The next few days were spent simply trying to reach the rendezvous point for the Fire Nation invasion party. When we got there it was a quaint little island naturally populated by koala sheep with steep cliffs and a rocky-ish shoreline.

"How did you pick this place?"

"Before we split up, my dad and I found this island on a map. It's uninhabited and its secluded cliffs made it seem like the perfect place."

"It doesn't look so bad." Brenan plopped down his sleeping bag.

"And we're four days ahead." I sat down on the ground. "I think we did pretty good."

"Wait! FOUR DAYS?!" Aang sprung high in the air, coming back down with radiant nervous energy. "THE INVASION IS IN FOUR DAYS?!"

Sokka yawned- not picking up on Aang's sudden distress. "Whatever… that's like four days from now. Let's just calm down and-"

He fell right asleep- not bothering to stay awake long enough to finish his sentence.

"Sokka's got the right idea Aang." Katara looked over to the Avatar. "We're here- we're ready- the best thing we can do now is to get plenty on rest."

He took his own moment to breath a little before a glanced at all of us already on the ground, calming ourselves down to sleep for the night. "Ok... I guess."

He then got onto the ground himself and closed his eyes. I looked at him for a little more time- watching him in case he sprung up again but he didn't. The soft sounds coming from the koala sheep lulled me to sleep.

You know what woke me up? Aang continuously punching a tree. I rubbed my eyes. "Come on- what did the tree do to you Aang?"

No response.

Automatically we all turned our gaze to Katara who (knowing the drill) stood up and went to greet the boy, and maybe bring him out of his funk. "Hey-" She said. "-how long have you been up?"

"A couple hours." He barked. "I have a lot more skills to refine if I'm going to fight Ozai."

"You know, there is such a thing as over training."

"Brittany, what do you want to eat?" Brenan poked my shoulder as he looked through our food bag.

"Do we still have good fruit?" I turned my attention to him.

"You don't get it do you?!" Aang snapped. "My form is bad, my moves are sloppy and I still don't know any fire bending. Not even the basic!"

"That's ok Aang." Sokka spoke up from his spot on the ground.

"There's some mango." Brenan held one out for me to eat. I nodded and bit into it happily.

"The eclipse would block off fire bending anyway." Sokka continued. "You don't need to know it. Plus it's stupid element."

Brenan visibly bit his cheek in response.

"Ok… well I still have to work on everything else!" Aang continued flailing his arms around. "I better spend the whole day training." The boy quickly bowed to all of us and then airbended away (and far away) from the group.

That turned out to be day one of the nightmares.

"SOKKA WAKE UP! I NEED TO KNOW WHAT IT IS!"

"What? Who's talking?... OW!"

I sleepily looked up from my sleeping spot and spotted Aang over Sokka who had his sword out. I sighed and simply turned to other way. "I refuse to deal with this right now."

"Relax it's still two days before the invasion." Toph sat up, as did everyone else.

"Sokka you have to get up and do your rock climbing exercises!" Aang fretted around the older boy.

"What?"

"In my dream you were running from Fire Nation soldiers, trying to climb the cliffs! But you were too slow and they got you!"

"Why are you yelling?" Brenan groaned. "We're all right here."

"That was just a dream." Sokka rolled his eyes- standing up to challenge Aang in his accusation. "I'm a great climber."

"THEN CLIMB THAT CLIFF! CLIMB IT FAST!"

Sokka then begrudgingly started for the cliff Aang pointed to as we passed around the morning water skin. Toph had it before I did usually so while I waited for my turn- I watched Sokka climb. He was actually doing a pretty good job.

Aang turned to us and blanched. "DON'T DRINK THAT!"

Sokka fell.

Toph instantly spat the water all over me. "Why? Is it poison?!"

I water bended it off and threw it to the grass. "That was uncalled for Toph."

"In my dream we were right in the middle of the invasion." Aang started again. "And you had to stop to use the bathroom. We died because of your tiny bladder. And you need to start wearing your hair up." He turned to Katara now. "In my dream you got stuck in a train and-"

"Aang." Katara covered his mouth with her hand. "I know you're just trying to help but you really need to get a grip. You're unraveling."

He took a deep breath. "You're right- I'm losing my mind."

I watched Sokka fall from the cliff for the third time. "Maybe talking about it would help?"

"Ok… where do I start?"

Brenan shrugged. "You stressed?"

"Absolutely! It's like everytime I think about how stressed I am, I just get more stressed." Aang now started pacing as we all sat down a little ways away. "I'm like a growing ball of nerves."

"Of course you are." Sokka gav e a gave me his hands to heal from climbing that dang rock. "You're going up against the Fire Lord- the biggest, baddest guy on the planet and you better win or we're all done for."

"Dude!" Brenan whacked the older boy upside the head. "You're not helping!"

"Well it's true. That's the deal- he knows it."

I pushed him away from me. "Aang needs a clear head to do it- don't tease him like that!"

