It started with a loud clang. That was how Ranma, Sokka, and Katara knew there was trouble on the grounds of the Beifong estate. It was the loud screaming from Toph that alerted Lao, his wife, the guards, and Master Yu to the fact that Toph and the Avatar were in danger. Rushing to the gardens the Beifongs and their guests were greeted with the sight of two identical divots in the grass. Between them sat a piece of paper.
Lao and his wife were in shock when they saw the scene before them. Ranma, however, had a pretty good idea as to who was behind the incident. He did not put it past Xin Fu to pull something like that and with Aang also missing there was no doubt in his mind as to why they were taken. Letting out a heavy sigh Ranma watched as Katara picked up the paper and read the note upon it aloud.
"Bring five hundred gold pieces if you want to see your daughter alive. Your son knows where. And it's signed Xin Fu and the Boulder," Katara read.
The moment he heard The Boulder was involved in the kidnapping Sokka snatched the note from Katara and squealed like a child with a new toy. In fact, Katara was almost certain Sokka sounded a lot like the crazy fanatic from Kiyoshi Island. And it was all for a piece of paper.
"I got the Boulder's autograph," Sokka cried out in a display of fanatic geekiness.
"I'm very happy for you," Katara sarcastically remarked.
Lao turned to his son with a stern look upon his face. Ranma had been hiding something from him and he was not happy about it. Lao hated secrets being kept from him, especially when it was his own children. Lao demanded to know every little detail that took place within the walls of his estate. He had a reputation to uphold as the richest man in the southern regions of the Earth Kingdom and knowing his children were hiding something from him angered the head of the Beifong family greatly.
"Ranma what do you know that you aren't telling me my son," Lao demanded of his only son.
Ranma gulped down the knot that had formed in his throat, sighed heavily, and confessed to the lesser of the two crimes against the family image, "I've been going to Earth Rumble fights and I've taken Toph with me a few times."
Lao threw his son a cold hard stare that spoke volumes of the anger he felt over his son lying to him about his whereabouts. While Ranma was getting the look from his father his mother was currently being consoled by Katara over her only daughter being kidnapped by what she felt was an evil man.
"I think if we just return the prize money to Xin Fu he'll let Toph and Aang go," Katara said more to Ranma and Sokka than to the elder Beifongs.
"It's worth a shot," Sokka replied.
Ranma let out a soft sigh and turned to look at his dad and Master Yu. He knew they would both want to be present when they went to make the trade for Toph and Aang. "You two get the prize money and then we'll all head to the rumble arena," Ranma commented making sure his father and Master Yu were well aware they were in on the plans.
Metal, it was the natural enemy of any Earthbender. To truly keep an Earthbender from being able to fight back all one had to do was get a metal box and hang it in the air. Aang had seen this before during the return to Omashu. The Fire Nation soldiers had locked Bumi in a rather small metal box and hung him from the air. Their only mistake, leaving Bumi's face exposed so he could bend with his chin. Even though Bumi could still bend from his box he was not about to try and escape. It was his decision to wait for the right time to attack, practicing neutral jin, that brought Aang to Gaoling and Toph. That need to find an Earthbending teacher had the young Avatar and the Earth Rumble champion hanging from the ceiling in separate metal boxes.
"Let me out of here you big jerk," Toph complained in a rather rough tone.
From his position down on the lai tai table Xin Fu smirked as he replied to Toph's loud complaint, "You're not getting out any time soon. At least, not until your brother brings your parents and my gold."
From her position inside her box Toph let out a loud chuckle at how the rumble master assumed Ranma would go running to their parents for the gold ransom. At the same time from his position Aang took the opportunity to meditate. "When my brother gets here you're going to be in a world of trouble," Toph yelled down to Xin Fu.
Xin Fu was about to make a snappy comeback when a voice drew his attention away from the hanging metal boxes. "Xin Fu you promised me nothing would happen to my sister. You broke that promise you lying sack of koala-sheep stomach," the voice called out.
