I Do Not Own Avatar or Miraculous.
Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Runaway. Part Two.
Toph was getting impatient. Adrien hadn't returned from his quest to rid of all of the wanted posters. She got worried when Marinette came along asking about her boyfriend. Toph explained that Adrien had gone to town, not giving many details as to why he'd gone. She left to find him. Toph bumped into Katara several times that evening. Each time Toph could practically feel the glare Katara gave her, even though Toph couldn't properly see it. She really wished her ability to sense things through earth bending was a little more useful in figuring out were a person's pupil was. She had been told often that she would try and look into someone's eyes and wind up looking just below where the pupil and iris were, make her stare less threatening and more unfocused. Sadly. She still couldn't tell, no matter how much she wished it. Her earth bending simply wouldn't let her tell the difference between things of color.
When Marinette had learned Toph could not read due to Toph's inability to tell the difference between the colors on a page, the Parisian girl had come up with an idea based on something a blind French man named Louis Braille had come up with. It was like reading with her fingers. Marinette, who couldn't remember the actual system, had gotten Adrien's help with creating a version for Toph to use. Toph had been more than ecstatic to learn how to 'read'. Of course, Toph didn't outwardly show her excitement because she didn't want people to think her inability to read actually bothered her. Toph smiled slightly at the memory of how everyone at the camp hand eagerly agreed to learn how to read Toph's new langue as well so that the could read anything she wrote with her earth bending.
"What are you grinning at?" Katara snapped. Toph nearly jumped, not realizing Katara was behind her due to her thoughts distracting her. She'd felt Katara nearby, but had lost track of the still angry waterbender when she stopped really focusing on her bending. Toph, however, did not jump. She just smirked up at Katara, hoping she was looking in the right place.
"None of your business, Sugar Queen." She replied snidely, knowing full well it would anger the water bender. She felt Katara crossed her arms.
"Fine! You know what!? I don't care! If you are going to continue to be your usual snarky and insensitive self, why should I?"
"Well, I'm glad you don't care!" Toph replied, "No one wants your opinion right now so why don't you zip it and let me enjoy the sunset in peace."
"Toph the sun isn't even setting right now." Katara fummed, "You can't even see the sun! What the heck are you doing over her lounging around when there is work to be done back at camp? With Adrien and Marinette in town, I need help and no one actually here is doing anything thanks to your terrible influence."
"Oh no, Sugar Queen. They are just as sick as I am of you nagging everyone."
"Well maybe I wouldn't have to nag if you did your work without being asked and didn't swindle and steal from every village we come across."
"I've only done that once, at this village. And it isn't stealing, it is scamming cheaters and thieves. Remind me again who stole a waterbending scroll from a bunch of pirates before I joined? You have no right to call me out on this so back off." She sensed Katara clutching her fists in anger. Her heart rate steadily rising with the argument. It was because Katara knew Toph was right that time.
"That was different. I needed to learn waterbending and that was my only way then." Toph scoffed.
"Oh, excuse me, miss. I got to learn from a human master and can read scrolls to learn that sort of thing. Why didn't you just learn from the moon like your ancestors? I had to learn from badger moles and I don't complain. I actually liked learning from them."
"You can't even see the moon!"
"So? I know it's there. I know water benders used to learn from it. So shut up about how stealing a waterbending scroll was the only way of learning when it wasn't and just admit you had no real reason to take it other than you wanted to make things easier on yourself." Toph replied.
"Ugh! Just! Just! Why on earth are you over here!?" Katara yelled.
"Because I'm waiting for Adrien to come back." Toph snapped without thinking.
"Oh, after you stole his hat and made him have to hide the entire day so you could keep up your scams?"
"Who told you about that?"
"My secret. Now, come on. Adrien will be back soon enough."
"I'm not going anywhere." Toph growled, "I'm waiting for him."
"Ugh, why aren't you listening to me?"
"Because you don't listen to me!" Toph growled. Katara fell silent at that. Toph folded her hands on her knees and turned her head away from Katara, "You don't listen like he did. He said he'd be right back. He should be back by now. I'm worried." She felt Katara inhale and try to collect herself.
"When." She said, "When did he leave?"
