"Oh my goodness, I can't believe it! I missed you guys so much!"
Toph didn't often deal with open displays of emotion, and found them to be signs of weakness that were better applied through physical force. Either way, her blatant happiness to see them slightly concerned Katara as she stepped back to get a better view of her friend. Her armor was polished and shiny, her clothes were relatively clean, yet she wore no pack, and no one seemed to be with her.
"Did you come on your own," Katara asked.
"Why," Toph asked, suddenly hostile, "cause I'm blind and can't take care of myself?"
"No- no of course-"
"I might have brought an assistant with me, but it was just to carry my bags," Toph admitted, kicking at the floor of the tea shop and hanging her head.
"Hahaha, you are as rowdy and obstinate as ever I see," Iroh said happily.
"It's good to see you too, Gramps," Toph said, socking Iroh in the gut and making him double over.
"Easy Toph," Katara said, "Iroh isn't getting any younger!"
"Geez, lighten up Katara, I haven't even been here for five minutes and your telling me what to do," Toph chortled, "besides, if anyone can take my tough love, it'd be the Dragon of the West!"
"I appreciate the compliment," Iroh said, rubbing his belly to loosen the muscles and ease the pain.
"So, I suppose it's not a coincidence we met here, I take it you were asking Iroh about the note," Toph asked, crossing her arms and gazing blindly at the floor.
"Yes, I came here to ask for his advice on the matter," Katara said quietly.
"Toph knows of this," Iroh asked in an undertone.
Katara nodded, and together the three of them took seats at the table, leaning in so they could speak in private.
"So, what's all this about," Toph asked, "and did you bring the evidence?"
"Yeah," Katara said, "I have it here."
Katara almost handed the note to Toph, but then realized that she couldn't have read it… it had been far too long for the both of them.
"Ok, I'll-uh-read it to you," Katara said, opening it and leaning in close to Toph while Iroh kept a lookout for eavesdroppers.
"It says 'Avatar, I look forward to our meeting tonight. As per usual, come alone, and don't wear anything nice, I plan on tearing you to pieces and I don't think your clothes will survive what I have in store for you! P.S. bring that stick of yours; you'll need all the help you can get!' It's signed 'Flameo Hotman!' I'm pretty sure it's a note from Aang's new lover."
Katara blanched. In her head it seemed so faded and unreal, but when she spoke it aloud it was as if she were giving the thought substance, making it concrete and real. Toph felt Katara's heartbeat flicker for a moment before it began to speed up and beat faster and faster. Toph could almost feel the rush of hormones flowing through Katara and she laid a hand upon her friends shivering fingers, giving them a gentle squeeze.
"Don't worry so much Katara, from what I heard, that note leaves far too many vague hints to properly be diagnosed at that of a mystery lover… it sounds more to me like a threat! Has Aang been fighting someone? Does he come home with weird bruises?"
"I don't know," Katara said, shrugging and crossing her arms, "I barely talk to him anymore, it's like he barely has enough time in the day for being an Avatar and a husband."
Toph frowned, thinking hard.
"I don't know Katara, but I know how we can determine the truth."
"How," Katara asked.
"Me," Toph said brightly, raising her hands and closing her eyes.
"What? Are you just gonna ask him if he's been cheating on me," Katara asked indignantly.
"Nope… I'll leave that to you," Toph said with an evil grin, "but I'll be close by to read him, don't worry. Do you have a closet or something I can hide in at your house? When are you next gonna see Aang?"
The cogs in Katara's head began to turn, and suddenly it all made sense to her. Iroh, however, looked unsure.
"Remember what I told you, Katara," he said as the girls stood to leave, "innocent until proven guilty! If he denies it and Toph finds him to be truthful, you'll want to diffuse the situation as quickly as possible before it escalates!"
Katara grabbed her shawl and pecked Iroh in the cheek before she followed Toph out of the restricted section and through the main tea shop. Toph stopped abruptly and turned to give the cashier her best evil glare with her frighteningly pale eyes before the assistant jumped in fright.
