"So, what do you know about the Beifong family?" Sokka asks as he watches Yue and Aang mix sugar in with the egg yolks as they begin the first steps to make custard. "I know the avatar before you was a part of that family but do you know anything else?"

"I know they run a merchant system around the earth kingdom, those merchant caravans we've done business with a few times all work for them. They help get supplies all around the earth kingdom and are allowed to bring it to the firenation colonies since the merchants are neutral in the war." Zuko says as he reads over the scrolls he drew up the previous night, with his off hand he stirs a large pot full of udon noodles that he and Katara had made that morning.

"So they're war profiteering?" Yue asks as she turns to look at Zuko. "That doesn't sound like a very good thing to do."

"It's not exactly war profiteering, they are trading with the colonies, providing aid to refugee camps and they help travelers get around the earth kingdom in protected caravans. It does cost money to be escorted by the caravans but it does cost a lot of money to actually run a business of that scale." Iroh says as he finishes setting up a pai sho table. "Anyone care for a game?"

"Oh! Oh! Of course I'll play!" Aang says as he quickly loses interest in cooking and sprints across the room to go play the game. "Monk Gyatso and I used to play this all the time back home... my sister always thought it was boring though."

"Well, who wants to come with me to the Beifong estate? Aang and Uncle Iroh are probably gonna be at that for a few hours." Zuko asks as he cuts off the fire from the pot. "Lunch is ready so whenever you two need to use the oven let me know." He says before ladling a bit of the soup into his bowl then adding some fried shrimp and some vegetables to it.

"I'll tag along, this shouldn't take very long so we can have these when we get back." Yue says as she pours the custard into a few pastry molds before putting it into the oven. "These aren't the kind of tarts you need to bake Zuko, you actually need to chill them. But we do need to bake the pastry base for these. Hey, Iroh, can you bake the pastry for me while we're gone? I'm gonna make an ice box so the custard can chill for a little while." She asks before putting a couple nails into a candle to act as a timer. With her waterbending, she creates a large block of ice before hollowing it out and putting the custard inside it. She freezes the opening over so the box is hollow.

"Of course." Iroh says with a nod before placing down the white lotus tile in the center of the board. "This is sure to be an interesting day, and an interesting game." Iroh says as he gets up to go bake the pastry and make himself a bowl to eat.

"You coming too, Sokka?" Yue asks, causing him to snap his attention to her, with three half eaten tempura shrimp still sticking out of his mouth. She giggles when she sees this out of her husband, causing Sokka to quickly finish his food.

"Yeah, I'll tag along. We might even get another meal out of this too, it is lunch time." Sokka says excitedly as he gets up from his spot on the sofa.

"What do you see in him, Yue? He only thinks with his stomach or his sword." Katara groans as she gets up from reading her bending scrolls. When she sees the blush on Yue's and Sokka's face she realizes what she said. "I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT!!!"

"Can we not yell please? We're in the same room damnit." Zuko scolds, coincidentally also yelling this in the same room, defeating the purpose.

"I don't get it." Aang says as he raises an eyebrow but this just causes Iroh to shrug.

News that the avatar is in town had gotten out, while normally someone of such status would bring celebration... not when that Avatar was born a firebender. Then again, he is known as The Good Firebender, and stories of his feats have made their way around the earth kingdom. Zuko doesn't mind the lack of publicity, truth be told he was never a fan of all the prompt and circumstance that would follow anything his family did back in the firenation. Given the chance, Zuko would rather just sit on the cushions in the palace, reading books or spending time with... "She's gone..." Zuko interrupts this train of thought, shaking his head to physically rid himself of the memories. Ahead of him, the three watertribe members talk with one another but all he can hear are mumbles. "One more step closer to becoming a fully realized Avatar... What then? Will I actually have to face my father? Will I have to fight him?... Will I be able to defeat him?..."

"Will I be able to kill Firelord Ozai?"

He pinches the bridge of his nose before stopping on the peak of a small bridge, ahead of him is the large walled estate with the insignia of the flying boar on the front gates. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, letting the warmth of the sun bring comfort to his anxiety. "Why am I nervous?" He asks himself before opening his eyes and walking over the rest of the bridge, catching up with Katara, Sokka and Yue. As they get closer to the entrance of the estate the two guards out front notice their arrival. The one to the right of the door, shifts his weight and lifts a large boulder over the four in a threatening manner. "Halt. This is private property of the Beifong family and memorial to Avatar Beifong. I ask that you leave. Now." The man says sternly but Zuko punches the boulder causing it to explode into a million pieces. "I've come to meet with the Beifongs." Zuko says before extending a hand and creating a flame in his palm. "I am Avatar Lee." When Zuko says this, the two guards look at him with shock written all over their faces.

