Chapter 15

Toph ran down the steps of the house, Zuko right behind her. "Who is it?" he asked quietly.

"It's a boy," she answered and led the way to the place where the path from Yung's village exited the forest undergrowth. Neshi burst into view, tears streaming down his face. When he saw them, he ran to them and began to shake and sob.

"Did Yung send you?" Zuko asked urgently. The boy could only nod through his distress.

"It's okay," Toph said, leading the boy to a seat. "Just take a deep breath and tell us what he said."

"Daddy said for me to go up the mountain to the old village and find the scary man and tell the man that they know he's here," Neshi recited through his sobs. "I looked back down the trail and saw those pirates hurting my cousin Zhiang," he continued in distress.

"It's nearly an hour's hard travel back over this mountain," Zuko thought aloud. "We'd better get moving."

"I have an idea," Toph began, then walked to the start of the path and placed both her hands on the ground. "Let's take a shortcut." She walked into the trees and Zuko was mystified to see a darkness open ahead of her. "Come on," she gestured to them.

With a sinking feeling, Zuko realized that she was creating a tunnel through the base of the mountain.

"Wow!" Neshi breathed as he followed Toph into the narrow cave she was creating. "It's so dark in there."

"Not for me," Toph answered. "Here. Hold hands with the scary man and he'll hold mine."

Taking a deep breath, Zuko reached out for Toph's hand as Neshi's small hand took his. They walked several steps into the mountain. He could hear the sound of the earth moving ahead of him, but softly. Behind him the opening dwindled away to nothingness, shutting out the daylight.

"Hey," cried Neshi. "Where'd the hole go?"

"I'm bending it away behind us," Toph answered.

"But this is neat! Leave it open so we can go back and forth and not have to cross the mountain," said Neshi excitedly.

"I don't make permanent changes in the earth for convenience's sake," Toph answered reasonably. "Only in case of emergencies."

For a moment, Zuko thought about bending a little light around them, but then realized that the pitch blackness might be preferable to actually seeing how just how tight the place was. He could hear the earth opening before Toph and closing behind Neshi. Little sprinkles of fine dust fell from the ceiling as they passed.

"You know," said Toph after a few minutes, "if this mountain were any bigger, we'd have needed Aang along to bring in extra air for breathing."

"We could run out of air in here?" Zuko asked, trying to keep the nerves out of his voice.

"No, sweetie," Toph said, giving his hand a squeeze. "We should be just fine."

"Should?" he heard himself ask.

"Trust me, Sparky," Toph answered and he did. At least outwardly. His feet kept moving on the surprisingly smooth surface she'd created. However, once the first puff of warm, fresh air hit his face, he had to hold himself back from dashing out again.

"Boy, it's hot out here," Neshi said as they broke the surface fully. "I like it better in the cave."

"Then stay put there for a bit," Zuko said quietly, pulling the boy back to safety. "Toph and I are going to scout around for a moment and see what's going on out here."

"Tell you what, Sparky," Toph replied. "I am going to scout around a bit. You look just a bit too much like Crown Prince Zuko to do any successful scouting. I'm not nearly as recognizable."

Zuko looked at Toph in her island getup and saw the logic in her statement. There was one flaw though. "You look a little too much like you've been a duststorm to do any successful scouting," he responded.

She earthbended a look at herself and said, "Just a nice coating of healthy earth." Then she looked at him. "This is nice," she said. "I can really see you with that nice layer of dust covering you." She then bended the dust off all three of them. "And you're gone again," she sighed. Then she gave him a quick kiss, "But you do taste better this way."

Then Toph slipped off between the houses and toward the beach. After a few seconds, Zuko exited the cave behind her.

"Hey," said Neshi, "I thought we were going to let her scout."

"We are," Zuko answered. "She's scouting first, I'm scouting second, and you're staying put for backup. We'll call you when we need you, okay?"

Neshi nodded and slipped back into the shelter of the darkness.

