Chapter 22: Brotherhood

That night, Ricky, Rukia, Wall-E, Ben, Saber, Allen and Will all sit together at a pavement. By now, most of the restaurants and stores are now closed for the day and most of the people in the city have gone back home and rest. But the group still waits for Toph to finish her work for the day.

Will yawned and asked, "Anyone know what time is it now?"

Ben looked at his watch and said, "10 PM."

"Is this slave girl ever gonna come out any time soon?" Will said to Ricky annoyed.

"Look guys, let's just wait a little longer. I'm sure she has finished working by now." Ricky said to his group.

"Hey there Ricky. I've been looking for you." A voice said. The group looked up and sees Toph walking up to them.

"Great. You're finally here, Toph." Ricky smiled. He then turned to Ben, Saber, Allen and Will. "Guys, this is Toph Bei Fong. She offered us to let us stay in her home."

"Nice to meet you, Toph. It's a pleasure to meet you." Saber smiled at Toph.

Allen examines Toph. She had some bruises on her forehead, her left arm and her right leg, her hair bun is messy and her robes are drenched with sweat. He asked, "You sure had a rough day today, don't you?"

"Yeah." Toph sighed. "Sorry to keep you guys waiting. I usually end my work at 10 PM."

"Toph, they can't treat you like this. You're just a child. And forcing you to go to work at a young age isn't right." Rukia said.

"I know. But it's okay. Working makes me less bored anyways." Toph said, smiling sadly.

"Can we go to your house now? We're dying out here." Will said, flapping her hand at her face. The others looked at her annoyed. "What? It's true."

Toph chuckled. "Oh yeah. Sorry. Let's go."

The group then entered Toph's apartment. The apartment is small and it only has 5 rooms. One room is a small living room which has a couch and a small table, the second room is a bathroom while the third, fourth and fifth rooms are the bedrooms.

"Well, this is my home. It ain't much, but still…not much." Toph said, introducing Ricky and his group to her home.

"At least it's not in a sewer." Ben joked.

"I'm going straight to the bed room." Will said. She enters the first bedroom and turns on the light and immediately collapsed on one of the beds.

Rukia is the next to enter the first bedroom. She rolls her eyes as she sees Will, already fast asleep on her bed. She climbs onto the bed next to Will's and lies down.

"Good night, you guys. See you all in the morning." Saber smiled as she enters the second bedroom.

"So Ricky, you want to sleep with me at the third bedroom?" Ben asked.

"Nah, it's okay. You and Allen can have the third room. I'll sleep on the couch." Ricky said. Ben sighed sadly. Ricky really doesn't seem to hang out with him often anymore.

"Okay." He groaned. "Let's go Wall-E." Wall-E nods as Ben turned around and they both went over to the bedroom.

"Good night, Ricky. And thanks for letting me have the bed." Allen smiled.

"Hey, it's okay. After all, I'm the leader of the group so I should treat you guys fairly." Ricky said. Allen then enters the third bedroom. Ricky turns to the couch, stretches his arms and lies on the couch.

Two hours later, the sounds of a door opening and a person quietly walking in woke Ricky up from his sleep. Did someone just break in? He quickly turned his head to the direction of noise and the person yelped.

"Oh, sorry that I woke you up." The person said. Ricky sighed. It was just Toph, who walked out of her bedroom.

"Can't sleep, huh?" Ricky asked.

"Nah, I'm just not tired. I'm just gonna go to balcony for some fresh air. Wanna join me?"

Ricky shrugs as he got up from the couch. "Alright, fine." This made Toph smiled.

Ricky and Toph both looked up at the night sky. The night sky looks beautiful tonight and several stars shine brightly up in the sky.

"Ricky?" Toph asked with smile.

"Yes?" Ricky asked, turning to her.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being here, with me." Toph told him. Ricky smiled as he wraps an arm around Toph.

"Anytime." He replied. He turns back to the night sky and said, "You know Toph, looking up at the stars always reminds me of my mother."

"You have a mother?" Toph asked, turning to him.

"Yeah."

"What happened to her?"

Ricky's eyes grew cold. "I don't want to talk about it."

"I'm sorry." She said.

"Nah, it's okay. Anyways, what about you Toph? What do the stars always reminds you of?"

Toph sighed sadly. "They remind me of my brother."

"You had a brother?" Ricky asked, turning back to her. Toph nodded and her eyes also start to get teary.

"Yes." She said. There was a pause between the two for moment, until Toph turned to Ricky and asked, "Ricky? Can I call you 'Brother'?"

"What?" Ricky asked with his pupils dilated.

"Because…you remind me so much of my brother."

"What happen to your brother anyways?"

"Well…5 years ago, before I move here to Beijing, my life was peaceful, with my brother and my parents." Toph now tells her story as she looks up in the night sky.

