Toph paused on a low ridge overlooking a small valley. She wiped sweat from her brow and sighed, wishing she and Ren had something to ride on for the rest of their journey. It had been nearly two days since they had decided to use the Serpent's Pass to reach Ba Sing Se and they were still at least three days from even reaching the pass. This meant that they were still at least five days from Ba Sing Se and Toph was beginning to get frustrated with their lack of progress. The more time it took for them to reach the capital, the more time Azula had to sit on the Fire Nation throne and that was something Toph simply couldn't abide. She knew Ren couldn't abide that either, but it was beginning to seem like they would never reach their destination, as though some cosmic force was actually slowing them down. It seemed insane, but Toph had learned from her travels with Aang that all things are possible and even the most unlikely of events can actually occur.
Sighing again, she turned to face Ren who was sitting on a large boulder a few feet behind her. "Well, we'd best get going." Toph said. "We're not doing anyone any good just sitting here."
Ren nodded and got to her feet. "How much longer until we reach the pass?" she asked.
"Another three days, at least." Toph answered, her tone sullen.
"I really wish we had a ride." Ren said. Her tone wasn't whiny, so at least she wasn't complaining, but she did seem desperate to find another way to travel.
"Yeah, so do I." Toph muttered. "But we don't, so there's no sense in wishing for one."
"You never know." Ren said. "Sometimes if you wish hard enough your wishes come true. Maybe if we really concentrate we can get some komodo-rhinos to appear out of thin air or something."
"Now you sound like my friend Sokka." Toph muttered. "He was always coming up with crazy plans and wishing things would work out how he wanted them to, but they rarely did. So, I'm sorry, but I don't think that wishing hard enough is going to help us."
"I still think it's worth a shot." Ren protested, though it was obvious Toph wasn't going to buy into this plan.
"Yeah, well, I don't." Toph said. "Now, let's get going before something stumbles across us and we're forced to fight our way to the pass."
With that, she spun on her heel and set off without another word. Ren hesitated a moment before following Toph, glancing over her shoulder as though she was worried something was following them.
Several hours later they stopped again, this time making camp for the night. Both of them were exhausted, as usual, and Toph had become even more irritated than she had been that morning. Ren was weary of saying anything for fear of pissing Toph off, but she had to do something to get Toph out of her foul mood. Fortunately Ren knew just the thing to make Toph feel better and she just happened to have some on her. The trick now was getting Toph to drink it.
While Ren was busy trying to figure out how to get Toph to drink, Toph was busy trying to decide if they had any other options for getting to Ba Sing Se. She already knew they did, but she was beginning to wonder of one of the other options would be better than crossing the Serpent's Pass. She had not anticipated it taking them this long to reach the pass and she was beginning to wonder if the ferry was the better option. The only problem was, the Ba Sing Se ferry was even further away from their current location than the Serpent's Pass was, so in reality they'd just be wasting even more time if they tried to reach the ferry now. And there was also the issue of the ferry likely being watched by Azula's followers to consider.
"Damn it!" Toph shouted then, her frustration boiling over. "Why is this so fucking hard?"
Ren glanced at her, momentarily taken aback by Toph's outburst. "Well, it's like you said a few days ago." she said, finally regaining her voice. "We're entering dangerous territory and things are bound to be more difficult than we anticipated."
Toph turned her sightless gaze in Ren's direction, her expression incredulous. "Tell me something I don't already know." she snapped. "Simply repeating what I've already said isn't helpful."
"Sorry." Ren said, with a quick bow. "Look, I know you're frustrated, but it can't be helped. We just have to push forward and hope for the best."
Toph didn't respond to that. She knew Ren was right, but she couldn't help being frustrated. Ever since that day at Omashu she had been frustrated and angry. She was frustrated with herself for not trying to find her friends sooner. She was frustrated with her friends for not being there, though she knew it wasn't their fault. She was frustrated with Ren for being so damned confident that they would succeed. And most of all she was frustrated with and pissed off at Azula for breaking the peace and plunging the world into this barren, scorched shit hole in which they now lived.
Seeing that her words had done little to calm Toph's nerves Ren offered Toph a cup of her special brew. "Here, drink this." she said. "It'll make you feel better."
"What is it?" Toph asked, reluctantly taking the cup.
"It's my own, special, homemade fire wine." Ren answered. "It's good for you." In truth it was just regular fire wine that Ren had added a powerful sedative to, but Toph didn't need to know that. Besides, Toph could use the rest it would provide and Ren could use the time to investigate her suspicions that they were being followed.
Toph wrinkled her nose at the wine. "Uh, thanks...but I think I'll pass." she said. She'd had too many bad experiences with alcohol in the past, particularly the incident with Lu, and she wasn't willing to let something like that happen again.
"Come on Toph." Ren pressed. "I promise I'm not trying to poison you or anything. I just want to help you relax a bit."
