Sokka studied the maps that laid out in front of him, his hand holding his chin in thought. He rubbed his forehead.
"It looks weird to see you in blue again." You confessed quietly, handing him a drink and sitting next to him.
Sokka accepted the cup with a grateful smile. "I could say the same thing about you."
"I kind of liked the red, though. Not more than the blue, but still."
"Top of the morning to you!" Aang shouted gleefully, leaping into view.
Momo flew over, landing on the Avatar's shoulder.
"Sounds like you slept well." Katara noted.
"Like a baby moose-lion. I'm ready to face the Firelord."
"So what's your strategy for taking him down?" Toph asked. "Gonna get your glow on and hit him with a little 'Avatar state' action?"
Aang's face fell. "I can't. When Azula shot me with lightning, my seventh chakra was locked, cutting off my connection to all the cosmic energy in the universe."
"Well, at least you have us, Aang." You tried to offer.
Aang smiled.
"Oh, no. Sokka, do you think the fog will delay the invasion?" Katara asked.
You turned around, seeing a fog approaching the cliff.
Sokka stood. "No. That is the invasion."
You all rushed down to greet them as Toph and Aang created docks.
Sokka and Katara rushed to greet their father.
Your eyes widened as the guys from the swamp emerged.
Some earthbenders walked passed you.
"Hey, Katara." A voice spoke softly.
Katara rushed towards the figure. "Haru! It's so good to see you!"
"Ha-who?" You questioned, turning. Your gaze settled upon a young man.
"Toph, Y/n, this is Haru." Aang introduced, gesturing at him. "When we met him, his town was being controlled by the firenation, so he had to hide his earthbending."
"Katara inspired me and my father to take back our village." Haru informed.
Katara blushed.
You cocked an eyebrow.
A large man with a long white beard came up behind them, placing a hand on their shoulders. "You helped us find our courage, Katara." He informed lowly. "Now we are here to help you."
Toph turned suddenly, getting into a fighting stance. "No way. Is that-" She was lifted into the air.
"Hippo happy to see Blind Bandit!" Hippo announced, hugging her briefly before holding her out in front of him again.
"You guys here for a rematch?" Toph demanded.
"Negatory." Boulder denied, shaking his head. "The Boulder and The Hippo no longer fight for other's entertainment. Now, we fight for our kingdom!"
Toph grinned. "Sweet."
An explosion sounded from one of the ships.
You cringed as smoke lifted into the air.
Sokka, Hakoda and Aang went to investigate.
You saw Tao and the inventor emerge. "Well, that explains that." You muttered to yourself.
Everyone sat, waiting for the speech to begin.
Sokka clutched his scrolls to his chest, gulping.
"Don't worry; you'll do great." Hakoda told him.
You placed your hand on Sokka's shoulder to stop his shaking. "You can do it, Sokka."
Sokka looked over at you, nodding, though still shaking slightly, and stood, approaching the stage Toph made. "Good morning everyone!" He fell, letting out a grunt as the scrolls scattered.
You winced.
Sokka quickly collected them, standing. "So! As you know, today we're invading the firenation! I mean, I know you know that, because why else would you be here?" He laughed nervously. "Anyway." He put up a scroll of some writing. "The Firelord's palace is here." He said, pointing at it. He tensed, seeing that it wasn't the map. "Uh, wait, uh, wait, uh, wait, uh, here." He said, flipping through the pages and pointing at the map. "And, there's an eclipse today. And Aang's gonna fight the Firelord. And the firebenders won't have any fire to use, so that's good for us!" He paused, bowing his head. "I'm sorry. Let me start at the beginning."
You clutched your bracelet.
"Katara and I first discovered Aang in an iceberg. Now I really didn't like Aang at first, but I grew to love him over time, then we went to the Southern Air Temple where Aang used to live, then we met some Kyoshi warriors-"
"Wow. When he said 'beginning' he means the beginning beginning." Katara muttered.
You groaned, hiding your face in your hands.
"-Then Katara got Haru arrested, and now he's grown a moustache, and if you look in the front row you can see-"
"Thank you, Sokka. Why don't you take a break?" Hakoda offered.
