Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender
Chapter Eight: The Silent City
Ellie sat up with a yawn and a stretch. No one else was awake yet, as the sun was only just peeking over the horizon. Already, the blonde could feel the firebending chi within her grow stronger. She rubbed at her face briefly, and then got to her feet. The fourteen-year-old wandered over to an empty space and did a few toe-touches and hot squats.
Then, she closed her eyes and assumed a firebending stance, regulating her breathing. Ellie practiced a few firebending forms, including the one that Iroh had taught her to redirect lightning. The girl took a deep breath, and then wandered back towards their camp to get started on making breakfast. Ellie knew that she would not be able to use much more firebending that day. The Avatar simply went through her exercises to clear her mind.
Not long after Ellie managed to cook a substantial breakfast, Sokka, Katara, and Toph awoke. The four sat down to eat, and Ellie glanced at where Aang was still sleeping.
"Shouldn't we wake him up?" she asked.
"Let him sleep," Sokka replied.
"Yeah, he's had enough trouble sleeping that he probably needs all that he can get," Katara muttered.
Ellie nodded and finished the rest of her food. As she got to her feet to put aside her dish, Toph did the same.
"Want to spar with me?" Ellie asked. "Just to warm up a bit?"
Toph nodded and the two walked away.
"Nothing too strenuous!" Katara called after them. "We want to keep our energy up for later!"
"Yeah, yeah," Ellie waved dismissively.
She and Toph went over to the cliffs and practiced for a little while. Then, before they could begin to feel fatigued, they rejoined the others. Then, Aang jumped up, wide awake.
"Top of the morning, Momo!" he exclaimed as he jumped up, petting Momo and then landing on the ground with a wide smile.
"Looks like something slept good," Sokka commented.
"Like a baby mooselion," Aang nodded. "I'm ready to face the Fire Lord."
"What's your plan?" Toph asked. "Gonna get on a little glow action?"
"I can't," the boy sighed in response. "When Azula shot me with lightning, my seventh chakra was blocked, cutting off my connection to all the cosmic energy in the universe."
There was a brief silence.
"You know what I just heard?" the blind girl queried. "Blah, blah, spiritual mumbo jumbo, blah, blah, something about space."
"Oh no," Katara interrupted, cutting off their conversation and looking out over the water. Ellie looked as well, and she saw a thick fog floating along the water to the west. "You don't think that fog will delay the invasion, do you?"
"No," her brother replied. "That is the invasion!"
OA
Ellie looked around at the invasion force eagerly. Like back in Ba Sing Se, she couldn't help but feel uplifted by being surrounded by people. It was nice, knowing that she and her friends weren't the only people in the world. The blonde let the hustle and bustle of the men wash over her, listening to called greetings and swift orders.
People were disembarking from their ships, and the five children were standing out on the docks to meet them. Aang pointed out a few people Ellie and Toph didn't know. Then, Katara and Sokka's dad walked up.
"You made it, dad!" Katara exclaimed as she and her brother hugged the man.
"Were you able to find everyone I asked you to?" Sokka asked.
"I did," Hakoda replied, "but I'm not sure all of these men are exactly the warrior type."
As he said this, the Water Tribe man turned and eyed a pair of men who had just unloaded a nearby ship. Ellie recognized them from their brief stay in the swamp. One was tall and thin, the other short and dumpy, and they were both dressed in nothing but leaves.
"This place ain't nothing like the swamp," the tall one exclaimed. Then, he pointed to a nearby rock, which was partly submerged in the water. "What do you reckon that is, Tho? Some sort of Fire Nation exploding trap what eat ya?"
"It's just a rock, Due," Tho muttered in reply.
"Well, I'll be," Due breathed in amazement, scratching his head curiously.
"Is it just me, or are those fellas a little loose in the leaf-hat?" Hakoda asked his son.
Overhearing their conversation as he walked by with a barrel of blasting jelly, one Water Tribe warrior muttered, "I just wish they would wear pants."
"Pants are an illusion, and so is death," replied Huu, another swampie, as he scratched his stomach.
They were interrupted by a loud bang, followed by coughing. Four people exited the boat from which the bang, and then smoke, issued. All four of their faces were covered in some dark colored sauce. Two of them, Ellie recognized—it was Pipsqueak and the Duke. They had run into them while traveling away from Ba Sing Se.
