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Magma: Volcano VI

Eruption 44: Unlucky Cat

Toph felt the approaching footsteps of someone new, followed by a knock on the door. "Lady Bei Fong, I am a doctor, may I come in?"

Toph shook her head, she didn't know why they had to send a doctor over, but she opened the door none the less. "I'm not hurt if that's what's you're here for."

The elderly doctor gasped and dropped the first aid kit he was holding. "Lady Bei Fong!"

"What is it? Is there something on my face?" Toph couldn't imagine what frightened the doctor so much.

"A black cat!" The doctor wailed, "it's a black cat! Oh poor Lady Bei Fong, you cannot see the danger that is in your arms. That cat you're holding is black, allow me to get rid of the little beast!"

The old man took the cat by his font legs but Toph held on to his back legs. "What's wrong with the cat being black?"

"It's back luck!" The doctor pulled Zuko away.

"It's just a color, how could it be bad luck?" Toph pulled Zuko towards her.

"You don't understand because you can't see it, but black cats are bad!" The tug-of-war continued.

"No they're not!"

"Yes they are!"

"They're not! That's a ridiculous accusation, it's illogical!"

"This cat is surely the cause of the earlier attempt on your life! He is conspiring against you and against us all!"

"That was a misunderstanding, there was no attempt on my life and cats don't conspire!"

"Black cats do!"

"They don't!"

"Can't you understand this is an evil being?"

"Last time I checked, those who judged by colors were called racist!" Toph retorted.

"Never!" The doctor sounded mortified, "I do not judge people by the color of their skin, or hair, or eyes, or clothes. It doesn't matter if they're ghostly pale or dark as the night, it doesn't matter if they wear red, or green, or blue, or any other color. It doesn't even matter if they wear an utterly ridiculous combination of colors and patterns. I will not judge people by their appearance, but this is not a person, it is a cat!"

"That's my point!" Toph yelled exasperated, yes, insanity did run rampant in the Fire Nation when Zuko wasn't around. If she ever became Fire Lady, which was progressing slowly, she would have her hands full.

"Meow!" Zuko screamed at the top of his lugs, as his fragile feline body was stretched beyond its limits.

"You're hurting him!" Toph earth bended a massive wave from the stone floor, that carried the doctor away. The entire time, the guards that had been posted around Toph's room only stood around staring like idiots. "Why are you just standing there? Say something!"

The guards looked around confused, "us, Lady Bei Fong?" One of them asked, "we must know our place. We should not move or speak, unless we are ordered to. What action will you order us to take?"

In unison, the cat and the earth bender slapped their respective foreheads Sokka-style. "Never mind," Toph informed the guards. "I'm going to take a bath and relax. Call me if Zuko comes back."

"Yes, Lady Bei Fong!"

"And call me Toph!"

"Yes, Lady Toph!"

"Just Toph."

"Yes, Just Lady Toph of Justice!"

"Arg!" Aggravated, Toph closed the door to her room and walked over to the bed, placing the twitching, sore cat on it. "Just Toph, huh? Justice would be to put them all in an insane asylum. I need to have a talk with Zuko about establishing mental health and therapy centers around here, a lot of centers."

'I didn't know it was this bad!' Zuko meowed, but of course Toph didn't understand his words.

"You really had it rough today, kitty. You're probably thinking you were better off as a street cat, but don't worry, I'll take better care of you from now on." Toph tried to console her new pet, but it seemed that there was no consolation for the abused Fire Lord turned cat. "I need to name you Lucky, that way you won't feel like a jinx anymore." But Zuko was certainly not feeling lucky.

'I'm Zuko and I'm not lucky! I've been turned into a cat and my subjects are insane!' Zuko meowed.

"I guess that means you like your new name," Toph petted him. "I really wish Zuko would show up. I can see why he's so busy but I wish I could give him a hand. I hardly see him lately and we have to hide when we're together. I wonder if his image of Fire Lord is more important to him than me..."

'No way! Toph, don't think that! Forget what people say, after I turn human again, I'm asking you to marry me!' Zuko meowed, but Toph still didn't understand him.

