Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

As an apology for not posting in a while, here's an extra long chapter.

Chapter 20: The Missing Weeks

The sight of Chameleon Bay, as Appa crested over the hill, roused Zuko, who was laying back in the saddle, Toph's head on his shoulder. Katara barely looked up as Derai landed Appa on a small hill above the Southern Water Tribe's campsite, too focused on Aang, who was still laying unconscious in her arms.

"What happened?" Hakoda demanded, running up the hill to them, Bato right behind him.

Sokka jumped out of the saddle, facing his dad. "Princess Azula shot Aang, he's the Avatar, with lightening. Katara was able to save him with her special water from the Spirit Oasis in the Northern Water Tribe, but it doesn't look good, dad."

"We'll have Palruk look at him." Hakoda said, putting his hand on Sokka's shoulder. "Now come on. I'm sure you kids need some rest."

Katara slid out of the saddle, and moved to follow Sokka, Hakoda, and Bato. Hakoda went to put his hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off, hurrying to walk in step with Sokka.

Zuko frowned, jumping off of Appa, Mai, Ty Lee, Derai, King Kuei, Bosco, and Toph following him. Momo swooped down from the saddle, landing on Zuko's shoulder.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to be here Zuko?" Mai asked, glancing around the campsite. The majority of the Southern Water Tribe warriors had come out to see them, and the ones who spotted Mai, Ty Lee, Derai, and Zuko narrowed their eyes. "Some of these people don't seem that excited to see us."

Ty Lee shrugged, bending over backwards and kicking her legs over. "We'll be fine, Mai. We rebelled against Azula. They know we're on their side."

"The others aren't going to let anything happen to us." Zuko assured her. "And, I've been actively committing treason longer than any of you. They know I'm on their side."

Hakoda led them through the camp, towards the biggest tent. Sokka walked up in the front with Hakoda and Bato, talking to them quietly, while Katara followed him, Aang draped in her arms, as she mainly dodged any questions from her father.

Hakoda opened the tent flap, allowing the group to enter, and Zuko ducked inside, grateful to be out of the accusing looks of the Southern Water Tribe, not that he could blame them.

"I'll take him to Palruk." Bato told Katara, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You deserve the chance to speak with your father."

Shakily nodding, Katara passed off Aang's unconscious body to the older man, who ducked out of the tent and off into the camp.

"Earth King Kuei," Hakoda said, bowing to him. "Its an honor to have you in our camp."

King Kuei bowed back. "Thank you, but I'm not sure if I'm much of a king anymore."

"Princess Azula has taken over Ba Sing Se, Chief Hakoda." Zuko told him. "The Earth Kingdom has officially fallen."

Hakoda sighed, sitting down on one of the many furs littered around the tent. "Tell me what happened, and I mean everything. From the time you left the Southern Water Tribe, to now."

So they told them, Katara and Sokka mainly speaking, with Toph, Zuko, Mai, Ty Lee, and Derai interjecting when they needed to. The two Water Tribe siblings left out Zuko's time travel for now, electing to inform him when the others weren't present. By the time they had finally caught up to where they were now, the sun had almost set, and was sitting low in the sky, Yue just peeking up over the horizon.

"We'll need to talk more tomorrow," Hakoda told them, looking up. "But its getting late and you kids need your rest. And Derai, Mai, Ty Lee, and Zuko," he said, getting their attention as the group started to leave. "If anyone here gives you trouble for being from the Fire Nation, you come to me, okay."

Zuko nodded. "We will sir."

"Please, call me Hakoda." He told him, smiling.

Ducking out of the tent, the group headed towards where the smaller tents were, much of the Southern Water Tribe having retired for the night.

"So, that was your dad." Toph commented. "He's pretty cool."

Katara scowled, crossing her arms. "He's not that amazing."

"What's going on with you Katara?" Sokka demanded. "Dad's doing his best."

Toph nodded. "Sokka's right. Your dad is way better than mine or Zuko's. My dad tried to lock me away my entire life and Zuko's dad literally burned his face and is waging this war. Your dad is actively fighting it."

