(GREETINGS LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,AND THIS IS THE AGENT OF LITERATURE SIGNING ON,I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS OR AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER.
BIT OF A SIDE NOTE BEFORE WE GET STARTED,CLOSE TO THE END OF THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER,I ACCIDENTALLY REPLACED THE CLONE NAME RIPLEY WITH PULSE,THE PROBLEM WITH THAT IS THAT PULSE DIED IN CHAPTER 51,SO IT WAS ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO BE RIPLEY,INSTEAD OF PULSE,JUST WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT..ANYWAY ONTO THE SHOW. )
My name is Eli Tal-gunn,when I was thirteen,the Jedi order was wiped out across the galaxy.
As far as I am concerned,I am the last of the Jedi.
The earth kingdom has fallen,Neo is..gone,and we are trapped behind enemy lines,forced to hide in plain sight.
Our only hope for victory is the day of black sun,where an eclipse will take place and thus taking away the fire nation's power.
I don't know if we'll win,but one thing I do know,Xever will pay,and the avata lives.
LEGEND OF BEND-FORE
Star wars:the last airbender
Book three:Fire
Eli and the clones were making their way towards the prison,they had to shoot and take down a few fire nation troops along the way but faced little resistance,none was that more so true then when they finally arrived at the prison,only to find it quiet.
"Shouldn't we be hearing more fire nation soldiers moving about?"Ripley asked.
"And see a little more fire?"Naifu added.
"Where are all the guards?"
Briggs looked behind the corner of a wall and saw multiple guards laying around.
"Uh,commander?"He said,as he and the clones came out of hiding.
Eli was standing on top of the wall.
"What the hell happened here?"Ripley asked.
The five walked up to the front gate which had been blown off its hinges and had ash on the back.
"Breakout?"Briggs asked.
"Let's find out."Eli said,as he pulled his saber and activated it.
"Ripley,Scotty stay here and hold our position,Briggs,Naifu,you come with me."
"Sir."They all said.
As Eli,Briggs,and Naifu walked through the prison,they saw multiple guards just laying around,some were unconscious,others were not as fortunate.
"Commander!"Briggs said.
"Gotta live one."
Eli ran over and found who looked to be the warden laying on the steps that lead upstairs.
"What happened here?"Eli asked.
"General Iroh."The warden said.
"He busted himself out,I've never seen anything like it,he was like a one man army."
"Neo Sumdac,where is he,what cell is he in?"
"Down stairs,bottom level."
The warden then passed out.
"Let's go."
The three ran down the stairs as they came to an opening and found the one cell there,but it had already been broken out of,as there were two guardsmen dead on the ground.
"Neo!"Eli called out,as he ran inside.
"Neo!"
He looked around for any sign of his master,but found nothing.
"He's not here."Naifu said.
"Yeah,we see that Naifu."Briggs said.
"Well,where is he?"
"Commander?"
"Where could he be?"Eli asked.
"Maybe he's making his way to the invasion to rendezvous with us."Naifu suggested.
"We would've seen him on the way."Briggs pointed out.
"Maybe he's keeping out of sight so he doesn't get captured."
"Eli it's your call,what do you want us to do."
Eli thought for a second,when he noticed Balto sniffing around.
"Balto?"He said.
"What do you smell boy?"
The wolf suddenly took off running,with Eli and the clones chasing after him,he ran all the way out the prison, passed Scotty and Ripley and ran all the way to a secret entrance.
"Balto has Neo's scent,"Eli said.
"Let's roll."
Neo was making his way to the catacomb beneath the fire nation to find Zuko.
He had found the secret entrance that lead to a spinal staircase and activating the elite guards saber,he began making his way down the stairs,unaware that he was being followed by three unseen figures.
(Que opening:Rewrite:Fullmetal Alchemist)
"DAY OF THE BLACK SUN:THE ECLIPSE"
The invasion was going well as the invasion force had set up a blockade to protect themselves from projectiles and fireballs from the air,while the earthbenders opened walls on the tanks and shot boulders towards the fire nation troops.
Sokka was going over plans with the troops,when he saw Katara and Hakoda arrive,with Hakoda leaning on Katara's shoulder.
"Dad!"Sokka shouted,as he ran over to them.
"You're on your feet again."
"Thanks to your sister."Hakoda said,as Katara helped him sit down.
"I'm in no shape to fight,but maybe there's some way I can help."
"Everything's going smoothly,and the eclipse hasn't even kicked in yet."
"Let's hope our luck holds out."
Hakoda then noticed Katara looking in the distance as she walked past everyone.
"Katara,you seem distracted,is something wrong?"
"Yeah,"Katara said.
