And the second part is here hope you guys enjoy
Chapter 7: The Day of Black Sun, Part 2: The Eclipse
The battle rages on as boulders and fireballs are shot from both side of the battle field. The tanks are stationed in a crescent formation providing not only a good firing line but also cover for the warriors. Sokka, Bato, Mizu and Zian are behind the tanks looking through the maps and architecture blueprint of the island and palace. They hear the sound of an explosion behind them as they cover their heads. Sokka looks up and his face brightens as he sees two people. "Dad!" He says as he runs to Katara carrying Hakoda to a rock as he sits on it. "You're on your feet again." He says happily.
Zian smiles as he crosses his arms. "Glad to see that you're still kicking Hakoda." He says as Mizu nods in agreement. "Thanks to Katara. I'm in no shape to fight, but maybe there's some way I can help." He says. "Everything's going smoothly and the eclipse hasn't even kicked in yet." He says. Mizu nods. "Yep it's going as smooth as, one moment." She says as she turns around jumps on one of the tank and shoots one of the fiery boulders that is heading towards them as it explodes into pieces. She climbs down and looks at the others. "Like I said, it's going smooth." She says.
"Let's hope our luck holds out." Hakoda says. He looks at Katara as he notices she is looking at something. "Katara, you seem distracted. Is something wrong?" He asks. She raises her eyebrow quizzically. "Yeah. Is that ... is that Aang?" She asks. Zian shakes his head. "Impossible I'm sure you're just seeing a bird or…" He says as his jaw drop when he looks up at the sky and sees that it is Aang.
Aang flies down towards them as he lands in front of them. "Please tell me you're here because the Fire Lord turned out to be a big wimp and you didn't even need the eclipse to take him down." Sokka asks hoping his answer is yes. Aang looks at them disappointed. "He wasn't home. No one was. The entire palace city is abandoned." He says as everyone's eyes widen. "They knew." Sokka says realizing it. Aang looks at the ground dismayed while rubbing the ground with his finger idly. "It's over. The Fire Lord is probably long-gone; far away on some remote island where he'll be safe during the eclipse." He says.
"No. My instincts tell me he wouldn't go too far. He would have a secret bunker; somewhere he could go and be safe during the siege but still be close enough to lead his nation." Sokka says. "If it's an underground secret bunker we're looking for, I'm just the girl to find it." Toph says pointing to herself. Sokka pulls out some type of timing mechanism as he looks at it. "The mechanist gave me this timing device. It looks like we've got about ten minutes until the full eclipse. Ten minutes to find the Fire Lord." He says. "We can still do this. We can still win the day." Aang says confident.
"Wait! If they knew we were coming it could all be a trap. Maybe we should use the time we have left to make sure we all get out of here safely." Katara says worried. "Everyone who's here today came prepared to risk everything for this mission. They know what's at stake. If there's still a chance and there's still hope, I think they would want Aang to go for it." Hakoda says. Sokka turns to Aang. "What do you think? You're the one that has to face the Fire Lord. Whatever you decide, I'm with you." He says.
Aang stands up and looks at the palace. "I've gotta try." He says as Zian stands up. "Consider Mizu and me a part of this plan." Zian says. Mizu shakes her head. "No Zian you can't go. You have to stay here for when the eclipse appears. Even if a lot of people left the city there are still too many fire nation soldiers for our forces to fight. No I will go with Aang, Toph and Sokka while you stay with the invasion force. They need your transformation if they are going to have any chance in securing the palace." She says. Zian sighs as he looks at her. "Are you sure about this?" He asks. "Positive." She says. Zian nods. "Okay, I'll stay here while you four go into the bunker. Just…just please be safe." He says.
Mizu smiles. "Don't worry, I will." She says. Toph, Sokka, Mizu and Aang all jump on Appa as the bison flies up and towards the volcano. Appa lands on it as they the four of them climb off as Toph starts feeling the ground. "Do you feel anything down there?" Aang asks her. "Yep. There are natural tunnels criss-crossing through the inside of the volcano." She explains.
"Anything else? Is there a structure somewhere?" Sokka asks. Toph digs her hands into the ground "There is something big, dense and made of metal deep in the heart of the volcano." She says. "Sounds like a secret bunker to me." Sokka says. Toph bends the ground as she creates a hole in it and jumps in along with Sokka and Mizu. Aang looks at Appa and Momo. "Stay safe. We'll be back soon." He says as he jumps in the hole. Mizu looks at the tunnel. "Huh, must have taken them some time to build like this inside a deadly volcano." Mizu says.
