A/N: I'm so so sorry I didn't get this out earlier today! I was doing some stuff with my brother, and got side tracked. I had fullly intended to write this earlier, but then I started doing other stuff, and completely forgot about it. Then when I finished what I was doing, I had to watch the Avatar extras on nicktoons. lol. So I couldn't work on it til late. But anyway, I hope you guys will forgive me for the wait! =(

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, just Serenity.

We flew our dad back down to the main ground on Appa, hoping he would be okay. When we landed, Sokka helped Dad out of the saddle, and laid him gently on the ground. Katara started healing him-refusing to let me help for fear of causing me more stress than I was already under.

"How does that feel Dad?" she asked, as she started to heal the cut on his side.

"A…a little..better." he managed to get out, but I could tell it was strained.

"Stop! What are you doing?" I exclaimed, as he started to get up.

"I need to get back..to the troops." He said, before groaning in pain.

"You're hurt. Badly." Katara said. "You can't fight anymore."

"Everyone's counting on me to lead this mission, Katara." Dad said, as stubborn as always. "I won't let them down!"

He tried to get up again but let out a cry of pain, grabbing his side. There was no way he could fight anymore. I had to agree with Katara on this. He should definitely stay out of the fighting.

"Can't you heal him any faster?" Sokka asked, before looking at me. "What about you? Why don't you try?"

"No!" Katara said angrily, before I could speak. I glared at her, but she ignored it and looked back down at Dad. "Serenity can't heal anyone right now. I'm doing everything I can."

There was silence for a few seconds, while Katara continued to heal our Dad. I wished she would let me help. I couldn't believe that even in a time like this she would try to keep me from doing too much.

"I'll do it." Sokka said, and I looked over at him shocked.

"What?"

"No offense Sokka, but you're not exactly 'Mr. Healing Hands'" Katara said, as our brother stood up.

"No. I'll lead the invasion force." He said, and my eyes widened.

"Are you crazy?" I said, not believing what he was saying.

"Maybe I am a little crazy, but the eclipse is about to start, and we need to be up that volcano by the time it does." Sokka said.

"You can do this." I looked down at our dad, who was watching Sokka. "I'm proud of you, Son."

I smiled, knowing what that would mean to Sokka. And I knew now what I would do.

"I still think you're crazy." Katara said, causing us to look at her. She smiled up at him. "But I'm proud of you too."

"So am I." I said standing up, as Sokka put his helmet on. "But I'm going with you."

Katara looked over at me shocked. "What? No Serenity! You can't-"

"Katara, do you remember what I told you, before we started this whole invasion?" I asked, looking at my sister who looked away from me and nodded. "Then you know why I have to do this. I promise you, I'll be fine."

Katara looked like she wanted to argue again, but probably figured she wouldn't get anywhere with it, so she merely smiled slightly and nodded.

I followed Sokka up onto Appa's head, sitting behind him. "Yip yip!" he said, and Appa flew up into the air, as we flew off.

We flew to where most of the fighting was happening, and landed right in the middle of it. Appa landed in front of one of our machines, and used his head to send a Fire Nation machine flying. I helped out by using the water to stop some of the fire that was being shot at us.

"Listen up everyone!" Sokka called to our allies. "I want the tanks in wedge formation! Warriors and benders in the middle! We're taking that tower, and heading for the royal palace!"

I watched as everyone began to do exactly as Sokka said, and couldn't help but be even more proud of him. I was right after all. This was where he would show his true strength, and have his moment of truth. And he was definitely doing it now.

I stood up in Appa's saddle, my water at the ready, as everyone got into formation. "CHAAARGE!" Sokka yelled, as Appa flew into the air, and we began our way towards the palace.

I watched from the air, sometimes shooting water down at the firebenders, as we began to over take them. I couldn't believe we were actually beginning to win!

Sokka landed us on the steps, near where Bato was standing. "Sokka! We're on our way to victory!" Bato said, as my brother and I looked up at the volcano where the royal palace and city were located.

"Are you ready Sokka?" I asked, knowing full well what my answer would be.

"Definitely." He said, and I smiled. "You?"

"I've never been more ready for anything in my life." I said, glaring at the volcano. I had a lot against the Fire Nation, for more than just them trying to take over the world. They took away two of the people I loved most in the world. And they were going to pay for that.

