlike concrete or metal, sand has a tendency of flowing due to its fine particles. You almost have to understand water benders and their skills in order to practice it."

"Great, just what we need," the Dark One murmured, stepping up to the piano with the rest of the group. He took a look at Teo, who kept his wheelchair on the asphalt and not the sand. "You realize I only moderately tolerate this, given we'll have to take the piano back?"

Toph shook her head. "You lily livers love to whine, don't you?" she stated with a huff. Stomping the ground, the sand slowly pushed the piano forward, the particles flowing like a wave. "Can we have someone help Teo onto the sand when the piano is in place? Don't forget that his wheelchair will actually get stuck if he tries to roll it onto the beach."

"Can't we just bend out a piece of concrete or asphalt for his wheelchair to remain on, and send him out onto the sand that way?" Penga inquired, her attention split between Teo and the beach, "Or do we want him entirely onto the sand and get rid of the asphalt altogether?"

Kori craned her neck at the direction of the truck. While Chong and his group didn't want to appear in the video, Ikem and Noriko were here to help direct. "I guess it'll depend on how Ikem sees the asphalt, if it'll add to the performance or if it'll hinder," she responded.

After a few more minutes, the piano was finally in place. Ho-Tun placed the bench down in front of the keys, allowing Kori to adjust it to her preferred height. While the three metal benders focused on transporting Teo onto the sand, Ikem approached the group. "Teo only has a couple of verses, but they're both major parts," the goateed stage director explained, "So to avoid having his wheelchair get stuck, we'll film the parts of him and Haru first. We'll also make sure he doesn't move around a lot, which should avoid the problems."

"But isn't there a scene where they have to rap in front of a bonfire?" Kori pointed out, calling to Ikem from behind her piano, "And then you want the deaf dance troupe to do an interpretive dance around them, using some moves that Chong recommended. What will we do with that scene? And how will that match up when you bring on the rain?"

Ikem snapped his fingers. "Excellent point, and that's why we'll film the fire parts as close as possible," he elaborated, waving at the rest of the group. Kori and Haru could see Zuko and several others lug firewood onto the sand, which they presumed would be used to feed the fire. "We'll actually film this video somewhat out of order, with Toph's solo parts to be filmed at the end of the day. I want to take advantage of the sunset as Toph dives headfirst into the ocean."

Before more could be said, a young girl's voice echoed from the beach. Everyone turned their heads to see Kiyi, Zuko's maternal cousin and Ikem's daughter, excitedly run up to where the bonfire would be created. "So do I get to light the fire for everyone?" Kiyi asked.

Noriko, who trotted up behind her daughter, nodded her head. "In due time, and knowing how much your fire bending has improved, I'm sure you'll do great," the mother complimented.

Zuko, who was spreading the firewood around, flashed one of his rare smiles. "It's great because I'm basically teaching Kiyi everything Uncle Iroh taught me," the scarred fire bender stated, lining the wood into a circular base, "To see that skill being passed on, I'm so proud."

"And Kiyi, while we're filming the video, nothing stops you from your playdate," Sneers added, stacking some firewood vertically from Zuko's base, "I know Hana and Yihua are coming with their parents, so you can hang out with your best friend, okay?"

While Zuko and Sneers tended to the bonfire's structure, Ikem went to Chong's musical team and worked with the video. It thrilled Toph's group to bits when Lao agreed to sponsor the music video production team from Chong's music label. Working with Ikem, decided to do the first lines of the song right at the piano, using various angles and heights to fit both Kori and Toph in the scene. "We can do a quick rehearsal first and adjust accordingly," Ikem suggested, gesturing at Kori and Toph, "If you want, you two can feel it out and see what works best."

Before long, Kori and Toph got into their positions, hearing the music for their song being played. Kori followed the music through the keys on her piano, while Toph sang out the chorus and put her best dramatic skills to good use. In fact, Toph was so good at her acting with her singing, Ikem barely had to give Toph any pointers. They did a couple of takes, mainly to adjust the angles and heights of the shots. Otherwise, they were done in less than an hour. "Now we can turn to Haru and Teo for the first rap verse," he stated, rubbing his hands together.

