The Runaway (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
Template:Infobox Avatar: The Last Airbender episode
"The Runaway" is an episode from the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which airs on Nickelodeon. It is the seventh episode of the third season of the series.
Episode synopsis
We see Toph running at a giant firebreathing statue of Ozai. She is then captured by a net, and screams at Katara, saying that she betrayed her. Katara replies that Toph brought this upon herself, and that she had no choice. The scene goes to three days before the event. Katara and Toph are training Aang (Who by now gained some mastery over neutral Jing, no doubt taught by Toph). When Toph accidentally hits Katara with the rock it starts a turmoil and the two start battling each other. Aang, still blindfolded, tries to figure what is going on. From a distance Sokka shouts "SNEAK ATTACK!" and runs at Aang. Aang throws up a rock which hits running Sokka in the face. Aang explains it not a sneak attack if it is yelled out loud.
The two walk over to the mud wrestling girls. Aang says "Hey guys, I thought we were training me?" They stop wrestling, Toph says that while Katara goes to clean up they should go and have some fun. Then we see Aang, Sokka and Toph go into town with only one silver piece left. However, Toph suggests they get more from a gambling game below them. She knows through her earthbending that the gambler flipped little rocks under bowls into his sleeves to cheat others. She uses her bending to cheat back, earning them forty silver pieces. When they arrive back at camp, Katara advises them not to do it anymore, even when Aang makes an Avatar promise not to do so. However, they don't listen.Later on, Toph cheats at a dice-like game and a test-your-strength game, winning even more money. She also pretends to get run over by a noble's carriage so that Sokka, dressed as a Fire Nation soldier, can scam the noble by accepting money for silence.
Katara continues to think these con jobs are dangerous and immoral. Toph retorts, calling Katara a "motherly" figure and complaining bitterly that Katara is not her, Sokka or Aang's mother. Toph goes on to say how much she hates her own parents.
After going to make purchases in town (and buying a messenger hawk, dubbed Hawky) Sokka finds a wanted poster for 'The Runaway' (a.k.a. Toph). After Sokka reads it aloud (Toph has to remind him she can't see what's on the paper), Toph is delighted at the nickname and how much money is being offered for her return. Toph convinces Sokka to keep the wanted poster a secret by giving him funds for Appa's armor and expensive atlases.
While going through Toph's possessions, Katara discovers the wanted poster and has an argument with Toph, in which Toph angrily replied that Katara is not her mother and should not tell her what to do. Sokka tries to write an apology message sent by Hawky to Katara but she easily finds out because Toph can't write. He later talks to Toph to try to mend the rift between her and Katara. As they discuss how Katara's motherly instincts can also be supportive and nurturing, Katara (who is bathing in the water beneath the cliffside where they sit to chat) listens to them. Sokka reveals how Katara took on the role of their mother after her death, so much so that, to Sokka, she eventually became the face of their mother. Toph admitted that Katara cared for her more than her real mother ever did. A touched Katara suggests that she and Toph work together to collect the bounty that Toph has accumulated as the 'ultimate heist'. The group is very surprised, but Katara is insistent that she can show her fun side.
After Katara fakes handing Toph in to the authorities, the entire scenario turns out to be a trap set by Combustion Man. Katara and Toph are placed in a prison made of wood—a material that neither of them can bend. As Aang and Sokka battle Combustion Man, Katara waterbends her own sweat to escape the prison. Katara and Toph race to help Aang, arriving in the nick of time. Toph, accidently manages to hit Combustion Man on his forehead tattoo with a stone, knocking him back. He gets up and attempts to launch another explosion in the group's direction, only to find his chi blocked. The air around him explodes and the group escapes. While running away, Sokka renames their opponent (who he earlier dubbed "sparky-sparky-boom-man") Combustion Man.
At the end, Toph realizes she does not hate her parents after all. With Katara acting as a scribe, she writes down a heart-felt message for her parents that gets delivered using Hawky. The episode ends with Sokka returning and asking where Hawky is, not knowing that the girls used him.