Toph uses her senses as she points to the right tunnel "This way! That one's a dead end!" She says as she runs and the others follow her. "What would we do without you?" Sokka asks. "Perish in burning hot magma." Toph says as Sokka looks at the lava and flinches. "Yeah pretty much." He says. They come to a chamber where they see several lava sprout on the ground that is shooting magma out of them. "The tunnel continues on the other side and it leads right to the bunker." Toph says pointing to the end of the chamber. "We'll have to be fast, but careful." Sokka says. He walks when suddenly a lava sprout suddenly shoots lava up as Sokka flinches back. Aang uses his air bending to cool down the lava. "You were saying?" Mizu asks.
Sokka looks back at them. "I was wrong. We need to be fast, careful and lucky." He says. Mizu nods as they start running across dodging and being careful at the sprouts. When they come at the end of the chamber they are shocked at what they see. All around the chamber lava covers the floor as it shows no sign to cross it. "There's no floor. It's just a river of lava." Sokka says.
"Climb on aboard." Aang says opening his staff. Everyone climbs up as Aang flies over the lava. As they come to the end of the river they come to a gigantic metal door. "That's some door!" Sokka says impressed. Toph walks to it as she knocks on it. "Not a problem." She says as she gives the door a few quick strong jabs with her elbow making a few deep dents. She then thrusts her fists into the metal as pushes it apart creating an opening for them. She points to the way as they follow her. "I am so glad we added you, Mizu and Zian to the group!" Sokka says following them.
Meanwhile on the battlefield
The warriors are pressing on as they walk up the mountain that leads them to the top of the city. They are getting shot at by fire from the towers but the ground warriors use metal shield to protect them. The earth warriors use their bending to take out the towers. A fire nation captain looks up at the sun as he sees the moon is overshadowing it. "Retreat! Everyone move to the secondary defensive position! Retreat!" He shouts as the soldiers retreat up the mountain.
Hakoda looks at his warriors. "The eclipse is only minutes away. We should be able to make it up to hill by the time it starts and secure the entire palace by the time it's finished." He says as everyone cheers and press on to the capital. Hakoda goes to Katara as he places an arm over her shoulder so that she can carry him. "We can wait here if you want." She says. Hakoda shakes his head. "No. I wanna press forward with the others." He says as they both resume with walking.
In the underground bunker
Mizu, Sokka, Aang and Toph continue along the passage in search of the fire lord's secret room. A fire nation person whistles to himself as he walks down a passage casually. However his eyes widen when he sees the four heroes as his tunnel and their tunnel connect together as it leads on. He stands with his back against the wall paralysed. They notice him as they are all in their fighting stances.
The person raises his hands as he points to a passage. "The Fire Lord's chamber is that way, down the hall, to the left," He says as he makes climbing motions. "and up the stairs, you can't miss it!" He finishes as the four of them look at him seriously. Aang then smiles as he suddenly becomes friendly. "Thanks" He says as they follow the path he directed them to.
Once they are gone the person relaxes himself as he look both sides before walking again whistling like none of that happened. As the four of them run to the room Sokka pulls out the time mechanism as he looks at it. "Only thirty seconds until the total eclipse." Sokka says as they come to another huge metal door. Aang walks to it as he takes a deep breath. "I'm ready. I'm ready to face the Fire Lord." He says as he swings his staff hard as the metal door blasts open.
They come to a lit chamber with a throne on the other side. They see the throne but who they see sitting on it causes them to be in complete shock. "So, you are alive after all." Azula says as they look at her with their jaws dropped. Azula looks at them with a sinister and proud smile. "I had a hunch that you survived. But it doesn't matter. I've known about the invasion for months and I see you brought a little traitor." She says looking at Mizu while Aang is shocked by Azula knowing their plan.
Back on the battlefield
As the warriors are almost at the top of the mountain the mechanist pulls out his time device as he looks at it. "The eclipse is starting! Put on your eclipse glasses!" He says as everyone but Zian takes out specialized eyewear and puts them on. Katara and Hakoda stop as they both look at Zian. "Are you ready for this?" Katara asks him. Zian crosses his arms as he nods. "I am." He says.