"Three hours ago. He should have been back by now. He's really fast." Toph replied, "I felt Marinette come back to camp a few minutes ago. She came back alone. That means she didn't find him. I… I think he got caught… and I think it's my fault because I was too busy trying to prove you wrong… to prove that I don't need a second mom nagging me about what I do all the time… to stop doing stupid stuff. I think Mari's freaking out. She's pacing now. She hasn't gone to Aang or Sokka yet, but I think she's considering it. Maybe she's talking to Tikki? I don't know. Tikki flies so I can't sense her." Toph's voice was getting smaller and smaller as she narrated Marinette's actions. Katara sighed.
"Look, Toph. If Adrien really is in trouble, we need to find him."
"... I can't. I can't go into town." Toph mumbled, "Someone will recognize me as the Runaway."
"The Runaway?" Katara echoed, her heart rate rising slightly, "Toph, what did you do?"
"The townspeople figured out I was running around pulling scams and put reward signs up for me. Adrien went to town to take them down and destroy them like what he did in Ba Sing Se when the Dai Li put up postors for him. He should have been able to do that and come back to camp without any trouble… but if not even Marinette could find him in town… then that means he must've been caught." Toph admitted. Katara's heart rate spiked.
"Toph! How could you be so reckless!? Everyone in the Fire Nation knows there is only one person in the world with blonde hair like that. They are going to know he's Cat Noir and the Fire Nation Army will either kill or imprison him!"
"I already said that I knew I messed up, okay?!" Toph snapped, "So stop rubbing it in." Katara took a shaky breath.
"Look, I have a plan." Katara said, "It's risky, but it could work. They want you, right?"
"Yeah…"
"And they don't know you can metal bend because everyone thinks it's impossible, right?"
"Where are you going with this?" Toph asked.
"What if, I turned you in for the reward and you busted out with metal bending and searched the local prison for Adrien?" Toph perked up.
"...That… that could actually work!" Toph said in surprise, "And we get money out of it… should we… tell the others our idea?"
"I'll tell Marinette, so at least someone knows what's going on. She'll tell the others."
"Okay, take this with you. I don't want the guards to take it from me when I'm arrested, just throw it with the rest of my junk." Toph said, removing her meteorite bracelet. Katara took it with a nod.
"I'll be right back." She promised. Katara raced off to tell Marinette. Toph felt the two girls stand as if talking. Marinette's pacing stopped, but her heart rate get higher from fear as Katara explained the problem. Toph could tell the moment Katara began to explain Toph and Katara's plan because Marinette perked up with hope and began nodding ergerly before wrapping Katara in a hug.
Katara returned to Toph.
"Toph… there may be another slight problem." Katara said, "The reason Mari's been so frantic to find Adrien is because a few hours ago, Tikki sensed his Miraculous deactivate. She didn't want anyone to panic, so she checked around town and camp to make sure he didn't just accidently lose his ring or drop it. When she couldn't find him or the ring, she had begun to freak out and assume he'd been captured and someone had figured out how their powers worked. When we find Adrien, we have to find that ring too. Do… do you think you can sense or earth bend it towards you if we get close to it?"
"Maybe… I'm not exactly sure if it is made from earth or stone or even metal. It's a substance entirely unknown to me, but I think I could bend it back to us if I got close." Toph decided, "How the heck did the Fire Nation figure it? They've been so careful."
"...not entirely." Katara said carefully, "Marinette admitted to me that Adrien had told Zuko about the ring before he had met us." Toph jerked her head up.
"What?! I mean, I know Zuko is evil but Adrien said-"
"Adrien was wrong. Zuko betrayed the Miraculous holders too." Katara snapped, "They know the truth now and there's no fixing it." Toph wanted to object. She didn't know Zuko all that well, but she did know his uncle. His uncle had insisted Zuko was a good person multiple times. Adrien had vouched for that, claiming that Zuko had only joined the Fire Nation's side because it was all he knew and Azula had confused him. Both of the people who actually knew Zuko honestly still thought he was a good guy. Toph didn't think Zuko would betray Adrien so easily. Then again, he had betrayed his uncle by siding with Azula, but she still didn't think the Fire Bender had it in him. Of course, Katara, the world's number one anti-Zuko advocate probably wouldn't see it that way so Toph didn't disagree for once.