"Well Lucky, I'm going to take a bath, wait right there," Toph announced.

Toph disappeared into the adjacent bathroom and Zuko sighed heavily. Was everyone always this insane behind his back? Sure he had stressed that they had to be friendly and kind towards the citizens of other nations, and make sure their actions were not misinterpreted, but this was too much. That's when he noted how much green there was in the room, even if he didn't order to have it redecorated. Plus there was an odd painting of a heart with the symbol of the Fire Nation on one half and the symbol of the Earth Kingdom in the other, even if they should have known Toph couldn't really see it.

However, all those worries were pushed to the back of Zuko's mind, when he saw a strange flying little light that looked very suspicious.

"Come here Lucky, time for a bath!" Toph came back to get him in a towel.

Zuko looked back and forth between Toph and the odd light. Forget it, this might be his only chance to be human, he had to catch that light. Zuko yelled in his kitty voice, trying to point out the light to Toph. But it was flying and she couldn't sense it.

"It's okay, Lucky, water isn't so bad, well at least it's not so bad as long as you can touch the bottom. But don't worry, the bathtub isn't that deep and I'll be right there with you," Toph tried to calm the cat, assuming that his outburst was due to a dislike for water.

The little light headed to the closed door and passed through it. Zuko bolted towards the door, jumped, grabbed the doorknob with his paws, and squeezed out through the few inches he managed to open the door, chasing after the light.

Toph was caught off guard. She expected Lucky to claw at the door until she went over there, picked him up and took him to the bathroom, yet the cat was actually smart enough to open the door. But he great Toph Bei Fong would not be outwitted by a cat; she dashed right out the door after him, wearing only a towel. "Come back here!"

Eruption 45: Disaster Man

"Lucky, come back here!" Toph dashed after her new pet, clad in only a towel. Guards and servants gasped and jumped out of the way, some shaking their heads disapprovingly, while others stared wide eyed.

"Goodness!" An elderly lady gasped as Toph ran past her, down the spacious hall. "Oh my! Oh my! Is Lady Bei Fong wearing a towel because she cannot see and thought it was a dress, or is this the latest style from the Earth Kingdom? Just in case, I shall tell the royal tailors to prepare an elegant towel for his highness. Maybe they will dance; she will notice the towel somehow and feel that the Fire Nation is being supportive of the Earth Kingdom's style!" The lady clasped her hands together happily, as she made this announcement to no one in particular.

'This is great! I knew spicing up the water was a good idea,' thought the pixie. Alas the palace water had been contaminated with pixie dust. Even if it was not poisonous, it did have a strange effect similar to a drunken state, but without the loss of physical coordination.

Zuko continued to dash away, making his way into the inner gardens of the palace chasing the pixie. What if he couldn't catch the odd light? What if catching it did nothing? What if he remained a cat forever?

SPLASH! Zuko was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice that he was running towards the turtle-duck pond until he fell right into it. The turtle-ducks fled, fearing that the unknown cat was there to make a meal out of them, and Zuko was left to uncomfortably swim out of the pond and try to shake the water off his fur covered body.

Now the prince understood why cats seemed to have a hard time getting used to water. The water was absorbed by his rich black fur and stuck to his body making him feel heavy and cold. "Meow!" Was all he could say as a complaint.

Toph laughed. "That's what you get for running away!" Toph picked up the cat, who gave up on opposing resistance this time, and went back to her room, feeling the odd stares as she walked, but ignoring them.

xoxox xox xoxox

Toph locked the door and went to the tub where she hopped in along with the cat. "Are you shy? What a strange cat. As much as I like a healthy coating of earth, it hardly goes well with the diplomats."

The pixie returned and chose that particular moment to undo her spell. The water splashed out of the tub, and the vibrations came crystal clear when the much larger being came into contact with the stone tub.

"Zuko?!" Toph yelled in surprise. It made no sense, but she just felt Lucky transform into Zuko.

