Chapter 43: Absolute Eclipse

The day had finally arrived, the day for the invasion, the Day of Black Sun.

It was early morning when the invasion forces arrived at the island, composed of a small fleet of Water Tribe ships. Twelve small ships sailed into the island's cove, half from the northern tribe and half from the southern tribe. As the ships came into port, Aang and Toph got to work earthbending stone docks, which the ships stopped beside to set anchor. In minutes the entire fleet was in the makeshift harbor, ready to unload their crews and passengers. They were many and varied, and they all got their turn to disembark and stretch their legs.

First off the boat was Hakoda, and both Katara and Sokka ran down the stone dock to meet him. Katara got to him first and hugged her dad. "You made it!"

"Were you able to locate everyone we wanted you to find?" Sokka asked.

"I did," Hakoda answered. Then he looked into his daughter's eyes. "When you described your waterbending teacher, I almost didn't believe it."

As other warriors disembarked from the Southern Water Tribe ships, waterbenders and healers emerged from the Northern Tribe vessels. It had been quite the reunion on the way here, with a lot of catching up to do between the two tribes. The waterbenders brought with the tribe were an essential asset to the invasion plan, and for the most part they were agreeable with their southern kin. Among them were the women waterbenders willing to leave the tribe, who could openly practice their skills outside of the North Pole's customs.

Leading those waterbenders was Mera, and she was in a good mood. "Chief Hakoda, my people are ready."

That was when Taiyo noticed a ripple in the water, which erupted as a young man shot out, showering everyone before coming down on the dock. "Enjoying the warm waters Kurri?"

The young man turned to face him, his black hair settling on his shoulders, bare skin displaying those fish scale tattoos. "It sure is invigorating. I may need to do it more often."

Hakoda turned back to his son. "I'm sure these are all professionals. But I'm a little worried about some of the others. A few of them aren't exactly the warrior type."

The northerners weren't the only waterbenders to arrive, for there were some people from the Foggy Swamp as well. Tho and Due were the first of them to emerge from the boat, and they appeared simply happy to be here. The world outside the swamp was a wonderous experience, full of new sights and sounds unlike anything they knew back home. Huu was coming out behind them, along with the plant-composed being known as the Swamp Thing. His appearance had changed somewhat, having added a layer of seaweed to act as armor.

"This place ain't nothing like a swamp," Due said. He pointed at someone in the water. "What do you reckon that is? Some sort of Fire Nation exploding trap what eat ya?"

"It's just a rock," Tho said.

Due scratched his head. "Well, I'll be…"

Despite spending a week with them on the way here, Hakoda still didn't understand them. "Is it just me, or are those fellas a little loose in the leaf-hat?"

By now Bato had come ashore, and he had been approaching Hakoda when he heard the conversation. "I just wish they would wear pants."

It seemed that Huu had heard him, and he gave a mocking smile. "Pants are an illusion, and so is death."

Swamp Thing walked past them, wearing nothing at all, for he had none of the expected bits to cover up. "Pants get ruined after a few days in the swamp. And it's warm enough there that they aren't needed."

Once all the waterbenders were ashore, they found places to rest, as they would need to be at their best when the invasion got underway. They were followed by various residents of the Earth Kingdom, those who were willing and able to participate, and had been within reach of the ocean and rivers. Plenty of them were ordinary earthbender soldiers, a mix of veterans from armies defeated by the Fire Nation and inexperienced recruits from Ba Sing Se. Some nonbenders were in the mix, people that could wield a sword or a spear, or had some other form of expertise.

Among them was a teenager, one that was about Sokka's size but a little scrawnier, whose green eyes found Taiyo before he waved his hand. "Hey!"

"Kordan," Taiyo said, and he walked up to him.

Behind him Toph gave a puzzled look. "Who's Kordan?"

It seemed like Taiyo had to make the introductions. "Toph, meet Kordan. Kordan, meet Toph."

"So what do you bring?" Toph asked. "Aside from the metal in your spine, I don't see anything special."

"How do you know what's in my spine?" Kordan asked.

"She sees through vibrations," Taiyo answered.

"Oh, well, there's more to the metal than you might think," Kordan said.

