A/N: Happy Tuesday! This is my first full chapter with Toph, I hope I've done her justice (even though I watch the show as I write) Also, I'm planning on rewriting every episode from Book 1, execpt for "Three Days Of Despair"
Response from chapter 26:
Vapor23: Hello, friend! I also love Toph and that episode, so I hope I did well on rewriting it. Yes, Akira is tending to not react to Sokka's jokes as much as she used to, but things are still awkward with them right now. I think while I'm revising, I'm gonna make them talk more. This episode is pretty action packed, so not much will be happening character development wise here. And, for the side project: I scrapped my idea for the first chapter, I'm gonna redo it. I'll probably be really getting to work as soon as school ends for me, which will be in June, I'm just figuring out the story right now. Thanks for your support, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!
The sun was low in the sky, signafiying the end of the day. My friends and I were getting camp unloaded, and Appa was shedding incredulously.
"You guys picked a great campsite," Toph stated, "The grass is so soft,"
What she was standing on was not grass, but Appa's hair.
"That's not grass," I explained, grabbing a tent from the saddle and handing it to Sokka, "Appa's shedding, it's his fur,"
"Oh, gross," Katara grimaced, picking up her foot with a disgusted look on her face.
"That's not gross," Aang stated calmly, "It's just a part of spring,"
"You know, rebirth, flowers blooming, and Appa gets a new coat,"
"Ahh, the beauty of spring," Katara said, sarcasm in her tone.
Suddenly, Appa sneezed, sending fur flying everywhere.
"Stop!" Katara exclaimed, "Appa, stop!"
She then began to cough. I picked up some more fur from the ground and molded it into the shape of a mustache before attaching it to my upper lip.
"It's not that bad, Katara," I said, "It makes a great mustache,"
"And a wig," Sokka added, showing Katara his tall Appa hair wig.
I pointed at him and laughed, my joy ringing through the air.
"And a great beard," Aang stated, sliding down from Appa's saddle.
Aang, Sokka, and I all laughed at each other, our childishness bringing annoyance to Katara's features.
"I'm just glad we have another person in the group to balance things out, because you three are childish,"
We stopped our laughing to stare at her for a moment, when Toph suddenly spoke, making us turn our attention to her.
"Excuse me," She said, walking up to us, "Does anyone have a razor, because I got some hairy pits!"
She lifted her arms, showing her armpit hair made out of Appa's fur. We all began to laugh loudly, and suddenly, Aang sneezed, crashing into Appa's leg and causing us to laugh until our sides ached. Katara gave us a weirded out look before lightly chuckling, finally giving in to our childlike ways.
The sun was even lower in the sky, nighttime inching closer and closer. Aang was setting up the tent, while Sokka was getting firewood, and Katara was getting our food ready. I was setting up our sleeping bags, save Sokka's, because it smelled weirdly like cheese. Toph was in the corner, sitting against a rock and doing nothing. I wasn't too bothered, she was new, and probably hadn't ever camped out before due to her upbringing. We all stared at her, blank looks on our faces. Katara's eyes narrowed as she stood from her pot and walked over to Toph.
"So, Toph, usually when setting up camp, we try to divide up the work," She explained calmly.
"Hey, don't worry about me," Toph said nonchalantly, "I'm good to go,"
I decided to get back to work on setting up camp, but still listened in to their conversation.
"Well, actually, what I'm trying to say is some of us might fetch water while someone else might set up the fire pit or put up the tent," Katara stated, "Even Momo does his fair share,"
"Katara, I'm fine," Toph said, "I can carry my own weight,"
"I don't need a fire, I've already collected my own food," She added.
"And look, my tents all set up,"
She used earthbending to make herself a rock tent.
Katara huffed, annoyance seeping into her tone.
"Well, that's great for you, but we still need to finish-"
"I don't understand what the problem is here," Toph interrupted, frustration in her voice.
"Never mind," Katara grumbled, walking away.
