Morning crept by too soon for Jin, and she opened her eyes as the dim sunlight shone through the entrance to the shelter. Beside her laid Zuko, still asleep with his arm around her. She smiled at him and kissed his cheek lightly. After their kiss they stayed up on that hill, talking for a long time,
and then had retired to the shelter where everyone else had had fallen asleep except for a look out standing by the entrance. At first Jin had laid herself down in her usual spot, but when she looked over at Zuko, who was practically alone, she stood up and walked over to him, laying down next to him and snuggling into him, her head rested on his chest.
Waking up in his arms was the greatest feeling she'd ever had, and she sat up slowly, being careful not to wake him. The others were gradually waking up, but Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Toph were all still sound asleep. There was no one for her to talk to, so she slipped out to go watch the sunrise. She wasn't entirely surprised when she saw Iroh sitting out there with a cup of tea and she sat with him.
"Having a sunrise this beautiful is very comforting," said Iroh. "Especially knowing what's coming today."
"I didn't think there would be a sunrise today," said Jin softly, staring out. "It's the day of Black Sun."
"Yes, but the eclipse won't hit until noon. There'll be a few hours when the army will be able to firebend, but once it's noon they'll be left with weapons alone."
Something suddenly occurred to Jin and she glanced at Iroh. "Aang was supposed to learn firebending yesterday. Did he ever come to you?"
"He did shortly after we came back from burying my niece," said Iroh. "I knew there was no need for him to practice anything fancy since there wouldn't be that much time, but we worked on the basics, which I think he's mastered… or is very close to it at least."
"They said he's mastered earthbending, waterbending, and airbending. That should be enough."
"I hope so," said Iroh. They were quiet for a few moments, and he turned to Jin. "Are you scared?" She thought for a moment, then nodded.
"A little. But not so much for myself…" she glanced over at Zuko who was still sleeping peacefully.
"You looked very comfortable with him…" mentioned Iroh, his tone having a hint of accusation to it.
"Nothing happened," she said softly. "Well… nothing bad I mean."
"I know," he said. "I trust both of your judgments. But don't be afraid, Jin. Even if something were to happen, your love has the two of you bound together and you would be with each other again in eternity."
"It's not eternity I'm worried about," she said softly. "It's all the living in between I don't think I could handle."
"I know how you feel," he said gently. "I felt the same way about my son, Lu Ten. But you do learn to cope, and life does move on. And I know I'll see him again, so it's not over."
"I didn't know you had a son," said Jin.
"I did," he said with a nod. "And over these last few years, my nephew has become like a son to me." Jin smiled.
"Do you think we have a chance?" asked Jin. "I mean, us against all of them?" Iroh nodded.
"There never was much hope, but that doesn't mean it was never there. As long as we have hope, young Jin, we have a chance." She nodded.
"Thanks. You're so full of wisdom sometimes," she said.
"That… and about 500 pounds of something else," he chuckled, patting his stomach. She smiled and turned to head in. A strange noise caught her attention and she glanced up. A crow sat nearby on a dead tree, cawing loudly before flying away. Something about the sight gave her a feeling of
dread, but it quickly passed, and she went inside to get herself ready.
----
About an hour later, everyone was up and nearly ready for battle. They had been divided off into 2 groups. One would be facing the Fire Nation army, and a smaller fleet would be heading to the prison to free the prisoners inside. Toph went off on her own a little before the others left and created an underground hideaway where the prisoners would be stored until it was all over, and they were all expecting the remained Water Tribe warriors to arrive at nightfall as planned.
Jin hardly got a chance to talk to Zuko at all, and when they were finally spilt up into groups and ready to leave, she quickly caught hold of him before he boarded Appa, and gave him a hug. "Be careful," she whispered.
"You too," he said softly, squeezing her a little, then gave her a quick kiss. He climbed on to Appa, and Sokka took the reigns and with a "yip yip", they were gone. Jin stood there until they were out of sight and Iroh came up from behind and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Time to go," he said, and Jin walked with him to join up with the army.
----
The army was lined up in place, and Jin was close to the front, her broadswords drawn and ready to be put into battle. She took a look behind her and smiled. Altogether, even though they were still lacking some of the Water Tribe, they still made up a rather large army, and her hope was raised,
now that she had a better feeling that their number was not too small after all. Iroh stood beside her and she had a good feeling he'd be trying to protect her through most of this.
Aang stood front and center, and Katara and Toph stood on either side of him. The rest devided into a section of earthbenders and then the Water Tribe warriors. Sokka and Zuko had taken a few earthbenders with them to be to help them. The plan was that once they were inside the prison they would tunnel their way out and into Toph's hidden underground shelter, which was not too far of a distance away. Then a few of the earthbenders would stay behind to protect the released prisoners while the rest returned with Sokka and Zuko to aid in the battle. By that point the eclipse should have hit, and the firebenders would be at their weakest.