You peeked through your fingers, seeing Sokka walking towards you all and Hakoda standing where he stood.
"Let me just clarify a few points for everyone. Today is the day of black sun. And I want to thank you all for your self-sacrifice and your courage. There are two steps to the invasion. A naval stage, and then a land stage."
Sokka sighed, his shoulders slumping.
You placed a hand on his back.
"To gain sea access to the firenation capitol, we have to get passed our first major obstacle here." Hakoda explained, pointing to the map. "The great gates of Azulon." He flipped the page so that the map was more zoomed in. "Next, we hit the land. And we hit it hard. We must fight passed their battlements and secure the 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." Boulder spoke. "Isn't the point to invade during the eclipse, when the firebenders are powerless?"
"The eclipse only lasts eight minutes. 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." Hakoda clarified. "When this is finished, the Avatar will have defeated the Firelord, we'll have control of the Firenation capitol, and this war… will be over!"
Everyone cheered.
Except Sokka.
You bended some water into canteens. Your face fell as you saw Sokka not far away, staring down at his wolf helmet. You walked over to him. "The boats are ready to leave." You informed quietly.
Sokka walked further away. "I messed up, Y/n. The invasion was my moment of truth, and I completely flubbed it. I just… fell apart."
"Sokka, that wasn't your moment of truth. That's just public speaking. Not many people are good at that."
"My dad is. He explained the plan perfectly and inspired everyone. Like a real leader should." He closed his eyes, bowing his head.
Your eyebrows bent low in determination. "Sokka." You grabbed his shoulders, turning him to face you.
His eyes shot open in surprise. He froze, seeing the seriousness in your e/c ones.
"It takes practice. Your dad has been doing this for years. This was, really, your first time. And don't think that your moment of truth will be in front of a map. It's going to be in the battlefield."
"You seem so confident. How do you know that?"
"Because I know you."
You all sailed along, approaching the 'gates of Azulon'.
They raised out of the water suddenly, catching on fire.
A few firenation soldiers came, seemingly out of nowhere, into the water on boats.
"Everyone below deck." Hakoda informed. He leaned over to Sokka. "Let's hope your invention works."
You climbed into Sokka's invention as they all took off.
"You've really outdone yourself this time, son." Hakoda told him.
"Yeah, thanks, Sokka." Toph groaned from her seat on the floor. "You've managed to invent a worse way to travel than flying."
The Duke took off his helmet, handing it to her. "Helmet?" He offered.
"Well, I just came up with the idea. The mechanic did all the work." Sokka clarified.
"Now, don't sell yourself short, my boy. It was your idea to use waterbending to make the sub sink and float. Brilliant! Though, your original designs were a bit difficult to decipher." He rolled open a parchment.
You looked over his shoulder, seeing two little people drawn inside a whale. You chuckled, earning a frown from Sokka.
"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."
You turned to Sokka. "That won't be a problem, will it?"
Sokka shook his head. "As long as we do it before we reach the beaches, we'll be fine."
The Duke washed out his helmet as people stretched.
You, Sokka, Katara and Toph approached Aang.
The Avatar hung his head slightly. "So. This is it, huh?"
"Are you ready for the Firenation to find out the Avatar's alive?" Sokka asked, trying to boost Aang's spirits.
Aang looked up, determination in his gray eyes. "I'm ready."
"I was just getting used to the hair." You commented, gesturing at his shaved head.
Aang chuckled, shrugging. "So was I."
You all stepped forward, hugging the boy.
"I hope you kick some serious Firelord butt, Twinkle Toes." Toph told him.
"Everyone listen up. Next time we resurface, it'll be on the beaches. So stay alert, and fight smart." Hakoda said. "Now break time's over. Back in the subs!"
You groaned, following Toph and Sokka back inside. "Down we go." You grumbled.
The beaches were in sight.
You stumbled slightly as the sub moved. "What was that?" You questioned, slight panic in your voice.
"They're shooting harpoons at us." One of the watertribe men answered.
One burst through the roof, beginning to fill the sub with water.
One of the swamp benders turned it into ice, stopping the flow.
"Ready the harpoons!" Hakoda instructed. "Fire!"