"Is that..Aang?"
Sure enough,the last airbender was avoiding multiple fireballs and landed by his friends and Hakoda.
"Please tell me 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."Sokka asked.
"Or found some clue as to where he might be."
"He wasn't home,"Aang said.
"No one was,the entire city was abandoned."
"Eli was right."Sokka said.
"They knew."
"Now what,the fire lord is long gone,what do we do?"
"We knew this was a possibility,we just need to hold off till Eli and the clones get back with Neo.''Katara said.
"Plus we can still take down the fire lord."Sokka added.
"How,he's probably long gone by now?"Aang asked.
"My instincts tell me he wouldn't go too far,he would have a secret underground bunker he could go and be safe during the siege,but still be close enough to lead his nation."
"If it's an underground secret bunker we're looking for,I'm just the girl to find it."Toph said.
"The mechanist gave me this timing device,it looks like we've got about ten minutes until the full eclipse to find the fire lord."
"We can still do this,we can still win the day."Aang said.
"Everyone who's here today came prepared to risk everything for this mission."Hakoda said.
"They know what's at stake,if there's still a chance then there's still hope."
"We'll hold off as long as we can for Eli and the clones."Katara said.
"Let's roll."Aang said.
A little bit later,Aang,Sokka,and Toph had arrived at a mountain top on Appa,as they dismounted the bison.
"Do you feel anything down there?"Aang asked Toph,who was feeling the ground.
"Yep."Toph said.
"There are tunnels crisscrossing through the inside of the volcano."
"Anything else?"Sokka asked.
"Is there a structure somewhere?"
"There is something big,dense,and made of metal deep in the heart of the volcano."
"Sounds like a secret bunker to me."Sokka said cheerfully.
Toph then created a hole into the mountain,as she and the others went in,with Aang telling Appa and Momo to stay put.
They came out into one of the tunnels,with Toph searching which way to go.
"This way,that one's a dead end."She said.
"Where would we be without you?"Sokka asked,as they crawled through a narrow path.
"Perish in burning hot magma."
As he crawled through the narrow way,Sokka saw some lava pouring from above just a tad bit close to them.
"Yeah,pretty much."
They came across a large cavern,where there were several spouts in the ground that released hot steam and lava every few seconds.
"The tunnel continues on the other side and it leads right to the bunker."Toph said.
"We'll have to be fast but careful."Sokka said,as he began to move,only for Aang to stop him from getting steamed.
"How is that careful?"Aang asked.
"I was wrong,we need to be fast,careful,and lucky."
The three then took off running across the cavern avoiding the steam and lava as best they could,eventually making it to the other side,only to face a new problem,a literal river of lava.
"There's no floor."Sokka said.
"It's just a river of lava."
"Climb aboard and hold on tight."Aang said,as he activated his glider.
The three then proceeded to fly over the lava towards the other side.
Meanwhile,Neo had made his way down the staircase and came to an opening with light.
When he entered,the entire place was litten up with lava,he was currently on a bridge that lead to another staircase,he deactivated his lightsaber and began to make his way over to the other side,that's when he felt it,he was being followed.
The three elite guards came to the opening and found Neo...gone,he'd vanished into thin air.
"Where'd he go?"One asked.
"You have chosen this path."Neo's voice was suddenly heard.
"Life works in strange ways,your choices have clearly lead you here,as have mine.
"I will give you a new choice,leave here now and live,or stay and face your destiny."
"Our destiny is your death!"One of the elites cried out.
"So..I guess you're staying.
"Perhaps I was unclear."
"Enough!"Another Elite called out.
"Show yourself Sumdac so that we can end you!"
"Very well,the decisions you make,and the actions that follow,are a reflection.."
"SHUT UP!"
"Of who you truly are."
The guardsmen waited for Neo to strike,when a pointed rock was suddenly sent their way.
One guardsmen cut it in half,but was not fast enough to stop the red lightsaber from going straight into his head,killing him instantly,Neo then came down from above, using the force to call the saber back to him and as he landed on the ground,he blocked a hit from one of the other guardsmen.
He then quickly blocked another hit from the other guardsmen,swinging the saber left and right blocking each hit,but he was soon getting overwhelmed,he called the dead guardsmans saber towards and used it to block the other guardsmen,while he used the other one to block other guardsmen.
They were soon pushing against each other as they made Neo bare feet drag across the hot ground.
Neo then noticed the position of the guardsmen lightsaber on his right and thinking quickly,he shut off that saber,allowing the guardsman's saber to penetrate the other guardsmen,accidently killing him,Neo then thrused the remaining saber into the last remaining guardsmen killing him as well.