After the whole Katara and Toph exchange was over, I began to search for rocks to start our campfire with. After finding the perfect ones, I began to make my way to the bundle of sticks Sokka had collected. When I was walking toward the stick pile, I saw Aang using airbending to hand Appa's saddle to Sokka, accidentally crushing him with it in the process.
"Oops, sorry," He said sheepishly, lifting the saddle and freeing Sokka.
As I kneeled down to begin the fire, I saw that Katara was walking towards Toph, and knew more drama was coming.
"Hey, Toph, I wanted to apologize about earlier," She said, "I think we're all just a little tired and getting on each other's nerves,",
"Yeah, you do seem pretty tired," Toph responded blankly.
"I meant all of us," Katara stated, frustration creeping into her tone yet again.
"Well, good night," Toph said, seemingly ignoring her last statement.
"Good night," Katara replied distantly before stomping away.
Two hours later…
I awoke to the sound of Toph's voice, her words frantic as she loudly spoke.
"There's something coming toward us!"
I quickly snapped awake, picking my head up.
"What is it?" Aang asked.
Toph kneeled down, putting her hand to the ground.
"It feels like an avalanche, but also not an avalanche," She said.
We all walked over to her, weariness still pulling at my eyes as I blinked sleep out of them.
"Your powers of perception are frightening," Sokka stated, sarcasm and tiredness heavy in his tone.
"Should we leave?" Katara asked.
"Better safe than sorry," I replied, "Come on, we'd better pack up camp,"
We all quickly scrambled to pack up our stuff, our movements frantic as whatever was chasing us came closer, according to Toph. Once everything had been packed onto Appa's saddle, we quickly set off.
When we got higher in the sky, I turned my head to see a large dust cloud with some sort of machine inside, a distrusting look coming to my face.
"What is that thing?" Katara asked.
One hour later…
It had been a long time since we started flying. Exhaustion pulled at my senses, my eyes drooping as I let out a yawn. Nobody had talked for a while, making it even harder to stay awake. I watched as Katara hugged her knees, signs of fatigue evident on her features.
"Guys, I'm gonna land us here," Aang stated, his voice heavy with exhaustion.
We landed in a secure area, surrounded by rocks. We all made our way off of the saddle, Toph practically leaping off in excitement.
"Land, sweet land!" She exclaimed, jumping onto the ground.
She then stood, earthbending assisting her spring up, "See you guys in the morning,"
"Actually, can you help us unload?" I asked as I began to pull out our camping supplies from the saddle.
"Really?" Toph asked, humorlessness in her tone, "You need me to help unload Sokka's funky smelling sleeping bag?"
I turned around to see Sokka sniffing his sleeping bag, disgust evident in his expression afterward.
"Fair point," I stated with a shrug, turning back to Toph, "But you could get other things,"
She frowned, her eyebrows furrowing in frustration.
"Listen, Akira, I carry my own weight," She snapped, "I didn't ask you to unload my stuff, did I?"
"Well, no, but you're a part of the team now, and-"
"What's your problem with helping people, Toph?" Katara asked angrily, walking up to her, "Ever since you joined us, you've been nothing but selfish and unhelpful,"
"What?" Toph shrieked irately, pointing at Katara, "Look here, Sugar Queen,"
"I gave up everything I had so that I could teach Aang earthbending," She stated, "So don't you talk to me about being selfish,"
She then formed an earth tent around herself.
"'SUGAR QUEEN?'?!" Katara repeated, rage in her tone.
Toph put a wall up on her earth tent, blocking herself from her.
"D-DID YOU JUST SLAM THE DOOR IN MY FACE?!" Katara asked, her tone a mixture of anger and confusion, "HOW CAN YOU BE SO INFURIATING?"
"Should we do something?" Aang asked, turning to Sokka.
"Hey, I'm just enjoying the show," Sokka replied simply.
Aang sighed before walking up behind Katara, his expression calm.
