Responses to Reviews:

RonaldM40196867: It's been shown it can, particularly Fire and Earthbending. Lightningbending can be used to generate electricity, for example. On the other hand, sometimes it could stifle innovation- after all, why invent something to do a thing when bending can do it?

Thunder: The United Republic (or more specifically, Raiko) refused to help the South in book 2 and that hasn't earned him a great amount of goodwill in the South Pole. It's not a matter of cowardice, it's a matter of fighting and dying in a war which they believe is not theirs, that they aren't ready for, and in support of an ally who would not do the same for them.

As Always, Please Review!

Bolin

"Grandma?" Bolin repeated. "This is your grandma? What's she doing here?"

"The same thing you are, apparently," the old woman scowled.

"You're here to rescue Lin and Suyin?" Bolin was horrified. "Lady, it'll be dangerous!"

One eyebrow rose on the old woman's face.

"Bah. I've seen worse than little miss jackboot and her thugs," she told him.

"Bolin!" Opal grabbed his arm. "Do you know who my grandma is?"

"No?" Bolin was confused.

"Does the name 'Toph Beifong' mean anything to you?" Opal hissed.

"Toph- as in the Toph Beifong?"

"How many Tophs do you know?" The old woman asked irritably.

"Oh my spirits!" Bolin began to jump from one foot to the other in his excitement. "Ohmyspiritsohmyspiritsohmyspirits-"

"What's wrong with him?" Toph asked. "Does he need to go to the toilet or something?"

"Grandma!"

"What? It's a perfectly natural human function."

"You're Toph Beifong!" Bolin cried.

"Yep."

"The first metalbender!"

"Yes."

"Avatar Aang's friend!"

"Also yes, though he was a pain."

"You saved the world!"

"Alright, I get it, I'm famous," Toph told him. "This is why I live in a forest now. Trees aren't this annoying."

"So why did you come out?" Bolin was so excited the insult flew right by him. "To save the world again?"

"I'm not doing this to save the world," Toph replied. "I'm old, and I think that will be Avatar Korra's job. No, I'm doing this to save my daughters."

"Do you know where they are?" Opal asked. "We'd only got as far as following Kuvira and hoping for the best."

"She does have them," Toph confirmed. "Or to be precise, her men do. They left her before she reached Omashu."

"You know where they are? How?"

"Never you mind about that," Toph replied brusquely. "But yes. I do. There's a prison camp near Omashu, I think they're there."

"Mako said she'd been vanishing people," Bolin stopped his fanboying long enough to remember. "He saw a mass arrest in Ba Sing Se."

There was a shout behind them, and Bolin turned to find a guard pointing at them as he shouted to his comrades. Toph reacted quicker though, and the man's own armour picked him up and flung him across the square, landing heavily on the other side and rolling a few times before coming to a stop. Then the ground swallowed the three of them again, and they began making the long journey back to the sky-bison.

"So what do you do all day?" Bolin asked. "Just living in a swamp, it sounds quite boring."

"Do you always ask this many questions?" Toph replied.

"Yes." Opal confirmed.

"What? I'm meeting one of my heroes, I'm allowed to be excited! This doesn't happen every day."

Toph sighed.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, young man."

"I'm not flattering you! I'm just telling the truth."

Toph stopped for a moment.

"You get five questions," she said eventually. "And nothing too personal. I connect with the world around me in the Swamp."

"You do? What does that mean?"

"Four," Toph replied. "The world thinks I've removed myself from it. I haven't, not really, I'm more connected with it than I have ever been. The Swamp is filled with magic energy, that allows me to reach far beyond its confines and see what's there. That's how I know where my daughters are."

"Oh," Bolin hesitated. Then he decided to not waste any more of his questions pursuing this. "Then why did you go in in the first place? Was it to seek that energy?"

"I was tired," Toph replied. "Tired of people, and my reputation in Republic City had taken a hit after I helped Suyin. She'd fallen in with the wrong crowd and ended up in a mess I had to get her out of. People accused me of favouritism! Me!"

She seemed to shake for a moment.

"Then, of course, Avatar Aang died, and then Councilman Sokka died not very long afterwards. Suki and Katara left. None of my friends were living in the city any more, so I left it in Lin's hands and came here. Also, three."

Bolin suddenly decided to shelve his last few questions and save them for later. Instead, he looked around.

"So when we get to this prison camp, what's the plan going to be?"

"We need to make sure they're there first. Find out where exactly they are, make a plan once we have that information, and then strike quickly. It will likely be swarming with guards, these sorts of places usually are."

Toph paused.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to go in alone, though," she told them.

"Why?" Opal asked.

"I'm not really the sneaking around type," Toph replied. "And I'm apparently the most famous old lady in the Earth Kingdom. I'll be recognised!"

"Won't I also be recognised?"

"Use a disguise," Toph waved a hand. "Stick a stupid fake beard on your face or something, it worked for Sokka."

"And why can't you disguise yourself?" Bolin challenged.

"It's going to be a lot harder to disguise me than it is you!" Toph pointed out. "I don't think this prison accepts many guards who are old women. No, I'll just wait outside and bust some heads if you need me."

"How will you know when we need you?" Opal asked.

"I don't know, shout or something. Do I have to do all the thinking around here?" Toph threw her arms up in despair.

Just then, a chink of light burst through the rock in front of them, and then they were dazzled as the last rocks fell away to reveal sky in front of them, along with a startled looking sky-bison. Juicy was so surprised he dropped the grass he had been munching on. Opal ran over to pet him, carefully avoiding all the snot.

"This brings back memories," Toph walked over to Juicy and patted him on his flank. "He's a bit smaller than the previous bison though."

"Of course, you flew on Appa during the war!" Bolin clapped excitedly.

Toph didn't even look at him.

"I never said they were good memories. I hate flying."

Then she used a pillar of rock to lift herself up, and stepped with practiced ease into the saddle.

"Are you coming then?" She called. "My daughters need us!"