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PANEL 1

[Mountains and rocky landscape of the Earth Kingdom, with a single bird in the sky.]

 

PANEL 2

 [Underside of a dragon-hawk with a message tube strapped to it.]

 

PANEL 3

[Dragon-hawk flying over the outer wall of Ba Sing Se, with the city in shadows below.]

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PANEL 1

TOPH: [shouting] ROCK-LIKE!  

[Toph Bei Fong and ten students are in a courtyard, with the students all poised in a horse stance – knees bent in line with buttocks, arms bent parallel to thighs.]

PANEL 2

[Toph corrects a male student’s form.]

TOPH: You gotta be stable…unmoveable.

PANEL 3

TOPH: [shouting offscreen Less air! More scrunch and dirt!

[A male student whispers to the female student next to him as they train.]

MALE TRAINEE: [whispering] She could do with less air.

PANEL 4

[Toph’s heel strikes the ground hard. Sound effect: BFFFF!]

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PANEL 1

[The male student is dangling – by the shirt – from an earthbended arm.  He has a scared expression. The female student is still her horse stance but has a shocked expression. Sound effect: SCHRRRR]

 

PANEL 2

[Toph stands with a slight smile on her face. Her hand is in mid-clench.]

 

PANEL 3

MALE STUDENT: OOF!

[Dust surrounds the above exclamation.]

 

PANEL 4

[Male student sitting on the ground, dazed. Two other students drawing near, concerned. Toph grins.]

TOPH:  Did I tell you guys to stop? <3

 

PANEL 5

CAPTION: 30 minutes later…

[Toph standing with her hands behind her back while students watch her]

TOPH:  You guys were so good today that you reminded me of when I mastered that move. At eight. 

MAIDSERVANT: [offscreen] Um…

 

PANEL 6

[Toph pausing, ears perking up. A maidservant stands in the distance with her head bowed.]

MAIDSERVANT: Xiao jie?

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PANEL 1

[Toph standing with her hands behind her back and mouth open in a yell.]

TOPH: Okay, last thing for today-- partner up for shoving drills!

 MAIDSERVANT: [offscreen] A hawk just arrived, if you would like to come inside and hear the message…

 

PANEL 2

[Toph standing, arms crossed, in front of the maidservant.]

TOPH: Can’t this wait?

MAIDSERVANT: Well, uh—

TOPH: Just say it.

 

PANEL 3

[Maidservant bowing her head, hands fidgeting.]

 MAIDSERVANT: The message was marked urgent. Madam Bei Fong passed.

 

PANEL 4

[Toph looking dismayed.]

 MAIDSERVANT: During the night.

 

PANEL 5

[Toph standing very still, eyes closed.]

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Inset Panel

[Framed drawing of Poppy Bei Fong, surrounded by incense, oranges, and bowls of food.]

 

Background

[Rocky landscape of Gao Ling. Toph and four people carrying a coffin walk up a hill.]

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PANEL 1

[Toph bending, her fingers crooked in force. Sound effect: KRRAAAAK]

 

PANEL 2

[Toph stands at the foot of a large rectangular hole in the ground. A crowd of mourners is gathered at some distance away.]

 

PANEL 3

[Four men lower the wooden coffin into the ground by the long poles that are fastened to the vessel.]

 

MAN 1: [whispering] They say she died of a broken heart.

MAN 2: [whispering] Shh! Someone will hear you.

 

PANEL 4

[Toph looks intently at nothing in particular.]


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[Flashback begins]

 

PANEL 1

[Tea being poured from a leaking teapot into mismatched cups.]

POPPY:  [offscreen] He asked that you re-think the proposal.

 

PANEL 2

[Toph and Poppy seated at a table.]

POPPY:  I hear the gentleman in question is very nice.

TOPH: <sigh> You know I’m not interested. And why doesn’t Dad just contact me directly?

 

PANEL 3

[Toph and Poppy seated on the floor at a low table.]

POPPY: After what happened last time, he thought you might rip up his letters without hearing them.

TOPH: Oh. Yeah. That is something I’d do!

 

PANEL 4

[Poppy’s hand covering Toph’s.]

POPPY: [offscreen] He thinks you’ll listen to me. <sigh> Must you stay here, Toph? Just one maidservant for half the day? A leaking tea pot? And it’s so…congested in the Lower Ring. Come home.

 

PANEL 5

[Toph’s hand curled into a fist and withdrawn from under Poppy’s hand.]

TOPH: [offscreen] I don’t want that kind of life.

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PANEL 1

[Toph looking down.]

TOPH: <nngh> We’ve already talked about this. I’ve made a life here and I don’t wanna go back. The kids need to be taught—

 POPPY: [interrupting] You mean you need it. Who needs earthbending in a time of peace?

 

PANEL 2

[Toph standing up, arms outspread in frustration.]

 TOPH: Yeah, maybe I do! It’s like breathing, living, and—

 POPPY: [quietly interrupting] I know.

 

PANEL 3

[Toph’s hand is clenched in the foreground. Poppy is still seated, her eyes cast downward.]

 POPPY: Your father can say what he wants. I just miss my daughter.

 TOPH: Well, I don’t miss you. And if you did, it’s probably for what I can bring you.

 

PANEL 4

[Poppy looking distressed.]

 POPPY: Toph! You know I lov—

 TOPH: [interrupting offscreen] Just go.

 

PANEL 5

[Tears tracking down Toph’s face.]

 TOPH: [thinking] The way you love is to wall me in. 

[Flashback ends]

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PANEL 1

[Toph looking down at the coffin, now in the ground.]

 

PANEL 2

[Toph with hands outstretched to earthbend, eyes scrunched in concentration.]