"Okay, okay, you both need to calm down," He said.
"Both?" Katara asked, her voice filled with unfiltered rage, "I'M COMPLETELY CALM!"
"I can see that," Aang replied nervously before quickly scurrying away.
We had gotten all of our stuff unloaded, and we were finally ready to go back to sleep. Despite the fact that I was sleeping on the ground, I actually felt quite comfortable due to my exhaustion. Just as I was about to drift off, Katara's talking pulled me back awake.
"The stars sure are beautiful tonight," She stated, "Too bad you can't see them, Toph!"
I groaned, slapping my head and dragging my hands across my face in frustration and annoyance. Just then, Toph lifted the ground below Katara, causing her to fly up and land on top of Sokka.
"Hey, how's a guy supposed to sleep with all this yelling and earthquaking?" Sokka asked, annoyance heavy in his tone as he shoved Katara off of him.
"That thing is back," Toph stated, crawling out of her earth tent.
"Well, how far away is it?" Sokka asked, "Maybe we can close our eyes for a few minutes,"
He then pulled himself under the covers of his sleeping bag. I looked up to see smoke emitting from what I believed to be the machine, an exasperated and exhausted look coming to my face.
"I don't think so, Sokka," Aang stated nervously.
We once again packed up our stuff, heading off on Appa for the second time.
"Seriously, what is that thing?" I asked as I rubbed my eye.
"And how does it keep finding us?" Toph added.
"I don't know," Aang said, an annoyed look on his face, "But this time, I'm gonna make sure we lose it,"
Two hours later…
We basically crashed on top of a rock pillar. The sun was beginning to rise, and so was my exhaustion. My muscles screamed in protest with every movement I made, my eyes stinging with tiredness. We all tumbled off of Appa, tiredness taking over the bison's body as well as ours.
"Okay, forget about setting up camp," Sokka said, "I'm finding the softest pile of dirt and going to sleep,"
"That's good, because Toph wasn't going to help, anyway," Katara replied, frustration and anger in her tone.
"Oh, I didn't realize baby still needed someone to tuck her in bed," Toph retorted snappily.
"Come on, guys," I groaned, my frustration beginning to settle in, "Arguing isn't going to do us any good right now,"
"Kiri's right," Aang said, "There's something after us, and we don't even know who or what it is,"
"It could be Zuko," Katara stated, "We haven't sen him since the North Pole,"
"Who's Zuko?" Toph asked.
"Oh, just some angry freak with a ponytail who's tracked us all over the world," Sokka replied tiredly.
"What's wrong with ponytails, ponytail?" Katara asked teasingly.
"This is a warrior's wolf tail," Sokka responded, pointing to the ponytail on his head.
"Well, it certainly tells the other warriors that you're fun and perky," Katara said, mock giddiness in her tone.
"Anyway, whoever's chasing us, they couldn't have followed us here," Sokka stated, "So, now, would everyone just shush?"
Momo then landed on top of his chest, chattering.
"No, Momo, shh, sleepy time," Sokka said sleepily, putting a finger up to the lemur's mouth.
Momo then began frantically chattering, causing all of us to turn our attention to him.
"Oh, don't tell me," Sokka groaned, laying his head down.
"That's impossible," Aang stated, "There's no way they could've tracked us,"
"I can feel it with my own two feet," Toph said.
Aang ran to the edge of the cliff, seeing the machine coming toward us again.
"Let's get out of here," Katara said nervously.
"Maybe we should face them and find out who they are," Aang replied, "Who knows? Maybe they're friendly,"
"Oh, yeah," I sarcastically remarked, "Because that thing totally looks friendly,"
The machine stopped, revealing Azula and her friends on some sort of animal. My expression became that of shock as they came closer, their animals at top speed.
"It's those three girls from Omashu," I stated.
"We can take them, there's four of us and three of them," Toph said, fierce determination in her tone.