He then stood there taking deep breaths,when he suddenly heard slow clapping behind him.
Turning around,he saw Xever standing at the top of the staircase,clapping his hands with a mischievous smile on his face.
"Well it's nice to see that time in prison hasn't soffen you Neo."He said,as he placed his hands behind his back.
"Step aside,I'm leaving."Neo said,as he raised a saber hilt towards Xever.
"Oh but then you'd miss the chance of a lifetime."
Xever then threw Neo's lightsaber towards him,which Neo caught,Xever then jumped down and landed on the side of the bridge that lead to the stairs,pulling out his saber.
"Finish me off once and for all."He said,as he activated his saber.
Neo just looked at him,as he dropped the elite saber and held his.
"Your friends are here,the invasion is going as we speak,and they will fail,there's no one else here,just you and me,let's finish our feud once and for all."
"I never wanted a feud with you,"Neo said.
"But if it is the only way for you to find peace,then come,relieve yourself of your burden once and for all."
Neo then activated his lightsaber,as he and Xever got on one knee and placed their sabers behind their backs,they looked at each other for a few seconds,before they suddenly charged at each other and began clashing.
Back with our trio,Aang,Sokka,and Toph had arrived on the other side of the lava and had arrived at a huge metal door,which lead into some dome-like chamber.
"That's some door."Sokka observed.
Toph then walked up to the door and inspected it,even putting her ear to it and knocking on it.
"Not a problem."She said.
She then hit the door with both her elbows and then kissed the tips of her fingers and then used them to push the doors apart,giving them a way in.
"I am so glad we added you to the group."Sokka said,as they entered.
Back with the invasion,the invasion force was slowly making their way up the hill that lead to the palace,forcing the fire nation back.
A battlement kept sending fireballs down on the invasion,but the Boulder and Hippo came up and used earthbending to create a rockslide to send it down hill.
One of the fire nation Captains looked up in the sky and saw the moon about to cover the sun.
"Retreat,everyone move to the secondary defensive position,Retreat!"He ordered the troops.
The fire nation continued to fall back to prepare to strike back against the invasion.
"The eclipse is only minutes away."Bato called out.
"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."
The troops cheered as they continued,Katara was helping her father up the hill.
"We can wait here if you want."She said to him.
"No."Hakoda said.
"I wanna press forward with the others."
And they continued onward.
Back with Eli and the clones,they had come down the spiral staircase that lead to the bridge over the lava and found the dead elites.
"This must have just happened."Briggs said,as he checked one.
"Balto sniff him out."Eli said to the wolf,who began to sniff around,but couldn't find a heading.
"Must be the sulfur and heat in the air."Naifu said.
"It must be distorting his sense of smell."
The five made their way up the stairs above and came up to a crossroads.
"Which way?"Ripley asked.
"Don't know,we'll just split up."Eli said.
"Ripley,Scotty go left.
"Briggs,Naifu with me."
The five then split up,with Eli taking Balto with him.
CLASH,CLING,SWOOSH,CHING!
Neo and Xever were continuing to clash with each other as they went down the cave.
Xever went to swing at Neo,who then skied across the ground on his and did a quick roll and getting up quick,he then brought down his lightsaber,which Xever blocked.
He then kicked Neo in the gut,who then did a bunch of back flips to gain some distance.
Meanwhile,a fire nation advisor came around a corner and ran into Sokka,Aang,and Toph,who then backed him up against a wall.
"The fire lord's chamber is that way,down the hall,to the left,and up the stairs,you can't miss it."He said.
"Thanks."Aang said with a smile,and he,Sokka,and Toph moved on,leaving the relieved advisor behind.
The three eventually arrived at another door,as Sokka looked at the countdown to the eclipse.
"Only thirty seconds until the total eclipse."Sokka said.
"I'm ready,I'm ready to face the fire lord."Aang said.
He then used airbending to blast the doors down,as they entered in to find…
"So,you are alive after all."Azula said,shocking the three.
"I had a hunch that you survived,but that doesn't matter.
"I've known about the invasion for months."
Over with Zuko,he was standing before another,swords on his back and fear in his heart.
"I'm ready to face you."He said,as he quickly took a deep breath and entered,finding his father surrounded by guards,two of which were elites.
"Prince Zuko."Ozai said.
"What are you doing here?"
Back outside,the invasion force was making their way up a hill,when the mechanist noticed the eclipse about to begin.
"The eclipse is starting."He informed.
"Put on your eclipse glasses."
(For as we all know,if you look at an eclipse,your eyes will be severely damaged)
The invasion force stops briefly and does just that and then continues on.
Back in Ozai's hiding place,Zuko stood firm against his father,who was still surrounded by guards.
