The moon was already beginning moving in front of the sun as the invasion force continued its march on the Fire Nation capital. Huu, still using his seaweed monster armor, and several swamp benders stood guard over the submarines as the forces moved ever closer to the capital. The Fire Nation armies tried to shoot the Earth Kingdom tanks, but they were too powerful. The sides opened, allowing Earth Kingdom soldiers to run about and fire boulders to counterattack the Fire Nation. In retaliation, catapults were launched, sending smoldering boulders hurtling into the air. These were intercepted either by earthbenders or by the fire twins, keeping the invasion force safe.
Huddled together behind a stationary Earth Kingdom tank, Sokka, Hadoka, and an Earth Kingdom general were studying a map, plotting out their next moves. They all cringed at the sound of an explosion that got a bit too close, but did not let it deter them. Then, just as Sokka happened to look up, he spotted Katara coming back with Hakoda, smiling at this sight.
"Dad!" he let out, quickly running up to him. "You're on your feet again."
"Thanks to your sister," Hakoda nodded, letting Katara ease him to the ground within the safety of the stationary tank's shadow. "I'm in no shape to fight, but maybe there's some way I can help."
"Everything's going smoothly," Sokka reported. "We're making good time, and should reach the capital before the eclipse hits."
"I wouldn't go that far just yet!" Zuko called, hopping over the tank to join the trio. "We just spotted something on the horizon."
"What, more troops?" Katara questioned.
"No," Xia said, shaking her head and pointing to the sky. "Aang!"
"What?" Sokka let out, looking up and seeing Aang gliding towards them.
Aang quickly evaded some fire blasts before landing in front of the group.
"Please tell us you're here because the Fire Lord turned out to be a big wimp and you didn't even need the eclipse to take him down."
"He wasn't home," Aang told them. "No one was. The entire palace city is abandoned."
Horrifying realization hit them all like a ton of bricks.
"They knew..." Sokka gasped.
"Oh no..." Katara let out, a hand covering her mouth. "When Azula and those girls were impersonating the Kyoshi Warriors… King Kuei must have told them the plan..."
"They've had months to prepare for this..." Zuko said, turning angrily and punching the tank, flames exploding from his fist. "No! Damnit! Azula was born lucky..."
"It's over," Aang lamented. "The Fire Lord is probably long gone, far away on some remote island where he'll be safe during the eclipse."
"No," Sokka countered. "My instincts tell me he wouldn't go too far. Xia, Zuko, is there somewhere where the royal family would go if the Fire Nation ever got invaded?"
Xia perked at that, her eyes going wide.
"Azulon's Bunker!" she exclaimed. "Remember Zuko? We had to do all those damn drills every month about 'what to do during an invasion'."
"Right," Zuko recalled. "I remember hating those because we thought no one would be crazy enough to attack the capital."
"Try desperate," Sokka remarked. "Please tell me you know where it is."
"It's deep underground," Xia answered. "It's protected by the subterranean magma pools, and more guards than a high security prison. On the plus side, it's entirely made of metal."
"If that's true, it won't be protected from me," Toph remarked.
"The Mechanist gave me this timing device," Sokka told them, pulling out a strange contraption that looked like a cross between a compass and a timer. "It looks like we've got about ten minutes until the full eclipse."
"That's ten minutes we can't waste," Zuko insisted.
"We can do this," Aang said, his confidence returning. "We can still win the day."
"Wait!" Katara spoke up. "If they knew we were coming, it could all be a trap. Maybe we should use the time we have left to make sure we all get out of here safely."
"Trap or not, this may be our only chance at getting to our father," Xia insisted. "We have to try."
"She's right," Hakoda agreed. "Everyone who's here today came prepared to risk everything for this mission. They know what's at stake. If there's still a chance and there's still hope, I think they would want Aang to go for it."
"We've come too far to turn back now," Zuko pressed.
"It's your call, Aang," Sokka told you. "You're the one that has to face the Fire Lord. whatever you decide, we're with you."
Aang thought for a moment, before rising up and turning back to the volcano.
"I've got to try."
…
Later, Aang, Sokka, Toph, and the fire twins rode Appa to the side of the volcano. They landed, and Toph jumped down, feeling around for a bit.
"Whoa, and I thought the underground city in Ba Sing Se was interesting. I can sense dozens of tunnels criss-crossing throughout the inside of the volcano. It's like a massive labyrinth."
"Anything else?" Sokka inquired. "Is there a structure somewhere?"
Toph stood up before digging her hands into the side of the volcano, allowing her to sense the inside.
"There is something big, dense, and made of metal deep in the heart of the volcano."
"That's the bunker," Zuko confirmed.
"We can't afford to take one of the entrances in the city," Xia said. "Luckily, if we can't find a door, we'll make one."
Toph just smirked before earthbending a hole into the side of the volcano. She climbed into it with Sokka following behind. Zuko and Xia followed behind as Aang turned to Appa and Momo.
"Stay safe," he told them. "We'll be back soon."
