Ashes to Ashes
Another day dawned over the Fire Nation, Appa flying amidst the clouds to their last stop, the rendezvous point. After Hama, the group had traveled mostly in silence. Even Sokka and Toph refrained from their usual bantering.
While no one really tried avoiding him, it was not until after they made camp before anyone said anything, least of all to Zuko.
"Are you okay, Zuko?" Katara asked.
Zuko looked up to the sky. "More or less," he answered eventually. "I'm sure you're worse off than I am, seeing as I killed the only known link you had to any previous generations of Southern Water Tribe waterbenders."
Katara shrank a little. "It's hard. But seeing what she did, both to us and those people, I can't see how else we could have stopped her. She had spent too long stewing in her own hate that..." She looked down at, faintly tracing her own scars absently. "Just thinking about her, I keep coming back to how I feel about my mother, and how I might end up like Hama."
"You don't have to talk about it. Not right now."
She steadied her breathing, and then she turned back to Zuko. "What was it that you did back there? One moment, we were being beaten back, but then…something started suffocating me."
"So that energy I felt when I tried healing you…"
"They're connected, yes." Zuko sighed. "It's a long story, but the short version is that I have some spirit hanging onto me, and he ends up giving me power in the process. I'm still trying to work things out, and he doesn't like talking about himself all that much."
Katara stared at him, blinking repeatedly. "How long?"
"He's been around for a while, but he wasn't really doing all that much until last winter. Probably around the time you found Aang. You don't have to worry about it. He's been keeping mostly to himself as of late."
"As long as you're sure," Katara said dubiously.
[-]
Spending a couple of days camping at the rally point allowed them to unwind some, but there was little else they could do that would not draw hostile attention to their location aside from training with Zuko, who was keeping away from earthbending for the interim.
The last dawn, Sokka found himself up before sunrise for once, and everyone else was stirring earlier than usual. Tending to their chores, they prepared for the others to arrive.
To the east, amidst the receding morning mist, clouds drifted in on the wind.
"Is this going to set the invasion back?" Katara asked.
Sokka stood up, squinting his eyes. "No. It is the invasion fleet!"
A small fleet of ships, Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom, and a single Fire Nation vessel, were headed for the cove, the latter was being partially dragged in by the Earth Kingdom ships since its engine appeared to be cold.
"Come on! Let's go down and meet them."
Zuko and Toph formed some docks for the ships to work with, allowing the passengers to disembark, soldiers, warriors, and fighters gathering in small groups. After greeting the Kyoshi Warriors, Sokka went over to chat with an odd looking man with glasses, excitedly discussing some of the equipment to be used. When Iroh stepped out, Zuko smiled and went over to him.
"Any troubles getting here?" he asked.
"Nothing dramatic," Iroh answered, giving his nephew a quick hug.
"That's surprising."
"There are still hours in the day. Anything could still happen."
Handshakes and helloes were exchanged, Aang, Katara, and Sokka introducing Zuko and Toph to the friends that had joined the task force, the others doing same for acquaintances who had volunteered.
"Is that who I think it is?" Katara asked, pointing to the general from the Earth Kingdom contingent.
"General Fong," Aang confirmed.
The General looked a bit weathered, as could be expected from someone who had his government collapse, his capitol conquered, but he still exuded the same level of confidence Aang remembered as he walked up to them and greeted them.
"It is good to see the Avatar taking to the front lines," he said, "even if it was not who I was originally expecting." He looked over to Zuko. "As much as I am interested in the story, I suppose it will have to wait until after the invasion."
"Sorry about that," Aang said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.
"Nothing to worry. Regardless, I intend to participate in the final chapter of this war, even if I won't see the end of it." Raising a hand, he cut Aang off. "Don't trouble yourself over empty platitudes. Everyone knows what we risk in this venture."
[-]
Zuko watched the ragtag band of soldiers make their preparations for the coming battle. Equipment and supplies were distributed, there was a briefing conducted by Sokka and his dad, though the latter did most of the constructive dissemination of information; Zuko barely caught anything the younger warrior had said.
After all the major preparations were complete, they sat down to eat one last meal before they set out. Apprehension was an undercurrent to the atmosphere, but everyone had confidence in their undertaking.
Observing from a slight rise, Zuko sat with Sokka, who was still down from his earlier fumble.
"So we have the Water Tribe warriors, a bunch of Earth Kigndom resistance cells, disparate groups, a spattering of Earth Kingdom soldiers, some random people you've run into, us, and whatever equipment we could muster…even with the advantage of the Eclipse, this is going to be tough."
Sokka looked up at Zuko as he paced back and forth "Well, it's not like we need to fully occupy the place."
"Yeah, we just need to get the most powerful firebendering alive while he is at his weakest with an entire army in the way to stop us."
"That's awfully pessimistic," Sokka snorted. "I thought that was my job around here."
"I'm just keeping things in perspective."
"Still, if the new hardware works out, we'll actually have a chance of surviving all of this. Speaking of, do you know what you're going to do?"
"Apart from storming the Fire Lord's lair and confronting him during the eclipse, not really."
"We could just drop the mountain on top of him. Make things easier."
The former prince shot a withering glare at the other boy. "No. Dead or alive, I won't be satisfied until I've seen him myself."
"You sure you're going to be okay? You seem kind of...aggressive, like you're angrier than usual."
Zuko pursed his lips. "As much as I have a score to settle, no matter how much my duty compels me to end him the moment we meet, even if he'd gladly do the same to me, he is still my father. To answer your question, I don't know."