From that spot in Kordan's back, strange blue metal grew outward and spread across his skin, absorbing his clothes as it became a suit of skintight armor. More of the metal took the form of a large scarab clamed to his back, the six legs holding his chest and shoulders, the pincers pointing upward. There were plenty of surprised gasps from people nearby, since it seemed like something out a spirit tale. For show Kordan made the metal around one arm extend and morph into the shape of a sword, as this was more than just a suit of armor.

"I've figured out a bunch of stuff with this thing over the last few months," Kordan said. "The Fire Nation knows me as the Blue Beetle."

"Neat," Toph admitted. Then she noticed another unfamiliar teen step onto a stone dock and she pointed at him. "So who's that?"

Taiyo looked at the other teen, one that was a little older and had a small mustache. "He's new to me."

"Haru," Katara said, walking past Taiyo and Toph to get to him. "It's so good to see you."

Just after her Aang walked by, and he realized that not everyone had been there when they met this guy. "This is Haru. When we met him his town was controlled by the Fire Nation, so he had to hide his earthbending."

"Katara inspired me and my father to take back our village," Haru said.

Just behind Haru a much older man with a beard put a hand on his shoulder, who was clearly Haru's father. "You helped us find our courage Katara. Now we're here to help you."

Suddenly, a commotion was heard coming from one of the ships, and there were sailors scrambling to get out of the ship as quick as they could. One unlucky man got hit hard by something and was tossed into the water, where he then had to swim to shore. After him a mighty beast emerged from the ship, an ostrich-horse twice the size of the standard breed and with half of its feathers lost to old scars. The beast screeched at anyone that dared to come within ten feet of it, save for the adult emerging behind it.

A man in grey and brown clothes with a wide brim hat stepped into the light, where all could see the scar on the right side of his face that put Zuko's scar to shame. "Easy there Yiban, we're among friends."

Sokka stared at the scarred man and his beast. "Okay, I'd have remembered putting someone like that on the invite list."

"I did," Taiyo said. He walked in front of the man and gave a polite bow. "Welcome, Jodai Hex."

"Quite the rag tag group you've got here," Hex observed. "Whatever happens today, I'm sure history will remember it."

Just then Toph noticed a pair of people she recognized, and she turned towards them. "No way, is that-"

Suddenly a large and chubby man picked up Toph and squeezed her in a big bear hug. "Hippo happy to see Blind Bandit!"

While being squeezed Toph noticed another former competitor. "You guys here for a rematch?"

"Negatory," the other competitor corrected. "The Boulder and The Hippo no longer fight for others' entertainment. Now we fight for our kingdom!"

"Sweet," Toph said, right before the Hippo put her down.

Suddenly a small explosion went off inside one of the boats, but it did not seem to do any significant damage to the boat. A thick plume of smoke billowed out of it, prompting a handful of people to quickly leave the smoke-filled boat for clear air. An eccentric man was first to come out, followed by a teen in a long wheelchair, and then a large and muscular teen carrying a much smaller boy. All four of them coughed for a few moments before getting enough fresh air, although their faces were covered in a light brown sauce.

Taiyo noticed that Sokka was excited to see this group, and so he followed him over. "Now who are these people?"

Sokka quickly pointed to each of them. "The Mechanist, his son Teo, the big guy is Pipsqueak, and the other one is Duke."

The smaller boy seemed to take offense to that. "It's The Duke."

"Sorry," Sokka said. With that out of the way, he turned toward the Mechanist. "Was that a new invention?"

The Mechanist nodded, then wiped off the sauce still on his face. "Yes, but unfortunately the incendiary capabilities of peanut sauce prove to be a failure."

"You're making bombs out of peanuts?" Taiyo questioned. Although he had never met this man before, the unconventional experimenting reminded him of something. "Hang on, are you the guy that Minister Qin got all of those innovative designs from?"

"Sadly, yes," he answered. "Now I try to use my designs to end this war. Even if some of them do not work the way I intend."

"Still, peanut sauce bombs?" Sokka questioned.

Pipsqueak had licked off much of the peanut sauce around his mouth, and Momo had come over to lick off the rest of it. "They're destructive."