Aang then followed the others inside, allowing Toph to sense around to find the right direction.
"This way!" she directed. "That one's a dead end!"
"What would we do without you?" Sokka asked as they followed after her.
"Perish in burning hot magma," Toph replied bluntly.
"Yeah, pretty much," Sokka remarked, noting some magma channels overhead.
The group pressed onward, arriving at a larger chamber that was filled with large spouts that were steaming visibly.
"Watch your step here," Zuko warned. "These vents lead right down into the magma pools below. The air will fry you in an instant, if the magma doesn't get you first.
"Then we'll have to be quick," Sokka responded as he stepped out. "But also careful."
Suddenly, a massive vent exploded right in front of him. Xia yanked him back as Aang used a gust of wind to cool the exploding magma before it could hurt anyone.
"How was that careful?" Aang questioned.
"I was wrong. We need to be fast, careful, and lucky."
The five of them quickly took off, narrowly avoiding the magma spurts as they erupted around them. Thankfully, Aang only needed to cool two or three more before they reached the end of the room. Unfortunately, what was waiting for them was a rocky ledge overlooking a river of lava.
"Not good..." Sokka let out. There's no floor."
"If there were less of us, I could carry us across on my glider," Aang remarked, gritting his teeth. "What do we do?"
"I have an idea," Xia spoke up. "Zuko, remember what Sozin and Roku did during the volcano?"
"Right," Zuko recalled. "Aang, you can help us. Three firebenders is better than two."
"Good thing the fire's still on," Toph mused as she and Sokka stepped back, giving the room to work.
The three of then took their stance, index and middle fingers raised as they began channeling the heat of the lava through their bodies and into the air. Beneath them, the lava hardened, the light dying as it became solid igneous rock. When they were done, all three lowered their arms in almost perfect harmony.
"Let's move," the twins declared in unison, jumping off the cliff.
Aang, Sokka, and Toph didn't waste a second following after, running across the hardened river. When they reached the other side, Toph used Earthbending to get them back up onto the path, and they continued unimpeded. Luckily for the quintet, they soon reached the massive metal dome that lead into the underground bunker. They approached the massive doors, Sokka letting out a whistle.
"That's some door!" he exclaimed.
"It's got several locks, an intricate pulley system, as well as a fire-based locking system," Zuko recalled. "It's supposedly impossible to break into."
Toph snorted, patting Zuko on the back.
"Watch and learn, firecracker."
Toph quickly started jamming her elbows into the door, cracking the metal. She then took a few steps back, extended her middle and index fingers, kissed them, then jammed them into the door, allowing her to split it open. Once she made a hole big enough, she stepped through and signaled the direction they needed to go. Everyone followed her through the hole, Zuko just staring in amazement.
"I am so glad I never had to face her in combat," he mused.
"Yeah, you wouldn't have stood a chance," Sokka declared. "Come on!"
…
Back with the invasion force, they continued pressing their attack. Fire Nation soldiers tried blasting at them, but not only were they outmatched, but the tanks were just too strong to break through. Even worse, The Boulder and the Hippo, along with several other earthbenders, continued to create large landslides the took out troops and collapsed battlements like they were made of building blocks.
"Retreat!" a Fire Nation Captain called out. "Everyone move back to the secondary defensive position! Retreat!"
The Fire Nation soldiers all ceased their attack, falling back as they were commanded. Emboldened by this, Bato climbed up on one of the tanks, addressing the troops.
"The eclipse is only minutes away. We should be able to make it up the hill by the time it starts, and secure the entire palace by the time it's finished!"
A cheer rang out among the troops, then they all continued on their warpath. Following behind the troops, Hakoda leaned heavily on Katara, determined to keep going. However, it was clear his injury was getting the better of him.
"We can wait here if you want," she offered.
"No," he insisted. "I wanna press forward with the others."
Katara nodded, and the two continued onward.
…
Inside the bunker, the five heroes continued moving forward, finally stopping when they came to a crossroads.
"Great," Sokka let out. "Which way do we go?"
The twins looked at the crossroads, both looking confused and worried.
"Um..." Xia let out.
"We..." Zuko tried. "We don't know."
"What?!" Sokka cried out. "How could you not know?! I thought you guys were drilled to come down here!"
"Yeah, as kids!" Zuko argued. "Where we were sent to hide with whatever tutor or teacher we were with at the time!"
"Our father wasn't exactly one for 'quality family time', especially during a crisis," Xia pointed out. "He had his own little bolt hole down here while we had to hunker with palace staff."
"Then we'll have to split up," Aang decided. "Whoever doesn't find the Fire Lord can double back and meet up with the others."
"Sounds like as good a plan as any," Sokka declared. "Aang, Toph and I will be one group, you two another. Remember, if you don't find him, double back quickly. We don't have much time."
"Good luck," Zuko wished.
Aang nodded as he, Sokka, and Toph, quickly darted down one pathway. Drawing their swords, the twins took off down the other.
…
Aang's group continued down their chosen pathway, Sokka checking his timing device as they did so.