"Ranma you came," Toph called out with a hint of excitement in her voice.
Ranma had indeed come to the arena to get Toph back from Xin Fu. If Toph and Aang had been on the lai tai table she would have been able to tell Sokka, Katara, Master Yu, and most importantly her father had also come for her.
"All right, here's your prize money back," Sokka announced as he placed the sack on the lai tai table.
In one swift movement Xin Fu stomped his foot on the stone table, let the money slide to him, and picked it up off the floor. He then motioned for his men to lower the metal box. However, only the box holding Toph was lowered. Sokka, Katara, and Ranma watched as Toph's box was opened and the blind girl brought back to her father and Master Yu.
"Hey what about Aang?" Sokka questioned.
"We gave you back your prize money so why aren't you letting the Avatar go Xin Fu?" Ranma seconded.
Xin Fu stood high on his stone ledge with a greedy smirk on his face. In one swift movement he produced a rolled piece of printed parchment. With a flick of his wrist Xin Fu let the parchment unfurl revealing its true nature, a Fire Nation wanted poster for the Avatar offering a large reward for his capture. It was quite obvious the rumble master was not about to let Aang go.
"It seems the Avatar is wanted by the Fire Nation. I can get ten times the money for him by turning him in," Xin Fu replied revealing his true plans, "The only way you'll be able to get him back is to fight my men."
Ranma knew his bending was not anywhere near the skill level of the rumble fighters. There was no way he could take on one rumble fighter let alone all of them. With a sigh he looked over at Katara and Sokka before turning to see his father and Master Yu heading for the tunnel with his sister.
She was safe and soon she would be home and away from the eyes of the world, his greatest shame back where she belonged. That was all that mattered to Lao Beifong. His son, the liar, did not matter to him. Ranma was no true Beifong man for no true Beifong man would ever step foot inside a rumble arena. The moment his children were back home Lao was going to make certain they never left the estate grounds again.
"Soon we'll have you home and I'll make certain nothing ever happens to you again Toph. Your brother won't be allowed near you for a very long time. I'll see to that personally," Lao spat out as he squeezed Toph's hand rather tight.
"Toph what are you doing? You can't let dad push you around like this," Ranma called out to his sister.
Toph made no effort to remove herself from her father's strong grip. Instead she pointed her head down at the ground acting as though she needed her father to lead her around. It was a move made partly for show and partly to cover up the tear falling down her face.
"Toph we need an Earthbender. We need you. You know your brother can't do it by himself. You're the one who can save Aang. You're the one who can teach him Eearthbending. Deep down inside, you know that's your path in life," if anyone could inspire an Earthbender it was Katara.
"Katara's right Toph. You can't let your amazing gift go to waste because of dad. You told me once you'd tell him what you've accomplished when the time was right. Well, now's the right time to not just tell him but to show him," Ranma encouraged as he pleaded with his little sister.
Katara was right. Ranma was right. Toph had been hiding her skills from her father and Master Yu for far too long. And, the more she waited to tell her father what she could do the harder it was to gather the courage to take that important step. The time had come to reveal everything to her father.
"You three are sorely mistaken Toph has no special skills or gifts. She's a helpless blind girl. Ranma you of all people should know that. If you don't then I wonder just who the blind one really is in our family. Your sister is frail and helpless," Lao remarked rather sternly.
It was at that moment when Lao felt his daughter forcefully rip her arm out of his iron grip. In one move Toph's facial expression and body language changed dramatically. Toph was no longer the helpless obedient girl her father believed her to be.
"You're the one who's wrong. I can fight and I'm going to beat them all," Toph told her father in a hard toned voice.
Lao Beifong and Master Yu were shocked by Toph's behavior. All they could do was watch in stunned silence as Toph walked to the lai tai table. The moment she stepped upon it she turned towards Xin Fu and the rumble fighters.
"I beat you all before and I'll beat you all again," Toph challenged, "Bring it."
Read the comments on this episode
See other episodes by Chibihalo
(Posted Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:31)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.