Flashback:

(Taiyuan, China)

(5 Years Ago)

(Toph's narration in Bold and Italics)

At the city of Taiyuan, a Chinese city that is located near Beijing and also the capital city of the Shanxi province, several people were doing their daily businesses. At the city's housing district of Xinhualing District, two children were playing at the playground. One of them was a 7 year old Toph Bei Fong, dressed in light green robes and her hair is tied to a small hair bun.

The second child is a 12 year old boy with bald head, brown eyes and wears yellow and orange robes, black pants and black boots. His name was Aang, Toph's brother. Currently, the two siblings are building a sandcastle.

Toph and Aang both giggle as they build their sandcastle.

"I was glad to have an elder brother like Aang. I have been close with Aang for as long as I can remember." Toph said.

"Look out, Toph!" Aang said, but Toph accidentally swings her arm and their sandcastle collapse.

"Oh no!" Toph cried, realizing what she has done.

She was about to cry until Aang spoke up comfortingly, "Hey, it's okay. How about we play hide and seek instead?"

Toph perked up and smiled. "Okay! I hide, you seek!"

"Got it!" Aang covered his eyes while Toph quickly runs away from Aang and searches for a good hiding place.

"1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10! Here I come!" Aang said.

He stood up and looked around. He searched around the playground until he turned to a nearby tree. He smirked, knowing that Toph could be hiding behind the tree.

He runs over the tree and his smile widens when he looked behind the tree and found Toph.

"I found you To-Toph?" Aang's face of happiness turned to a face of confusion when he sees Toph looking up at the sky dumbfounded. "Toph? What's wrong?"

Suddenly, Aang gasps when a huge shadow overshadowed him and Toph. "Is it starting to rain already?" He asked questioningly. He looked up and drop his jaw. It wasn't dark clouds in the sky. Instead, it was a huge Faction battleship flying above the city.

"Let's go find mom and dad!" Toph cried, turning to Aang. Aang nodded solemnly and the two rushed back to their apartment.

Toph and Aang both breath heavily as they rush over to their house. They both entered their house and as soon as they entered, they widen their eyes and gasp again. They both see a Faction soldier standing in front of their parents, who both kneel over to him.

The Faction soldier turned his head around and Toph's eyes tear up.

"Toph, Aang, get out of here. We'll be fine." Their mother said to her and Aang.

"You heard your mother. Go!" The Faction soldier barked.

"Let's go." Aang whispered to Toph as he grabs Toph's hand. Toph turned to her brother and nodded.

"Go!" Their father yelled. Toph and Aang both ran out of the house and ran away from their house. But after running twenty feet away from the house, they both stop in their tracks, turned around and gasp when they heard shooting coming from their house. They know what that mean.

"Mom? Dad?" Toph said softly, as loose tears rolled down her cheeks.

"No." Aang choked, tears rolling down from his cheeks as well. They both stared at their house for moment, until they yelp when a bomb fell down from the sky and explodes a nearby house. They both turned around and watched more bombs falling down from the skies.

"This whole city is going to be destroyed!" Aang yelled to Toph. "We need to get out of here!" Toph nodded in agreement. Aang then quickly carried his sister on his back and he runs his way out of the city.

A few days after their home is destroyed by the Faction, Aang climbs up a cliff while carrying Toph on his back. He breathes heavily as he climbs up the cliff.

"We know that since we now have no where to go, we both decided to go to Beijing and hope we could start a new life there." Toph continued.

Toph looked at Aang in concern. "Aang, if you are feeling tired, you can just let me down from your back. I can always walk on my feet." She said.

Aang shook his head. "Nah, it's alright. Besides…" He turned to Toph and smiled. "That's what elder brothers do, right?" Toph smiled back.

"After a week of travelling, we finally arrived at Beijing. However, we don't have any money so we just find whatever food we can find to survive."

Aang and Toph rummage through a dumpster for food. Aang managed to find a half-loaf of bread.

"Here you go Toph. You can have it." Aang smiled weakly as he hands the bread to Toph. Toph takes the bread and looks at Aang in concern. Her brother was extremely thin, his bones being clearly visible through his skin, and was pale and shaky.

"No Aang, please. Don't give the bread to me, give it to yourself. You really need to eat! You haven't eaten anything in days!" Toph pleaded.

Aang holds up his hands and said to Toph, "No, it's okay. I'm fine. I really am."

Toph frowns at Aang in deep concern, until she finally takes a bite of her bread and starts eating it.

Aang smiled at her, until he suddenly starts to cough severely while clutching his chest. Toph widens her eyes in horror as she drops her bread. "AANG!" She shrieked.

Aang then suddenly closes his eyes and faints but Toph quickly grabs her body before he could fall to the ground. "Aang! Wake up! Aang!" She cried.

Toph runs through the streets of Beijing, desperately searching for help. She can't let her brother die! She runs over to a man named Chase Young and grabs his hand. "Please sir! Help me! This is an emergency!" She begged with tears in her eyes.

"Get away, peasant!" Chase snapped, shoving his hand away from Toph and knocking the girl to the ground.