However, the girl did not know the other two, though she felt like she should. The first was a man with crazy hair, spotty eyebrows, and an apron. The other was a young boy who rode in some sort of wheelchair. As she observed them, Sokka ran forward and asked, "Was that a new invention?"
"Yes," the old man replied, "but unfortunately the incendiary capabilities of peanut sauce prove to be a failure."
"You're building peanut sauce bombs?" Sokka gaped.
Pipsqueak nodded and replied, "They're destructive!"
"And delicious!" the Duke added, licking his face.
Ellie glanced from the two strangers to Aang, who luckily noticed her lost expression.
"Ellie, this is the mechanist behind all of the invasion's inventions, and his son, Teo," Aang told her, stepping forward. "We met them months ago, before you joined our group. They were living in the Northern Air Temple." Ellie nodded gratefully at the information and waved awkwardly as he continued, "Guys, this is Ellie, another Avatar."
"Wait, there are two Avatars?" Teo asked in a tone of awe.
Ellie nodded.
"Well that makes a lot more sense!" the mechanist exclaimed jovially. "I was quite confused when Sokka asked me to make two gliders, but I didn't ask."
"You made me a new glider?" Aang asked excitedly.
"Yes," the man replied as his son handed out two gliders—one to Aang, and the other to Ellie. Ellie took the smooth instrument in her hands, feeling its light weight reverently.
"This is amazing!" Aang cried, popping open his own glider to reveal a pair of blue wings. His new glider also had hand holds and a foot rest. "Try opening yours, Ellie!"
The Avatar in question lifted her glider up, spinning it and using airbending to increase the air pressure inside the instrument. Immediately, the wings popped out, and she brought it to a halt in front of her. Then, she looked up at Aang.
"But I don't know how to fly a glider yet," she said slowly.
"I'll teach you," the monk grinned. "Don't worry."
His happiness began to infect Ellie, and she smiled back.
OA
"Today is the day of Black Sun, and I want to thank you all for your self-sacrifice, and your courage." Ellie sat between Katara and Toph, listening to Hakoda's speech. "There are two steps to the invasion—a naval stage, and then a land stage. To gain sea access to the Fire Nation capital, we have to get past our first major obstacle here," he pointed to the map. There, in front of the large gulf that led to the Caldera were two little inlets that formed a sort of natural barrier. "The Great Gates of Azulon.
"Next, we hit the land, and we hit hard." He flipped the map over to reveal one of the mountain side of the capital. "We must fight past their battlements and secure the plaza tower. Once we do that, it's up to the royal palace. At that point, the eclipse will begin—"
"Excuse me," one man interrupted. He was sitting towards the front of the Earth Kingdom men, and Ellie recognized him as the Boulder. "The Boulder is confused. Isn't the point to invade during the eclipse, when the firebenders are helpless?"
"The eclipse only lasts eight minutes," the Water Tribe man clarified. "—not enough time for a full-blown invasion. And the royal palace is heavily guarded by firebenders. That's where need the eclipse's advantage the most. When this is finished, the Avatar will have defeated the Fire Lord, we will have control over the Fire Nation capital, and this war will be over!"
Hakoda thrust his fist into the air with his last words, and people in the crowd began jumping to their feet, cheering. Ellie and Toph cheered as well in excitement. Aang and Katara joined in, and then it was time to get ready. The five teenagers walked back up to their camp. While Aang was getting dressed in his Air Nomad clothes, and no doubt shaving his head, Toph and Sokka set to work putting on Appa's armor. At the same time, Katara and Ellie went down to the water to fill their pouches.
"What do you think I should wear?" Ellie asked Katara as they began walking back. "Because…well my original element is fire, but it feels wrong to invade the Fire Nation wearing a Fire Nation robe."
Ellie lifted up the red fabric of the robe she was wearing. Katara laughed.
"Just wear another outfit," she replied. "I don't really think it matters, so long as you can fight in it."
"Okay," the blonde nodded, satisfied, as they rounded the cliffs and approached where Appa was already suited up.
Ellie went over to her bag and pulled out the gray outfit she had bought in Ba Sing Se, deciding that it would have to do. She pulled it on and admired herself. She looked like a perfect Avatar—not exactly affiliated with any one nation. She was not wearing a Fire nation robe, nor an Earth Kingdom ao dai. Instead, she was wearing an outfit of grey, trimmed with brown. It felt very…her.
"You ready?" Katara asked, walking into the clearing. Ellie nodded. "Then come on. We're ready to depart."