Zuko made his way behind a different row of houses, sure that Toph was headed the same general direction he was, toward the center of town, because that was where the voices were coming from.

He peered cautiously from behind a small house to see just what he'd feared. Back on the beach, two men lay on the ground, apparently unconscious. From his vantage point, they looked as if they'd been beaten pretty badly. Yung knelt beside Zhiang who also lay lifeless on the sand, but closer to town. Over a dozen rough-looking men armed with various weapons and wearing a mix of red and black stood in a semicircle around the leader of the band, Deizhoun.

Zuko knew him in an instant. He'd been present at the tribunal when Uncle Iroh had declared him to be a war criminal. Unfortunately, due to Deizhoun's absence from the proceedings, judgment had been passed on a wanted poster. However, the man's haughty look and shock of white hair made him easily recognizable. He also recalled that Deizhoun was a master firebender and one of only a few outside the royal family with the ability to bend lightning.

Now, Deizhoun was pacing back and forth, apparently addressing questions to Yung. "I have not killed him—yet," he was saying. "Your former accomplices," he gestured toward the two bodies on the sand, "were very forthcoming about the identities of your passengers when we intercepted them off Lost Island. I believe Hain only had to break one finger each to learn all the details of your little plan."

He then gestured toward one of his group—likely Hain—because the man nodded and gave a rough laugh, then stated, "Yeah, but I got to break the other four just for fun."

The men found this very amusing, but Deizhoun held up his hand for silence. "Where are they now, Yung?" Yung merely kept his head down, one hand resting on Zhiang's chest. With alarming speed, Deizhoun lashed out at him with a short whip, cutting a deep gash in Yung's cheek. "I asked you a question," he stated quietly.

Yung responded just as quietly. "I've told you already. They died when the boat caught fire. They were locked in the hold and tried to burn their way free."

"I don't believe you," Deizhoun responded. As if on cue, another of the pirates returned from an apparent search of the beach house carrying Toph's silk blouse in his hand. Deizhoun took it and rubbed the delicate fabric between his fingers. "Prince Zuko!" he called out. "I know you are somewhere on this island! Someone in this village knows where to find you!"

Then he turned to the villagers standing at a distance. "Someone can take us to you. Perhaps they just need persuasion," he said softly, glancing around until his gaze stopped on Su-lin. She pushed Meimei behind her back, but not fast enough.

"Yung," he said with a smile. "I believe this is your lovely wife and daughter. Shall I have a chat with them?"

"No!" Yung shouted desperately and lunged for Deizhoun's throat. Unfortunately, a blaze of blue lightning from the pirate's fingertips scorched the ground at Yung's feet, stopping him short.

"Stop!" Zuko called, stepping out from his vantage point, hands held out to his sides. This had gone on long enough.

Yung looked up at first with disappointment, then barely disguised relief as Zuko stepped into view.

Toph had watched in horror, one hand pressed to the ground to better take in the action taking place in the field below her. The sand of the beach blurred her image of the two unconscious men, but she could tell Zhiang was barely breathing. Further in, the ground was firmer where the pirates stood, but still sandier than she liked for really effective bending. If only they'd move in toward the village a bit further, she'd be able to really pound them. Then to her dismay, she watched Zuko leave his place and offer himself in trade for the safety of the village.

However, instead of moving toward the men, he stood his ground.

"Prince Zuko," Deizhoun gave a sarcastic little bow, "what a pleasure. The boys will certainly enjoy your company on the journey. You should provide hours of entertainment. Maybe even days or weeks."

Ignoring his commentary, Zuko called out, "Just leave this village alone and I will come with you peacefully."

"Certainly," Deizhoun replied as he and his men slowly closed in. "The Fire Lord should pay a fine bounty for the return of his nephew. He might even pay more if we decided to send you back home in pieces."

Zuko stood in silence, hands outstretched as the men continued to close in. To his relief, the villagers had enough sense to back away.

