Toph returned to her cave a short time later, her mind still consumed by the horror she had witnessed in the village. It had been like something out of her nightmares and she knew the destruction of the village was her fault. She should have been there to protect the people. She should have been there to fight Azula's raiders. But she hadn't been there. Instead she had been off wandering alone, trying to escape the embarrassment of kissing Lu. Once again she had let down the people who depended on her, just like she had done six years earlier when Omashu had fallen to Azula. And as this realization hit her she broke down, tears flowing from her eyes like miniature waterfalls.

"My fault." she muttered to herself. "It's all my fault. I should have done something. I should have been there. I could have saved them. God, what would Aang think if he could see me now? What would any of them think?"

It was a question she had never asked herself before. What would her friends think if they could see her now? Would they comfort her? Would they lend her a shoulder to cry on and tell her it wasn't her fault? Or would they blame her? She didn't want to think about it, but she couldn't stop the thoughts from entering her mind. And as the thoughts came she realized her friends wouldn't have blamed her. Aang and Katara would have been disappointed with her for walking away, of that she was certain, but they wouldn't have blamed her outright. Sokka and Suki would likely have been sympathetic. And Zuko would have told her that these things happen, that sometimes sacrifices must be made in the midst of war in order for one side to triumph.

That seemed like a good theory, except there was no war, not anymore. Azula had already won, so was it really necessary to burn an isolated village like this one? Were the people of the village a sacrifice for the greater good? No, that couldn't be right. There was no war and there had been no reason for Azula's raiders to torch the village. They had done it out of greed and a twisted desire to prove their dominance. And yet she could have stopped them and she hadn't, so what did that make her? Surly it made her something horrible, but Toph couldn't be sure. And as she thought about it she realized that if her friends would have forgiven her then she had to forgive herself. With that thought in mind she curled up on the floor of the cave and prayed for sleep, all the while trying to find a way to forgive herself.


Sometime later Toph awoke suddenly, all of her senses triggered by something lurking just outside her cave. Raiders, she thought, panic gripping her. She pulled herself into a crouch, her hands and feet flat on the ground to enhance her seismic sense. For a moment she waited in silence, anticipating an attack, and then she sprang into action launching a pair of earth blocks out the mouth of the cave. She heard a grunt of pain and a curse and then at least three gouts of flame shot into the cave. Toph deftly avoided the fire by rolling to the back of the cave before launching her next attack. Again she sent earth blocks flying out towards her attackers and again she heard them curse. But instead of returning fire this time one of them spoke, his voice gruff and demanding.

"Come on out little earthbender." the raider called. "We promise we won't hurt you."

Yeah right, Toph thought. "Why don't you come and get me." she called.

"Do you think we're stupid?" the firebender asked. "If we walk in there you'll bury us and escape. I'm not about to fall for that trap, so why don't you come on out? I promise we won't hurt you."

"Do you think I'm that stupid?" Toph asked. "If I come out there, you'll attack me with your firebending and drag me back to the Fire Nation. And as much as I'd like to see your queen, I think I'll pass on that, thank you very much."

"You say that like you have a choice." another of the raiders called, his voice high pitched and nasally, as though he spoke through his nose.

"That's because I do have a choice." Toph replied. "And I choose to stay right here. If you want me, the only way you're gonna get me is by entering this cave."

"Damn it!" the first raider shouted. "She's right. We have to go into that cave."

"But she'll bury us." the second raider whined, obviously not thrilled by the idea of entering a cave in which an earthbender lived.

"She might, if she gets the chance." the leader said, his tone irritated. "But we don't have any other choice, because she's obviously not going to come out here. And we have to take her. You know Azula's policy about rogue benders."

"But Hong, I don't want to be buried alive." the whiny raider complained.

"Shut it Jiro." Hong snapped. "We're going in and that's final. Or would you like to explain to Azula why we let a rogue earthbender escape?"

"No." Jiro answered, his tone colored with fear.

"Good, now follow me." Hong growled, moving forward, the other raiders falling into step behind him.

Toph smiled as they approached. Her plan was working perfectly and now all she had to do was execute the next part of the plan. The raiders didn't know how deep the cave was, which worked to Toph's advantage, as she could hide behind the rocks at the back of the cave and still attack at the same time. She had already gathered her stuff and was prepared to flee as soon as the raiders were trapped, but she was more than aware that she would likely have to fight before escape was possible. To that end she focused her attention on the entrance of the cave, ready for any attack that might come her way. Seconds later she heard the raiders enter the cave, followed by the roar of flame consuming the air as a fireball shot in her direction.

Immediately she shielded herself behind a wall of stone and then returned fire. She sent a barrage of smaller earth blocks flying in the direction of the raiders and then, while they were distracted by the earth blocks, she slammed her hands into the ground sending a wave of earth at her attackers. She heard Hong curse, but there was little he could do to avoid the attack. In the cramped confines of the cave the raiders were completely at her mercy and she had no intention of letting them take her. To that end she climbed up the back wall of the cave, using the boulders as footholds to help her get more hight. She then thrust herself down to the cave floor, creating a massive earth wave which shook the cave to its foundation. The force of the earth wave collapsed the entrance of the cave and brought the ceiling crashing down around Toph's head, as well as the heads of the raiders. Toph threw up a domed earth shield to protect herself before burrowing down through the floor of the cave.

Moments later Toph emerged from the hillside behind her cave, gasping for air and spitting dirt from her mouth. For a moment she paused to catch her breath, the effort of defending herself having taken a lot out of her. She hadn't earthbent like that in nearly six years and she was slightly out of practice. Still, she had defeated her attackers and that was better than the alternative. And as this realization hit her she started laughing, all of her depression and self-hatred washed away, replaced by the euphoria of earthbending.

"I am still the greatest earthbender in the world." she said, reveling in this fact until she remembered that there could still be other raiders lurking nearby.

This realization brought an abrupt end to her celebration and she immediately went back on the defensive, pulling her hat, which was dangling around her neck, up onto her head. She then set off in the same direction she had walked that morning, leaving the ruins of her cave behind. She was slightly unhappy about losing her cave, but it had been worth it to defeat the raiders. Besides, she hadn't been planning on staying here much longer anyway. With the village now destroyed she no longer had anyone left to protect and was now free to try and find her friends. That was the one and only good thing that had come from this mess. Still, it was hard to claim that it was worth it. The loss of innocent life was not worth the price of Toph's freedom to search for people she wasn't even sure were still alive, and she knew Aang would be disappointed with her for thinking that. But there was nothing that could be done about that now. All that was left for Toph to do was to move forward. And that's exactly what she would do, despite the pain.

And so she walked, shrouded in her guilt and her pain, moving ever forward towards an uncertain future. What she would find on her journey she had no way of knowing, but she was determined not to go back. The only way was forward and Toph would go wherever this journey took her, even if her destination was somewhere less friendly than the place she had just left.

A/N: Okay, so, I know the chapter is a little short. Sorry about that, but it didn't take as many words as thought it would to get across what I wanted to get across in this chapter. Also, I know the title of the chapter is a little misleading as Toph doesn't begin her journey until the end, but there is a double meaning to the title. It refers to her physical journey to find her friends yes, but it also refers to her emotional journey as she deals with the fact that she has once again lost everything. So that's that. The next step towards possible redemption has begun and things are only going to get more interesting from here.