"...and then he said, 'Leaf me alone! I'm bushed!'"
One and Four were not impressed, Five was amused and sat back with a smile, Three couldn't stop giggling and Two burst out in laughter. "That was a good one, Mr. Iroh! Mind if I use it sometime?" asked Numbuh Two.
"Of course not, my young Hoagie," the man smiled. Family dinners when your friends come over are always awkward, but it's a trillion times worse when it's not even your real family, and you yourself have never met them. "If you'll excuse me, children, I'm going to go get some more dumplings." He got up to leave, and walked out of the room.
"Gee, Numbuh Four, I sure like your new uncle way better than your old one," said Numbuh Two.
Numbuh Four just scoffed. "Yeah, I guess fire powers is a bit better than toilet powers..."
Numbuh One looked at the clock. "Only a few more hours to go before day 1 is over with," he said.
"Do you guys think that everything will go back to normal tomorrow?" asked Numbuh Five.
"I sure hope so," said Numbuh Two, "My head feels naked right now."
"Tell me about it," said Numbuh Five.
"I just can't help the feeling that right now some weirdo is wearing my hat," said Numbuh Two.
At that moment, Iroh re-entered the room and sat down. He looked to Numbuh Four. "My nephew," he said, "I have some good news for you and some bad news for you."
"Uh...what is it, Uncle?" asked Numbuh Four, trying to keep up the part.
"The good news is; Mai will be coming back from her family vacation tomorrow."
"Oh, great!" said Numbuh Four, again, trying to sound enthusiastic even though he had no idea who this Mai even was.
"The bad news is...Azula has requested to speak to you in the mental prison."
Remembering the name from one of the news articles they had read earlier, Numbuh Four could tell that this Azula was his sister, and she was some sort of criminal. "What does she want to talk about?" he asked.
"I don't know, but it's your choice whether or not to go."
The blonde boy thought for a moment, he looked around to all his friends' faces. He thought maybe this was a good opportunity to find out more about this place, so he decided, "Yes. I'll go."
"Good," said Iroh. "I believe you have made a wise decision. Perhaps she wishes to apologize." He took another sip of his tea. "...But maybe not, so bring your best firebending," he warned the boy.
"I will," said Numbuh Four with some sort of a wicked smile, remembering the ability he had gained.
Darkness. Of course, the world had always been dark for her, but this darkness was different. Ominous. Silent. No idea whatsoever as to what was going on. No special bond connecting her to the ground allowing her to see where she was going. She was just in a car, helplessly tied up and being brought someplace against her will. A lot of terrifying things had happened in the life of Toph, but this was by far the scariest. At least when she was hanging thousands of feet above the earth's surface, Sokka was there, holding her. At least when she was kidnapped by Xin Fu and Master Yu and stuck in a metal box, she had something to work with. Here she was now. Alone. Cold. And for the first time in her whole life:
Blind.
And she was only ten years old now.
The car stopped, and she could hear a door opening. She could make out footsteps drawing nearer. She could make out the sound of the large back doors opening, and feel the gust of cold wind emerge out and into her face.
"Get out, you little brat," snapped Cree's harsh voice. She roughly grabbed Toph by the chains binding her arms and dragged her behind her as she walked. Toph could tell by the rough surface of the road and the crunch of both their footsteps that it was gravel. After about fifteen feet, the sound of another door opening became present. A shaft of drafty air, filled with dust and the smell of woodchips slowly floated out.
"Hey, Cree, what'cha got there?" came a male voice from inside the structure.
"Special delivery for the boss; one baby and one brat. A helpless infant and a just-as-helpless blind girl they let in the KND for some reason," responded Cree.
Toph could feel the boy's presence getting closer as he looked her over. "Blind, huh? She's perfect."
The young girl sensed herself being brought into the stuffy warehouse. "Sit down!" yelled Cree as she shoved her into a chair. The chains around her hands were undone momentarily, but then quickly refastened across her chest to the back of the chair.
"Hey, watch it!" said Toph.