After a few moments for the two to process what Zuko had said, they call over to a few guards on the inside to ask them to announce the arrival of the avatar. It takes almost half an hour for the gates to finally open allowing them to enter the estate. As the gates open, Katara and Sokka are astonished at the size of the home. The first quarter mile of the compound is a large orchard with berry bushes, long winding paths as well as a large marble fountain in the center of the estate. Beneath it on an obsidian plaque is a memorial site. "Here lies, Avatar Jun Beifong... The Last Hope for The Earth Kingdom." It reads in gold inlay and part of Zuko feels sick to his stomach when he reads that. He looks up at the bearded face of the earth avatar before him, seeing that his blind eyes seem to follow him as they walk around the path of the garden. As they near the top of the hill the estate is gone, they pass by the guards barracks, the servants house and finally the main home itself.

Zuko restrains himself from looking at the priceless trinkets and odds and ends that the Beifongs have around a shrine to his past life. Instead he keeps his attention to the servant that is leading them into the main sitting room. "Lord and Lady Beifong, may I present to you Avatar Lee and his teachers." The servant declares as Zuko enters the room. As he walks through the entrance, he notices how the man and woman on the large throne study him as he enters. He sees that the couple probably isn't much older than 32, maybe 34 at the oldest, the father's mustache barely grows past the curls of his lips, his hair combed back and sits under a small crown on his head. The woman looks to be the same age, maybe slightly older than her husband, her hair done up in large poofy rolls on her head nestled underneath a headdress of flowers. Their robes looked to be made of white silk and gold. Across from them, seated in a small chair is Toph, appearing much different than she had when he fought her at Earth Rumble Six. Her clothes appear to be the same color as her parents, but hers are a bit less opulent.

"That's not the name I heard him tell me." Toph whispers to herself, and Zuko manages to hear it. Trying to send a message to her, he taps his foot twice on the ground causing her to shift his attention to him.

"Avatar Lee? I hadn't expected you to come here... I honestly thought Jun was going to be the last good avatar..." The man begins, before studying Zuko's face. "Were you banished?"

"Yeah." Zuko answers, "I'm from Yu Dao... I've come searching for an earthbending master." He says before taking a deep breath and shooting a look at Toph. "I figured, that a member of the family of my past life would be the best choice over anyone else." This statement causes the two to look to each other for a moment before turning to him with a sad expression on their faces.

"I'm sorry Jun." Toph's mother begins but catches herself before raising a hand over her mouth. "Lee... please forgive me I didn't mean to call you that."

"It's alright. My airbending master, Aang, has accidentally called me his sister's name on a few occasions." Zuko says before looking at Toph. "I need someone who can travel with me, to teach me the last element I need to master."

"I apologize Avatar Lee, but we don't have any earthbenders in our family anymore. Our daughter is blind, and has been attempting to take lessons from Master Yu, but I'm afraid due to her blindness... she will not be able to be a true master." Toph's father says, causing Zuko to turn to face him. Behind them, Master Yu nods before adding to it.

"She knows the basic stances, and breathing techniques, but I'm afraid that it might be a bit too difficult for her to actively practice true earthbending." Master Yu adds.

"Lao. I have been blind, deaf, mute, born without arms, legs and on one occasion born without any limbs at all and I've mastered the elements in every one of my life times." Zuko says, recalling some of the spiritual knowledge from his past lives. "Avatar Kazza, an orphaned girl born in the firenation a couple thousand years ago had no arms, but she used bending to get around that disability."

"How did you... how did you know my name?" Lao asks, as he studies Zuko's face trying to find signs of Jun in him.

"I have Jun's memories." Zuko says, which is partially true, he can access Jun's memories but only with the permission of his past life. "And, I can sense that she..." Zuko says before pointing to Toph without looking at her much the same way she did with him when they met. "Is the strongest earthbender to ever live." This statement shocks Toph, Master Yu, Lao, Toph's mother Poppy and the three watertribe members.

"W-what?!" Lao and Poppy ask in total shock, but Toph remains silent, surprised that Zuko would get straight to the point so quickly.

"If you don't believe me, then Toph? Would you like to demonstrate? To show them the real you?" Zuko says before looking at Toph who is hesitant to respond for a few moments, her parents looking at her in surprise. "If you allow her to teach me, this is her only chance to have any relationship with her uncle even if it is through his next life."

"I'm sorry Avatar Lee, we canno-"Lao begins but he's cut off by Toph who abruptly stands up from her chair.

"I'll do it." Toph says, both her parents and Master Yu are startled by her getting up all of a sudden. "Follow me." She says sternly before marching forwards, Master Yu however gets up to try to block her from leaving.

"Toph you aren't a skilled enough bender to-" He says before getting cut off as Toph slides her foot to the side causing him to slide in the same direction and out of her way. Zuko almost laughs at Master Yu's reaction to being abruptly removed from Toph's path.