Jin shuddered. Unfortunately that meant the same for Zuko and Iroh, and the image of the squawking crow entered her mind. Something about it had been almost haunting, but she pushed it away. This was not the time to give in to dread.
"I feel vibrations," said Toph suddenly.
"They're coming!" called Katara, who turned to the rest of the army. "Get ready." Jin felt a slight rush of anxiety, but stood her ground, knowing what would come would come.
She couldn't help but worry a little, however, when Toph suddenly straightened up and said a little too loudly, "Oh no"
----
"Look," said Sokka, pointing out to where the army was standing as they flew by. Zuko glanced out, and could see the Fire Nation army entering. "The battle's about to begin."
Zuko stared out then his eyes widened when he saw the dark patch that looked like thousands of ants stretching out over the hills, ending almost a full mile away from the front. "Oh no..." he said.
"Look at them all," said one of the earthbenders. "There's so many!"
"They don't stand a chance out there!" said another.
"Don't say that!" said Sokka, looking at them. "Don't forget, we have an eclipse coming in a few hours. They won't be so intimidating for long."
"He's right," said Zuko, but in his head he was praying for Jin and his uncle. In his heart, he had no idea how this war would end, but he had a pretty good idea that he'd be facing his father. He clenched his fist as he thought of Azula laying cold in the ground a few miles away. His father would pay for that... and all the other things he'd done. He, Zuko, was no longer afraid to fight back, and his father would have to face him before the end.
He looked out and could see the prison coming in the distance and turned his focus on finding his mother, never fully pushing his father out of his mind.
----
Jin stared at the army coming towards them that seemed unending. Her heart fell into her stomach, but when she felt Iroh's hand clench her shoulder she calmed down a little. "Don't be afraid, young Jin," he said softly. "You're not alone in this battle." She looked around and remembered they still had a full army, and she wouldn't have to fight all the Fire Nation army alone. Taking in a deep breath, she took her fighting stance and braced herself.
The Fire Nation army stopped about ten feet from them, and they stood there, staring at the small army facing them. "Is this some kind of joke?" scoffed one of the soldiers. "You don't stand a chance!"
"You forget," said Katara, taking a fighting stance. "We have the avatar. We've already won."
"We'll see about that," said the general, narrowing his eyes, and then he turned to the army. "On my mark!" The front row all took a fighting stance and the rest prepared themselves, some of them arming catapults.
"Get ready!" shouted Aang, and their army prepared themselves. There was a long moment of tension, and Jin could feel her heart pounding inside her chest. They waited for someone to make the first strike, and the Fire Nation leapt on the opportunity.
"FIRE!" shouted the general, and three catapults, almost hidden in the crowd, launched large flaming boulders at them. The sounds of the men quickly dodging could be heard, and with that, Aang, Katara, and Toph all shouted in unison, "ATTACK!"
Jin lunged at them with a cry, followed by Iroh, and the rest of the army charged towards the Fire Nation. Before, Jin had been afraid to kill anyone back at the battle at Ba Sing Se, but now she was no longer afraid. Grasping her broadswords and thinking of all the blood that had been spilled and all the pain that she'd been through thanks to them, she began swinging away, knowing she wouldn't recieve any mercy in return from any of them.
Before she knew it, she and Iroh were seperated, but she didn't have time to try to find him. The army was attacking her and she had to be quick on her feet or die. She knew Iroh would be all right, and focused on protecting her own skin.
----
Appa landed and the army all leapt off, hurring to the door. Not to his surprise, Zuko saw it was guarded by two firebenders, but he didn't have to raise a finger. The earthbenders caused the ground beneath the guards to open and they fell in, trapped up to their necks. Knowing that killing them would be a waste of time, Zuko went strait to the lock, not entirely surprised that it was a firebending one, and he blasted it as hard as he could with a monstrous ball of fire. The lock opened with a loud clank, and the doors were pushed open easily by the earth benders.
"Half of you, with me!" called Sokka. "The other half goes with him!" he pointed to Zuko who made a face.
"I have a name, you know!" Zuko grumbled.
"It's a little too weird to be on first name terms just now, buddy," said Sokka, and he hurried in with his half while Zuko lead his half in and down a different hall.
----
"Look out!" shouted Toph, and she launched a giant boulder over Jin's head and at an oncoming firebender who was much larger than her. Jin smiled back at Toph.
"Thanks!" she shouted, and Toph went back into battle.
"No problem!"
