Avatar: the last airbender belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko and Nickelodeon.

Toph was rarely scared. She wasn't afraid when the entire cast of the Earth Rumble charged her with less than honourable intentions. She wasn't scared when a trio of female teenaged psychopaths was trailing her group with even more sinister motives. The only fear she had ever experienced was her parents never realizing she wasn't a vulnerable porcelain doll and even then it wasn't the type of fear she was experiencing now.

One would think a team composed of the Avatar, the greatest earthbender in the world and the Southern Water Tribe's finest would be invulnerable. She thought so too, before this morning. How could this have happened? Even in her worst nightmares, she hadn't dreamed that.

Toph was casually resting on the bags in Appa's saddle, savouring the last seconds of a calm that would inevitably be disturbed. No, not by necessity to outstrip an enemy: they would not need to leave the glade flanked by that noisy river before two good hours. But by Aang and his attempts to catch Katara's romantic attention. Silly Twinkle Toes.

"Look Katara, I made you a necklace!"

"Again? But that's the third one this month!"

"Well, you kept losing them with all those fights, so I thought..."

"I'm gonna look for Sokka." Toph suddenly declared, getting up and jumping down Appa's saddle. "Okay with you, lovebirds?" She tried to ignore their embarrassed reactions but failed to. Their blushes were so obvious she was sure the ants on the other bank could sense them. Searching for Sokka, whatever tight spot he managed to get himself into since he left the glade, assured her not to witness any other attempt at romance.

Besides, it was unusual for him to leave for so long. Maybe he decided to hunt, Toph mused as she entered the forest, senses alert as she tried to find Sokka's position. A human heartbeat, most likely the only one in the woods besides hers, was easy to discern from the animals' heartbeats if she concentrated enough. Sometimes, she really envied those who were not born blind: no vibration constantly telling her what was around, being able to not be aware of everything around her, being able to relax her senses... Though her bond with Earth was obviously useful, as it allowed to--

THUMP!

Toph blinked before getting back to her feet. She had just tripped over something that was not earth, or she would have sensed and avoided it. It couldn't be a trunk, it was too limp. She knelt down and touched it. Limp, warm and feeling like clothes. She moved her hand around and noticed it was a male; she had touched his chest first. She raised her eyebrows; why didn't he react? She tried to smack his head to make him react, only to discover... that he missed his head.

There was a beheaded man in the forest, and he was much too close to their camp for comfort. And his clothes reminded her too much of a certain warrior from the Southern Water Tribe...

Prior to that discovery, she thought impossible for someone to shiver and twitch so much, but her own reaction proved her wrong. She remembered being very thankful of her blindness, as the decapitation had been quite gory from what her fingers gathered when she examined his neck. She didn't have to witness it and her imagination wasn't morbid enough for her to have a picture. But she was still scared.

Something moved. The vibrations never lied, something moved. Toph bit her lip but took a fighting stance nonetheless. Did she find it? Did it find her? She listened attentively to her surroundings, feeling any vibration the ground could carry.

Nothing.

Whatever it was, it left. Not lowering her guard, she cautiously continued to pass through the forest. Plains were not rare in the Earth Kingdom and she hoped to find one soon. Only rock and no tree for anyone to hide from her senses thanks to tall branches. She knew that was how it had escaped from detection since the trouble began.

"Twinkl--er, Aang?" Toph asked uneasily, twitching and shivering, which didn't escape the airbender. "Could you come? There's... something I think you should see..."

Aang, with his loyal Momo on his shoulder, followed her into the forest, though still troubled by Toph's behaviour. Maybe she had caught a cold, but he doubted it; she rather seemed distressed, frightened even. And Toph was never frightened, if anything she frightened people with her earthbending. But his train of thought crashed abruptly as he entered the terrible scene Toph led him to.

"S-Sokka?" He stuttered in shock. He motioned to inspect the body when a scream broke the silence. Aang turned abruptly, causing Momo to fall down. He knew that voice. "KATARA!" He shouted as he sprinted back to the camp, followed by a worried Toph while the lemur stayed, poking sadly Sokka's body.

Aang broke in tears as he reached their camp. It was the same horror play, except Katara had taken Sokka's role. He fell to his knees and Toph put her hand on his shoulder. "She... she is dead? I'm sorry Aang..."

Even though she had known them for less time that Aang, Toph had understood his pain and she remembered crying, like him. Katara and Sokka had been wonderful friends, in spite of a few fatigue-induced feuds with the former, but they saw her like she was. Not a blind and fragile doll, not a Bei Fong, not the Blind Bandit, but Toph. And she had lost all of her new life because of a rabid animal, or even worse, a madman.

Aang could feel the anger rise within him, but he refused to use the Avatar State because of rage instead of a defence mechanism. But he was interrupted in his dilemma as he heard Momo shriek. Maybe whatever killed his friends was still her and decided to attack one of his last living friends. He swiftly stood up before running into the woods.

"Aang!" Toph screamed as she failed to prevent their diminished group to split up. Sokka, in his sadly shortened lifetime, had taught her to never split up when a danger was around. They had not realized the danger in time and it cost her everyone. She could feel the tears rolling down her face as a heart-splitting scream echoed once again in her ears. Aang was dead, she knew it. And as Momo didn't come either, she feared he left the mortal world as well.

Meters from the edge of the forest, Toph felt many emotions overwhelming her as the grievous events kept replaying in her head. She, who usually sensed everything around her, had failed to protect the first friends she ever had. She felt sorrow as well but it was eclipsed by the rage she was feeling for the killer, animal or human. As she was steps from the plains, she swore she would avenge her friends, by waiting and listening to it, her or him come in a terrain where she had the advantage.

But she never made it to the plains.

-

The man cleaned up his axe now that his last target was dead. Toph's head joined the sinister collection hanging from his belt; two heads from the Southern Water Tribe as well as those of the last airbender and lemur. He had been quite disappointed to be forced to poison the flying bison during their sleep, but it obviously was too big for his house, let alone his belt. However, the others had been much easier, even if he had to jump from trees to trees to get the last one.

"Off with their heads!" He cackled madly as he continued to clean his weapon. "One for each head of cabbage!"

What can I say? That line from The King of Omashu was too good to pass up... Besides, it is a 'tragedy/horror' story...