"And delicious," The Duke added, also licking off the sauce on himself.

Sokka kept his attention on the Mechanist. "Were you able to complete work on the plans I sent you?"

"Yes, I was," the Mechanist answered, having the grin of a mad scientist. "And I think the Fire Nation will be quite surprised."

Just for a sneak peek Taiyo stared at the boats, peering through the hulls to see several smaller vessels in the water underneath them. Each of these vessels was completely airtight, and they were weighed down to keep them beneath the surface of the water. They had been tethered to the boats throughout the journey here, kept safely out of sight until they would be needed. Granted, the limited amount of air inside would be a problem, but there were ways to deal with that, and it would only be needed for a short time.

Taiyo nodded in approval. "Yes, I'm sure they won't see it coming."

Meanwhile, the teen in the wheelchair, Teo, presented a gift to Aang. "Here, my dad and I made this for you."

"A new glider," Aang said, graciously accepting the gift. He unfolded it from a staff into a glider, finding that it was blue and had a wider wingspan than his old one. "Thanks. I can't wait to try it."

Sokka took one more look around the place, checking all the faces for anyone he might have missed. "I think that's everyone."

Seemingly just to prove him wrong, a flash of red crossed the harbor and kicked up a torrent of water that drenched Sokka. Taiyo disappeared in a blur and chased after that flash of red, and they crisscrossed the island several times before returning to the harbor. When they stopped moving there was a small teen in red wearing a tin hat, one that was a complete stranger to nearly everyone there. Sokka grumbled at the sight while Katara bent the water off him, wondering just who the newcomer was.

"Friend of yours?" Sokka asked Taiyo.

"You could say that," Taiyo answered. He turned to the newcomer. "I didn't think you'd show up, Jee."

Jee Garicka shrugged. "It's quiet back home, so I thought I'd lend a hand. But I wasn't expecting to find so many other people with you."

"Just so you know, we're invading the capital," Taiyo informed. "The army might retaliate against your village if someone recognizes you."

"I'll be moving too fast for them to see my face," Jee said. "Not that anyone in the capital would recognize who I am anyway."

"Fair enough," Taiyo said. Then he looked over the crowd of people gathered in this harbor, a united forces ready to end the Fire Nation's war. "Well we better get ready."

Alone in the palace, Zuko was in his room, getting ready for the big day.

He had been dressed in formal armor, which was the same as regular armor but with extra golden trim, but it felt very heavy on him today. Zuko removed the armor and placed it on his bed, followed by the headpiece that kept his topknot in place, which let his hair fall. He knew what was supposed to happen today, and he wanted no part in it. He could simply disappear right now, he knew many of the secret passages in and out of the palace, and no one would be paying attention to him. Everything today was Azula's big plan, and she would be getting the credit or blame for success or failure.

Zuko sat down at a desk and started writing a letter, which he kept short and straight to the point, so that his words would not be misinterpreted. It only took him a half hour to finish, and he made sure the ink was dry before he rolled up the letter and tied it off with a string. With the letter in hand, Zuko left the room and walked through the secret passages of the palace, reaching one of the guest rooms that had been used recently. Zuko placed the letter at the foot of the bed, where it could not be missed when the guest returned.

"I'm sorry Mai," Zuko said.

From there he returned to the secret passages, heading to another part of the palace. He made a stop to pick up his dao swords, which he kept hidden, as it was improper for the prince to carry such weapons. Zuko also put on a dark cloak, complete with a hood, though he didn't need it just yet. His next stop was at the royal gallery, where painted portraits of Fire Lords and associated family members were kept on display. There was one portrait that he needed to see, as a reminder of what he had lost and why he needed to do this.

It was a portrait of his mother, largely ignored since she disappeared, and Zuko knelt as if to confess to the real Ursa. "I know I've made some bad choices. But today, I'm going to set things right."

Zuko stood up, covered his head with the hood of his cloak, and walked away.

After a brief war meeting to bring everyone up to speed on the invasion plan, despite a small hiccup when Sokka tried to start the meeting, everyone got to work preparing for the battle ahead of them. Swords and spears were sharpened, armors were properly secured, food was consumed for restoring stamina, and various uniforms were put on by their respective factions. Those with mechanical skills made the final checks on the equipment they were going to use, making sure that they were going to function as designed.

