Disclaimer: Avatar the Last Airbender is created by Michael DiMartino & Brian Konzieko and owned by Nickelodeon.
While Katara was confronting Yon Rha, Aang reached a decision.
"I'm not waiting on Zuko and Katara to come back," Aang said as they sat around the camp fire. "I need to face the Fire Lord by the time the comet comes and I need to do it alone."
"Aang, I don't think that's a good idea," Sokka responded.
"How are you going to get there?" Toph asked.
"And what about all the guards you will have to face?" Suki asked.
"It's not exactly like you've mastered earthbending," Toph added.
"Look, I know what I need to do. I can't wait for them to get back when we don't even know where they went," Aang answered. Aang grabbed his glider and took off.
The next morning, Zuko and Katara finished cleaning the house.
"I think you'd better get the others," said Katara.
"Yeah," said Zuko. "Are you going to be okay?"
"I'll be fine," said Katara.
"Okay," said Zuko. He went over to Appa.
"Come back soon," said Katara.
Zuko nodded and got on Appa and flew back to the camp.
When he got back to camp, he was surprised to see Sokka, Suki, and Toph around the fire alone.
"What's going on? Where's Aang?" Zuko asked as he got off from the bison.
"He took off," said Sokka.
"He got tired of you and Katara being gone," said Suki.
"He went off to face the Fire Lord alone," said Toph.
"I see," said Zuko, as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "We had better go after him."
"Where's Katara?" Sokka asked as he looked around for his sister.
"She's waiting for me to come with all of you," Zuko replied.
They climbed on Appa.
"So, what's the plan?" Toph asked.
They waited for Sokka to say something, but instead he turned to Zuko and everyone else did also.
"Why are you all looking at me?" Zuko asked.
"You're the expert on tracking Aang," said Suki.
Zuko pulled the reigns and Appa took off.
The trip back to the beach house was faster than when he left.
Katara was surprised when they landed.
"That was fast," Katara said. Then she noticed Aang was not with them.
"We need to head to the palace," said Zuko. "We need to be stealthy."
They wore their Fire Nation disguises. They flew on Appa at the base of the volcano where the Capital City was. They looked around and found a place for Appa and Momo to hide.
"We should probably split up and look for Aang," said Zuko.
"I call Zuko," said Toph. Everyone looked at her strangely. "What? Everyone else got to go on a life changing field trip with him." Zuko blushed out of embarrassment.
Sokka went with Suki and Katara. They walked around, but found no sign of Aang except a few wanted posters.
Meanwhile, Toph talked about her childhood as she and Zuko walked around.
After a few hours the groups met in the Harbor City.
"Judging by the looks on your faces, you haven't found him either," said Sokka. They all turned to Zuko.
"You're sure he said he was going to face the Fire Lord?" Zuko asked Sokka.
Everyone turned to Sokka who nodded.
Zuko sighed and said, "Then he should be on his way. They will probably shoot him down if he is seen."
"So what should we do now?" Toph asked.
"Aang told me you can see with your feet," said Zuko.
"Yeah," said Toph. "So?"
"Can you sense Aang around?" Zuko asked.
Toph knelt down and put both hands to the ground. She closed her eyes and focused on listening and feeling. Everyone else remained quiet and watched as Toph listened.
"What do you see?" Sokka fidgeted.
Toph responded by earthbending him into the ground and said, "I need quiet."
Sokka stopped fidgeting and quieted.
Toph focused again. This time she was able to sense Aang. He just landed. She opened her eyes and stood.
"He just landed. Come on," she said as she went to the ground where Sokka was. The others followed her. She created a tunnel and earthbent them in front of Aang.
To Be Continued...