Chapter 4: End of the Line

For a moment there, Gan believed he was about to join his cabbages in the great garden in the sky.

Here he was trapped inside a tower of a large castle, staring at the Wicked Witch with plenty of monkey-bird henchmen around her. He had no bending, no weapons, no armor, nothing at all to defend himself with. He was completely at the mercy of the Wicked Witch, and she did not look like the merciful type. All he could do was wait for the end to come, for rescue could not get here in time. Yet the end did not come, for the witch was staying her hand for some reason he did not know.

"Uh…" Gan muttered, wondering why he still lived. "Aren't you going to kill me?"

"Not just yet," the Wicked Witch said, though keeping that option available. "When I have something to gain from killing you, then I'll do it."

That didn't bode well for Gan, trying to seem as small as possible and hope the witch might forget him.

The Wicked Witch seemed to have more pressing matters, as she went back to addressing the monkey-birds. "Triple the guard around the castle and seal the entrances. Toph will arrive here soon, and I want everything to be ready when she does."

"That's a lot of guards…"

Scarecrow was saying what most of the others were thinking, now that they were close enough to see the witch's castle for themselves. The forest had been left far behind them, and the only cover here was the small hills that dotted the landscape in front of the castle. So far they hadn't been spotted, even when they stuck their heads up and out of a crevice to look at what they were dealing with. But they had a good view of the castle, and the forces stationed there to protect it.

In groups of six the guards marched around the perimeter, wearing identical black uniforms with a red stripe down the middle, along with helmets covered in what looked like raccoon-possum fur. Each guard was armed with a long halberd with a curved blade, and as the guards marched they kept the halberds pointed up. Two groups of guards were marching in opposite directions in front of the castle's main gate, while six more groups were marching around the castle's walls.

The castle's main gate was currently open, so that another hundred guards could march through. They considerably thickened the patrols around the castle, as well as substantially increased the security at the main gate. Once the last of the guards were outside the castle the main gate was closed, locking the guards out until the alert was over. To pass the time the guards employed a casual chant, using a rhythm of sound that was easy to speak in synch.

"The hell are they saying?" China wondered, hearing the guards' chant from their vantage point.

Momo was on the ground mimicking the march, chirping an imitation of the guard's chant.

"I'm not sure," Tin Man admitted. He turned his ear toward the sound and listened. "Is it 'O E O, E O'?"

"Are you sure?" Appa asked. "I'm hearing 'wo we wo, yo-oh'?"

"You two are deaf," Scarecrow said. "It's clearly 'All we owe, we owe her.'"

"Almost," Toph said. "I hear 'Oh we love, the old one.'"

"I'm just hearing 'oreo' over and over," Finley said.

"I think we're all hearing what we want to hear," China speculated.

"Yeah maybe th- wait, shush!" Toph paused to touch the ground and listen to her surroundings. "We've got company! Behind us!"

Everyone hunkered down in their little crevice, and when they were all quiet they could hear footsteps coming their way. Toph could see that one group of six guards had circled around the back of the hill and were now coming up the back side, heading to the hill's peak where they could drop down into the crevice. Toph figured that this group of six guards had spotted them and were coming here to investigate, but they had no idea what they were getting into.

At the right moment Toph tugged with her arm, and the dirt at the peak crumbled underneath the guards' feet. All six of them lost their footing and fell into the crevice, right into the waiting fists of the misfit gang. The ensuing melee was a chaotic one, with guards struggling to get upright while everyone else was beating on them. Toph had buried two of them in rock when Appa grabbed hold of a halberd, which he clobbered a guard on the head with the wrong end of the weapon.

In about a minute the fight was over, with all six of those guards out cold and somewhat buried into the hillside. Toph felt the ground and checked for more guards, but she couldn't see any of them within range. Still she figured that more would not be far behind these ones, especially when they weren't going to be reporting in. It seemed that the others had the same thoughts, as Scarecrow and Tin Man were trying to remove the uniforms from two of the half buried guards.

"What are you doing?" China asked.

"Getting disguises," Scarecrow answered. "I'm thinking that if we look the part we can get inside."