"I've got an idea- prepare to be destressified." Katara grinned and ushered Aang to follow her.

Sokka then started to work on Appa's armour and was half way done with it when Katara and Aang came back- not looking any better. "He may need to talk it out for real."

"I got it." Sokka dropped his work and took Aang in the opposite direction that Katara did.

They came back with a similar outcome from before.

Toph rolled her eyes. "Ok- are we all trying something?"

Aang shrugged.

"I've got just the thing Twinkle Toes- follow me."

Off they went.

"Maybe he just needs actual sleep but can't because of his nightmares." I put my head in my hands, looking at the other three. "Adam used to tell me that dreams are usually about things that happened in your day or about the last things you think about. So if we keep him distracted maybe that would work."

"We'll try that later today then- we'll all talk about anything but the invasion." Katara smiled at me. "We don't have much to lose in trying all that we can think of- something has to work!"

Aang suddenly came running back.

"No go?" Brenan looked at the cowering boy- covered from head to toe in red splotches. Aang shook his head. "Back pounding hurts."

"I have something that might work." Brenan stood up and gestured Aang to follow. "It's not gonna hurt like Toph's idea...promise."

"Ok…"

"Poor Aang." I sighed. "This might work though."

Everyone else took turns to try and keep the airbender busy throughout the day or at least distracted from the day. When nightfall finally came around, we let Aang be none the wiser and got ready for bed. Aang didn't seem to be in a batter mood though. "Thanks for everything guys."

"So- do you feel less stressed?" Katara smiled at him. "Ready for a good night's sleep?"

"Ah.. I kind of, maybe, sort of, might slightly feel a little better...maybe."

"Then our work here is done." Sokka stretched his arms out and laid back on the ground. I moved my sleeping bag ever so slightly closer to Aang and got on top of it. Everyone else followed suit soon after, leaving us all to just our thoughts for the night.

"A dream is a wish your heart makes… when you're fast asleep..." I sang quietly, barely whispering but enough that I knew Aang could hear me. "In dreams you will lose your heartache… whatever you wish for you keep."

I closed my eyes and made myself ever so quiet, following asleep myself in the process. "No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing… your dreams that you wished for will come...true."

Aang then woke up all up screaming bloody murder. I looked at him from where I was- he had somehow moved farther away in his sleep and frowned. 'When did I fall asleep?'

"What is it Aang?" Katara ran to him, closely followed by the rest of us.

The sky looked to be turning lighter- a small string of light seen on the horizon. 'At least he slept for a little longer.'

"It's the nightmares. They just get worse and worse…" Aang ran his hands through his hair- borderline tearing it out.

"Looks like it's time for another therapy session." Sokka pulled out his fake facial hair.

"NO! That won't help! Nothing helps! There's only one thing I can do- I'm going to stay awake straight through the invasion!" He declared- instantly shivering at the idea.

"You'll only hurt yourself though… Aang- is this-" I cut Brenan off. "Let him- he'll shut down eventually and feel a lot better."

"We should all try to get some sleep." Sokka put his hands on Brenan's and my shoulders- pushing us away. "Back to bed- back to bed!"

"If you say so..."

When morning broke out- Aang had lost his mind. He continuously tried to fight a tree stump that he had placed his Ozai noodle art onto. The boy kept missing though- hitting every other place but the tree stump. "That's a lot better- I'm so tired that I thought you talking to me."

I looked at him from around the tree. Momo chattered his response to which Aang actually replied. "Oh Momo, let me explain. Brun buu buu- Brium bbu bbu."

'Oh my Notch- he needs sleep. The invasion is tomorrow!' I snuck a quick glance at my teammates to see if anyone had any plan of action but they looked just as confused and clueless. Aang was none the wiser. "Aang…" Brenan cut the boy's conversation off. "... we're all starting to worry about you for real this time."

"You've been awake for too long." Sokka said.

Toph tilted her head. "And you're acting downright weird!"

"You've got to take care of yourself Aang- you can't go on like this." Katara once again stepped toward the boy.

"Look I appreciate what you guys are saying-" Aang stepped away from her. "-but with the stress and the nightmares- they were just too much. Staying awake is the best way for me to deal with it."

Momo then chattered something and Appa growled in response.

"Guys- no- come on! Sokka what do we do?"

"About what?"

"About that!" Aang looked panicked. We watched as he slowly panicked about his surroundings- watching the ground. The rest of us slowly backed away. The Avatar screamed. "I just need ot jump in a cold waterfall!"

Then he ran off.

I bit my lip and looked at the older kids. "Should we go after him?"

"I will. You guys continue to prepare for the invasion." Brenan took a few steps in the direction Aang had gone. "I'll make sure he doesn't get himself killed- I'll be back!"

"Ok…"

"I know let's make him a bed!" Katara cried out. "Brittany, help me get the covering from the koala sheep, Toph can make the base."

