Warm, stale air pressed against Sokka's face like fine cloth. Water Tribesmen were packed tightly around him, and their panting breaths mixed with sweat to make a humid, musty smell. Whispered prayers and conversation rose and fell as the groaning metal intermittently interrupted them.
Peering over the shoulders of the men in front of him, Sokka spied Toph at the front with the other earthbenders. They had several rocks about as round as a man's chest and as long as two people from end to end. Toph was sitting on top of one, swinging her legs and staring ahead while the others anxiously fidgeted for the time to come.
A jolt rattled the boat, and the men swayed in response. He looked over at Zuko beside him. The firebender had emerged from some corner of the sub minutes ago looking paler than usual against the blood red tunic he wore. He'd fallen in beside Sokka with few words spoken. As the metal groaned again, Zuko kept one hand on a post for balance and his other clutching at his chest.
"Are you okay?"
Zuko gulped and nodded. "Yeah." He let his hand fall from his chest. "I just don't like it down here."
Looking to the door that would soon open and release the tribesmen, Sokka replied, "I don't think it's going to be any better out there."
There was a squeal of metal behind him, and he turned to see Dad return from the map room. "We're approaching!" he called. "Everyone in position. Earthbenders, make ready." For the most part, the men had been in position, but they still shuffled and straightened themselves.
The sub shook again, and Zuko, along with one or two other warriors, exclaimed in surprise. "Sokka, look!" The porthole showing the underwater twilight also showed the dark shapes of harpoons piercing the water and flashing intermittently in the gray light. More men broke formation and gathered by the windows, entranced by the danger they could do nothing against.
Images filled Sokka's mind, ones of the submergers being punctured and the earthbenders in their metal caterpillars ready to fight and defend against fire on land instead drowning in the silence of the water before they could take a step. How cruel would that be? A joke by the universe if ever he heard one.
A violent crash followed by a rush of water knocked him off his feet. Panicked cries filled the air including his own. He tried getting up, but he couldn't seem to find his footing as others pushed him aside. If only he could get to his feet, then he'd be able to come up with a plan—
"Sokka!" Zuko's voice cut through the chaos, but he didn't see him until someone grasped his arm and pulled him up.
Heart pumping at full blast, he said, "Thanks—"
"EVERYONE! Calm! Down!" Dad's voice boomed over the noise of the men. The sound didn't stop immediately, but as he spoke they listened in greater numbers: "There was a leak, but it has been fixed. We're okay." Sokka spotted and picked up his Warrior Wolf helmet that had fallen to the ground. "Everyone back where you're supposed to be. Let's finish strong! We won't let them break us! Earthbenders, launch the torpedoes at my command. Hurry now; we're approaching the final gates!"
A flurry of activity started up as the earthbenders near the front followed his orders; even Toph did as she was told without so much as a word of reply. They earthbended long, cylindrical rocks so that they lied ready at the bow of the sub, near to the two locked hatches nearly identical in width to the rocks. Once the wheels securing the hatches in place were turned, a Northern waterbender standing to the side held the water back so they opened to the oceanwater without issue.
Without delay, Dad yelled, "Launch torpedoes!" and the earthbenders bended the rocks forward and out of the sub. Sokka couldn't see, but it must have worked because Dad soon yelled, "Ready yourselves! We're almost there! Fight for your nation, your people, your family. Don't give up! This is it!"
Nothing immediately followed, and the last sentence hung in the air. They still had a minute. Sokka drew his sword. He tried to remember all the lessons Master Piandao taught him, but they eluded him. He hung on tightly to his weapon with both hands, his only defense against what was to come.
"Thank you, Sokka," Zuko said, keeping his voice low.
Sokka glanced at him. "Anytime," he said hesitantly. They'd be okay—No, we don't know that. This could be the last time we speak. "I'm—I'm glad you're here with us. You know, fighting on our side. I'm glad I got to know you, the real, 'good guy' you." He smiled, inviting one last bit of joviality.
But Zuko didn't take it. "Me too," he said, more serious than before.
Toph! Sokka could try calling her name, or he could… He tapped his foot repeatedly against the metal floor. Tat tat tat tat tat.
Despite being several paces over and there being more than ten men between them, the earthbender, now done with her task and free to fight, perked her head up and turned to face Sokka. He hoped she could see his expression as he smiled wide and pointed at her. Realizing he hadn't quite thought of what he wanted to say or how he would express that, he just held his hand over his heart and mouthed, "Thank you."