Tin Man was pulling off a coat from another guard. "Plus the extra protection couldn't hurt."

"One problem," Finley said, holding up a guard helmet. "These things don't cover the face. They'll know it's not the right guys when they see those mugs of yours."

"He's got a point," Appa said. "Besides, the thing won't fit me anyway."

"So we stick to my usual plan," Toph said, putting her fists together. "Bust in there and sort it out later."

"Okay, first of all, we'll surely be killed if we do that," Finley said. "So, we go with another plan."

Still stuck in the tower, Gan passed the time by looking out the window. Although it was a grim and dark place outside, there was a great view of the castle's courtyard just inside its walls. He could see an entire legion of castle guards standing in formation, seemingly lying in wait in case an enemy attacked. There was a drawbridge at the main gate, currently closed while the caste was on high alert. The whole place looked impenetrable, at least to Gan's eyes.

Until he truly thought about how the Wicked Witch behaved. She had left him alone in this room, with only a locked door and a pair of guards outside to keep him in here. The walls of this room were all stone, so it would be child's play for an earthbender to get in or out. Either the witch didn't fully understand how earthbending worked, or she still had trouble altering her strategy to accommodate a foe that commands the earth.

Right when he was building up his hopes, Gan heard the door unlock and open from the other side. He saw the Wicked Witch enter, and he did not like the smug look on her. "What do you want?"

"Just seeing if you've made yourself at home," the witch answered. She walked over to the next window over, leaning with her elbow resting on the windowsill while still facing Gan. "Enjoying the view? I love seeing my realm from up here."

"It is something alright," Gan admitted, taking another look outside.

The witch smirked. "And if what I've heard is true, it will be better right about now."

That was when Gan noticed movement out there, and on a closer look he could see the drawbridge opening. It was shortly followed by many more of the guards coming in through the main gate, and the legion in the courtyard stood aside to make a path through. Fifty guards were marching in five columns, and in the middle there was a single line of three chained together. Even from here Gan could tell who those three where, and all his hopes were dashed away.

"Toph?" Gan blurted out. "I don't believe it."

"Oh believe it," the witch said, barely keeping herself from laughing. "Finally, I will have my revenge."

"No," Gan said, looking the witch in the eye. "I don't believe it."

Down in the courtyard the marching guards were escorting their prisoners, eager to present them to their master. Appa was chained in the rear, Toph in the middle, and Finley in front, all with their hands bound by metal manacles and tethered to each other. The guards occasionally shoved Appa along, and they prodded Finley every once in a while. They didn't dare lay a finger on Toph, since the Wicked Witch had made it clear that she was for her.

Yet in all the excitement of having their master's foe in custody, no one had paid close attention to the two specific guards that had brought her in. Wearing two of the guard uniforms taken earlier, along with plenty of bandages on their faces to suggest a fight, Scarecrow and Tin Man were hiding in plain sight. They even had China and Momo hiding underneath the uniforms, and so far the plan had gotten all of them past the front gate.

"Boy you two got a beating."

That remark from a guard made Scarecrow's heart skip a beat, and he had to respond in order to not break cover. "Yeah, the rest of our squad didn't make it back."

Improvising, Tin Man jabbed Scarecrow in the arm. "I told you we should have gone for backup."

Halfway across the courtyard, Toph was reading that other guard's body language. She could tell that he was examining the faces carefully, and his own was tensing up. "Crap…"

That guard suddenly reached for Scarecrow's face, grabbing the bandages and quickly ripping them off. This exposed Scarecrow's face for all to see, and it was clear as day. "Imposters! Seize Them!"

"Saw that part coming," Finley grumbled.

With a quick snap of her wrists Toph metalbent the manacles, looking like she simply shattered them with brute force. Then she raised a fist and a wall of earth rose on her left, blocking the guards on that side. She did the same for the right, front, and back, creating a temporary barricade on all sides. It bought enough time for Toph to grab the manacles on Appa and metalbend them to pieces, but while she did the same for Finley the walls were already starting to crumble.

