Toph Beifong

It was fun to have a friend, despite her attitude and the way she held herself out of her house Toph couldn't deny that she liked having someone who she could be really honest with. Mai wasn't put off by her attitude and she didn't try to embarrass her or do everything for her even if she was blind. Then again, Toph didn't really consider herself blind, not truly, she could see lots of things even things that people didn't want to show.

Tonight she was going to be great in the arena to show Mai just how awesome she was. The Blind Bandit was going to show everyone that nothing could stop her! Toph opened the hidden hole inside her room, at that moment she remembered the words of her new friend, Toph wasn't a prisoner she just… whatever excuse she was about to say to herself quickly fled her mind leaving Toph to contemplate if she really was living in a prison.

She couldn't go outside the house grounds, she couldn't buy anything herself, she couldn't fight her battles even when she could, she had to obey and… maybe Toph really was a prisoner…

She didn't think so before but it was so obvious. Then as she advanced through the underground she asked herself, is this what I want? To live like a precious piece of furniture as if I were made of glass?

Ir didn't take her long to arrive at an answer. Toph didn't like the way her life was and the more she thought about just continuing on as she had made her want to stay underground, but could she really do it? could she go against her parents happiness to pursue her own even when she knew that things would never be the same again? When Toph knew that if she did what she truly wanted then Toph may never see her parents again? Was that worth it?

She stopped moving and the rumbling earth around her stopped along with her, if what she wanted was not worth it then why did she escape at night to compete in the arena and if it was then why didn't she go in all the way? It didn't take her long to arrive at the answer. Toph wanted to have everything but it wasn't possible, not when her dreams were set against what her parents wanted.

Toph would have to decide what to do and the day for it was fast approaching because if she didn't do it soon she might never do it at all, and only pain could come from living two different lives.

Shaking her head she continued to make her way to the meeting point, she had promised Mai that she would rock her world and Toph was a woman of her word. A few minutes later she poked her head out from the ground exactly where Mai was.

"You know Toph if you weren't blind I would think that you were trying to see what's under my dress" Mai's wry tone of voice did tell her that perhaps she had been more accurate than she should have been "And in case you want to get any ideas let me tell you one thing, I have a boyfriend"

"I was trying to scare you! You're the one making this weird!" Toph shouted back as she moved away from what was likely Mai's ass.

"Weren't you the one saying that 'you would rock my world'?"

Toph stuttered as she realized how that sounded "Why do you have to make everything sound like sex?! Is the Fire Nation full of perverts?!"

Instead of answering negatively or quipping back at her from what many would consider an insult Mai adopted a thinking pose.

"I think it might be…" Mai spoke slowly as if she had just realized something "or maybe I just hang around people like that?"

"You hang around with perverts!"

"It seems like I do, but that just means you're one too" Mai said triumphantly before she started going in the direction of the arena.

"Hey!" Toph didn't know if Mai just liked to snark at people or if she only did it to Toph but at least she didn't treat her like an invalid.

"Hurry up I paid someone to tell me where the arena was and I'm curious to see if its as exiting as the tournaments back home since I doubt its anything like an Agni Kai"

What the hell is an Agni Kai?"

Mai stopped walking and turned to meet her eye? Was she being looked in the eyes right now? Mai's posture certainly made it seem like it but whatever feeling she was trying to convey was lost on Toph.

"Right you can't see the face I'm making…it's like a duel, sometimes to the death, its like a spiritual duel, and there is honor to it as every Agni Kai is supposedly looked on by Agni"

"You can just fight on the streets in the Fire Nation? That sounds awesome!" maybe this place was the only boring one.

"No Toph we don't fight on the streets, there arenas for it and only firebenders can issue a challenge like that"

"Bummer" adding the title of champion of Agni Kai to her tittle of champion in the underground arena would have been awesome. Maybe she could just beat the one at the top and then declare herself the champion…yeah that could work. "Hey Mai who is the best at Agni Kai?"

Mai sighed and Toph felt as she put a hand over her face "Maybe I have to start again. Its not a competition Toph"

That was silly, why have arenas and fight if there wasn't tournament. She immediately told Mai so.


Katara

It was funny the way life worked. Katara had always thought that she would never befriend someone from the Fire Nation and yet here she was speaking with the heir to the throne about killing one of his countrymen. Finally, Zuko had received the information about where her mother's killer was and Katara was almost vibrating in place as she waited for the answer.

"Well I have good news and bad news, which do you want to hear first?" Zuko sighed after he asked the question and Katara knew that no matter what the answer was she wasn't going to be happy.

"Give me the good news" Katara responded with a stony expression.

