Chapter XI: The day of Black Sun [the invasion & the eclipse]
Azula, like her brother, was starting to lose her mind or maybe she was going through something much worse than that, wherever she looked, wherever she was she only could have hallucinations of the Avatar showing up to attack her and finish her off at any moment, or could also see how her brother laughed at her telling her how naive she was. The nights that followed prior to the invasion day were spent in a complete state of insomnia, every time she closed her eyes and tried to sleep, she had recurring nightmares in which she was defeated by the Avatar on the day of the black sun and that was the main cause of her insomina. She also began to suspect about her brother's strange behavior, the Fire Nation princess recalled that he had behaved in this way during the battle in the crystal catacombs when he tried to catch up the Avatar, after she attacked him with her lightning bolt, as if he was trying to save him or at least protect him, but luckily that Water Tribe peasant managed to catch the boy's body just before it fell to the ground and in front of his eyes. She could even see that he had been spending time with Mai, but they did not share the typical couple moments, they only spent time together as friends, Mai had told her one afternoon that the princess went to visit her at her house and Ty Lee was not around, what had happened between her and Zuko, she told him that Zuko decided that both of them should continue to be just friends because he confessed that he was in love with someone else, but unfortunately he had not told her who it was, after this conversation, the Fire Nation princess was more than convinced that the Avatar was alive, stalking her, looking at her in the shadows, waiting for her to lose what little sanity she still had in her mind.
Oh, but she would not do that, she would not fall without a fight, she was obviously the rightful heir to the throne, she was destined to become Fire Lord before her stupid brother because she was beautiful, powerful and feared, she was unbreakable, no recurring nightmare of the Avatar would be able to take away the little sanity that still remained in her mind. Just to be sure, the Fire Nation princess would send someone to eliminate the Avatar if he was still alive and then after that she would eliminate her brother, there would be no way that he could take the throne away from her.
Azula smiled and laughed maliciously at her plan as she walked through the Fire Nation capital low areas, she had contacted a mysterious man, a man she could trust and who had no morals or desire for power, only liked to murder people... for a certain price.
In the deep night, mist and cool wind swirled around Azula as she waited for him, he appeared with a metallic noise, he had a metal arm and leg, as well as a third eye tattooed on his forehead, her savage golden eyes opened up triumphantly, there was no doubt, that man was the one for the job she had in mind.
"I have a job for you" she whispered as she walked forward, her body swaying seductively thinking that that way she could loosen the cold and penetrating gaze on that man's face, Azula placed her hands on his muscular chest, rubbing the hard pecks and blink in a flirtatious way like her friend Ty Lee always did when she was flirting with a random cute boy "I've heard of you, you have a killer instinct and you know how to keep secrets" the man did not say a word, he just looked at the Fire Nation princess without taking his cold gaze from him "I suspect that the Avatar is alive, I want you to find out if my suspicions are true, if you find him... eliminate him and anyone traveling with him. After that I want you to kill my brother, do it on the day of the eclipse, because no one will be there to see his disappearance"
The girl brought her body closer to the mysterious man one, she could feel the power and ferocity ran through his body, that almost excited her but he was not a worthy suitor, no matter how much her blood heated. The man simply pulled from Azula, turned on her feet and quickly disappeared into the night, leaving his warmth in the palm of her hands and her fingertips, his cold gaze and his bad behavior were etched in her memory. A smile appeared on the princess's face as she walked back to the palace, now she was sure that no one would stand in her way of dominating the world, she smiled because her brother had no idea of the surprise that he was going to receive soon.
The day of the solar eclipse had come and along with it the beginning of the invasion, on the morning of the invasion, Aang woke up in a good mood and cheerfully greeted everyone. Katara was glad to see him so happy because that indicated that he had rested well, Aang confidently believes that he could face the Fire Lord during the eclipse without problems. Toph asks Aang if he is going to use the Avatar state against him, but Aang explains that his seventh chakra was blocked when Azula struck him with her lightning, therefore he cannot enter on the Avatar state. Suddenly, a fleet of ships from the Southern Water Tribe appears on the horizon hidden under a slightly dense layer of fog. Aang created some makeshift docks on the shoreline using earthbending with Toph's help. Sokka and Katara went down to the shore and ran to join their father.