All of the guards in the courtyard were converging on them now, and the guards that were the closest were hacking away at the barricade with their halberds. Before they could demolish it the front side of the barricade was hurled forward, taking out two of the guards with it. Toph charged out of the broken barricade with the others right behind her, and she was throwing rock at every guard that got between her and the castle.

Right behind her Scarecrow and Tin Man were putting their pilfered halberds to good use, both blocking other halberds from the guards trying to attack from the rear. Neither of them was trying to strike down any of the guards, since they had not a minute of experience with halberds between them. So they stayed ahead of the guards as best they could while deflecting the attacks, silently praying that they didn't get in a lucky strike.

Upon reaching the castle they found wooden front doors, which Toph couldn't bend. "Appa, you're up!"

"Me?" Appa said, sticking close to the powerful little girl. "What can I do?"

Toph smiled, tapping on the wooden doors. "Knock it down."

At that suggestion Appa slammed his shoulder into the doors, putting all of his weight into the impact. Wood creaked under the strain and cracks spread in the middle, a good start for a first attempt. Appa slammed his shoulder into the doors again, and this time wood splintered a bowed inward somewhat. One more impact was enough to break the doors entirely, the wood shattering into large pieces that scattered across the floor inside.

When the doors gave way Appa stumbled through, ending up on his back. "Didn't know I had it in me."

"Everyone inside!" Toph ordered, urging everyone else through. "We're storming this castle!"

But first there was the matter of the legion of guards that were right behind them. Toph dealt with it by raising a rock wall where the doors used to be, cutting off the passage with a new barricade. One guard had managed to get through before the wall went up, and he was quickly brought down by the trio of Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Appa. Toph threw up an extra layer to the rock wall, and she could hear the chipping of halberd blades against the rock on the other side.

"That won't hold long," Toph admitted.

Still underneath Scarecrow's pilfered uniform, China poked her head out the neck hole on the back side. "So what do we do now?"

"Find the witch, kill the witch," Toph said.

"Any specifics?" Finley asked.

Toph shrugged. "Honestly, at this point, I'm just going to wing it."

Gan couldn't help but laugh.

Sure the Wicked Witch was downright furious, but that threat to his life hadn't really changed. His doubts about the capture of Toph had been proven correct, understanding that it had all been a ruse to get past the wall. Now the self-proclaimed greatest earthbender in the world was inside the castle, with a score to settle with its resident dictator. It was only a matter of time before Toph found the Wicked Witch, and Gan's only wish was that he could get to see it.

"You're in for it now," Gan said. "That little lady made my life hell by accident. She's going to utterly wreck yours when she gets to you."

Not in any mood to talk the Wicked Witch was on her way out of the room, but she stopped when she reached the door. Ideas ran through that head of hers, and she turned back towards Gan. "But will she go through you to get to me?"

That silenced Gan, honestly thinking that the answer was yes.

"Hello… what do we have here?"

Still on the ground floor of the castle, Toph was searching for the Wicked Witch and hoping that she was foolish enough to fight her on the ground. That didn't appear to be the case, as the witch wasn't anywhere that Toph could see. What she did see was a room filled with all sorts of trinkets, from small baubles to unique clothes to exotic pointy things. She wasn't sure what this room was, but her closest guess was some kind of trophy room.

So naturally Toph's first instinct was to knock down the door. "Alright boys, take your pick!"

China cleared her throat to call attention to herself.

"Sorry," Toph said.

"So we're adding a little pillaging to our invasion and hopefully witch-burning?" Scarecrow said. He shrugged and walked over the knocked down door. "Eh, why not?"

"Dibs on the sword!" Tin Man claimed.

"Be specific," Appa said, seeing plenty of swords.

By then Finley spotted something he wanted, and he dashed into the room to get it. "Mine!"

Sure enough it became a frenzy to claim whatever weapons they wanted before someone else took them. But along the way Scarecrow and Tin Man had to discard the pilfered uniforms and halberds, neither of which were of any real use to them now. Their delay allowed Appa and Finley to get ahead of them, and so those two had first claim on whatever they wanted. Toph just stood back and watched, content in the knowledge that her earthbending would be all she needed.

