Holy Hell...it has been forever and a day since I've updated :O please don't yell, scream or throw sharp objects at me please! A thousand and one apologies my faithful readers! Here is another chapter, hopefully next update will not take nearly as long!
~th3rdhal3~
"Runa! Runa!" The little girl hollered as loud as she could. She leaped out of her nice, warm bed and to the other side of the room. A loud clap of thunder made the young girl scream again as she dove under the covers of the bed across from hers. The blankest rustled and a slightly older child emerged, thoroughly annoyed; she had been woken from a deep sleep. The older girl rubbed the sleep from her eyes and peered out into the darkness, glaring at the younger one who had invaded her space.
"What is it?" she demanded in a childish voice. The littlest one scooted closer to her cousin, burying herself deeper into the older girl's side. "Auntie no want you running by yourself!" The older one scolded, grammatically incorrectly. Just then, a flash of white light appeared out the window, lighting up the sky. Soon after, the thunder came crashing down, practically trying to shatter the sky. The littlest one burst into tears. The older one sighed and scooped up her younger cousin. Though the toddler could not see the lightning, she could definitely hear the thunder and the noise frightened her. The older girl comforted the small one from the raging storm. "I protect you." She whispered, as the young toddler rested her head against the older one's arm. "I protect you always."
My blood boiled under my skin and my face grew hot; almost to the point where I thought I would fire-bend again. No. They had her. My cousin. Scumdogs! I cursed in my head. I would kill them, I'd kill them all. Every last one of them. After a few moments of silence, Lao was first to speak.
"Master Yu," He addressed the earth-bending teacher. "I need you to help me get my daughter back." The he tried to contain his voice, worry and desperation lined the edges of it. Before anyone could say anything, I stepped in.
"I'll get her back." My knuckles cracked as I felt the nails on my fingers dig into my palms. I began to stalk off towards the entrance of the estate. Katara called out after me.
"Wait, we're going with you." I paused for a few moments to reflect on my decision. "Aang's missing too," she added. "We'll help you get them back." Of course. How could I have been so selfish? It wasn't only my cousin who had been taken captive, but the young avatar as well. We had to save both of them, and our best bet was to team up. It would be stupid of me to try and rescue them on my own. Knowing Xin Fu, he probably had something up his sleeves. I drew in a deep breath before turning around to face the Water Tribe girl.
"Alright." I agreed, rejoining them. "But we need to get to the arena, and fast." A small smirk took over Sokka's charismatic face.
"Ever traveled by flying bison?"
In a matter of minutes we were airborne, and I nearly thought I would faint once my stomach dropped. I gripped onto the sides of the bison's saddle for dear life. Never in my fourteen-and-a-half-years had I ever once imagined to be so high in the sky as I was then. "So, I'll take that as a 'no'." Sokka chuckled, poking some fun at me. I blushed slightly and forced myself to laugh as well. I must admit, I must have looked pretty silly holding onto Appa's saddle like there was no tomorrow, but Master Yu and Toph's father looked pretty spooked as well. Appa flew swiftly and smoothly all the way to the mountainous landscape of Earth Rumble VI. I stroked the beast's furry side as he descended gradually.
"Good boy." I praised him.
I created my own door into the arena. "Er!" I growled as I punched my way through the walls of rock. The others followed me into the stadium and up the stairs leading to the ring. Two steel cages hung down from the ceiling by chains. In one was Aang and lower to the left was the one that Toph was held in. Cages. Fucking cages. I fumed. In his hand, Sokka held the green sack full of gold pieces. "Here's your money." He tossed the it at Xin Fu's feet. "Now let them go." The tournament host bent down to retrieve the pouch. He beckoned for the cage to be lowered. Once on the ground, the latch was opened and Toph burst out, running to us. I caught her in an embrace.
"Are you okay?" I asked. She squeezed me tight.
"I'm fine." she reassured me. Then, her father soon ushered her out and Master Yu motioned for me to follow them to safety. I hesitated; something wasn't exactly right about this transaction.
"What about Aang?" I hear Katara question Xin Fu behind me. The avatar was still held high up in a metal cage. Xin Fu held up a poster with a sketch of Aang on one side. I knew what it was instantly. I had seen many similar ones in my lifetime; it was a Fire Nation wanted poster.
"I think the Fire Nation will pay a hefty price for the avatar. Now get out of my ring!" The long haired man demanded. Tricky bastard! I cursed internally. Aang would not be sold over to the Fire Nation. I couldn't let that happen and I wouldn't. I found my voice once more.
"You and what army?" I grunted, taking a stand alongside Katara and Sokka. A whirlwind of earth appeared in one corner; the Fire Nation earth-bender. Up above, the bender with the green and red face mask dropped down from the rock stalagmites. One by one, each of the opponents who Toph had battled made their entrance and gathered around Xin Fu and The Boulder. I gulped, cursing my rotten luck and big mouth.