"Why are you here?"Ozai asked.
"I'm here to tell the truth."Zuko said.
"Telling the truth during the middle of an eclipse.
"This should be interesting."
Ozai then waved his hand motioning for his guards to leave the room,which they complied with.
"First of all,"Zuko began,after they were all gone.
"In Ba sing Se,it was Azula who took down the avatar,not me."
"Why would she lie to me about that?"
"Because the avatar's not dead,he survived."
"WHAT?"
"In fact,he's probably leading this invasion.
"He could be on his way here right now."
"Get out,get out of my sight right now if you know what's good for you."
"That's another thing,I'm not taking orders from you anymore."
"You will obey me,or this defiant breath will be your last."
"Think again."Zuko said,as he pulled out his swords to keep Ozai at bay.
"I am going to speak my mind,and you are going to listen."
Ozai reluctantly sat down,to listen to his defiant son.
Meanwhile,back with Aang,Sokka,and Toph.
They were confronting Azula and trying to figure out where the fire lord was.
"Where is he?"Aang demanded.
"Where's the fire lord?"
"You mean I'm not good enough for you?"Azula said,acting hurt.
"You're hurting my feelings."
"Stop wasting our time and give us the information."Sokka said.
"You're powerless right now,so You're in no position to refuse,unless your boyfriend's around,then we're willing to reach a compromise."
"And stick to the truth,I'll be able to tell if you're lying."Toph said.
"Are you sure,I'm a pretty good liar.
"I am a 400 foot tall purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings."
"Ok you're good I admit it."
Toph then earthbend Azula into a trap.
"But you ought to consider telling us the truth anyway."
Suddenly,the earth trap came undone,as the Dai li suddenly appeared.
"When I left Ba sing se,I brought home some souvenirs,Oh and don't worry about Xever,he's busy with his own little business."
Aang then sent a gust of wind towards the three,but the Dai li agents simply created a rock wall.
Neo walked backwards on a stone bridge,as he turned back and forth blocking Xevers blade,he then spun around blocking another hit.
He then managed to grab Xevers wrist and went to cut him down,but Xever simply used the force to call his saber to his other hand and then blocked the hit,forcing Neo to back off.
Back with the invasion force,they had just entered the city,as the fire nation troops continued to fall back.
"Surround the periphery."Bato called out to the others.
"We have to secure the palace by the time the eclipse is over,otherwise we'll be in for the fight of our lives."
Tyro,Haru,and several other earthbenders soon arrived in the city and came in contact with some fire nation troops.
"Stop!"Tyro said.
"Surrender peacefully and we won't harm you."
"We'll never surrender!"one of the fire nation troops said,as he tried to use firebending on them,only for it to fail miserably.
"Uh ok,we surrender."
Back at the top of the mountain,Hakoda and Katara arrived and looked over the entire palace.
"There it is,"Hakoda said.
"The fire nation royal palace,we've come so far."
"It's not over yet."Katara said,as they continued down the mountain.
Back with Zuko and Ozai.
"For so long,all I wanted was for you to love me,to accept me."Zuko continued.
"I thought it was my honor I wanted,but really,I was just trying to please you.
"You,my father,who banished me just for talking out of turn.
"My 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 said,defending himself.
"It was cruel,and it was wrong."
"Then you have learned nothing!"
"No,I've learned everything,and I've had to learn it on my own.
"Growing up,we were taught that the fire nation was the greatest civilization in history,and somehow,the war was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world.
"What an amazing lie that was,the people of the world are terrified by 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,and if we don't want the world to destroy itself,we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness."
"Your uncle has gotten to you hasn't he?"Ozai laughed.
"Yes,he has."
Back with Neo and Xever,they were once again standing on a stone bridge that hung over lava,as they clashed a few times before swung his saber to try and cut Neo's head off,but Neo simply ducked and spun around Xever on his knees.
He then went to strike at Xever,who simply just turned around and blocked the hit.
"What exactly do you think you will accomplish today?"Xever asked,as he pressed against Neo's saber.
"The invasion will fail,the fire lord will live,and you will fall."
"That last outcome is inevitable,but not on this."Neo said,as he pushed back against Xever and then used the force to push further back.
With Xever on his knees,Neo jumped up in the air and brought his lightsaber down,but Xever blocked it at the last minute and pushed Neo over.
Neo landed with back to Xever,who then used the force to push Neo forward onto the ground,he then came up and brought his lightsaber down,but Neo turned around and blocked it at the last minute.
Back with the fight against Azula,Aang and Toph burst through the rock wall that the Dai li had made,then they created another rock wall which nearly sent Aang flying,but he managed to recover and landed on the ground.