Kurri polished the jagged hook in his arm, and then picked up a trident in his hand, testing the balance of the weapon one last time.

Swamp Thing gathered fresh vegetation from the island, bulking up what passed for his muscles, renewing his strength from nature itself.

Jodai Hex sharpened his many throwing axes, tested their weight and balance one by one until he was satisfied, and then he put them away in the two dozen sheaths he had hidden all over his person.

Sokka changed into his Green Lantern uniform, checked the charge on his ring, and then put his fist and the ring into his power battery. All he needed now was the oath. "In brightest day, in blackest night…"

Toph put on a proper earthbender uniform, albeit tailored to fit her size, to look like a proper Earth Kingdom solider. She completed the look with the traditional wide hat, even if she had no use for it.

Jee Garicka filled up his stomach one more time, stretched his legs to loosen up, and then he polished his tin hat to a perfect shine, all to get ready to introduce the capitol city to the Flash.

Kordan tested all of the equipment his Blue Beetle armor could create from its strange blue metal, everything from the curved sickle swords to the ranged blasters to the insect wings for flight.

Katara put on several large waterskins over her new set of Water Tribe clothes, and she bent as much water as she could into the waterskins until they were about to burst, expecting to use every last drop.

Aang arranged the scraps of his old Air Nomad clothes into a sash, and kept the Fire Nation pants and boots he had. And to finish the look he shaved his head, returning the arrow tattoo to its former glory.

Taiyo put on a set of black clothes he acquired from the Fortress of Solitude, and the shirt had a red kryptonian symbol on his chest, the diamond with the angled line.

When everyone was ready, the invasion fleet set sail.

It only took half an hour to cross the waters between the island and the Fire Nation capital, and the only part of the journey that would be easy. The passage into the capital island's inland sea was only a few hundred meters wide, and it was bordered by large statues depicting the late Fire Lord Azulon. Passage through here was the only route for the invasion to take and still use the eclipse, and the fleet sailed straight towards it. Despite the purpose of their fleet sailing through these waters, the statues were still a grand sight to behold.

On the lead ship Hakoda observed the statues through a spyglass, and then he pointed them out to the people beside him. "There they are, the Great Gates of Azulon."

Katara was standing next to her father. "I don't see any gates."

Just behind them Taiyo stood with his arms crossed. "You're not supposed to."

"On that note, thanks for the intel," Hakoda said. "Katara, have the waterbenders whip up a fog cover. Then follow the rest of us below deck."

All together the waterbenders among the fleet turned surface seawater into a thick cloud of fog, completely concealing the fleet just as it passed within eyesight of the statues. But the guards in watchtowers did not fall for the ruse, the weather was not right for fog, and they sounded the alarm. Massive gears were turned within the statues to pull on thick ropes, which in turn pulled up gigantic nets from underneath the water surface. Once the nets were stretched taught, they spanned the gap between the statues, from just below their feet and up to their shoulders.

And for good measure, the tar-soaked nets were set on fire.

"Well that's clever," Sokka commented.

Fortunately, the invasion had a workaround already in place, courtesy of the Mechanist's latest invention. The hidden submarines beneath the ships were put to use, and they were accessed by pushing water out of the way with bending to reach dorsal hatches. Everyone that needed to be inside the submarines hurried there quickly, and they were followed by the waterbenders moments later. Then the submarines were cut free from the ships above, and waterbending was used to propel them forward.

When Fire Nation soldiers boarded the Water Tribe ships, they found them completely deserted.

"Where'd they go?" one soldier wondered.

Just a few dozen yards below the surface, the submarines passed right underneath the burning nets, where there was nothing to impede their journey into the inland sea. Even deeper, those who could breathe underwater escorted the submarines, including Aang with a bubble of air around Appa's head, Kurri breathing the water without any trouble, Kordan with his armor containing air for him, and Sokka with his green ring generating atmosphere for him. Having them outside the submarines left more air available inside for everyone else, but it still wouldn't last long enough to cross the entire sea.