"You did it, dad" Katara said as she hugged him, Hakoda took back her daughter's hug as Sokka approached to them.
"Were you able to locate everyone I told you to search for?" Sokka asked.
"I did it. But I'm a bit worried, Sokka" Hakoda replied as he looked at Tho and Due, waterbenders of the Foggy Swamp Water Tribe, who were getting off the boat "some of these men are not exactly war material"
"This place is very different from the swamp" Due commented as he got out of the boat with Tho, but he stopped and pointed to a rock emerging from the water "what do you think it is, Tho? some kind of Fire Nation booby trap eat you?"
"It's just a rock, Tho" the man beside him replied.
"Well, I'll keep that in mind."
"Is it just me or do these guys have their leaf hats a little tight?" Hakoda asked as he looked at Bato who just walked past him.
"I only wish they could wear some pants" the Southern Water Tribe warrior replied.
"Pants are an illusion, and so is death" Huu, another member of the Foggy Swamp Water Tribe declared mystically.
Aang and Toph joined the meeting minutes later, someone else got off another boat, Haru, who sported a newly grown mustache from the last time Team Avatar saw him.
"Hey hi Katara," Haru greeted her. As soon as she saw him, Katara stopped talking to Aang, Sokka and her father and ran to hug the earthbender tightly but tenderly while smiling.
"Haru, it's so good to see you" Katara said happily, Aang felt a bit hurt, the waterbender had never smiled at him like that, this was the first time he had seen her smile so sweetly at someone she had not seen in a while, not even she show that kind of smile to her father. The young Avatar felt his heart shrink a bit, why did it hurt so much? he was not jealous and he was not in love with Katara either, at least not in the way he used to be anymore, but he promised the waterbender that they were going to make an effort and pretend there was something between them or at least try to have a relationship, he looked for Toph and brought the blind girl over to where Katara and Haru were.
"Toph, this is Haru" Aang said introducing her to the earthbender "when we met him, his village was controlled by the Fire Nation, so he had to hide his earthbending"
"Katara inspired me and my father to take back our village" Haru told them as he looked at the waterbender who looked away slightly blushing.
"You helped us find our courage, Katara" Tyro, Haru's father thanked her, placing one hand on the girl's shoulder and the other on his son's shoulder "now we are here to help you"
Toph and Aang looked at them, both with smiles seeing that they had come from so far away to help them in the invasion, until the earthbender could sense a presence near her and her eyes widened.
"No way, that's it..." Toph was about to speak, but was interrupted when she felt a pair of big and strong arms pressing her tightly against a robust body.
"Hippo's happy to see Blind Bandit" Hippo, an Earth Kingdom fighter, said as he hugged the blind girl and lifted her into his arms.
"Are you here for a rematch?" Toph asked him and Boulder, another fighter who was part of the underground fights of the Earth Kingdom.
"Negative" Boulder replied "Boulder and Hippo will no longer fight to amuse others, now we will fight for our kingdom"
"That's sweet" Toph said while smiling, once Hippo placed her on the ground, there was a small explosion in one of the ships and everyone came to see what happened. The mechanic, his son, Teo, Pipsqueak, and The Duke emerged from the boat.
"Was that a new invention?" Sokka asked a little worried about them.
"Yes, but unfortunately, the flammable capabilities of the peanut sauce proved to be a complete failure" the mechanic replied a little disappointed that his recent invention had been a complete failure.
"Were you making peanut sauce bombs?" the Water Tribe boy asked, unable to believe what he was hearing.
"They are destructive" Pipsqueak replied, who carried The Duke on his shoulders.
"But also, delicious" the little boy commented as they laughed and brushed the sauce off their faces, Momo jumped towards the little boy and began licking the caramel brown substance from his face.