The Dai li then sent two projectiles in Aang's direction,but he simply used his staff to destroy both of them.
Toph then burst through the new rock wall and landed between the two Dai li agents,she then created two pillars that sent the Dai li flying,but they landed gracefully on the ceilings and sent their own pillars towards her,which she blocked by creating her own rock walls.
Toph then used her Earthbending to bring up the floor beneath Azula's feet and nearly sent her flying,but she merely flipped and landed gracefully on the ground.
Aang then went to charge her,but a Dai li agent landed on the ground and created yet another rock wall,but Aang jumped into the air and kicked his way through the wall,he landed on the ground and brought up a pillar that made the Dai li agent go up in the air and then made another one that sent the agent flying.
Aang then built up some air in his staff and shot towards Azula,who simply flipped out of the way,as Aang's staff destroyed the throne she was sitting on.
Aang then came up,grabbed his staff and sent another gust of wind her direction,she then jumped between the walls avoiding Aang's airbending in the process,she and Aang then ran down the room,as she continued to avoid airgust he sent her way,she evententully jumped then slid down one of the pillars that was created,and landed on the ground.
Meanwhile with Eli,Briggs,Naifu,and Balto,they continued to run down a hallway,when they suddenly heard and felt a commotion.
"What was that?"Naifu asked.
"Sounds like a fight."Briggs said.
"Might be the commander."
"Let's check it out."Eli said,as they made their way to the fight.
Back with the fight against Azula,she had begun to try and make her escape,as the last remaining Dai li agent blocked their path,but Aang jumped and bursted through it as he and Sokka continued to follow them.
Toph then came out another part of the walls,using a pillar to send the agent flying between metal beams,Toph then came down destroying his rock hands and then encased him in his metal prison,she began to follow Aang,who was following Azula,when Sokka realized something.
"Wait,Aang,Toph stop attacking,"He said.
"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 said.
"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,and since you can't see,I should tell you I'm rolling my eyes right now."
"I'll roll your whole head."
"She's just baiting you again."Sokka said.
"So what do we do?"Aang asked.
"Just ignore her?"
"We don't have a choice,we just have to get out of here and find the fire lord on our own somehow."
"It's a trap."Azula said,as they began to leave.
"Don't say I didn't warn you."
"Ignore."Sokka exclaimed.
"So,Sokka's your name right?
"My favorite prisoner used to mention you all the time,she was convinced you were going to come and rescue her.
"Of course you never came,and she gave up on you."
Sokka, realizing she meant Suki,charged at her in anger.
"Come and get it."Azula mumbled,as she readied a dagger to stab him with.
Toph sensing it was about earthbend her against the wall,but then somebody tackled Sokka to the ground and Azula was sent flying into the wall,unable to move.
Sokka looked and saw that it was one of the clones,while Aang and Toph looked behind them and saw that it was Eli using the force to keep Azula in place.
"Weren't you the one who said not to let her bait you?"Eli said to Sokka.
"What are guys doing here?"
"We were on the commander's trail when we heard a commotion,we'd hoped it was him,but all we found was you."Briggs explained.
Eli then allowed Azula to drop to the ground,with Briggs fixing his guns on her.
"Now,"Eli began,as he drew his saber on Azula.
"I believe my friend was about to ask you a question."
"Where is Suki?"Sokka asked.
Back with Zuko.
"After I leave today,I'm gonna free Uncle Iroh from his prison and beg for his forgiveness."Zuko said.
"He's the one who's been a real father to me."
"Oh that's just beautiful."Ozai mocked.
"And maybe he'll pass down to you the ways of tea and failure."
"But I've come to an even more important decision.
"I'm going to join the avatar and I'm going to help him defeat you."
"Really?
"Since you're a full blow traitor now and want me gone,why wait?
"I'm powerless,you've got your swords,why don't you just do it now?"
"Because I know my own destiny,taking you down is the Avatar's."
Zuko then put his swords away and began to leave.
"Good-bye."
"Coward,you think you're brave enough to face me,but you'll only do it during the eclipse.
"If you have any real courage,you'll stick around until the sun comes out.
"Don't you want to know what happened to your mother?"
Zuko stopped in his place.
Neo was starting to get tired,having to avoid Xever's strong hits and moving through the hot heat of the catacombs,not to mention the pass month being cooped up in a cage,with very little food and water to sustain him,he was starting to become weak,he needed to end this now,find Zuko,and get out.
He was quickly brought out of his thoughts,as Xever went to strike at him again and he blocked it.
"No one is coming for you Neo,Not the avatar,not your friends,and especially not your padawan."Xever taunted him.