"Only thirty seconds until the total eclipse," he told them.
"Hang on!" Toph called. "I sense someone ahead!"
She ducked down a tunnel to the left, leading the group up a flight of stairs. At the top, they found themselves in front of massive, red and gold doors lined with flaming emblems.
"This is it," Sokka declared. "It has to be."
Aang looked on at the doors, determination gracing his face.
"I'm ready. I'm ready to face the Fire Lord."
Steeling his gaze, he used a massive blast of air to blow the doors open. He, Sokka, and Toph all jumped in, ready to fight. However, what they found wasn't the Firelord. Instead, sitting upon the throne that dominated the room was none other than Azula. She was inspecting her nails as she turned towards the door. When she caught sight of who it was, her eyes went wide.
"What?" she let out, rising to her feet. "The Avatar? Alive?"
"Azula..." Aang let out, the burn on his back aching at the memory of their last encounter.
"I don't understand..." Azula growled. "You're supposed to be dead. I killed you myself!"
"Guess you're not as good as you thought you were," Toph retorted.
"Guys, if the Firelord's not here, then where is he?" Sokka asked.
…
Zuko and Xia continued searching the halls of the bunker. As they did, they ran past a tapestry, which fluttered a bit as they did. Xia skidded to a stop at that, a sense of deja-vu running through her as she turned back to it.
"Xia?" Zuko hissed, also coming to a stop.
Xia used the hook of her sword to cut through the fabric, revealing a hidden staircase. Seeing it, Zuko grew serious, knowing there was only one place it could lead. Silently, they descended the stairs, reaching a small metal door lit by twin torches. They stared at the door for a moment, anxiety plaguing them both.
"He's in there..." Xia let out, her breath shaking. "We ready for this?"
Zuko turned towards his twin before turning back to the door.
"More than."
The two quickly threw the door open, behind which were several soldiers armed with spears. They all charged at the twins, prompting them to swing their swords at them. Zuko sliced through a guards sword and kicked him aside before spinning around and blocking another guard's weapon from behind. Xia used the hook on her blade to snag a guard and send him careening into another. She then hooked another guard's spear out of his hand before tossing it into the faces of two others. Zuko quickly sliced the spear tip off a guards weapon before kicking him in the chest.
In the end, the twins were left victorious, and alone with the last person either of them ever wanted to see again: Firelord Ozai. He sat upon his throne, staring at them both with so much hatred and venom, they'd no doubt be dead if he had his fire.
"Hello, father," Xia greeted.
"We need to talk," Zuko declared.
…
Back outside, the invasion force continued making its way up the side of the volcano with the eclipse drawing ever closer.
"The eclipse is starting!" the Mechanist called out, pulling brown glasses with slits for eyeholes out of his apron before putting them on. "Put on your eclipse glasses."
Everyone stabbed their weapons into the ground, pulling glasses out of pouches and pockets. Once they were on, they resumed their march as if nothing had happened. Katara helped Hakoda put his on before dawning her own, both staring up at the eclipse.
…
Back inside the bunker, Zuko and Xia stared down their father, keeping their weapons in their grip. One guard groaned as if trying to get up, only to be kicked down by Xia.
"How dare you traitors step foot in the Capital..." Ozai snarled, fists clenching in his lap. "Then again, this invasion would be something you two would concoct. And it will fail, just like you have time and time again."
"You're wrong," Zuko countered. "We aren't the ones leading this invasion, the Avatar is."
"What?!" Ozai exclaimed, voice laced with shock and horror as he jumped to his feet.
"Yeah, Azula lied," Xia sneered. "Now you finally see the truth about your golden child. She's just as much a failure as you see us to be."
Ozai was utterly fuming at this point, staring at the twins, then down at the guards laying scattered at their feet. He could feel the effects of the eclipse still plaguing him, and the two had already given him a rather violent display of their skills. As such, he had no choice but to sit back down on his throne.
"You didn't come all the way here just to tell me this," he mused, just barely keeping his voice steady. "So tell me, why risk your lives in this pointless act of defiance?"
"Because there's something else we've been meaning to say to you," Zuko told him. "And you're going to listen."
…
Back in the massive throne room with the rest of the gang, Azula seemed to have regained her composure. He adjusted her hair, smirking as she glanced at the trio.
"I don't know how you survived, but it doesn't matter. Your little invasion is doomed to fail, and I'm afraid you've missed your chance to find my father."
"Maybe not," Aang corrected, aiming his staff at her. "You know where he is, don't you?"
"Perhaps," she answered cryptically. "I certainly know more than my witless former siblings, that's for sure."
"Then just tell us what we need to know," Sokka demanded, pointing his sword at her. "You're powerless right now, so you're in no position to refuse.
"And stick to the truth," Toph insisted. "I'll be able to tell if you're lying."
"Are you sure? I'm a pretty good liar." Azula descended from the throne, standing before the group with a serious expression. "I am a four-hundred foot tall purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings."
Both Aang and Sokka glanced over at Toph, watching her colorless eyes narrow in annoyance.