You pushed forward, shooting one of the harpoons into the wall. It burst open, allowing the sub to fit through.
You all filed together as you drew nearer to the beach.
Sokka took a deep breath.
You grabbed his forearm, since he was holding a shield and a sword.
The subs rose out of the water, immediately drawing fire.
The tanks left first, dropping boulders as they went for the earthbenders to use.
The rest of you charged, yelling.
A few blasts landed in front of you.
You looked up, spotting a tower surrounded by metal. You drew your water, sending it up in the gap and slicing the crossbow that sat inside.
Katara landed an armored Appa and climbed off of him.
Firenation tanks came around a corner.
"Not these things again." You muttered, getting into a stance.
The Earth Kingdom tanks smashed them as the swamp benders spun the firenation tanks into others.
Firenation rhinos emerged, riders atop them.
Sokka ran towards one, jumping on the rhino's horn and splitting the rider's spear down the middle. He shoved him off, taking his seat. "Dad! Watch out!"
You turned, seeing Hakoda lose his shield, but take his opponents spear. You sent water as two more attackers rushed him, knocking them over.
Hakoda turned to you, nodding in thanks.
You nodded back as he climbed up behind Sokka.
"We need to take out those battlements!" Hakoda shouted, pointing at the towers.
"I have an idea!" Sokka yelled back. He turned to you. "I'm gonna need your help."
You, Sokka, Katara and Hakoda flew to one of the battlement towers. Sokka sliced one of the crossbows with his sword.
Hakoda tossed two bombs in one.
Katara used her water to freeze one, and the people inside.
Appa landed on the cliff, another one in front of him.
You all jumped off.
"You two take care of that battlement. We've got this one!" Hakoda shouted. "Watch each other's backs!"
You watched as Sokka and Katara rushed into the other one before following Hakoda. "What's the plan?" You asked.
"You go in the bottom, and distract them. I'll sneak in over the roof."
You nodded, rushing in as Hakoda began climbing.
Three firenation soldiers turned to you.
Your eyes narrowed as you sent your water at one, freezing it. You jumped up, ripping the other's helmet off and hitting her in the head with it. You turned, about to face the third, seeing Hakoda at the crossbow.
The other firenation soldier rushed towards him.
"Hakoda, watch out!" You warned.
An explosion filled your vision.
You rushed forward, throwing the soldier out of the tower as you grabbed Hakoda. "Hakoda, are you alright?" You asked, leaning him on you as you walked outside.
Sokka and Katara ran towards you.
"What happened!?" Katara hollered, concern written on her features.
Sokka glared up at you. "Why weren't you watching him?!" He demanded.
"I was trying." You bit back, scowling back at him. "Now help me get him in Appa's saddle."
Sokka helped you wordlessly, though you could tell he was upset.
Katara climbed on Appa's head, flying the bison back to the rest of the group.
You quickly drew water from the ocean back into your canteens as Sokka laid Hakoda on the ground.
Katara began to draw her water.
"Katara, let me."
She looked over at you. "Why? It's my dad."
"I've had years more experience with healing than you." You retorted, crouching down and hovering your water over his wound. "Besides, it's the least I could do."
"I need… to get back… to the troops." Hakoda groaned, trying to sit up.
"You shouldn't fight anymore. There's some serious damage here." You told him.
"People are counting on me to lead this mission." He forced out, wincing.
Sokka turned to you. "Can't you heal him any faster?"
"Sokka, I know you're concerned, but these things take time." You spoke sternly.
"I'll do it."
You looked up at him in disbelief. "Do what? Heal him?"
"No. I'll lead the invasion force."
"Don't be crazy, Sokka." Katara said.
"Maybe I am a little crazy, but the eclipse is about to start and we need to be up that volcano when it does."
"You can do this." Hakoda muttered. "I'm proud of you, Sokka."
"I still think you're crazy." Katara whispered. "But I'm proud of you, too."
Sokka turned to you.
You smiled up at him. "Kick their butts."
Sokka nodded, putting on his wolf helmet and climbing on Appa. "Yip yip."
Armored Appa lifted into the air, moving back towards the battle.
Your face fell as you watched them leave.
"Be careful." You whispered.