In return, she stuck her tongue out at him, laughed with him, and finally turned away, though not before he saw her expression fall away into worry.
"30 seconds!" Bato yelled. "Find cover, stay together, and take as many out as you can!" Sokka and others took this time to place their helmets over their heads. The sounds of the ship became distorted and muffled under the fur and cloth, and his breath felt louder.
Deep punches of energy pounded and rattled the sub. One of the younger tribesmen ahead of Sokka gagged and threw up; no one made mention nor cleaned it up. Looking beside and behind himself, Sokka saw that most had wide eyes and stone-like faces, like they could see into the future and it wasn't a happy ending.
There was one final lurch that sent Sokka stumbling forward into the warrior in front of him.
"Go, go, go!" Dad yelled, and the door dropped down, flooding the whole of the ship and its contents in early afternoon light. It lasted a moment—hardly a thought—before it was replaced by something harsher: fireballs roared as they fell from the sky and found their targets. They engulfed one or two of the men at the front, the heat felt far into the ship. Earthbenders—Sokka lost sight of Toph—raised up a wall of rock and trudged forward through the sand, the wall moving with them, and ten or so warriors following close behind. More fire rained down that burned anyone who ventured too far from cover.
Sokka, still deep within the sub, watched on as the men in front of him began rushing forward in waves, each with its own earthbender providing shelter. It would be his time, soon enough.
Thanks to Zuko, he had an idea of what awaited him, namely the valley that led from the sea to the Caldera. Steep sides quickly rose up, forming the feet of the old volcano, and there would be defenses on the ridges. They had a clear disadvantage in that respect, but it was Shan's subs and bug-like metal inventions that they hoped would give them the edge to pierce the side of the Fire Nation.
Then it was his and Zuko's turn. His hands were already sweaty enough that he wanted to wipe them, but it was too late and he only gripped his sword harder.
Then he was running forward with the others, running toward sunlight and fire. Exiting, he nearly fell: the ground was soft and wet, an unstable mixture of sand, dirt, and water that caused the submerger door to sink into the earth. The mucky ground lasted ten or twenty steps before becoming drier, thank the spirits, but it did slow their advance.
By his side, an earthbender that wasn't Toph—Wait, is that Haru?! Sokka stumbled and did a quick doubletake before returning his attention back to staying close to the rock wall Haru was controlling. The wall was curved, several hands above either of the boys' heads, and gave good cover between the beach and whatever defenses lay in the valley.
Zuko stayed on his left, Haru on Zuko's left, and another five tribesmen and Earth Kingdom soldiers after him. Haru set the pace, and they walked as quickly as they could through the mud, jogging when they got further in. The valley walls rose up on both sides, and the turrets on the tops of them would begin to flank their defenses if they weren't too careful.
"Stop here," Sokka called out, and looked out from his position behind the wall. The floor of the valley appeared to be mostly a dry dock of some kind, or perhaps a holding station for freight; it was hard to tell. According to Zuko, it was very old and had originally been a fort when the land was first settled. Now it was mostly empty, even for a dry dock: not a boat in sight nor freight to load anywhere. Neither, for that matter, was there cover they could use.
Energy from the fire sent their way thudded against Haru's rock wall, and Sokka could feel the heat. Taking a chance when it let up and peeking around the side, he spotted at least three Fire Nation tanks rolling toward him and too many men to count. One of the firebenders saw him, and he spun back behind cover. A second later, a light flared, coupled with a thud, and several chunks of Haru's rock shield were blasted off.
Sokka readjusted his grip on Space Sword. He wouldn't be able to use it until they got closer, and he didn't know how much closer he wanted to be to those tanks. "Send over what you can!" he shouted at the men beside him. They obeyed, bending both stone and ice over the top of their cover. It wouldn't do much against the turrets that were much too far away, but it would slow the advance of the relatively unarmored Fire Nation foot soldiers. "More!" he called.
He looked out from cover again, seeing but not fully realizing the new red patches next to fallen soldiers. But more of them were advancing. "They're coming!" Sokka yelled. Too many. They must have outnumbered them two to one, maybe even three to one. They needed to even their chances. "Haru, can you bend the rocks to…" He motioned with his hands, illustrating their rock wall exploding outward, directed at the men and tanks on the other side.