"It doesn't matter how they know about the ring. Lets just get it and Adrien back." Toph said quickly, "And fast."
Katara stopped her ranting and agreed with Toph. The two made their way into the town and staged the arrest. Katara 'reported' the Runaway at town square for the reward and Toph faked capture as the guards responded instantly. They made it real dramatic, with Katara making remarks like 'you left me no choice' and Toph yelling 'how could you betray me like this?' It was beautifully done and Toph was impressed they had worked together enough to pull it off. Toph left herself be taken away as Katara went with the Fire Nation soldiers to collect the reward and hopefully located where Adrien's ring was.
Then things went terribly wrong. When they reached the prison, she felt herself being thrown in a cell. Inside the cell, all the vibrations were weird and the ground was soft, like wood. She put her hands up against the bars and found that the bars felt the same and didn't contain any metal or remotely earth-like properties.
"Hey!" She yelled, "What kind of cell is this!?" She couldn't make out the guard very well, due to the wood not actually being earth and its vibrations not really giving her a clear picture of what was around her, but she could have sworn she felt the guard smirk at her.
"A wooden one." She said proudly. All at once Toph wanted to launch out of the cell and pummel the smirk off her face. She went to tell her that, but after a while of silence, Toph realized the guard had left. She scowled. So the escape part of their plan was officially ruined, but at least Katara was out there and Toph could still try and locate were Adrien was. She started to say his name when she heard a voice call out to her from across where she stood.
"Toph?" Adrien said from where he was.
"Adrien? You're okay!"
"Pfft. I'm fine, but they know who I am and think I'm capable of actually cataclysming the prison right now so I can't really move my hands…" Adrien said, "So… yeah, that's annoying. Man, I hate being locked up."
"Wait. They don't know you don't have your ring?"
"...how'd you know I'm not wearing it? You can't see me." Adrien said in surprise.
"Marinette told us Tikki couldn't sense Plagg. We thought the guards took it from you because Zuko told the Fire Nation about Miraculouses."
"Zuko wouldn't do that." Adrien said quickly, "He didn't tell the world my secret. He told one guy… one very mute guy. The guy who's been trying to kill us for the past few days and seems intent on not letting anyone know his mission to kill Aang or about our little secrets. He told the guards I didn't come alone by writing on paper. He said I brought Ladybug with me and that he wanted to use me to draw her out. He then wrote down that he wanted them all to go inside at a certain time so he could deal with Ladybug. It's actually a trap for Aang. We need to get out of here and warn him."
"Okay, one. We really need to address your inability to get angry at Zuko. It's becoming a real problem now. Two… what?! That guy is trying to kill Aang?"
"Yeah, I'm not sure how he knew Aang was alive though." Adrien admitted, "That's not important right now. What are you doing here?"
"Well, I was going to rescue you, but apparently they knew I could metal bend, so that's off the table. We'll just need to wait for Katara to figure out where your ring is and bail us out."
"Woah, wait. You're working with Katara? As in, not fighting?"
"Well, we started out arguing, but then… well… I told her about the wanted posters and how you went to take them down but never came back and she just… sorta… came up with a good plan for getting you… but now that I'm in here… a wooden prison…" She shook her head, "The old plan is obviously scrapped."
"But you weren't fighting?" He insisted.
"No." Toph said, "I wasn't. But you were in danger and arguing at that point seemed pointless. I doubt it's gonna last with how she is. When we get out of this she's gonna lecture me again about scamming people and say I told you so, just like she always does, because Katara always has to be right."
"Toph… you do realise that Katara just cares about you, right?" Adrien said softly, "And probably was afraid you'd get hurt? Before we went to town earlier, I talked to Katara. She was genuinely worried someone would get hurt and was pretty upset that you didn't think of her as a fun person. Katara knows she has trouble with just having fun like normal kids, but unlike a lot of kids, she has never been given that chance. She had to look out of her village and family all her childhood and there was no room for her to just 'have fun.' You have to remember, there's been a war going on for a hundred years and a lot of kids had to grow up really fast. Katara is one of those kids, and in her old village, she was used to watching out for and taking care of the other and younger kids. She was their mother figure if they didn't have one and Sokka, being the only male older than 12 left in his town was a father figure. I know you don't like being told what to do but… it is their job to keep you safe."