Luckily for Haru and Teo, the team did not light the bonfire during this first part. The decision was to light a small fire for the second chorus where Aang, Katara, Suki, and Ty Lee would do their dance. The fire would get bigger when Haru and Teo did the second rap verse, and then they would bring in the rain for the sign language scene. "Do we want to get the dancers rehearsing while we do this scene?" Teo asked, craning his neck to see where the others were.

"I think you should worry more about your position than the dancers," Haru teased his best friend, pointing at the wheelchair's wheels, "If you move too much, you'll be stuck here."

Everyone around Teo chuckled, but Ikem reassured the paraplegic that he would be fine. "We'll just have the camera do a few circles around you," the stage director pointed out, "You won't have to move, but we'll have to time your lyrics directly to when the camera catches your face instead of your back. It may take a few attempts, but I think we can get it right."

Toph and Kori took a few steps back, leaning against the piano which was now out of the shot. They still had to return to the piano later today, when the final chorus was to be filmed. It wasn't even noon and progress was going well, making Toph feel all the more optimistic.

"Come on, Kiyi! Are you coming to the water?" a loud voice echoed throughout the beach, calling to a certain fire bending girl. The voice came from a certain tri-racial air bender who was already at the water's edge, even though she was not in a swimsuit. The scene with Haru and Teo was finished, and Ikem called time for lunch. It meant he could take his eyes away from the set and towards his daughter, who now had her playdate with her best friend.

"Use your indoor voice, Hana. I know we're outdoors, but you still don't have to yell that way," the mother of the tri-racial air bender called. Said mother was the same nurse who took care of Toph when she was hospitalized, and she was here with her husband and her other daughter. "And don't jump into the water, or your clothes will get wet."

Everybody around her chuckled, but then turned their attention to the younger daughter. The light-haired girl stayed relatively close to her parents, not running off after Kiyi and Hana but keeping her eye on them. "Is Yihua not interested in playing with them?" Noriko asked, unwrapping another sandwich, "Most of the time, she waits a while before jumping in to play."

Hana and Yihua's father, a bearded man of Water Tribe and United Earth States descent, smiled and shook his head. "Yihua is totally different than her sister because she tends to observe before jumping in," he explained, taking a sip from his juice box, "She has a tendency of hanging back and watching everything before deciding to participate or back out."

"That's not the only different thing about Yihua," Sneer remarked, his eyes boring into the top part of Yihua's head. Unlike all the beachgoers today, Yihua was the only person here with light-coloured hair. "I babysat both Hana and Yihua enough to recognize them, but with her hair colour, it'll be very hard to not recognize Yihua even in a crowd."

"And you have my husband's parents to thank for that, or at least his father," Hana and Yihua's mother declared, taking a napkin and wiping some food from Yihua's mouth, "My father-in-law can trace his ancestry to the tribes from the Si Wong Desert. They are an ethnic group that have seen light-coloured hair before. I guess that's just a recessive gene that my husband carried, and somehow that gene made its way to Yihua."

"But how does Yihua's hair get this light, to the point where it's almost golden?" Kori asked, gesturing a hand towards the toddler, "I've read some books about the Si Wong tribes and I did see the hair colours there. Most of them have some dark hair mixed with light, but I don't see that in Yihua at all. Do you think it may get darker when she gets older?"

The older air bender shrugged. "It's possible her hair will darken when she gets older, but it depends on how much sunlight she is exposed to," she described, "Hair colour is affected by how much sunlight you receive. Hair has melanin in it, which can break down in sunlight. I did notice Yihua's hair being a bit darker in winter, so maybe that will continue as she gets older."

Just then, Aang and the rest of his dance team trotted up to the group. "Hey, we're going to start our rehearsals for our dance. If you have a chance, will you come take a look?" he asked Ikem, who nodded in return. While he waited for Ikem to clean up, Aang glanced at the coast, where Hana and Kiyi seemed to be doing bending moves without using their elements. "How are Hana and Yihua doing with their air bending training?"