"Were you able to complete the work on the plans I sent you?" the Southern Water Tribe warrior asked him.
"Yes, I did" the mechanic replied "and I think the Fire Nation will be in for a big surprise."
"Aang, my dad and I made this for you" Teo told to the young Avatar, presenting him his gift, it consisted of a staff with a different style than he was used to, Aang opened it and that staff turned out to be a new glider that also contained a secret compartment for snacks.
Meanwhile, in the Fire Nation Prison, Warden Poon was standing next to Iroh's cell filing his nails with his back leaning against the stone wall as he sent a contemptuous look at the old man who keep silent and seated on the floor giving his back to him.
"Probably you're tired of being in that cell, old man" Poon commented as he continued to mock the imprisoned Iroh "well, bad luck. You will never leave these walls again"
Ming, a young guard, appeared with breakfast: a bowl of rice and a cup with some white jade tea.
"I bring breakfast" the female guard said as he approached with the tray.
"Be careful, Ming. Don't get too close to him" the warden Poon warned her and turned his gaze to Iroh "his stench could knock you out"
After saying that, the warden left the cell under the annoyed gaze of the woman, he looked at Iroh and walked until he was a few inches near the door of his cell.
"I brought you some white jade tea" Ming said as she placed the tray on the floor "I know how much you like exotic teas"
"Thank you, Ming" Iroh answered as he turned around and took the cup with the tea "since I was locked up here, you have been truly kind to me"
Everyone gathered to listen to the invasion plan, Sokka tried to inform the force about the next steps of the invasion, but his nervousness got the better of him; causing him to become more and more anxious until he loses track of her speech and begins to tell the whole story of how he met Aang. Hakoda decided to take charge of the matter and confidently spoke to the small army sitting on the ground.
"Let me clarify a few points for everyone" Hakoda said "today is the day of the black sun and I want to thank you everyone for your sacrifice and your bravery. There are two steps to follow in the invasion: a naval stage and an earthly stage, to gain access to the Fire Nation capital sea, we have to overcome our first major obstacle here…" he went to another map "the great gates of Azulon" he went to the next map "next, we will attack on land and we will do it with everything we have, we must fight beyond its battlements and secure the tower of the square, once we do this, we will continue straight to the royal palace, from that point the eclipse will begin"
"Excuse me, but, Boulder is confused" Boulder said as he raised his hand to call the Southern Water Tribe chief as a sign of confusion and misunderstanding appeared on his face "the point of the invasion was not to attack the firebenders when they don't have powers during the eclipse?"
"The eclipse only lasts eight minutes" Hakoda replied "there is not enough time to carry out the entire invasion and the royal palace is guarded by firebenders, so that is where we will need the eclipse to gain greater advantage. By the time this is over, the Avatar will have already defeated the Fire Lord, we will have full control of the Fire Nation capital and the war will be over"
They all applauded and prepared to leave; Appa was dressed up with a brown and gold armor, and Aang shaved his head, he felt a little bad for having to do it, but he had no choice, the airbenders should not have hair on their heads, it is the custom, the only person from the Fire Nation who saw him with dark brown hair was Zuko, of course his friends were never supposed to know that he had met Zuko the night of the cave dance party. He shook his head to forget his recent thoughts about the Fire Nation prince, it was not good for him to keep thinking about him, not after what he had said that night, he still did not believe that he was capable of executing such a plan, he knew him well and knew that was not proper of him. Maybe he would give him another chance when the invasion was over.
Meanwhile, Zuko was in his bedroom wearing his battle armor that they made him wear to join in the invasion, he looked at his reflection in the mirror and sighed when he saw the kind of person he had become, but today he would put an end to it. So, he got rid of his armor, undid the traditional Fire Nation royal family hairdressing by letting go of his dark hair that had grown a little longer during that short period of time, once this was done, he took a scroll and began to write a farewell note for his friend, Mai, only her could know of his departure, he trusted her and was sure she would not tell anyone. The day of the black sun had finally arrived, today would be the day that he would execute the final phase of his plan, face his father, ran away from the Fire Nation and join the Avatar team to help them stop the war and also hope for Aang to forgive him this time, things had not ended well since they last saw each other and Zuko just wished the young Avatar would finally understand that he was trying to correct his mistakes and this time he was serious.