We all got into fighting position, ready to face the fearsome trio.
"Actually, Toph, there's five of us," Sokka stated.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Toph replied teasingly, sarcasm in her tone, "I didn't count you, you know, no bending and all,"
"I can still fight!" Sokka shouted angrily, dropping his fighting stance and causing Aang, Katara, and I to look at him.
"Okay, four on three plus Sokka," Toph corrected in the same manner she had used before, causing Sokka to angrily growl in response.
As the girls came closer, Toph sent rocks hurling at them, to which they all avoided effortlessly.
"Well, we wanted to find out who they were, and we found out," Sokka said, urgency in his tone, "Now, let's get out of here,"
He put his boomerang in its holding and ran away, Aang, Katara, and I following close behind. We quickly climbed onto Appa, watching as Toph lifted herself into the air by lifting the ground below her, avoiding Knife Girl's knives in the process. She landed on Appa, prompting us to leave.
"Appa, Yip-Yip!" Aang exclaimed, causing us to fly away and leave the three girls behind.
"I can't believe those girls followed us all the way from Omashu," I stated, disbelief and exhaustion in my voice.
"I still think we could've taken them," Toph grumbled frustratedly.
"Are you kidding me?" Katara asked, chiming into our conversation, "The crazy blue firebending and the flying daggers are bad enough, but the last time we saw them, one of those girls did something that took my bending away, that's scary,"
I watched as the sun began to rise over the horizon, its light shining on my tired features.
"Oh, no," Sokka groaned, "The sun is rising,"
"We've been up all night with no sleep,"
"Sokka, we'll be okay," Aang said, his voice filled with exhaustion.
"Are you sure?" Sokka asked frantically, "I've never not slept before,"
"What if I fall asleep now and something happens?" He continued, "And something always happens!"
"Every time we land, those girls are there," Katara said, "So we'll just have to keep flying,"
"We can't keep flying forever," I stated.
Three hours later…
My eyes drooped as I made a conscious effort to keep them open. The sun had completely risen at that point, and I wasn't sure if noon had passed yet.
"Hold it together, Akira," I thought to myself, "As soon as we have these girls off our backs, you can finally go to sleep,"
Aang let out a long yawn before speaking.
"So, what's our plan?" He asked, the exhaustion in his voice heavy.
"I don't know, I'm too tired to think," I responded, my tiredness evident in my voice as well.
"I'm sure we'll come up with something after a short nap," Katara said.
"Yes!" Sokka exclaimed, "Sleep,"
Suddenly, I felt as if all traces of gravity had disappeared, my body lifting from Appa's saddle.
"What's going on?!" Toph asked loudly, her tone a mixture of panic and confusion.
"Appa fell asleep," Aang replied, his tone calmer but still panicked.
We screamed as the ground came closer and closer, holding onto the saddle for dear life. Aang crawled down to Appa's face before yelling to the bison.
"Wake up, buddy!"
We were just about to hit the trees below us when Appa woke up, making us all crash back into his saddle. We ripped through the forest, trees hitting us at an alarming rate. We finally landed at the edge of the tree line, the adrenaline from the life threatening moment wearing off as my exhaustion formed again. I leaped off of Appa with what little strength I had, my fatigued body aching when I landed.
"Appa's exhausted," Aang stated, his voice lacking emotion.
"Okay, we've put a lot of distance between us and them," Sokka said, "The plan right now is to follow Appa's lead and get some sleep,"
"Of course, we could've gotten some sleep earlier if Toph didn't have such issues," Katara said, her words sharp and meaningful.
Knowing that this was most likely going to start yet another argument, my annoyance began to settle in more.
"WHAT?!" Toph shrieked, the volume of her tone hurting my ears and annoying me even further.
"All right, listen," I said, my voice tinged with frustration, "We're all exhausted and obviously getting on each other's nerves, so why don't you two just separate and go to sleep?"