Deizhoun continued to taunt him, playing him, "Rumor has it that you're a coward--a fool run by the Avatar and your senile uncle." Zuko looked down as if unwilling to meet Deizhoun's eyes.

"I see they we'ren't far off the mark," Deizhoun continued as the group advanced. "I'd hoped there would be more fight in you than this, though."

Only a few steps further and the group would have him surrounded. "Of course, fighting wouldn't help you," the pirate sneered. "You're completely outnumbered."

Then Zuko glared up into his face coldly and responded, "My senile uncle once told me that when one is outnumbered, the ground itself must become one's ally."

That was her cue, Toph realized and she struck with all the fury and resourcefulness she possessed.

The shock on the men's faces when the ground buckled beneath them and began to drag them in was priceless, Zuko thought. He leaped into the air and connected a solid kick against the side of Deizhoun's head, but the man was fast and was already turning to pull away from the blow.

All around them, the earth had erupted into a barrage of flying missiles, leaving at least six of the men unconscious in Toph's first attack. However, they quickly realized their peril and scattered. Deizhoun and the three other firebenders concentrated their attacks on subduing Zuko, but he had become a living flame, lashing out and dodging their blasts.

Toph systematically took down the fleeing men, trapping two in sand pits as they attempted to return to the beach. She then turned her attention to helping Zuko. She watched him take one of the firebenders out of the fight, probably breaking the man's collarbone in the process. As she moved in to fight, she was spotted by one of the remaining two firebenders.

"The earthbender!" he shouted in recognition.

"Take her," Deizhoun shouted to the men, leaving himself to fight Zuko.

The men were in fact skilled and resourceful, dodging attacks and anticipating strikes. However, years of fighting groups had taught her plenty about tactics and within moments, these too were either hopelessly trapped or unconscious.

Deizhoun and Zuko were more closely matched in skill, however, and their battle took on epic proportions. Deizhoun lashed out with the violent blue lightning that Toph had not seen in action since Zuko had fought Azula. However, instead of firing his own, which she knew he was capable of, or catching Deizhoun's as she seen him do so long ago, he concentrated on dodging attacks and blasting incredibly powerful jets of flame.

The men moved so fast that Toph couldn't take a chance on attacking Deizhoun for fear she would also trip Zuko. She needed to move closer.

Unfortunately, their battle had moved them out onto the beach. She wondered if Zuko had done that on purpose to keep the lightning strikes away from the innocent bystanders of the village.

But Deizhoun appeared to be slowing now and she extended her powers out to the sand beneath his feet, pulling at him. He roared in fury and shot a bolt of lightning directly at the unconscious Zhiang. Reflexively, Zuko leaped into its path, pulling the energy into himself and directing it harmlessly out into the sky, only barely missing Deizhoun's head.

The power of the blast knocked both men to the ground, giving Toph her chance. She reached deep beneath the beach sand to the volcanic glass below and pulled.

Deizhoun was rising now to one knee, but Zuko remained motionless on the sand. An evil grin crossed Deizhoun's face as he realized he now had the young prince at his mercy. This grin rapidly faded, however, as a cage of sharp volcanic glass suddenly erupted from beneath him, one shard in particular rising to meet the soft underside of his chin. His hands were completely encased in shards of glass with edges like knives; the slightest movement creating fine cuts on his wrists and fingers.

Toph dashed to the fallen Zuko, her mind flashing back again to the day he fought Azula. She placed her hands on his chest, desperately seeking his heartbeat. There was nothing.

Grief tore the breath from her. There was no Katara here, no healing water to start his heart again.

All Toph had was her love and her element, so she called on it. She threw herself on top of him and called to the earth with all she had. She called to the ground and it obligingly threw up a tower of crystal glass around them. She called to the volcano and it rumbled beneath them in answer. Then she called on the earth inside of him, the subtle earth that infused his body, his blood, his heart. She called and prayed.

Then she saw it. His heart jumped, then began to beat. Holding him close to her, she wept—tears of salt, tears of earth.