Ellie followed after Katara, who climbed on Appa and looked down at the blonde girl.
"Aren't you coming?" Katara asked her.
"You go on ahead," Ellie replied.
Katara shrugged and fly Appa down to the bay where the others already were. Ellie walked to the edge of the cliff, watching the people down below. Then, she spun her glider, opening it. Remembering the instructions Aang had given her only an hour before, the airbender held the glider out.
"You'll be able to feel the air under your glider, lifting it up," Aang had said. As Ellie remembered this, she did indeed feel her glider being tugged upwards, like an enormous kite that was being caught by the wind. "The wind will support you, you only need to let it lift you off the ground."
Ellie closed her eyes, tightened her hands on the glider's handle, and the let herself fall forward onto the open air below. As her feet left the ground, she pulled them up onto the bar for her feet. She dipped down momentarily, and then the wind carried her up.
Screwing up her face, Ellie increased the air speed on the top of the glider. It shot up further. Then, she lowered it and her glider began to lower as well. The airbender leaned to the left, watching as the device carrying her dipped in that direction, and then straightened it out. As she finally got the hang of the glider, she began to take it down towards the docks. Then, once she was roughly six feet from the ground, she dropped down and spun her glider closed behind her.
Aang looked up from where he had been eyeing his reflection in the water critically. His head was freshly shaved.
"That," Ellie grinned, "was awesome."
OA
"There they are," Bato said, squinting through a telescope. "The Great Gates of Azulon."
"I don't see any gates," Katara said, peering at the foggy water ahead of them. Ellie did the same, and had to agree. All she saw were two large dragon statues that sat on the water, their heads only just barely peeking above the fog. In between them was an even larger statue of a man, who stood tall and proud.
"Katara," Hakoda said. "You and the swamp benders whip up some cover."
"We'll sneak by them statues just like we sneaked by that Fire Navy blockade," Tho said fiercely.
They raised their hands, and then splayed out their fingers. Seconds later, fog appeared around the five boats. Everyone on board watched with baited breaths as the silhouettes of the dragon statues loomed nearer and nearer through the fog.
"Keep it up!" Hakoda called as soon as they could see the dragons over the fog. "We're almost through!"
Then, an alarm suddenly began going off. There was a distant clanking sound, and a rope net began raising, connecting the great statue of Azulon to the dragons. It was a makeshift fence, Ellie realized—one that could be raised at a minute's notice. The clanking stopped as the net came to a halt, fifty feet high.
Flames sparked within the dragons' mouths, and spread along the rope. Ellie's mouth fell open as she stared at the fifty-foot-high wall of fire that stood before them. As she gaped, a distant humming could be heard. The blonde girl's eyes snapped down to the water, where she could see distant forms moving through the fog.
"Everyone below deck!" Hakoda called as he too noticed the forms moving towards them. As Ellie passed, she heard him say quietly to his son, "Let's hope your invention works."
They ran below deck, all the way to the bottom of the boat. The troop came to a halt in room full of furs and bunks. There was one fur of a leopard seal on the floor beneath their feet. Bato lifted it up to reveal a hatch. He looked up at Katara.
"Ready?" he asked.
Katara settled into a waterbending stance, breathed deeply, and replied, "Ready."
Bato opened the hatch. Ellie jumped back, half expecting water to flood the cabin, before swiftly realizing that Katara was using waterbending to keep it at bay. Then, the girl pulled apart her arms and the water disappeared entirely. Directly below, she could see a metal surface and another open hatch. Katara had moved the water that had previously sat between the two open trap doors.
"Go!" Hakoda said softly, urging his men.
Without hesitating, they dropped down, one by one. After the Water Tribe men had all gone down except for Katara and Hakoda, it left only the Earthbenders and Ellie on the boat. The earthbenders all looked at each other hesitantly.
"Go on!" Ellie hissed at them, shoving a few forward. The men reluctantly dropped down. Only Toph, Katara, Ellie, and Hakoda remained. Ellie stepped forward and tried to reassure the blind girl. "It's okay, Toph. If you drop straight down, you'll be alright. There are people down there that can catch you." Toph let out a deep, shaky breath, and nodded. Then, she slowly stepped forward, and dropped through the hole. Hakoda followed suit.
"I'll need you to hold apart the water for me," Katara said to Ellie, who nodded.