"We'll lose our cover!" Haru replied. To punctuate his point, the wall was hit with another two blasts that made Sokka cringe each time.
Yelling over the commotion, he asked, "Can't you make more?"
"I'm not as good as your friend! It'll take a second!"
Sokka twisted around to see where the other lines were. Most of the tribesmen were in similar situations, not daring to completely cross the path of the battlements up above, and Shan's experimental metal vehicles were stuck in the muddy sand, which left their advance nearly dead in the water. "Aang," he said, "where are you?"
Though he was sure he didn't speak loud enough for Zuko to hear, Zuko said, "We can't wait for Aang and Katara to do something."
He was right. There was no time. "Haru, shoot the rocks out and target the tanks if you can. We'll use those as cover and fight the other soldiers from there." Shifting his focus from Haru, intending to move to Zuko, he caught the eye of one of the Northern Tribesmen and those from the Earth Kingdom. They didn't respond, but waited, eyes wide. The brief thought that he was ordering men who were older than him crossed Sokka's mind, but he didn't have time to do more than scarcely recognize the thought. He finally looked to Zuko, who nodded as well.
"Do it," said Sokka.
-o-0-
"Stay back!" A set of hands belonging to one of the few women and healers aboard pulled Toph back as the ship doors opened, releasing the charging men—two screamed when they were almost immediately engulfed in flames mere steps away from her. The attack happened so quickly after the doors opened that no one could have risen a protective barrier, earth or water, for them in time. But this fact did nothing to deafen their cries nor the panicked clawing at their faces and bodies.
The healer let go of Toph and rushed forward, bending water and dousing the quickly dying flames. Silence did not follow like she expected. The other soldiers yelled and ran, stepping over the bodies the best they could, but some didn't see them in time. Toph could not look away; she could not close her eyes; she didn't have the luxury.
Sokka and Zuko were lost in the pounding feet and watery mud as wave after wave ran from the ship and left the healers and Toph behind.
I won't be left behind. I won't let them get hurt.
She went with the last wave that left the ship. It was comprised of seven tribesmen—old ones—and a similarly old earthbender. He gave some cover, but it was too small to protect all the men, including himself, not to mention Toph. His breathing came fast and ragged, and any blast of fire was sure to bring him to his knees.
Toph wasn't the only one to sense this, and two of the tribesmen, waterbenders, bended oceanwater from behind them and added to their cover as the group slowly advanced. Running up to the earthbender, and, ignoring his surprise, she said, "You can't do this. Let me."
The earthbender's chest rose and fell as he tried to catch his breath, but when that didn't happen, he closed his eyes and nodded.
First things first. Taking control of the earth from the old man, she set it down and shored up the sides to provide cover to everyone in her small group. Fireballs still rained down from above, but if they kept close enough to the sides, they would be protected.
Do your job, Aang! Where was he? He was supposed to be taking out those turrets with Katara. Something must've happened. But there was nothing to do about it from where she stood. There were more pressing things to think about, like the numerous tanks and swarms of men they had to fight through before making it to the top of the Caldera. It didn't help that she couldn't tell exactly what time it was or how much was left before the eclipse began.
Earth burst outward from somewhere to her left faster than she thought it was possible to bend. Some rocks hit her own cover but others, thankfully the majority, hit Fire Nation soldiers. A larger piece slammed into one of the tanks and stopped it dead in its tracks. And the sound: sharp and deep like the sound of a thousand mountain slides held in a split second.
There was a stillness like that after a devastating blow that puts an end to the whole fight. Then it seemed as if everyone took a collective breath and resumed, louder than ever.
Two figures stuck out: Sokka and Zuko. They were part of the ones who first moved, running from near the epicenter toward the quiet tank. They waved over their comrades, one of which was Haru. Did he do that? It didn't matter; whoever, whatever did that was impressive.
Her bout of envy quickly ended when she realized they had used their only cover as ammunition and were running toward Fire Nation soldiers and tanks without so much as a wooden shield.
"Stupid," she whispered to herself.
The option to run after them opened itself up to her, but when several more fireballs came out of the nothingness of her vision as they hit the ground, cover, or soldiers, she cursed the spirits. Sokka and Zuko would be on their own without her. Still, her body itched to go. She watched Sokka block the incoming spears and swords, dodge fire, and run forward into the battle without fear. Similarly, Zuko redirected many of his fellow benders' attacks and launched his own. Men fell before and around them.