"Hehe, I've still got it," Toph said, strutting out of the tea shop with Katara in tow. There was a moment of silence as they walked through the garden, and then Katara spoke.
"So what have you been up to, Toph," Katara asked, "anything new? How are your students? I gotta say, you look great, and I've really missed you."
"Don't you go getting all mushy on me, Sugar Queen," Toph said, elbowing Katara in the ribs, but through the blow, Katara could see Toph blushing, and she knew that the blind earthbender felt the same.
"I've been good, my metalbending academy has really been picking up, though the students are a bunch of silly, idiotic… you know what, screw them, I'm on vacation," Toph said, kicking at the stone beneath her feet and causing a ripple to flow through the earth.
"You mean you've been teaching nonstop since I last saw you," Katara asked, her eyes wide.
"Yeah," Toph said, "it's not like I have much else to do, and I'm actually a really good teacher. About sixty percent of my students pick it up within the first few days, the rest just take a little longer cause they're… not too bright."
"Are you sure you're not being too hard on them," Katara asked, leaning against the short blind girl next to her, "I remember when you trained Aang to earthbend, it took him a little bit."
"Are you kidding me," Toph said, "Aang was my biggest accomplishment, my record! Who else could've taught an airbender to earthbend within a matter of days!? No one, that's who!"
"Yeah, good point, I suppose teaching someone to go against everything they know is a tricky business."
"You would think so, but I swear, Aang was one of my best students. The ones I work with now complain when they can't sense the Earth within the metal! It's ridiculous, they're using ores, the stuff isn't even smelted and they're having difficulty," Toph proclaimed, "it's absolutely maddening to sit there and watch them putz with a lump of dirty metal for hours when I could've learned to bend platinum already!"
"You can bend platinum," Katara asked, her jaw agape.
"No, I was just making a point," Toph said, "platinum is so refined it's nigh impossible to bend… though if anyone were to do it, it'd be me!"
Toph thumped a fist against her chest, and suddenly she looked like she was in pain. Katara stopped walking and looked at her for a second.
"What's wrong," Katara said, "you look upset for some reason."
Toph breathed heavily for a moment, and then she cracked like a boulder being split down the middle.
"I CAN'T CHEST BUMP ANYMORE CAUSE I'VE GOT THESE DAMN BREASTS," Toph said angrily, "THEY ARE SO SORE NOWADAYS IT'S RIDICULOUS! I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU HANDLED THIS, KATARA!"
Katara blushed as everyone stopped to stare at Toph, who looked like she might just strip down and try to tear her mammaries off, she was so upset. Even so, Katara couldn't help but stifle a giggle.
'Oh Spirits,' Katara thought, 'Toph hit puberty!'
"It's not funny, dang it all," Toph said loudly, "it's so annoying!"
"Toph, take a breath, your hormones are going berserk," Katara said, "I'm gonna guess that you've been going from happy to sad to angry without warning for a while now?"
Toph looked up, and Katara was both sadden and amused to find tears in Toph's eyes.
"Uh huh," Toph said, wiping away the tears that fell from her dead gaze.
"Oh, sweetie," Katara said, "don't worry, I'll have someone bring some chocolate cake for us, ok? We can sit down and talk and drink some tea while we munch on some moist cake, how does that sound?"
"I want a whole jar of frosting on my cake," Toph said angrily, stomping in place, "and I want a whole bunch of honey in my tea! And I want…"
Katara seized Toph's hand, and began to gently guide her back towards her house, Toph blithering and hollering the entire way. Still, Katara dragged her onward until they had crossed the threshold of the great house and Toph finally quieted.
"Whew," Toph said, "all that shouting has worked up my appetite!"
"Ah, lady Toph!"
It was Joo Dee, who beamed at the both of them and gave them best impression of being a plastic doll. Toph, who hadn't seen her since she lead them back to their quarters years ago after a party at the palace, stiffened immediately and slowly turned to stare at the woman.