The blonde girl walked over towards the hole, took a deep breath, and jumped. As she passed through the boat, her breathed hitched in with wonder. Surrounding her was what seemed like a narrow tube of water. The only air available was what connected the two trap doors, leaving only enough room for a single person to pass through. All around were fish and bubbles and other things one would expect to see underwater—and it was beautiful. Then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie landed on the floor of the second boat.
"Ready?" Katara called down to her.
"Ready!" Ellie replied after assuming her own waterbending stance. She splayed out her hands, holding apart the water. Seconds later, Katara dropped down, Hakoda snapped the door shut, spinning a wheel to secure it, and Ellie released the water.
"All persons accounted for!" Hakoda called, making his way towards the front of the craft. "We are a go."
Ellie followed curiously and saw the mechanist flip a switch on the front panel of the sub. A pale, green light came on. Then, another light came on, and another, and another, until the number reached five. With that, the mechanist pulled a lever, began twisting some knob, and called, "We're a go!" A few waterbenders (including Katara) moved into their positions, began to waterbend, and the subs began to move.
"You've really outdone yourself this time, son," Hakoda grinned, clapping Sokka on the back.
"Yeah," mumbled Toph behind them. They all turned to see her sitting on the floor next to the Duke, clutching her head. "Congratulations, Sokka, you've managed to invent a worse way of travel than flying."
At this, she gagged and clutched her stomach.
"Helmet?" the Duke asked, offering her his helmet.
Gladly, she took it and began retching.
"Well, I just came up with the idea," Sokka said, turning back to the front glass. "The mechanist did all of the work."
"Now, don't sell yourself short, young man," the mechanist replied. "It was your idea to use waterbending to make the subs sink and float. Brilliant! Though, your original plans were a bit difficult to decipher." He held up a drawing of what looking like two people standing inside a whale. "Unfortunately, there was one problem I couldn't fix. The subs have a limited air supply. Before we land on the beaches, we'll need to resurface."
OA
When the subs resurfaced, most of the inhabitants of the subs climbed up the ladder to the hatch to get some fresh air in small groups. The Duke rinsed out his helmet, men stretched, and others took in deep gulps of fresh air. When Katara, Ellie, Sokka, and Toph went up to the surface, Aang flew over from atop Appa on his glider, landing before them.
"So this is it, huh?" he asked.
"Are you ready for the Fire Nation to know the Avatar's alive?" Sokka asked with a smile.
Aang's eyes narrowed in determination. "I'm ready," he replied.
He and Sokka briefly shook hands, before Aang moved in to hug the older boy. Katara, Toph, and Ellie joined the hug with smiles.
"I hope you two kick some serious Fire Lord butt," Toph grinned.
"Me too, Toph," Ellie agreed. "Me too."
Then, they all broke apart as Hakoda's voice called out, "Everyone listen up!" The turned to see that he had just emerged from the hatch with Bato. "The next time we resurface, it'll be on the beaches. So, stay alert and fight smart! Now break time's over. Back in the subs!"
And with that, Hakoda and Bato disappeared within the sub once more. Knowing that Aang and Katara would probably want a moment alone, Ellie followed Sokka and Toph back towards the hatch. They waited as a few earthbenders and Pipsqueak descended before them. Then, the three teens looked at each other.
"Good luck, Ellie," Sokka said sincerely.
"You too," she nodded. Then, she turned to Toph. "No matter what happens today, I want you both to know that I've come to think of you all as family. When I came here to the past, I was lonely and I missed my family a lot, and you've all been so welcoming…and…well…I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you."
They both nodded, and Ellie watched them descend the ladder. Then, she turned back to Aang, who was locked in an embrace with Katara, kissing her. Ellie cleared her throat. The two children jumped apart.
"Ready to go?" she asked Aang softly.
"Yeah," he nodded, rubbing his head.
Ellie opened her glider, and he did the same. Then, they both took off into the air.
OA
Zuko pulled out his hair piece, letting his dark locks fall down around his head freely. Then, he took off his upper body armor and set it on his bed. Then, he put on his traveling over robe. As he did so, he glanced at a portrait of his mother, which sat on his bedside table.
"I know I've made some bad choices, but today," he said, "I'm going to make things right."
The boy walked back over to his bed and picked up his dao swords and the rucksack he had packed. Pulling his hood over his head, the boy made his way out of the palace. He joined the crowds as they walked towards the bunkers, which had been designed to protect them in cases where they wouldn't be able to protect themselves (such as a solar eclipse).