After shaving his head, Aang went to check up on Sokka, who was now wearing his armor and holding his helmet in his hands, he felt ashamed of his previous behavior, but then he looked up as soon as he saw his friend approach with his new glider and land next to him.
"We have been looking for you everywhere" Aang told to his friend after landing next to him on the grass "the boats are ready to go"
"I ruined it, Aang" Sokka said, lowering his head in disappointment.
"What?"
"The invasion plan was my moment of truth and I completely ruined it" the Southern Water Tribe warrior said to his friend "I just ... fell apart"
"Sokka, that speech wasn't your moment of truth" Aang said as he approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder as a sign of consolation "that was just public speaking, and no one is really good at it"
"My dad is, he explained the plan perfectly and inspired everyone" Sokka said feeling more ashamed than before "as a true leader should do"
"Look, your moment of truth will not be in front of some map. It's going to be out there on the battlefield."
"You seem so confident of everything; how do you know that we are going to win?"
"Because I already failed the world once in Ba Sing Se. I will never fail myself again."
The invading forces headed for the great gates of Azulon hidden under a thick layer of fog, as soon as they approached to the gates an alarm sounded and a net rise from both sides of the gate blocking access. As soon as the net catches fire, groups of firebenders infiltrated on the boats only to discover that they were empty, the invading forces passed the gates in submarines powered by waterbending, but the submarines have a limited supply of oxygen so they must get to the surface before reaching the beach. As the submarines resurface to refill oxygen, the Avatar team meets again to wish each other good luck before temporarily parting ways, Aang and Katara go away from the others so they can say goodbye in private.
"Aang I… Katara I…" both said in unison and then their gazes a little nervous and embarrassed.
"You first" Aang said to the waterbender.
"We've been through a lot together and I've seen you grow up so fast. You're no longer that naive and foolish kid that I found in an iceberg" Katara said making the young Avatar blush at her words "what I mean is… that I am very proud of you"
"Everything is going to be different after this isn't it?" Aang asked her.
"Yes, it will be" the waterbender replied putting a hand behind her neck with a bit of embarrassment.
"What if… what if I never come back?"
"Aang, don't say those things. Of course…" Katara tried to tell him, but was interrupted as soon as Aang pulled her to him in a strong hug, the waterbender was a bit surprised for a second, but then she returned the hug by placing her hands on her back, holding them tenderly.
"Promise me that if I never come back, you will take care of yourself and you will never forget me" Aang said to his friend while still hugging her.
"I promise" Katara said after breaking his hug, Aang, realizing how important this day is and that there was probably the possibility that he would not survive this time, closed the distance between him and the waterbender and kissed her. Katara kept her eyes wide open, but then slowly closed them accepting that kiss, for some reason, Aang did not feel anything when he kissed her, he did not feel the heat flow inside him, he did not feel sparks flew through his body, anything. After pulling away from the kiss, the young Avatar confidently took out his glider and flew away to face the Fire Lord, leaving Katara a bit surprised and flushed, but then sadly turned her gaze to the horizon, she knew perfectly well that Aang loved someone else and that he was only using her to forget the person he really loved and by doing this, they only hurt each other.
"Katara what are you doing out here?" Sokka called her, pulling her out of her thoughts "it's time to dive"
"Right, I'm on it" Katara replied, she jumped on Appa and created a bubble around his head so that they could both breathe underwater, Appa dived into the water as soon as the others began their attack.