He takes in a deep breath as he bends his legs into a squat. "AAAAAAAAGH!" He shouts not in pain as he slowly starts to transform as fur starts to grow all over him and he becomes taller. Everyone looks at him as they see the powerful earthbending boy starting to change into a powerful ally. His mouth and nose morph into a muzzle with dangers teeth as his ears become more dog like. His back legs start changing as his finger nails turn into razor sharp claws. The transformation come to its end as everyone look at Zian with astonishment. "Amazing." The mechanist says.
Transformed Zian gets down on all fours as he looks at Katara. "Let's go show the fire nation what we are truly made of!" She shouts as everyone cheers and Zian gives out a loud thunderous roar.
Back at the throne chamber
Aang, Sokka, Toph and Mizu are all in their stances as they look at Azula with furious faces. "Where is he? Where's the Fire Lord?" Aang says. Azula stands up from the throne. "You mean I'm not good enough for you? You're hurting my feelings." She says acting like she is hurt. "Stop wasting our time and give us the information. You're powerless right now, so you're in no position to refuse." Sokka says pointing his sword at her. "And stick to the truth. I'll be able to tell if you're lying." Toph says.
Azula walks a few steps forward. "Are you sure? I'm a pretty good liar." She says as she pauses. "I am a four-hundred foot tall purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings." She says deadpanned. Toph pause for a second. "Okay, you're good, I admit it." She says as she traps Azula in earth. "But you ought to consider telling the truth anyway!" Toph says.
Suddenly without warning the earth traps crumbles and breaks as this catches the four by surprise. Azula stands there casually as she dusts herself off. "When I left Ba Sing Se I brought home some souvenirs: Dai Li agents!" She says as two Dai Li agents descend from the roof tops. Aang is angry by this as he swings his staff a gust of wind is shot at Azula. The agents protect her by create an earth shield as the wind disperses.
At the battlefield
As the warriors reach to the top they overlook the palace. However they are surprised when they see a front line of trebuchets are aimed at them. "Fire!" The captain yells as the siege weapons launch boulders at them simultaneously. Bato looks at the many oncoming projectiles. "Take cover!" He shouts. Lucky Zian runs forward as he bends a giant earth in front of them. The boulders break on impact. Bato looks at Zian and smiles. "Thanks Zian." He says.
Zian looks at the siege weapons as he runs at them. He leaps in the air and comes down in the middle of them as he slams hard on the ground creating a shockwave which either topples the weapons over or destroys them. The soldiers who were manning the weapons run away in fear at seeing such a powerful beast. Zian roars as he moves in to the city to wreak havoc.
Bato sees Zian moving through the city as he looks at the warriors and the tanks as he raises his spear. "Surround the periphery! We have to secure the palace by the time the eclipse is over! Otherwise, we'll be in for the fight of our lives." He says as the warriors and tanks move into the city.
The invasion force come across some fire nation soldiers. "Stop! Surrender peacefully and we won't harm you." Tyro says. The leader looks at him seriously. "We'll never surrender!" He says as he does some frenzied motions with his hands as he thrust his hands forward to shoot fire only for a whimper of smoke to come out. The leader looks at Tyro as they back down. "Okay, we surrender." He says.
On the mountain top Hakoda and Katara look down at the battle. "There it is: the Fire Nation Royal Palace. We've come so far." He says sounding happy. "It's not over yet." Katara says as Hakoda nods and they walk down to the city.
Throne room
A fight breaks out as the four of them fight against the agents as they try to get Azula to stop and pin her. Most of the agents have been dealt with as the four of them chase after Azula out of the throne room. "I can't pin her down! She's too quick!" Aang says as they run after her out of the room. An agent follows Azula as he is protecting her. He is suddenly surprised by Mizu who despite is unable to use her bending trips the agents while Toph pushes him into a metal beam and traps him there.
They continue chasing Azula when Sokka stops. "Wait! Aang! Toph! Stop attacking! Don't you see what she's doing? She's just playing with us. She's not even trying to win this fight!" Sokka says as they all (even Azula) stop and looks at him. Azula looks at him calmly. "Not true. I'm giving it my all." She says.
Mizu starts to get angry. "You're just wasting our time by keeping us here." She says. "Um, right, I think your friend just said that, genius. And since you can't see, I should tell you I'm rolling my eyes." Azula says rolling her eyes in disgust. Mizu growls at this. "Shut up or I'm going to roll your head!" Mizu says.