"What, afraid of a little ropeburn?" asked the teenage boy as the chains were suddenly yanked and tightened to an even more constricting level.
Toph could feel the wind coming out of her. "What do you want with me?" she asked.
"What? Trying to get the villain to explain her plan? Just how dumb do you think I am?" teasingly asked Cree.
"So dumb you mistook me for helpless," replied the younger girl.
Cree had no response but an eye roll. "Cavallero, call him and tell him what we got."
"Yes, sir," replied he as he made his way out of the room.
Cree looked at Toph menacingly and said, "All right, now it's time to tell me what you know."
Information was what she wanted? Toph smiled on the inside, she wouldn't have to pretend to not know anything, because she really didn't.
"It's come to my attention that you KNDs have come across a very, very powerful item. I want to know, what that item is, and where they're keeping it. And before you try to play the 'I won't tell you anything' game, allow me to introduce you to a little something we've conjured up," Toph could hear Cree shuffling about a bit, before she resumed her speech. "I know you can't see it, but this is the Sooper Special Decial Edition Extremely Rare Only-One-In-The-Entire-Galaxy Sooper Dooper One-Hundred-Percent Alpaca Fur Lady Ploofington Maiden of Neptune Tea Party Extravaganza Sparkles and Fairytales Rainbow Monkey, and every time you don't answer a question, she gets closer to the fire. Kapeesh? So start talking!"
Every kid in the entire world (except Wally Beatles) loved Rainbow Monkeys. They couldn't resist the lovey-dovey cutesy-wootsey sharing kindness and LOVE they brought. Good thing Toph wasn't from this world, and barely even had an idea as to what a Rainbow Monkey even was. "No."
"No? Well, okay then..." A loud clank filled the room as Lady Ploofington was sent down a notch. "Will you tell me now?"
Toph was rather amused at how ineffective Cree's method was on her. "No," she said again.
Another clank; and the monkey was yet lower. "She's four steps away now. Tell me, and maybe you'll get to keep it."
"I'm not telling you one thing, Cree."
"I admire your guts, kid, but we all know what'll happen next if you keep on refusing." The doll, once more, was dropped down a level.
"I won't. No matter what you do, I'll never say." Toph was really enjoying hamming it up.
Cree was now getting angry. Why wouldn't the girl speak up? She pulled the lever and sent Lady Ploofington one step closer to doom.
Toph decided she would now put even more oomph into her acting. "I'll never tell you! Not ever, for as long as I live the words shall never leave my lips!"
Again, the toy dropped. "Listen, this is your last chance, Kids Next Doofus, one more and it's bye-bye dolly!"
"...Bye-bye, dolly!" said Toph enthusiastically.
"That's it!" cried Cree. She pulled the lever one last time, and the Rainbow Monkey was cast into the flames. The stuffing burned, and all that remained was black crisp of what was once a thousand sparkles.
"...By the way, Cree, I know absolutely nothing about this 'powerful item' anyway." Toph gave her a teasing "whoops!" type of smile, and the teenager was drawn over the edge.
Numbuh Three suddenly jerked her head up and gasped loudly. "I sense a disturbance in the Rainbow Monkey force," she said worriedly.
"Chill, girl. Probably just missin' home is all," said Numbuh Five, trying to reassure her friend. Of course, even being worlds away, Numbuh Three was never wrong about Rainbow Monkeys. The five operatives had been somewhat disappointed to have woken up in the strange universe yet again.
"Hey, at least the food here is pretty decent," said Numbuh Two, plopping another bite of breakfast pastry into his mouth. He, too, was attempting to lighten the mood.
Without warning, the door of the dining room opened. In entered a pale-faced girl, whose expression seemed that of complete disinterest. There was silence as she looked at each one of them. Eventually, she said, "Hm, expecting more of a welcome party, I guess." She walked over and seated herself next to Numbuh Four. "I have to admit, while it's a bit nicer without every one of you running your mouths at the same time, it makes me a little suspicious." She turned towards the boy next to her. "Wally, what's going on? You're not planning a surprise for me, are you? Because I hate surprises."