"We don't have to fight,we can be partners again,we can unite this world,we can create a better world."
"A world born out of blood,under the rule of a tyrant,making everyone live in fear."Neo said.
"I would rather die and become one with the live and be Ozai's puppet."
"So be it,then die!"
The two continued to clash against each other,as each one blocked the other's blade,they then jumped away from each other,as Xever fired force lightning at him.
Neo used the force to block the lighting,as it slowly pushed him back towards the cliff that lead to the lava below,he starting to become weak and Xever was about to be on top of him,when suddenly a shot rang,as Ripley and Scotty came out of nowhere and began firing on him.
"Ripley shoot up!"Scotty said,as they began to shoot at the rocks above Xever's head,which then began to fall.
Xever lifted up his hands and used the force to keep them from crushing him.
"Let's go let's go,move it!"Scotty said,as he and Ripley picked up Neo and began to drag him away.
"How'd you find me?"Neo asked.
"We're just that good commander."Scotty said.
"We got lucky."Ripley corrected.
Back with Zuko.
"What happened that night?"Zuko asked his father.
"My father,fire lord Azulon,had commanded me to do the unthinkable to you,my own son and I was going to do it."Ozai explained.
"Your mother found out and swore she would protect you at any cost,she knew I wanted the throne and she proposed a plan,a plan in which I would become fire lord and your life would be spared.
"Your mother did vicious,treasonous things that night,she knew the consequences and accepted them,for her treason,she was banished."
"So she's alive?"Zuko said through tears.
"Perhaps,but now I realize that banishment is far too merciful a penalty for treason.
"Your penalty will be far steeper."
At that moment,the eclipse ended and Ozai created lightning and fired it at Zuko,who(much to Ozai's surprise)managed to redirect it back to Ozai,blasting him away.
When Ozai came to,he saw that Zuko was gone.
"Where is Suki?"Sokka demanded from Azula.
"Answer me!"
"Sokka,she won't talk."Aang said.
"Kid's right."Briggs said.
"The eclipse will be over soon."
"Not soon."Eli said,as his eyes went wide.
"NOW!"
Azula then waved her hand releasing blue flames forcing Eli and Sokka back.
"Sounds like the firebending's back on,Dad's all the way at the end of the hall then down the secret stairway on the left."Azula said.
"I'm sure he'd be more then happy to see you now."
Azula then ran away,leaving the others behind.
"Do we go after her?"Naifu said.
"No,let her go,we have more pressing matters at hand."Eli said.
"I fell for it,I used up all our time."Sokka said.
"Sulk later,we have to get moving."
"Commander Eli's right,we've lost the advantage,it's time to fall back."Briggs said.
"Maybe it's not too late."Aang said.
"The eclipse is over,but I can still face the fire lord anyway."
"That is no longer the objective."Eli said.
"The objective is now to fall back and regroup with the others."
"What about Neo?"Sokka asked.
"Yeah,and weren't their four clones?"Toph asked.
"Ripley,do you copy?"Eli said in his communicator.
"Do you have..?"
"Got right here sir."Ripley said,as he and Scotty carried Neo.
"We'll meet you down at the beach sir,over and out."
"Good work guys,see you there."Eli said.
"Let's get you home,"Scotty said.
"That'll be great."Neo said.
"I know a lot of people are gonna be happy to see-WOO"
Suddenly,Ripley was pulled away from the others,as he suddenly flew all the way into Xever's lightsaber,dying instantly.
"Ripley!"Scotty called out.
"NO!"Neo said.
Xever then began to walk over to the other two,as Scotty pulled out his blaster and began firing.
"Neo run!"He said.
Xever just kept blocking each hit,till he finally cut Scotty's blaster in half and decapitated him,killing him as well.
"No,Scotty!"Neo said,in a furious rage,he drew his saber again and attacked Xever,who blocked each hit.
But Neo then slipped up,as he went to jab at Xever,who simply stepped out of the way and then brought his saber up,severing Neo's right hand clean off.
Neo cried out in pain,as he fell to the ground and held where his lost lim used to be.
"Good-bye Neo."Xever said,as brought up his saber to kill his former friend when..
BANG!
Xever suddenly felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder,as a laser grazed his right shoulder.
Crying out in pain,he turned around and saw that Zuko was holding one of the blasters.
"ZUKO!"Xever cried out in anger.
Zuko,realizing what he'd done,began firing again,but Xever blocked each blast,eventually knocking out the blaster Zuko's hand in the process.
"I'LL KILL YOU!"
But before Xever could get to close,Neo used his remaining hand to push Xever forward and sent him flying into the wall,forcing Zuko to roll out of the way and knocking Xever out.