"Katara," Toph asked quietly, "why is Joo Dee here?"
"She's the house attendant," Katara said happily, "no need to be worried! After Long Feng was removed as the Head of the Dai Li, Azula reformed the organization and turned them into a military structure. All the others had their memories restored, but hers couldn't be fixed. She's staying with me and helping around the house while I try to find a way to help her. I've even asked Pakku to petition the Northern Water Tribe for me to ask if I can use the spirit water from the Oasis at the North Pole on her, to see if that helps."
"It is true," Joo Dee said sadly, "My memory is not my own, but I can begin to make reparations by living a semi normal life! I am very skilled with housework, and I can cook quite well!"
"She's telling the truth," Toph said, not looking quite so worried, "either that or she's just a really good liar."
"I'm not lying," Joo Dee said, "I have done my best to-wha-?"
Toph had marched up and place a hand to Joo Dee's face. Though Toph was short, she still managed, and Joo Dee didn't pull away. Toph closed her eyes and frowned with focus, and then she whispered to the former Dai Li agent.
"Say it again," Toph said.
"Everything Katara said was the truth," Joo Dee's muffled voice said, "I am truly trying to pull myself together, and I want my memories back!"
Toph tightened her grip upon Joo Dee's face, but not overly so, just enough to get a good feel of her veins as blood pulsed through her. Toph felt reverberations pass through the entirety of Joo Dee, and after a moment, Toph could feel everything, right down to the bone.
"She's… telling the truth," Toph said finally.
"Here's a question for you Joo Dee," Katara asked suddenly, stepping closer and remembering why she'd invited Toph there in the first place, "to your knowledge, has Aang ever been unfaithful too me? Has he ever been with another woman? Are there visitors that come to call for him while I'm away?"
Toph, who was about to let Joo Dee's face go, held firm as Katara asked her questions. Toph felt a medley of reactions from the servant in her clutches and she had the feeling Katara might not like Joo Dee's answer.
"There are many people that come here seeking help," Joo Dee said nervously, "Avatar Aang is an important man.
"Your face is getting sweaty," Toph noted in a deadly quiet voice, "and your heartbeat is racing… what are you hiding?"
"Nothing, I-"
"Liar," Toph sneered.
"I-I-"
"Tell me the truth, Joo Dee," Katara said, "there's no point in lying, I'll find out the truth sooner or later."
"There was a woman," Joo Dee said.
"Who," Toph demanded quickly.
"I do not know," Joo Dee answered, raising her hands in surrender, "all I know is that they gave me a note, they wore a hood. I know I shouldn't have done it but… I read the note! She was so mysterious, I decided to read it just in case! It detailed a secret meeting between Aang, and who I presumed to be the woman who gave me the note! Something about ruining his clothes and his stick, but I swear, that's all!"
"Aside from that last part, that was all the truth," Toph said, looking at her fingernails as Joo Dee shivered under Toph's other hand.
"The last part," Katara asked.
"The part where she said 'that's all,' she was lying about that, she knows more, ask another question," Toph said casually, as if she were doing something boring like peeling potatoes.
"Ok… um- what are you lying about," Katara asked, unsure of exactly what to ask about.
"Well, I followed the Avatar, I was concerned for his safety. Curious about… the two of you. There was an old abandoned warehouse, I've probably passed it thousands of times-"
"Get to the point," Toph said, "my arm is getting sore like this."
"The lights were on, I heard screams and shouts, sounds that shouldn't come from a warehouse-"
"And then," Katara asked.
"I tried to sneak in, but I was caught," Joo Dee said quickly, "I ran before the Avatar could get a good look at me, I was scared for my job and I didn't want to lose your trust, so I said nothing to either of you, and I am very sorry, Master Katara!"
"Aaaand, that was a whole bunch of truth," Toph said, pulling her arm from Joo Dee's face and stretching her hand before she let it hang at her side. Joo Dee bowed to Katara, who waved off the apology.