"Okay, you're good, I admit it," she declared before trapping Azula in a large pillar of earth. "But you ought to consider telling the truth anyway!"
Just then, the pillar holding Azula cracked and crumbled around her, leaving the trio confused. She dusted herself off nonchalantly, completely unphased by any of what just happened.
"When I left Ba Sing Se, I brought home some souvenirs."
Suddenly, a pair of Dai Li agents dropped down from the ceiling, flanking Azula on either side of her.
"Dai Li agents!" Sokka exclaimed in terror.
"What are they doing here?!" Toph cried out.
"When I learned about your plan for the eclipse, I needed to make sure that I had an edge against the traitor twins when they inevitably came knocking," Azula replied as the agents rose to their feet. "But now, they have much more important prey to contend with."
She snapped her fingers, and the agents launched at the trio. Aang quickly sent an air blast towards the two, but they managed to erect and wall of rock to block it just in time.
…
Back with the invasion force, they finally managed to reach the rim of the volcano, with Bato leading the charge.
"Surround the periphery!" he instructed, raising his spear. "We have to secure the palace by the time the eclipse is over! Otherwise, we'll be in for the fight of our lives."
The invaders wanted no time storming the city. As they approached, several Fire Nation soldiers quickly blocked their path.
"Surrender peacefully, and we won't harm you," Tyro promised.
"We'll never surrender!" a soldier proclaimed.
He leapt forward and tried to firebend at them, but only a small spurt of fire came out, much to his embarrassment.
"Okay, we surrender."
The soldiers all backed down, holding out their hands in a gesture of submission. From the rim of the volcano, Hakoda and Katara watched the troops close in on the capital. Their eyes then fell on the palace, hope slipping onto Hakoda's face.
"There it is… the Fire Nation Royal Palace. We've come so far."
"It's not over yet," Katara told him as they continued their approach.
…
Down in the bunker, Zuko and Xia stood face to face with their father. They exchanged looks, and Zuko gave a small nod, stepping forward and preparing to speak his mind.
"For so long, all we ever wanted was for you to love and accept us." He gestured to Xia before focusing solely on Ozai. "And after you cast me out, I thought it was my honor I wanted, but really, I was just trying to please you. You, the father who swore to kill one of us just for being a non-bender. The father who banished me just for talking out of turn." His anger boiled over and he pointed one of his swords right at Ozai. "The father who challenged me, a thirteen-year-old boy, to an Agni Kai. How could you possibly justify a duel with a child?!"
"It was to teach you respect," Ozai countered.
"It was cruel!" Xia exclaimed. "And it was wrong. It was never about speaking out of turn, was it? You hated that Zuko actually cared about the people of this nation, that he didn't fall in line like all the other soldiers under your thumb. You hated him for being unwilling to sacrifice the good of our people!"
"You know nothing, you insolent brats!" Ozai snapped.
"No," Zuko countered. "We know plenty. And we've learned it on our own. We've seen the Nation outside of the capital. We've seen our own people terrified of the soldiers meant to protect them. We've seen children so brainwashed by our own doctorate that they don't even know what it means to be children. Our nation is dying around us, becoming a cesspool of corruption and cruelty."
"Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history, and that somehow, this war was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world," Xia recalled, letting out a bitter laugh. "What an amazing lie that was. The people of the world are terrified of the Fire Nation. They don't see our greatness, they hate us! And we deserve it!"
"We've created an era of fear in the world," Zuko picked up. "And if we don't want the world to destroy itself, we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness."
Ozai couldn't help but laugh in response.
"Your uncle has gotten to you two, hasn't he?"
The twins smiled proudly at that.
"Yes," Xia nodded, "he has."
…
Back with Aang and the others, he managed to burst through the rock wall, allowing him and the others to charge at Azula. The Dai Li agents quickly summoned another rock wall to block them, but Aang quickly leapt onto the wall to avoid it. As he landed, the agents shot two more rocks at him, which Aang was able to deflect with ease. Toph managed to burst through the wall and landed in front of the two agents, creating two rock columns that knocked the agents off their feet. They managed to land on adjacent walls and sent two rock pillars towards Toph, which she was able to block with newly formed earth platforms. She then shot a massive stream of earth at Azula, who was able to leap onto it before springing off, backflipping onto the throne and landing with a smirk on her face.
Aang instantly charged towards her, prompting a Dai Li agent to follow alongside the wall. The agent then landed in front of him and formed an earth wall in front of Aang. Aang just leapt up and broke through it, landing behind the agent and in front of Azula. The agent tried leaping at him, but Aang just shot up some earth to knock him back before firing a stream of earth at Azula. However, she quickly leapt out of the way, causing the throne to be destroyed as Aang ran up to her, firing at her again. She ran towards the wall as he did so, backflipping over it so she could land on a metal beam before leaping off of it.