The first thing Finley got his paws on was a katana, a sword that was just as long as he was tall. While a little off balance for someone of his size, he took a liking to it as he held it with both paws. But before he knew it Finley found Tin Man next to him, claiming a different sword from the wall mounted weapon rack. Tin Man held up a thin and straight jian sword, even though the black blade clashed with the gray metal that was his own body.

Toph couldn't help but notice Tin Man's choice, and she walked into the trophy room for a closer look. "Are you sure you're not really Sokka?"

"You're still going on about that?" Tin Man said, finding a sheath for the sword and tying it to his hip.

"Yes," Toph said. She noticed that Scarecrow was having trouble finding the right weapon, and she was walking by something that seemed appropriate. "Hey 'Crow, try this thing out."

With her foot Toph kicked up a long staff, caught in in her hand, and then threw it over to Scarecrow. The staff spun during the throw, yet Scarecrow still caught the middle of it with his right hand. He then spun it around in his hand a few times, getting a feel for the weapon. Although this staff was just a single solid piece of wood, unlike the staffs back home, it was still good enough to bash someone's head in during a fight.

Scarecrow looked at the staff, and then shrugged. "Good enough."

By then Appa was done with his scavenging, and Toph couldn't help but stare at him. "Whoa…"

Somewhere Appa had a found a set of brown armor large enough for him, even if he had to break open the sides of the torso piece in order to fit his second set of arms. It came with a helmet big enough for his head, which he also had to damage to accommodate his horns. This made Appa look like a samurai, but with a furry beast inside instead of a person. He completed the look by taking not one, not two, but three long swords, the first held in both upper paws and the other two in one lower paw each.

Toph whistled at the picture her feet told her. "Feel tough there big guy?"

Appa's smile reached both sides of the helmet. "Yes."

There was still one person left to find something for, yet no matter where Toph looked there wasn't anything small enough for her. "Sorry China, guess you're out of luck."

However China seemed to disagree, having found something intriguing. "I didn't think this still existed."

"What is it?" Toph asked.

It seemed like an ordinary statue to Toph's sight, but there had to be something more to it to justify China's reaction. The statue was made from a kind of baked clay, with a surface that was very porous. It depicted some kind of legendary warrior that was very out of place here, especially considering the eerie likeness to the only Kyoshi Warrior that Toph knew personally. That likeness to Suki was enough for Toph to see the importance of this statue, even if it didn't appear to be alive.

China turned to look at Toph. "I got an idea. And I need your help."

Although all the guards in the courtyard were barred from entering the castle, vigorously working to clear the rubble blocking the entrance, there were still a significant number of guards inside. They had all been on the higher floors at the time, and were now assembling around the Wicked Witch's position. She had led them to the third floor of the castle, filling a corridor near the main spiral staircase, and fortified their position to make a stand here.

The Wicked Witch had also brought Gan down from the tower with her, as a little bit of insurance should the fifty guards here not be enough. "Take a good long look. Those stairs are the only way to get up here. When Toph arrives she will be trapped in there."

Gan felt a rumble in the floor, which repeated and got stronger each time. "Don't be so sure of that."

Behind them a nearby wall exploded, and leaping through was Toph.

"Oh Yeah!"

The rest of her group was still standing on a pillar of stone, raised from the ground by Toph to reach this floor, and covered in gravel from the ceilings plowed through along the way. One at a time they charged through the last hole Toph made, entering the corridor behind all the guards. Appa charged through and slammed his armored hide into the guards' flank, trampling over the rearmost line before those guards could even turn around.

Immediately behind Appa were Scarecrow and Tin Man, swinging their pilfered weapons back and forth with no sense of skill or style. They struck down the guards that had had just barely missed a bison trampling, Scarecrow clobbering them with his staff and Tin Man cutting them open with his sword. However the momentum of their attack did not last, and soon the guards were blocking the staff and sword with their halberds and keeping their assailants at bay.

Toph literally brought the roof down on the guards, yanking her fists to make the stone ceiling shatter. Large slabs fell on the guards and crushed some of them underneath, and the rest scattered around the fallen. The break in their defenses allowed Appa to strike with his three swords, at least until the guards could regroup and refortify their position. But just when they thought they could hold of the bison and company, when another foe came charging through the hole.