Aang flew to the royal palace with his glider and could not help feeling a complete fool for what happened a few moments ago, what had gone through his head to kiss Katara that way? he was not sure, maybe he had done it because a part of him was still hurt by what Zuko had told him that night they met in the prison corridor or maybe he wanted to forget the touch of his kisses or maybe he did it because he was heartbroken and just wanted to ease the pain inside him. Suddenly his stomach started to growl, so he opened the snack compartment of his glider, ate something, and continued his journey to the Fire Nation palace.
After the submarines evaded capture at a gate equipped with harpoon weapons, the invading forces finally managed to reach the beach near the capital. Upon entering the plaza, caterpillar haped tanks propelled by earthbenders are immediately unleashed and destroy the Fire Nation tundra tanks, as fighting ensues on the mainland, other warriors, masters, and eight supply trucks join the battle, the earthbenders caterpillar tanks are very resistant and manage to take down the Fire Nation tundra tanks. Huu uses his plantbending to create a giant monster made of seaweed.
After mentally apologizing to Mai and leaving the note in her bedroom, Zuko went to a small room where an altar was located and knelt in front of his mother portrait.
"I know I've made bad decisions, but today... I'm going to fix things" Zuko said "I'm going to flee from here and try to stop this senseless war once and for all and maybe... maybe the person I love could forgive me and we can finally be together"
Having said these words, Zuko went back to his bedroom, collected his broadswords, a bag with all his stuff, and walked away ready to face his destiny.
Katara, Hakoda and Sokka attacked the towers that were firing missiles at them with Appa's help. Katara and Sokka manage to bring down a tower, Hakoda destroys another but ends up being wounded in the process, both brothers carried their father a short distance from the battlefield, Katara tries to heal their father using her waterbending; however, despite helping him with her waterbending, Hakoda needs time to recover before going back to the battle, therefore, Sokka promises his father and sister that he would take care of leading the battle instead. He is flying in Appa, lands among the troops that have apparently had a little disorganization, manages to regroup the invading forces, and orders them to continue the journey to the palace.
As the invasion forces tore down the capital wall, things seemed to be going well; however, when Aang entered in the capital city, he found it completely deserted, there was not a single person on the streets.
"This is strange, normally there are people walking through these streets..." Aang thought, this drastic change of scene, everything was so empty and quiet, too quiet, that was not normal in a city as busy as the Fire Nation capital, he came out of his trance and his defense mode and began to walk towards the palace. Once there, he opened the door and entered "the Avatar is back!" he yelled, however, he could see that there was no one around, something that led him to think that none of this could be more strange, but also led him to think that perhaps it was a trap and Aang began to believe in the possibility that he was being hunted.
Among the countless corridors and halls looking for the Fire Lord to be able to face him, Aang heard a few steps and stopped in the corridor, the steps seemed to stop too, how suspicious, he keep silent trying to perceive the movement of the person who was there in the same runner as him, but was shocked when the person on the other side of the wall, lunged in his direction causing him to fall to the ground and in a matter of seconds, he was hit directly in the face, causing the young Avatar to emit a grint of pain, forcing the person who attacked him to stop beating him while looking at him in anger.
"Aang?" Zuko put aside his expression of anger and looked at him between puzzled and confused.
"Zuko?" the young Avatar looked much more confused than him, he realized that the Fire Nation prince was wearing a red and gold cape, he also carried two broadswords and a bag "where... where are you going? I thought you were going to fight with your father"
"Actually I'm going to fight but against my father" Zuko replied, the Avatar processed the information as the prince heard a few steps approaching towards them, he took Aang's wrist and dragged him down the corridor and thrown him inside a small room that was there.
"Wait... I don't understand anything" Aang said to Zuko once they both entered inside that small room "are you going to face the Fire Lord? but why?"
"Because I lied to him, one day I had to face the consequences of my mistakes and redeem myself, especially with you. And that day is today, I recognize that I have done bad things and looking back the only thing that I have brought was more pain and remorse, rather than happiness and good memories, I know you probably hate me and I know that if my mother were here... she would hate me too. I have to do this for me, for her and… for you."
