Strong

Toph stomped the stone beneath her feet and huge boulder erupted from the ground. With a bound, she sent it flying toward her blindfolded pupil.

Aang 'caught' the boulder and crushed it simultaneously, slamming it into dust that drifted away on the breeze.

Toph only grunted in response of the airbender-turned-earthbender's expertise and redoubled her efforts. Her second attack was met with nearly the same defense, as well as the next few.

"Change up your moves, Twinkletoes!" She shouted as she sent another stone flying his way.

"Why?" he shouted back as he deflected her blow easily. "You're so predictable!"

"WHAT?!"

The metalbender snapped at the insult, and began a barrage of intricate moves, sending rocks of every size shooting toward Aang, who smashed each one of them with the same defense. It bewildered and infuriated the earthbender, but suddenly she heard a voice that stunned her even more.

"You're tiny, helpless, fragile!"

"Mother?" Toph was shocked. She couldn't discern any shape nearby that even remotely represented the woman she so despised, yet loved with all her heart at the same time.

"Toph..."

"Mom! Where are you? What are you doing here?" Suddenly the world seemed to go ominously black. The Blind Bandit could no longer sense the Avatar, or anything at all nearby. Though she could feel the ground beneath her bare feet, she couldn't gather any information from it. She blinked her sightless eyes with fear and fury.

"Aang? Katara? Sokka? Mom? Anyone? This isn't funny!"

"Helpless..."

"Sokka?"

"So tiny..."

"Katara? Where are you?!"

"A little girl..."

"Aang! Where the heck are you guys? Why are you doing this to me!?"

A hand descended on her shoulder, and she spun around with surprise, her fists clenching with uncontrolled rage.

"Come on, Toph...come back home, where it's safe...you're blind, you shouldn't be out here..."

The metalbender's voice squealed very uncharacteristically with fury, "My place is here! I belong here more than I ever belonged at home! How can you dare even try to take me back there! All you want is to keep me under your wing, hidden from the world, so your crippled daughter won't disgrace you!"

"Come back, Toph...we miss you and we love you..."

"No you DON'T, and you never DID! You don't understand the agony you and Dad put me through! Joining Aang was the best decision I ever made! They're my friends, and they like me for who I am, I don't have to pretend to be something else to please them! They're more my family then you ever were!"

Toph was shaking, out of fear or anger, even she couldn't tell. All she could feel was that after she confessed that fact to her mother, whether she was real or just a ghost from her imagination, she felt elated, almost like the time at the rendezvous island, when she, Aang, Sokka, and Katara had been talking. They were a family, despite their different lives, backgrounds, and struggles. They had come together for one purpose...one goal, and had become an adopted family in the process. Split nations had become whole, destines and lives were now fused. In the days to come, that very advantage would lead them to victory.

A/N: I hope I didn't make you guys suffer too much with my incessant (I love that word, seriously!) rambling. I normally don't have author notes at the bottom, but, I decided to remind u to review! Hit that button! Come on, I dare ya'!