I stood with Sokka, Bato, and an earthbender, as we took cover behind one of our machines. Sokka was going over the strategy again, for when we finally got inside.

I happened to glance up at the huge doors we were near, and my eyes widened. Katara and our dad walked out-Katara having to help him of course.

"Dad!" Sokka and I cried at the same time, before running over to them. I noticed Toph run to join us as well.

"You're on your feet again!" Sokka said smiling.

"So you're okay now?" I asked worriedly. He still looked kind of bad.

"Thanks to your sister." He said, a Katara helped him sit down. "I'm in no shape to fight, but maybe there's some way I can help."

"Everything's going smoothly, and the eclipse hasn't even kicked in yet." Sokka said.

"Let's hope our luck holds out." Dad said, before looking at Katara, who had walked past us a little. "Katara, you seem distracted. Is something wrong?"

"Yeah…" she said slowly, as I looked into the sky, and noticed something flying towards us. "Is that…is that Aang?"

Sure enough, it was. But what was he doing back? Wasn't he supposed to be defeating the Fire Lord or something? This didn't make any sense….

"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 said, as Aang landed in front of us.

"He wasn't home." The Avatar said, and my eyes widened. "No one was. The entire palace city is abandoned."

This was definitely not good! Why was the entire city abandoned? It was like…..

"They knew." Sokka said shocked, as realization dawned on both of us. But how was that possible?

"Its over." Aang said. "The Fire Lord is probably long gone, far away on some remote island where he'll be safe during the eclipse."

"No. My instincts tell me he wouldn't go too far." Sokka said. I wasn't sure how much we could trust Sokka's instincts, but I kind of felt the same way.

"Yeah. I agree. He'd have a secret bunker or something. Somewhere he could go during a siege, but still be close enough to lead his nation." I said, still trying to figure out how they found out about the invasion.

"If its an underground secret bunker we're looking for, I'm just the girl to find it!" Toph said, grinning and pointing at herself.

I looked at Sokka as he pulled something out of his clothes. "The mechanist gave me this timing device. It looks like we've got about ten minutes until the full eclipse." He closed it and looked at Aang. "Ten minutes to find the Fire Lord."

"We can still do this." Aang said smiling. "We can still win the day!"

"Wait." Katara said, and we all looked at her. "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." She glanced at me at the last part, and I glared at her, crossing my arms.

But before I could say anything to her, our dad spoke up. "Everyone who is 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."

Sokka thought for a second, before looking at Aang. "What do you think? You're the one that has to face the Fire Lord. Whatever you decide, I'm with you."

We all stared at Aang, as he thought, then stood up, turning away from us. "I've gotta try." He said, and we all nodded in understanding.

I noticed my sister not looking happy about this, and smiled at her. "Katara I'm getting really tired of saying this to you, but I'll be fine."

"Well then don't say it!" she said, glaring at me. "You know you shouldn't be here right now!"

I glanced at the others, who were watching us confused, before looking at her again. "Now isn't the time to discuss this."

"No! Now's the perfect time! You know if I told them they'd agree with me!"

My eyes widened. She wouldn't…..would she? "Katara…."

"What's going on?" Dad asked, eying us suspiciously.

"They've been acting like this for a while now." Sokka said, watching us too, as my sister and I stared each other down.

"Katara you're my sister! You promised!" I said, and for a second I thought she was going to ignore me, and tell them all. Thankfully, she seemed to agree with me that we didn't have time for this argument.

She sighed annoyed and turned away. "Fine!"

I felt bad about fighting with her. I knew she was just trying to protect me, but I had told her before that I had to do this. Besides, I was already here, there was no turning back now.

"Okay…." Sokka said, apparently trying to break the tension in the air. "Now that that's settled, lets get going."

I had decided to go with Aang, Toph, and Sokka-much to Katara's displeasure. But I assured her once again, for about the hundredth time, that I'd be okay.

We landed Appa up on the volcano, before we all jumped off him. "Do you feel anything down there?" Aang asked, as Toph placed her hand on the ground.

"Yep. There are natural tunnels criss-crossing through the inside of the volcano." She said.

"Anything else?" Sokka asked. "Is there a structure somewhere?"

Toph raised her hands, before shoving them into the ground. "There's something big, dense, and made of metal deep in the heart of the volcano."

