The Earth King left that day to explore the Earth Kingdom with his pet bear, and we all sent him off with wishes of good luck and silent trepidation. I really hope he makes it out there, he doesn't exactly seem like the type that's used to being independent. Oh well, nothing we can do now. Instead, we all focused on our tasks in mind. Katara focused primarily on Aang, healing him with water bending and I joined in with her to double the yield, explaining how I'd figured out the healing trick by accident so she started coaching me on how to do it properly.

She also healed me of the residual burns from Zuko's fire attack, leaving my skin perfectly clear save for a few red marks that would fade in time. I was glad they wouldn't scar, I think that would just constantly remind me of that day if I was left with a visual reminder. Anyway, with my lessons with Katara, Sokka and Hakoda began planning a new invasion of the Fire Nation, which I had had no clue they were planning in the first place. It took some time for Katara and the others to catch me up on how they found out about the solar eclipse which was coming, but once I was up to speed, I couldn't help but comment on how I was glad I was a water bender on this occasion.

Without the Earth Kingdom's army, it seemed like our only option was to take the Fire Nation capital with a smaller, concentrated force of warriors and benders and basically…hope for the best. "Did you guys always make your plans like this? There seems to be a lot of 'hope for the best' and 'making it up as we go along' thrown around in there." I noted as Sokka continued to draw up some invasion plans, though he looked up at me with a quirked eyebrow.

"Are you kidding? We never really even planned things before since they always went sideways anyway." I stared at them.

"How did Zuko never catch you guys before?!" At my outburst, we all laughed at just how ridiculous it was. These kids were all quite an impressive bunch, even Sokka being a non-bender, he was a good warrior and although he was goofy, I could tell that he was actually quite smart. The invasion plan was his, after all. We got a couple of days in Chameleon Bay without being found, but soon we started to see Fire Nation ships patrolling the waters and sooner or later, they were going to find us.

"So what do we do? Make a run for it?" Toph questioned as we all gathered at the council to discuss our plans.

"I've lived on a Fire Nation naval ship before. Although Zuko's ship was just a cruiser, the schematics isn't all that different with these warships." I spoke up, drawing all eyes to focus on me. "I was taught everything about the machinery and how to keep it running, and the layout will probably be similar. Here." Getting a stick, I started to draw on the ground the outline of the warships and drew arrows to where the captain's quarters would be, as well as the crew barracks, the main engine room and such. "If we can take over one of these ships, I can keep it running and I can also teach you guys how to blend in as Fire Nation naval officers and soldiers. No one will ever know."

"This is good, I think we should go with this." Hakoda nodded his head, humming thoughtfully. "It's our best option. Bato, put together an infiltration team. Kayo, would you mind joining them?" I gave him a smirk.

"You kidding? I've been dying for some action. Let's get to it!"

"I'll go to. Once I'm on board, I'll be able to sense where people are. It's maximise our chances at taking the ship over without getting found out." Toph volunteered so I ruffled her hair lightly, messing it up teasingly.

"So we're partners in crime now, huh Toph?" She grinned at the thought, cracking her knuckles and neck in preparation. We set out that night, using canoes to silently steal up to the most isolated ship in order to infiltrate it. Keeping silent, I went up first in order to check out the deck. Like I thought, it was lightly guarded but there were a couple of soldiers up on the bridge overlooking the deck, meaning that if we got spotted, the alarm would be raised and this entire operation would be over. "Okay." I started as I climbed back down to the others. "Six on deck, two on the bridge. It has to be quick, clean and quiet. The two on the bridge will raise the alarm if they see anything, so wait for my signal."

Going back up, I waited until the soldiers on the bridge had their backs turned before we moved. Within minutes we'd secured the deck, bound up the prisoners and quickly moved along. Bato's team went to secure the bridge whilst Hakoda and a few of his men went to capture the captain, whilst Toph and I went down below deck in order to clear out the rest of the crew. I'd been given a couple of water skins by Katara, who'd advised that carrying my own water with me was useful, especially since I'd be inside the ship.

