The third chapter! Thank you to those who have reviewed! It's very much appreciated. I don't know if I have to do this every time, but I do not, nor shall ever, own Avatar: the Last Airbender or Green Day.

"She screams in silence

A sullen riot penetrating through her mind.

Waiting for a sign to smash the silence

With the brick of self-control." Green Day, Dookie, "She"

Toph's POV

Disappointment is something you can only face so many times before it becomes too much for a person and they just want to scream.

Toph Bei Fong was no stranger to disappointment. All her life she had been her parents' biggest disappointment. Born blind, she has always been treated by her parents as if she were an invalid, incapable of doing anything on her own. That was until she met Aang the Avatar and had run away with him and his friends. They changed her life for the better. She learned how to live. Of course, she had already made a name for herself as the "Blind Bandit" in an underground wrestling league.

Toph was able to do what she could through her acute sense of hearing combined with her earthbending. It gave her a sort of "earth sense". A sixth sense she has that allows her to "see" by giving her a picture in her mind of the shapes and movements of things around her. It was, in a sense, like a monkey-bat's echolocation.

No, Toph was certainly no stranger to disappointment. Her most recent worries have been the pairing off of her best friends. Sokka and Suki's marriage hadn't been too bad. Suki was good for Sokka. Besides, Sokka would be much better off with a non-bender like himself. Then there were Aang and Katara. It was only a matter of time before those two announce that they were getting married. This one didn't bother Toph too much either. Aang had always been more like a brother to her than anything else. The one thing that had really annoyed her was Zuko and Mai's engagement announcement.

The only problem was that Toph had no idea why that was. She had nothing against Mai, even if the woman was a little dark for her preference, but that wasn't it. Zuko, well Zuko was just her close friend, wasn't he? She shook her head slightly as her mind went back through her memories, starting with the strange, instant connection she had felt toward him when he had come to Team Avatar asking to join, and her equally weird desire to go see him at his campsite. Next was that day on Ember Island when she had wanted to go on a "life-changing journey" with him. Finally, that day not too long ago when she had let Ty Lee and Suki dress her up, and Zuko's reaction to how she had looked. For some reason his reaction had made this curious warmth creep through her whole body.

Toph shook her head as if to clear it. Who am I kidding? she thought, Zuko, feel something for me? That's just nuttier than Sokka on cactus juice.

Presently she felt someone coming up behind her on the deck. She recognized the footfalls as that of the captain's. "Miss Bei Fong," he greeted her, "we are approaching the Fire Nation Capitol."

Toph inhaled a deep breath of salty ocean air. That was about the only thing she liked about being on nauseating boats, was the smell. She turned from the boat railing to the direction that would have her facing the captain. He didn't know she was blind, and she wanted to keep it that way. No sense having another person worrying about her.

"Thanks Captain. How much longer do you think it'll be until we get there?" she asked as politely as possible, feeling that odd warmth spread through her again as she thought about seeing Zuko in a little while.

"My best guess is about a half an hour, Miss Bei Fong," the captain responded.

"Perfect!" she replied brightly, and then she turned away from him to have herself facing the ocean. Toph sensed the captain's retreat and let out a sigh of relief. Now she could turn her thoughts to the reason for her visit to the Fire Nation's leader.

It had started a couple weeks ago when she had inadvertently wandered into Ba Sing Se's Lower Ring after she had visited Zuko's uncle Iroh at his tea shop, the Jasmine Dragon. Toph had walked past a little gathering area when she heard someone shouting. She had pushed her way through a crowd of bodies until she got front where she could hear.

The person, who from his voice was a man, was saying things that shocked Toph. She knew the people in the Lower Ring had it bad off, but she'd never really thought about what this might do to them.

The man, who had only identified himself as the "Rebellion Starter", had been saying this when Toph came up, "People of the Lower Ring! You work and starve while those in the Upper Ring live in luxury! It's time to take matters in your own hands and revolt! You must go to the Earth King and demand retribution for the wrongs that have been wrought upon you! If not for yourselves, than do it for your children and their children yet to come!"

The speech had obviously been over then, because Toph had felt the man get down from the table he had been standing on and run off. She had then turned her senses to the people standing around her. Most just muttered things like: "Yeah right", "Like that'll ever work", and "We've been living like for so long, what's the use in trying to change things now?"

There were others though, who had seemed to agree with the man. A few had even gone chasing after him, wanting more information. Toph had known that she had to tell someone, but she couldn't tell the Earth King. This wasn't something he'd know how to deal with. So she had gone for the next best person, her friend and Fire Lord Zuko. She knew that he would have an idea of what to do and the resources to do it. She had hopped on the boat bound for the Fire Nation capitol that she's on now.

Just as Toph felt a shift in the waves against the side of the boat she heard a shipmate call out that they were docking and to "Prepare to disembark."

Toph thanked the spirits that she would finally be able to get back on solid earth. She rushed over to the boat ramp and was the first one off. She hurried off the dock and over to land. As her feet hit the dirt, the world spread out around in her large ripples. Suddenly she could sense people, buildings, animals, plants, and every rock for miles around her. Nothing had that strange ripple to it anymore that it did when she was on water.

Toph practically ran to the gates of the main city, reveling in the imagery her senses gave to her. With Zuko as Fire Lord, the gates were always open. People would occasionally yell at her to be more careful, but Toph paid the warnings no heed. She was going to see Zuko.

At the entrance to the palace she was stopped by a guard. He must be new, for he did not recognize her. "State your intentions," he intoned, his boredom barely concealed.

"I'm Toph Bei Fong, and I'm here to see Fire Lord Zuko, so you'd do best to move sir," Toph commanded, barely suppressing a laugh at the guard's reaction.

His body has instantly become rigid, and he stands up straighter. "A thousand apologies, Lady Bei Fong, Fire Lord Zuko is expecting you." Toph senses his bow before he moves out of her way.

She sprints through the palace, instinctively knowing the way to the throne room from many visits to the palace over the past five years. Toph reaches the doorway, but she stops short. Suddenly she was hit over the head with a weird wave of shyness.

Huffing at her stupidity, Toph takes a deep breath and pushes through the curtains covering the doorway. Zuko was sitting on his throne at the back of the room. Upon her dramatic entrance, he leaped to his feet. Toph could feel his eyes on her, looking her up and down. Finally, once the silence drags on and becomes uncomfortable for her, she says, her voice sounding really high in her ears for some reason, "Hey Zuko. I'm here." She smiles and hopes it's what someone would consider a sweet smile.

She perceived Zuko raise his eyebrow and then smile slightly. Toph can always sense his finer movements better than she could other people's movements. "Hi Toph," he says, but breaks off at the end, Toph senses something is wrong, and suddenly he and Toph are running across the room, into each other's arms.

Well, that's Chapter 3! I'm quite fond of reviews, so feel free to post some at your leisure. Stayed tuned for more of Toph and Zuko's reunion! I'll either do a chapter that's strictly Zuko's POV next or I may switch between he and Toph. It just depends on how it goes.

~Cori