"We can't just sit here!" a tribesman in her group said, tightening his grip on his bone machete as he did so.
"We can't leave!" argued the old earthbender, having caught his breath.
Toph felt Fire Nation soldiers coming, whether they were benders or not, she didn't know, but most of them had swords.
She kicked out one foot, compacting the earth here, loosening it there, until the weight of the Fire Nation soldiers fifteen paces away became too much, and they sank down into the quicksand-like ground up to their hips. "We've got to help," Toph said, ignoring the open mouths and what were sure to be stares from her comrades. "If we don't, what are we here for?"
More men were coming. Toph momentarily split her focus to check in on Sokka and Zuk—Spirits! How are there more of them? More soldiers seemed to swarm toward the small team huddled by the immobilized tank, yet they were fighting and taking down men as they came; still, they would be soon overrun.
Where are the others? But the other waves had their own problems. The waterbenders couldn't stray too far from the water to keep bending, and the nonbenders had to stay behind cover unless they felt like getting set on fire from the turrets on either side of the steep valley.
A different sound caught her attention: low and constant and coming from the ocean. From the two flanking subs came several large, earthen and metallic bugs. Shan had called them caterpillars, but they seemed closer to centipedes, and they contained earthbenders—in fact, they were all earthbenders, based on their bending movements. They rumbled across the ground, their bellies and inner walls made from rock while their metal plates protected its earthbenders inside from incoming fire like a beetle's armored skin.
Why in Shu's foot did we not start with those?!
-o-0-
Everything looked so different from above. Katara couldn't see the incoming ships about to land; she and Aang had decided to advance in a roundabout way and come in from behind and above, Katara on Appa and Aang on his glider. Looking down the valley toward the water, Katara would attack the turrets on the left side while Aang took care of the right side. The turrets didn't look much more than stone shacks, but it made little sense for anyone to attack the Fire Nation on its own soil—unless someone knew when they were going to be at their weakest, of course.
Keeping one eye on the outposts, she tried to gauge when Dad and the others would beach. They had to get their timing down to ensure it was a surprise, and an overwhelming one at that.
"Come on, Appa. Let's do this." She tugged on the reins to keep to the left and they descended for the first turret closest to the sea, remaining just high enough that it felt like Katara could reach out and touch the treetops. In doing so, the valley floor disappeared behind the ridge.
She glanced to her right across to the other side where Aang was supposed to be. Unlike Appa, Aang would not be easy to spot, and Katara gave up after a few seconds. I just have to trust he's where he needs to be. What am I saying? Of course he—
Harsh sirens started to blare like those in the factory on the river all those days ago. The sound bounced around the valley, but the loudest source was coming from the outpost below her.
Without any prompting, Appa flew to it and landed outside the entrance. Katara leapt down from Appa just as the door to the stone structure opened, and the face of a surprised-looking Fire Nation soldier appeared. "What—?"
With one wave of her hand, Katara bended a waterwhip that reached out and knocked the soldier backward into the building. She let the water return and gather around her hands and arms, and she readied herself. With a deep breath, Katara stepped forward and burst into the room.
There were two men, the one she had just knocked to the floor and another who looked at her like a child might look at a monster.
She could be one.
I'm not a monster. They will kill me if given the chance.
"No, please!" The soldier, a man about Dad's age, maybe older, raised his empty hands. "I just want to go home. Let me go home."
Hama had lied too.
Aang wouldn't hurt him.
A loud, echoing explosion sounded in the valley outside, and it shook the walls of the building.
The man's hands moved—he was reaching for something, or he was trying to firebend, or maybe his hands shook a little too much. Whichever the case, Katara couldn't take the chance. A second later, the man fell down near the first, his breathing deep and slow. "Sorry," Katara said as she left.
Rather than going immediately to Appa when she exited, she went to the edge of the ridge overlooking the valley and the nearby shore. The ships had come, beached, and released their contents. She saw their metal machines—essential for their protection against fire—get stuck in the watery sand, and the brave water- and earthbenders trying to get them out. She saw fire rain down on them from other battlements and their attempts to shield themselves while beating back the Fire Nation soldiers—and they were beating them back.