She was right, and after just a few lessons with her teaching me the fundamentals and foundation of water bending, it all seemed to come so much easier now. There was no hesitation when Toph warned me about two men around the corner, guarding a door so after counting down in my head, I turned and fired two blasts of water at them, making them yelp before I froze them down. Once they were secure, Toph used her newly developed metal bending to rip off part of the ship and trap them against the wall with bands across their bodies, limbs, heads and mouth, allowing me to retract my water. "You know, you must be the coolest girl I've ever met." I said to Toph as I tapped at the metal curiously. "Seriously, who knew metal bending was even a thing?"

"That's right, I'm awesome, just don't you forget it sugar-pie." Sugar what now? I couldn't help but laugh. Toph was so badass, and she was just twelve. I feel like I need to step up my game here. With Toph and I taking care of the rest of the crew, we had the entire ship secured within the hour. Once the last of the soldiers had been taken out, Toph and I dusted off our hands before fist bumping, feeling rather satisfied with our work.

Once the crew had been dealt with, we set them out to sea on canoes of their own, most of them unconscious and wished them well. They'd be picked up sooner or later, so it wasn't that huge a deal. Before it got light out, we got everybody on board, Appa flying most of us over and I helped Katara bring Aang to the captain's cabin since it would have the most comfortable bed so that he could continue to rest and be healed. "It's been a few days, I'm getting worried." Katara said, sitting by his side as Aang continued to sleep.

"He's gone through a great deal, his body is probably still in shock from being brought back by you, Katara. It needs time to recover, and it's a slow process. Don't worry, he'll wake up when he's ready." Comforting her gently, she nodded her head before we left him to sleep in peace, going up onto the deck where Katara then continued her lessons in water bending with me.

"You've got a good stance already, but you should try bringing your elbows in and covering your centre. Also, what's with all the dancey moves you do whilst bending?" Katara asked me with a tilted grin as I naturally spiralled on point as I followed her instructions.

"Sorry, it's a habit. I've been dancing before I could walk and I learned fire bending forms from my mother. Both of which ended up being my only foundation for water bending. Is it wrong?" I worried, flexing out my feet and trying to keep my entire foot on the ground but it just felt so weird to be flat footed, I wasn't used to it.

"No, I guess not, but I think it's important to learn traditional water bending forms first so that you have a solid foundation and understanding. Once you become a master, you can do all the fancy footwork you want, maybe you could even teach me a few moves." Katara laughed before we returned to the lesson. Katara was an excellent teacher and I progressed quickly as she taught me traditional forms as well as fighting techniques. Considering we were out on the open water, we had plenty of water to use when there was no one else in sight.

When I wasn't learning from Katara, I was teaching everyone else everything about being a convincing Fire Nation soldier, including proper bows and how to address superiors, key codes and sea terms, everything I'd learned from being on Zuko's ship. With everything I'd learned about steering, navigating and ship maintenance, we soon had this ship running as smooth as silk. "Well I have to admit, you knowing all this stuff is pretty handy." Sokka said as he tugged at his Fire Nation uniform. "We've already passed two ships and they haven't suspected a thing. Great job."

"Happy to help. By the way Sokka? You're wearing the pants back to front." I told him, making him yelp and quickly look down, flustered by his mistake whilst I laughed at his comical response. Momo chittered as he flew over our heads before landing on my shoulder where I naturally lifted my hand to stroke his ears and tickle his chin before giving him a snack to eat. "There you go Momo. Make sure you help keep an eye out for other ships, okay?" He squeaked in response, gnawing on his date, happily settling on my shoulder since he knew he was likely to get food. "Are we going to resupply sometime soon? We're running out of food and Appa needs a lot more than anyone else."

"We're planning to stop this afternoon at the port, but we're not too sure it's a good idea. It's controlled by the Fire Nation and one slip up will give the game away. Dad's thinks it'll be better to pull into one of the bays and resupplying secretly." Sokka said as he emerged from where he'd ducked behind a bunch of crates in order to switch his pants around. "It won't exactly hide us well, but if we're fast we can be in and out before anybody notices us."