"I can keep myself safe. I'm no wimp."
"No, you're not a wimp. But like Katara and Sokka, you are still just a kid and you do make mistakes. Bad things happen. Accidents. Toph, don't let your parents mistake in overprotecting you keep you from letting anyone else watch over you. We are a Team. We all protect each other. That means you need to listen to and trust Katara just as much as she needs to listen to and trust you." Toph went silent. Adrien was right, as always. Why the heck did he and Marinette have to be so good at giving advice? It was like they'd been giving it for years… which based on their description on how Hawkmoth's Akumas worked, they had probably had to give advise a lot to prevent any possible disasters. Toph went to respond to his advice when she heard the prison door open and the sound of someone else entering. She pressed her hands to the floor, disparate to get any good vibrations to make out who was approaching. She quickly realised she was actually hearing two sets of feet.
"Hello?" Toph asked aloud.
"Toph?" She heard Katara say.
"Katara?" Both Adrien and Toph asked. Toph heard the cell open and she went to run out to Katara but a firm hand stopped her.
"Jeesh. This kid really is blind!" An unfamiliar voice laughed. Toph stiffened when she realised Katara had arrived with guards. The sound of the cell slamming shut again and Katara landing next to her filled her ears.
"Company." The female guard from earlier unnecessarily announced.
"...and there goes the backup plan." Adrien grumbled.
"Shush, Cat Noir. Your sarcastic remarks got old hours ago." The guard scolded.
"That wounds me deeply." Adrien pouted. The guards snorted at that before leaving again. Katara, next to Toph, sat up.
"Adrien, you're okay." She breathed.
"Katara, you can actually see. As you can see, I am trapped inside a metal box with my wrists tied to the wall so I can't cataclysm the prison. Okay is not what I'd call this situation." Adrien said, "Did you figure out where my ring went?" He asked.
"...I mean… did find it." Katara said, "but the assassin had it."
"My gosh, why did I have to be the Miraculous holder of Bad Luck? Can't one thing in my messed up life be easy for once?" Adrien complained.
"Ugh, I knew this would happen. This is why I was against scams Toph, because I knew someone would get in trouble and now here we are."
"I'm sorry Katara, besides, it was your rescue plan that got us all caught. This was a huge risk. One I'm actually surprised you took." Katara sighed.
"... you're right. This was a dumb idea. It's just... it seemed like something you would like. Something that would not only work, but that you'd enjoy doing. I wanted to show you I'm not so motherly. I wanted to show you I can be fun too." Katara admitted, "I can take risks and I can be a rebel, just like you." Toph's heart sank. Adrien and Sokka had been right.
"Katara, you are fun. If nothing else, you are at least fun to argue with." Toph explained quickly. Katara laughed bitterly at the joke before continuing.
"I know you're relationship with your parents is complicated, I shouldn't have said what I did. I'm sorry." Katara said. Toph winced at the argument Katara referred to before hugging her knees tighter.
"...It's okay." She said softly, "I was really mad when you said that because, well, because maybe it's true. I try not to think about out it, but when I left, I probably really hurt them." Toph felt Katara put a gentle had no her shoulder and Toph smiled up at her.
"I'm sorry Toph. I'll try to do better." Katara said.
"Ditto." Toph replied.
"Great, you made up. Now, can someone please tell me how we are escaping? Did anyone here bring water or metal or rocks to chuck at your cell? Because I'm on empty…" Adrien yelled, interrupting the sentimental moment, "We have to save Milady and Aang and get my ring back pronto!" Toph shook her head.
"We have nothing Adrien."
"...are you able to bend metal you can't see?" Adrien questioned.
"Earth maybe. But not metal. Metal bending requires contact so that I can feel the refined earth in it."
"...what about saliva or sweat? I know it's disgusting, but most of the human body is comprised of water. Could you use that?" Adrien asked. Next to Toph Katara perked up.