"I know," Katara said, sighing. "And maybe it's selfish of me, but dad left, and I wish he could have been there. I was eleven and Sokka was thirteen, and our dad wasn't around."

Zuko put his hand on her shoulder, smiling at her. "Its not selfish. You deserve to have your dad around. We all do. And I don't blame you for wanting that. I know my dad is a dick, I came to terms with that a long time ago."

"Let's just go to bed." Sokka suggested. "Its been a long day."

The Gaang nodded, separating at the tents. As Sokka and Katara climbed into their tent, Sokka put his hand on his little sister's shoulder.

"You should talk to dad tomorrow." He told her. "The last thing you want to do is not figure out what's going on with the two of you, and La forbid something happened to him, where you wouldn't get the chance. We are in a war."

Katara nodded. "I will, don't worry. But right now, I just want to go to sleep."

"Of course. Good night Katara." He said, smiling.

The next morning...

"Okay," Hakoda said, once all of them were back in the tent the next morning, after everyone had woken up and eaten breakfast. King Kuei and Derai were the only ones missing, the king having gone to walk Bosco, with Derai going with him to make sure nothing happened. "What's our plan?"

"There's a solar eclipse in the beginning of the summer." Sokka told his father. "We were thinking that we could use that to attack, but Zuko told us the Fire Nation would be aware of that possibility, and hide the Royal Family somewhere safe."

Zuko nodded. "We're an entire nation connected to Agni. It would make sense for the firebenders to know when they'd loose their own bending."

"Do you know where they would hide your father?" Hakoda asked him.

Zuko shook his head. "I haven't been home in three years, and that isn't something they would share with a thirteen year old."

"If its underground, I'll be able to feel it if I get close enough." Toph spoke up.

Hakoda pulled a map out of a nearby bag, unrolling it on the ground in front of them. "If we're going to do this, we'll have to do it right. We'll only have a limited amount of time when the eclipse hits, which we should dedicate to Aang fighting the Fire Lord."

"They know there is a possibility of an invasion, but they don't know we're actively planning one." Zuko pointed out. "They'll be underprepared and we'll have an advantage."

Hakoda nodded. "That's right. We're going to want to secure the city, before the solar eclipse. It'll be the only way we'll be able to pull this off."

"We can split off to go find Ozai." Sokka told him. "If we're able to find him before the solar eclipse, we'll have more time to dedicate to actually fighting him."

Zuko frowned. "There's only one wild card with this situation, my sister. I have no idea where Azula is going to be during the eclipse."

"Did Azula tell you anything before you deflected?" Hakoda asked, turning to Mai and Ty Lee.

Ty Lee shook her head. "Azula was mainly focused on taking Ba Sing Se. If she was aware of a possible invasion, she didn't say anything."

"As if Azula would tell us unless she was certain we wouldn't betray her." Mai grumbled. "She probably was on to us betraying her before we even decided too."

"I'll take care of my sister." Zuko told them. "I'm the only one here who has a chance of beating her alone, except for Aang, but he'll need to fight my father. Besides, I have some business to settle with her."

Hakoda nodded. "We'll come up with more of the fine details of the plan later. We do have the time. You kids go have fun. I'm sure Katara and Sokka will want to catch up with some of the Southern Water Tribe."

"Thanks dad." Sokka smiled, standing up from the furs. "We'll see you later."

Ty Lee bounced up from her seat on the ground, pulling Mai up with her, and dragged her out of the tent, the normally gloomy girl rolling her eyes, but following her nonetheless. Zuko watched the two of them go, fondness in his eyes. Before, he had failed the two people who had been his only friends growing up, leaving them to be captured at the Boiling Rock, and most likely killed when Ozai and Azula won. But this time, it wouldn't happen. This time, he would save them.

"Come on," Toph said, nudging him. "Quit brooding and come with us."

Zuko scowled. "I'm not brooding."

"You're brooding." She insisted. "I'm blind but even I can tell that."

Zuko rolled his eyes but let the younger girl tug him out of the tent, following Katara and Sokka. As they walked outside, the Southern Water Tribe warriors walked over, all of them eager to see the children that had grown into teenagers.