Toph quickly got up and runs over to another man named Kuzco, "Please! You have to listen to me!" Kuzco however, leaves with a huff. "No!" She spotted a woman in front of her. She quickly runs over to her and yelled, "Please! You have to help me!"

When the woman turned around, Toph gasps and widens her eyes in horror. The woman was Azula and she was glaring at her coldly. Toph also saw the Faction's black trident symbol on Azula's armor, knowing that she is a soldier of the Faction.

"What do you want?" She said to Toph icily.

"You…you're a Faction soldier right?" She whispered.

"You say that you want me to help you? What's wrong?"

Toph gulped. "I-It's…it's my brother. He's extremely ill."

Azula shrugs. "Then go get money to buy some medicine for him."

"But I don't have any money!" Toph cried.

"Then that's too bad. Unless, you want to work as a slave." Azula said.

Toph widens her eyes. "What?" She whispered.

"Yeah. A slave. If you don't have any money or a home to stay in, then you have no choice to serve us. I'm recruiting people to help us turn this pitiful city into a new civilization under my command. If you serve me as my slave, I promise I'll give you food, money and a place to live in. If you don't accept my offer, well…then your brother will die. So, what do you say?" Azula asked.

Toph closes her eyes. She doesn't want to take Azula's offer; she doesn't want to work as a mindless slave. But…she was afraid. She didn't want Aang to die, she wanted him to live. And she really wants money. Azula was offering her a way to save his life. Tears leaked from her eyes. She hated herself for being such a fool. She fell to the ground on her knees.

"I…I accept." She said. Azula smiled wickedly.

"Good." Azula said coolly.

"So then, I worked as a slave. I really had no choice. I really want money and to save my brother."

Toph breathes heavily as she and some other slaves dig the ground with their pickaxes. She wipes some sweat off her forehead before continue working.

"But after I became a slave, I did receive some money, a nice place to stay and cleaner food. But no matter what, my brother grows weaker and weaker everyday."

At her home, Toph walks over to Aang, who is lying on his bed, with a bowl of soup. She scoops some soup with her spoon.

"Here, drink this. I bought this soup with all the money I earn today." Toph said to her brother.

"Toph, you really don't have to do this." Aang rasped, barely able to speak.

"No please Aang. I have to. I'm sorry. I can't lose you. You're the best brother I ever had." Toph said. She gestures Aang to open his mouth. Aang nodded, opens his mouth and Toph places her spoon into his mouth.

"Then one day, he was finally going to die…"

Toph rushes over to her brother's room and opens the door. She was overwhelmed with fear as she sees Aang, lying on his bed utterly motionless.

"Aang!" Toph hollered as she ran over to his bedside. Aang's eyes flickered open and slowly turned his head to Toph with blood now trickling from his mouth.

"T-Toph…" He barely said. Suddenly, he coughed and blood splattered onto his bed, making Toph look more horrified.

"Aang, please! Hang in there!" She begged, tears trickling down her cheeks.

"Toph, I'm really sorry."

"It's okay Aang. Please! Just don't go!"

Tears now rolled down from Aang's cheeks as well. "I'm sorry Toph. I can't hold on. But before I die, I just want you know…" He coughed again. "That you will always be the best sister I ever had."

More tears rolled down Toph's cheeks as Toph said, "And you…you will always be…the best brother I ever had."

Aang smiled weakly. "I love you, Toph."

"I love you too." Toph whispered. She leaned down her head and kisses Aang's forehead. She stayed there until Aang's eyes slid shut.

The next day, outside the city, Toph had placed Aang in a coffin and have placed some firewood under the coffin. She holds up the lid and looks at her now dead brother one last time. A tear trickles down her cheek and after staring at Aang for a moment, she finally places the lid over the coffin, takes out a matchstick, lights up it and sets the coffin on fire.

Toph then backs away and watches her brother's body cremates silently.

End of Flashback

"And I never saw my brother again." Toph sniffed as her eyes are now stained with tears.

Ricky tries to hold back his tears after hearing Toph's past, but he couldn't as a loose tear now trickles down his cheek. "I'm really sorry, Toph." He said.

Toph then hugs Ricky, bursts into tears and cries into his shirt. "I miss him so much!" She cried. Ricky hugs her comfortingly and rubs her back.

"I'm so sorry Toph. I'm so sorry." He whispered.

Unaware to the two, Ben Tennyson and Wall-E were standing a few feet away from the balcony and Ben watches Ricky hugging Toph sadly. He turned his head away in frustration, his heart in shambles, while Wall-E looks at Ben in concern.

"Ben?" Wall-E said.

Ben looked at Wall-E and said sadly, "It's official Wall-E. He doesn't care about me anymore." He turns around with tears trickling down his cheeks and walks away while Wall-E turns to Ricky, then follows Ben from behind.

END OF CHAPTER

Ryo: Wow, probably the saddest chapter I ever wrote. Stay tune for the next chapter and read and review!