The rest of the royal family, and his father's highest dignitaries, had already gone down—the first to have been evacuated. Since Zuko was planning to leave during the invasion, it had taken him longer to get ready. But Zuko didn't mind. In fact, he preferred to walk among those who hardly knew him, so he could set his mind straight.
OA
"Everyone in position!" Hakoda called, turning from the periscope he had been looking into. "Earthbenders, get into your tanks. This is gonna be a rough ride."
Above the surface, men were posted all along the man-made canal that regulated traffic into the capital. The doors of the canal were closed, and would hold strong through most attack. As five shadows could be seen below the surface of the water, one man hit an alarm. Then, the men at the posts began shooting metal chains down into the water in hopes to damage some of the submerged ships.
One of the ships was punctured, and a waterbender changed the water that poured in to ice to prevent the sub from sinking. Unfortunately, this gave the chain the ability to drag the ship. The firebenders began retracting the chain—pulling the sub out of the water. Hurriedly, Katara steered Appa over, and broke the chain that was hauling the sub. Instantly, the sub was dropped back into the water.
As the subs neared the wall, Hakoda called, "Ready the torpedo!" He looked out the periscope again. In the wall were three metal grates that allowed water to filter in the bay. The Water Tribe man watched as they grew nearer, his hand held aloft as a signal to stay in position. Then, he commanded, "Fire!" Each of the front three boats launched two torpedoes, blasting away the metal grates that barred their way. The subs passed through them, heading for the beaches of the Fire Nation capital.
As they reached the shallow water, the boats surfaced. Instantly, the Fire Nation began raining fire on them. The a pair of mechanical doors opened at the of the subs, and the earthbender tanks rolled forth. They were long, metallic, and had an Earth Kingdom symbol at the front. Each one had six little wheels that propelled two continuous treads—one for each side of the craft. The doorway was cleared by these metal caterpillars, and the warriors behind them ran out with a cry.
With that, the force moved forward. People ran in between the five tanks, and there were carts that rode before and behind them. Half of the carts carried barrels of water, while the other half had chunks of earth. As they moved, the carts dropped pieces of earth one by one, which the earthbenders shot at the post towers. The post towers—or battlements—were situated all along the mountain walls on either side of them.
As Katara landed Appa behind the main force and leapt to the ground, little fire tanks came out of a nearby doorway, leaving no haste in shooting at the soldiers before them. Luckily, the earth tanks were sturdily built. The metal withstood fire blasts with ease as they advanced, rolling right over the fire tanks and crushing them. One earth tanks even rolled on top of a fire post that was on the ground before them, and the six people inside the tank used earthbending to crush the tower.
At the back of the force, the swampies bent water out of nearby barrels, combating two fire tanks at once. As Due and Tho blasted one into the water, Tho shouted, "We're a man down! Where in tarnation is Huu?"
As if summoned, a shadow appeared in the water, followed by an enormous shape. It was a mass of seaweed that rose out of the water—the swamp monster, complete with a giant pair of arms and a little wooden face mask. As firebenders began blasting at it, it grabbed them with tendrils of seaweed and threw the tanks into the water behind it, or towards the Fire Nation's own troops. One tank even hit a post tower up on the mountain wall.
"Hey, Huu! Where you been?" Due asked jovially.
A human face appeared within the vines, and Huu replied, "Communing with nature. It takes a while to collect this much seaweed."
It was then that the Fire Nation released the rhinos. The men that rode them generally brought up the rear of the force—they weren't benders, so they were forced to rely solely on their spears and the brute force of the beasts they rode. Typically, they emerged after a battalion of firebenders and tanks. Seeing them, the Water Tribe warriors ran over, their shield held before them.
One rhino broke off from the arrow formation that the men had formed, heading for the end of the other men's line. Seeing this, Sokka broke off from his own line, bringing out his sword and holding it at the ready. As the Fire Nation spearman raised his weapon, Sokka leapt up onto the rhino's horn, slicing the spear in an underhand thrust. Then, he jumped into the saddle, shoving the other man off of the rhino in one swift motion.
Sokka took a second to survey the immediate scene. Fire Nation foot soldiers had joined the fray, shooting blasts of fire at the Water Tribe men while they fought spear to spear. Sokka's eyes caught on a spearman sneaking up on Hakoda, who was warding off a fire blast with his shield.
