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

S2 E5: Avatar Day

I sat by the dwindling fire and felt a pang of melancholy as I began to pack up my equipment. To shake off the feeling, I picked up my swords and started practicing my moves, losing myself in the fluidity of the motions. Suddenly, my concentration was broken by Sokka's abrupt awakening, and I couldn't help but chuckle as I saw Momo's paw in his mouth, causing him to stir wildly.

"Hey, what are you doing in my mouth!" Sokka shouted, clearly annoyed about being abruptly woken up.

I couldn't resist a chuckle and spoke up for Momo, "I think he's trying to tell you that your breath stinks," I joked.

Momo trembled as a group of large, horned rhinos suddenly emerged from the bushes, waking up Katara and Aang. I recognized them as Colonel Mongke and The Rough Rhinos, a group of highly skilled firebenders.

"Give up, you're completely surrounded," Colonel Mongke said, in an attempt to intimidate us.

But Katara and Aang were determined to retrieve her scrolls and his staff, risking their lives to do so. Meanwhile, I leapt into action, spitting fire at the rhinos and engaging one of them in combat. Eventually, I burst into the air, caught by Sokka just in time.

"That was a close one," Sokka exclaimed, relieved.

"Yeah, but we handled it pretty well," I replied, grinning.

Sokka suddenly gasped, "Wait, my boomerang!"

But before he could even move, Katara grabbed hold of him, urgently saying, "There's no time!"

Sokka was clearly frustrated, "Oh, I see. So there's time to get your scrolls," he pointed to Katara, "and time to get your staff," turning to Aang, "but no time for my boomerang?"

Katara responded firmly, "That's correct. We need to get out of here now."

As we made our way away from the scene, I couldn't shake the feeling that this wouldn't be the last we'd see of The Rough Rhinos. After flying for some time, we landed by a shop to gather some much-needed supplies.

Aang tried to comfort Sokka with a sincere apology "Sorry about your boomerang, Sokka"

But Sokka remained visibly saddened, replying "I feel like i've lost a part of my identity" He then turned to Aang, grabbing him by the arm "Imagine if you lost your arrow"

Next, Sokka turned his attention to mee "Or your swords" then he looked at Katara, thinking for a moment before saying "Or if Katara lost her hair loopies"

As if to make matters worse, the shop cashier referred to Sokka as "Ponytail guy" This only added insult to Injury

"I used to be boomerang guy" Sokka said, dejectedly walking away towards Appa

After Katara paid the cashier, he mentioned that there was an Avatar day celebration happening in a nearby village. I had a feeling where this was going, but i decided to accept that we would be heading to the village.

"Alright, let's check it out" I said, trying to life everyone's spirits

As we arrived at the village, the people were indeed celebrating. But something about their excessive happiness ticked me off.

"There's a holiday for the Avatar?" Aang said, his tone dripping with sarcasm

"Look" Katara said, pointing towards a large wooden float of Avatar Kyoshi passing through the street

As we followed the crowd, we saw floats for Avatar Roku and finally one of Aang appeared. I couldn't help but find it all a bit creepy.

Suddenly, a man carrying a torch  ran down the street and jumped through the Kyoshi float, setting it fire. The people around us started chanting "Down with the Avatar!" This was not a good sign.

The man then set fire to the Roku float before finally ending by throwing the torch at the Aang float, igniting it as well.

"What is going on?" I muttered, my confusion growing by the second.

As the float was engulfed in flames, Aang's expression displayed utter devastation. Katara quickly intervened, Using her waterbending to extinguish the fire

Following a heated exchange, Aang was shockingly sentenced to jail for the alleged murder of Chin the Conqueror. However, this crime transpired during the era of Avatar Kyoshi, nearly 300 years prior.

In a futile attempt to post bail, Aang offered Water Tribe currency, which was predictably unsuccessful. With some persuasion, Sokka reluctantly agreed to become the lead detective on the case.

In my opinion, Sokka appeared rather foolish donning his detective hat. Nevertheless, I assumed the role of assistant detective, given my aptitude for deciphering clues and my knowledge of Kyoshi.

Kyoshi was the longest-lived Avatar, and despite her status as a revered figure, her lifetime was not without its share of darkness and unresolved issues.

The village mayor accompanied Katara, Sokka, and myself to the crime scene, where he pointed out a footprint that was believed to belong to Kyoshi. However, upon closer inspection, it became apparent that the footprint was too small and it couldn't belong to Kyoshi.

Sokka and Katara made the decision to travel to Kyoshi island to investigate the validity of the claims further. I opted to remain behind, as i had no desire to be chained to a pole again, an experience which i found unbearable.

Besides, the Kyoshi Warriors were rather attractive, but i dismissed the thought and resolved to continue gather clues "I'll stay here" I thought to myself, determined to make progress in the investigation.

As i arrived at the jail to visit Aang, I found him surrounded by a group of weeping inmates. I called out to him "Hey, little airbender. Come over here"

Aang rushed over to the gate, eagerly asking "What have you discovered?"

"I strongly believe that Avatar Kyoshi is not responsible for the crime" I began "And that the villagers are glorifying a wicked man, turning him into hero"

Aang accepted my explanation before inquiring about Katara and Sokka's whereabouts. I informed him that they had headed to Kyoshi Island to gather more information

"Aang, you don't need to atone for something that has nothing to do with you" I tried reasoning "You should get out of there"

Aang replied with conviction "I must do this to restore my honour" before walking away to re-join the other prisoners"

The trial was a complete disaster, with the village mayor proving to be an utter bonehead. Despite our best efforts to present evidence, the townsfolk were too obtuse to listen to reason.

However, Katara came up with an ingenious idea to dress Aang in Avatar Kyoshi's attire to represent her. Just as the mayor was about to deliver his verdict, something inexplicable occurred, and Aang transformed into Avatar Kyoshi herself.

Avatar Kyoshi revealed how she had killed Chin the Conqueror, which seemed to validate the villagers' claims. Yet, the story she told was a beautiful tale of how she created Kyoshi Island and how Chin had perished due to his own stubbornness, refusing to move from the edge of a cliff.

It appeared that Kyoshi had no qualms about the distinction, and Aang was sentenced to be boiled in oil. However, just as things looked bleak, the Rough Rhinos arrived, announcing their intention to take over the village. This turn of events necessitated quick action on our part.

Sokka, Katara, and i took down two of the rough rhinos, and Sokka was thrilled to retrieve his beloved boomerang. Aang humiliated Colonel Mongke, and we successfully drove the invaders out of the village.

The whole ordeal was filled with foolishness, and i was relieved when it finally concluded, eager to move on to a new adventure.