Toph hesitated, not sure if she could trust Ren on this. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that maybe a little bit of relaxation wouldn't be such a bad thing. Besides, she had no real reason not to trust Ren, so why not try the wine? All she had to do was take one sip. If she didn't like it she didn't have to drink any more. Surely there was no harm in that, was there? Ultimately she decided there wasn't and took a sip, ever aware that Ren was watching her intently.
The effects of the wine were instantaneous. Toph felt a powerful feeling of warmth spread through her body and then the world seemed to spin around her. She tried to steady herself, but the spinning wouldn't stop, and she had to fight the urge to vomit.
"How do you like it?" Ren asked, her voice fuzzy to Toph's ears.
"It...it's good." Toph said, barely able to get the words out. "Is the world supposed to be spinning though?"
"That happens on occasion." Ren said, grinning. "Why don't you drink some more?"
Toph nodded and took another sip, only this time she didn't feel the sensation of warmth. Instead she felt like she had swallowed a chunk of ice, her insides going cold as the spinning intensified, making her even dizzier. It didn't feel right and it was then that she realized something had been done to the wine. "What...what did you..." she asked, trying to focus on Ren with her seismic sense as she keeled over, hitting the ground with a thud.
"It's not what I did." Ren said then, her voice even fuzzier to Toph's ears. "It's what happens to those who have never tried my wine."
"What...that mean..." Toph slurred, as her head slumped back, her eyes rolling in their sockets as she passed out, the blissful clam of darkness embracing her in its arms.
With Toph unconscious Ren sprang into action, covering Toph with a blanket before taking her leave. "Sleep well Toph." she muttered, before disappearing into the night.
A short time later Ren arrived at her destination. She could see the fire blazing from nearly a mile away and knew that these were the people she wanted to talk to. She cautiously approached the camp, aware that she was taking a huge risk, but determined not to go back. She entered the camp from the south, noting that there were five raiders gathered around the fire. The largest had his back to her, but as soon as she entered the camp he spun and shot a blast of fire at her, which she easily deflected.
"Who the hell are you?" the big firebender asked, his tone gruff.
"My name is Ren." Ren answered. "I am a citizen of the Fire Nation and a fellow firebender. I mean you no harm."
"Oh really?" the big firebender asked. "If that's true, why're you sneaking into our camp in the middle of the night?"
"Because I have a proposition I wish to discuss with you and I couldn't contact you during the day." Ren answered.
"What kind of proposition?" another raider with a nose like a birds beak asked, his tone whiny and high pitched.
"Shut it Jiro." the big firebender snapped. "I'll ask the questions."
"But Hong-" Jiro began, before a look from Hong shut him up.
Hong, Ren thought, smiling. So these are the raiders I was hoping for. "So, your name is Hong, is it?" she asked, glancing at Hong.
"Yes, what about it?" Hong snapped, instantly suspicious.
"Nothing." Ren said. "It's just, I've heard of your exploits and I wish to commission your services to deal with a little problem I have."
"You've heard of my exploits huh?" Hong asked, still suspicious.
"Indeed I have." Ren said. "I've heard you're extremely loyal to Fire Lord Azula. I've heard that you helped torch an Earth Kingdom village only a few days ago and that you found a rogue earthbender hiding in a cave near that village."
"Yeah, we did." Jiro said. "And the bitch tried to bury us alive."
"Jiro, shut up!" Hong shouted. He cast a suspicious glance at Ren, as though he was trying to read her mind.
"Do you deny your exploits?" Ren asked, looking Hong directly in the eye, not the least bit fazed by his gruff demeanor.
"No, Jiro speaks the truth, as do you." Hong said, suddenly fearful. "We are loyal to Azula and we did help torch that village. We also found a rogue earthbender, but she escaped."
"What if I told you I know where she is?" Ren asked, smiling at the way Hong's face lit up at this question.
"I would say you're one exceptional firebender." Hong said, with a sheepish grin.
"You have no idea." Ren said, grinning. "Anyway, my proposition is this. I'll lead you to the earthbender's location and allow you to claim responsibility for capturing her if you let me join your gang of raiders. Sound fair?"
Hong took a moment to consider before extending his hand. "We have a deal." he said, an evil grin twisting his features. "Allow me to introduce you to the rest of the gang. This here is Jiro, my second in command."
Ren nodded at Jiro and he smiled, though there was something about his smile that made her uncomfortable. Hong smiled and continued. "This is Lyra, another firebender." He gestured at a woman who looked to be in her mid twenties. "And finally my two non-benders, Ryo and Chi." Hong said, gesturing at two young men armed with swords.
Ren nodded at each of them and then turned her attention back to Hong, who was watching her with an expectant look. "You have something you'd like to ask Hong?" she asked.
"Just wondering if you have a plan for capturing the earthbender." Hong said.
"I do actually." Ren said. "But I'll need you to listen very closely."
Hong nodded and Ren spent the rest of the night explaining her plan, while Hong and his raiders listened in rapt attention.
