Zuko has stepped down from his position as Firelord and has been succeeded by his daughter, Izumi. Toph is living in the swamp of the Banyon Grove tree. All takes place in the three-year period of Korra’s recovery.

              Toph sat in her mud bath, soaking her feet and watching the world through her vines. She sat and thought, as she often did, about the golden years of the Gaang. They stopped Azula from drilling into Ba Sing Se. They found Won Shi Tong’s lost library. And who could forget that they SAVED THE FREAKING WORLD. Ah the good old days.

            As Toph thought about their good times together, she decided to check up on her old buddies. Katara was sitting in her house rocking in a chair. Toph actually missed Sugar Queen. She chuckled at the thought of finding Katara and calling her the name she had given long ago.

            Zuko was visiting his Sun Warrior friends. Toph remembered the stories she had been told of that place. Of the beautiful fire (that she could never see). Of the buildings and architecture. And then Toph remembered something she had forgotten: that was where Zuko and Aang had gone on their life-changing field trip. Come to think of it, Katara also went on a life-changing field trip with Zuko. And Sokka. And Appa. But old Toph got left out.

            Infuriated Toph got up and went to the surface of the swamp. She was going to pay Zuko a little visit.

                        Toph started running like she had when escaping Xin Fu. Mounds of earth displaced by her rage as she sped towards Zuko’s residence in the Fire Nation.

            Finally, she reached the sea and realized that she could go no further...or could she? Toph burrowed down as far as she could and then started rapidly digging out a tunnel to the Fire Nation. Toph chuckled. A tunnel under the sea. Why had nobody done this before? Then Toph realized why: she was the greatest earth bender in the world!

              After a few hours of tunneling, Toph stopped to see where she needed to go. She stomped to incite vibrations. “Huh,” she thought “that was quick.” Toph had already arrived. She started tunneling upwards towards the Capital City.

            She started walking towards Zuko’s house. As she got closer, some guards tried to stop here. She turned them around without stopping. They just stood there in awe. Hah! Stupid youngsters. She kicked the door open as guards rushed towards her. Then she felt someone familiar. “Zuko!” she shouted.

            “Toph??”

            “The one and only. You’ve gotten pretty old,” she jested

            “Haha. It’s good to see you old friend. So why did you come? Nobody has seen you in years!”

            “I’ll give you one guess.”

            “Oh Toph. Do you still want to go on that li-“

            “YES I WANT TO GO ON MY LIFE-CHANGING FIELD TRIP!!”

            “Okay, okay. Calm down. Where do you want to go?”

            “Hmm. Well I didn’t think I’d get this far honestly.”

            “How about we go for a ride on my dragon and think about it?”

            “A ride on a flying, fire-breathing dragon? Ha!”

            “Well then how do you suppose we get around?”

            Toph chuckled menacingly. “I’ve got an idea.”

              After hours of walking through Toph’s undersea tunnel, they made a sudden turn.

            “Where are we going?” asked Zuko.

            “To visit an old friend.”

              Toph and Zuko walked for hours and hours until finally Toph stopped, grinning.

            “What?” Zuko asked drowsily, “Are we there?”

            “Not quite,” Toph replied, “but we are almost finished with the first part of our journey.”

            They started climbing upwards until they reached the surface. Once they stepped out of the ground, Zuko realized how incredibly cold it was.

            “Where are we?” Zuko asked

            Just as he finished his question he looked up and saw a beam of beautiful light.

            “The Southern Spirit Portal,” Toph replied.

            They walked into it and were immediately greeted with the sight of numerous spirits of all different shapes and sizes. Flying whales, ones shaped like carrots, leaves, and everything in between. Zuko stood in awe. Toph, still walking, beckoned him.

            “C’mon Zuko, we still have a bit of ground to cover.”

The two continued walking for about an hour or so until they came upon a cottage. Outside was a table with fittings for a tea party and another, smaller table with a Pi Sho board on it. Toph and Zuko entered and were immediately greeted with a familiar and yet long forgotten smell: jasmine tea.

Zuko looked around and saw someone he had missed for many years- his uncle.

“Uncle?? Is that you?”

“Oh Zuko, it has been too long.”

Toph smiled as she remembered her last visit with her friend. It had been at this same cottage when she had been asked to bring Zuko here eventually. She had smiled and nodded, but forgotten until only a few days ago. The happiness she felt for the both of them was unlike anything she had felt before.

  Zuko, Iroh, and Toph sat around, drank tea and played Pi Sho until the sun was beginning to set. They were about to leave when Iroh begged them to stay. “I guess it won’t hurt to stay until morning.” Zuko said, happy that his visit with Uncle was not yet over. They continued on into the wee hours of the night until they all were too tired to keep their eyes open.

In the morning, Zuko and Iroh were up early and had a cup of tea with each other. Toph joined them shortly. They sat in silence, enjoying the sunrise until finally Zuko realized he had to return.

“I must be going now, but it was good seeing you, Uncle”

“It was good seeing you too, my son. Fare well and come visit me more often. That goes for you too, Miss Earth bender.” Iroh smiled as he sent them on their way.

Zuko and Toph, satisfied with their trip, returned to the capital city.

“Thank you, Toph. I have missed him for so long, I didn’t think I would ever see him again.”

“Ah don’t mention it. I’m glad we finally got to go on a life-changing field trip together. Even if it was only life-changing for you.”

            “Well, I have a daughter to advise and a wife to tend to. Hopefully we can meet again soon.” Zuko grinned and hugged Toph.

            “I do too, Hothead.”

I will be changing my name from “lord-of-stuff-and-things” to “almighty-melonlord” in light of my recent metamorphosis into a primarily avatar-based blog. Thank you and I love you to all 36 of you