"Awww, what the matter? Little fire bender feels guilty for betraying her own people?" Azula says to her mockingly. Mizu growls as she is starting to really lose her patience. "She's just baiting you again." Sokka says to Mizu. "Aang looks at Sokka. "Okay, so what do we do, just ignore her?" He asks. "We don't have a choice. We just have to get out of here and find the Fire Lord on our own somehow." Sokka says. The others nod as they turn around and leave. Azula stands where she is still calm. "It's a trap. Don't say I didn't warn you." She says. "Ignore!" Sokka say as he keeps on walking.
Azula looks at Sokka with a smirk. "So, Sokka's your name, right? My favourite prisoner used to mention you all the time." She says. This causes Sokka to stop as he turns around and looks at Azula with a suspicious glance. "She was convinced you were going to come rescue her. Of course you never came, and she gave up on you." She says. Mizu looks at Sokka worryingly. "Sokka don't" She says.
Sokka ignores Mizu's voice as he charges at her in a blind rage. Azula has an evil look on her face. "Come and get it." She says. She pulls out a dagger behind her back. Toph notices this as she quickly bends some earth and shoots it at Azula as she shackles her against the wall. Sokka looks at Azula face to face. "Where. Is. Suki?!" He says furiously.
"Where's Suki? Answer me!" Sokka interrogates Azula angrily. Azula stands there with a smug look plastered on her face. Mizu places a hand on her shoulder. "Sokka stop, she's not going to tell you anything." She says. Sokka ignores her. "Where are you keeping her?" He says demanding to know.
Suddenly Mizu feels a sensation that was gone for a while but is now back. Aang looks Mizu confused. "Are you okay Mizu?" He asks. "Uh oh." Mizu says. Azula looks at Mizu and grins. "Oh, sounds like the firebending's back on." She says. Mizu quickly pulls Sokka away from her as Azula kicks her foot in the air as fire follows it. Azula then shoots a fireball out of her foot as it heads towards Sokka. Toph tackles Sokka as the fire passes them. Azula uses her fire to break her shackles. She then aims her foot at Aang as he dodges and she slams her foot on the ground.
She looks at them all with a sinister look. "Dad's all the way at the end of the hall then down a secret stairway on the left. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to see you now." She says as she runs away. Mizu gets angry as she starts shooting fireballs at her only for Azula to dodge them as she disappears into the tunnels. Sokka looks at the ground ashamed. "I fell for it! I used up all our time." He says frustrated with himself. Toph looks at him. "It's not your fault, Sokka. Azula was ready for us. She had every move planned out." She says.
Sokka looks sorrowfully. "And now it's too late." He says. Aang looks at the tunnel. "Maybe it's not too late. The eclipse is over. But I can face the Fire Lord anyway." He says as Mizu shakes her head. "I highly advise against it Aang." She says. Sokka nods. "Mizu is right; I don't think that's a good idea." He says. Aang looks at them. "But I'm ready! I came here with a job to do and everyone's counting on me." He says.
"The Fire Lord knew we were coming this time. We thought we had surprise on our side but we didn't. It just wasn't our day. What we need to do now is go and help our friends." Toph says. Aang looks disappointed. "I guess you guys are right." He says. Sokka places a hand on Aang's shoulder. "You'll have another chance. I know you will." He says. Aang nods as the four of them leave the bunker to go help the invasion force.
On the palace grounds
The battle has ceased as everything calms down. Hakoda leans on a tank as he and Katara take off their glasses. Zian comes running to them in his form as he stands their and slowly starts to transform. He looks at his hands and then looks at the two of them. "Well then. What now?" Zian asks. They see Bato come running towards them. "What should we do, Hakoda? Shouldn't something have happened by now?" Bato asks him.
"I don't know. But now that the eclipse is over, I expect we're going to see some firebenders any minute." He says while Katara crosses her arms and scorns. Bato's face suddenly becomes shocked as he sees something. Everyone looks at his direction as they understand what shocks him. "Oh no." Zian says shocked. Five or more small war balloons appear from behind the mountain as they carry the fire nation insignia. As if that wasn't bad enough, behind them appear five gigantic war blimps that fly in their direction. "My own invention. Oh, this is terrible!" The Mechanist says in dismay.
Katara looks at the sky as she sees something. "They're back!" She says as they look. The see Appa flying down towards them with Aang, Mizu, Toph and Sokka. As Appa lands Katara runs to them. "It was all a trap! Azula knew we were coming and she's plotted out every move! We've just got to get to the beach as fast as we can. If we can make it to the submarines, maybe we can get away safely." He says. "They've got air power, but so do I! I'm gonna do what I can to slow them down." Aang says as he opens his staff and flies off.
