Iroh stayed behind with Zuko, Appa and Momo on a cliff overlooking the Beifong estate. Aang and his friends had determined that it would be easiest and safest to sneak in as a three-man strike team. They would be quick, nimble, and capable of covering each other. Admittedly, Sokka was the one who determined most of that. Iroh agreed with his judgment. Sokka was maturing into a fine warrior indeed. He would make his father proud.

Iroh congratulated Zuko on his intelligent use of his powers. Zuko had no idea what he was talking about. Iroh asked him to sit still and listen, then recounted as best he could everything that they had realized about spiritbending, including the tangent Katara had gone on. When it was all done, he held up a hand and told Zuko to take as much time as was needed to digest all of that.

Zuko required approximately ten minutes of petting Momo. Momo curled up in Zuko's lap and purred, flicking his tail occasionally. When Zuko finally stopped, Momo wrapped his tail around his body and napped. "The most powerful spiritbender in the world is a spirit, for the same reason badger moles are the most powerful earthbenders. They have to master it just to exist. The water spirit probably said yes because I'm the most powerful human spiritbender that's ever lived." Zuko look shocked. "That's unbelievable. I guess… If I've really been practicing my whole life, coming as close as a human can to being a spirit, using spiritbending literally all the time as part of how I exist… I don't know. I never thought I was talented at anything before. Everything I do, someone else does better. I thought I was probably one of the worst twospirits they've ever seen."

"You are not," Iroh told him. "When you were young, you would tell me how Azula excelled at seemingly everything. I told you back then that you had a talent of your own. You just had to discover it. And I was right!"

"I don't remember you telling me that."

"I do. And I'm sure the lesson sank in somewhere."

Zuko patted his chest and stomach. "I knew I was like Fire. But I didn't think I had anything in common with any other element. I thought I was just broken." He looked away shyly. "I trust her," he admitted quietly. "I trust Katara. If she tells me who I am, I'll believe her."

"She's a good match for you," Iroh said with a smile. "When the war is over, consider taking her on a date!"

"What?!" Zuko shook his head. "No way. I'm too broken to date anybody."

"You're healing quickly. By the time the war ends, you won't be."

Zuko grimaced. "Just because she's going to be in my life forever doesn't mean…" He shrank in on himself: a clear sign that he'd said too much. "I mean, nothing. That's what it means. Nothing. Leave my love life alone."

"if you insist," Iroh said through another broad smile. "Now hold still so I can talk to your water spirit. Water spirit, I am never going to doubt you again. You said all the agony my nephew went through at the North Pole was fine, and it was. You said allowing him to get angry with you and leave you behind was fine, and it was. I thought I had to rescue my nephew from painful circumstances inflicted on him, but now I realize that every moment of it was his own choice. Even the strange beliefs he has that seem to be consequences of his upbringing - those, too, are his own choice. There is nothing to rescue him from. Everything really is alright. Thank you for enlarging and deepening my perspective."

"It just said, 'You're welcome,'" Zuko said. "You mean that, Uncle? Even the pain I'm in, even my inability to make a decision - that's all somehow stuff I'm choosing to have?"

"From a large enough perspective, yes," Iroh replied. "You could bury your pain or put yourself in a situation where you don't have to make a decision, but you chose not to."

"I… I need to think," Zuko muttered. Iroh said no more. They leaned against Appa's side, played with Momo when the lemur woke up, and looked at clouds to pass the time until the Avatar came back.

Aang and his friends came back looking neither elated nor disappointed. Aang said, "We talked to her. She really doesn't want to hurt her parents. She was mad at me until I convinced her that I didn't either. We worked something out. Tonight, I'm gonna invite her and her parents to the arena so they can see her earthbend. Then she'll talk to her parents. When they see how good of an earthbender she really is, surely they'll change their minds. And if they don't… Well, then she can say with a clear conscience that she had no choice."

"Good plan!" Iroh said. "It is always wise to give people a chance to show their better selves. They may surprise you."

"Yeah," Aang agreed. "This feels right."

.

That night, Aang and his friends, plus Iroh, minus Zuko, met with the Beifongs to request a trial lesson at the arena. Just to see if Toph could teach Aang anything at all. Even just a single stance. "You might be right," Aang said, pretending to give in. He turned to Toph. "I'm sorry if I got your hopes up too high, Toph. I'd like to make it up to you by seeing what you really can do. It'll be fun."

"I would like that," Toph replied. "Being privately tutored means I have no fellow students to compare myself to. I would really enjoy practicing with a fellow beginner."

Aang laughed. "I never thought I'd get a chance to do someone a favor by being a beginner!"

Toph's father smiled. "Well, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity," he told his wife. "She will never meet anyone else who can earthbend but hasn't had even a smidgen of training. This is her one chance to be the best earthbender in the room."

"The arena has nothing dangerous in it, right?" her mother asked.

"We've been there," Aang reassured them. "It's totally flat. No cracks, nothing that can fall over. Like practicing in an open field."