Lao and Poppy rush past Zuko as they chase after their daughter who makes it outside without any interruptions from the guards. After her parents get outside, Toph turns to look at them to make sure she has a full audience. Once they get outside, Zuko leans against the door frame. "Watch and learn Sparky, this is gonna be your first lesson." Toph says confidently before sweeping her leg upwards and slamming it on the ground causing the stone tiles leading up to the house to lift upwards catching her parents under the legs sitting them down on the stone tiles so they can watch what she's capable of. Once everyone is seated, she turns and kicks the sidewalk causing a trench of stones to lift out of the ground along the side of it creating a small guide rail to the sidewalk itself. She thrusts her hands upwards and lifts up several of the peach trees growing in the estate with the earth underneath them. Transplanting each into different spots in the estate.

She crouches down and slams her hands on the ground causing tiles to surround her body like armor before she slides through the garden towards the statue of her uncle. Her parents watch on in horror and terror on their faces as Toph gets to the fountain then punches the ground causing the fountain to raise a good 10 feet out of the ground so that her uncle is now watching over the entire estate. She slides against the ground as if it was glass, using her earthbending to move herself forwards. As she gets back up to the hill, she stops and spreads herself out into a wide stance before thrusting her arms upwards. The ground around them begins to rumble. The estate house, barracks and the servants house are lifted off the ground and levitated nearly two dozen feet in the air. With her parents, "master" her new student and the three water tribes members astonished at her display, she sets the buildings down back in their rightful places before molding the foundations back to how they were supposed to be.

"I'm not some blind helpless little girl. I can see with earthbending, feeling the vibrations in the ground. I can feel where each of you are, what you look like, I can even feel those tiny ants over there." She says before pointing to her right, her father Lao decides to get up and look where she's pointing and sure enough there's a large ant hill sitting there. "Now you know the truth. I'm exactly like Uncle Jun... minus the other bending arts." She says before fixing the ground that she had earth bent.

"I can't believe it... your daughter is the greatest earthbender I've ever seen." Master Yu says as Zuko walks over to Lao.

"I know you're afraid that she'll have the same fate as Jun but I can assure you that I will take care of her and bring her home safely as soon as I've mastered Earthbending." Zuko says before offering a hand to Lao. "I took out an entire fire navy fleet by myself. She'll be safe with me."

"I can't, I know we can trust you as the avatar but I just can't let my daughter travel the world through this war... It's already taken so much from us." Lao says.

"Have you ever given her a choice? How about you ask her what she wants?" Zuko presses but Lao shakes his head again.

"If you were a father, would you let your child out of your sight? When you know she's blind, tiny, and frail? She is just like my late brother and I will not allow her to meet the same fate." Lao shouts back, going over to Toph and clutching her in his arms. Zuko looks down at the ground for a moment, dejected, annoyed and to some extent angry. "Come on Toph, let's go. Guards, Escort the avatar and his friends from the premises."

Toph looks at Zuko with sadness in her eyes watching as the guards come over to try to usher them out of the estate. But, she feels something shift in the wind, she feels the grass shift under her feed, the dust on the tiles being pulled towards something. "Uh-oh..." Katara says feeling the wind suddenly pick up before their attention snaps to Zuko. Around his body, dust, sand and dirt begins forming a tornado around his body. Suddenly he picks his head up revealing his eyes glowing a bright ethereal white light. When he looks up, the tornado surrounds his body and the light around them dims almost looking like it was dusk or during a dust storm. When the storm clears a different man is standing where Zuko once stood. A wide dome shaped hat with a pin at the top of it points upwards with the symbol of Ba Sing Sei on the front of it. His head covered by a yellow hood over and his shoulders covered in heavy leather padding. An armored brass chest plate beneath the shoulder padding with a leather belt and brass pauldrons over his thighs. Heavy green boots without coverings for the feet. His eyes are milky and white like Toph's, with a dark brown goatee over his face.

"Is this what you think of me Lao? Despite being your older brother, did you ever think of me as frail or helpless?" The booming voice of Jun echoes through the estate. "Why treat my niece the same way, I died on the front lines, and came back in this life to find an earthbending master you would deny me?"

"Jun... I didn't mean that. It's just that Toph is far too young to be going with them." Lao pleads.

"My new master Aang is barely older than her." Jun's voice booms. "He may have spent a century frozen in ice, but he is now my new master and I came here to ask that my niece train me in this life. I will protect her. You can be assured of that, but her destiny and now Zuko's are intertwined with one another."

"Alright... I'll let her train the avatar." Lao relinquishes, and Toph's face lights up with excitement. With a brief nod, Jun vanishes from the world of the living leaving Zuko once again standing in his place. He almost collapses under the strain of using the avatar state but he manages to keep hold of his balance. "When the war is over, and you've mastered Earthbending please, bring her home safely."

"You have my word." Zuko says before shifting his attention to Toph who is now free of her father's arms. "I'm eager to begin my training, my master." Zuko says with a bow and with a wide grin on her face, Toph returns the gesture.

"I'm gonna get my stuff ready Sparky, I'm gonna put you through hell and back and when I'm done. You'll be the best fuckin earthbender there is." Toph says, causing Zuko to laugh but her parents are appalled by her language.