"Nobody asked for your peace mediating, Precious," Toph stated harshly, stomping up to me, "Stop acting all innocent, because you're not!"
My annoyance and exhaustion mixed together, causing my face to twist into anger.
"You know what, Toph?!" I asked haughtily, "I don't think anybody asked for your constant attitude and selfishness!"
"I don't know why you have the notion you're superior or something, because you're just as much a member of the team as the rest of us!" I continued, "You know, it wouldn't kill you to help every once in a while!"
"Exactly, Akira," Katara said, "Maybe if you helped out earlier, we could have set up our camp faster and gotten some sleep,"
"And then maybe we wouldn't be in this situation!"
"You're blaming me for this?" Toph asked, fire in her tone.
"Well, I mean, you are kind of the one who was literally no help whatsoever!" I exclaimed angrily.
"No, No! They're not blaming you!" Aang stated quickly before shooting me a warning glare.
"No, I'm blaming her!" Katara exclaimed.
"Hey!" Toph shouted, "I never asked either of you for anything, I carry my own weight,"
"Besides, if there's anyone to blame, it's sheddy over here!" She added, pointing to Appa.
My eyes narrowed, my face forming a glare as I stared her down.
"Why would she blame Appa?" I thought, "It's not his fault he's shedding!"
"What?" Aang asked, his tone a mixture of shock and anger, "You're blaming Appa?"
"Yeah," Toph responded harshly, "You wanna know how they keep finding us?"
She then grabbed a piece of shedding hair from the bison's leg, letting it blow away in the wind as she spoke.
"He's leaving a trail everywhere we go,"
"How dare you blame Appa," Aang replied, his voice raising with rage, "He saved your life three times today,"
"If there's anyone to blame, it's you," My brother continued, his irate words spewing out like a fountain, "You're always talking about how you're carrying your own weight, but you're not,"
"He is, Appa's carrying your weight," Aang stated, "We never had a problem flying when it was just the four of us!"
"I'm out of here," Toph grumbled, kicking up her bag and stomping away.
Sokka ran in front of her, stopping her tracks.
"Wait," He said to no avail.
Toph quickly shoved him over by moving the earth below his feet, then continued to stomp away. As soon as she was out of view, the guilt settled on top of my shoulders. All traces of anger slipped away from my expression as I put my palm to the side of my forehead.
"What did I just do?" Aang asked, sitting down in defeat, "I can't believe I yelled at my earthbending teacher,"
"Now she's gone," I added, "I got so mad at her, I wasn't even thinking,"
"I know," Katara replied, "We're all just trying to get used to each other, and I was so mean to her,"
"Yeah, you guys were pretty much jerks," Sokka stated, causing us to all look up at him.
"Thanks, Sokka," Katara said, exasperation in her tone.
"No problem," Her brother replied blankly.
"We need to find Toph and apologize," I stated, turning to Aang and Katara.
"Okay, but what are we gonna do about the tank full of dangerous ladies chasing us?" Sokka asked.
Aang's eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he took some fur from Appa's leg, watching as it blew away in his hand.
"I have a plan," He stated.
Aang and Katara washed Appa, their synchronized waterbending movements sending fur flowing down the stream. Sokka and I scrubbed the bison thoroughly, making sure he was completely clean.
"Toph was right," Aang said, "Appa's fur was leaving a trail right to us,"
"But now that he's clean, no more trail,"
"Are you sure he's okay to fly?" I asked, concern evident in my tone, "He didn't sleep for that long,"
"He'll be fine as long as we leave his saddle and all our other stuff here," Aang replied, "I'm gonna use Appa's fur to make a fake trail and head the tank off course,"
"Kiri, you'll come with me, while Katara and Sokka head in the direction Toph went,"
I nodded, and Katara made her way over to Appa, climbing onto his head. Sokka, who was previously washing his clothes in the river, climbed on as well, sitting on the bison's back with Momo by his side.