It was China, standing taller than everyone else.

Apparently the statue she found was a Terracotta Warrior, a rare construct from a far off land in this crazy world. It was also missing its head now, and China was standing in its neck. Her feet were buried in the statue, courtesy of Toph using earthbending to fuse them together. It seemed that anyone made of living clay could control similar material, so long as it was a part of that person. Now that China was one with the Terracotta Warrior, she moved its body like it was her own.

China put one small fist in her other small palm, and the two big hands did the same. "My turn…"

She charged straight into the battle, picking a spot where guards were trying to get around Appa. Those guards raised their halberds to block, and China's new fists struck and broke their shafts in two. Her fists continued on to strike those guards in their respective faces, and the blows from living stone dropped them like rocks. China then continued on to attack more of the guards trying get around everyone else, clobbering everyone that got within clobbering range.

And during all the fighting Finley was staying behind everyone else, holding up his pilfered katana but not actually using it. "I'll just be back here… providing moral support."

"Just stay out of the way," Toph said, right before she knocked down another wall and ran through.

"Can do," Finley said.

Meanwhile, as the rear guard of her forces was collapsing, the Wicked Witch was retreating to what should have been the front lines. Two guards were dragging Gan along with her, keeping that little insurance handy. A an intersection near the staircase the witch made a left turn, walked down another corridor for a little bit, and stopped at an open window. The Wicked Witch stuck her head out the window, and called for reinforcements.

"To me my pretties!" She took in a deep breath and shouted even louder. "Come to me!"

Soon the sky was filled with monkey-birds, flying down from the castle's towers and coming to the witch's call. While their numbers had been reduced during the last encounter with the earthbender, the monkey-birds were still a force to be reckoned with. Soon they reached the third floor and were flying in through all of the windows, filling the outer corridors and quickly joining the guards. Although it was very difficult to fly indoors, the monkey-birds managed to go over the guards and straight to battle.

The reinforcements brought the rag-tag team's momentum to an end, and they were now fighting on the defensive. Appa took the brunt of the monkey-bird assault, slashing with all three swords as the flying enemy kept on coming. This left Scarecrow and Tin Man the task of holding off the guards, which had regrouped and were pushing back. China was alternating between the two different threats, sometimes even grabbing monkey-birds by the tails and slamming them into guards.

Now that the tide of battle was turning, the Wicked Witch indulged in some maniacal laughter. "Soon it will all be over, and I will have my vengeance!"

Then Toph burst through a wall. "Sup."

The Wicked Witch grabbed Gan, holding a hand at his throat ready to conjure fire. "One wrong move…"

"And you kill him," Toph finished. "Lady, I barely know the guy. He sees me as the bad guy, and I only brought him along because I didn't have anywhere else to put him. So for your sake, I hope your revenge plan doesn't hinge on me hesitating to attack a hostage."

"You're bluffing," the witch said.

Toph jerked her arm around, and a slab of rock broke from a wall behind the witch. It slammed the Wicked Witch in the back, and struck Gan as well. "Damn it!"

Both of them cursed, and there the similarities in reactions ended. Gan dropped to the floor and stayed there, feeling something wrong with his back and that moving would make it worse. The Wicked Witch got back up, and had to duck when another chunk of wall came her way. She then threw a fireball down the corridor, which was stopped cold when part of the floor rose upward. The Wicked Witch then left Gan for dead, and with her broomstick in hand she jumped out a window.

That part of the wall shattered at Toph's command, but the shrapnel she propelled completely missed the target. "Where is she going?"

"You hit me!" Gan screamed, having to shout over the wind coming in from outside.

"You'll live," Toph said. She hurried to where Gan lay, facing the hole and into the wind. "She won't."

A maniacal laugh told Toph that the Wicked Witch had taken to the air, judging by the sound moving up instead of down. On her broomstick the witch was flying around the castle, making a loop around the perimeter before coming back to the hole Toph made. The only clue Toph had to the witch's location was that maniacal laugh, constantly moving and making it impossible to predict her next move. So Toph went with the only option for fighting while truly blind…

Attack everything.