Katara climbs on Appa. "Appa, you and I can help too." She says as she mounts Appa and they follow Aang. Zian looks at Sokka. "Then I guess while they are busy with that we should start moving back to the subs." He says. Sokka nods. "Agreed. Everyone, let's get back to the subs!" He shouts as everyone runs.
Aang, Katara and Appa catch up with the others as everyone is almost down the hill. They look up and see the giant war blimps hatches are opening as Sokka looks at them alarmed. "Try and find cover! I think we're about to see some bombs!" Sokka says. All of the earth benders create earth shields around them as the bombs drop on them. Bombs explode from every direction as the ground slightly shakes. When the blimps stop firing everyone looks at them as they just keep moving forward with luckily no one majorly hurt. "Why aren't they turning around to attack us again?" Katara asks.
"They're heading for the beach ..." Aang thoughtfully as he immediately becomes alarmed. Zian and Mizu notices this and their eyes widen. "No." The two of them say. "They're gonna destroy the submarines!" Aang says. Sokka looks at the ground hopelessly. "How are we all going to escape?" He asks. "We're not." Hakoda says being carried by Bato as the group look at him. Sokka has a determined look on his face. "Then our only choice is to stand and fight. We have the Avatar, we could still win." Sokka says. "Yes I'm ready for a fight." Zian says. "Yes, with the Avatar we could still win. On another day. You kids have to leave. You have to escape on Appa together." Hakoda says.
The group look at him confused. "Wait what?" Mizu says. "We can't leave you behind!" Katara says looking at the rest of the invasion force. "We are not going to leave anyone behind." Zian says. "You're our only chance in the long run. You and others have to go with Aang somewhere safe. It's the only way to keep hope alive." Hakoda says looking at Katara. "The youngest of our group should go with you. The adults will stay behind and surrender. We'll be prisoners, but we'll all survive this battle." Bato says. "I've got some experience with the Fire Nation prisons. It's not going to be easy, but we'll get by." Tyro says. Zian slams against the wall. "This isn't fair! We worked so hard for all of this and it doesn't go our way!" He says angrily. Mizu places a hand on his shoulder. "It's oaky Zian, we will stops this war. I know it." She says making Zian a little better.
"They're at the beach already!" Sokka shouts.
Bombs are being dropped at the beach head as the swamps benders try to destroy the bombs as they protect the subs. However they are quickly overpowered as the bombs drop on the submarines and completely destroy them. Everyone looks at the destruction as lames rise up from the wrecked subs as the invasion forces only way of escaping is gone. The youngest of the people say their goodbyes to their loved ones before climbing into Appa's saddle.
Zian stands a bit away from everyone as he looks at the destroyed subs. "Seems like the day is done. Though not in the way that everyone expected." Tui says standing next to him. A few tears run down Zian's face as he looks angry. "Please, don't be sarcastic now." He says. Tui smiles. "And I'm not going to be. I say that today everyone has shown that despite the fact that you all lost the battle you all have come so far and you tasted victory even if it was only for a few moments." He says as Zian looks at him. Tui's smile brightens more. "And because of what you did today by standing by these brave souls and fighting alongside your friends. Well let me say that your father couldn't have been more proud of you." He says.
Zian's face wells up with tears as he feels a hand on his shoulder. He looks and sees it is Mizu who is smiling at him. "I'm proud of you." She says. Zian smiles as he gives her a hug while crying. They walk back Appa as Zian helps Mizu into the saddle. Aang stands up as he looks at the people with gratitude. "Thank you all for being so brave and so strong. I'm gonna make this up to you." He says thankful to all of them as he sits down. Appa launches himself up in the air as they fly away from the island. The group looks behind them as they see one of the war blimps is behind them but not pursuing them. Aang looks at the others. "I know just the place for us to go where we'll be safe for a while. The Western Air Temple!" Aang says as Appa flies to the destination.
A small war balloon follows them unnoticed as the passenger is a scar faced banished prince who looks at the bison with a determined look.
And the chapter is done hope you all enjoyed it and I wish you all a Merry Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate. I wish all a happy holiday and a wonderful time and hope you enjoy yourselves you guys are the best and I thank you so much for reading my story for so long and keep on supporting me it really means a lot.
As always thank you all so much for reading I really as always truly appreciate it. Thank you so very much hope to see you all in the next chapter. Bye.