"Dad, look out!" the boy cried.
The man turned, dodged a jab of the Fire Nation man's spear, parried, grabbed the other man's spear, and wrenched it towards him. The other man, thrown off balance, fell to the ground, relinquishing his grip on his spear. Then, Hakoda turned to the firebender, his two spears held aloft.
The firebender shot, Hakoda dodged once more, and he swiped his right spear under the man's legs, bringing him down. Sokka urged his rhino towards his father as the man turned and threw both spears at two firebenders who shot at him, spearing them in the chest. Sokka held out a hand, and pulled Hakoda onto the back of the rhino.
As they rode, occasionally swinging at footmen that ran their way, they could survey the entire scene more closely. As the people on foot fought, earth carts were being taken out—as were tanks, and even Huu. The battlements that were posted along the mountain walls had too great an advantage.
"Sokka," Hakoda said, looking around. "We've got to take out those battlements. It's our only chance."
Sokka turned and looked at the towers posted above, his eyes narrowing and his eyebrows drawing down.
"I've got an idea," he said.
OA
Flying aboard Appa with his sister and his father, Sokka gripped one of Appa's horns in one hand and drew his sword with the other. The boy leaned away from the bison just in time to bring his sword down and slice the harpoon off of the battlement. As they flew past a second tower, Hakoda lit a few bombs, tossing them through the open window at the front of the battlement. Seconds later, it exploded.
Then, they flew across to the other side of the gully, towards the other three battlements. Katara bent water out of barrels that were strapped to either side of Appa's armor, freezing the firebenders inside the first battlement. Then, she brought Appa down and landed him between the last two towers.
"You two take out that battlement," Hakoda ordered, pointing to the second one. "I've got this one." As he began running towards it, he added, "Watch each other's backs."
The teenagers ran off. Sokka had his sword unsheathed and Katara had water at the ready, slung across her shoulders and down her arms. Sokka moved ahead, slicing the door open with his sword. Before the firebenders inside could move, Katara froze them in place with some of her water. Then, Sokka ran up the stairs to the harpoon, slicing it in two.
Their hearts still in their mouths from the fight, they ran out of the tower. Sliding along the roof of the last battlement was their father. Silently, he dropped in through the open window. There were several shouts, the sound of weapons clashing, and then a bang as fire flooded through the window. Then, Hakoda exited a smoking doorway at the bottom of the battlement. He walked forward laboredly, and then slumped to the ground with his eyes clenched in pain.
"Dad!" the two children exclaimed.
They ran forward, kneeling beside him. Katara checked his pulse to make sure he was still alive.
"Help me move him," she suddenly said to her brother. "I can't heal him here—not with that battlement still there."
Sokka grabbed his father's legs while Katara used water to lift up his front, not wanting to irritate the injury on his chest. Together, they managed to get him onto Appa. Sokka jumped onto the bison's head and nudged him with his knees, slapping the reigns and crying, "Yip, yip!" The teenagers brought Appa down to the gully below, landing him on the ground near a wall. Already, the fighting had moved further towards the gates and away from the shore. They got their dad off of the bison, laying him gently on the ground. Then, Katara pulled out some water and pressed it onto his lower ribcage.
Hakoda let out a groan, and his eyes slid open.
"How does that feel, Dad?" the waterbender asked.
"A little—better," he grunted, attempting to sit up. "I need to get back to the troops—"
He let out another little cry of pain, and Katara pushed him back down.
"You're hurt—badly," the girl told him. "You can't fight anymore."
"Everyone's counting on me to lead this mission," he winced. "I won't let them down."
Again, he tried to get up, and fell back to the ground with a groan. Katara and Sokka exchanged worried glances. If Hakoda insisted on getting up, he would expend a great deal more of his much needed energy than he could afford to lose.
"Can't you heal him any faster?" Sokka asked.
"I'm doing everything I can!" he sister bit back, placing the water back on their father's wound.
The teenage boy looked down at their father, his eyes holding conflicting feelings. Then, he looked back up at his sister.
"I'll do it," he said firmly.
"No offense, Sokka, but you're not exactly 'Mr. Healing Hands,'" she retorted.
"No," he dissented, getting to his feet and clutching his helmet to his side. "I'll lead the invasion force."
"Don't be crazy!" Katara argued.
"Maybe I am a little crazy," Sokka admitted, "but the eclipse is about to start, and we need to be up that volcano by the time it happens!"
