A/N: If it seems like I'm skipping most of Book 3 it is only because I am.

Chapter 25: In The Air

For just a short eight minutes, the sun had gone dark.

"Huh… would you look at that," Goku muttered.

When the solar eclipse started Goku had been enjoying a cup of tea with a rather friendly sword smith, an older gentleman that was a master of his craft. They had met earlier that morning when Goku spotted an impact crater near a small town, and for a brief moment Goku had hoped that a space pod had landed there. Meanwhile Piandao had been investigating the meteorite impact, just in case there was any space metal left to forge into a blade. Neither found what they had been looking for, but had stumbled across a meeting of chance.

Now enjoying tea in his backyard garden, Piandao watched the moon eclipse the sun. "Don't look straight at it. Eclipses have blinded people before."

"I will take your word for it," Goku said. He looked away from the solar eclipse, right before he shuddered.

"What is it?" Piandao asked.

"Oh it's nothing," Goku said.

"No one ever means that," Piandao said.

"It's just…" Goku said, not wanting to talk about it. "I had this really bad dream one time that involved an eclipse."

"Would you like to talk about it?" Piandao asked.

Goku put the tea down, folded his hands, and sighed. "It started with me in high school, my friends looked completely wrong, that nice Mai lady was a shapeshifter, Piccolo's dad controlled the great apes… somehow, and the dragonballs only worked on an eclipse. This dream was really messed up."

"I can only imagine," Piandao said.

Then Goku slammed a fist on the table. "And my favorite technique was turned into airbending. How does that happen?!"

Piandao nearly choked on his tea. "Now that would be a nightmare."

"Yeah," Goku said. He finished his cup with one large gulp. "Well I better get going. Nice meeting with you."

"A pleasure," Piandao said, raising his cup. "Do give my regards to Sokka. And tell him to bring that weird metal back by year's end. I'll a better forge in a few months that just might melt that thing."

"Will do," Goku promised.

Piandao leaned back, took a sip of tea, and waited to put his usual recruitment plan into action. Simply wait for the potential White Lotus recruit to leave his home, send his butler out to deliver a last minute parting gift, and see if the recruit keeps the Pai Sho ti-

Goku took flight, and was gone in the blink of an eye.

"Damn…" Piandao cursed.

It wasn't supposed to be this difficult to locate someone by sensing energy. Usually the people Goku looked for stood out amongst the crowd, like looking for the moon among the millions of stars. But looking for this person was like trying to find a specific star during the day, when it was too bright to see any stars at all. This person had such a small presence that it faded into the background, concealed by the much stronger people all around him.

On the day after the solar eclipse Goku recognized a few other individuals, surprised that they happened to be traveling together. So he flew to the large islands north of the Fire Nation, where the three people he knew were traveling with two others and a large animal. When he got close enough to tell the weakest one apart from the rest Goku was pleasantly surprised to recognize the one he was looking for. So he flew into the large gorge on the largest island, and found a spectacular sight.

"When did things go upside down?" Goku wondered aloud.

All along an overhang that spanned the length of the gorge there were buildings, each one attached to the overhang and constructed to appear upside down. It reminded Goku of that place where he had met that guru fellow, for it had the same basic theme but a drastically different design. Goku flew to one of the larger buildings in this western temple, finding that the group he sensed had just arrived there.

Goku landed near the edge and waved. "Hi."

"Oh Badgermoles not again," Toph complained.

The five people Goku sensed were still around the sky bison, apparently just about to start setting up camp. He spotted Sokka right away, who was carrying a sword now and seemed to have modified his souvenir from Cooler's ship into a makeshift shield. He also recognized, Toph, Aang, and Suki, though he had never guessed that they knew each other. The only person he didn't know on sight was Katara, though the family resemblance to Sokka was impossible to ignore.

"I've been looking for you," Goku said, walking towards the group.

Aang stepped forward. "It seems like everyone is looking for the Avatar."

As Goku walked he approached Aang, and then went right past him. "Sokka, I need your help."

"My help?" Sokka questioned. "The most powerful person on the planet needs my help?"

"You must be joking," Suki assumed.

"Afraid not," Goku said. He paused, shrugged, and sighed. "Look, I want to make things right here. But I really don't know how to act without making things worse."

"In other words," Suki said. "You don't want a repeat of Ba Sing Se."

"Yes," Goku admitted.

"I'm game," Sokka said. "My brains, your brawn, it's the best of both worlds."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Suki asked. "Your last plan didn't exactly work."

"What happened?" Goku asked.

Sokka leaned back against Appa and looked away. "We tried to sneak into the capital ahead of the eclipse. Needless to say, it did not go well."