She landed on the ground before running off, prompting Aang to chase after her. Their pursuit led them in between a rock wall and several metal columns, which Azula quickly leapt between to avoid Aang's attacks. Once getting high enough, she slid down the stone pillar created earlier before flipping onto one of Toph's rock barriers and then back onto the ground. She then turned and ran towards the stone wall, a Dai Li agent sliding down the adjacent pillar to block Aang and Toph, as well as form a small pillar beneath Azula's feet to give her a boost. She flew towards the hole in the wall, just as Sokka began climbing to it. The two make eye contact briefly as Azula moved past him and landed on the ground before running off. Sokka had barely begun to start climbing down when a Dai Li agent, Aang, and Toph all passed through the hole in rapid succession. Sokka finally managed to land on the ground and quickly ran to catch up with the others.
"I can't pin her down!" Aang exclaimed, not stopping even for a moment. "She's too quick!"
Azula raced through the door, entering a tunnel as the Dai Li agent followed close behind. He quickly used earthbending to raise a stone wall to block the entranceway before running to catch up with Azula. Aang easily busted through the wall, allowing the others to chase after them. As Azula and the agent ran, a stone pillar shot out of the wall, knocking the agent into a metal column on the tunnel wall. Toph quickly appeared in front of him, dispatching his rock gloves before metalbending the grooves of the beam together, effectively trapping him. Once he was secure, Toph ran to catch up to the others, while Sokka suddenly came to a stop.
"Wait!" he called out, causing everyone to stop. "Aang, Toph, stop attacking. Don't you see what she's doing? She's just playing with us. She's not even trying to win this fight."
"Not true," Azula insisted calmly, a smirk on her face. "I'm giving it my all."
"You're trying to keep us here and waste all our time!" Toph realized.
"Um, right, I think your friend just said that, genius," Azula muttered sarcastically. "And since you can't see, I should tell you I'm rolling my eyes."
She proceeded to do just that, her dismissive attitude pissing Toph off.
"I'll roll your whole head!"
"Toph, don't," Sokka told her, catching her before she could attack Azula. "She's just baiting you again."
"So… we just ignore her?" Aang questioned.
"Yeah. Zuko and Xia never doubled back, so we can assume they ran into the Firelord. We'll just take the path they did, and find him before our time runs out."
"It's a trap," Azula warned as they turned to leave. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
"Ignore!" Sokka called back.
They began heading down the tunnel, going back the way they came, then Azula began talking once more.
"So, Sokka's your name, right? My favorite prisoner used to mention you all the time."
This caused Sokka to freeze in his tracks, slowly turning back towards Azula.
"She was so convinced you were going to come rescue her. Of course you never came, and eventually, she gave up on you."
Realization dawned for Sokka as tears came to his eyes. Before either Aang or Toph could stop him, he charged at Azula. She didn't move, just staring down the water tribe warrior.
"Come and get is," she growled under her breath.
With a quick motion of her left hand, she pulled out a dagger from her sleeve. Sensing the metal blade, Toph quickly sent out an attack, one that knocked the blade out of her hand and pinned the princess to the wall. Sokka grabbed her shoulder, going face to face with Azula.
"Where. Is. Suki?"
…
"Once this is over, we're going to free Uncle Iroh from whatever prison you put him in," Zuko declared. "He's the one who's been a real father to us."
"Oh that's just beautiful," Ozai commented. "And maybe he can pass down to you the ways of tea and failure."
"Our only failure was not breaking free of you sooner," Xia retorted. "You're a cruel, viscous man, and I cannot wait until Aang finally defeats you."
That got a rye laugh out of Ozai.
"Really? You're already full blown traitors, so why wait? You both are armed, and I'm defenseless. Why not do it now?"
"Because we… and more importantly, I know my own destiny," Zuko told him. "Taking you down is the Avatar's destiny."
Both of them sheathed their weapons, turning towards the door.
"We need to find Aang and bring him back here," Xia insisted. "Odds are, he's not far."
"Right," Zuko nodded.
They turned to leave as the venom returned to Ozai's voice.
"Cowards! You think you're both brave enough to face me, but you'll only do it during the eclipse. If you had any real courage, you'll stick around until the sun comes out. That is… if you want to know what happened to your mother."
That made both twins stop in their tracks. Images of their mother leaving on that fateful night flickered through their minds, and all thoughts of the invasion seemed secondary. They closed the door to the chamber, turning to face their father once more as he donned a victorious smile.
"What happened that night?" Zuko demanded.
"My father, Fire Lord Azulon, had commanded me to do the unthinkable to you, my own son, and I was going to do it."
"Don't act like you were torn up about it," Xia sneered. "Just tell us the truth."
"I was prepared to do it, but your mother found out. She swore to protect Zuko at any cost. She knew I wanted the throne, so she proposed a plan. A plan in which I would become Fire Lord, and Zuko's life would be spared."
…
"Where's Suki?!" Sokka demanded, slamming Azula into the wall. "Answer me!"
Azula, despite her arms both pinned above her, smugly remained silent.
"Sokka," Aang insisted, grabbing his shoulder. "She won't talk."