"Sounds good to me." The earthbender said. I nodded in my agreement and we got to work. By the time we had finished, it was dark and the night fog rolled in. Sooner than later, Aang walked through with Brenan close behind him and examined our work. "Oh look- another hallucination! An imaginary bed made out of clouds!"

"Hey- it's real!" Toph cried out. "We spent hours working on it."

"We made it for you- a good night's sleep to take the crazy away." I grinned.

"Look- you guys keep telling me I need to sleep but I can't!" Aang jumped off the bed and snarled at us. "The invasion's tomorrow!"

"Aang-"

"No Katara!" He snapped. "There's still so much I haven't learned! I don't need sleep! What I need is practice! Quick! Hit me!"

He wobbled.

"I'm not going to hit you." She sighed.

Toph raised an eyebrow. "You want to do it?"

Soka tapped her arm in a gentle reprimand.

"Listen to me Aang-" The older girl started. "-you've been training for this since the day we've met. I've seen your progress. You're smart, brave and strong enough."

"You really think so?"

Brenan grinned. "We all do. You can do do this. You're ready!"

"You're the man Twinkle Toes."

"I believe in you Aang."

"And we're behind you every step of the way."

He smiled and yawned. "Thanks guys."

With very gentle guiding, the boy was lead onto the bed and laid down onto it. "You know what?" He said. "I think I am ready."

Then he fell asleep.

Quickly we all followed suit and anticipated the day to come. The following morning when we waited for our troops to arrive- we all changed back into our normal clothes and looked over the Fire NAtion maps. Aang was expectantly the last of us to wake up. "Top of morning Momo!"

"Someone slept well." Katara grinned.

"Like a baby moose lion." Aang grinned back. "I'm ready to face the Fire Lord."

"So- what's your plan?" Brenan leaned backwards on the grass. Toph followed suit. "You gonna glow up and hit him with a little Avatar State action?"

"I can't." Aang deflated. "When Azula hit me with her lightning- my seventh chakra was blocked- cutting off my connection to all the cosmic energy in the universe."

"You know what I just heard?" Toph pouted. "Blah blah blah spirit mumbo jumbo blah blah something about space."

"He just can't reach it." I shrugged. "Like someone locked the door on him and he can't find the key."

"Thanks Brittany." Aang smiled at me. I smiled back.

"Oh no. Do you think the fog will delay the invasion?" Katara pulled our attention to open waters.

"No." Sokka stood up- beckoning us to come closer. "Look- that is the invasion."

"Let's go see them!" Brenan shot off of the ground and pulled me along- the others following suit as the boats grew closer. Toph, Aang and I earth bended bridges for the boats to dock on. Katara and Sokka gunning for their father the second he got off of the boat. More people we recognized got off of the boats and onto dry land- like Hugh and the swamp rednecks- and others I know I didn't recognize.

"Hello Katara."

"Haru!" Katara ran towards a young man and hugged him. "It's so good to see you!"

"Toph- Brittany- this is Haru." Aang walked us forward. "When we met him, his town was controlled by the Fire Nation- so we had to hide his earthbending."

"Katara inspired me and my father to take back our village." And older man walked up behind them as Katara's face flushed slightly. "You helped us find our courage Katara- now we're here to help you."

I grinned. "I have questions Katara- you've been holding out on some stories."

"It wasn't that big-"

"I'll ask you then but later." I grinned at Haru. "She downplays a lot of the cool stuff she does- I bet his is a good one."

"It is."

"Hippo happy to see BLind Bandit!" I looked over my shoulder to see Toph high in the air by her past competitors in the arena we first met her in. She was unimpressed. "You guys here for a rematch!?"

"Negatory- The Boulder and The Hippo no longer fight for others entertainment." 'Oh no it's here again.' "Now we fight for our kingdom!"

Topg grinned. "Sweet."

Suddenly an explosion happened on one of the ship- sending a good member of us running towards it to see what the commotion was about. Under the deck emerged an older man with a monocle and spiked hair, parted in the back (as he was balding in the front), coughing up a storm as the smoke cleared around him. A boy in a wheelchair got off of the ship in response- licking some orange gunk off of his head. Sokka seemed more concerned over what caused the explosion than the new two characters. "Was that a new invasion?"

"Yes-" The older man walked toward us. "- unfortunately the incendiary capabilities of peanut sauce proved to be a failure."

Brenan nearly snorted. "You're making peanut sauce bombs?"

"They're destructive-"

"-and delicious!"

So Pipsqeak and Naduke were here too.

"Were you able to complete the work for the plans I sent you?" Sokka nervously wringed his hands together.

The man smiled. "Yes I was- and I think the Fire Nation will be quite surprised!"

"Hey Teo-" Brenan pulled me up to the boy in the wheelchair. "-this is my long lost sister Brittany. Brittany this is Teo- he and his dad lived in one of the Air Temples that we visited."

'He looks like Kai but he's definitely cuter.' I thought blushing ever so slightly "Hello."