"We got our butts kicked," Toph specified, throwing up both hands. "Barely enough time to get there, no time to scout the place, and they were expecting something to happen that day."

"It just wasn't our day," Aang added. "It might have worked, if we had that army like Sokka wanted."

"Well you don't need an army now," Goku said. "But before we get started, could you please fill me in on everything that's going on. Who exactly is the big bad guy that needs to be beaten?"

"Now hang on a second," Katara interrupted, finally speaking up. "Everyone in the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes is expecting the Avatar to beat the Fire Lord and restore balance. If they find out some space man did it instead of Aang, it could get ugly."

"Screw them!" Toph yelled. "We tried doing this the right way, that failed, and now we're running out of time. Just this once let's take the easy way out. Just have Goku kill the Fire Lord and be done with it already."

"Slow down," Goku insisted. "Let's start over from the beginning."

It took the entire day to describe just how messed up the world had gotten in the last hundred years. Goku tried to remain quiet and listen to everything they said, only interrupting to ask for more details. The Fire Nation starting the war reminded him of the Red Ribbon Army, and Aang was forced into the role that Goku had jumped into back home. But amidst all the differences between their experiences one stood out above the others.

"You're on a time limit?" Goku asked.

"Yeah, Sozin's Comet," Sokka said. He pointed a thumb at Aang. "According to his past life, it comes around every century and gives firebenders more power. It's going to be here in just under three weeks."

"Roku said I have to beat the Fire Lord before that happens," Aang said.

"Or what?" Goku asked.

"Huh?" Aang blurted out.

"What happens if you don't do it?" Goku clarified. "Does he take over the world? Kill a lot of people? Obtain immortality? Blow up the planet?"

"Definitely not the last one," Toph said.

Aang hesitated, thought about it, and gave a puzzled look. "You know, Roku never said what would happen. Just that the world would be out of balance forever."

"That's very vague," Katara said.

"I realize that," Aang said. "So what can the Fire Lord do with bigger firebending for a day?"

"Burn a lot of stuff?" Toph guessed. "There's still a lot of Earth Kingdom land to conquer."

"Oh man…" Sokka blurted out, experiencing an epiphany. "It's the airships! The Fire Lord is going to use them during the Comet. They'll let him burn down a wide swath of the Earth Kingdom, do decades worth of conquering in one day."

"Do you think the Fire Lord would do it personally?" Aang asked.

"If he's anything like Princess Crazy, I bet he will," Sokka said, and then he had another moment of brilliance. "And it's exactly what we need. We'll intercept the airships, let Ozai think he's invincible when Aang faces him, until Goku destroys Sozin's Comet!"

Aang looked at Goku. "Can you do that?"

"Easily," Goku answered. "One big Kamehameha should do the trick."

"Then it's a plan," Sokka said. "The Fire Lord won't know what hit him."

"Report."

Fire Lord Ozai's simple command echoed through his throne room. For this occasion he hadn't bothered with the wall of fire he was known for, not when he was dealing with family. From his throne he watched Azula finish the customary bow, and he stood up to walk towards his daughter. Ozai was a little disappointed that Azula had chosen to wear a new set of standard royal armor, as he had been looking forward to seeing the set described in her written reports.

"Complete annihilation," Azula reported. "Ba Sing Se has been completely burned to the ground."

"I see," Ozai acknowledged. "Was taking it intact too much trouble for you?"

"Yes," Azula answered. Normally one would not be that blunt with the Fire Lord, but this issue called for it. "Holding the city was not an option. I had to make sure the conquest could never be reversed."

"And so you did," Ozai commented. He made a few paces behind his daughter, studying her reactions. "It was a rather extreme measure, in the face of extreme adversity."

"I saw an opportunity and took it," Azula said. "There was no way to predict if or when Goku would-"

"This Goku," Ozai interrupted, noticing a very slight flinch in his daughter. "Tell me about him."

"A paradox," Azula bluntly stated. "He is extremely powerful, yet will not strike unless provoked. He has defended Earth Kingdom land, but would not allow the enemy to retaliate. He completely misses the point of assassination attempts, like he thinks they are games. He halted the invasion of Ba Sing Se singlehandedly, yet abandoned the city in its darkest hour. His behavior simply does not make sense."

Ozai's eyes narrowed. "Go on."

"It's like…" she paused, thought about it, and realized something. "Goku has no idea what he's doing. He's making it up as he goes along. Factor in his immense power, and we're at the mercy of his whims."

"That may not matter," Ozai said. "Sozin's Comet is nearly here. With it I will do to the Earth Kingdom what you did to Ba Sing Se."