"Sokka!" A voice cried, as a blur hurtled across the sand, slamming into the other boy. Zuko's hand went immediately to his dao, unsure if he would have to fight a new threat.

Sokka stumbled back in shock, before chuckling and hugging the body wrapped around his waist. "Sitim! Its great to see you!"

"Is that Sokka?" A voice called, as a Water Tribe warrior meandered over. "You've gotten so big."

He was slightly taller than Zuko, with dark brown hair pulled into a warrior's wolf tail, with two bright blue beads threaded through, and sparkling blue eyes, and appeared to be in his early twenties. He wore a short, boxy tunic that fell to his knees, with fur-trimmed leggings and long sleeves. The boy who had hurtled into Sokka pulled back, allowing Zuko to look at him for the first time. He was Sokka's height, with his dark brown hair pulled into a warrior's wolf tail, like the rest of the warriors, with three bright blue beads threaded through, bright blue eyes, and was only a couple of years older than them. He wore a short, boxy tunic that fell to his knees, fur straps tied around his waist, with fur-trimmed leggings and short sleeves.

"Pernok!" Sokka greeted the new warrior, pulling him into a tight hug. "Its great to see you."

Pernok smiled, pulling away from Sokka. "Who's this?" He asked, gesturing to Zuko, his eyes narrowed.

"This is Zuko." Sokka introduced, wrapping his arm around the other boy's shoulders. "Zuko, meet Pernok and Sitim. They're from our village."

Sitim grinned. "We were the closest in age to Katara and Sokka growing up. The four of us got into so much trouble when we were little. Unfortunately, Pernok and I were just old enough to leave with the rest of the warriors."

"He looks very Fire Nation." Pernok commented, looking Zuko up and down.

Zuko pulled away from Sokka, meeting Pernok's eyes as he faced the other warrior. "That's because I am."

"But its okay, Zuko's on our side." Sokka assured his fellow tribesman. "He has been for a while. He helped at the Siege of the Northern Water Tribe."

Zuko nodded. "I may be Fire Nation, but that doesn't mean I support this war. My people are suffering as much as the rest of the world, since the only people who really benefit from it at all are the nobility. The common people are suffering just as much as the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe, and they are the people I'm loyal to. The Fire Lord means nothing to me."

"That, and he's the only one powerful enough to stop his sister." Toph pointed out. "So, we kinda need him."

Sitim frowned. "Your sister?"

"She's the one who took over Ba Sing Se." Sokka explained.

Pernok's eyes widened. "But the princess took over Ba Sing Se. That makes you a prince and the Fire Lord your father."

"That doesn't mean I support him." Zuko scowled. "Thanks to him, my mother is gone, my uncle is in prison, and half my face is burned off. He's no father to me."

Spinning around, he stalked off, disappearing around the tents, as Sokka, Toph, Pernok, and Sitim watched him go.

"Zuko has a... complicated history with his dad." Sokka explained. "Its kinda a sore topic for him. I'm going to go check on him."

Sokka turned, leaving Toph, Pernok, and Sitim standing in the clearing, as he followed Zuko around to the back of the tents. Spotting him leaning up against the side of the cliff, a small fire bobbing in his hand as he watched it, Sokka slid down to sit next to him, Zuko barely acknowledging his presence.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He finally asked, after five minutes of silence.

Zuko sighed, eyes still on the small fire. "Ever since I realized what the Fire Nation was doing, the first time around, I've tried my best to distance myself from everything my father has done. But no matter what I do, there will always be people, like your friend Pernok, who can't see beyond my appearance. I don't think my scar has marked me, not anymore, but it just seems like my gold eyes and black hair have marked me even more than my scar could.

"Pernok will come around." Sokka assured him. "He just has a deep distrust of the Fire Nation. We all do to some extent." He sighed, staring off into the distance. "Do you remember what happened to Katara and I's mom?"

Zuko nodded. "She was killed in a raid. They were looking for Katara, but she died protecting her."

