Chapter 19

"I've got to get closer," Toph was saying.

"Absolutely not," Zuko responded.

Over to the side, Su-lin leaned in toward Yung. "They're having their first fight. Isn't that sweet!" she whispered. Yung just rolled his eyes in disbelief.

Ash had begun to fall over the abandoned village as the party crossed back and through the mountain pass. The wedding reception was officially off until the volcano calmed down, which didn't appear to be happening any time soon.

"We can get maybe 100 people on the boats," Yung added as they gathered in the beach house. "The women and children maybe."

"If I could just get closer to the volcano's center, I might be able to see a way to take some of the pressure off," Toph repeated.

"But, sweetie, you can't get closer. We tried," Zuko assured her again. They'd spent an hour trying to find a path into the lava fields by the temple that was cool enough to take. That part of the mountain was just too unstable, the lava too fresh.

Yung was tired of listening to them argue. "You could take one of the fishing boats and circle around from the sea. There may be more stable land that way," he suggested, as he picked over some sweet treats in a tray.

"Okay, let's go," Toph stated firmly.

Zuko rubbed his eyes with one hand. "Fine," he said. "But, Yung, I want you to get as many people off this island as you can."

"What about the pirates?" Yung asked.

"Leave them with enough food and water for several days. There won't be room on the boats for half the people on this island, much less them," Zuko answered wearily. "Meanwhile, Toph and I will take the smallest boat and look for a place for her to try to do something about this thing."

Within an hour, the beach was crowded as the villagers rowed out in small groups to the boats anchored in the harbor. Men kissed their wives and children goodbye, then pushed the boats and canoes out into the surf. Toph was surprised to see Mr. and Mrs. Fong standing at the doorway of their home, waving to everyone. "Why aren't you on the boats?" she asked.

"She won't go," said Mr. Fong sadly.

"He came all this way to stay with me," Mrs. Fong responded firmly. "I'm not leaving him now."

"Then go to the highest spot on the mountain," Toph said. "Take food and water and wet cloths to breathe through. Maybe we'll get through it okay." She shifted her weight on her feet and concentrated for a moment. "If you take the trail up to the lookout, I've made a cave up there that will provide shelter for anybody who can't leave."

A light fall of ash continue to tumble from the sky. Toph realized that it was, in a way, the first time she'd ever seen it snow—earth snow. It was beautiful.

Unfortunately, it was also deadly. She shook herself and went to find Zuko.

He was getting the smallest of the boats ready. She reached out to touch it since she couldn't really see it. She would be on a small wooden boat in the middle of the water. Invisible on invisible. Her least favorite combination.

To her surprise, Yung came to join them. "I've put Su-lin and the kids on one of the fishing boats," he said. "You're going to need some help maneuvering past the rocks out there. There are spots where the sea floor is rising," he added as he helped Zuko push the boat off the sand and into the surf.

The two men started the small engine of the boat, Zuko stripping off his shirt to shovel coal into the little furnace. With Yung at the helm, they moved quickly past the boatloads of refugees and out of the harbor.

Toph could tell the minute they left the shelter of the harbor because the waves began to pick up dramatically. The wind blew harder as well, whipping her hair into her face. She found a seat out of the way and concentrated on looking at the one thing she could see.

The metal furnace stood out in sharp contrast to the wooden deck of the boat. The pile of coal was so visible, so real. But she could also see her husband as he opened the door of the furnace and tossed in another shovel full of coal. Sweat dripped down his face in the heat and shimmered on the muscles in his back—salt, she realized. It looked salty to her earthbending sight.

Yung shouted out for more speed, and Zuko reached over to adjust the throttle of the engine. Then he leaned back against the bulkhead and watched the instrument gages. After a few minutes, he opened the furnace door and stoked the fire again, sometimes adding a little heat of his own. Yung called for a slow to quarter speed, and Zuko responded with an adjustment and a call back. It was like a ballet as the two men worked together, speeding the boat through certain rocky passes, then slowing to allow a wave to break before tackling the next.

At times the rocks rose on either side of the boat. Toph saw them as both comforting earth and threatening obstacle all at the same time.

Finally Yung called to them, "This is as close as I can get. You'll have to swim ashore."