"Be careful, guys," Katara said, turning her head to face Aang and I.
"We will," Aang replied, his voice carrying a reassurance that caused her to smile.
"Yip-yip!" She exclaimed, pulling on Appa's reins.
The bison let out a low growl as he tiredly flew into the sky, his legs brushing over the trees. Aang and I watched as they flew away until the trees began to obscure our view. My brother then turned to me, his eyes lidded with heavy, dark bags under them.
"You ready?" He asked.
I nodded, and we both unfurled our gliders, Appa's hair sprinkling the ground below us as we flew.
Two hours later…
The sun was getting lower in the sky, my eyes stinging with fatigue as I tried to focus on anything other than sleep. Aang and I flew through the air, Appa's hair still falling out of the bag and onto the ground below. We came upon a desolate ghost town, all life stripped from the town and the area around it. It looked as though my brother was about to descend, so I began to lower myself, relief coming to my aching, exhausted limbs. When we landed, I was sure I was going to collapse. My vision became blurry as I stumbled forward, my staff being the only thing to save me from tumbling over. Aang slowly walked through the deserted town, placing Appa hair on the ground as he did. Although he was moving slowly, I felt it hard to catch up due to my exhaustion. When the bag was finally out of hair, Aang dropped it to the ground before unfurling his glider, making me internally groan.
"Did we seriously come all this way just to go right back?" I wondered in my thoughts, "I don't think I have another trip in me,"
My brother looked back at the trail behind him, his furrowed eyebrows making him look deep in thought. He looked down, seemingly considering his options, before closing his glider and sitting down. I let out an audible sigh of relief as I sat down next to him, laying my head on his shoulder.
"Is it okay if I take a nap?" I asked, my fatigue evident in my hoarse voice.
"Yeah, that's fine," Aang replied.
"Okay, thank you," I said gratefully as I drifted off into sleep, my words coming out slow and slurred, "Wake me up if anything happens,"
I woke up to Aang tapping me on my shoulder. I picked up my head, tiredness still tugging at my eyes, but not as badly as before. Once my eyes adjusted to being open, I saw that Azula was standing in front of us, without her friends. I also noticed that the sun was setting, and wondered how long Aang had gone without sleep.
"All right," My brother said, his voice tinged with annoyance, "You've caught up with me. Now, who are you, and what do you want?"
"You mean you haven't guessed?" Azula asked, her lips curled into a sly smile, "You don't see the family resemblance?"
"Here's a hint," She said before raising her hand to her right eye, speaking in a forced gruff voice, "I must find the avatar to restore my honor,"
It then clicked in my head. I don't know how it hadn't before, since I had heard Knife Girl call her "princess" the first time we met, but Azula was Zuko's sister. Aang and I gave her blank stares.
"It's okay, you can laugh," She said, "It's funny,"
"So, what now?" I asked, "Is something actually gonna happen, or are you just going to keep making bad jokes?"
"Now?" Azula repeated, her tone tinged with a derailed amusement, "Now it's over,"
"You're tired, and you have no place to go'" She continued, "You can run, but I'll catch you,"
"We're not running," Aang stated, his tone filled with fierce determination as he stood.
"Do you really want to fight me?" Azula asked, her voice filled with that same sense of amusement as before.
"Not really," I thought.
Suddenly, Zuko came in between us and her, his words sharp and meaningful as he spoke.
"Yes, I really do,"
My eyes widened in shock as I took in the sight. Zuko no longer was sporting his ponytail, but had his hair cut short. He looked much slimmer from when I had seen him last, and he was almost unrecognizable.
"Zuko," Aang gasped, his bagged eyes widening as well.
"I was wondering when you'd show up, Zuzu," Azula remarked.
I snorted, my hand flying to my mouth as I tried to contain my laughter. Scarface, who had been chasing my friends and I all over the world, who had destroyed many towns scavenging for my brother, was called "Zuzu" by his sister?