Toph thrust her arms out and the whole wall shattered, and the individual bricks shot out into the air. The Wicked Witch flew around the shrapnel, and she saw Toph repeat the attack again. Each time Toph attacked more of the castle was eaten away for ammunition, like a wound that steadily grew bigger. Some of the floor and ceiling were used too, quickly consuming the corridor that Toph and Gan happened to be inside.

Gan saw the witch dodging all the flying rock, gradually getting closer and she weaved through the air. He spotted the witch making a steep dive, and he pointed a finger at her. "There!"

Now that she knew where to strike, Toph threw everything there. Half of the remaining corridor broke off and flew there, converging at the spot the Wicked Witch was about to be. She attempted to pull up but it was too late, she crashed right into the airborne stone. The rubble and the witch fell out of the air, most of the former crashing into the courtyard well the latter fell into the castle. The Wicked Witch crashed back in the now mostly destroyed corridor, collapsing onto a floor about to collapse.

Unfortunately the corridor was no longer structurally sound. Gan forced himself on his feet to get off the crumbling floor, cursing as the pain in his back got worse. Toph grabbed the inner wall and earthbent some hand and footholds, hanging on to the wall as the floor fell out from under her. The Wicked Witch fell with the crumbling stone, crashing into the second floor half buried in rubble. Some of the ceiling crumbled next, dropping even more debris on top of the witch.

At the edge of still stable floor Gan collapsed, one hand on the floor and the other reaching for his back. "Just bring the whole place down why don't ya?"

Toph thought that was a good idea and slammed her fist into the wall she clung to, earthbending cracks that spread up to the fourth and fifth floors. She then quickly got out of the way, scampering across the wall to reach Gan. The rock above collapsed and two floors worth of rubble fell to the second floor, crushing the Wicked Witch under a ton of rock. There was a scream that came from down there, abruptly cut off by the thunder of a manmade rockslide.

"I think she's dead," Toph said. She faced Gan. "Do you think she's dead?"

Gan looked over the edge, seeing a pile of rubble that spilled out the hole in the castle. "I'm pretty sure she's dead."

During all of this the others had been fighting the guards and monkey-birds, and they had been pushed back all the way to the other side of the castle. Scarecrow's straw was spilling out of tears, Tin Man's body was punctured in places, Appa's armor was cracked and broken, and China's new body was cracked and chipped just about everywhere. Even Finley was cut and bruised, having been forced to fight when his back was against a wall.

But then the fighting came to an abrupt end, the guards and monkey-birds ceasing their assault. All of them looked around in a confused stupor, as if they had suddenly woken up from an endless dream. They backed off from the group they had been fighting, who in turn stopped fighting and let the conflict come to an end. A look of realization spread across them all, that only one thing could have just happened right now.

"She's dead…" one guard muttered. "The Wicked Witch is dead!"

Toph could tell that the fighting had stopped, as the remaining guards were just on the edge of her sight. She took a moment to earthbend some loose stone into a back-brace for Gan, the least she could do for causing that injury in the first place. Toph also crafted a stone crutch out of a chunk of wall for Gan to use, allowing him to limp along at a slow pace. Then Toph made part of the floor to slide down the inner wall, bringing them down to the rubble that crushed the Wicked Witch.

And right about then Momo landed on Toph's shoulder, and she pointed a finger into the lemur's chest. "Where have you been the entire time?"

"You lost track of your pet?" Gan questioned.

"He's always disappearing during the big fight," Toph said. "This time I completely forgot about him."

"I suppose you would," Gan said. He then changed the subject. "So the witch's body is down here?"

"Let's just make sure she really is dead," Toph said. She cleared the rubble with earthbending, finding the remains of the dead witch. "Huh… she melted."

"Is that supposed to happen?" Gan asked.

"I guess," Toph said, shrugging her shoulders. She cleared away more of the debris, taking care not to disturb the remains. "Now then, wasn't there something we were supposed to take?"