A sudden blast of fire struck Jin in the back and she fell forwards with a cry. Toph bit her lip, then struck down the firebender responsable for the surprise attack, then turned to Jin, who was picking herself up slowly. The back of her shirt had been badly burned and her back looked awful.
Unfortunately, Toph couldn't see any of that, but the smell of burned flesh attacked her nose.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm fine," said Jin and she resumed fighting, only not as quickly as before because her back was killing her.
"Aang!" called Katara over the commotion. "Why don't you go into the Avatar State?"
"I can't!" Aang called back, while dodging another firebender attack. "If I get killed while I'm in the state-" he dodged another blow, "-the reincarnation chain will be broken!" He dodged some more and Katara helped take out a few of them.
"You'll have to go into it at some point, Aang," she called out.
"I will when the time is right, Katara!" he shouted back, and resumed fighting.
Jin decided to stick around Toph, both to keep herself safe, but the also keep an eye out on her. Being blind she knew there was only so much Toph could do, and she found herself having to cut down a few firebenders who were attempting surprise attacks on the girl. Once or twice Toph would remark with a, "I could have gotten him," but Jin shrugged.
"I know," she answered, and continued to fight.
----
Zuko didn't have to travel very far before the began coming upon cells, and he went to open it when a foul stench struck him in the nose. "Everyone get down a moment!" he called out, and they all lowered themselves. He closed his eyes to get his breathing right, then stretched out his hands and blasted two lines of fire down both walls, lighting all the torches on the sides. Once it was safe, the earthbenders stood up and they turned, looking inside. There came a few cries of disgust, and even Zuko jumped back. Inside the cell was a rotting corpse, maggots crawling around and eating away the flesh. It was only proof of how long some of them had been in there and how unattended the place was usually kept.
"Is anyone still alive?" he called to the the army.
"There's a man in this cell!" shouted one.
"And there's some here too!" shouted another.
"Search all the cells for survivors!" called Zuko. "Carry the sick on your backs if you have to. Just get them out!" They obeyed and Zuko went around from cell to cell, finding mostly corpses and skeletons. In one of the cells lay a young boy who had starved to death, and he looked like he had only died a few hours ago. It almost made Zuko sick, but a strange noise drew his attention away from that.
Up in the small barred window sat a crow, and it squawked at him before flying off. It added to the whole morbidity of the place and he shuddered, moving on the next cell to find a mother and her daughter inside.
It took nearly an hour to go through all the cells in that wing, but they finally had them and they were lead out by five of the earthbenders to be taken to the shelter. The rest of the earthbenders followed Zuko down to the next wing. There had been no sign of his mother yet, but he was not giving up hope.
----
Jin leapt over a firebender who lunged at her and sliced at him with her blades. There was already blood staining them, but she didn't care. At this point it was better theirs than hers. She cut her way through a few more of them, recieving several minor burns in return, and she could feel the burns on her back begin to seize up on her. But she pressed through the pain, knowing it was not worth it to give up. It had finally sunk in that this battle was more than just her. It was a battle to free the world from this ongoing war and finally bring about peace. Giving up so quickly would be cowardly,
and she ignored her injuries, knowing the only way she'd stop was if someone killed her.
She took a step backwards, preparing herself for the firebender who was now charging at her. When he lunged and fired at her, she dodged with ease and swung at him, taking two quick stabs at his chest then watched him fall. Turning to see if she could spot Katara or the others, she spotted something laying on the ground and jumped back. A fallen Water Tribe soldier lay there, eyes open but unseeing, staring blindly at the sun.
The sight repulsed her so badly that for a moment she forgot where she was. "Look out!" shouted a male's voice and she turned, almost too late to dodge the ball of blue fire that was blasted at her. A Water Tribe warrior finished off the firebender and turned to Jin, then glanced at the body and frowned. "He's not the only one," he said, then placed a hand on Jin's shoulder. "Be careful young woman," and with that he went back to fighting.
Jin caught a quick glimpse and gasped their number looked like it had decreased significantly and she felt herself shaking. "Come on!" shouted another voice and she turned to see Iroh running towards her. "It's not over yet." She nodded and went back to fighting, knowing that it would not be over for her until she'd taken her last breath.
----
(A/N: I hate to do this to you guys, but there's no way I can finish off this battle in one chapter so I'm going to have to cut it off here and pick it up tomorrow. Hope you can forgive me, but I'm starting the second part up right now, and I'll work on it most of tomorrow so I'll hopefully be able to put it up after school, or at least sooner than I usually update. R&R! And if you're wondering, yes, the crow is symbolic and is foreshadowing something to come... I'll leave you with that and see you tomorrow.)
