Yay, I have readers! A big big shout-out and thank you to InkWoven, A Happy Day, Kimberly T., and Kimco96 for being the first to review this story! I'm thrilled that you all are enjoying this.

The idea for this chapter was actually inspired by Kimberly T. As soon as you suggested Toph, I knew just what to write. So an extra thank you to you!

The third time it happened…well, Zuko didn't like to remember that particular instance.

It all started when he was dumped out of bed by tremors so intense that they shook the entire palace.

"What in the name of Agni?" he shouted as he fought to disentangle himself from his blankets.

Several members of his personal guard rushed in. "Are you all right sire?"

"I'm fine," Zuko responded as he lurched to his feet. "What happened?"

"We're, uh, not sure yet sir."

Before Zuko could demand that they go find out, Katara came flying through the door.

"Zuko, are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Are you?"

"I'm fine," she assured him. "But you might want to come see this."

Zuko followed right behind her, not even bothering to grab an over robe. "You know what caused this?"

Katara nodded. "You won't like it."

Zuko asked the more pressing question. "Was anyone hurt?"

"No, they made sure to keep out of people's way at least," Katara answered in her annoyed tone of voice.

"What do you mean they?" Zuko asked. "Wasn't that an earthquake?"

"Um, no," Katara said slowly. "It was earthbending."

It took Zuko only seconds to understand Katara's meaning. He took off for the training arenas at a sprint, yelling out to someone as he went. "TOPH!"

When he finally reached the arena, it was to find it in shambles. Chasms had been ripped open in the ground and earthen pillars were everywhere. The worst of the damage was to the side of the arena that bordered the palace. The wall had been completely obliterated, and inside Zuko could see numerous cracks running along the walls and floors that stretched on down the hallway.

And standing where the wall used to be was a sheepish looking Aang and a smug looking Toph.

"What. Happened?" Zuko demanded fiercely.

Aang rubbed the back of his head like he always did when he was nervous. "Hey there Zuko. Well, you see what happened was – "

"Cool it down Sparky, we were just sparring," Toph broke in.

"And who was the proposed enemy, my palace?" Zuko asked as he swept his arms towards the obvious devastation.

"A minor mishap," Toph said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

Zuko felt his temper rising. "Toph, you destroyed part of my palace! How is that a minor mishap?"

"Well isn't this the part of the palace that you were going to remodel anyway?" Toph inquired.

Tiny sparks of flames started to race along Zuko's fingertips. He was about to come back with a scathing retort when he felt Katara's hand on his shoulder.

"Pause," she whispered in his ear.

Zuko clenched his hands into fists out of frustration, but he listened to her. "You're right Toph, there are plans to remodel this wing of the palace. As you were so kind to remind me, and since you've already gotten a head start on it, you can be in charge of the rebuilding."

"But I – " Toph tried to protest.

"No buts," Zuko said firmly.

Toph gave him her best "make me" glare, and normally it would have been incredibly intimidating…even if the direction of her gaze was off by a few inches. But Zuko was Fire Lord now, and the Fire Lord didn't give in to those types of looks.

He forced his heart rate to slow down and he evened his breathing rate out so that Toph would know he was in control. He kept his stance wide, but even, making sure he could move into the appropriate stance if need be. He knew Toph would be taking note of all these subtle changes and he intended to use it to his advantage. Years of dealing with Toph had shown him how to gain the upper hand in certain situations. She just had to know that her opponent wasn't intimidated by her.

"Fine," she eventually mumbled.

"You can report to me tomorrow morning to meet the rest of the crew," Zuko said. "Same goes for you Aang."

The Avatar offered up no resistance.

"You'll have to tell me how you got her to agree to that," Katara whispered as she and Zuko headed back inside.

"It was simple. I put on my best Fire Lord persona."

Katara studied him a bit too intensely and Zuko suddenly felt embarrassed by his lack of shirt. "Yeah, I can see how that would work."

Zuko shared a smile with her. "Yeah, it works on just about everyone. Except you. Why is that?"

"Now that's my secret," she said with a smile. "And its one I'll never tell."