I think it should be noted that I make this as I go along. I don't plan, I don't brainstorm, I start typing and figure out what my character would do in this situation. I'm not self promoting (at all. Nope, sooo not me) but I'm letting you know why there will be possible inconsistencies and writers block could be devastating to this fic. I'm debating whether to re-write the Prologue, but I don't know if I have enough self-discipline to do so. Honestly, I practically vomited when I read over the Prologue. Chapter One was apparently the longest thing I've ever written, so… Yay! Also, this has apparently been viewed like 200 times, with, like, 5 reviews. That makes me sad. I'm not begging for reviews, but, you know, if you ever feel like it… wink So, without further stalling, I present Chapter Two: Second Chance

Chapter Two: Second Chance

Toph took a moment to register what her mother had told her. The Avatar… No, Aang… Back? But… But how? Toph was overwhelmed. Her mother continued to talk, as if oblivious to her daughter's pain. Was it pain? Toph couldn't tell if she was ecstatic or depressed, possibly a little of both. But one thing she could tell was that she needed to go visit the South Pole. She took off running, not because she was afraid but, because she needed everything to be the same, everything needed to be rushing. Thoughts, body, everything. She couldn't think. Movemovefastfastfast. Her mind was so overwhelmed, she wasn't even looking where she was going. She just ran, and ran. She ran as fast as she could… straight into a marble wall. She was still rushing as she blacked out.

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"Where… Where am I? What happened?"

"Toph, Toph can you hear me?"

"Well, what do you think, dumbass? Would I answer your question if I couldn't hear you? Where are we?"

"Medical wing of the E.K.S. Kyoshi." Kyoshi… Who was Kyoshi? An… An Avatar. Avatar… Like… Aang…

"Where's Aang?"

"Toph, you're here because you fainted."

"Okay, first, I don't faint. And what the hell does that have to do with Aang?"

"Because you fainted when I told you Aang is dead."

"Wha-?"

"Toph, how much do you remember?"

"Not much, I can't really remember anything."

"Nothing?"

"Not really."

"I suppose it's for the best."

"Oh, and why is that?"

"Toph…"

"Yes?"

"What do you remember about Aang?"

"I… remember I… loved him."

"What?"

"I… love…"

"Toph? Toph!"

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"Toph, sweetie, are you okay?" There were fuzzy movements around Toph. Her thoughts were still racing as she hovered between the dream world and the real world.

"Ilovedaang!" Toph was grounded by her stupidity. Her massive embarrassment and what it could mean ripped any pain, any disorientation from her mind. Funny, how a petty little thing like that could grind her mind to a halt.

"What was that, Toph?"

"Uh... What was what?" Toph decided to play it dumb for now.

"Nothing." Score!

"How long was I out?"

"Only an hour. You have a lump as large as your head. It would be wise to get some rest for a while." Of course, the mention of her injury only brought forth the pain, causing her eyes to water and forcing her to bite her lip.

"How'd that happen?"

"You were running, and you hit your head on the wall." Sounds like something a kid would do. Why was I running anyway? Something about the South Pole… Toph gasped. "Yes, it hurts, doesn't it?" Aang! Toph leapt off her bed and tore down the hall, panic seizing her. As she stumbled over a carpet, she almost fell down a flight of stairs. Nice Toph, what are you, trying to kill yourself? Take it slow, think this through. We need to get to the South Pole. To get there we need a boat. But first, we need to get to water. Where can we find… That's right! The Sozang! It connects the North and South oceans, that's how I'll get there!

Good, Toph, now about that boat…

Oh, just shut up. I'm sure dad's got a boat. We'll just go get it, a crew, and we'll be off. Let's see… Do we have a crew?

Your father does.

Oh yeah. With that and a newfound sanity, Toph calmly exited the mansion, feeling proud about her self-control. She strutted down the streets, suppressing any thoughts about Aang, Katara, anything. She whistled as she strode down the lawn, nodded to the guards, and walked down the street, smiling.

Eventually, Toph found the port on the Sozang River, and felt around. She was amazed at how many people there were, more than she'd seen ever since the incident in the Fire Natio- No, don't think about that. Think happy, think happy. "Excuse me, ma'am?" Toph, not knowing she was being spoken to, continued her mental battle to suppress her emotions. "Miss Toph!" Toph was jerked back to reality at the sound of her name.

"Huh?"

"Miss Toph, my name is Roraak, I was sent by Miss Katara to deliver a message to your parents."

"Oh, yes. Wait, how did you know it was me?"

"We were given a portrait of you in case we came across you in our travels."

"Well, I haven't seen Katara in ten years, so that's a picture of when I was twelve."

"Ma'am, with all due respect, you're probably the only black-haired blind girl in this entire city. You stand out quite a bit." Toph smiled at the man's ingenuity, however she smacked him all she same.

"So, what do you want?"

"Ma'am, if you would like, we could take you back with us. Our boat certainly isn't the Kyoshi, but it suffices." Toph didn't need to even think it over.

