Chapter Text
The world around her is burning.
The world around her is burning, and Toph Beifong does nothing. Just lets the dusty smoke leak into her nose and water her eyes. Just listens to the sound of buildings crumbling, of people’s shrieks and calls as they take their last breath in the pools of death. Just lets her parent’s last words echo in her head. “ You were never destined for greatness, Toph! You were meant to sit still, be quiet, and obey. Now look what you’ve don-”
Her mind breaks off from the last word, not wanting to remember, not wanting to think at all for that matter. Because deep down inside, she knows they were right about her. She’s failed everybody- her people, the world. Some avatar she is.
Toph knows that she’s run out of time. She knows that Water Nation reinforcements are coming any second now.
( I’m not going to win this fight, she thinks idly, wetting her hands against the blood dripping in rivulets down her side.)
If she’s killed, the avatar will reincarnate in Water Nation, and they will be unstoppable. They’ve already taken her home from her. She swears on Oma and Shu that they will not take any more.
So, she does the one thing she swore never, ever to do, despite her instincts screaming inside of her. She runs away from the fight, away from the people she was supposed to save. She ignores the increasing pressure inside of her, the avatar state itching to unleash its rage on the invaders. She pushes aside the pain in her side, the throbbing in her temple, and the sharp arcs that make their way up her ankle. She just runs like it was the only thing she knew, willing the Avatar State to carry her further and further.
She loses track of time, and when she finally comes back to the world from her disheveled state, she is far, far from the Earth Kingdom, far enough that she cannot smell the death and destruction. She feels her legs give out underneath her, hitting the rough stone ground and scraping against rocky terrain. Her side has progressed from a dull throbbing to an unbearable pain, making her eyes water.
No. No, I can't die. Not here, not now.
The air around her is hot, dense, and sticky as she channels the last shreds of her energy left in a desperate hope to stay alive. She knows that it's fruitless, that she’s made her final stand and it's over, but she wills everything she’s got into it.
Toph can feel the earth slowly moving, a smooth, crystalline substance growing around her before darkness envelops her completely, her mind slowly losing consciousness.
“I’m sorry everyone. I failed you.”
Zuko trains the tip of his sharpened arrow on the wild komodo chicken, which is slowly edging closer and closer to him, following the trail of maize he had left on the ground earlier this morning. He can feel his hands shaking (abiet from adrenaline or nervousness he did not know-) as his other hand slowly untenses around the string, ready to release…
A large burst of fire erupts on his right side-a breath from searing all his hair and his skin off- accompanied by a sing-songy voice “Zuzu, playing with the chickens, are you…?”
His hand releases a now-useless arrow, which lodges into the spot where the komodo chicken had just been. Keyword: just.
Zuko hears a familiar, mind grating laugh behind him, as he slowly turns around, gritting his teeth.
“Azula, why the hell did you do that! That was probably the last komodo chicken on the Northern island that hasn’t migrated yet.” The winters were coming soon, and their little island town, already ravaged to rations by the war, would likely not survive if there was no scavenged food. Zuko tries to count the komodo chickens he’s already hunted. 1, 2, 3…
“I’d say you're at fault, Zuzu. I was simply practicing my firebending katas, and you just happened to be in my way.” She smirks in that absolutely irritating way only Azula can do as Zuko picks the shreds of his dignity off the ground yet again.
“Well, I guess we can finally starve this winter,” he grumbles, slinging his bow over his shoulder. At least that would mean he wouldn’t have to hunt anymore, because Agni forbid him to actually hit anything useful with his bow today.
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic, Zuko,” Azula tuts, curling a finger through her hair. “We both know there’s plenty of food on the island, near the volcano. Even better, most of it’s already dead, so we won’t have to waste an hour waiting for you to actually hit some game with that bow of yours.” Zuko is too shocked to retort to her rude remark.
“The volcano ,” he says in disbelief. “You know Uncle Iroh and the other elders warned us never to go there. Dozens of villagers have died there and it’s-”
“-super dangerous and fatal and we should stay away from it at all costs, blah, blah, blah. Trust me, Zuzu, that’s all a bunch of bullshit that senile old man tells us to keep us ‘in order’.
“Hey! Don’t talk about Uncle that way,” Zuko protests.
Azula sighs in that way that says she doesn’t care, “Always so quick to defend your dear uncle. Well, would you rather us not go to the volcano on the risk that something might happen, or guarantee that our village doesn’t starve this winter? I heard that the water tribe feasts on the remains of their dead enemies.” Zuko shudders, Azula’s words hitting their intended mark.
“Fine,” he scowls. “But don’t do anything stupid.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” she says, and, of course, her words are as fake as they can get.
“Azula, are you sure about this?” Zuko nervously treads around a glowing patch of molten lava. The air is hot and sticky against his skin, making him sweat uncomfortably as he takes step after step further into the volcano.
“When am I ever not sure, Zuko?” Azula calls from up ahead, balanced atop a patch of orange crystalline rock. “By the way, I’ve found our first game.”
Zuko licks his lips, worry temporarily forgotten, as he leaps over to where Azula is perched. His appetite immediately disappears, however, when he spots the thing on the floor in front of her.
The remains of a komodo chicken lay on the ground, carcass showing through. It’s burnt and charred and disgusting and absolutely inedible.
He bites back a gag, glaring at his sister, when a sudden rumble overcomes the stuffy cavern they're in, and Zuko’s brain overloads with alarm bells. He barely has time to knock his sister aside before a giant geyser of magma erupts in the place she’d just been standing.
“Azula, I was right! This whole place is about to explode!” Zuko yells as Azula (albeit roughly) pushes him off of her.
A long pause ensues. “Azula?” he says again, this time concern taking over his voice. He looks over and sees her frozen, her uncaring composure completely drained away to reveal a blank stare. It’s almost like she’s hiding something…
The lava near her bubbles dangerously. “AZULA!” Zuko yells and she shakes back into reality, stepping to the side of a violent burst or magma.
“So concerned, Zuzu,” she smirks without explanation. “I’m fine , for the record-“ and then much softer “and you?”.
“Swear by Agni” Zuko says roughly, brushing the charred remains of his lower sleeve off and onto the ashy ground. “What the hell was that, Zula?”
“Oh, so eager to pry into my business” she smiles, sidestepping his question with ease, and then turns to face forward. “C’mon Zuko, we’re basically already at the center of the volcano. What do we have to lose?”
‘Our lives and our dignity’ are lost at Zuko’s tounge as Azula takes quick strides toward the glowing hot core. “WAIT UP.”
Azula does not wait up, and Zuko is left scrambling to catch up to her. By the time he reaches the center of the volcano, he’s drenched in sweat, heaving as if he’d just run in a komodo-chicken race (oh, how nice it was when they could still afford to watch “luxuries” like that).
“Oh thank Agni, you finally caught up. You have to see this, it’s quite fascinating,” his sister waves him over.
“Yeah, you mean the super fascinating magma filled crater full of rotting, disgusting animals-‘’ he grumbles, but quickly cuts off. “What. The. Fuck.”
The entire cave is coated with crystals to the point where it looked like a mountain sized geode had exploded explored. Transparent, shimmering rock in greens and yellows conceal the magma, casting a beautiful glow upon the cavern as they reflect the sparse bits of sunlight entering through little holes.
But that was far from the most shocking thing. Because in the middle of the crater, encased in a 50 foot tall pillar of amethyst-quartz, is a single girl, eyes glowing white.
Maybe this was the final straw, Zuko thinks as he feels his vision falter once, and than twice.
Volcanoes are way too fucking hot, is his last coherent thought before he feels his body tilt and everything goes black.