"Um, that army." Sokka pointed with his boomerang. I shot him an annoyed glance and he quickly got the message. There was three of us against seven of them. Things didn't look too good.
"Go, I'll be okay." Aang waved an arm outside of the bars of his cage up above us. That boy was so selfless. It was then that I knew I couldn't retreat. Aang was fighting for everyone in this war, it was my turn to fight for him. The Water Tribe brother and sister looked at one another uneasily and began to back away, but I still held my ground. Nothing said was going to scare me away from helping Aang.
"You think you're so big and bad that you can win this one?" Xin Fu stared me down, most likely taking note that I was barely a teenager. I never looked like much, never looked like I could pack a punch. But spirits, I could. "Follow your little friends and scram, punk!" I could feel the anger level rise as I clenched my fists tighter; I wanted to drive them clean through his head.
"Listen, jerk-off!" I spat right back at the greasy haired fighter. "I've never liked you or any of your games. So let him go, or you're about to enter a world of hurt that you don't even want to know." I threatened. Xin Fu seemed intrigued, but more agitated than anything.
"Is that so?" He egged me on, trying to call it off as a bluff. But hell, I wasn't bluffing; not even exaggerating. I meant every word of my threat. Familiar footsteps sounded behind me, and I turned to my left to see Toph approaching. My cousin stood beside me and raised her arms up in defense.
"You better do what she says. It'd suck for you to get your ass beat by two little girls." She taunted. I was surprised by Toph's use of language while her father was present. "I've beat you all before and I'll do it again!" The opposing earth-benders paused for a moment, after fishing down Aang's cage. They locked us in their sights as targets. Aang's cage was tossed to the side of the ring by The Hippo and I hoped the poor boy inside was okay. The earth-benders advanced on us. Sokka and Katara ran to aid us, but Toph held her arms up to stop them from drawing nearer. "No. This is something we need to do." They charged us. A quick look from Toph was all I needed. I waited anxiously for her first move. She began loosening the rock on the arena floor; I could hear it slide as our opponents drew nearer. Toph then slammed her foot down onto the floor. I pushed my arms out quickly and together we shoved the earth-benders back into the a heap at the center of the ring. A large, hazey cloud of dust rose up from the ground. Perfect. I grinned, and I knew Toph must have been thinking the same thing. The two of us entered the dust cloud, ready to show these guys how the blind/half blind girls kick it. Toph took the left and I stayed on the right.
The Fire Nation earth-bender looked around wildly, trying to wave the dust away as he did. In my opinion, his whole costume looked ridiculous. The main problem though, were the shoes. He caught sight of Toph and nearly wet himself. He regained his composure quickly and twisted sideways to bring up large amounts of earth. Toph side stepped, missing the attack by mere inches. She moved her open hands counter clockwise, and a rock formation hit the Fire Nation earth-bender on the left. The caped moron flew out of the ring and hit the stadium seats.
The fighter with the green mask crawled on all fours, searching for the two of us. I spotted him first and and chucked a rock at his head. He turned around to face me. My opponent sprang up and hurled two sphere shaped rocks, the size of my head, at me. I raised my left arm up quickly and broke one in a block, then punched the other in two with my right. He leaped forward at me, but before his hands and knees touched the ground again, I drove my heel into the floor and a rock column shot up, hitting the masked earth-bender so hard in the gut that he joined the Fire Nation earth-bender in the stadium.
The ground began to rumble and the sound of shifting rock could be heard. The Gopher emerged from underneath, aiming a small boulder at the back of my cousin's head. No! I sprang forward in a hurry, but Toph spun around, catching the boulder in one motion and hurled it back. The force of her throw sent The Gopher clear out of the ring as well.
Toph had thrown The Boulder out of the smoke cloud and I had managed to confuse the Hippo that he followed suit. The dust was beginning to reside back in the ground by that time. I raised my fists up and got ready to dash at our oncoming opponents, when Toph grabbed the back of my uniform. She planted her foot firmly on the floor and extended her free hand outward. Seconds later, the symbol we stood upon was rotating. I couldn't tell what my cousin had planned and for a moment there, thought she had finally lost it. The Hippo and Boulder where on us in a flash and were ready to bring down some hurt. I braced myself, ready to feel the pain of he large flat stone the Hippo held. Suddenly, another earth-bender with a vibrant colored face mask and wild long, brown hair swung into the other two, taking them both down with him. I blinked in awe. Once again, my cousin had saved my neck. "Thanks, kid." I grinned, relieved. She reached up to pat me on the back.
"It's not over yet." She reminded me. And indeed it was not.
At the opposite end of the ring, Xin Fu stared us down. I hated the way he looked at us, as if we were inferior, like we were nothing to him. I wanted to end him. I wanted to destroy him. "Think you're so big and bad that you can win this one?" I repeated his words. "Why don't you follow your little friends and scram?" I glanced over at the pile of beat and defeated earth-benders out on the sidelines.