"You can do this," Hakoda reassured his son, no longer attempting to ward off his daughter's healing hands. "I'm proud of you, son."
"I still think you're crazy," Katara muttered. "But I'm proud of you too."
Sokka smiled. Then, his face grew serious as he replaced his wolf helmet on his head. The boy climbed back up onto Appa's head, sitting at the golden arrow he had made as a sort of saddle for the driver, and stated once more, "Yip, yip." Sokka flew the bison over to where the battle was still raging. As he landed, Appa knocked over a fire tank, sending it flying.
Then Sokka scrambled to the back of the saddle and shouted to the others, "Everyone listen up! I want the tanks in wedge formation! Warriors and benders in the middle!" he waited for them to do as he said. The five earth tanks formed a wedge, and the footmen all assembled in the middle. Once they had done as ordered, Sokka climbed back up onto Appa's head and cried, "Charge!"
They began moving forward, and, as it turned out, having the tanks go ahead of the footmen was a pure stroke of genius. The firebenders couldn't penetrate through their defenses. Burning through metal took a lot of skill, time, and concentration—all things that were unavailable as the tanks kept pressing forward. All the firebenders could do was to shoot out blasts of fire and then move back before they could get crushed. The nonbenders were even worse off, not being able to get close enough to the tanks without getting crushed as well.
Neglecting the large gates, the invading troops headed for the walls that separated the caldera from the beaches. Sokka rode a cart forward, ahead of the group. Instead of carrying water or earth, however, this cart was full of blasting jelly. As it neared the wall, Sokka jumped off the back and watched as the barrels impacted the wall, sending out a shower of sparks and smoke. After that, he ran over and hopped onto Appa once more. Then, once the smoke cleared, they charged forward with war cries.
"The Fire Nation are falling back!" Haru's father shouted triumphantly.
The men all ran forward eagerly. One man stayed behind for the briefest of seconds. As Appa landed next to him, Bato cried, "Sokka, we're on our way to victory!" With that, he ran to join the others. Sokka lifted his battle hardened face, looking ahead of the gates to the volcanic mountain that stretched before them.
OA
Ellie saw Aang land on rooftop, and made her way to do the same. As she jumped down beside him, her hair whipped around in the wind, and Aang looked at her.
"What's wrong with this picture?" he whispered, his quiet voice seeming to echo about the city.
Ellie glanced around at the empty streets and abandoned shops.
"It's…quiet?" she responded, her eyes narrowing in confusion.
"Exactly," the airbender responded. "Where do you think the palace is?"
"Center of the city, probably," she shrugged. Aang nodded, and they both took off on their gliders once more. As they got further into the city, the two children could see the palace. They dropped down and began running.
Ellie's breath seemed loud and ragged in her ears as she panted, running through the empty city. Then, her heart leapt up into her mouth as Aang kicked open the doors to the palace and cried, "The Avatar is back!" Then, both of their hardened faces slacked as they realized the palace, too, was empty. The torches were not lit, leaving the palace in the dark. As they walked forward, glancing around furtively, their footsteps echoed off the smooth floors. Ellie's pulse did not slow any and she could hear her breath hitch with every pump of her heart.
Aang walked forward, looking at a large painting of Fire Lord Sozin, and called out, "Hello? Is anyone home?"
Ellie closed her eyes. It just hit her that she was standing in Zuko's home—the place he had tried for three years to return to. Ellie looked around as though she was seeing it with a new pair of eyes. It was grand, sure, but it didn't seem that great. It didn't seem very…homey.
They wandered for a while, mostly in silence, until they found the throne wall. Aang looked to Ellie questioningly, and she nodded. He rubbed his hands on his pants, and then took a deep breath. The blonde girl did the same. Then, they met eyes, and Aang pushed the curtain to the side. Using airbending, the boy pushed both of them forward to the center of the room. Ahead, the throne sat—empty. The room was dark. Absent were the flames that flickered along the dais whenever a ruler sat upon it.
"No!" Aang cried, dropping his staff. "No, no, no! Fire Lord Ozai—where are you?"
I don't know how many people are going to be on fanfiction today, but I just had to post the eclipse episode on the day of the eclipse. Will be posting part two shortly. Hope you enjoyed! I'll also let you know, that a few things will be different from cannon in this next one. Happy Eclipse Day!
~LittleMissMycroft