Aang never expected to hear such a confession, especially from Zuko, he realized that this time he was serious but his mind made him recall all the things he said that night in the dark prison corridor and that made his hopes crumble once again.
"Zuko, you... you're an idiot!" Aang exclaimed, Zuko looked at him a little surprised but sadness was reflected in his eyes "you're an idiot for believing that your mother would hate you, she would be proud that you finally found your way, anyway... just like I am now" the Fire Nation prince's golden eyes pupils shrank in surprise "but..." no, not again, Zuko could not take more pain than he already felt "even though you helped me a lot all this time, I could never hate you, but I can't allow myself to forgive you, my heart wants me to forgive you but my mind stops me, and if you think that you should stop your father and that I should help you, then you are..."
Zuko interrupted Aang's speech by hugging him, all the weight that they both carried on their shoulders disappeared during that brief moment, the young Avatar returned the hug by placing his arms around the firebender's waist, clinging tightly, in that instant, they both felt that they were regaining their strength.
"I'm really sorry, Aang. I am also grateful for having this opportunity, I may not become the best person in the world from one day to another but, I promise you I will try."
The two left the room a bit embarrassed, the scene was comical and even more so knowing that Zuko left there blushing and with a smile. An external noise caught their attention, so they knew that they would have to part to follow their destiny now and who knows? maybe this would bring them back together.
"Its time isn't it?" Aang asked, Zuko nodded "let's do this!"
"I know it sounds scary, but you are the Avatar, nobody can stop you."
"You're right but… I'm feared" the young Avatar replied.
"Feared? why?" Zuko asked looking at the boy with a worried face.
"Because what if I can't win this battle? what if I lose again? I don't want that to happen, I..." Aang was silenced by Zuko who pressed his lips against his, he took little monk's neck bringing him closer and Aang clung to Zuko's robe, once again, Aang could feel sparks flew inside of his body, totally different from when he kissed Katara a few minutes ago. The kiss was deep but did not last long, when they pulled apart, Zuko winked at the Avatar, making him blush and left from there.
Aang stood there for a few seconds, before reacting, leave the palace and join the invading forces. Once he arrived using his glider, he could see that the battle was continuing, Katara and Sokka were already waiting for him, the young Avatar put away his glider wings and landed on the ground in front of them.
"Please tell me you're here because the Fire Lord turned out to be a great weakling and you didn't even need the eclipse to defeat him" Sokka said looking at his friend standing in front of him.
"He was not at home" Aang answered, that was true, but he could not tell them that he had seen Zuko while he was looking for the Fire Lord "in fact, no one was there, the whole city is desert"
"They already knew it..." Sokka said when he realized the situation.
"It's over. The Fire Lord has probably long gone to a remote island where he will be safe during the eclipse."
"No" the Southern Water Tribe warrior said thoughtfully "my instincts tell me that he would not go too far, he would have to have some secret bunker to go to and be safe during an attack, but it should be close enough to keep leading his nation"
"If an underground bunker is what we're looking for, I'm the right girl to find it" Toph suggested, offering herself to begin the search.
"The mechanic gave me this timing device" Sokka said as he took out a kind of clock that counted the time that was left for the invasion forces to defeat the Fire Nation "it seems we have about ten minutes until the eclipse appears completely , ten minutes to find the Fire Lord"
"We can still do this; we can still win this day" Aang said with a hopeful tone.
"Wait, if you knew that we would come here, then everything is a trap" Katara said stopping her friend and turned her gaze to her brother "maybe we should use the time we have left to make sure that we all leave from here safe and sound"
"All who are here today came prepared to risk everything for this mission" Hakoda said as he slowly got up due to the injury, clenched his fist tightly as he spoke "they know that everything is at stake, if there is still a chance and there is still hope, I think it would be better for Aang to do this"
"What do you think? you are the one who has to face the Fire Lord, after all" Sokka asked Aang as he looked at him "whatever decision you make, I support you"
"I'll have to try" Aang replied.
