Place: Takes place during and after Sozen's Comet.

SCARY SHOWDOWN!

During...

(Pt. 1; Looking for Aang)

"This is the worst field trip ever." Toph complained, almost sounding ready to cry.

Zuko momentarily looked down at the ground without stopping. He felt terrible. He never meant to make her sad, it just wasn't the best time for it, she should have known that. If he saw one tear from that girl, he'd probably lose it.

In less then a minute, both of them could but hear hissing, yawling, and the sound of flapping wings. It was a flock of Catowls. They were attacking the pair in no time, maybe upset at being woken up by her talking.

"Ow!" Toph yelped, as they attacked her. Her arms were getting scratched up bad. She couldn't see what wasn't touching the ground, so it was a very unfair advantage for the Catowls. Zuko easily scared the Catowls trying to attack him away with Firebending. The former prince wasted no time coming to Toph's aid. Zuko began Firebending lightly, just enough to scare them away. His free arm had Toph, holding her close.

As the Catowls flew away, Toph's heart pounded like crazy, not that she was used to it by now. She'd gotten her wish; Zuko was protecting her. She couldn't help but throw her arms around him and bury her face in his chest. This caught Zuko off guard for a moment, but he appreciated it all the same. He slowly wrapped him arms around Toph and held her. The pair stayed like that for a little more then a minute when Zuko jerked back, remembering that time was of the essence.

"Don't forget, we're still looking for Aang." Zuko reminded her and continued walking. Toph only smiled and blushed. She then ran to catch up with him and took his wrist, almost like she was scared of another attack. Zuko blushed, looking at Toph with the same expression as before. Still, the teenager somehow managed to ignore this contact and continued looking for the Avatar.

(Pt. 2; Victory)

"Leave the nicknames to us, honey." Toph said to Suki who'd just come up with a sorry nickname. Aang had defeated Ozai.

"Hey, did we miss the party?" Zuko's voice came. He and Katara had arrived that very moment. They were accompanied by two soldiers.

"Zuko, you're alive!" Toph beamed and hugged him. Zuko hissed in pain. Katara may have healed his injury to the best of her abilities, but his new acquired scar still hurt when touched.

Toph drew back instantly. "Sorry!" She said quickly, hoping she didn't do to much damage.

Everyone had their own reactions to this, none of them had ever seen Toph like that before. Suki and Katara smiled sweetly, Sokka just looked at Toph like they way he did earlier when she called dibs on Zuko, and Aang was hopelessly confused. When did this start?

Zuko walked cautiously over to Ozai to find him still alive. Zuko shot an quick annoyed glance at Aang, then turned to the two soldiers. "Take him away. Lock him up in the most secure prison you can find." He ordered. With Zuko being the only apparent heir to the throne, the soldiers obeyed his orders immediately.

"What happened to Azula?" Sokka asked. "Where is she?"

"Right now? On her way to a mental hospital." Zuko said without emotion.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me." Aang said. "So I guess you're the new Fire Lord?"

"Yeah, but my coronation won't be until tomorrow." Zuko looked west. The sun was already setting. "After today, we could all use the rest." He sighed.

0-0-0

After...

"What'd you need to find out?" Toph asked Zuko, referring to earlier that day when he'd gone to see his father. They were in Iroh's teashop, having just commented on Sokka's poor painting skills.

"I needed to know where my mother is. I'm going to find her. My uncle promised he'd take care of things until my return." Zuko said.

"I wish this wasn't over. I don't think I'll ever be able to go home after all that's happened." Toph looked down, sounding depressed. Zuko thought for a moment, then smiled at her.

"You still up for that field trip?"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Well, that's it for the series. Hm...I wonder if I should continue with this or not... Review.