"Yeah, blockhead!" Toph teased wittily. I looked down at her for a moment in silence. She felt the uncomfortableness soon after and explained herself. She stamped her foot on the floor and up came a cube shaped stone. "Get it?Block-head?" I shook my head at her joke, desperately wanting to giggle alongside her. But there was a time an place for kidding around, and now wasn't exactly the best time.
"Eh, let me come up with the snappy remarks." I messed with her. Toph didn't get the nature of my joke and crossed her arms in a discouraged fashion. It probably would have helped had she seen my facial expression.
Xin Fu cracked his neck twice, loudly, and readied himself to take on the both of us. Unlike the our other opponents, he didn't rush into the attack. He was cautious and careful. We circled with him around the center of the ring. Each moment spent, the bottoms of my feet grew more sweaty in anticipation and anxiety. Would we have to make the first move? Come on, you asshole, come on. The tournament host then sent an upper-cut through the air, sending a boulder my way. I went into a back-bend with ease, and missed the rock by only a handful of centimeters. Good 'ol flexibility. I thanked the spirits that that was one skill of mine that hadn't been weakened at all over the last five months.
Xin Fu kicked his legs up wildly, twisting his body in all directions as he sent boulder after boulder at us. I face d the stones head on, breaking them directly down the center, letting them fall to pieces. But since Toph could not see the rocks flying through the air, the blind girl slanted the ground in front of her upward into a shield, and the boulders bounced off if, missing her. Toph pushed half of her make-shift shield at Xin Fu quickly, but the host was brighter and more skilled than our other opponents, and flipped mid air to avoid the projectile. On the way down, Xin Fu dug his open hand into the ground. Toph side stepped just in time, barely moving before more rock was thrown her way. I reacted quicker than I ever had in situations like these. That's my cousin, you prick! I pounded my whole arm into the stone floor, taking full advantage of the moment. An enormous, rough and rocky surface wave hit the unprepared fighter dead on and sent him airborne. He crash landed in between Toph's father and Master Yu in the stadium seats.
My throat was dry and it burned all the more once I swallowed. My heart must have been beating three-hundred beats a minute, which was almost exactly how I felt whenever I was with Azula, strangely enough. I didn't even wonder how I made such an odd connection as my heart felt as if it would pound its way out of my chest. The drive had found its way back to me. The thrill of the fight, the rush of adrenaline. It was something I hadn't experienced in a long time, and it felt so good then. I felt as strong as before. I felt alive.
I slowly drew back up to stand from my crouching position on the arena floor. I moved sluggish and cautiously to calm myself as well as my nerves. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Aang, and I knew the other two had managed to find a way to bust him out of his imprisonment. They must have freed him in the heat of mine and cousin's fight. The avatar's face was filled with awe and admiration, and he grinned from ear to ear. A similar expression could be found on Sokka and Katara's face as well. I could only imagine what Toph's father and Master Yu's expressions would be at that point. I didn't even bother glancing up into the stadium to find out.
Toph was still a few yards away to my right and it looked as though she was catching her breath too. "Toph," I approached her. "This was your fight, I'm sorry." I apologized, but my cousin didn't seem to be angry or upset in any way, shape or form. Instead, the young, blind girl simply listened. "I know you can take care of yourself, but I had to take him out. I had to. Had to show him," I panted, realizing I was more out of breath than I thought I was. "Had to show him that no one, I mean no one-I don't care who the hell you are, no one fucks with my family." A sly smile crept up my cousin's face and it turned into a larger genuine one. "No, not while I'm still here." Toph reached up on her tip-toes to hug me, and in those short moments, my life felt whole again; I wasn't an orphan on the run from the only place I'd ever known. I had a family. She was my family. Then that moment died completely once she punched me square in the shoulder. I winced and pulled away from her embrace. The hell? I really wanted to smack the kid right back, but remembered that mild violence was her way of showing affection, and accepted the hit under different circumstances.
"It's okay, Sifu." Toph put her arm around me. "I think it was supposed to happen this way. We make a good team." My cousin grinned broadly, reassuring me. "Cut the sentimental crap though. If you get antagonizing come-backs, then I claim heart-to-hearts." I laughed at the younger girl beside me. We were alike in more ways than I imagined. In a way it was like having a littler version of me around, except more bad ass.
"Language young lady." I warned, playfully.
"Yes ma'am." Toph responded in her fake polite voice which I heard from her much too often.
I glanced up into the stadium to see Lao and Master Yu still gawking at the scene. The mens' jaws had dropped so far, I was sure they would have hit the floor. Of course they never expected a blind girl to able to fight like this. She was "tiny and helpless" in their eyes. But Toph never appeared that way to me; in fact the only time I saw Toph's baby blue eyes widen immensly with worry was the moment I asked her this:
"What are you gonna tell your parents?"