"I've taught Hana the basic techniques, and she'll keep working on those for at least the next year or two. Yihua is only two-and-a-half, which means we should be able to determine her bending type soon," the mother responded, tilting her eyes between her daughter and Aang, "For a seven-year-old, Hana is doing something no air bender I know is doing. I somehow see her using water bending and even earth bending moves in her air bending. None of us have taught her that, so I wonder where she picked it up."

Katara also narrowed her eyes, focusing in on Hana's movement. Even without air coming out of her hands, Hana clearly had moves that resembled the pushing and pulling of waves. If Kiyi sent a fire blast at Hana, Katara was sure Hana not only could deflect, but send it back at Kiyi. Even when she and Aang practiced their own elements in their free time, she had only seen Aang do that a limited number of times. Yet Aang was a mature adult with his tattoos while Hana was only seven years old. What would it mean if Hana got her tattoos?

"Hana, Kiyi, time to come back!" Ikem shouted, waving at the two girls. Luckily, they both paid attention at the right time. As the girls hurried their way across the sand and back to their parents, Ikem turned to Katara and asked, "Do you think you will teach Hana how to incorporate water bending skills in her air bending, even though Hana can't control water?"

Katara nodded. "And we can have one of the earth benders show Hana some of their skills," the water bender suggested, "I think Kori or Toph should do it. Hana knows Kori well because Sneers is Hana's babysitter, and Hana gets along surprisingly well with Toph."

Just then, Kiyi ran into Ikem's arms. "Daddy, can I light the bonfire when you start filming?" she asked, her golden eyes twinkling. That got an enthusiastic cheer from Hana, who really wanted to see her friend bend the biggest fire possible. Knowing Kiyi also improved her fire bending skills, maybe a bending challenge between the two girls was not out of the question.

Ikem hugged his daughter before taking her hand. He led Kiyi to the bonfire, all the while Noriko and Hana's entire family followed. "Let's see a quick rehearsal of the dance, along with how we'll set up our cameras first," Ikem proposed, "It's my understanding that a deaf dance troupe will do this, and then replaced by Aang and friends dancing around Haru and Teo."

Hearing Ikem's words, Toph marched over with Sesi, who led the dance troupe in question. "We're ready whenever you are," Toph declared. Even though she was not part of this scene, she had one other big scene in the end. "Sesi will get the dancers in place, and I'll leave the rest to her. I'm so glad she freed up her time just to coordinate this with her group."

"Think nothing of it, Toph," Sesi reassured the earth bender. Turning to Ikem, she quickly elaborated on her expectations on the music. "I liked some of the new sounds Chong added. I didn't think they were too weird, and the dancers performed better because of them. It may be due to Chong including instruments the dancers can hear."

Toph nodded while keeping her arms crossed over her chest. Even though she didn't say it, Toph was happy that Chong made his changes. She never realized that, despite his oddities, Chong had a better grasp of disabilities than she originally envisioned. Toph was aware that the deaf dance group could hear certain sounds, but didn't consider that Chong's music could create those sounds. Toph had to admit that she pre-judged Chong, and that the next time they met up, she would give his shoulder a good slugging.

Sesi soon gave the signal and the dance troupe gathered around the bonfire. Kiyi bounced on her feet, itching to light it up. Meanwhile, Toph went to Teo, whose wheelchair was still on the small slab of asphalt that they bent from the sidewalk. This was the only thing stopping his wheelchair from being stuck in the sand. They would have to bend the asphalt into place with Teo on it, and then try to keep the camera away from his wheels. Ikem did a fairly decent job with that, as seen in the playback, but this might get complicated later on.

"Get in your places, everybody!" Ikem called. Sesi immediately translated that to the dancers with sign language. That was Toph's signal to press her feet into the sand, trying to feel the vibrations and picture the dance. Before long, the music began and the dancers were off.

"Let's put the fire out slightly while we set up the bleachers, please," Ikem called, waving Toph's metal bending friends forward. For most of the early afternoon, the group had good progress in filming the dance sequences around the fire. They also broke out the flying machine from Sokka's high school days. "And where are the rest of our backing vocals?" Ikem asked.