"No, no surprises," replied Numbuh Four. "Just uh...tired, is all."
"Well, good," she said. "Maybe I can have a day of peace before Ty Lee gets back tomorrow."
"Oh, yeah," said Numbuh Four, pretending to know who that was exactly.
There was more silence as the girl took some of the baked food. She looked to Numbuh Two, "You must be happy."
Numbuh Two was completely confused, and it showed on his face.
"You know that Suki and Ty Lee are coming back together, right?"
"Oh, yeah!" he feigned a laugh. "Can't wait." Something was really unsettling about this girl. Who was she, anyway? Maybe it was that monotonous tone of voice, or how her face was entirely blank, but it was probably just how they were supposed to know her and they didn't.
After about ten minutes passed in the awkward air that made it feel like longer, someone in a messenger's uniform entered the room. "Your Majesty," he said, directed towards Numbuh Four. The Australian straightened up in a reminder that he was royal now. "A message from the warden at Boiling Rock Mental Facilities: your appointment with the patient has been scheduled for two day's time at the hour of three o'clock in the afternoon."
"Thank you," replied the boy in his most proper-sounding voice. The man bowed, and, not knowing what to say next, or why he wouldn't leave, he just said: "You may be excused," loving the power he now held over people. The man promptly exited.
The pale girl turned towards him. "What was that all about?"
Four tried to remember it himself. "I'm going to have a word with Azula."
The girl's eyes widened, in the first expression anyone had seen her make this entire time. "Why? You know she won't listen to you. She'll probably try to murder you again."
So, that's what they stuck her in the crazy-shack for, thought everyone else. "Don't worry, I can handle her," said Four, not really knowing since he had never met her. "And besides, she called me. So she'd better have something important to say." Some of his friends now thought he was getting way too into character here.
At this moment, yet another servant of sorts entered the room. "Lady Mai, your father insists you return home at this time."
The girl stood up and sighed. "Well, nice not talking to you," she said, heading out of the room and following the servant. No one could really tell whether or not she was being sarcastic.
"Who was that anyway?" asked Numbuh Two.
"Apparently, that was the Mai that Iroh told us about last night," replied Numbuh One.
By this time, Team Avatar had given up trying to find Toph (and that far less important child) for the moment and had headed back to the Treehouse to meet up.
"What are we going to do?" asked Aang.
"Something. We always do," said Zuko. Truer words could not be spoken. They always found a solution to problems, from as small as a feud between two tribes or as large-scale as a hundred year long war.
Before another thought could be spoken, a large screen mounted on the wall of the room came to life. The image of a colorfully-dressed girl with dirty blonde hair, a strange-looking hat with the number "362" inscribed on it, and a look nothing short of completely serious on her face. "Sector V!" she said. "Listen up you guys; remember that glowing space-rock thing you found? Turns out it's a lot more important than we thought it was. So we've put it in our special labs here for studying, but the adults and teenagers are trying to get their hands on it, and we just found out something and we need you guys here ASAP."
Immediately, the memory of the five finding a similar rock sprung up in each mind. They were ecstatic to find out what it is, but they knew they couldn't leave someone behind. "What about Toph?" asked Aang to his friends.
The girl on the screen heard this, and her face momentarily flashed a look of worry. "Where is Numbuh Three?" she asked.
"She was kidnapped by Cree," said Katara, hoping the girl would know who she was talking about.
"The teens have Numbuh Three?! Oh, this is not good. All right, you guys need to find her quick. Then come up here at once. We'll send you reinforcements. Three-Sixty-Two out." And then the whole thing turned to black.
It only seemed like two minutes and a half before a green flying ship docked at the Treehouse. They assumed that wherever the base was, it had to be really close otherwise it wouldn't be so quick. Unbeknownst to them the base was actually on the Moon and KND vehicles just move really really fast. The doors opened, and, following some dramatic fog, stepped out an operative. She wore orange and green with a samurai-style helmet atop her head, any hair she had compressed neatly underneath. The look on her face was a stern scowl, and they could already tell what to address her as by the number on her helmet. 86. The ship she had arrived in closed up, and took off back into the sky behind her.
