First fanfic. Whoopdedoo, right? just kidding. I'm so excited to finally be writing this story.

Things to engrave inside your skull:

1. Toph is still blind no matter how much I want to give her sight, it just cannot be. Sigh. Well, then again….

2. Bending is allowed…in a way.

3. This is a Taang fic set in two different time periods with mentions of Zutara and Sokka and Suki.

4. Have fun while reading this, even if the beginning is kinda iffy.

DISCLAIMER!!! : I do not own the Avatar: the last airbender or it's characters. Simple and to the point right?

Oh, and sorry if Toph is a little violent. Its what happens when she's irritated.

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TOPH'S POV

"Where are we Twinkle toes?!" I yelled at the monk beside me who was guiding me through a nasty smelling swamp. I felt him hesitate as he muttered nervously to himself. I stopped walking and so did he.

"You don't know where we are." It wasn't a question and it wasn't a statement; it was more like an accusation.

I heard him open and close his mouth as he tried to come up with something to say.

"I cannot believe you!" I screamed into swamp air. "You drag me out here without so much as an explanation and you get us lost?! I could've stayed back in the Fire Nation with Princess and Sweetness and General Lee but I came here with you. I've been thigh-high in swamp goo for a million years! The stupid war didn't even last this long."

And, of course, being the All Mighty Avatar that he is, he only caught the last part of my short, little tirade.

"Hey! I came back didn't I? Even after a hundred years, I was still needed. And I saved the--"

"Whatever. I want to go now." I was already in a bad mood and I was in no hurry to listen to his little I-saved-the-world speech. I knew I had hit a soft spot but excuse me: He had to get over it! I mean, I know he came back. I know he saved the freaking world. I know it all because I was there! Can't he just let bygones be bygones? "Lead me to the nearest slab of rock so we can make camp," I ordered.

"But-"

I grabbed his shirt and pulled him to my side. "Camp. Now." I pushed him away a bit too hard and I had a small smirk plastered on my face as I heard him splash around the in the swampy goop.

"That wasn't necessary you know."

I shrugged his comment off because, frankly, I didn't care.

"My feet hurt and I need to rest. Plus I think this goop is starting to dry and I'm going to get a rash on my thighs if I'm not out of here in the next hour."

I knew he was standing beside me so I shot my arm out towards my right. Twinkles yelped in pain.

"Now you better get moving before you have a broken arm to match that bruise."

"That was my rib!" he whined.

Holding a fist in the air I said, "Next time it's going to be your face if you don't get a move on."

My threat worked perfectly as Monk Boy started to walk a bit faster through the swamp. I would have to thank General Lee when I get back to the Fire Nation. You might be confused as to why I was getting back to the Fire Nation instead of the Earth Kingdom. Well, Fire Lord Zuko/Princess, thought that I could help settle the new Fire Nation troops into good individuals who don't want to attack other Nations. So far, it's been working, although there was one that had a bit of trouble adjusting to a fixed state of mind, but I've made sure that during my absence, he was getting it beat out of him.

Literally. Like if he even said one bad word about the other nations then he'd totally get his butt kicked. Okay, now I'm rambling.

I wish I was back on firm ground with Blowfish (General Lee), who never treated me as a small, delicate flower, but as a warrior should be treated. I was the Greatest Earthbender in the world for Spirit's sake. I sighed as that thought made me instantly feel regret:

"Why do I have to go?" I asked Twinkle Puff as he paced around my room nervously.

"I need to have the World's Greatest Earthbender by my side to help me. But, all formalities aside, I miss spending time with my best friend."

I punched his arm because he was going all sappy on me. I didn't say anything so he spoke again.

"C'mon Toph, you trust me don't you?"

After a pause I answered.

"Fine, I'll go. But promise me that you will never go that sentimental and feminine on me again, Twinkles."

He left my room on the search for Princess and Madam Fussy Britches so he could tell them the good news, though they were as confused as I was on why it had to be me.

I can't believe I listened to Lichee Nuts over here. Never trust a balding monk.

After about ten minutes of walking with mud caked on my thighs, we finally reached terra firma. I lay down on my back and began making a rock angel out of my beautiful, beautiful ground.

AANG'S POV

I left Toph to her beloved ground and gathered some dead branches together to make a fire. I didn't know about Toph but I was freezing. I had tried to bend some of the swamp goo off of my clothes but, since Toph had pushed me into the murky water, some of it had dried on my shirt and would not come off. So I had to take off my shirt and just sit on the cold ground. Shirtless.

As I began making the fire, I started thinking about why I was even here in the first place. It sure wasn't because I was looking forward to seeing Dude and Hugh, my swampy friends. I mean, they weren't bad people, not at all, but would it kill them to cover up a little more? Don't get me wrong, I was all for wearing what you want or what you don't want, but even I have a limit when it came to certain articles of clothing.

I had a nasty case of déjà vu as I landed in the swamp in the same fashion as I did the first time I came to this spiritual place. There was somehow a tornado that swept Toph and I off of Appa and had us crashing somewhere within the swamp without my furry friends.

It felt like the swamp was calling to me and before I knew it, the tornado popped up and pulled us down like it was impatient or something. Toph was already annoyed about having to fly through the air where she couldn't see anything but having to walk through the swamp was another thing entirely.

I didn't know why I was here in the swamp in the first place. A vision came to me about a week ago about the swamp. I was in a foggy place and I couldn't see where I was. Then there was a change of scenery and I was on the edge of a canyon and I was looking out at two figures that were coming towards me. Then, everything went black as I fell into a dark abyss.

The meaning of the vision was still unknown to me but the entire thing had made me laugh afterwards. As if it was a joke; that only served to confuse me more.

"Hey Twinkles, where are you going? Did you think that you could just bring me here to the swamp and then leave me? Idiot."

Toph's voice seemed to puncture through some sort of trance I was in.

"Uh-what?"

"Geez, what is wrong with you? It's like you're not even here."

I shook my head and tried to clear my thoughts.

"So when are you going to get to firebending? I'm freezing my toes off here."

Somehow I had gotten to the edge of the rock that we were camping on and was about to head back into the swamp when Toph's hard voice had woken me up. Why was I going into the swamp in the first place? I was doing everything to try and find my way out of the murky place, so why was I trying to go back?

"Sorry Sifu Toph," I said as I went back to my unlit fire. But before I actually got there, I heard a noise behind me that sounded like someone was snickering. I turned around but I was met with same view as always, the murky swampy water. But just to make sure I didn't imagine it:

"Toph, did you hear that?"

She cocked her head to the side and asked, "Heard what, Twinkles?"

Well if she didn't hear it: "Nothing, Toph."

I hurried to light the fire as I felt a cold chill wash over me.

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OoOoh. Don't you hate it when cold chills wash over you?

Don't worry, there will be some fluff in the next chapter. =]

Tell me what you think! I'll probably go on anyways, so just wait for the next chapter to come up.

Love: Lola of the Peaches