"It's fine, I understand! You know, I actually thought you might have been the one with whom Aang has been fraternizing," Katara said airily
Toph looked at Katara, expecting her to frown, but Katara kept her smile fixed in place. If Joo Dee's story had done anything, it had convinced her that this was adultery, plain pure and simple, Toph, however, seemed to think otherwise. She let Katara know by thumping her in the arm and scowling at the waterbender.
"Ouch, what was that for?"
"Innocent until proven guilty," Toph said, repeating Iroh's warning and crossing her arms, "besides, when are you the one to be all headstrong, that's my gig, sister!"
"Sorry, Toph, I just have a hard time seeing it any other way. All the evidence seems to point to-"
Katara broke off, feeling as if her chest might burst and release a wave of anxiety and fear. Toph, however, would probably weather any tidal wave Katara's feelings could throw at her. She stood there, resolute, and smiled at Katara reassuringly, and the waterbender knew that Toph was doing her best to keep her chin up.
"Katara, this just doesn't add up, you're just overthinking! Seriously! I'll prove it too you, Joo Dee, where's that warehouse you were talking about," Toph asked sharply, making the servant jump.
"It's nestled up against the inside of the middle ring, next to the cobbler and the smith! It's huge, you can't miss it. And the door the Avatar used to gain entrance was an old metal sliding door," Joo Dee said quickly.
"I believe that's my specialty," Toph said, turning and throwing the door open before marching through it.
"C'mon Katara," Toph said, "let's go dig up some evidence!"
Again, Katara allowed the short blind girl to lead the way as they wove through the streets of Ba Sing Se. They slowly worked their way past several government officials' houses until they reached the wall separating the upper and middle rings. Since the retaking of the city and the restoration of the Earth King, the Avatar had lobbied unrelentingly for free passage between the rings of the city, saying that it was these kinds of divides that helped spread mistruths and misconceptions. After the citizens of the lower and middle rings rose is support of the Avatar, King Kuei had decided to allow large sections of the walls to be dropped, forming an enormous opening through which everyone could come and go as they pleased, essentially removing all traces of what the Dai Li had called 'order'. The citizens of the upper ring had been furious, but their anger abated when prices dropped on a wide variety of goods from the middle and lower rings due to ease of access, and the naysayers were silenced. Once again, Avatar Aang had come through and brought people together in ways they didn't even bother to consider.
"The city feels different now," Toph said to Katara as they worked their way through the bustling crowd that was passing between the walls, "it feels more… at peace. And it sounds so lively."
"Well, you have to remember, we're at peace now," Katara said, "before these people were refugees who had lost everything to the Fire Nation. Some of them left to rebuild their homes, but others stayed and plied their crafts here, resulting in an economic boom for the city, and a huge increase in the standard of living."
"Wow, aren't you little miss know it all," Toph said with a smirk as she strong armed her way through the crowd.
"I've picked up on a few of the meetings I attended with Aang. And then I actually made a presentation to the Earth King about the walls needing to be taken down. Since then I've worked as an advisor for the King. His Generals are great and all, but they're all so old, their idea can get a little-erm- stagnant," Katara said, phrasing it as simply as possible for Toph.
The short metalbending master spat upon the ground and continued to walk.
"Sounds like a bunch of political nonsense to me," Toph said, "not sure I could stomach it."
"Yeah, you'd break their fancy table in half and throw it at whoever disagreed with you," Katara said, trying not to laugh as the vision became more and more surreal behind her blue eyes.
"True enough, but if I had my way, I'd run things a little differently."
"How so?"
"Well, for starters, I'd probably make it a bit more militarized. I'd contribute resources to the eradication of crime and I would form an elite group to fight criminals," Toph said thoughtfully as they worked their way down the main stretch of road that led to the lower ring, which sat crouched upon the horizon.
"But you are a criminal, in the Fire Nation anyway," Katara said, "I've heard some of the reports, people are using your image to create some sort of trickster spirit. You have no idea how many times Zuko has sent memos asking if you had gone to the Fire Nation recently."