"Not if Goku gets involved!" Azula argued, for the first time raising her voice to her own father. "Sozin's Comet won't be enough to stop him!"

Ozai was surprisingly calm in spite of that outburst. "It will give us the power of a thousand suns."

"Something that Goku can do whenever he feels like it!" Azula argued.

Now that had Ozai deeply interested. "A living Sozin's Comet?"

"When he glows gold his power is so immense it spills over into everyone around him." Azula let that sink in, and she recalled more of the experience. "Not only was firebending stronger, the earthbenders got more power too, and the nonbenders started bending. And if that's a result of his excess energy, there's no telling how vast his power truly is."

Ozai took his time to think about that, as the implications were enormous. "And despite all that power, he has not attacked the homeland. Why?"

"I really can't say," Azula answered. "Could be ignorance, could be indifference, or simply not worth his time. I for one am not going to antagonize him further by asking why."

"No, you are not," Ozai agreed. "You will remain here when the Comet comes. Someone must look after the capital while I am away."

"Away?" Azula repeated.

"Yes," Ozai confirmed. "Just as you did to Ba Sing Se, I will do to the Earth Kingdom itself. Their lands will burn, from the ashes it will be reborn as Fire Nation, and no one will be able to reverse it, no matter how powerful."

On the following morning Goku was exercising just outside the Western Air Temple, floating in the gorge and going through his fighting forms. He could see Sokka making more plans with Suki, going over the smaller details like timing and logistics. Not too far from them Aang was practicing water and earthbending, having Katara and Toph continue to help him get better. When Goku finished his light exercise he landed on one of the buildings, and then walked the rest of the way to Sokka and Suki.

"Oh hey," Sokka said when he spotted Goku. "We were just talking about you."

"Really," Goku said. "Is there something I can do before we start your plan?"

"Actually yes," Suki said. She gestured to the other building where Aang was practicing. "As much as he doesn't want one, Aang needs a firebending teacher. Having some firebending skill will help make his victory over the Fire Lord look more authentic."

"And we're fresh out of friendly firebenders," Sokka said. "So we were wondering if you ran into any that would help."

"Well there is one that I'm on good terms with," Goku said. "He's not much to look at, what with that big scar, but he's certainly no friend of Azula's."

Sokka and Suki gave each other an odd look, both wondering the same thing. "Where did you last see this firebender?" Sokka asked, suspecting he already knew the answer.

"Ba Sing Se," Goku answered. "As for where he is now, I can't say."

"Figures," Sokka said, certain that he knew who Goku was referring to. "Well if this firebender is still alive, I'd look northeast of Ba Sing Se. That's where the evacuation was supposed to go."

"Will do," Goku said.

So Goku took flight and left the temple, heading straight east at high speed. He crossed the ocean in a couple of minutes, passed over the Fire Nation colonies just as quickly, and started flying over the northern Earth Kingdom mountain range. After a few more minutes of flight Goku arrived at the lands surrounding Ba Sing Se, going around the city and watching it pass by on the right. There was quite a bit of land behind the city, a mix of barren desert in the southwest encroaching on fields to the east and more mountains to the north.

From the air Goku could tell that Ba Sing Se's population had already started to disperse, sensing several large groups spread out across much of the land. He could see brand new towns and villages springing up around natural resources and along the eastern coast, wherever there was a chance for people to start over. Most of these people felt the same or very similar to Goku's senses, which is what he expected to find out here. However there were two individuals near the mountains that were different from the rest, like spotting a campfire in the middle of a gravel pit.

"Found you," Goku muttered.

Things were finally looking up for Zuko.

Sure he was still banished from the Fire Nation, but in this remote corner of the Earth Kingdom it seemed like he could have a new home. While his firebending ability was public knowledge in this moderately sized village community, Zuko's actions in Ba Sing Se had gotten him a good reputation. In this village Zuko could be himself without having to worry about trouble finding him, save for the occasional bandit raid. For the first time in over three years Zuko felt like he could settle down, to the point where he actually thought about the looks teenage girls were giving him.

So naturally, Zuko was not surprised when it was all completely ruined.

It started when Zuko was helping a farmer build a new fence for pig-hens when he noticed people looking up. "Is one month of peace too much to ask for?"

That was when Goku arrived and landed on a dirt road behind Zuko, ignoring the scornful looks of all the people in this village. "Hey there Zuko, it's nice to see you again."

"Figures," Zuko muttered. He turned around to look Goku in the eye. "What do you want?"

"Oh I'm just doing a favor for a friend," Goku answered. "He asked if I knew any friendly firebenders, and you're the first one that came to mind."