"She wasn't the only one who was killed that night." Sokka revealed. "Pernok's dad was hit with a fire blast from a firebender. And his mom was taken right in front of him by one of the soldiers. She never came back. After that, he moved in with Sitim, its why they're so close."

Zuko turned to him, shocked. "I didn't know."

"Pernok doesn't like to talk about it." Sokka said, shaking his head. "We all have our scars from the Fire Nation, whether physical or not. Some are just harder to spot than others. Its inevitable in the war."

Zuko sighed. "I failed him Sokka."

"Who?" The other boy asked confused.

"My uncle." Zuko revealed. "I knew he would get captured by the Fire Nation but I was unable to stop them. Now he's trapped in a prison somewhere, and who knows what they're doing to him. I came back to save all my friends and the world, but I couldn't even save the man who was more of a father to me than my own father."

Sokka shifted, placing a hand on Zuko's thigh. "Its not your fault."

"But—" Zuko protested.

Sokka shook his head, cutting him off. "Nope. You don't get to blame yourself. You did everything you could to change things, Azula is just too tricky. We'll get him back, just like we did before."

"I promised I would change things." Zuko whispered. "But my uncle is still imprisoned, Azula still took Ba Sing Se, and Aang was still shot. It seems like nothing has changed from before."

Sokka smiled at him. "But things have changed. You're here now and you'll be able to teach Aang firebending when its time. We know about the Fire Nation's secret bunker and Azula hasn't found out about the invasion plan. We're in a better position than before, and we have the opportunity to actually pull it off."

"Thanks Sokka." Zuko smiled. "You're a really good friend."

Sokka grinned. "Of course I am. Can I hug you now?"

"Okay fine." Zuko relented, but he was still smiling.

Sokka leaned over, wrapping Zuko into a tight hug. The other boy sinked into the hug, wrapping his arms around Sokka's waist, and resting his head on his shoulder. After a second, both boys pulled away.

"Now come on," Sokka said, clapping his hand on Zuko's shoulder. "I left Toph with Sitim and Pernok, and she's either going to destroy them or they're going to get along scarily well."

Chuckling, Zuko followed Sokka back towards their friends.

"Hey dad," Katara said, poking her head into the tent. "Can we talk?"

Hakoda nodded, setting down the maps he was going over, and gestured for her to sit in front of him. "I was hoping you'd come in. I'd noticed that you were ignoring me for a while. Are you mad at me?"

"I was." She admitted. "But, I talked to my friends and they helped me realize I was wrong. I'm sorry. I was rude to you, and I shouldn't have been."

Hakoda smiled softly. "What were you mad about?"

"I was upset that you weren't there to see Sokka and I grow up." Katara admitted. "But, it's not your fault, and I shouldn't have blamed you."

Hakoda leaned over, pulling her into a hug. "It's okay. You were only eleven. No one should have to go through that."

"I love you dad." She cried, tears prickling at the corner of her eyes.

Hakoda smiled, hugging her tighter. "I love you too Katara."

Sokka leaned into the doorway of the tent, peeking in. "I hope we aren't interrupting anything."

"Its fine Sokka." Hakoda said, pulling back from Katara. "What is it?"

Sokka stepped into the tent, Toph and Zuko following him. "We were talking, and we came up with an idea as to how to get through Fire Nation waters undetected."

"The Fire Nation Navy is large." Zuko explained. "And while normally, that would be an issue, we can use it our advantage. No one would notice if one ship stays from its normal path."

Hakoda's eyes widen. "If we can steal a ship, we'll be able to get into the Fire Nation."

"We don't need a large ship." Sokka told him. "A smaller ship would get us into the Fire Nation just as well."

"And, the smaller the ship, the less sailors on board, and the less firebenders." Zuko informed them. "We'd be able to easily capture a ship."

Hakoda nodded. "I'll inform the rest of the Southern Water Tribe. We are really good at trapping Fire Navy ships. Good job kids."

"Thanks dad." Sokka smiled.

Sitim poked his head through the tent door. "If you're done, the rest of the Southern Water Tribe wants to greet you."