"Some of them are right here," Sneers called out. Indeed, following Sneers was the Duke, who brought members of his school music club to the performance. "We'll represent learning disabilities and speech impediments, and some club members have their own representations."

As Ikem went to speak with them, the metal bleachers were unloaded from the truck. Penga, Ho Tun, and the Dark One all used metal bending to hold those pieces in the air, all the while slowly navigating down the ramp and onto the beach. They still had to piece the bleachers together before the background singers could stand on them. They could not put the pieces too close to the fire, as there were other wheelchair bound people like Teo parking themselves between the fire and the bleachers. It only put more pressure on them to complete the work, lest Toph punished them should they fail to deliver!

When the bleacher pieces were all shipped onto the beach, Toph immediately went to assist with the assembling. Even without metal bending, Haru and Kori also helped, using their limited knowledge of sand bending to put them into place. While that was being done, Teo spoke to Lien about her students participating in this part of the song. Lien assured Teo that they were all present, after taking the morning off, and ready to take Ikem's instructions on their positions.

"Folks, may I have your attention please?" an older voice called. Everyone glanced to the direction of the voice, and they could see Iroh marching forward. "I brought a couple of friends of my own who want to contribute. They both represent mental health, particularly autism. They belong to the same autistic support group, and some of their friends from there will join as well."

Standing to Iroh's right was a young man with dark brown hair and holding a cat in his arms. "I think we know this gentleman more from his cat than anything else," Iroh described, pointing to the feline in question, "But yes, Goldblaze is making an appearance in this video, as his owner indicated he wants Goldblaze to appear with him. His novel on cats is going well, and I believe a sequel may be on the way. Will you like to update us on it?"

Goldblaze's owner nodded. Despite his autism, the young man spoke confidently and faced the crowd without averting eye contact too much. "I have the second novel already planned out, and it's just about putting the pieces together," Goldblaze's owner explained, "I couldn't have done it without all the people supporting me, including my mother and my siblings. And since my brother and his fiancée are having a baby, I'm about to be an uncle soon too!"

That got a small round of applause from everyone, which made Goldblaze's owner blush and glancing at the sand. "I'm sure your nephew can have a playdate with Yihua then, given how similar they are in age," Iroh suggested, tilting his head in the direction of a light-haired air bender. Turning to his left, he introduced a young woman wearing blue but surprisingly sporting green eyes. "This is Yuri, who is also autistic and also does a bit of writing. The support group that these two both attend includes a writing club, although Yuri isn't a novelist yet."

Like Goldblaze's owner, Yuri tried to keep her eyes on the crowd, but didn't have as much confidence as the former. "I'm doing a full-time job not related to writing, but I do write online," Yuri stated softly, "I recently finished my longest online story at eighty-eight chapters. It was a work more than five years in progress, and I'm really happy at how it was received."

"And I'm sure you'll do fine, if you choose to pursue writing either to complement your current career or as your full-time career," Iroh reassured Yuri. Turning back to the bleachers, he gestured at the rest of the autism support group. "This is where you'll be as you take part in the chorus of the song. They will bring the rain during the filming, so you may get a bit wet."

"Yes, but we'll try to avoid directly dumping water on the singers," Ikem pointed out, gesturing to Sokka who was coaching the stage hands on using the airship, with Teo shouting additional instructions. "He has a sprinkler set up at the bottom, and that's where the rain is."

After a few more minutes of adjusting positions on the bleachers and Sokka teaching the stage hand the controls, Ikem had Sokka get into position. "You're in the front row, pretty close to the middle," the director stated, "We should be able to see you just between Toph and Haru."

"And by the way, there's a small camera installed on the airship as well," Sokka added, waving at the machine that now hovered above them, "It's to get the aerial shots of the entire bleachers, including some panoramic shots. I think we should include those in the final cut."