"The broomstick," Gan answered.

"Oh right," Toph said. She took a look around and found it next to the witch's remains. "Uh… Whoops."

The broomstick was in pieces.

Word of the Wicked Witch's dead spread like wildfire, reaching the Emerald City long before those responsible for it arrived. The city was celebrating with a party unlike any other, the festivities grand and the alcohol flowing freely. Although Toph certainly wanted to take part when she found it, there was business to attend to first. The largest tower in the city was her first destination, just Toph and Gan off to see the not so powerful wizard one more time while the others partied.

Oz didn't bother the theatrics this time, having brought a simple chair in front of the large throne. He could only stare at the broken broomstick laid before him. "Is one simple task too much to ask?"

"Sorry, was too busy trying to kill that witch," Toph said.

"Well you did that at least," Oz said. "So… How did you do it?"

"Crushed by her own castle," Toph answered. She had an amusing thought and laughed. "I just realized something. The first witch was crushed by my house, and the second witch was crushed by her house."

"Real amusing," Oz muttered.

Gan shook his head and picked up a piece of the broomstick. "So is there another way to get home?"

"That depends," Oz said. He looked past everyone here. "Ah, there she is."

It seemed that Oz had invited Glinda to the Emerald City, and here she found Toph and Gan with Oz. "It is good to see you again."

"Wait, hang on a second!" Toph interrupted. "If you know how to send me home, why didn't you tell me when we first met?"

"After you broke the magic ruby slippers on purpose?" Glinda retorted. "I think you owed me a favor."

"So you set me loose to kill the Wicked Witch for you?" Toph figured.

"In short, yes," Glinda answered.

Toph burst out laughing. "You manipulative witch. That's just… wow!"

Gan dropped the broomstick piece he held. "Well then if you can send us back, let's get going."

Glinda nodded. "It will only take a short while to prepare transport."

It turned out that the transport was a hot air balloon, similar to what the Fire Nation used but larger and more colorful. According to Glinda the balloon would take them to the rift that bridged the two worlds, crossing over to take Toph and Gan home. Right now the balloon was in the middle of the Emerald City, surrounded by all the citizens still celebrating the Wicked Witch's death. The fact that their apparent savior was leaving didn't stop the festivities, but rather an excuse to keep up the partying.

Outside Toph met with the three she found along the brick road one last time, petting Momo while she made her goodbyes. "Well guys, this is it."

Scarecrow smiled, feeling far more confident than before they had met. "Thanks for getting me off that post. It's been a wild ride."

Tin Man had a little rust near his eye, too late to wipe away tears. "We're going to miss you."

Appa hugged Toph, not noticing when she couldn't breathe. "I'll be thinking of you every day."

Meanwhile Gan was saying goodbye to the two he had met here. "Thanks for sticking by me."

China hugged Gan, having kept the body large enough to do that. "I wish you could stay."

Finley decided not to make it a group hug. "I don't blame you for wanting to leave."

After all the goodbyes it was time to leave. Oz personally manned the balloon, being the only one here qualified to operate it. Crowds around the balloon cheered their heroes as they got into the balloon's basket, wishing them a fond final farewell. Toph and Gan's friends were waving the entire time, close enough that the two could almost touch them. Then Oz stoked the furnace that heated the balloon, lifting the basket off the ground and taking the three into the air.

At that moment Toph's world shrank to the balloon and basket, though she could still hear the crowd cheering them. "How long is this flight going to take?"

"According to Glinda, not long," Oz answered. "If it makes you feel any better, just keep telling yourself 'there's no place like home.' I hear it calms the nerves."

"There's no place like home," Toph repeated. Momo looked at her and shook his head. "Yeah, no, I don't think it works that way."

"Well then just power through it," Gan suggested. "It'll be worth it to tell your real friends everything that happened over here."

"They wouldn't believe a word of it," Toph said, and Momo nodded.

"I could vouch for you," Gan suggested.

"No," Toph said. "They wouldn't believe you either. So let's just keep this between you, Momo, me, and your cabbages."

A/N: And so this little side story comes to an end. Feels good to finally have it out of my system.