"Where are you keeping her?!" Sokka demanded, ignoring his friend.
…
"Your mother developed an untraceable, odorless poison that she administered to Azulon," Ozai went on. "It was a viscous, treasonous act, one I could not ignore, no matter how I benefitted from it. Thus, for her actions, she was banished."
The twins gasped in shock.
"Mom's… alive?" Zuko let out
"Perhaps," Ozai replied, closing his eyes. "But now I realize that banishment is far too merciful a penalty for treason. Your penalty will be far steeper."
Suddenly, Ozai's eyes snapped open, and in a split second, lightning began sparking out his hands. Thinking on instinct, Zuko shoved Xia out of the way just as Ozai fired a lightning bolt at him.
"ZUKO!" she cried out.
Zuko then extended two fingers, catching the lightning as it sent him skidding backwards. To Ozai's shock, Zuko redirected the lightning right back at his father. The resulting explosion sent Ozai slamming into the wall behind the throne hard enough that the tapestry that hung there fell over. Not giving the firelord a chance to recover, Zuko grabbed his sister's hand and they bolted out of the room.
…
The sound of the explosion reached even the rest of the group, and the captive princess couldn't help but smirk.
"Oh, sounds like the firebending's back on," Azula noted before kicking in a wide arc with a stream of fire trailing behind her foot.
Sokka barely dodged the stream as Azula kicked off another fireball, prompting Toph to tackle him out of the way. Azula then backflipped onto the tunnel wall and used her firebending to break free of Toph's cuffs. This allowed her to flip forward, bringing her leg down towards Aang. Aang quickly dodged the strike as he regrouped with the others.
"Dad's all the way at the end of the hall then down a secret stairway on the left," she told them. "I'm sure he'd be more than happy to see you now."
She then ran off, leaving the trio alone to realize the horrifying truth.
"I fell for it!" Sokka let out. "I used up all our time."
"It's not your fault, Sokka," Toph reassured. "Azula was ready for us. She had every move planned out.
"And not it's too late."
"Maybe it's not too late," Aang thought. "The eclipse is over, but I can face the Fire Lord anyway."
Just then, the tunnel began to shake, much to the shock of everyone. Toph placed a hand on the wall, her eyes going wide.
"That explosion caused a fissure to split, making this entire area unstable," she explained. "We need to get out of here before the tunnels collapse!"
"But-"
"You'll have another chance," Sokka told him. "But not today. Right now, we need to get out of here and regroup with the others."
"Right..." Aang let out, clearly disappointed. "We need to find the twins and-"
There was another loud explosion, though this one sounded more like a landslide. All of them flinched as Toph jolted.
"We need to get back to the crossroads!"
The trio instantly took off.
…
Reaching the crossroads, the gang came to a stop, halting when they saw that the path Zuko and Xia had taken was now completely blocked off by thick rocks.
"The path's blocked off!" Sokka let out. "Toph, how long will it take you to get through?"
Toph shook her head.
"The area's too unstable," she cut off. "If I try and move things around, I could bring everything down even worse."
"Aang?" Xia's voice called from the other side of the stone wall. "Aang, are you there?!"
"Xia!" Aang called back. "We're here! We ran into Azula!"
"Damnit," Zuko's voice cursed. "Can you get through here?! The Firelord is on-!"
"We can't! It's too dangerous!"
"Wait, if we can't move this wall, then..." Sokka went pale. "Zuko and Xia are trapped!"
"It's alright!" Xia reassured. "Get back with the Invasion! We'll find another way out!"
"We still need to find our uncle, anyway!" Zuko reminded them. "Just go! We got this!"
"Alright!" Aang agreed. "Once you find him, meet us back at the subs!"
"We will," Xia promised. "Just get everyone out of here safely! Got it?"
"Got it!" Sokka called back as everyone took off, hoping to complete their objectives.
…
The invasion force was fully spread throughout the capital city. Katara carefully leaned Hakoda against one of the Earth Kingdom tanks as Bato approached.
"What should we do, Hakoda?" he asked. "Shouldn't something have happened by now?"
"I don't know," Hakoda admitted. "But now that the eclipse is over, I expect we're going to see some firebenders any minute."
They kept an eye on the sky, waiting to see Aang and the others. What they saw instead though, shook them to their very core. Up from behind the palace, several war balloons, identical to the ones the Mechanist had made so long ago, rose up into the air. Each was powered by several firebenders, showing just where the bulk of the forces had been during the entire invasion.
"My own invention," the Mechanist spoke in horrified awe. "Oh, this is terrible."
Teo placed a comforting hand on his father's shoulder as the man buried his face in his hands in shame. Just then, behind each of the war balloons, rose five massive airships, each the size of the navy's warships, and seemed equipped like them as well. It was a horrifying and intimidating sight to behold. Katara looked up into the sky, catching sight of the others on Appa.
"They're back!" she called out.
Appa touched down, allowing the trio to descend. Katara looked at them, eyes going wide when she saw who was missing.
"Wait, where's Xia and Zuko?" she questioned. "What happened?!"