Turning to go to Appa and take down the next turret, Katara stopped short and looked back at the chaos. There had been a point of familiarity, something she recognized. She shaded her face and squinted.
There. Near the center of the valley at the front. Sokka. The figures were too far away to make out their faces, but there was something about the way he moved and fought that she recognized. Confirming her guess, a firebender near him blocked the attack of a Fire Nation soldier clad in the usual black uniform. Zuko. Their small group fought well together, dodging arrows and flaming projectiles as they did so.
Katara looked further, trying to glimpse another loved one. Toph—or, rather, her earthbending—was easy to spot once she began looking. Dad was in the front as well, a part of a different group than Sokka. It was closer to Katara on the east side of the valley and was getting hit hard. Soldiers, benders and nonbenders alike, attacked them and caused more than a few of his men to fall, and more soldiers were coming, their black uniforms beginning to swarm the dwindling team. Other groups were too busy with their own small battles to help, and the caterpillars, while unstuck and moving to the front, were too slow and too far away to help defend from the imminent attack.
No longer thinking, Katara raced away from the edge and onto Appa. She yelled, "Yip yip!" and prayed Appa could understand her urgency. The air bison ran forward and jumped off the edge of the ridge, flapping his tail once to slow their fall though not by much, similarly eager to join in the combat.
The wind rushed by and the valley floor sped closer and closer by the second. As they leveled off and approached Dad's team, Katara tried to direct their landing so that they would set down in front of him. Appa followed her commands, choosing to land on top of several Fire Nation soldiers. The landing was rough, and Katara was grateful she could hardly feel their bodies collapsing underneath Appa's immense weight. She winced, but it was hard to feel that bad when they were trying to kill them.
Fire came from above and hit a plate of Appa's armor. After dousing it in water, Katara looked up and saw it came from the turret neighboring the one she had taken out.
Dad first.
Katara slid off Appa and engaged the remaining soldiers nearby. They were much more hesitant to fight, but they ran forward all the same. The one closest to her let out a yell and charged forward, but he stopped short as a bone spearhead embedded itself in his chest.
A quick glance back confirmed the attack made by her father, but there wasn't enough time to do anything but react to the next fighter. That one tried swinging a sword very much like the ones Zuko used, and she narrowly avoided it by waterwhipping his arm away. Cognizant of the amount of water she was using, Katara made a solid ball of ice to bend at the soldier. It struck his stomach, knocking the air out of him with a loud whoosh. There was another blur of red, and she sent the ball of ice at another soldier, this time hitting his temple and causing him to fall and lay still.
The ball of ice lied there for a second, glistening in the summer sun, a bit of blood mixing in with the beads of water forming along the icy surface. Katara melted it and drew the water back to her. She stared at the man, unable to breathe until she saw him take a breath.
Someone shouted, and rough hands pulled her aside. Where she had been standing was now dark and ashy.
"What are you doing here?" the face belonging to the voice asked.
She blinked at it, and the recognition that it was Dad came upon her as she spoke: "I saw you were in trouble…"
"I'm fine!" Dad said through clenched teeth. "We don't have time! Where's the Avatar?" He pointed up at the turrets. "You need to get up there and stop them! Go!" He gave her a shove towards Appa. "Go!"
Red stained the usually white fur of the air bison like berry juice dripping onto a new tunic. She climbed aboard, her body knowing what to do more than anything. "Yip yip," she said, flicking the reins. Appa took off as more fire arrived, dodging the oncoming attack but nearly knocking Katara off him in the process.
Where was Aang? Katara had Appa fly to the other ridge and to the first turret where Aang was supposed to be.
As they came up on it, the roof collapsed as well as one side of a wall. A flash of blue, the blue of Aang's arrow, peeked through the dust, and he appeared, covered in either dirt, ash, or a mixture of the two. "Hi, Katara!" Aang said, a little out of breath.
She looked, but there didn't seem to be any soldiers around. "What happened? Why haven't you taken down any of the other turrets?"
He cocked his head. "I snuck up on them. They weren't firebenders and were using a catapult to throw fire—"
"What happened to them?"
"Well, I tried talking to them, but they weren't listening. I took away the catapult from them but it sort of went off and blew up the roof…but don't worry, everyone's okay; I mean, they ran away."