The fact that she was the only one there confused Aang a little. "Are you all the reinforcements?"
The look on Eighty-Six's face turned meaner, as she answered: "They sent more, but they were all boys. And new recruits, at that! So I figured I could handle this one on my own." Her voice when she spoke sounded very odd, an accent none of them could place.
"Okay, well, you'll help us find Toph-I mean Number Three?" asked Katara, remembering the odd codename system.
"Yes, that's what I'm here to do. You said the teenagers took her?"
"Yeah, my sister," replied Katara in-character.
Numbuh Eighty-Six turned towards Sokka viciously. "Well, what are you boneheads waiting for?! Let's go! Bring up a map of the known teen hideouts."
"Yes, sir!" stuttered Sokka. Apparently he was supposed to know how to work this stuff.
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" boomed the enraged girl. "Why I oughtta..." she began muttering threats in his direction, and after a few seconds was steamed out. She facepalmed, and pointed at Aang, Sokka, and Zuko. "Look, you three good-for-nothing boys can stay here where you'll have all the freedom to be as disgusting as you like, while Numbuh Five and I go do the REAL MISSION!"
"Hey, she's our friend! We should help save her!" exclaimed Sokka.
"Yeah, and it's my fault she got captured, anyway. I should definitely go," said Zuko.
"What? No way, Zuko, it was my fault I led Cree to where you guys all were in the first place," said Katara.
Then the room fell into an explosion of words, everyone yelling at each other for one reason or another. Finally, a roar emerged over the others, "QUIET!" and all the rest fell silent. Numbuh Eighty-Six continued, "Look, whatever happened I'm sure it was Numbuh Four's fault. He always messes everything up. And fine, if you idiotic boys insist on coming then do but DON'T MAKE ANY NOISE!" Aang opened his mouth and was about to say something, but she interrupted him- "AND THAT'S AN ORDER!" He stopped.
The six of them all piled into Sector V's own ship, and Numbuh Eighty-Six did everything. If one of the boys so much as tried to touch one of the buttons, she slapped them away and yelled at them. Even Katara was disgusted at her sexist actions; in fact Katara was probably the most offended. But they flew all around in the sky until Eighty-Six said, "I found them. They're in that warehouse. Now let's all go, but make sure you stupid boys don't do anything stupid and mess up the whole mission!"
All nodded their heads in silent acknowledgement.
Well, if you were suddenly given extraordinary powers, you'd want to use them as often as you can, would you not? That's exactly the mindset Numbuh Four had. He had made his way into a little sectioned-off portion of the large garden to practice his firebending in private. So much had happened. So much had changed. Did he care? Not really. Okay, maybe a little bit, but not enough to actively freak out about it. At first, yeah, the whole prospect seems outrageous, but coming from where he does, stuff like this and worse happens on a daily basis. This being the only strange thing so far this week is a vacation. He was having fun with this; shooting one hand into the air to release a shaft of flames one way, kicking out his leg to send some fire in the opposite direction. He tried different positions, different ways of doing it, and found some ways more effective than others. One thing, though, that made it hard for him was that you had to channel something inside of you. You couldn't just think, "Fire, come!" and then there would be fire. You had to feel it, breathe it, to coax it out of its hiding place. The only way it would ever accidentally is if you were extremely angry. Something that made it easier, however, was the fact that he wasn't exactly at "square one." In his mind, he had never done this before coming here. Technically, he had been training in this art his whole life. His muscles were already trained to the movements, and that made it a little easier. The fire was already familiar with him. He was the one not quite yet familiar with the fire. He was different in other ways, as well. Not only was he taller and older, but smarter and wiser as well. Being, well, Wally he was never the brightest bulb in the place-where-you-keep-the-bulbs, but being sixteen now, even though he wasn't really sixteen, changed him a little. He was more mature, in a way. So many changes. So many things to keep track of. Did he care? Not really. He just went about his business brainstorming for a way to roast marshmallows without a stick. If they even had marshmallows here. Whatever. He'd get some when he went home. He really wanted some marshmallows now. He turned around, and in one of his attempts to make flames leap out of both his hands and feet at the same time, he found himself face first on the ground. Opening his eyes, he found himself also staring at some simple, yet ornate, undoubtedly Fire Nation footwear.