Neo then laid back down as Zuko made his way over to him.
"How'd it go with your father?"Neo asked.
"About as expected."Zuko answered,as he picked up Neo's lightsaber,and helped Neo up.
"Come on,let's get uncle and get out of here."
"Your uncle's not coming."
"What?'"
"He's the one who busted me out,he told me to tell you that he'll see you again,but that you must move on without him."
Zuko looked down,upset that his uncle left,but then let it go.
"I understand."He said.
Neo looked behind him and took one last look at Ripley and Scotty and then moved on with Zuko.
Back at the palace square,the eclipse had just ended and everyone was wondering what their next move should be.
"What should we do Hakoda?"Bato asked.
"Shouldn't something have happened by now?"
"I don't know."Hakoda said,as he was leaning against one of the tanks.
"But now that the eclipse is over,I expect we're going to see some firebenders any minute."
As if right on cue,Bato looked up in the sky and suddenly became alarmed,as Katara and Hakoda looked up as well,they were shocked to see that the fire nation had air support through blimps.
"My own invention."The mechanist said in despair,as his son placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Oh this is terrible."
Soon,even bigger airships appeared behind the blimps.
Katara soon noticed something else coming,as she saw Appa flying down to them.
"They're back."She said.
As Appa flew down to the ground,everyone on board were shocked to see the air support that the fire nation now had.
"What the hell?"Naifu said.
"When and how did they manage that?"
"I have a pretty good idea when."Eli said,as Balto growed.
Appa soon landed as Katara ran up to them hopeful,but that hope soon faded as she saw the looks on their faces,and she noticed someone wasn't with them.
"Azula was waiting for us,"Sokka said.
"She managed to make us waste time,we never saw the fire lord."
"We have to make our way to the beach and fall back,live to fight another day."Briggs said.
"Neo?"Katara asked,as she looked at Eli.
"Ripley and Scotty have him."Eli said.
"They'll meet us down at the beach."
"Well at least today wasn't a total loss."Toph said.
"They have air support,so do I."Aang said.
"I'm gonna do what I can to slow them down."
"Appa,you and I can help too."Katara said,as she hops onto the bison.
"Briggs,let's give her cover,"Eli said.
"Sir."Briggs replied,as he and Eli stayed on top of Appa.
Aang,Katara,Appa,Eli and Briggs then flew up into the air and charged the airships
"Everyone else,start moving to the subs,they're our only chance."Sokka said.
As the others flew up,Aang glided up to one and jumped through the balloon,making it fall.
Briggs fired his blasters at loose firebenders,who tried to fire on Katara,as she used her waterbending to cut the balloon.
Eli jumped on one blimp and use his saber to cut a hole in it,he jumped to the next one and did a flip and slash on the other one,he missed the third one,but managed to grab the holder,as he climbed to the bottom and then jabbed his saber into the furnace and then free falled down,as the third blimp blew up.
Aang then managed to catch Eli before he got close to the ground.
The group was then forced to retreat,as they soon got close to the airships,where firebenders fired at them from all sides.
"We can't keep them all back."Katara said,as she used her waterbending to block fireballs.
"There's too many of them!"
"Let's join the others."Aang said,as Eli jumped back onto Appa,and they made their escape.
Zuko and Neo soon came out to an opening,where a lone airship was located.
Zuko laid Neo against the blimp as Zuko went to get it heated up.
"Zuko!"A voice called out to him.
Turning around,he was shocked to see it was Ty lee.
"Ty lee,what are you doing here?"Zuko asked.
Ty lee ran up to them,but stopped when she saw Neo.
"Oh no Neo,what happened to him?"
"Xever did,now what are you doing here,shouldn't you be in the catacombs with Mai and the others?"
"I couldn't leave Neo behind,so I came to find him,he wasn't in his cell,so I looked throughout the whole catacombs,that's when I saw you two coming here."
"Ok,that explains how you found us,but it doesn't explain what you're doing here."
"Because I want to come with you."
"What?"
"I want to go with you and Neo,there's nothing for me here,I don't get along with my family,I know Azula isn't really my friend,she was just using me,and Xever wants to kill me anyway."
"But if you do this,you'll become a fugitive just like me,Neo didn't want that for you."
"You mean to tell me he was just going to leave me,and you were just going to leave Mai."
"We have no choice,you come with us,you'll be in danger,and we couldn't bear that,the thought of something happening to you."
"Well,you don't get to make that choice for us,we.."
But before Ty Lee could finish her sentence,she suddenly found herself blacking out and falling to the ground,till Neo kept her from fully hitting it.
"It's for her own good,"Neo said.