At the word swim, Toph felt herself begin to hyperventilate. Then Zuko was right by her side. "It's okay," he said. "I'll take you in. You'll be fine. Just hang onto me." Then he sat down and pulled off his boots, then picked hers up from the deck of the boat where she'd tossed them. He pulled out an oilcloth sack and packed up both pairs as well as his shirt. "The rest of us will have to drip dry," he commented.

He gave her the sack to hold, then slipped over the edge of the boat. She could see his face and hands as he tread water below her. "Toss me the sack and just slide in," he instructed. "I'll catch you."

The oilcloth sack slipped from her nerveless fingers, but she froze at the thoughts of jumping into the water. Suddenly Yung's strong hands gripped her around the waist and lifted her over the side. If she hadn't been able to see Zuko reaching up for her, she'd have gone into a complete panic. As it was, she managed to hang onto her sanity long enough for him to take hold of her.

"Good girl," he said, giving her a squeeze. "Now just put your arms around my neck, and I'll take us in to shore." He only had to tell her to loosen her grip once before he'd managed to bring them in close enough to where her feet could touch ground. The earth felt wonderful. A bit warmer than it should, but wonderful.

They waded onto the beach, which was more lava field than sand. The ground was smooth where the lava had cooled into pillows under water, but further inland it was brittle and sharp. Though she could earthbend the surface smooth enough to walk on barefoot, the ground was uncomfortably hot and she was grateful when Zuko brought out their dry boots from the sack.

"You can firebend them dry," he explained with a laugh, "but it has a tendency to shrink the leather—or cook it if you get too carried away." Then he looked at her with concern in his eyes. "Are you okay, sweetie?"

Toph just looked at him. "Do you have any idea how amazing you are?" she asked. "Drive the boat, swim ashore, remember the details. You are just incredible."

"I'm glad you appreciate me," he answered with a grin. "Now you do your stuff. Do you see a way to stop this thing?"

The soles of her boots insulated her feet from the heat, but didn't interfere at all with her earthbending. She extended her awareness deep into the earth, looking for the shape and composition of the volcano's magma chamber. The chamber was large and growing in pressure, she could tell immediately.

The original cone had collapsed probably many years ago, blocking the most direct vent. The magma was pushing against the side of the mountain that faced into the island. If it blew there, the entire mountainside would go and cover the rest of the island with lava flows, gas, and ash.

Toph felt again, hoping to find a secondary vent somewhere that could be exploited to take the pressure off. "There!" she pointed in the direction of a possible secondary vent. "Take me there."

Zuko didn't quite know how to tell her that she was pointing back out into the ocean. "Do you see any other place that might work?" he asked.

She checked again, following the magma trails that led off the central chamber, but each one led to a dead end except that one. "Nope, that's the one, Sparky. I need to go there and weaken the earth so the volcano can vent without exploding."

"Toph, you're pointing back out into the middle of the water," he explained and saw her face turn white.

"It's only a little lower than where we're standing now," she exclaimed in protest. "It can't be under water!"

He agreed that the water might be shallow enough to wade out, but insisted on taking the boat out there. The swim back was much less nervewracking. In fact, Toph found that she rather enjoyed holding onto Zuko's bare shoulders and was a little disappointed when Yung pulled her back into the boat.

Zuko described the plan to Yung, who seemed to scoff a little, but to Toph's relief, agreed that the water was much shallower out there than it would appear. "It's only about seven feet deep," he said. "The sea bed is rising all through here."

"Seven feet," Toph fairly shrieked. "That's not shallow!"

"It's shallow enough to reach the bottom," Zuko answered reasonably.

"Maybe for you, but I'm not seven feet tall!" she responded hotly.

"We'll have to submerge. You can hold your breath and hang onto me and I'll take us to the bottom. Then you can bend. Unless you think you can do it from the surface," he suggested.

Toph tried to think her way out of the situation. There was no way to do it from the surface. It would be hard enough with her feet on the ground. "I have to touch the ocean floor," she said resignedly. "Why couldn't we have Katara here to bend a nice water bubble over us?"

"If wishes were ostrichhorses--" he began.

"Just shut up and take us to the spot, Sparky. I feel sick," Toph replied.