"Go on." Hakoda told them. "You should see everyone."

Katara and Sokka darted out of the tent, following Sitim, while Toph and Zuko followed at an albeit slower pace. As the two of them rounded the corner, Zuko spotted Katara and Sokka, surrounded by four larger warriors, along with Pernok.

"Is there a reason that a Fire Nation brat is here?" One of the warriors asked, crossing his arms. He wore a short, boxy tunic that fell to his knees, fur straps that hung around his waist with fur-trimmed leggings and no sleeves, and was dressed very similar to Sitim, Pernok, and the other warriors.

Sitim elbowed him. "Come on Maleq, Zuko's on our side."

"I probably should have expected this." Zuko muttered to Toph.

Sokka nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, Zuko's been with us for a while. He helped defend the Northern Water Tribe from the Fire Nation."

The other three Southern Water Tribe warriors' eyes widened, murmuring to themselves. One of them stepped foreword, holding out a hand for Zuko to shake. His dark hair was pulled back into a wolftail, like the rest of them, with three blue beads threaded through a braid hanging down by his fast. He had an easy smile and sparkling blue eyes, reminding Zuko of Sitim.

"I'm Tokiq." He said, introducing himself. "Thanks for helping out, and for helping these two." He gestured to Katara and Sokka, both of whom rolled their eyes. "Hakoda's been worried about them."

Maleq scowled. "I still don't trust him."

"Lighten up Maleq." One of the other warriors told him, elbowing the other man. "Katara and Sokka obviously trust him, and that's good enough for me. I'm Dano," he introduced himself. "And the shy one is Ronrin."

Ronrin rolled his eyes. "I'm not shy, I'm just waiting for Maleq to stop deciding if he's going to trust the kid."

"All of you trust to easily, its why we've run into the problems we've had. But noooo no one listens to Maleq." He muttered.

Tokiq shook his head. "Stop being so over dramatic Maleq."

A barking sounded from behind them, and the entire group turned around, to see an odd sight. A rather large dog, with giant, white, fluffy wings spread out came running down the path. Various warriors jumped out the way, to avoid getting whacked with a face full of wing. It burst into the group, smacking both Maleq and Ronrin in the ankles, who cursed at the sudden pain, and jumping at Zuko.

Shocked, Zuko stumbled backwards, falling on the ground as he got a face full of puppy, amid the startled laugher of Sokka, Katara, Pernok, and Sitim.

"Who's this?" Zuko asked, as the puppy licked his face, squirming around in his lap.

Dano chuckled. "That's Snowy. She's a swan-dog, and it seems she likes you."

"Aw, it's so adorable." Sokka cooed, prompting Zuko to flip him off.

Smiling, he sat up, reigning in the excitable dog as he petted her head, her tail thumping in excitement. "She's really sweet."

"Who would have thought that Zuko would be an animal lover?" Katara asked, chuckling.

Zuko looked up at her. "I've always loved animals. Growing up, we had a turtleduck pond in the garden, and my mother and I would always feed them."

"I'm going to go talk to Palruk." Katara said, standing up. "I promised I would show him my waterbending healing."

As she walked away, Zuko turned to Sokka. "Is Katara okay?"

"She's taken what happened in Ba Sing Se really hard." Sokka said sighing, coming to sit down next to Zuko. Snowy licked his face, recognizing his sadness. "I think she believes that if she was a better healer, Aang wouldn't be in such a rough position."

Zuko sighed, staring off into the distance, as the other warriors walked away, recognizing this wasn't a conversation they were apart of, Sitim watching them as he went. "If anyone is to blame its me. Maybe, if I was able to stop Azula, or had done more, none of this would have happened."

"Hey," Sokka said, grabbing his hands. "We talked about this earlier with your uncle. You need to stop blaming yourself for everything that happens. Its not your fault."

Zuko shook his head. "You don't understand Sokka. If I wasn't a failure of a Fire bender, I wouldn't have been banished, and I would have been in a position to help you, and maybe change Azula's mind."

"If you weren't banished. you would have still been on the Fire Nation's side, and we would have to deal with you along with Azula." Sokka pointed out. "The other warriors may not trust you now, but they will, just give it time."