The next morning Toph awoke to the sounds of Ren packing up their camp. Her head was pounding and for a moment she wondered if they'd been in a fight the night before. But then she remembered Ren giving her the wine and everything clicked into place. Something had been wrong with that wine and yet Ren had still given it to her. Which meant Ren had done something to the wine, but why? Why would she need to knock Toph out? Was it possible that she wasn't as trustworthy as Toph had come to believe?
"Oh hey, you're awake." Ren said then, her voice drawing Toph from her thoughts.
"What's going on?" Toph asked. "Why are you in such a hurry?"
"Last night, after you passed out, I went on a scouting mission and I found signs that there are raiders in the area, or at least there were." Ren said. "But they could come back and I don't really want to be here if they do."
"Okay, good point." Toph conceded. "What the hell was in that wine, by the way?"
"Nothing special really." Ren answered. "It's just my own homemade brew. Did it help you sleep or what?"
"I guess it did." Toph answered. "I'm feeling a lot less irritated this morning at any rate."
"That's good to know." Ren said. "Now come on. We should get going before any raiders decide to come back for a visit."
Toph nodded and they finished packing, Toph passing Ren some dried meat before the set off. Toph took the lead as they left the camp, her senses on high alert for any sign of raiders. Behind her, Ren smirked, extremely satisfied with herself and the plan she had put together. To her surprise, Toph hadn't seemed to realize what was going on, which was perfect, as the plan required everyone to play the right part.
At that moment Toph froze, throwing out her hand to stop Ren. Her entire body was tensed, ready for a fight, her head cocked to the side as though she was trying to hear better.
"What is it?" Ren asked, her tone devoid of any hint that she knew what was coming.
"I thought I heard something." Toph answered. "Sounded like movement in the trees up ahead. But now I'm not sure."
At that moment three jets of flame shot out of the trees, but Toph blocked them a good five feet short of their target. "I knew it." she said. "Raiders."
Here we go, Ren thought as she moved into position beside Toph. "Yeah, I told you I found signs of them in the area." she said.
"I didn't doubt you." Toph said, as she sent a pair of earth blocks flying towards the trees.
Jets of fire shot out of the trees and blasted the earth blocks to bits in midair. "We're not falling for that trick again, little earthbender." a familiar, gruff voice shouted.
Toph froze again, her blood going cold. It wasn't possible. These couldn't be the same raiders she'd fought back at her cave. She'd buried those raiders alive. There was no way they could have survived. And yet there was no denying this voice belonged to Hong. It made no sense, but Toph didn't have time to try and figure it out now. No, now she needed to fight and take these jokers down quickly before they used their numbers to overwhelm her and Ren.
"Hello Hong." Toph said, doing her best to project a cool confidence. "I see you managed to survive being buried alive."
"Yeah, we did." Hong said, dropping from his tree as he spoke. "And you won't get another chance to use that trick, I can promise you that."
"Bring it on, ash maker." Toph taunted, taking note of the location of the other raiders as she spoke.
"Don't taunt what you can't defeat." Hong said, before he unleashed a torrent of flame, which Toph easily deflected with her earth shields.
At that the other raiders attacked, two of them going after Ren while the other three, including Hong, came at Toph. Toph easily took down the one non-bender on her side of the field, but Hong and the other firebender, a woman, proved to be much more difficult. For the next several minutes they engaged a bending duel before a blast of flame caught Toph in the back, knocking her to the ground. She rolled to her left, activating her seismic sense as she did, realizing a second to late that the flames had come from Ren.
"What the hell are you doing?" Toph asked, her sightless gaze locking with Ren's.
"What I have to." Ren said, her tone cold.
Toph's eyes widened in surprise, but before she could react Ren hit her with another blast of flame, and then another, each blast rocking Toph's body with tremendous force. She felt herself weakening beneath the barrage, but she wasn't beaten yet. However, as she moved to attack, Ren hit her again, knocking her to the ground.
"Backstabber." she groaned. "Bloody traitor. I'll-" But her sentence died as one last blast of flame knocked her into the cold dark of unconsciousness.
"Bind her." Hong said, speaking to Ryo and Chi. "But use ropes. Ren tells me this one can bend metal."
Ryo and Chi moved to do Hong's bidding while he turned to Ren. "Thank you for your help." he said, with an evil grin.
"Pleased to be of assistance." Ren said, grinning as well. "Now, what say we deliver this bitch to Azula."
"Sounds like a plan to me." Hong said, laughing. With that Ren and the raiders set off, Hong dragging Toph's unconscious form behind them.
A/N: And so Ren's true colors are revealed. Or are they? Has she really betrayed Toph or is this part of a bigger plan? Well, you'll just have to keep reading to find out. Anyway, sorry I took so long to get this up. I've been really busy lately. Also, yes Hong and his raiders survived being buried alive in Toph's cave, which seems a bit unlikely, but there you go. That's all for now, hope you enjoyed.