MOURNER 1: [offscreen]  …years gone by and now she comes back to her mother? 

MOURNER 2: [offscreen] No respect these days.

 

PANELS 3 to 5

[The hole closing over, gradually revealing less and less of Toph’s figure and finally blacks out.]

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PANEL 1

[Night time; hooded figure jumps over a roof.]

Caption: Four months later…

 

PANEL 2

[Figure in mid-air, falling…]

 

PANEL 3

[…figure landing in a courtyard.]

 

PANEL 4

[Figure running.]

 

PANEL 5

[Figure falling, mouth open and hands clutching at air.]


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PANEL 1

[Toph sitting, backed up against a wall, shocked. Sound effect: THUD]

 

PANEL 2

[Toph running out of the room. A mattress is on the floor behind her.]

 

PANEL 3

[Toph running, determined.]

 

PANEL 4

[Toph’s feet near the edge of a dark hole in the ground.]

 

PANEL 5

[Toph standing at the top of the hole, looking down on the hooded figure in the deep, dark pit.]

 

PANEL 6

[Zuko looks up, frowning.]

ZUKO: Nice security system you got here.

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PANEL 1

[Toph standing with the night sky behind her, shocked.]

 

PANEL 2

[Toph bending Zuko out of the pit; Zuko covering his face with an arm, coughing.]

 

PANEL 3

[Toph with hands on her hips; Zuko standing in front of her.]

 

TOPH: Firelord Hotpants? What are you doing here?

ZUKO: Argh, I told you not to call me— never mind.

 

PANEL 4

[Zuko smiling.]

ZUKO: Hi, Toph. Can I come in?

 

PANEL 5

[Toph walking into her house.]

TOPH: Yeah, all right. Like you weren’t gonna bust in, anyway.

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PANEL 1

[Zuko placing teapot and cups on the table; Toph seated.]

TOPH: Not that I’m unhappy to see you or anything, but don’t you have a nation to run?

 

PANEL 2

[Zuko and Toph seated at the table.]

ZUKO: Mai’s in charge right now. 

TOPH: Nothing new there! They don’t call her “The Shadow” for no reason.

 

PANEL 3

ZUKO: Whatever! Anyway, she wanted me to take a break. And, well, I came to ask…

 

PANEL 4

[Zuko looking upbeat]

 ZUKO: How about that life-changing field trip?

 

PANEL 5

[Toph looking annoyed.]

 TOPH: Are. You. Serious.

 

PANEL 6

[Zuko looking uneasy.]

 ZUKO: Oh? I thought you might like something like that…

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PANEL 1

[Toph standing, bent over Zuko, looking angry.]

TOPH: You, His Emperor-ness, came down from your palace and offer to take me fishing or something puny like that cos you feel sorry for me?! Who made you come? Firelady Gloom? Katara? Uncle?

 

PANEL 2

[Toph glares at Zuko.]
ZUKO: No one made me – and you know I’m not lying! And, and we don’t have to go fishing…

TOPH: But you do feel sorry for me.

 

PANEL 3

ZUKO:  Maybe – more like, worried, cos none of us’ve heard from you for ages. Even Uncle said you’ve been teaching almost non-stop. That’s what friends do, Toph: worry.

 

PANEL 4

[Zuko seated at table, Toph standing with arms dropped at her sides.]

ZUKO: And…although it’s complicated, I bet it still feels strange to lose a mother.

TOPH: Yeah.

 

PANEL 5

[Toph seated at table again, head buried in her arms. Sound effect: SSIGH]

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PANEL 1

TOPH:  The last time I saw her… Maybe she was trying to understand me in her way, I dunno –  but I still pushed her away.

 

PANEL 2

TOPH:  I just…gave up on her.

 

PANEL 3

ZUKO: Sometimes we can’t be what other people want us to be. Thing is, sometimes they can’t be what you want them to be, either, huh?

 

PANEL 4

TOPH: I know, I know. I…wish I did it differently. With her. 

ZUKO: Yeah.

 

PANEL 5

[Zuko’s hand on Toph’s shoulder.]

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PANEL 1

[Zuko looks downcast.]

ZUKO: Uh…you don’t have to come on this trip if you don’t want. I just turned up and didn’t think whether you wanted this or not— I’m sorry.  I thought a trip might be nice cos you like doing things. Maybe you could use the space to think about stuff.

TOPH: [offscreen] And maybe we could braid our hair and tell stories round the campfire!

PANEL 2

[Zuko looks surprised.]

ZUKO: But I don’t know how to braid!

TOPH: [offscreen] <snerk>

 

PANEL 3

[Toph punching Zuko, who recoils.]

TOPH: Maaaybe you need to get your sarcasm detector fixed while we’re away, Sunshine.

ZUKO: <ngh!>

 

PANEL 4

[Zuko rubbing his arm; Toph with arms crossed, looking benevolent.]

ZUKO: So you’ll come?

TOPH: Well, since you came all this way…

 

PANEL 5

TOPH: …and it may not be the worst idea you’ve come up with.

[Toph smiles.]

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PANEL 1

[Outside walls of Toph’s compound, with a closed gateway with a piece of paper stuck to it.]

 

PANEL 2

[Gate locked with a ring of metal through the handles.  Paper on the gate has Chinese characters and a scribbled face of Toph with her teeth bared.]

 

PANEL 3

[Toph bending a platform of rock, Zuko seated behind her.]

NOTE: Closed until further notice.

 

PANEL 4

[Toph looking back at Zuko, who has a slight smile on his face.]

NOTE: You better practice in the meantime!

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[Large cloud of dust trails out and away from the walls of Ba Sing Se.]

NOTE:  I’ll be back!

 

(Fin.)