"It was all a trap," Sokka told them. "Azula knew we were coming and she's plotted out every move. We got separated from Zuko and Xia in the tunnels, and we never even got to see the Firelord."
"Oh no..." Katara let out, a hand going to her mouth in shock.
"We've got to get to the beach as fast as we can," Sokka declared. "If we can make it to the submarines, maybe we can get away safely."
"They've got air power," Aang spoke as he opened his glider. "But so do I! I'm gonna do what I can to slow them down!"
He threw his glider into the air, allowing it to loop around so Aang could leap onto it and fly into the air.
"Appa, you and I can help too," Katara let out, mounting Appa and flying off after Aang.
"Everyone!" Sokka called out. "Let's get back to the subs!"
Everyone began running for the shore as Aang and Katara made for the airships. As Aang approached one of the war balloons, the soldier on board began shooting fireballs at him. Aang quickly dodged the fire blasts before closing his glider and daring through the balloon itself, creating two massive holes that caused it to crash.
Katara meanwhile stood on Appa's saddle as she approached a balloon, using her waterbending to slice through the balloon and cut the top half clean off. This caused the balloon to fall as Katara and Aang flew up towards the air ships. Unfortunately as they got closer, the amount of fire blasts increased, making it harder for the two to evade. One blast even hit Appa's armor, causing him to roar as a result. The two quickly flew down, Katara using her waterbending to shield her and Appa from the fire blasts.
"We can't keep them all back!" she admitted. "There's too many of them!"
"Let's join the others!" Aang decided.
Dodging more fireballs, the two dove to rejoin the rest of the invasion.
…
The twins managed to find a path that led out into the city and bolted towards the capital city prison.
"Are we sure he's in here?!" Xia questioned.
"Positive!" Zuko declared. "No way Father would keep him anywhere else. He'd keep Uncle close, so he'd always know where he was!"
Xia nodded as the two ran inside. What they found though, were several guards knocked unconscious and many more cowering in fear. No one even attempted to stop the twins as they bolted through the prison, throwing door after door open to try and find Iroh. Near the top, they found a large cell that had been completely ripped apart. The Warden was on the ground, covered in bruises, and just barely conscious. Even more shocking was what looked like the royal headpiece Sozin had given Roku sitting in the center of the cell, a single paper pinned under it.
"What's going on?" Zuko questioned.
"I think someone beat us here," Xia replied, picking up the hairpiece as Zuko turned to the Warden.
"What happened?!" Zuko demanded, picking up the warden. "Where's General Iroh?!"
"He's… he's gone!" the warden admitted. "He busted himself out. I've ever seen anything like it. He was like a one man army!"
"Zuko," Xia called out. "There's a note… it's from Uncle."
Zuko dropped the Warden, who just laid on the ground, still and silent. He approached his sister, who was holding the paper in her hands.
"By the time you read this, I'll already have gotten out on my own. I know you'll come for me like you swore you would, but I could not let you be weighed down by an old man. In the coming days, the Avatar will need you both if he is to restore balance to the world. Go and fulfill your destiny, and know that I will be watching from afar, and that I am proud of you both."
"He's alright…" Zuko let out. "And he's proud of us."
"Proud enough to leave this," Xia said, holding up the hairpiece. "It's supposed to be worn by the crown prince. Maybe this is his way of saying he knows we'll save our home."
Zuko couldn't help but smile at the prospect.
"Come one," he spoke up. "Let's get out of here."
…
Back with the invasion force, everyone quickly began to navigate their way down the side of the volcano, hoping to get back to the subs in time. The airships were closing in on them, hatches opening on the underside to reveal what appeared to be explosives.
"Try and find cover!" Sokka cried out. "I think we're about to see some bombs!"
Toph quickly used earthbending to create some cover as Aang and Katara landed near them. A barrage of bombs was then dropped on the group, causing the ground to shake around them. The shelf Toph created started to break, prompting her to bring up some columns to support it. Some of the bombs even hit some earthbender tanks, causing the soldiers to shake around inside. The real surprise was that the airships continued flying forward after their initial blitz, confusing everyone.
"Why aren't they turning around to attack us again?" Katara asked.
"They're heading for the beach…" Aang noted before going wide eyed. "They're going to destroy the submarines!"
"How are we all gonna escape?" Sokka asked in a hopeless demeanor.
"We're not," Hakoda admitted as he was being helped by Bato.
"Then our only choice is to stand and fight," Sokka insisted. "We have the Avatar, we could still win."
"Yes, with the Avatar we could still win," Hakoda agreed, "On another day. You kids have to leave. You have to escape on Appa together."
"What?!" Katara let out, grabbing her dad. "We can't leave you behind! We won't leave anyone behind!"
"You're our only chance in the long run. You and Sokka have to go with Aang somewhere safe. It's the only way to keep hope alive."
"The youngest of our group should go with you," Bato suggested. "The adults will stay behind and surrender. We'll be prisoners, but we'll all survive this battle."