"I suppose you promised to bring me to your friend," Zuko said. His gut sank when he saw Goku nod. "And if I say no?"

"I'll find someone else," Goku answered. He spotted an older shorter man turning around the corner of a half-finished farmhouse, who reminded Goku of the first time he saw Zuko. "Quick question, that old guy you escaped from Azula with, is he a firebender?"

"Don't you even think it," Zuko warned.

"Oh I'm thinking it," Goku said, crossing his arms and sporting a large grin. He figured that now was a good enough time to try bluffing. "You know, if I wanted to, I could just take one of you. Which will it be, you or him?"

"Nice try," Zuko said, seeing right through him. "You're too nice to just abduct someone."

"Alright, you got me," Goku admitted. "So… um… please?"

That sincere request took Zuko off guard, getting him to actually consider it. "What exactly do you want a firebender for?"

"Some kid apparently needs to learn it," Goku answered.

"Ah crap," Zuko muttered, knowing where this was going. Seemingly right on cue, he spotted his uncle approaching. "I suppose you think I should go?"

Uncle Iroh didn't have to say a word, getting the point across with a simple nod.

Zuko sighed, thinking this would only end badly. The one saving grace of this idea was that if things went wrong Goku wouldn't let that waterbender kill him. "Fine."

With that permission granted Goku picked up Zuko and took to the air. Zuko's exhilarated screams convinced Goku to slow his pace, as he wasn't used to flying with a passenger. So this time the trip across the world took a couple of hours, a casual flight for Goku that was an out of this world experience for Zuko. It was just about noon when they arrived at their destination, when Goku dived into the gorge containing the Western Air Temple.

When Sokka and the others spotted them landing he promptly claimed a small sack of coins. "Called it."

A little wobbly after the long flight, Zuko glared at the others. "Why did you people even bother sending him to collect me? It seems very unnecessary for me to be here."

"For good measure," Sokka answered.

Aang reluctantly nodded. "If I'm going to fight your old man, I might as well know how firebending works."

"Even though you could just have him do it," Zuko said, pointing a thumb at Goku.

"Hey we already have a plan," Sokka said.

"Uh huh…" Zuko grumbled. That's when he fully processed where he had been taken, and that it seemed like the group was living here. "Hang on, why are you all even here?"

"We're hiding from the Fire Nation," Katara answered.

"This seemed like the perfect place," Aang added.

At first Zuko's jaw dropped, and then he unknowingly stole Sokka's all but infamous forehead smack. "This is literally the first place they'll look."

Seemingly on cue, something large cast a shadow over that part of the temple.

"I hate being right," Zuko complained.

When Azula got to visit the brand new airship fleet stationed at the capital, she discovered that a third of it was deployed elsewhere. "You sent those airships where?"

Beside her Minister Qin was not too concerned. "They're patrolling to flush out the Avatar. They should be checking the Western Air Temple right now, but I doubt he is foolish enough to actually be there."

"Can the airships handle him?" Azula asked.

"They drove him away from the capital," Qin answered. He waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "The Avatar may be powerful, but he's no Goku."

"All Hands: Abandon Ship!"

It only took five minutes for the captain to give that order.

During that time Goku had quite literally punched the airship, and ripped through the metal like it was paper. He ended up flying through every level of the ship, leaving a person sized hole from the bottom front to the upper back. A dozen more flights at various angles through the entire airship left it ridden with more holes than a piece of Omashu cheese, and around those holes the airship was coming apart. The lighter than air gas used to lift the airship was escaping from torn gasbags, and the airship was spinning as it fell into the gorge.

And that was just the first airship to fall.

Two more had been sent with the first on this patrol, and Goku had grabbed hold of the second airship's stern. Metal screamed under the sheer amount of torque it took to spin such a large vessel, splitting down the length of the airship after only the second rotation. A few more spins and Goku threw the airship into the far wall of the gorge, suffering critical structural failure on impact and falling apart as it was falling down.

The crews of both downed airships jumped ship as best they could, taking the plummet through open air rather than be crushed inside the falling metal deathtraps. Firebenders blasted their element straight down for upward thrust, not enough to stop but certainly slowing their fall. Nonbenders were equipped with small parachutes that accomplished the same feat, at least for the ones that could get out from underneath the airships. A few daring souls even tried to grab hold of the gorge wall as they fell, some succeeding while others failed and fell to rejoin with their airship.

The third airship dropped all ballast and all the dead weight that wasn't bolted down, which let it soar out of the gorge and high above the temple. The captain and crew aboard completely ignored the sky bison heading in another direction, more concerned with the lone man following not far behind. A whole flock of messenger hawks were released from the airship's aviary, each with simple and short messages to inform the capitol that these airships were lost.