"Hi...you're cute." He blurted- instantly going red. "Uh- I mean- I'm sorry- it's nice to meet you."

He was blushing something fierce- now avoiding eye contact with the two of us as Brenan looked little put off. I giggled. "It's nice to meet you too."

"Umm...Aang- Brenan- my dad and I made these for you." He held up two staffs for the airbenders. Brenan stared at it in shock as Aang ran over and took it excitedly. Immediately it opened for Aang- showing a dazzling blue glider- complete with hand holders and foot holds. "A new glider!"

"I get my own?" Brenan opened up his up. It revealed the same design but a nice green instead of blue. "This is the best! Thank you so much!"

"As a special feature- I added a snack compartment." The mechanic winked- twisting a hand hold for the nuts to fall through and into his mouth.

"Oh...uh- I'm sure that'll come in handy." Aang said.

"Aang! Show me how to use this thing!" Brenan ran to our friend with his glider and within seconds the two of them were in the sky tasting their new toys. I felt my smile grow wider watching the two of them enjoy themselves- enjoying the moment vicariously through them. Someone coughed.

"Sorry about earlier." Teo said- still blushing ever so slightly. "Um- so… you're Brenan's sister? I don't think he mentioned you first met."

"Yeah-" I tore my eyes away from the paper birds. "- we were separated since we were very little and I'm sure we each though the other was gone forever. But why are you in a wheelchair?"

"I can't walk." He deadpanned. He seemed to think a bit more on what else to say but it was a good enough answer for me. "Ok."

"Oh… ok- yeah."

"Does your dad invent things then? Like the gliders? Sokka said something about sending some plans to him." I walked at the pace he rolled as we joined the rest of the people on shore.

"Yeah, my dad's pretty cool. He's the one who designed my chair. Since Aang helped us out last time- we thought it would be nice to make something for him. We couldn't think of what to do until Sokka actually sent us the plans...with a little while course."

"Well thank you for making one for Brenan too." I smiled. "He's wanted one for awhile now."

"It was no trouble really."

"Ok troops, time to go over the battle plan!" Hakota called out to the men.

"Brittany come here!" Katara called over to me- waving me over to sit with our group.

"Coming!"

"Wait!" Teo grabbed onto my shirt. "We'll see each other again, right?"

"Definitely." I nodded, gently pulling my shirt away from his grip. "I like you- we'll talk more."

"Ok cool. Sure. "He grinned- watching me as I walked towards my group of friends. We sat in front of the men, next to Hakota and Sokka, as we waited for Sokka to address the people and tell them his plan.

"Don't worry." Hakota put a supporting hand on his son's shoulder. "You'll do great."

Taking a deep breath, Sokka stood up and went to the stage we had made. "Good morning everyone- eh!"

He tripped.

I smacked Brenan lightly as he tried to hide his snickers and pitied the boy. Sokka awkwardly got back up and continued talking. "So- uh- as you know, today we are invading the Fire Nation! I mean- I know you know that 'cause otherwise why would you be here? Haha… anyway! The Fire Lord's palace is here."

He put up the wrong paper.

'Oh Sokka… you must be so nervous.' I looked away, placing my head in my hands.

"OH wait no- it's here, no -it's here...this is palace! And there's an eclipse today! And Aang's gonna fight the Fire Lord! And the fire benders won't have any fire bending to use! So- that's good for us and uhhh…. I'm sorry let me start at the beginning. Brenan ran into our village and looked pretty beat up so we decided to help only find our that he was airbender but didn't know how to use it. While the people were dealing with him, Katara and I went on a fishing trip and found Aang in an iceberg and I didn't like Aang at first but I-"

"He's sinking." I whispered my to my friends. "Should we stop him?"

"I didn't think he would mean the beginning beginning." Katara stared in awe.

Hakota sighed and walked up to the platform, putting a hand on Sokka's shoulder- shutting him up. "Thank you Sokka- it's okay."

Sokka nodded a little and walked off the stage a little defected- taking his spot where Hakota once was. "Let me just clarify a few points for everyone." The Chief started by saying. "Today is the Day of Black Sun. And I want to thank you all for your self sacrifice and your courage. There's two steps to the invasion. Enable stage and then a land stage. To gain sea access to the Fire Nation capital, we have to get past out first major obstacle- here. The Great Gates of Azulon. Next we hit the land- we hit hard. We must fight past their battlemounds 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- The Boulder is confused."

'HOW?!' I looked to my lap to hide my face. 'HOW ARE YOU CONFUSED?!'

"Isn't the point to invade during the eclipse? When the fire benders are powerless?"

"The eclipse only last eight minutes." Hakota answered. "Not enough time for the whole invasion and the royal palace is heavily guarded by firebenders- so that's where we'll need the eclipse's advantage the most. When this is finished- the Avatar would have defeated the Fire Lord. We will have control over the Fire Nation capital and this war will be over!"

The men in front of us cheered.

I looked to the Water Tribe kids next to us. "Your dad's actually kind of cool."