"I've got some experience with Fire Nation prisons," Tyro informed. "It's not going to be easy, but we'll get by."
"They're at the beach already!" Sokka called out.
…
At the shore, the shadows of the airships loomed overhead. Tho, Due, Huu's seaweed monster, and the rest of the swamp benders all quickly got into defensive positions, hoping to protect the subs from the oncoming barrage. Tho and Due quickly sent streams of water up to strike at the bombs before they could hit the ground while Huu's seaweed monster swatted them aside. One bomb however, managed to hit the monster's arm, blowing it off. This allowed another bomb to imbed itself into its head, causing an explosion of seaweed to shoot out, covering the other swampbenders. After a few seconds, Huu, Tho, and Due dug themselves out of the steaming mess, utterly defeated. Five bombs were them dropped, one for each submarine, and they were reduced to scrap. On the volcano, the invasion force all watched in horror, and Sokka turned away resentfully.
…
At the very edge of the volcano, the twins could see the smoke rising from the beach. Seeing the airships, it didn't take a genius to know what had happened.
"The subs..." Xia let out. "The forces are stranded here..."
"They still have Appa," Zuko reminded her. "At least some of them will be able to get away."
"Not enough. Appa's only so big… and we can't add any excess weight. We need to find another way out of here."
The two started looking around, Zuko eyeing something that could help.
"Down there!" he pointed out. "The airfield!
They looked down to see a few war balloons that hadn't been launched. Seeing their chance, the twins slid down the side of the volcano towards the field.
…
Toph used an earth column to bring Teo's wheelchair up to Appa's saddle. The mechanist picked up his son, arranging him on the saddle before hugging him.
"Bye son," he said softly.
"Bye dad," Teo replied, tears in his eyes. "I'm really proud of you."
The Mechanist gently released his son, eyes never leaving him as the column was lowered. The Duke meanwhile tried climbing onto Appa, but was struggling a bit. Suddenly, Pipsqueak came up under him, scooping him up in one hand before placing him in the saddle.
"I'll miss you, Pipsqueak," The Duke sobbed.
"Take care, The Duke," Pipsqueak replied, lightly pushing The Duke's helmet over his eyes.
On the ground, Haru hugged Tyro, holding him tight.
"We'll be back for you, dad," Hary promised.
"If we don't escape on our own, first," Tyro remarked.
Haru smirked before they both bowed to one another.
"We lost today," Hakoda said to the water tribe siblings, "but we've never been this close." He knelt down to face Katara and Sokka. "We tasted victory, and that counts for something."
"We'll miss you, dad," Katara told him as the two hugged.
"By dad," Sokka spoke. "We won't be apart too long this time. I promise.
On top of Appa, Aang was kneeling on the bison's head, angry tears pouring down his face. Katara came up beside him, placing her hand on his shoulder while giving him a proud , Aang wiped the tears from his eyes and stood up to face the troops.
"Thank you all for being so brave and so strong," he addressed them all. "I'm gonna make this up to you!"
Appa groaned, then took off with all the kids in tow. The adults watched them go, the Fire Nation soldiers closing in on them from all sides.
…
From one of the air ships, Azula watched the bison escape into the distance.
"Should we follow them, princess?" a soldier asked.
"No," she shot down. "They're too fast. It doesn't matter… they'll be back."
…
At the airfield, Zuko and Xia made their way down to the airfield, eyeing an unguarded airship. They rushed for it, but just before they got to it, Ty Lee jumped in the way. The twins stopped as the acrobat stood before them, an unnaturally serious look on her face.
"Azula had a feeling this is where you two would go," she said.
"Out of the way, Ty Lee," Xia warned, hands already going to her swords.
There was a moment of silence between the three as they just stared each other down.
"Why?" Ty Lee asked after a minute. "Why did you betray your nation?"
"Because our nation is broken," Zuko answered. "We're trying to fix it. So please… move."
"What about Mai?" Ty Lee pressed. "You'll just leave her behind?"
Zuko froze, his memories returning to his nightmares from before. Seeing this, Xia took his hand in his, giving it a squeeze. After a second, he took a deep breath.
"I never wanted to hurt her…" Zuko finally spoke. "But if I'd chosen to go with you back in Ba Sing Se… I wouldn't have been truly happy. The cost was too great."
"The right decision isn't always the easiest," Xia added, looking Ty Lee in the eye. "But sometimes, you have to stand up for what you know is right, no matter what others tell you."
Ty Lee let that sink in, then stepped out of their way silently. Look at each other for a moment, the twins made their way to the balloon, quickly getting inside.
"Ty Lee!" Zuko called out, getting her attention. "Tell Mai… I'm sorry."
With that, Xia shot a flame into the balloon's engine, making it take off into the air.
…
Meanwhile, Aang looked back at the retreating airship before looking ahead.
"I know just the place for us to go where we'll be safe for a while," he told them. "The Western Air Temple!"
With that, Appa flew off towards a safer refuge. A short distance away, Zuko and Xia flew after them, hoping they would soon be reunited with their friends.