Zuko smiled. "You're a really good friend Sokka. Do you know that?"

"Its just one of my wonderful traits." Sokka grinned. "But seriously, you have the opportunity most people only dream of, the chance to redo your mistakes."

Standing up, Zuko reached his hand down, pulling Sokka up from the ground. "You give good advice."

"Of course I do." Sokka smirked. "Come on, let's go find our friends."

Linking his arm around Zuko's, Sokka dragged the other boy around the corner, amid his protests. Sitim, Pernok, and Tokiq looked up from the ground as they appeared, Maleq, Dano, and Ronrin having left, as Sitim petted Snowy. The swan-dog's ears perked up when Zuko appeared, running over to him and pushing her head under Zuko's hand for him to pet her.

"I think you've made a friend for life, Zuko." Tokiq said, laughing. "Swan-dogs are fiercely loyal to a fault, its why they're the chosen companion of the Southern Water Tribe, and if you make a friend of one of them, you make a friend for life."

Sokka snorted. "And Snowy is even more loyal than a normal swan-dog. Dad was going to keep her home with the tribe, but she followed him onto the boat and wouldn't leave."

As if they'd summoned him, Hakoda exited the tent. Bato by his side. "I would like to make an announcement," he called, prompting all of the warriors to stop what they were doing and pay attention, with even Katara and Palruk coming out of the healer's tent. "After talking to my children and their friends, we have made the decision to steal a Fire Navy warship."

Murmurs broke out among the warriors, as several turned to each other, concern on their faces. It wasn't a surprising reaction, Zuko reasoned. After all, stealing a warship would be dangerous, and they might not necessarily want to use their resources helping Aang, even if he was the Avatar.

"We won't be stealing an extremely large ship." Hakoda assured them. "Just one big enough to get the Avatar and his friends into Fire Nation territory. The smaller ships won't be as strongly defended, nor will they be expecting to be attacked. We'll be able to take one easily."

Bato stepped foreword. "If we pull this off, we'll be one step closer to stopping the Fire Nation. We'll finally be able to go home."

"We won't need everyone for this mission." Hakoda told them. "If any of you aren't comfortable with this, you can stay at the camp."

Maleq stood up. "I always trust you Hakoda, but where did you get the information from? Did it come from the Fire Nation brat?"

From next to Sokka, Zuko stiffened at Maleq's accusation.

"Yes, Zuko did tell me some information." Hakoda acknowledged. "But my children trust him, and so do I."

Maleq crossed his arms. "How could you trust him? He's the damn Fire Prince."

From across the camp, murmuring broke out, the warriors looking at each other in concern, some shooting distrustful looks at Zuko, who stiffened, but held his head high.

"How about we have Zuko explain himself?" Tokiq suggested over the din of the crowd. "He deserves the chance to defend himself, before we start attacking him for his loyalties."

Hakoda nodded to the teen. "Come on up, Zuko."

Zuko smiled tightly, walking towards where Hakoda and Bato were and joining them. "Maleq was right." He told the warriors. "My name is Zuko, son of Fire Lord Ozai and Fire Lady Ursa. But that's not all I am. When I was thirteen years old, I was banished by my father, after I defended a group of new recruits that the Fire Nation was going to send to their deaths as a distraction. My father forced me to fight an Agni Kai, which is an honor duel between two firebenders, but when I refused to fight him, he burned and banished me in front of an entire crowd. I was told that the only way I could restore my honor, was by capturing the Avatar and returning home. But while I was traveling throughout the Earth Kingdom, I realized that what the Fire Nation is doing is wrong, and I want to stop it. I may be the son of the Fire Lord, but I hate my father. That's why I decided to help Aang. I know you have no reason to trust me, but I promise you, I'm not lying."

As Zuko walked back towards where Sokka was standing, the warriors glanced among each other, muttering about what Zuko had said. Finally, Maleq, who had seemed to become the unofficial president of the "Distrust Zuko" club, stepped foreword.

