Avatar The Last Airbender: "Touched By Fire And Earth" (Toph Beifong)

S1 Ep20: The Siege Of The North Part 2

After my escape from X, I rushed back to the pond where Katara, Sokka, and Princess Yue were waiting anxiously. Katara looked crestfallen and muttered "I can't believe i lost him" 

Sokka, tried to lift her spirits "You did everything you could"

I knelt down and placed a comforting hand on Katara's shoulder "It's okay to lose sometimes. But right now, we can make up for it by going out there and find him" 

Sokka's eyes gleamed with determination "Zuko couldn't have gone far. We'll get Aang back, no matter what" 

Without a moment's hesitation, we all climbed onto Appa and soared off towards the frozen tundra, ready to brave any danger and rescue Aang from Zuko's clutches.

X (Pov)

As we trudged through the snow-covered landscape, Zuko carried Aang's unconscious body on his shoulders while i used my firebending to light out path. I had followed Iroh's advice and left Scorpion with ease, but i could help but wonder if the people around me were starting to influence me.

"The blizzard is getting worse" I warned Zuko "We need to find shelter soon"

Zuko stubbornly refused to listen huffing and puffing as he declared that we wouldn't stop, Without warning, the ground began to crack beneath our feet.

I immediately took off running with Zuko close behind me, But despite our best efforts we were still caught off guard and the force of the ground breaking sent us flying to the ground. Fortunately, we landed on a solid piece of ground.

I quickly got to my feet and turned to Zuko frustration evident in my voice "I told you we needed to find shelter" I scolded him.

Zuko let out a sign of resignation and pointed towards a nearby cave "Shelter" he said simply, and i nodded in agreement. Together we carefully dragged Aang's unconscious body towards the cave, hoping it would provide us with the refuge we needed from the unforgiving blizzard.

As we huddled together in the cave trying to keep warm with the help of firebending, Zuko rubbed his hands together in an attempt to generate some heat.

I tried to keep the mood light, chuckling as i said "Well, this is certainly one heck of an escape plan we've got going on.

Zuko breathed fire onto his hands to warm them up before responding "I've never had the luxury of doing things the easy way" he replied, his tone somewhat bitter.

"That's just how life is" I said, doing my best to remain positive despite the situation "It's not meant to be easy" 

Zuko stood up, his frustration evident "Except for my sister and the avatar" he said bitterly "Everything seems to come easy to them"

I rose to my feet as well, feeling a sense of camaraderie with Zuko "I know how you feel" i said, my voice filled with emotion "My family adopted a boy before i was ever born. He was like an older brother to me, but he let me down when he got my family killed" 

Zuko turned towards me, offering a comforting pat on the shoulder "It seems we have more in common than we thought" he said, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth

Scorpion (Pov)

Despite our tireless search for Aang, we found no trace of him, Zuko, or X. Suddenly, a bright light soared past us and Katara gasped in recognition "That's got to be, Aang" she exclaimed 

"Follow that light, Sokka" i commanded determined to rescue our friend

Sokka deftly guided Appa in the direction of the light, leading us to a patch of land where we saw Zuko, X, and Aang on the ground, tied up.