"This sounds agreeable, then," Toph's father said. "Master Yu will accompany us for protection, and in case she gets a stance wrong."

Sokka gagged as they waited outside on the porch for Toph and her family to change into clothes suitable for walking in the mountains. "I can't believe we just pretended to believe their delusions. They're nuts. Loony. Wacko. They're totally and completely wrong about her abilities. Even an ant could see it. A blind ant."

"Yeah, well, they would never let us so much as step foot in their house again if we said that," Katara told him. "Sometimes you have to go the long way around to get what you want. We can stop pretending once we get to the arena."

They expected that to involve little more than walking. But Toph's father showed an unusual level of interest in Aang's earthbending plans. His friendly host persona was back in place. "Who is this wise man who told you to find a teacher who is below your station?"

"A spiritual person," Aang said. "A holy man. Um, it was one of the monks at the Air Temple. Just after they told me I was the Avatar, he pulled me aside to give me advice on how to be the Avatar. How to learn all the elements, how to think of them all as being parts of a balanced whole, some stuff he had picked up about how to talk to spirits. Things like that. Yeah."

"A monk. That explains it," Toph's father replied. "Monks take a vow to abandon worldly things, don't they?"

"Yes, sir."

"That might be sound advice for monks, but in the real world, you won't find someone who's truly great and powerful without wealth and prestige. Greatness is unmistakable. Money flocks to it like turtle swans to bread, and with money, power."

Aang forced a smile. "I was taught that there are different kinds of greatness. They fall into two categories: the kinds that attract attention, and the kinds that don't."

"Well, earthbending certainly attracts attention," Toph's father replied. "There's no way to use it without leaving evidence." He paused, then said, "After this little treat for Toph, will you stay and train with Master Yu?"

"I need time to consider what you said about the wise man's advice," Aang replied. "I'll let you know what I decide."

After that, climbing into the mountains took enough breath to prevent further conversation. Toph pretended to breathe as hard as her parents. When they finally reached the tunnel that led to the arena, Toph's father asked, "How much further? My daughter needs a rest."

The tunnel was dark. Katara and Sokka exchanged panicked glances. The arena must have a way of lighting up the crystals. Now what?

Appa yawned and stood up. His white fur had not been disguised at all; who knew what the Beifongs had mistaken him for. "We're here, actually," Aang said. "And, uh, it turns out my friend just had a bad flu that made him vulnerable to a stomach bug. The doctor gave him something to flush out his stomach and he's been resting with Appa ever since. Zuko, we need some light down here!"

Zuko groaned loudly before coming down from the saddle. He complained about his luck while placing a hand on the large block of ice Katara made. The ice lit up, not quite as bright as the crystals but more than enough for their purposes. The Beifongs exclaimed in amazement. "I wish you could see it, Toph," her father said. "He makes ice glow! It's magical!" Zuko rolled his eyes.

They all went through the tunnel into the arena. Zuko, Aang and Toph took up positions on the arena, with Master Yu standing on the far side ready to provide instruction. Katara and Sokka sat in the stands with the Beifongs. Aang handed his staff to Zuko and took an open, flexible stance. "Alright, Toph. Show me what you got!"

Toph smiled. "Watch. And. Learn." She got into battle stance, put one foot forward and stomped. A spike of earth rose beneath Aang's feet. He leaped into the air using his airbending and settled silently behind her. As soon as his feet touched the ground, she whipped around. Zuko threw Aang his staff. Aang and Toph began to fight.

Their fight was ferocious. Aang was all too aware of his inability to provide the kind of demonstration Earth Rumble 6 had given her, so he used his strongest airbending. He held nothing back. And he did not need to; despite his ability to fly, Toph consistently kept him on the move with all kinds of rocky missiles. Sokka and Katara argued about whether she was actually blind and whether it was humanly possible to use one's sense of hearing that well. Master Yu leaped out of the way. Toph and Aang were careful not to catch Zuko in the crossfire. As a demonstration, the fight went extremely well. Her ability to navigate obstacles was shown to be excellent, even flying ones. Her ability to attack: unparalleled. Her ability to defend: also unparalleled. The difference between attack and defense was murky in her case, as she switched between the two effortlessly. She seemed to be a part of the arena, an earth spirit in human form. She used earth to race forward, to leap into the air, sometimes seeming not to use any kind of stance at all but rather moving the earth as part of her body. The fight ended when Aang landed, panting and clearly exhausted. She surrounded him with a ring of pointy spikes at neck height just to make her victory complete.

Master Yu was stunned speechless the whole time. Several seconds after it became clear the fight was over, he started to clap frantically. "Amazing!" he exclaimed. "That's the best earthbending I've ever seen!"

"I thought you were a beginner," Aang said.

Toph removed the spikes and flattened the arena. "I might have a few secrets I've been keeping."

.