"You didn't tell him about my little stint as a con artist, did you," Toph asked warningly.
"Of course not," Katara said, placating the glaring earthbender, "I did tell him that some hoodlums probably got a hold of your old wanted poster from when we were fugitives in the Fire Nation and that they were simply using your image as a façade to get away with crimes."
"A good cover story," Toph muttered, picking a spot on her chin, "do you think he bought it?"
"I think he had no other choice, how else would he explain it, aside from learning the truth," Katara answered with a shrug.
"How is he, by the way? I haven't heard much from him aside from his marriage and newborn daughter," Toph said casually.
"Well, I don't know, I haven't seen him much myself, but from what Iroh told me, he's under a lot of pressure to perform. I guess being the Fire Lord is getting to him," Katara said sadly.
"I don't know about that," Toph said, "think about it, the guy has wanted to take the throne since before you ever knew him… I'd say something else is going on. How's his mom?"
"Not sure," Katara said, "he sort of hid her away from the world after he got her back. I think he was scared to lose her again."
"Can't say I understand that," Toph said, stretching her arms over her head, "but then again, my mom and I have never seen eye to eye."
"I can sympathize," Katara said quietly, "if I got my mom back, I don't think I'd ever let her out of my sight again."
"Good point," Toph said, coming to a stop as they reached the opening in the wall between the middle and lower districts. It was a large street, much less packed that the one between the upper and middle rings. The ring of steel on steel could be heard, and when they looked about, they saw a large, muscled man hard at work next to a glowing forge as he hammered a cherry red piece of glowing metal.
"There's the smith," Toph said with a frown.
"Cobbler's there," Katara said, pointing to the building on the other side of a large, dark warehouse with high windows, a few of which were open. The building must have been the warehouse Joo Dee spoke of, and it looked like it might have been upon the verge of collapse. The flat metal roof was pocked with rust and holes and its windows were dead and lifeless. Katara and Toph nonchalantly made their way over to the door of the warehouse, which was located on the side, in an alleyway between the cobbler's building and the warehouse itself. The alley was bare, save a few smatterings of litter, but other than that there were no signs of life.
'A few years ago, this alley would've been filled with criminals and lowlives looking to mug any wealthy passersby," Katara thought to herself as she turned to keep lookout for Toph, who was cracking her knuckles in preparation of busting down the door.
"Hold up a second, Toph," Katara said suddenly.
"What, why?"
"Because," Katara said, reaching for the handle, "it's hanging open, it's not even locked."
"Oh," Toph said sadly.
She had been looking forward to unwinding upon the thick metal door, but Toph hung her head and followed Katara into the warehouse. The inside, it seemed, was in a very different state that the outside. For all intents and purposes, it very well might have been livable. The few holes in the roof had buckets, troughs and other random objects under them to catch water, and the inside was well insulated. As it turned out, several of the windows had been covered with sheets, tarps and other screens to keep out prying eyes, and in the center of the warehouse was a very strange design upon the floor, a section of which was raised like a plateau. There was a pattern to it, of that Katara had no doubt, but unless she viewed it from above, it would likely escape her. Still, a shiver ran along her spine and she felt like she was missing something incredibly important. Toph walked right onto the raised platform and felt the vibrations with each step she took.
"Hey," she said to Katara, "this is filled with earth discs…"
"What," Katara asked.
In answer, Toph stomped hard upon the platform, and upon either side of her, two large stacks of perfect earthen discs rose from holes in the floor and set themselves down upon either side of the earthbender with a gentle boom. Each stack stood about eight feet tall, and the discs were still perfect, and apparently brand new.
"These are the kind of things you would see in an underground earthbending arena," Toph said, "I know cause I've seen them in a lot of places."
"And why exactly do you go to these places," Katara asked, crossing her arms and smirking, "taking up the Blind Bandit again, are we?"
"No, I go there to scout for new blood," Toph said, "when someone is fighting, I can always sense whether or not they have what it takes to be a metalbender. I frequent places like this in hopes of getting people off the street and I teach them rare skills that'll be useful in a variety of job environments. I'm an economic mastermind myself, Sugar Queen!"