"Yeah- he is." Sokka looked ahead of himself- not cheering like the rest of us.

"You did god- don't worry about it." I said. "So you flopped… but you tried and it could have gone a lot worse considering it was your first time."

Sokka ruffled my hair but made no further comment.

The next hour was spent getting ready- armoring up and steadying our nerves- loading onto the boats for our departure and looking for Sokka who seemed to have disappeared. When the boy arrived with Aang- he was still looking a little down but we set the course and traveled onward. We sailed for ten minutes before reaching the gates. Hakota got the swamp dwellers, Katara and me to whip up another fog cover to get past.

They seemed to have still noticed us and as we continued to get closer the gates rose up and caught fire- blocking our way into the borders. On the sidelines, more motorists entered into the water like those from the fishing town. Without much time to lose- all of us were ushered under the deck and through a hidden hatch at the bottom of the ship. From there we entered into the submarines Sokka designed and went under the gates. While our friends talked and Toph vomited- Brenan and I looked through the windows and at the passing waterlife.

When a few minutes passed, I switched places with one of the swamp benders and waterbended the ship through the water (since that was how they moved). "Hey Brittany-" Katara nodded in my direction. "-bet you've never seen one of these before."

"Actually we have a lot of these back home but they don't need waterbenders to move." I answered- ignoring my slight headache. "Don't ask how- I'm not sure- I just know that they do."

"Oh."

"I've never been in one though- so I'm sure that this is a simpler design anyway." I shrugged.

"Wait- are there waterbender where you're from?"

"Up- up! We're running low on air! We must resurface!" The mechanist called out to us.

We collectively nodded and worked to lift the sub. I looked back at Katara when we were safe. "I've never met another bender of anything back home- I think we're the only ones."

"Like me then…not counting Hama." She suddenly looked very sad but I couldn't tell why. Maybe it was Hama's memory that still pops up in our nightmares- maybe it was the loneliness that comes with being the only one- maybe it was just sympathy. Ignoring the look on her face I smiled and hugged her arm to my chest. "I told you I was adopted- don't feel too bad. Go get some fresh air."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely."

She smiled a bit in return. "Only if you come with me."

I grinned and followed the older girl up and out- the rest of my friends gathering at the top. Aang stood in front of us. "So- this is it huh?

"Are you ready for the Fire Nation to know that the Avatar's alive?" Sokka grinned- trying to hype his friend up.

"I'm ready."

In his determination- we all hugged him- showing out support for the boy. "I hope you kick some serious Fire Lord butt Twinkle Toes.' Toph hugged tighter.

"You're going to look so cool- I'm a little jealous." Brena ruffled Aang's now non-existent hair. I was the first of all of us to pull away from the hug. "Don't forget about us when you're famous and all and do world tours to tell people you've won, ok?"

"Forget you guys? Never."

"Alright everyone listen up!" Hakota called for everyone's attention. "The next time we resurface it will be on the beaches so stay alert and fight smart. Now break's time over! Back in the subs!"

We nodded and started to trk back to the hatch to let us back inside. Aang and Katara stayed behind for a minute or two longer- one of the taking to the skies to meet us at the palace. We couldn't give the girl too much grief for saying goodbye. IT was her turn to give Appa his air anyway.

"Hey Giggles- you coming with us?" Toph punched my shoulder in greeting.

"What do you mean?" I rubbed the spot- hoping no one saw the flash of red I went through.

"In the tanks- you're an earthbender now- you gotta go with us."

"People here only really know me as a waterbender and I don't know if my waterbending is good enough to fight with Toph." I bit my lip.

"You're hair- you said it's different right- people expect you to be different anyway. Besides if it all goes bad you can just explode the rocks- you're good at that." She smirked.

"Ok." I took a deep breath. "Out of all the earthbenders, I'll fight by your side through thick and thin."

"Always?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way." I flicked her hat. "You know for as long as I'm here."

"Good, then let's go Giggles."

When Hakota gave the cue we all ran to our battle stations and braced ourselves for any possible impact. After a few close calls the submarines finally touched land and the hatches in the front opened- revealing the tanks. The tanks themselves would drop ammunition for the foot benders and be used as shield for the foot soldiers like Sokka and Chief Hakota. Toph had managed to drag me out of one and together with her old wrestling competitors, we took out the watchtowers one by one. The Fire Nation seen revealed their own tanks that blasted fire. I transitioned from firing rocks to blocking with water as the tanks retaliated.

Just as we knocked one of the Fire Nation tanks out of communication- a giant seaweed monster emerged from the bay- attacking the opposing forces with little mercy. I grinned and went back to my spot next to Toph on the ground. From the corner of my eyes I saw Brenan during some five from the battlement on top- taking them down with his sword once he got close enough, Appa not far behind carrying other who did the same.