Toph was amazed at how easily it poured out. A part of her had been desperate to tell the truth for her whole life. She told her parents the story of how she had run away, met badger moles and learned from them how to use earthbending to see. "Once earthbending became a part of me just like my eyes are, I couldn't not practice it. But I knew that you'd be scared for me. I hid it to protect you. I'm sorry for lying. The truth is that the helpless, obedient little blind girl you think I am just isn't me. I love earthbending, and I'm really good at it! I actually can teach Aang everything he needs to know about it. And how to keep his head from getting too swelled, too." After a couple of seconds, she tucked her mischievous grin away. A taste of her real personality was probably all they could handle right now. "I hope this doesn't change the way you feel about me."

"Oh, Toph, nothing could ever change the way we feel about you," her father replied. "We love you and want you to be happy."

Toph smiled. It sounded just like everything she'd hoped to hear.

"And sometimes, that means keeping you safe from yourself," her father continued. "You can't run off to fight in a war. You're only twelve, and blind, and have never fought ruthless firebenders before. You will stay here."

Toph's smile dropped. "But, Dad -"

"You have a bright future ahead of you. You will become a great lady, without all this fighting nonsense. Even if you survive, what lord will want to marry you if you roam around like a peasant and fight in underground tournaments? No more fighting, Toph! No more roaming. I will not have you throwing away the happy life we've worked so hard to prepare for you."

For a moment, Toph was afraid that she wouldn't be able to continue speaking. She'd played the helpless obedient daughter act for so long that for a moment, the temptation to fall back into it was very strong. If she did, they would be happy. They would be gentle and loving to her. Being in the arena helped her resist that temptation. This was her kingdom that she had rightfully earned the title to. She had not cowered before the Hippo or the Boulder, and she wasn't going to cower before some civvies in fancy robes. "That's the thing. You tried so hard to prepare a life for me, but you never did anything to prepare me for life. I don't want to live in fear, always knowing that if anything ever happened to me, I wouldn't be able to handle it. I may not find a fancy husband with a huge estate and all the best things, but I'll be happy and confident and unafraid. I don't want to fear anything ever again."

"You're being ridiculous," her father snapped. "This is pre-teenage bravado kicking in. You don't know what you're saying. We are going back home, immediately, and I am assigning guards to watch over you twenty-four hours a day."

"No." Toph stomped her foot, and the entire arena rumbled. She felt her parents' hearts skip a beat. Good. She had their attention. "I won't go back to being your helpless, obedient daughter. Ever. You can accept me as I am, or…"

"Are you threatening me?" her father asked, outraged. "After all the love and care we have shown you for your entire life? Where did you get this bizarre idea that we don't care about you? Did the Avatar do this?"

"No, and I've never believed that you don't care about me. I just -"

"You've been brainwashed!"

"FINE!" Toph screamed. Her voice echoed off the hollow mountain. She hoped nobody noticed the little crack at the end. "If you won't accept me, or support me, then I'll just - I'll just make my own way without your help! I don't need you! And I'll prove it! I'll teach the Avatar to earthbend, fight in the war and come back a decorated hero. Then I'll hear what you have to say. This conversation is over. See you after the war." She turned, made a rocky bridge out to the arena where the Avatar and his friends had retreated to give her space, and walked over it.

"Toph! Come back here this instant, little lady!" her father yelled. She didn't look back. She knew better. A year of winning and defending her championship had taught her never to take back something she'd already said or done. Once it was begun, you had to commit. That was the central rule of earthbending. When she reached the Avatar's group, she told them to follow her and ran for the tunnel. She wanted to make it absolutely, totally, 100% clear that this was her decision and hers alone, that nobody had forced her into it.

But she knew, even as one of the Avatar's friends helped her up onto the back of the enormous six-footed beast, that her parents believed her brainwashed still.

.

Zuko stared at Toph as the bison flew into the night sky. She leaned against the side of the saddle, looking out. She could have been enjoying the feel of the wind on her face, but he didn't think she was. He wanted to comfort her, but felt shy. She was so much stronger than he was, so much bolder. He was four years older but didn't have half her guts. She'd done something he could only aspire to do.

Did he aspire to do that to his own father?

He pushed that thought away. It wasn't important. He admired her like crazy; that was important. He watched the wind blow her hair around with awe.

She turned her head to look at him. She said nothing, but he got the sense that she knew who she was looking at. She probably knew he was looking back at her. They watched each other, neither speaking, but sharing mutual understanding. She knows, doesn't she?

Eventually, his eyes started to close without his consent. He let them. It had been a long day.

.

A/N: While rewatching canon, I couldn't help but notice that Toph's parents don't get much by way of characterization. They're clearly helicopter parents, but what do they hope to accomplish by that, and why do they make zero changes to their behavior after learning that she is a great warrior? Her father comes off as excessively, baselessly stubborn, and stupid as well. Even the strangest, most reality-defying beliefs usually have a base beneath them and some logic. There is always a reason why people act the way they do. If I had to sum up this entire story with one sentence, that would be it. There is always a reason.