"Zuzu?" Aang repeated through a stifled laugh.
"Back off, Azula," Zuko said harshly, "He's mine,"
"I'm not going anywhere," Azula stated slyly, getting into a fighting position.
We all stood around, waiting for someone to make the first move. It was Azula, directed at Zuko. She sent a precise blast of blue flame at him, causing him to fall back as he blocked it with his own orange fire. Aang's eyes went wide as he quickly began to scurry in the other direction, taking out his glider to begin his ascent. I watched in shock as Azula calmly sent a large wave of fire at him, and knew that this wasn't a battle I was willing to take. Suddenly, a blast of regular flame danced mere inches from my face, I turned my head to see Zuko staring me down. Using my staff, I whipped a large amount of air at him, sending him flying backward. Then, Azula came through, her fire quick and precise as it flickered near my right shoulder. Luckily, due to my quick reflexes, I wasn't burned, dodging the fire narrowly. Blasts of orange and blue flame were coming from every direction, as well as air blasts from Aang and I. My brother leaped into a nearby building, Azula following close behind. I was left with Zuko, who seemed to be blocking every single attack I made. He blasted fire at me, to which I flipped over, landing behind him. While he was caught off guard by my sudden disappearance, I pushed him far away from me with airbending. Just then, Aang emerged from the building, Azula following behind him yet again. She sent flame after flame up at him, which he dodged by climbing up a house. While Aang and Princess Crazy were fighting, I turned my attention to her brother. Zuko had gotten up, and was now sending uncontrolled, messy blasts at me. Deciding to use my resources, I sent an air blast at the roof above him, which fell onto him and left me without a problem for a little while. When I ran over to see how Aang was doing with Princess Crazy, I saw that Sokka was fighting her, Katara and Aang alongside him. I joined in, circling Azula. She sent blue flame blasts at us, all of them well planned and deadly. Aang and I blocked, while Katara was on the defensive, wrapping water around Azula's hands to keep her in check. Suddenly, the earth shifted beneath Princess Crazy, causing her to fall over.
"I thought you guys could use a little help," Toph said.
"Thanks," I replied, a smile coming to my face.
Azula quickly got up, sending more fire blasts at us, to which we dodged, before running away. Just as she thought she was about to escape, Iroh bumped her with his stomach, causing her to fall over. Once Azula got up, she was completely surrounded. Our group, Zuko, and Iroh all circling her.
"Well, look at this," She remarked calmly, "Enemies and traitors all working together,"
"I'm done," She stated, putting her hands in the air, "I know when I'm beaten,"
"You got me, a princess surrenders with honor,"
She sat there for a moment before shooting a direct blast at Iroh, who fell over on impact. Zuko's non-burned eye widened in shock, a gasp escaping his lips. Aang and I sent a stream of wind at her, while Katara waved water into the mix, Toph lifted sand from the ground, and Zuko sent a blast of flame. The four elements mixed together, and Azula covered herself with a ball of fire, causing an explosion. We all quickly ducked, Aang protectively covering me from the blast. The smoke cleared, revealing that Azula was gone. Dumbfounded looks came to our faces as confusion settled in our tired brains. Zuko groaned in frustration, causing me to turn my head and look at him. We all walked up to Cyclops. He snapped his head back, his tone loud and hateful as he spoke.
"Get away from us!" He demanded.
"Zuko, I can help," Katara said, stepping closer to him.
"LEAVE!" Zuko shouted, sending fire at us that we all ducked to block.
We all ran away, heading back to Appa, who was sitting just outside of the burning ghost town.
That night, I had the best sleep of my life. We were all comfortably nestled in Appa's saddle. Sokka was next to Katara, who was next to Toph. Toph was cuddled up against Momo, who served as a barrier between her and Aang. I had bun-bun in my arms, my head laying on top of Aang's chest. With our worries washed away, and our exhaustion pulling us, we all slept deeply, waking up with the sun high in the sky the next day.