"What did you just say?"
"...most of the human body is made of water. Like sixty percent of it. It's in our cells and our blood and used for literally everything. It's like the perfect solvent. It's charge is slightly negative, making it able to bond to or be used with pretty much everything making it an essential part of all life. That… and carbon, with four valence electrons it can bond to everything."
"Uh… what?" Toph asked. Adrien just sighed.
"Right. Not that advanced in science here. I keep forgetting. Look. You have water in you. You can make it come out by sweating or spitting a lot and maybe try and use it to cut through the bars. Maybe even try drawing any water left in that wood. It's looks pretty dried out, but there could be some in there. So… try running around or, I dunno, spitting until you collect enough water to get out."
"That is disgusting." Katara said in distaste, "...but it might actually work." Next to Toph, Katara got up and started to run in place. Toph, eventually joined Katara when the water bender realized it was actually working. In a matter of minutes, the girls had collected just enough water to ust out of their cells. Toph went across and metal bent Adrien free. The blond was grateful for being released and went to tease Katara about how she used sweet and spit to escape, which was beyond gross in both Adrien and Katara's eyes. Toph didn't see the problem.
The three hurried out to town square to find a battle with the assassin had already begun. Aang and Sokka were struggling against the assassin's blasts while Marinette from the rooftops we desperately trying to distract the man. Toph realized immediately that Adrien was exposed and went to protect him, but she quickly discovered he didn't need it. He expertly launched himself into the fight as if he was still in possession of his ring, making her wonder why he even needed it so badly.
The assassin, clearly surprised to see Adrien out and about, growled as the boy distracted him from getting to Aang, who was ready to attack at any second. Katara, taking advantage of Adrien's distraction, waterbent at the guy's face and froze him so he couldn't blast at anyone.
"Where's the ring Katara?" Adrien asked quickly, noting that the assassin was preparing to break free.
"His left pocket!" Katara replied. Adrien went for that spot, grabbing the ring out of his pocket, but not before the assassin broke free and grabbed Adrien by his gi.
"Let him go!" Marinette, who'd been watching the entire fight from the rooftops and tactically striking from above, roared. She swung at him, rage in her blue eyes and straight up tackled him with her enhanced strength. He let go of Adrian in surprise. Adrien, in turn yelled 'claws out!' and transformed into Cat Noir, going to assist his partner and defeating the lunatic.
Then, what happen next surprised everyone.
"Mari." Adrien said, looking around the town as Marinette held the man down, "He's done so much damage to this town with his bending. Can your cure fix it? Bending counts as magic, right?"
"...I'm not sure. Help me knock this guy out and we can try it. Lucky charm!" She threw her yo-yo in the air, letting Cat Noir take over. A rock fell into Marinette's hands. Immediately, she ran to the town statute and wrapped her yo-yo around it, turning the statue into a giant slingshot.
"Hold him Adrien!" Adrien obeyed. She launched the rock at the assassin just as he tried to fire at Marinette and the air sparked, nearly destroying everything around him and just narrowly missing Adrien. The man slackened and Adrien let him fall to the ground unconscious.
"Okay, here it goes. Miraculous Ladybug." Marinette threw the rock in the air. Toph wasn't she what happened after, but all the chaos from the fires and the destruction to the homes in that village vanished, leaving an empty, undamaged town square.
"Ha! It worked!" Adrien cheered.
"Excellent, now let's get out of here before that guy wakes up." Marinette agreed.
"What the heck was that!?" Sokka cried, "You have never done that before!"
"Miraculous Cure." Marinette said, as if that explained it all. Toph recalled Marinette mentioning the cure before, but she'd never actually used it, "I'll explain later. Lets go."
Team Avatar evacuated back to the safety of their campsite. Immediately, everyone began to pack to leave, but before Toph did, an idea formed in her head. She bent a stone tablet and put her Toph-Braille markings on it before pulling it aside and giving it to Katara to translate for Toph's mother.
That night, neither Toph nor Katara argued, and Sokka complained to Adrien how his blind person language was reasonable for Hawky vanishing. Adrien just said his father left on his own accord and would meet them for the invasion. The conversation that followed had been hilarious to listen to.