"And just what are you doing?" came the deadpan female voice.
Oh, great, it's her again, thought Numbuh Four. That creepy one. "Just practicing some firebending," he said casually, standing up and dusting off his trousers with his hands.
"Firebending or failbending?" Mai commented sarcastically.
"Har har," Numbuh Four replied with just as much sarcasm, although he had to admit that one was pretty good.
"Why do you need to practice, anyway? I thought you were like, an expert or something."
He sneered, "Even experts need practice."
"True," she said, and without notice a sharp blade emerged from her hand and lodged itself into a tree 30 meters away.
"Whoa, where did that come from?" he asked, dumbfounded.
"From my knife belt," was the reply as the girl twisted her waist and lifted her arm, revealing a frightening display of knifes, throwing stars, and other very sharp things that would quite hurt given the chance to be stuck in someone's eye.
He looked down at the unfortunate tree, wondering how she could throw with such precision and accuracy, and speed.
"Like you said. Experts practice too." Somehow, the newly-discovered knife-throwing abilities of this girl lessened her creepiness, but increased her intimidation by ten. She latched her arm around his, another unforeseen action. "No more practice for now, though," she said, leading him away with firmness. "Come sit with me," it was more of a straightforward command than an offer. He could pretty much feel his face turning pink, and definitely would protest against it if it wouldn't earn him a knife in the throat. So he followed as she led to a small bench overlooking a valley. She sat down, and he did, too.
There was an awkward silence for quite a few moments, neither knowing who should speak first. Honestly, Numbuh Four was just scared his life would end early should he say the wrong thing, although he'd never admit to being afraid of a girl in front of any of his friends. Or enemies, for that matter. Eventually he decided to try his luck (despite the fact that luck had many a bone to pick with someone called Four, and he knew it). "So...what do you think of the flowers?" he felt safest with a question, even though it sounded just so stupid.
"I hate them. Way too colorful for me," she replied.
"I can tell," he said back, taking note of her preference for grey shades.
As the Sun began to set, she laid her head on his shoulder. Okay... he thought, that's a bit strange... She subtly, but surely, began to snuggle closer to him. An alarm went off inside his head. Oh crud oh crud oh crud. What do I do?
"You've been having a rough time, recently," she said. "I can see it."
"Yeah, I guess you can say that..."
She looked up and turned his head towards hers gently. "What's wrong?" again, it sounded more of a direct order than a question.
"Well...it's just...I...uh...It's, um, hard to put in words..."
"I know what you mean, not being able to express yourself," she seemed to have just the slightest hint of something other than indifference now, although he could not tell exactly what it was. "You get used to it." Then, with one movement, she leaned in, and pressed her lips against his own. His eyes stayed wide open in disbelief, shock, and practically came right out and screamed and screamed. His entire face became bright red, and while part of his mind was saying "EWEWEWEWEWEWEWEW!" another part said it felt natural. That's when he realized, in this universe, this girl, this grey, emotionless Mai...was his girlfriend.
Fate couldn't have picked a worse time for a happy, uppity and bright little girl to come skipping along the path. She was looking for her friend, because her other friend had something important to tell him. Numbuh Three was about to call, "Hey Numbuh Four!" in a sweet singsong voice, before she caught sight of the scene. Then she stopped in her tracks, all other thoughts erased from her mind. Mouth gaping wide open, and eyes, while also wide open, beginning to form tears. Before anything else could be done, she started crying heavily as she ran back to the palace, leaving dirt and rocks flying all about her path as she ran.