While everybody chattered about how epic the view would be, Ikem called out further instructions. Asking everyone to hold their positions, he signaled to the cameras from both the airship and the ground. Once both rolled, he put on the music for the final sequence, having all the people sing the final chorus. Feeling really inspired, Ikem even took out a smaller handheld video camera and zoomed in on various people, all the while trying to stay out of the bigger shot. They ended up doing a couple more takes, just to adjust the angles. It didn't hurt that Kori's piano playing was just on the right edge of the bleachers, meaning they could do some candid shots of the earth bender. By the time they were done, it was well into the evening.

Toph clapped her hands a few times, showing her appreciation for every participant. "Thank you so much for coming by, and I think you did great," she congratulated everyone. The fact that she didn't say they looked great showed it was genuine with no sarcasm or teasing involved. "I still have a couple more scenes to do, but they're just solo shots. If anyone can stay to take everything down, then my lily livers, or fellow metal benders, will lead the way."

People couldn't help but chuckle at this part. Indeed, Penga, Ho Tun, and the Dark One were already onto the set, escorting everyone off the bleachers so they could take them down. Kori, Haru, and a couple earth bending volunteers decided to focus on the piano. They also had to be mindful of Teo and other wheelchair bound individuals, in fear that their wheelchairs would be stuck in the sand. But there was one person that Toph requested to stay as she went into the final scene. "Sugar Queen, will you go to the water with me?" she asked.

Katara smiled, leading Toph into the water. "This is the scene where you really represent the sea meeting the shore, right?" the water bender pointed out, "You're literally standing at the shoreline and letting the waves batter you. At the same time, you're standing strong and showing resilience, just like a fire in the rain."

"And the sad part is, we're really running out of light," Ikem chimed in, bringing both the larger camera and his handheld one to the shoreline, "It'll be a very challenging but interesting shot with the sun so low to the horizon, something no theatre can reproduce."

Toph nodded. Turning to Katara one last time, she gave the water bender a look of confidence before stepping closer to the waves. Knowing the strong winds sending the water battering against the coastline, Toph could only rely on Katara if anything happened to her now.

And here is my list of inspirations for this chapter:

1.) To no one's surprise, Kelev made another appearance in my story, this time with her entire family. It is also true that Eva (Yihua) has blond hair, which is unusual in the Avatar universe. However, I found out from the Kyoshi novels that in the Si Wong Desert tribes, some members have sandy-coloured hair. We just adjusted it a little bit, claiming it's a recessive gene from Kelev's husband (Yihua's father), who is half water and half earth. Yihua's hair is expected to get darker, because in real life, melanin can be affected by sunlight. It's just a matter of age before Yihua's hair darkens to the point where she doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.

2.) 2 other individuals that I am friends with also made cameos appearances in this story. The Autistic Patriot is back, once again serving as the owner of Goldblaze. It's turned into a bit of a joke/meme now, but Goldblaze is what he represents as a cat, meaning the human form is the owner of his cat form. The other individual is SaoirseParisa, who recently finished an 88-chapter story in the Pokemon fandom. I read it and found it quite intriguing, and I encourage any Pokemon fan to check it out as well.

3.) Teo's wheelchair being stuck in sand is actually a real phenomenon. Because the wheels on a wheelchair are too narrow to travel through sand, someone can be stuck if their wheelchair rolls into sand. There are real wheelchairs that have thicker wheels to allow a paraplegic to travel on sand. However, I chose not to include that hear, as Teo hasn't really gone swimming a lot, and even if he did he would go to the pool instead of the beach. We just worked around it by having Toph and others earth bend asphalt or concrete and transporting Teo from one sandy place to another!

4.) Chong saying Toph should not rely on a roadmap but on love instead is from "the Cave of Two Lovers" where he said the same thing before the group entered the cave. Toph asking her "lily liver" metal benders to help out or face punishment is from "the Rift" where Toph would get them to do various metal bending exercises where if they failed, they would be in pain. Kiyi wanting to fire bend and Zuko claiming he taught her is from "Smoke and Shadow" where Kiyi picked up fire bending and saved everyone all because she observed Zuko practice. And Toph asking Katara to help her with the last and most symbolic scene is from "the Runaway" where she asked Katara to help her with the last task, which is writing a letter to her parents.

One more chapter before the end of this story, so thank you for dropping by and hope you can stick around for the grand finale!