"I know."Zuko said,as he helped Neo onto the blimp.
"Good-bye Ty."
Back with the retreat,the group was halfway down the hill,when Sokka looked up and saw the airships right on top of them.
"Try to find cover,"Sokka said.
"I think we're about to see some bombs."
Soon enough,the airships began dropping bombs on the invasion,but luckily,Toph and the other earthbenders managed to create cover by creating a rock ceiling.
The bombs soon ceased,as the airships soon passed over them.
"Where they going?"Naifu asked.
"Yeah,why aren't they turning around to attack us?"Katara asked.
"Because they're heading towards the subs."Eli realized.
The bombs soon began to fall onto the subs below,and while the swamp benders tried their best,they were soon overwhelmed.
"Great,how are we going to escape now?"Sokka asked.
"We're not,"Hakoda said.
"Then our only chance is to stand and fight,we have the avatar and Eli,we could still win."
"Plus Neo's on his way to."Eli added.
"So that could give us an advantage."
"No,you kids have to leave,"Briggs said.
"Survive,live to fight another day."
"Briggs is right,with the avatar and Eli we could still win,on another day,you all have to escape on Appa together."
"What,we can't leave you behind,"Katara said.
"We won't leave anyone behind."
"You're our only chance in the long run."Hakoda said.
"You and Sokka have to go with Aang and Eli somewhere safe,it's the only way to keep hope alive."
"The youngest in our group should go with you,"Bato said.
"The adults will stay behind and surrender."
"We'll be prisoners,but we'll survive."Naifu said.
"I've got some experience with fire nation prisons."Tyro said.
"It's going to be easy."
"Nothing ever is."Briggs said.
"But we'll get by."
He then looked to Eli.
"Commander?"
Eli looked at everyone,then in the distance,hoping to see Neo,but no luck.
"Neo would give the command to leave."He said.
"So let's go."
Soon the heroes began the process of loading everyone up onto Appa,with Toph using her earthbending to bring the Mechanist and Teo up to the saddle.
"Good-bye son."The mechanist said,as he set Teo and his chair in the saddle.
"Good-bye dad,I'm really proud of you."Teo said,as his father was set back down.
"I'll miss you,Pipsqueak."The duke said.
"Good-bye,The duke."Pipsqueak said,as he helped his little friend onto the saddle.
"We'll be back for you dad."Haru said,as he hugged his father.
"If we don't escape first."Tyro said.
"We've lost today."Hakoda said to his children.
"But we've never been this 've tasted that counts for something."
"We'll miss you dad."Katara said,as she and Sokka hugged their father good-bye.
"Bye,Dad."Sokka said.
"We won't be apart for too long this time,I promise."
Hakoda smiled at the two,even wiping a tear from Katara's eye,as the two went to get on Appa.
Eli stood before the two clones,watching everyone get on Appa.
"I was really hoping to rescue him today."He said.
"The commander will understand Eli."Briggs said.
"As will Ripley and Scotty."
"You did well today kid."Naifu said.
"General Clouse would be impressed with how well you handled yourself."
Eli smiled at the two.
"Take care of yourselves guys."Eli said.
Briggs and Naifu then saluted Eli,who then saluted back.
He then turned around and jumped onto Appa and landed next to Toph,who looked at him as he looked down with sadness in his eyes.
He then looked at Toph,then smiled,taking her hand in reassurance,causing her to smile as well.
"Thank you all for being so brave and so strong."Aang said,after being comforted by Katara.
"I'm gonna make this up to you."
"You have all made your countries proud."Eli added.
"Your sacrifice will nor be in vain,may the force be with you all."
Aang then told Appa to yip yip and they all took off,leaving the rest of the invasion force behind.
As they flew away,an airship rose up in the air,as Azula watched the avatar fly away.
"Should we follow them princess?"A fire nation soldier asked.
"No,they're too fast,"Azula said.
"It doesn't matter,they'll be back."
"Don't be too sure."Xever said,as he walked up to her with an ice pack on his head.
"With Neo and Zuko in the wind,they will soon have the advantage again."
"You honestly think they'll accept Zuko after what he's done to them."
"I think with Neo as a reference,they won't have a choice."
As Appa flew away from the fire nation,Aang turned to the others.
"I know where we can lie low for a while."He said.
"The western air temple."
Unbeknownst to everyone else,a blimp rose up through the clouds,as Zuko watched the group fly away.
He turned around and looked at the unconscious Neo leaning against the side of the carrier they were in.
Hope was not yet lost.
(UNTIL NEXT TIME,THIS IS THE AGENT OF LITERATURE SIGNING OFF,COURAGE AND GODSPEED,AND JESUS LOVE.)