Book 2: Earth

Chapter 16- Earth Mover

The freedom fighters had found their hands full dealing with the Fire Nation troops that had walked into their ambush, as they were two groups of elite well trained units. The Southern Raiders and the Yuyan Archers. One had destroyed an entire nation of Water Tribes in the South Pole, while the other was renowned and feared as one of the most deadly trackers and elite sharpshooters in the world.

Yet they didn't stand a chance.

Grounding her stance firmly in the earth, Toph spat derisively as she stared down (for better lack of a word), two full platoons of Southern Raiders and Yuyan Archers. At first, the Fire Nation troopers were confident, the Southern Raiders assuming an aggressive Firebending stance while the Yuyan archers backed them up from behind, stringing up their bows and aiming it all at their opponent.

Then, they saw it. The Full Metal Armor, and the seal of the flying boar patched on her armored breastplate.

She grinned as she gave them that split second of realization on who they were facing exactly. This was the part of the job she enjoyed.

"Fire!" A Firebending sergeant yelled in panic, and the fire line of Firebenders took a step forward towards the Earthbender.

But to Toph, with her unnatural 'vision' and Seismic sense, they may as well have been moving in slow motion.

Before the Fire Nation soldiers took even the first step into the ground, Toph stomped her feet downwards sending a shockwave through the ground towards the platoon that suddenly erupted into a blast of rock and dust. The explosion of Earth was so strong, it tossed the armored men back like they were ragdolls.

The cloud of dust however, was not enough to obscure the Yuyan Archers, and they let loose a deadly volley of arrows straight at Toph.

Another stomp into the Earth sent several pieces of debris and rock flying up in front of Toph, each one of them blocking an arrow that had been fired by the archers. Feeling that the moment was right, Toph quickly counter attacked, sending her barrier flying straight at the archers in a hailstorm of rock. The quicker archers quickly dived out of the way, while many more were knocked out cold by the debris.

With her immediate opponents taken care of, Toph gauged her surroundings with her seismic sense. Arrows and fire bursts danced in the air, while swords and spears clanged in the melee. The fighting was pretty much even, with the freedom fighters boasting the numbers but being stalled against the disciplined formations of the Fire Nation Troops.

To a casual observer, it seemed impossible to see anything through the melee, but Toph could see it all, could count in her mind the numbers and the odds. Niska was keeping that Sentinel, maybe the most dangerous opponent on the field, occupied at one end of the battlefield, while Kori was leading some of her Freedom Fighters to occupy the Southern Raiders. Smellerbee and Longshot were distracting the Yuyan Archers with some pinpoint shots of their own from the trees, giving her the opening she needed.

But where was the girl?

Another quick stomp into the ground gave Toph her location. Somehow, she was in the mine, running with someone else.

Towards Zuko.

Momentarily annoyed at having the avatar out of her sight, she quickly ran towards the opening of the mine. If I can just get there.

Without even looking (like she ever needed to), Toph's arm shot up to protect her face, grabbing an arrow out of mid-air and snapping it in half like a twig. The Yuyan archer barely had a moment to appreciate how she saw him before he was shot up into the air by a spike of Earth at his feet, Toph having simultaneously launched her own attack as soon as she caught the arrow.