"Maybe we should send an advance team to land first and have the supplies ready. We'll need to move fast if we're to get there in time, so Katara and I should probably go so we can move quickly over the water. We should bring some of your dad's men too, since we'll need strong people to do the heavy lifting. I'm pretty sure we should have enough money to buy what we need, but I think if we can take off our disguises before we reach the market, the people there will be more willing to deal with us. We're still in Earth Kingdom territory, after all."

"Right, let's go talk to my dad." So we planned the excursion carefully with Hakoda who listened to mine and Sokka's advice and improved on it, giving the go ahead for an advance team. Thankfully it all turned out really well. Since I'd already told everybody how to blend in, having spent time among the Earth Kingdom towns and villages, everybody was able to get in and out with all the supplies we needed. We even had enough hay to feed Appa for another week or so, which made the big guy very happy. With plenty of food, water, more fuel and everything else we needed, we set off on the seas again, where I began to get used to my new life on the run once more. At least I was with people who were nice and welcoming. In fact, Toph and I grew pretty close having a similar attitude towards enjoying whatever life threw at you. She told me a lot about herself, including how her parents had tried to keep her hidden from the world convinced she needed protecting, which I just couldn't bring myself to believe.

"You're kidding right? You're the toughest most fearsome girl I've ever met. Sounds to me like your parents are the blind ones." I commented without thinking before wincing guiltily. "Sorry, I didn't mean…"

"It's okay, you can say I'm blind, it's not a big deal." Toph waved off, totally nonplussed by my stupid big fat mouth and insensitivity. "I'm not sensitive about it, in fact I'm glad I'm blind. If I wasn't, then I wouldn't be me, and I probably wouldn't be so great at earth bending as I am now." Relaxing to see her so confident and sure of herself, I grabbed hold of her and hugged her tightly, lifting her up to cuddle her despite her yelling and complaining, a hand shoving against my face. "Cut it out! I hate all this mushy stuff!"

"Sure thing Toph, whatever you say." Loosening my grip when Toph was perched on my lap I stroked her hair softly as she settled, going still though she had folded her arms grumpily, annoyed at being treated like a little kid. "You should meet my mom, I think you'll like her. She's very soft and gentle, but she's a kickass bender. One time, I remember these boys were trying to bully me and a couple other kids from our troupe when my mom just suddenly appeared and absolutely kicked their butts. She didn't care that they were teenagers, she totally beat them up and sent them crying."

"She sounds like my kinda gal. Where is she? Do you really have no idea where she is right now?"

"I don't know. She could have made it to the colonies, but there are so many that I wouldn't even know where to start. I'm hoping that once we win the war I'll be able to travel freely and go looking for her myself." Sighing softly as I hugged Toph against me, placing my chin over her shoulder as she started to relax and lean back against me as I looked up at the stars. "I miss her so much."

"I miss my mom too. I guess I can't help but feel bad that I left without saying goodbye, but there's no way they would have understood and let me go. I had to run away, otherwise I would have been trapped in that house for the rest of my life." Understanding just how difficult it must have been for Toph, I placed my hand over her head and hugged her warmly.

"Well, sounds to me like they're stubborn. It's probably where you got it from, so don't think too much about it. When the time is right, you can go see them again and tell them exactly how much it makes you happy being out in the world, and if they don't accept you for who you are, then they're not acting like real parents should." Toph moved slightly, taking in my words before she closed her eyes and curled up against me.

"You're right. I can't worry about the future when there's so much going on right now. We've got way bigger problems on our hands."

"Exactly, but don't worry Toph. As long as we're all together, I have a feeling that there's nothing we can't do." Humming in agreement, Toph soon fell asleep against me so I let her rest for a while, keeping her warm with my body heat before taking her inside to rest, laying her down on her bed lightly and tucking her in to sleep peacefully before quietly leaving the room, my head swimming with thoughts of my mother, and a thousand other things beside it.