"We trust you Chief, and we trust Sokka and Katara. We don't necessarily trust the Fire Prince, but we'll listen to you."

Hakoda nodded. "We'll steal a warship tomorrow. Everyone, rest up and we'll meet back here at first light."

The next day...

"Are you ready?" Sokka asked Zuko, as the two of them walked towards the center of the camp, Zuko with his swords strapped to his back, and Sokka with his club strapped to the holster on his hip, his sword on the other hip, and his boomerang strapped to his back.

Zuko nodded. "I want to prove to the other Southern Water Tribe warriors that I'm here to help, and that I'm not loyal to the Fire Lord."

"You already convinced my dad, Bato, Sitim, Tokiq, and potentially Dano, Ronrin, and Pernok. The others will come around eventually, and some may have already come around after what you said yesterday." Sokka assured him. "You just need to be patient."

Zuko glanced towards where the Southern Water Tribe warriors were milling around in the clearing. "I hope you're right."

"There you are!" Sitim exclaimed, running over to Sokka and Zuko, Toph and Pernok behind him. "We were wondering where you were."

Toph scoffed. "You were wondering where they were. I knew they were coming."

"We would have been here sooner, but someone decided to take the time to sharpen his boomerang." Zuko said, gesturing to Sokka.

Sokka scowled. "Having a sharp boomerang is important for any battle. I'm sure you want to sharpen your swords."

"Why of course." Zuko said, siting down and taking a polishing rag out of his bag, as he pulled his swords off his back. "But I didn't waste time this morning to sharpen them, I did it last night."

Toph stomped on the ground, catching several rocks that flew up. "Well, I'm ready. Let's go steal a ship!" She smirked. "I can't wait to test my metalbending out in a fight."

"You know, I'm starting to think it was a mistake to teach Toph to metalbend." Zuko stage whispered to Sokka.

Toph grinned, earthbending a small rock and launching it at Zuko's head, who winced. "I heard that Sparky."

"Are you all ready to go?" Hakoda asked, coming up behind them, Katara and Bato following.

Zuko rubbed his bruised temple, as Sokka answered his father. "Yep. We're all ready."

Motioning to the other groups of warriors, Hakoda waved them foreword, and the group slipped out of the camp. A couple people had stayed behind, including Palruk, to give the camp the appearance of being occupied.

Sneaking around the side of the beach, they hid behind the rocks, peeking out to see the Fire Navy ship resting on the sand, the small figures of the Fire Nation soldiers running about.

Nodding to one of the other groups, Hakoda signaled them. The group, led by Maleq, creeped foreword towards the soldiers. The sound of the Water Tribe and Fire Nation clashing drowned out any noise that their small group could have made, as they crept towards the ship.

Knocking out the single Fire Nation solider on the deck with a well placed water whip from Katara, Zuko, Sokka, Hakoda, Bato, Toph, and Katara boarded the ship, Toph making a beeline for the engine room. Glancing over the side of the ship, Zuko spotted Mai and Ty Lee working in tandem to take out the soldiers. Ty Lee flashed him a thumbs up, before unleashing a fury of jabs on the solider who tried to sneak up on her, and Mai pinned three of them against the tree with her knives.

"Do you know how to sail this ship?" Hakoda asked Zuko, as he entered the engine room.

Zuko shook his head. "Jee was always the one sailing the Wani. I probably only came into the engine room a handful of times."

"I've flown an airship, how hard can this be?" Sokka asked, cracking his knuckles. "Toph, do you think you can sabotage those other ships?"

The young earthbender smirked. "Of course I can Snoozles. Who do you think I am?"

Running out of the engine room, Toph earthbended a platform from the harbor floor, carrying her across the harbor towards the three other Fire Navy that were docked. The Gaang plus Hakoda and Bato leaned up against the railing, watching as smoke began to rise out of the ships and they began to crumble in upon themselves.

Down on the beach, the two armies stopped their battle to gaze in shock upon the slowly being destroyed ships. From across the water, Toph's cackles echoed out.

Hakoda shook his head. "She is having way too much fun with this."

"What do you expect?" Zuko chuckled. "Its Toph."