She nodded once. "Okay." It doesn't matter as long as we get to Ozai in time. "We need to take care of the rest of them, but I don't know if we'll have time to do it ourselves." Or the stomach. "Let's get the others."
-o-0-
How long has it been? It felt like hours had passed since the invasion began, but Toph knew it couldn't have been more than a quarter of an hour, maybe half an hour. Time felt different when it felt like she could die any second.
Toph felt for more incoming soldiers, but the caterpillars were taking care of them. The biggest obstacle was those spirits-cursed firebenders up above. It appeared the one closest to her had stopped attacking, but the others only got worse, attacking more frequently than before.
"We need to push forward!" one of the old men beside her shouted. "Press our advantage!"
We don't have much of an advantage, she thought, but she was too focused trying to anticipate attacks and protect the men taking shelter around her to argue.
"Another one!" warned the other earthbender. Toph readied herself and cringed as another fireball bashed itself against her fortifications. A second later, she brought up more earth to repair what had fallen away.
If it had been just her, she could have covered herself in rock to protect against such things; however, there were five men, five strangers she had somehow become responsible for.
"Toph!" a voice from above and behind her, Sokka, shouted. "Come on!"
Appa landed behind her, but well outside her wall of protection. The majority of Toph's attention was on what lay in front of her, but she recognized that Katara, Aang, and Zuko were already aboard. Regardless, they were still in the open, and they'd be attacked any moment. "Either come here or get away!" she replied over her shoulder.
Sokka jumped down, narrowly avoiding getting hit by fire. Unfortunately, it did hit Appa, and between two plates of armor near the front pair of legs. Toph both felt its impact and heard Appa's deep, panicking groan. "It's okay! It's okay!" called Aang. The fire didn't spread as Katara waterbended and healed the spot, but it wouldn't be the last wound he'd receive if they stuck around.
After jogging to Toph's side, Sokka opened his mouth, but Toph stopped him: "Don't you see I'm busy?"
"We're running out of time. We need you."
"That's great. What are you going to do with these guys?"
Sometimes it felt like Sokka was more blind than she was. He nodded to the other fighters. "Hi," he said with a half-hearted wave.
A set of vibrations caught Toph's attention. More soldiers were coming. And a tank.
Toph huffed. Never-ending. It didn't feel like they had made any progress either. Sokka was right; they were running out of time. "You could help me take out this tank," she offered.
Sokka peaked around the side of her barricade. "I'll do you one better. We need you to come with us, but we don't want to leave these guys stranded, right?"
The tank was coming closer every second Sokka spoke. "Just tell us what to do," replied Toph.
A minute and two narrow misses later, the five warriors plus Sokka, Zuko, Aang, Katara, and Toph were aboard Appa. The air bison pushed off the ground with more than a little effort, but the ten of them were airborne. Zuko and Aang helped protect against more attacks from above, but they were high enough to avoid them after another minute.
They landed on solid ground near a collapsed outpost. Sounds from the fighting were still going on below her feet.
"We need to secure these turrets," Sokka instructed the men. "Once these are taken down, we'll have the valley—"
"Then the Capital," one of the nonbender warriors said.
Sokka nodded. "Exactly."
Toph evaluated the men she had helped protect. The only earthbender wasn't skilled beyond the basics, that much was clear, and there were two other waterbenders, but both men were old—probably older than Hakoda. The last two warriors were old too, and far less useful with a spear and a kind of bone sword like Sokka had. There was a reason they were the last group to leave the ship. "Sokka, are you sure you want them—?"
"We'll get it done," said the oldest waterbender. "We have to."
"I think my dad—I mean, the Chief—will be sending more men soon, too," added Katara.
He bowed a little and nodded. "We appreciate whatever he's able to send."
"I'm sorry we have to go. We're don't have much time," Aang explained. "You know, the eclipse?"
No, they have no idea, Aang. It's only called Day of Black Sun for no reason. But the old man, too patient for Toph's taste, nodded once. "Of course. Happy hunting."
Toph's stomach twisted a little. Would they be as understanding if they knew we weren't going to kill Ozai? Would they even be here?
Sokka hurriedly answered for Aang, "Thanks," and they were quickly up in the air once more, headed for the Capital and the Fire Lord.
It had been thought several times already that day, but as one more obstacle between them and Ozai fell away, Toph couldn't help but think once more, This is it.