As the battle continued on, more Fire Nation forces were forced to fight us on foot- sending explosions left and right, trying to send us onto our back with no way of getting back up like turtle ducks. Appa suddenly flew ahead of us with Sokka on his back telling us to get into a V formation. He wanted warriors and benders in the middle of the tanks as he stormed the tower.

The fire benders that blocked us could do nothing against the metal plating of the tanks and were forced to retreat. Sokka then sent an explosive truck ahead of us to break through the wall and once it detonated- we carried straight on. "The Fire Nation is falling back Brittany!" Brenan ran up next to me. "We might actually do this!"

"Let's hope Aang is having as much success as we are!" I grabbed his hand and held him close as our invasion troops continued forward. With our forces nearly concentrated- the tanks at the front working as shields and the earthbenders firing from them occasionally, Sokka worked with the older men to devise the next course of action. I tag teamed between working next to Toph and targeting the people with my arrows ('I'll need to restock soon.') as Brenan became our eyes in the sky. Everything was going smoothly until Aang unexpectedly returned. The GAang was called together to question the boy seeing as we were his right hand group. Hakota was there too but he doesn't really count, according to my sources he was injured on the battlefield and was promptly kicked out. Sokka was the first to speak. "Please tell me you're here because the Fire Lord turned out to be a huge wimp and you didn't ever need the eclipse to take him down."

"He wasn't home." Aang said. "No one was… the entire palace city is abandoned."

"They knew.."

Brenan shared a look with me. 'This is all the Earth king's fault...and ours…'

"It's over." Aang hung his head. "The Fire Lord is probably long gone- far away on some remote island where he'll be safe during the eclipse."

"No- my instincts tell me he wouldn't have gone too far." Sokka spoke again. "He would go to a secret bunker- somewhere he could go and be safe during a siege but still be close enough to lead his nation."

"If it's an underground secret bunker we're looking for-" Toph interjected. "-I'm just the girl to find it!"

"The mechanist gave me this timing device." Sokka pulled out something close to a stop watch. "It looks like we got about ten minutes until the full eclipse… then minutes to find the Fire Lord."

"We can still do this. We can still win the day." Aang looked up now- determination in his eyes.

I looked at our members. "Are we all going?"

Aang nodded. "I'm going to need all the help I can get- there's definitely guards there but I'm only there for one person."

"Wait-" Katara sighed. "- if they knew we were coming it could all be a trap. Maybe we should use the time we have left to make sure everyone makes it of here safely."

"Everyone who's here today was prepared to risk everything for the sake of this mission." Hakota spoe up. "They know what's at stake. If there's still a chance- and there's still hope- I think they would want Aang to go for it."

Brenan put a hand on the Avatar's shoulder. "Aang it's your call. What's the plan?"

He stood up. "I have to try. Can I count on you to be with me?"

We all stood closer to the boy.

"Absolutely!"

"Then let's fly!"

We all hopped on the fastest transport we had but Katara was stopped when she tried to get on. Her father nearly fell over when he tried to stand on his own and while he protested, his daughter stayed behind to help him through the invasion. I offered to stay back as well to help others who would need healing but Katara urged me to go with them instead.

Getting Appa past the initial fighting was the first obstacle but we made it to the palace volcano in record time. We rushed to get off of the sky bison and made sure Toph could feel the place we were looking for. "What do you feel Toph?"

"There's natural tunnels criss crossing under the ground but there's something big, dense and made of metal at the center of the volcano."

"Sounds like a secret bunker to me." Sokka shrugged.

Without any cueing she pushed through the grand and into the nearest tunnel. Toph took the lead and had us follow her through the maze for what it was. "Not that way- it's a dead end!"

"What would we do without you?!"

"Perish in burning magma." Toph smirked.

I grimaced as we passed a slow moving magma flow- trying my best to ignore the heat. "Yup, that sounds about right."

The small tunnel we traveled through opened up in a cave like structure that blasted active magma through pore like geysers. "The tunnel continues that way and leads straight into the bunker."

"Ok- so we'll have to be fast and-"

"Wait!" I called out- rapidly searching through my inventory. Low and behold. My Fire Resistant Potion! I drank one asI passed some more to my group members. "This will make sure that even if you get hit by the lava or by fire, it won't hurt as bad."

"Is it magic?"

"Sure- why not?" I shrugged. "The damage will be reduced to almost nothing- better safe than sorry."

"Ok, so we need to be fast and careful." Sokka nodded to us- drinking his own potion. "This taste awful by the way."

"I can't change that- sorry." I said- running into the fray, closely followed by Brenan and the others as we made our way across the minefield. The other side then opened up to a river of lava- no floor or bridge - just straight up lava.

"Hold on tight and climb aboard." Brenan opened up his new glider. I nodded and held onto the top of the left while Toph joined me on the right. Sokka hitched a ride with Aang and nearly vomited into the river as we flew over it. Once we got to the other side of the death seea, we continued running and eventually made it to the giant metal ball in the center of the volcano. Without wasting any more time, Toph stepped forward, tapponce on the door and then metal bended her way through the door, making the space large enough for all of us to fit through. "I'm so glad we added you to the group!"