"The good news is that I know where he is, I know his name, Yon Rha if you cared to know and I know that according to all reports he is basically trapped in his home village"

Yon Rha

Katara could finally curse the man properly, in her mind she started screaming everything she wanted to at the shadow of the man she once saw and despite not being the real thing it was still cathartic.

"And the bad news?"

"He is on the Fire Nation mainland, in the southern parts, and neither you nor I are exactly inconspicuous and unless you have something that can fly we're going to have a hard time getting there. Most veterans of the war and other people who for one reason or another retired from the military live there and despite what you may think there is a surprising amount of camaraderie between them, we would need to fight an army to get to Yon Rha"

"So that's it is that as far as your help goes?!" Katara screamed at him, she had thought him a friend and that his desire to help was genuine. "You just-"

"I didn't say that." Zuko interrupted her, there was a dark look on his face and he approached her, Katara was about to raise her arms and attack but instead of a punch or something else Zuko hugged her "I'm sorry that this is going to take more time but I told you about the veterans because we might not be able to hold back with them and despite your talent, you still aren't a master waterbender"

Katara didn't hesitate in hugging back and despite her best efforts a pair of angry tears came from her eyes, it was as if the world itself didn't want her to kill the bastard that took her mother away from her but even if Katara had to go against fate she would kill that man.


Iroh

After settling down for the night in the provided home Iroh waited for the person that was surely going to meet him. Many things could be said about the Order of the White Lotus but sharing information was not one of them, it was by design, so that anyone that was captured couldn't endanger the others and that was also why Pai Sho was so important, it was and ancient tradition that would make anyone not in the know easy to identify.

Using specific strategies to send or receive messages across the land and to send or receive orders made it easy to spot spies or saboteurs when they fumbled around in the game.

"You can come inside" Iroh spoke towards the door and soon enough Pakku made his way in..

"Your entrance into the city has made a lot of waves, while trade is minimal it still exists and people will talk about your arrival the Fire Lord will know that you were here" Pakku sounded reproachful but hesitant and Iroh remembered why.

"There is no need to speak like that I'm not here as Grand Lotus Iroh, merely as former general Iroh" Pakku snorted at Iroh's response.

"If only there was anything mere about you my friend then you wouldn't be the one bearing the title of Grand Lotus, why are you really here? While I appreciate the introduction to the one that will lead our sister tribe and news about what they've been up to it can't be why you're here"

Iroh nodded at his friend "You're correct, the Avatar is close by he-"

"You found the Avatar! Iroh this is great news! Why do you have him skulking around?...unless… he isn't ready is he?" Pakku sounded dejected but for a man that had lived through so much of the war that was to be expected.

"He was frozen at the South Pole and was recently freed. There is no doubt he is a master at airbending but he won't bring balance back with just that element. He is young, very young and quite boisterous, we needed to provide a big distraction so he could enter the city without anyone knowing and it would be for the best if things remained that way. While the North Pole is not currently a target that could quickly change if the Fire Nation discovers the Avatar was here"

Pakku lowered his head a tad before speaking "I hadn't considered that, it's been quite a few years since there's been a skirmish, some are even going as far as to say that the war has ended"

Iroh couldn't hide the grimace on his face "It may soon be over but not in the way I would like, my brother has taken to the field and last I heard he was moving on Omashu, Bummy is strong and experienced but my brother isn't afraid to play dirty and he cares not for any loses he might incur… I'm afraid that we may not see him alive anymore"

"Without Omashu the road to Ba Sing Se would be safe to traverse and the city won't be able to survive another siege, the Dai Li are doing their best to pretend there is no war and some agents from the order are missing, last I heard Jeong Jeong was moving towards the city along with his students to play saboteur"

Iroh didn't know that but he was glad to be told so, if anything happened to him then he would like for the Avatar to go with Jeong Jeong for training.

"I think it's enough work for today, have a cup of tea with me and tell me how my nephew acted while in the city" Iroh raised a teapot and was glad to see a smile growing on Pakku's face.

"Only because yours is the best tea in the world my friend, as for your nephew…well let's just say he made an impression"

Iroh recognized immediately when he was teased and now more than ever he wanted the full story of Zuko's time at the North Pole. "I'm sure you can spare some time for a proper story, I'm giving you enough tea to make it worth your while"


Author note: so the little part with Katara is there because i relaized that i made a mistake and it was too late to fix it, i didn't remember that the guy that killed Katara's mother was in the Fire Nation itself so i had to do corrections and it fell otno this chapter to do so, also I like writing Toph, she's fun and i think canonically she is the youngest of the group and i think my portayal of her being mature at times and immature in others is just like how a teen her age would act.