"I um... It was an accident! I got turned into a cat and-and-and, I better get out of here." Zuko stumbled out of the tub, knocking a series of expensive lotions over and finally managed to make it out of the bathroom, to await Toph's wrath in the adjacent bedroom.

Toph finally came out of the bathroom, clad in a towel. "I don't know if I should beat you up, laugh at your misfortune, take pity on you, or all three."

"It really was an accident, besides, how many times do you stand around while I'm trying to take a bath? Granted you can't actually see me, but it's still weird," Zuko rambled on his excuses. "It's all because of that strange light! You know I wouldn't turn myself into a cat on purpose. Now that I think about it, this probably has something to do with the insanity of the palace workers."

Toph laughed, much to Zuko's surprise, "I've always known you're a disaster waiting to happen, but now I know you're the strangest disaster waiting to happen!"

"Does that mean you forgive me?" Zuko inquired.

Toph nodded, "don't I always?"

Full of relief that Toph wasn't angry and full of confusion for the recent happening, Zuko remembered his determination while he was still a cat. "Toph, I know this might not be the best moment to say this, but before something else happens, will you marry me?"

Toph grinned, "took you long enough, I was about to ask myself."

Zuko smiled at his fiance, "I know you would, but I'm glad I got to ask first."

Eruption 46: For the Love of Tea

Toph and Zuko were in the middle of planning their wedding, and how they would handle delivering the news, when Toph got up and walked to the door. She had felt the maid's steps pacing around for a while. "Yes?"

"Oh, Lady Bei Fong! I um, would you like a snack?" The maid was hiding something.

"What's bothering you?" Toph asked.

The maid appeared to be sane, just nervous, very nervous. "Ah... um... well... I was not sent here to keep you entertained because no one can find the Fire Lord," she vigorously shook her head. "Oh no, that's not it at all, please believe me... um... ah... yes..."

Toph shook her had. "Even without my special ability to be able to sense when people lie, I would be able to tell you're lying pretty easily."

"Ah... well... that's..." The nervous maid started to babble again.

Toph could feel the two guards standing on either side of her door becoming tense as well. "Relax; your missing Fire Lord is right here."

Zuko had remained quietly in the room. There was the fact that he was only wearing a pale green bathrobe since he had not yet retrieved his clothes from his room and he couldn't very well wear Toph's, her fighting outfits were too small and he wouldn't be caught dead in a dress, not that they would fit either. To avoid a scandal, Zuko ducked under the covers, pulling the sheets up to his neck. He coughed, as the maid entered the room.

"Fire Lord Zuko, are you ill?" The maid asked with great concern. "Also, may I ask why you are resting here and not in the royal chambers?" Suspicion was evident in her voice.

"He was feeling dizzy and faint," Toph answered for him. "Zuko came to speak to me after he found out I was waiting in this room, but he wasn't feeling well. There was no time to walk all the way to his chambers so I suggested that he should rest here and I stayed in case he needed anything."

"Oh Lady Toph, you are so kind!" The maid believed the story.

"No problem; I don't think Zuko should get up yet. Let's allow him to rest in this room. I'll nurse him myself," Toph offered.

"We can't possibly trouble you, I'll send for the royal doctor!" The maid offered.

"No!" This time it was Zuko who spoke; then he made a fake cough. "It's okay, I'm not that sick. Besides, I wanted to continue discussing some things with Toph." He wasn't completely lying; they did have a lot of things to discuss.

Finally the maid was satisfied, "very well, as you wish. Please call if you need anything," she left.

xoxox xox xoxox

Some time later, Toph and Zuko, now properly dressed, managed to slip out of the palace and make it to Iroh's tea shop. They told him about Zuko turning into a cat, in the kitchen away from the customers.

"Alright, alright, I get it, enough with the guilt trip!" A silvery light emitted a tiny voice as it came out of its teapot hiding place.

"It's you!" Zuko pointed at the light.

"Where did that voice come from?" Toph couldn't sense the source of the voice with earth bending since it was flying and quite tiny, though she could tell by the sound of it that it was very small and near by. She pinpointed the source of the sound as coming from right above Iroh's head.