"Hurry up Sokka!" I yelled at him.

Toph continued to lead us to the best of her ability- trying to gauge out where the largest camber was and followed the path there. On the way we encountered a civilian by mistake and instantly took on a defensive stance- scaring the poor man half to death. "The Fire Lord's chamber is that way, down the hall, to the left and up the stairs- you can't miss it!"

We stepped closer to him, pressing him up against the wall and glaring at him before we all collectively relaxed. "Thanks!"

"Ok- we only have thirty more minutes until the solar eclipse." Sokka put away his watch just as we reached the door. I watched as Aang took a deep breath and steeled his nerves. "I'm ready- I'm ready to face the Fire Lord!"

Then he busted the door down with the help of his staff.

But the Fire Lord wasn't there either.

"So… you're alive after all."

'Azula!' I froze for a second. 'What are you doing here?!'

"I had a hunch that you survived." Azula continued talking to us as if our shocked faces didn't exists. "It doesn't matter… I've known about the invasion for months."

"Where is he?!" Aang got into his position again- the rest of us quickly following suit. "Where if the Fire Lord?!"

She ummed- amused. "What? Am I not good enough for you? You're hurting my feelings."

"Stop wasting our time and give us the information." Sokka glared at her- pointing his sword her way. "You're powerless right now- so you're in no position to refuse!"

"And stick to the truth." Toph stepped forward. "I'll be able to tell if you're lying."

"Are you sure?" Azula steppe down to meet us on the same level. "I'm a pretty good liar. Your friend Brittany come from a kingdom that has been our allies for decades nearly dating back to the time of Avatar Roku. She used to visit us when we were younger and made nice with my brother Zuko before she ran away like the coward and traitor she is. Her brother- the king of Minecraftia had been looking for her for over a year now and has been informed of her location and is currently on his way to retrieve her. That and those two pink freaks aren't really siblings at all." I gaped at her and looked at Brenan in pure unadulterated fear. 'He's looking for me...for real…just like in the swamp... he's looking for me and he knows where I am now!"

"Ok- you're good I admit it." Toph huffed, before earthbending her into a cone to trap her. "But you really 'otta consider telling to truth anyway. Only lies have detail."

A pause.

The suddenly the earth around Azula started to crack and eventually exploded off of the girl- leaving her free as a bird. The Fire Nation princess smirked. "When I left Ba Sing Se, I brought home some souvenirs… Dai Lee agents."

On cue- two of them dropped from the ceiling in front of her- blocking her from any attacks we could have thrown. Making the first strike, Aang tried to blast them using his staff but was blocked off by a wall the Dai Lee created. I immediately broke it down and charged with my friends toward them- breaking through their walls along with Toph as Brenan and Aang took to the air. We focused on the Dai Lee and tried to keep their attention on us as Aang made a dash towards Azula.

We blocked and parried and threw them to the walls. I notioned to Toph to follow Aang as he left our small rock fight bubble to go and fight the princess. Brenan and I stayed behind enough to keep the Dai Lee busy. We only lost count of one. "Our friends are gone Brittany!"

I looked over once and jammed a boulder toward the Dai Lee agent in front of me- quickly casing it in ice to buy some time to catch up.

The others had already left the room by then- leaving a nice trail of exploding rick and other destroyed items in their wake."Aang! Toph! Stop attacking!" Sokka called out ahead of us. "Don't you see what she's doing? She's just playing with us! She's not even trying to win this fight!"

"Not true!" She smirked. "I'm giving it my all."

"You're trying to keep us here and waste all our time!" Toph yelled at her.

"Um- right- I think your friend just said that genius." Azula said. "And since you can't see, I think I should tell you, I'm rolling my eyes."

"I'll roll your head!" Toph spat back.

"She's just baiting you Toph." Brenan put a hand on her shoulder. "We need to find the Fire Lord."

"Ok- so what do we do? Just ignore her?" Aang turned to look at us.

Sokka shook his head. "We don't have a choice. We just have to get out of here and find the Fire Lord on our own somehow."

He then turned around and started to lead us away.

"It's a trap." Azula taunted. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Ignore!"

I turned back around and followed the older kids.

"So Sokka's your name right?" He voice called again. "My favorite prisoner used to mention you all the time

Sokka stopped.

I thought we were supposed to ignore her." Brenan tried to push Sokka forward.

Azula kept talking anyway. "She was convinced you were coming to come rescue her. Of course you never came...and she gave up on you…"

Soka yelled out- enraged- and charged at her despite our protests. Toph then blinked and handcuffed Azula to the wall just in time for Sokka to pin her to it. The boy growled. "Where is Suki?!

In my peripheral I saw the knife that Azula had dropped to the ground in the process of being trapped against the wall."Nice catch Toph."

"Where's Suki?!" Sokka shouted again. "Answer me!"