With the help of Toph's ability to see underground, she managed to locate the secret bunker inside a nearby volcano, they passed through tunnels filled with gas and magma until they reached a metal door that Toph opened using her newly acquired metalbending. They cornered a Fire Nation noble and he pointed out where the Fire Lord's chamber was. As soon as the eclipse began, Aang opened the chamber door and to his surprise, he found Azula waiting for them.
"So, I suppose my doubts are confirmed, you are alive after all" the Fire Nation princess said "I had the feeling that you survived my attack, but that doesn't matter, I knew about the invasion for months"
Meanwhile, Zuko went to the chamber where his father was hiding, now he was standing in front of the steel doors, he sighed softly, the decision was already made and there was no going back, he had already made a plan and he did not think to throw it out. He put a hand behind his back to make sure he had his broadswords with him.
"It's time" he said, placing a hand on the door and opened it "I'm going to face you"
"Prince Zuko, what are you doing here?" Ozai asked "why are you here?"
"I'm here to tell you the truth" Zuko replied.
"Tell the truth in the middle of an eclipse, this will be interesting" Ozai dismissed his guards, they turned and ran out of the chamber, the atmosphere was so tense that it could be cut with a knife (literally) but Zuko recovered his courage and he did not let it go "I'm curious what you're planning to do"
"In the first place, in Ba Sing Se it was Azula who defeated the Avatar, not me" Zuko said.
"Why would she lie to me about that?" the Fire Lord asked.
"Because the Avatar is not dead. He survived."
"What?"
"In fact, he's probably leading this invasion. It could be on the way right now."
"Get out of here!" Ozai angrily ordered as he got up from his seat "get out of my sight right now if you know what's good for you"
"Another thing, I will no longer take orders from you" Zuko said defiantly, he had not come that far to give up so soon.
"You will obey me or that defiant breath will be the last one that you gave" Ozai said still angry, he began to walk threateningly towards his son, but Zuko prevented it, he drew out his broadswords and adopted a fighting position, his father could not do anything without his firebending.
"I'm going to speak my mind and you are going to listen to me" Ozai sat down again with a serious expression on his face "I wanted nothing more than to be by your side. For a long time all I wanted was for you to love me, to accept me" he closed his eyes thinking of his father's cruelty towards him "I thought it was my honor what I wanted, but in reality I was just trying to please you. You, my father who banished me just for speaking out of turn. You, my father who challenged me, a thirteen year-old child, to an Agni Kai, how can you justify a duel with a child?"
"I did it to show you respect."
"It was cruel and it was wrong."
"Then you haven't learned anything."
"No, I have learned everything, and I have had to do it on my own. Growing up we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history and somehow war was our way of sharing our greatness with the world, what an amazing lie it was, instead of respecting us, people fear us, the world is terrified of the Fire Nation, they don't see our greatness, they hate us and we deserve it. We have created an era of fear in the world and if we don't want the world to destroy itself, we must replace it with an era of peace and... love" he added this last word in a low voice.
"And I thought you wanted nothing more than to be by my side. Your uncle has influenced you, isn't he?" his father said with a mocking and harsh voice.
"Yes, he did."
"Well, maybe he can teach you the pass of tea and failure" Ozai replied sarcastically.
"No, he has taught me the pass of equality. There's something else I must tell you."
"No! enough was enough!" Ozai yelled, standing up.
"I have made an even more important decision... I will join the Avatar and I will help him defeat you" Zuko said "and I also want to tell you that I... that I'm gay"
"I already knew that idiot, Azula told me" the Fire Lord said, Zuko was surprised for a second, how on earth did his sister know that he is...? "you think you are brave enough to face me, but you will only do it during the eclipse. If you have real courage, you will stay here until the sun appears. Don't you want to know what happened to your mother?"