[-]
Aang looked into his reflection in the water's surface, the mop of hair that had grown wild since his return to the world.
Razor in hand, he began shaving the locks off, then looked back at his own reflection. He scarcely recognized himself without the hair anymore.
Over the trip, he had managed to gather the materials make an approximation of an Air Nomad's garb, mixing it with the other clothes he had acquired. Securing his old headbands to his belt, he pulled out Monk Gyatso's amulet from his satchel, remembering the kind old man who had taught him so much.
"What would you think of all of this?" he wondered aloud, imagining his old mentor standing in front of him. "I know I was supposed to get involved when I was the Avatar, but now…"
"Aang?"
The airbender turned around.
"Hey, Katara," he answered.
"They're about to start the briefing," she said.
"Right."
Returning the amulet to the satchel, he picked up his staff and followed Katara to the assembly area. He was still an Air Nomad, an airbending master. Even if he was no longer the Avatar, he still had a role to play in the events to come.
[-]
Once everyone loaded onto their ships, the fleet moved out. It was a sunny morning, winds blowing strongly at their backs. A subdued air hung over the crew and passengers akin to a funeral. Little to no chatter, no jokes shared, only the slow countdown to landfall.
Amidst the cloud of fog being generated by waterbenders, morning edged toward afternoon before the first obstacle of the invasion reared its head.
"The Great Gates of Azulon," Iroh said, stepping away from the eyeglass. "Prepare for the next phase of the plan."
The fleet entered battle formation, ships and crew readying weapons for the coming engagement.
In front of them, the chains were raised and ignited, blocking the way into the bay. A signal flare was sent up by the local garrison, followed by a deployment of jet skis. Hostile ships moved in, catapults letting loose their arsenal. Earthbenders launched missiles of their own, intercepting most of the shots before they could land.
The fog was dispersed and the ships, already slowing down, turned to face the approaching naval forces. Waterbenders doused the flames and the crew prepared to repel boarders.
"So it begins." Taking a deep breath, he looked out beyond the statue of his father. "Good luck."
[-]
Beneath the raging battle on the surface, the submarines detached from the Water Tribe vessels and sailed under the chains. Toph had already puked out her breakfast into the Duke's offered helmet, but otherwise, everything was working smoothing.
"So this is what you had in mind," Zuko said, glancing over to Sokka.
"I just came up with the idea. The Mechanist did all the work."
"Don't sell yourself short, my boy," the Mechanist piped. "You're the one who came up with the concepts…though your original designs were a bit difficult to decipher."
Zuko snorted into his shoulder, remembering the drawings.
"There was one thing I was unable to resolve," the older man continued.
"That doesn't sound good," Toph muttered, almost unheard.
"We have a limited air supply. We will have to resurface once before we reach our destination."
"That will be a good time for us to split off," Zuko murmured.
An hour of sail later, they resurfaced, rested, and stretched their legs. Appa waited for this infiltration team.
"Ready for this?" Sokka inquired.
Zuko took a deep breath. "As ready as I can hope to be."
"I know we got off on the wrong foot, but thanks for having our backs."
Looking down, Zuko took the hand being offered.
"I don't really know what else to say, but good luck."
"To you, as well."
Walking to Appa, Zuko saw that Aang was still saying goodbye to Katara.
"See you after this is all over," Mai said.
Zuko turned to face her. "So you're going with the invasion force after all?"
"You're going after the Fire Lord," she answered. "Azula will be close by, and I have no intention of being anywhere close to her for the near future."
"Alright. Stay safe out there."
Mai leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the lips and turned away leaving Zuko standing dumbfounded until Toph slugged his shoulder, scoffing at his reaction. He shook his head and turned to the earthbender girl.
"All set?" he asked.
"Yup. Don't think I'll need to puke again." Serious, she looked up at him. "Don't worry, Sparks. I've got your back. Now, let's go and kick some butt!"
Climbing onto Appa, Aang took the reins and Zuko formed a bubble around them all.
"Ready," Zuko announced.
"Here we go," Aang said. "Appa, yip-yip!"
Plunging into the depths of the water, they swam alongside the submarines.
"I hope Sugar Queen's lessons were enough," Toph grumbled. "I'd rather not drown before we do anything."
"That's why we're not staying under for long."
The trip dragged on, getting closer to their destination. When Zuko began perspiring from exertion, he looked to the airbender. "Aang."
"Up we go!"
The water surface broke, Appa taking to the skies. Toph clung to the saddle, clenching her teeth tightly as their bubble burst, showering them with sea water.
Zuko sat down, catching his breath.
"Remember, keep to the course we set," he said. "The others are supposed to draw out the main force before we arrive." Deeply inhaling the salty air, Zuko braced himself for what was to come.
Above them, the moon was already drifting into position, the foreboding shadow casting over the imminent battlefield.
A/N: The Day of Black Sun invasion begins. I won't spend much time with the main invasion force, as most of that will happen as before. What will be different is that Zuko already knows where to find the Fire Lord, and he constructed his team specifically for this mission.
And since General Fong didn't earn the enmity of the GAang this time, I decided to include him on the task force, bringing in some extra soldiers and ships. Seriously, they needed more resources to make the operation viable.
Sorry-not-sorry to any shippers who favored any Zuko-related pairings that weren't Maiko. All the same, be not disheartened; if there is anything that can be consistently expected from what I write, it's that violence and tragedy are always looming on or just beyond the horizon, and plot armor goes only so far before the Reaper comes calling.