Another platform rose out of the ground, carrying Toph over to them, as the three ships slowly sank into the harbor. As soon as she was back on board, Hakoda ran over to the side of the ship.

"Everyone, get on!" He called down to them.

Turning away from the battle with the Fire Nation, the Water Tribe warriors sprinted up the gangplank of the ship. A couple firebenders tried to shoot fireballs at them, which Katara quickly dispelled with a wall of water.

"That was so cool!" Ty Lee cheered, skipping up to them, Mai behind her. "I've never seen bending like that."

Toph grinned. "That's because I invented it."

"She's not lying." Zuko told Mai and Ty Lee. "Apparently, metalbending isn't as impossible as everyone thought it was."

As Ty Lee bounced after Toph, asking her all sorts of questions about metalbending, which Toph was more than happy to answer, Mai turned to Zuko.

"Ty Lee and I were talking, and we're going to stay with the Southern Water Tribe." She told him.

Zuko's eyes widened. "But why? You just joined us."

"I know you are going to the Fire Nation, and Ty Lee and I can't go back there." Mai reminded him. "Its too dangerous. Azula is out for our blood, after what we did at Ba Sing Se, and the two of us were already really high profile people. We'll be recognized immediately. We'll see each other again, Zuko."

Zuko nodded. "I know, but I hate that it's like this. You two were my only two friends growing up, I don't want to loose you again."

"And you won't." Mai promised him. "Go help Aang win this war Zuko, so Ty Lee and I can come back. And besides, you have more friends then just us now, you're not alone."

Mai gestured towards where the rest of the Gaang were, and Zuko followed her line of sight. Ty Lee and Toph were leaning up against the railing, Ty Lee's mouth going a mile a minute while Toph listened to her. Sokka was visible through the window of the engine room, gesturing to various machines as he rattled off information to a slightly confused looking Bato and Hakoda. Katara sat on the ground of the deck, healing the burns of the Water Tribe warriors.

"You're right." Zuko agreed. "I'm not alone."

Three weeks later...

"Are you sure you're ready?" Hakoda asked them one last time.

Aang, who had just woken up from his coma the previous night nodded, leaning up against Appa. "We sure are, Hakoda sir."

"Just be careful." Hakoda told them, chuckling.

Zuko turned to Derai. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us?"

"I have to find the Wani's crew." Derai told him. "They deserve to know what's happened since we split up. Just promise me you'll help end this war, so we can all come back."

Zuko nodded, pulling Derai into a hug. "I will. This war needs to end, so everyone can come back."

His eyes flashed to Ty Lee and Mai, who stood on the deck of the ship with Sitim and Pernok, Ty Lee waving back at him when their eyes met.

"Come on Zuko," Sokka called from on top of Appa. "Its time to get going."

Turning around, Zuko pulled himself up onto Appa's saddle, settling into a spot next to Sokka. With a call of "yip yip!" from Aang, Appa took off into the air, and Zuko watched the figures of Derai, Ty Lee, Mai, Hakoda, Bato, Sitim, Pernok, Maleq, Dano, Ronrin, Tokiq, Palruk, and the rest of the Southern Water Tribe grow smaller and smaller.

Welp, I didn't mean to write so much angst, but apparently when I'm bored out of my mind during econ, I write angst.

And no, this isn't going to be a Zukka fic, even though I love them and ship them, but I am trying to keep it gen. Stupid characters with minds of their own smh.

Also, I'm using this chapter as a testing ground for my OCs, and if you guys like them, I'm going to include them in a slowburn Zukka fic that I'm going to write after this which I'm really excited about. So, please review them so I know what people think of them.

I'm terrible at drawing, but if someone wanted to draw Snowy, I would love to see it. I would do it, because I love her, but it would turn out as absolute trash and I don't want to subjugate anyone to that.

Also, if I made a Tumblr for this fic and my others, would y'all go on it? You would be able to ask me questions about this fic and some of my others.

And if you've read this far into the Author's Notes, which is basically just me rambling, you get a cookie :)

Please review. I love reviews.