"Sounds like a secret bunker to me!" Sokka said smiling, as Toph created a hole in the earth.

I made sure I had my water pouches, before following the others into the volcano. We walked right into a tunnel. I glanced around, seeing the coast was clear.

"This way! That one's a dead end!" Toph said, before running off.

"What would we do without you?" Sokka said following her. I sighed, as Aang and I ran side by side, following the other two.

"Perish and burn in hot magma." She said, matter of factly, and it took a lot of control to not laugh, though she did have a point.

"Yeah pretty much." Sokka said, as we walked by a hole in the wall, where lava was flowing through.

We ran out into an open area, that I didn't really like. On the ground were holes, where magma and steam would burst out from underneath.

"The tunnel continues on the other side." Toph said, pointing to the other side of the room. "That leads right to the bunker."

"And we have to go through this to get there. Greath…" I said, as I continued to watch the lava and steam nervously.

"We have to be fast, but careful." Sokka said, taking a step forward, just as lava shot up from the ground. He yelled and cringed back, as Aang shot air at it, freezing it somewhat.

"How was that careful?" the boy asked.

"Why don't you take your own advice?" I said, sighing.

"I was wrong. We need to be fast, careful, and lucky." My brother said.

"Yeah, that's reassuring." I muttered, as we all began running as fast as we could across the room. We happened to be lucky I guess, since we were all able to get across without getting his by any of the molten lava.

However, when we got to the other side, our luck seemed to change….for the worse.

"There's no floor!" Sokka said, stating the obvious. We were surrounded by lava on three sides. "Its just a river of lava!"

"Even I can't freeze this amount of lava." I said as I watched it flow.

"Climb aboard and hold on tight." Aang said, opening up his glider.

I didn't know how he was going to carry three of us over on that small thing, but he did it. I guess that's why they call him the Avatar.

We landed on the other side, and I was very thankful to be on land again. I wasn't a big fan of air gliding. As soon as we were on the ground, we started running again. We didn't have any time to waste. We had to get to the Fire Lord, and fast.

The rest of the tunnel wasn't very long, and finally we came to the end, stopping in front of a metal structure. "That's some door!" Sokka said, admiring it.

Toph walked up to it, knocked a couple times, then stepped back. "Not a problem." She said, before starting to punch at the door.

After a few hits, she managed to push her hand through, and move the metal doors aside. I couldn't help but be in awe. She was probably the best earthbender I had ever met.

I ran in following Aang, Sokka coming in behind us. "I am so glad we added you to the group!" he said, apparently just as in awe as I was. I sighed, shaking my head, as we continued to run.

The structure led into more tunnels, though I wasn't surprised. We ran out of one, that led to another long tunnel, before stopping as we all heard a gasp. We turned as one, and saw a guy in Fire Nation robes standing there.

Instantly we got into fighting stances, ready to take him out. However, apparently that wasn't necessary. The guy put his arms up in surrender quickly. "The Fire Lord's chamber is that way, down the hall to the left and up the stairs, you can't miss it."

We all got really close to him, before Aang smiled. "Thanks!" the boy said, as we all ran off.

"Only thirty seconds until the total eclipse!" Sokka said, checking his timing device.

We were cutting this really close. I hoped we got to the Fire Lord in time. If not, then this was all for nothing!

We came upon a pair of doors, that practically screamed 'Fire Lord's chamber.' It was pretty obvious that guy had told us the truth. I stared up at the doors, as my heartbeat quickened. This was it. Aang was going to fight the Fire Lord. The war would finally be over.

"I'm ready." Aang said, after taking a deep breath. "I'm ready to face the Fire Lord."

Quickly he swung his staff around, and blew the doors open with airbending. We all ran inside, ready to fight, but froze, seeing not the Fire Lord, but someone else. Someone who send a furious rage through me.

"So, you are alive after all."

I glared at the girl sitting in the chair. That face was one that was the reason for me being in jail. That voice was the reason I wasn't with Zuko anymore. And that girl, was going down. Azula.

A/N: Well as I said before, I'm really sorry I didn't get this out earlier! I don't know if I'll be able to work on this tomorrow or not, because I promised my mom I'd do some house cleaning, but I promise I will try my best to get this out sometime tomorrow okay? Anyway, please review and let me know what you think! As i said, I'll try to get the next one out soon!