"There's nothing to worry about," Iroh assured. "This pixie is a friend," the pixie landed on Iroh's hat where she liked to ride.

"That shiny bug turned me into a cat!" Zuko accused.

"She is a mischievous one," Iroh admitted. "But she can also be shy, I offered to introduce her before, but she seemed to be a little timid. Why don't you tell us about what you did, little one?"

The pixie giggled, "I played a joke on your nephew, but it was just to cheer him up. He looked kind of stressed. Besides, he got to spend more time with his earth bender girlfriend this way. Guess what happened? He asked-"

"Shut up! I'll tell him!" Zuko couldn't allow the pixie to take away his right to tell his uncle about the engagement. "Stupid spying bug," Zuko grumbled. He then took a deep breath as Toph laughed, amused by his outburst, and delivered the news, "uncle, Toph and I are engaged!"

"That's wonderful!" Iroh pulled them both into a hug.

"See? I just wanted to help," the pixie defended.

"I'm sure you had no bad intentions," Iroh was always forgiving. "But don't play such tricks on people anymore; you'll be good, right?"

"Okay, uncle!" The pixie really liked Iroh's secret recipe of tea. It was the tea that attracted her to the shop and made her trust the human capable of making it, so she would listen to him. "In fact, I think I'll give them an engagement gift."

Eruption 47: Secret Vacation

Zuko and Toph were suspicious of the pixie's engagement gift. "I don't think that's necessary," Zuko protested.

"I insist! It's obvious you two haven't thought of a plan to make people understand that this isn't a plot by the Fire Nation to infiltrate and conquer the Earth Kingdom, or a conspiracy by the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom to team up and make the Water Tribe their slaves," the pixie was well informed about the problem. "I'll give you a vacation so you can come up with a plan and spend more time together."

"I can't leave with all my responsibilities!" Zuko reminded.

"Uncle will take care of things!" The pixie casted another spell and Iroh was surrounded by a bright light.

"I'm younger, aren't I?" Iroh touched the top f his head, there was plenty of hair there. His vision on his left eye seemed a tad unusual, as if he couldn't open it completely. He touched he area to find the scar that his nephew had. "I've lost weight too!" Iroh tightened his belt, but his clothes were still too big for this new young body. "I thank you pixie!"

"You look just like me!" Zuko was in shock.

"This is so weird; the vibrations really feel like there's two Zukos!" Toph was couldn't tell them apart, they even sounded alike.

"This way, your uncle can take care of ruling the Fire Nation for you while you take a break," the pixie explained.

Zuko paused for a moment and gave the situation some thought. "You're right, it's best this way. For the good of the Fire Nation, my uncle should take my place."

"Zuko, you've been doing a wonderful job!" Iroh tried to encourage him. "If you really need a vacation, then I will take your place at the palace for a while. I don't mind staying as your twin, but you have to come back and take your rightful place eventually." Iroh would enjoy this new found youth, and maybe he could speed up the integration of peace and the negotiations with other lands as well.

"Sorry, but I'm not sure if the world can take two Zukos for too long, it might upset the balance or something," the pixie mused. "You'll have to keep this a secret, if you do, I'm sure everything will be fine. Toph, I'll give you a special power." The pixie spun around in circles until a necklace appeared, "take this."

Toph received the golden necklace, which had a small onyx pendant shaped like a cat with golden eyes. "It's a cat, what does it do?"

"All you have to do is say 'I love Lucky' and Zuko will return to his cat form. Say 'I love Zuko' to change him back. This will help you keep the double Zuko thing a secret," the pixie explained.

xoxox xox xoxox

Thus Toph and Zuko went off on a vacation, with Zuko sneaking out of the Fire Nation as Lucky. Meanwhile, Iroh, who looked like Zuko, informed everyone that 'his uncle' would be taking an indefinite vacation abroad, in search of inspiration for new tea recipes.

To be Continued

Disclaimer, I don't own Avatar: The Last Air Bender.