Aang, Sokka and Toph fought Azula and her Dai Li agents, who were eventually immobilized. Although she did not have her firebending, Azula proved to be too agile for Aang or the others to manage to take her down, Sokka stops Aang and Toph from chasing Azula further, realizing that she is only tricking them into wasting the remaining time, while they try to leave, Azula taunts Sokka by hinting that she has captured, imprisoned and (possibly tortured) Suki, which enrages the Southern Water Tribe warrior, who rushes towards her. Azula prepares to stab him with a hidden dagger, but Toph could feel her movement, quickly disarmed her, and cornered her against the wall with some earthbending handcuffs, Sokka holds Azula and demand her to reveal where the Kyoshi Warrior is.
"What happened that night?" Zuko asked to the Fire Lord.
"My father, the Fire Lord Azulon had ordered me to do the unthinkable to you, my own son and I was going to do it. Your mother apparently found out and swore that she would protect you at all costs" Ozai told him "she knew I wanted the throne and she proposed me a plan... a plan with which I would become the Fire Lord and your life would be saved. Your mother did treacherous things that night, she knew the consequences and accepted them, for her betrayal, she was banished"
"So, she's alive..." Zuko said who felt a tear slide wetting his cheek.
"Maybe, and now I realize that banishment was too kind a penalty for treason and for monsters like you, your penalty will be much more severe."
Without even thinking about it, Ozai sent a powerful lightning bolt to his son, Zuko managed to catch the lightning and redirected it towards Ozai, counterattacking, causing an explosion that pushed the Fire Lord against the wall. Fire was everywhere, and by the time the smoke cleared, Zuko was already gone.
Azula realizes that the eclipse is over because she can feel that firebending comes back to her, using her blue flames she manages to separate the three members of the Avatar team, she takes a turn remaining on her knees on the earth wall, manages to free himself from Toph's earthbending handcuffs escaping from Sokka and the others.
"Dad is at the end of the corridor" the Fire Nation princess said revealing the exact location where her father was "then go down a secret staircase to the left, I'm sure he will be happy to see you now"
Believing that she could defeat them now that the eclipse is over, Azula flees the bunker leaving Aang, Sokka, and Toph standing in the middle of that tunnel.
"I will fell for that!" Sokka yelled annoyed at the princess who ran away from there laughing out loud "agh, I can't believe it, she made us waste all our time"
"It's not your fault, Sokka" Toph told him, turning her head towards the Southern Water Tribe warrior "Azula was ready to wait for us, she had all her movements planned"
"And now, it's too late."
"Maybe it's not too late, the eclipse is over, but I can face the Fire Lord anyway" Aang said as he turned to look at his friends who were behind him.
"No, I don't think it's a good idea" Sokka said stopping his friend.
"But I have to, I came here to finish the job and everyone is counting on me" Aang told him.
"The Fire Lord knew we would come this time, we thought we had the surprise factor on our side but it was not like that" Toph said "it was just not our day, now what we have to do is go back and help our friends"
"I suppose you are right" the young Avatar said a bit disappointed, but he could feel a hand resting on his shoulder, he raised his gaze to find Sokka standing in front of him.
"You'll have another chance. I know you will."
Coming out of the bunker, Zuko ran down a slide towards the airfield, the larger airships had already taken off, he found a small war balloon charged and ready to go. He jumped inside ignoring the shouts of the guards, sliced the sandbags and soon headed the clouds, soaring until he caught sight of Appa and began to follow him, occasionally turning his gaze to the drifting aircraft behind of them.
After that, Aang, Sokka, and Toph go back to the battlefield, as fleets of hot air balloons and zeppelins emerged from behind the palace and attempted to attack the invading forces. The troops attempt to stop the fleet of aircraft but find they are outnumbered. The aircrafts destroy the submarines, making it impossible for the invading forces to escape. Hakoda tells Aang and the younger fighters to run away while the adults are left behind to be taken as prisoners. After saying goodbye, the rest of the Avatar team, along with Haru, Teo, and the Duke, climb onto Appa and as they soar into the air, Aang tells them that the Western Air Temple will be a safe place to hide for a while. On the other side, Azula watches them fly away from one of the airships as the group escapes but she chooses not to chase them, trusting that one day they would come back.