"Let's go."

"All aboard!"

The captain began to walk away, but Toph stopped him. "Roraak!"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Let me put my hand on your shoulder, it's hard to know where you are." At this, Roraak blushed, but did as she said, and led her onto the boat. He led her to her room, which happened to be the storage compartment, but she didn't mind. She lay on the cot provided, and she had a hard time falling asleep, memories slowly began to trickle into her mind. She lay on the cot, eyes wide open, with visions dancing around in her head. She lay for hours before fatigue took over.

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Toph was in a swamp. It was a horrible feeling. The ground was too wet and soggy for her to see, she constantly tripped over roots, soaking her thoroughly. She was lost… and scared. Suddenly, out of the silence. A voice spoke, whispering right into her ear.

"Why didn't you protect me, Toph?"

"Aang?"

"You could've done something... You could've been there for me."

"I'm sorry! I didn't think! I felt I needed to fight them, it's not my fault!"

"You know what I was thinking, Toph? Right before I died? I was thinking of you. I was thinking about how you kissed me, about what it meant. You distracted me, Toph. Ozai didn't kill me, you did."

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"NOOOO! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!"

"Toph, Toph, what's the matter?"

"PLEASE, NO, STOP!"

"Toph!"

"DON'T HURT ME, I'M SORRY, PLEASE!"

"Get some ropes!"

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT! I DIDN'T MEAN TO, PLEASE DON'T!"

"Tie down her arms and legs, I don't want her to hurt herself!"

"AANG! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!"

"Toph! Toph! It's okay, Toph! Nobody's going to hurt you!"

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT, PLEASE, JUST GO AWAY!"

"Knock her out!"

"What, sir?"

"Do it!"

"Aye Aye."

For the rest of the trip, Toph was in terrible condition. She never fully returned to consciousness. She muttered in her sleep, sure, but never spoke to anyone outside her head. She vomited constantly, and probably would've died if there hadn't been a waterbender on board. The boat arrived in the small Water Tribe city three days after departure from the mainland, and Toph was immediately taken to the infirmary on her cot by the haggard-looking boatmen. The small welcoming party, consisting of Sokka, Katara, Kanna, Pakku and a small boy looked on in concern as she was rushed past them by the crew. Katara pulled the captain aside and brought him to her house for questioning. When they emerged an hour later, she looked grave.

It took a week for Toph to recover. She'd been slipping in and out of consciousness for a few days, but finally she had full control of her body. She took her time in sitting up, wary of pain, and when she had sat up fully, she had a strange thought. She heard nothing. No breathing, talking or footsteps. It was perfectly quiet. "Hello?" Nothing. She rotated her head around, trying to pick up the slightest sounds. Silence. She sighed as she began to lay down, thinking she was dreaming. She lay on her bed for a while, eyes staring unseeingly. She twitched at a pain in her eye. Great, now I have a migraine too. She turned onto her stomach and pressed her face into her pillow, relieving some of the pain. Suddenly, a voice. No, now two voices. And footsteps! She strained her ears to catch the conversation.

"All I'm saying is that if she doesn't wake up soon we may need to put her in a long term ward."

"And I'm saying she isn't to be touched. The vomiting's stopped and she's been flipping in and out of consciousness for days. She's getting better."

"Be that as it may, if she doesn't snap out of it by tomorrow, I'm sending her to long term care." The door slammed open, causing warning sirens to go off in Toph's head. She felt as if her head had split open.

"Oooow!"

"Toph, you're awake!"

"Ooow!"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah... Yeah,I think so. Just a migraine, don't worry."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Katara smiled. Toph was almost exactly like she remembered.

"Miss Toph?" Toph's head snapped to the direction of the voice.

"Yeah?"

"You… have a visitor."

"Whatever."

"Alright, Kyroh, you can come in now."

"Hi, Toph!"

Who is that?"Hello. Mind telling me your name?"

"I'm… Kyroh."

"And why did you want to visit me, Kyroh?" The response wasn't beside her bed, as was the last one, but right next to her ear, in a barely audible whisper.

"Because you loved me."

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Right, well, I think that's enough. Sorry it's shorter than last time word-wise, but it did reach 8 ½ pages. So… Yay for dialogue! You may have noticed the whole Aang/swamp thing was intense. It was supposed to be. I had the scene from Mystic River in mind, the one where the guy found out his daughter was dead. Talk about intense. No, I didn't see that either, just previews. And, I've finally given up, and I'm gonna tell you. The Nicole Kidman movie I got my inspiration from was Birth. I haven't seen it, but my mom has it at her crib, yo. You may have noticed I changed the summary again. It's because I've changed the focus from her debating with herself on whether it was right to love a nine year old boy. What is it now? I dunno. We'll see where I'm going at the end of this scene. I'm still deciding on whether Aang will be the controlling mind (I have no reasons why that would happen, maybe because he died so young) or if it's a new child with moments where Aang has control. If you're reviewing, vote for which you'd prefer.

Please review.