"Melon Lord," Katara said quickly.
"Did you just insult my-"
"Yup," Katara said.
"That was low," Toph said, shaking her head in defeat.
"Be quiet," Katara said suddenly. She was sure she'd misheard, but from within the depths, she could've sworn she heard sloshing. The funny thing was, it didn't come from any of the buckets or troughs, it seemed to be coming from under feet.
"Toph, are there sewer lines coming through here," Katara asked.
"Let me see…"
Toph closed her eyes, and for a moment she withdrew from herself to search the ground beneath her. Her eyes opened once more and she frowned.
"I don't think it's a sewer," she said, "but there are pipes, and liquid is going through them. If I had to guess I'd say this place was a factory at some point, cause there are water mains all over. They all seem to all pool right here under this platform though."
Katara took a step up and stood next to Toph, staring at the floor. The platform upon which they now stood was pocked with holes, each filled with long, heavy rows of earth discs. Grates also ran along the platform at regular intervals, and within the grates, Katara could practically sense the water from within them. Sure enough, when she peaked down into one of the grates the sparkling sheen of dark water caught her eye. Katara was stunned for a moment as she looked around the platform.
"What is this," Katara asked.
"I don't know," Toph said, "I've never seen anything quite like it."
Something else seemed to bother Katara, and after a moment, she noticed that the platform was not dusty, like everything else in the room. There were bits and pieces of broken earth discs, swept quickly into the dark corners of the warehouse, and a thick layer of dust lay upon almost every surface… except for the platform, which was clean, shiny and polished. Even so, it was marked here and there with scuffs, scrapes, and, much to Katara's bewilderment, burns. Every now and again, scorch marks seemed to crinkle and crack the neat polish that someone had obviously worked quite hard to keep up.
"Katara, I'm pretty sure that Twinkle Toes isn't cheating on you," Toph said, "this is an arena."
"You sure," Katara asked assuredly, "I've heard of some people that are into some pretty freaky-"
"Lalalalalala," Toph said loudly, shoving her fingers into her ears and ignoring Katara's statement.
"Listen, I told you I've seen lots of different arenas, right? This one is a bit different, but with the water, I'd say there was a group of people here using this. Maybe Aang was betting on the fights. Does he have money problems?"
"No, he's the Avatar," Katara said, "he doesn't need money, people always give him stuff. No, he would be fighting in the arena, but why?"
"You can ask him that when you see him next," Toph said, "we should get back to-"
Toph was interrupted by the sound of screeching metal, and the door they had come through slid open to reveal a dark figure standing in the doorway. They appeared to have a bag over their shoulder and they wore a heavy cloak that obscured their features. They looked at Katara and Toph for a few moments, while the girls stared back, and without warning, the figure turned and dashed away.
"Hey," Katara shouted, "come back here!"
She took off in pursuit of the cloaked figure, and Toph followed as fast as she could, sliding along on the earth as if she were wearing skates.
Hello Arrowheads, Avatards, Melon Lords, Benders and Non-benders alike, and welcome to this fanfic. I hope you enjoyed it thus far, and I apologize for the wait, what with work, taxes and a variety of other crap, I find my writing has begun to slow, but you guys don't want to hear about that, do you? No, you want to hear about Aang, Katara, Toph and whoever else will be in the story! So, this chapter shows us that Aang has likely not bee committing adultery! Yay for Master Arrowhead! We also learn that Joo Dee actually got some character development! It only took three years! Toph is a badass and I think her dealing with puberty is satirical genius, but that's just me. What will happen next I wonder, and can anybody figure out what the arena has to do with this? If so, keep it to yourself! I know it's pretty apparent, but I'm no mystery novelist, cut me some slack!
As for music, I listened to this, even though it's a pretty sad song, I find the beat is so... uplifting, and I can so imagine this being the Gaang's theme song!
watch?v=dYRqIAuY9IQ