Not a moment too soon as well, what with Goku getting above the airship as it flew southwest. He rammed the roof of the airship with the whole side of his body, creating a dent that spanned a third of the roof and compacted the top six levels underneath. Gasbags ruptured and bulkheads crumpled, and the damaged airship fell out of the sky. About a mile away from the temple the airship crashed into the ground, intact but so badly damaged that it would never fly again.

"That'll do," Goku said. He spotted the sky bison heading toward the Fire Nation, and he started flying after it. "I wonder where they're going."

On the following day the official report reached Azula, cobbled together from the many messenger hawks sent from the airship fleet. Azula was in the palace's war room when she received it, and was accompanied by Mai and Ty Lee at the time. Reading the report was the next best thing to having a nightmare become reality, as the only thing worse would be seeing it firsthand. Azula was speechless when she passed the report to her friends, too shocked to say anything.

When Mai read the report, she said what she knew Azula was thinking. "Goku has teamed up with the Avatar."

Even Ty Lee went all serious with that. "You know what this means?"

Azula swallowed the lump in her throat, punched a table, which exploded in blue flames. "We're F#cked!"

The next few weeks passed without incident, which had Sokka suspecting that the Fire Nation military was now actively avoiding Goku. On Zuko's suggestion they went to the Fire Lord's beach house on Ember Island, which no one had ever visited in several years. There Aang's firebending training progressed smoothly, but after one minor detour to visit an ancient civilization. Over the weeks Aang acquired a rudimentary understanding of firebending, enough for simple attacks and simple blocks.

In the beach house's backyard Zuko was demonstrating one last technique, lightning redirection. "You'll need this one above all others. My father has perfected the use of lightning. He can charge and fire it in under a second, faster than any other firebender in recorded history."

Aang was going through the motions Zuko showed, starting to notice the way it made his chi flow through his body. "Is there anything else I need to know?"

"More experience would be nice," Zuko answered. "Other than that, I just wish we could practice with the Comet's power."

Watching from in the house's shadow with the girls Sokka had an idea. "Actually, we can do just that."

About an hour later Goku returned from a hunting trip, and he listened to the idea that Sokka had. "Sure, I can do that."

In the middle of the backyard Goku transformed into a Super Saiyan, and for Zuko it was like Sozin's Comet had arrived four days early. For Toph it was like the Earth got so much bigger, while for Katara and Sokka it was like the moon had been brought to them. For Suki it was like standing in a hurricane, and for Aang he felt all of the above. Even though they had all felt this surge of power before it was still a rush to experience it, and it was all the stronger being much closer to Goku.

Zuko punched towards the sky and a large plume of flame erupted from his fist. "Now that's what you'll be up against during the Comet."

"I see," Aang said. He punched the sky and made a similar plume of flame. Then he made a gigantic gale, raised a house sized slab of rock, and pulled all of the water out of a nearby well. "Too bad the Comet won't let me do all of this without the Avatar State."

"Or this," Suki interrupted, right before she swung a war fan, creating a gust of wind that ruffled Aang's clothes.

To say Aang was surprised would be an understatement. "You can airbend?"

"Only when he's like that," Suki said, pointing at Goku. "I'm not sure why."

"Maybe you just need a little extra juice," Goku speculated.

"Hey yeah," Sokka said, experiencing waterbending for the third time in his life. "It could be that everyone can bend, but for one reason or another many of us aren't getting enough power to do it."

"Well enjoy it while you can," Goku insisted. "I don't plan on sticking around here forever."

"You're leaving," Katara said, about to show Sokka the basics of waterbending.

"As soon as I find a way off this rock," Goku specified. "Either my friends will try the dragonballs again or someone will… come… here…"

"Uh Oh," Toph muttered, not liking the way Goku trailed off there.

"What is it?" Sokka asked, noticing that Goku was looking at the eastern sky.

"Is that…" Goku muttered. He reverted to his normal form, just in case being a Super Saiyan was screwing with his senses. Goku heard Sokka getting splashed, but ignored it. "I know that energy…"

A spherical ship dropped out of warp about a quarter million miles away, heading on a direct course for Earth. The sole occupant saw the planet as a blue marble, but that wasn't all he saw out a window. A misshapen ball of ice and rock about ten miles across was on a similar trajectory, leaving behind a long light blue tail of evaporating ice and fine dust. The ship passed the comet on its way to Earth, though the occupant kept an eye on it.

"I finally caught up with you Kakarot." Sensing the only other Saiyan in the quadrant on the planet up ahead, Vegeta smirked. "This was worth that visit to the Death Star."

A/N: Obvious plug is obvious.