Ally Beifong

40: Going Home

"Three years. That's how long it's been since I've been in the spirit world since I've been able to go into the Avatar State. Being with grandma in the swamp has been a wonderful experience, but I need to go home soon, preferably with Korra. I wish I could see mom, tell her I'm ok." 

The next few days passed pretty quickly, Toph didn't train Ally or Korra, she just put her feet up and relaxed. Korra tried to get her to tell them stories about Aang, but she was a terrible storyteller. Toph sent Korra into the swamp to get some mushrooms, while Ally asked her about Lin. 

"What was mom like?" Ally inquired. Toph felt a gentle smile come to her lips as she thought about her daughter. 

"She was strong, brave, and always itching to please," Toph remembered. "You're just like her, brave and beautiful. If I could see, you'd probably be the spitting image of her."

"I can try and describe myself," Ally offered. "I know how you see, you can see things using the earth, but you can't see details like faces."

"That's right," Toph chuckled. 

"That's how I see too," Ally replied. "When I close my eyes, I can still see."

"Describe yourself to me," Toph said. 

"Okay," Ally told her. "I have green eyes, but they're not dark, they're more light, kind of like a leaf. And I have dark hair, it was long for a while, but now it's short, it's shorter than moms, it's almost like a boy's haircut, it's shaved but long on the top. I have 3 piercings in both my ears, they're metal so I think you can feel them, and that's about it." She laughed and leaned back. After a while, Korra still hadn't come back, so Toph and Ally went to look for her, and found her sitting on a tree. 

"This place... it's doing things to my head," Korra stammered. "I saw Zaheer and the people that hurt me."

"Yeah, sounds about right," Toph stuck her finger in her ear and flicked out a black glob. 

"You sent me out so I could see them?" Korra shouted. "So I could... you're crazy."

"Listen, I know the both of you want to get better," Toph took a seat next to Korra. "And as it appears, the swamp wants you to get better too, it can sense something is out of balance within you. It'll teach you a lot, if you'll open your ears and listen."

"Fine," Korra sighed. "Alright swamp, if you want to bestow some wisdom on me, I'm listening."

"You told me you saw the people that hurt you?" Toph prompted. "Why do you think you saw them and not anybody else."

"They made us, and many others suffer," Korra said. 

"It sounds to me like you're carrying around the weight of your past, and former rivals," Toph told her. "In a way, it's the same way you're carrying around the poison. Ever wonder that you may be able to learn something from them?"

"I think the swamp is messing around with your head too," Korra looked at Toph with skepticism. 

"What did all your past enemies want?" Toph asked. "Amon wanted equality, Unalaq wanted balance and so he brought back spirits, and Zaheer believed in world freedom."

"Yeah," Korra replied. 

"But those bozos were out of balance and took what they wanted much too far," Toph continued. 

"True, but why won't they leave me?" Korra fired back. 

"You and Ally need to face what happened to you, and face your fears," Toph explained. "How are you going to deal with fights, say 10 years from now, if you're still dwelling on things that happened."

"How do I do that?" Korra asked. 

"Man, you really do need a lot of coddling," Toph grumbled. "Alright, up you get. Follow me, I'm taking you to the Banyan Grove Tree."  She led them to a massive tree in the middle of the swamp. The tree itself was huge, dozens of feet wide and hundreds tall, the roots spread for miles in every way possible, Toph told Korra her problem was she had been disconnected from the world for too long, from the people who loved her. Korra and Ally put their hands on the tree root and the area around their palm glowed good, and a stream of light erupted and ran down the tree root, showing them Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo. 

"Oh my god!" Ally exclaimed and jumped up. "Jinora, Ikki and Meelo! They're here!"

"Oh good, maybe they can get you both out my hair," Toph said. Within a few minutes, a sky bison holding the three kids came out of the trees, and Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo flew over to them, using new winged suits. Ally stepped back and let the kids hug Korra until Toph cleared her throat. 

"Oh, sorry, grandma," Ally chuckled. "Those are Aang's children, Jinorah, Ikki, and Meelo." Toph walked over to the kids and looked down at them with a sharp glare. 

"You know your grandpa was a serious pain in my butt?" She asked. 

"Hold on a sec," Meelo took his finger out of his nose. "Old lady, blind, cranky like the chief... Toph!"

"Oh," Toph laughed. "This one can stay, I like him." Jinora and her siblings convinced Korra to come home, but they had one last stop to make, Toph's house. Toph told Korra and Ally how to get the metal out of their bodies, and so they did. In perfect sync, the two women bent the metal out of their bodies. The firelight crackled in their eyes as they finally got all the poison out. Toph sealed it in a rock and smiled. 

"Well done, Ally," she praised. "And good job, Korra." When the poison was out, the two avatars opened their eyes and they glowed white, the Avatar state was back. For the first time in a long time, Ally felt happy tears come to her eyes as she let out a laugh. Before they left, Ally gave her grandmother a hug and Toph returned it, a little chuckle escaping her lips.

"It was wonderful to see you again," Toph whispered. 

"I'll come visit," Ally said gently. Toph smiled as Ally got on the sky bison and took off into the dark sky.