"Sokka she's not going to talk." Aang pulled the older boy away. Sokka paused for a second- considering it before he turned to Azula again. "Where are you keeping her?!"

There was a slight explosion in the background, to which Azula smirked at. "Oh- sounds like the fire bending's back on."

With her foot she shot at Sokka but Toph tackled him out of the way of the blue flame. I went ti freeze her other foot to the wall but she jumped up and blasted her hand restraints off- making a move toward Aang. We all moved away- taking a defensive stance against her. She smirked again. "Dad's all the way at the end of the hall, down a secret stairway on the left. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to see you now."

She then ran away to the other side of the hall.

"I fell for it!" Sokka blurted out. "I used up all our time!"

"It's not your fault Sokka- Azula was ready for us! She had every move planned out!" Toph patted the Water Tribe boy's shoulder.

He looked away in shame anyway. "But now it's too late."

"Maybe it's not too late." aang spoke up. "The eclipse is over but I can face the Fire Lord anyway."

"No Aang." Brenan shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"But I'm ready! I came here with a job to do and everyone's counting on me!"

"The Fire Lord knew we were coming this time- we thought we had surprise on our side but we didn't." I sighed. "Today[s not our day- right now we need to get out of here and help our friends."

Aang looked at all of us before resigning his determination. "I guess you guys are right."

"You'll have another chance." Sokka put his hands on Aang's shoulder. "I know you will."

"We need to get out of here guys." Brenan slowly moved away from us and toward the way we came. "We need to let the other's know what happened."

"Ok." Aang nodded and took the lead. "Let's go!"

So we ran out and got on top of Appa as soon as we were out. As we flew toward our troops- we could see a hand full of blimps in front of the biggest hot air balloons I've ever seen. Each one was the size of a small town! When we landed, Katara ran over to us to ask what happened but never got the chance to- Sokka started filling her in as he hopped off. "It was all a trap! Azula knew we were coming and planned every move! We just have to get to the beach as fast as we can- if we can make it to the submarines maybe we can all get away safely."

"They've got air power but so do I!" Aang called out from on top of Appa. "I"m going to do all that I can to slow them down."

Brenan then took out his own glider and moved to hop in to the sky. "I'm coming with you Aang!" He called out. "The more air power the better!"

He then turned to me, placed a hand on my shoulder and said, "You stay safe. All of you stay safe- don't wait up!"

Then he took off.

"Appa! You and I can help too!" Katara then hopped on the sky bison and took to the air without anyone's input being needed.

We watched them for a few seconds as all three of them flew towards the war ships before Sokka ordered all of us to get to the submarines. The men and the rest of the our friends ran out of the Fire Nation and to the beaches as fast as we could- the threat of the war balloons over us. When the sky surfers plus Katara returned- Sokka then ordered us to find cover- his exact words being: "Try and find cover! I think we're about to see some bombs!"

Sure enough he was right. Toph bent the side of the mountain to cover us- breaking the shield occasionally so Toph had to support it once more. Once the rain had ended, the blimps continued ahead of us- moving toward the sea. I coughed some dust out of my lungs. "Why aren't they turning around and attacking us again?"

"They're heading toward the beach… They're going to destroy the submarines!" Aang called out.

Sokka groaned. "How are we going to escape?"

"We're not." Hakota interjected.

"Then our only hope choice is to stand and fight! We have the Avatar, we can still win!"

"Yes- with the Avatar we could still win...on another day. You kids have to leave- you have to escape on Appa together."

"What?" Katara ran toward her father. "We can't leave you behind! We won't leave anyone behind!"

"You're our only chance in the long run." Hkota continued. "You and Sokka have to go with Aang somewhere safe. It's the only way to keep hope alive."

"The youngest of our group should go with you." Another man said. "The adults will stay behind and surrender- we'll be prisoners but we'll all survive this battle."

"I've got experience with Fire Nation prisons." Haru's dad… I think... stepped forward. "It's not going to be easy but we'll get buy."

"They're at the beach already!" Sokka called out We watched as our only means of escape were destroyed completely even if the swamp dwellers fought back as hard as they could. With my earthbending we got Teo on Appa's saddle- saying nothing as he said goodbye to his father. Naduke followed suit as Pipsqueak helped him up. Brenan and I pulled him in and helped Haru next. Once Sokka and Katara got on board- Aang wiped his tears and stood up once more to face the men who stood firm. "Thank you all for being so brave and so strong! I'm gonna make this up to you!"

Then we left.

On our way out of the boundaries, we passed one of the war ships but luckily they made no move to follow us. I let go of my breath and scooted between Teo and Naduke to project my voice over the rushing air. "Aang! Where are we going?!"

"I know just the place where we can go where we will be safe for awhile!" He called back. "The Western Air Temple!"

"Make it so Aang!"

"So…" Teo said from my side as I settled back down. "You earthbend and waterbend?"

I smiled slightly at his attempt to break the tension.

" ...Yes I do."