Halfway across, the submarines were forced to surface, as they needed to refresh their air supply. During that time, everyone inside the subs took the opportunity to have one last break before the land invasion. For most it was an opportunity for some last-minute maintenance of their gear, even if all it accomplished was to help pass the time. Others simply talked while they still could, airing out any unspoken words they had for each other, since some of them would not be coming back. Even Appa was taking a moment to rest, simply treading water next to one of the submarines.

Aang leaped from Appa's head and onto the submarine Katara stood on, and his other friends joined him there. "So this is it."

"Are you ready for the Fire Nation to know the Avatar's alive?" Sokka asked.

Aang nodded. "I'm ready."

Sokka held up his right fist, and his outfit changed to the Green Lantern uniform. "Team Avatar is back."

And yet Taiyo winced a little at that. "Sokka, I don't think that name really works anymore."

"Why not?" Sokka asked.

Taiyo looked at everyone else on the submarines, so many people ready to fight with them. "We've got a really large group for a team. It just seems more like a society or a league."

"So an Avatar League?" Aang proposed.

"No…" Taiyo muttered, one hand on his chin while thinking about the name. "That's not right either."

But before they could settle on a new name, they were interrupted by Hakoda. "Everyone listen up. The next time we resurface it will be on the beaches. So stay alert and fight smart. Now break time is over, back in the subs."

Aang unfolded his new glider, as part of the plan was him going ahead in the air, and he turned to Taiyo. "I could use a boost."

Taiyo held out one hand, Aang put his foot in it, and Taiyo launched Aang into the sky. With that boost of speed and his glider Aang flew through the air, soaring high into the clouds and quickly getting out of sight. By the time he was gone, everyone else went back inside the submarines and they dived once again, but this time Katara was on Appa's head and using waterbending to make an air bubble for the sky bison. From there it was full speed ahead to the capital's main port, where the invasion could properly begin.

A conventional sea gate guarded the entrance to the port, built out of stone but with metal grates to allow the water to flow freely through them. Solders on patrol spotted shadows in the water and sounded the alarm, and soldiers in small watchtowers armed large ballistae with tethered spears. Dozens of them were fired into the water and a few of them punctured submarine hulls, but the inflicted holes were sealed with waterbent ice and the tethers were cut off on the inside to free the submarines.

Looking through a periscope, Hakoda spotted a grated wall in their way. "Ready the torpedo!"

Those with muscles loaded ice-coated torpedoes into their launch tubes, then closed the hatches to seal them off. Mera, Huu, and other waterbenders bent the ice to launch the torpedoes, which send them through the water to hit the grates up ahead. On impact the torpedoes exploded and destroyed the grates, allowing the submarines to pass through three at a time. Once all of them were through there was a brief calm, and everyone inside waited for the moment they would make landfall. They didn't have to wait very long, and as the water turned shallow the ride got bumpier for everyone.

At full speed the submarines beached themselves, despite the explosive harpoons being launched at them. Once on the shore the front hulls of the submarines opened to allow Earth Kingdom crawler tanks to emerge. Earthbenders inside the tanks propelled them forward with their bending, each with three hull sections that could be lifted and smash down on anything in their way. The tanks protected the nonbender warriors of the Water Tribe and the Earth Kingdom, who marched forward as the tanks cleared the way.

In response to this threat, the Fire Nation deployed their standard war tanks towards the advancing forces, and just behind them came firebenders mounted on kimono rhinos. The crawler tanks simply ran over the war tanks and crushed them underfoot, and the warriors on foot fended off the firebending riders. But as the two sides fought each other explosive harpoons continued to be fired from battlements on large walls, each of them inflicting damage on tanks and warriors and slowing down both.

"We need to take out those battlements!" Hakoda ordered.

"That's our cue," Taiyo said.

Now was the time for the heavy firepower.

Twin blurs shot across the battlefield and then they split to head for opposite walls, both ascending them in the blink of an eye and reaching the battlements. On the right wall Taiyo barged through battlements and demolished them, and took the time to smash the large ballistae firing the explosive harpoons. On the left wall Jee ran into each battlement one at a time and knocked out the soldiers inside, and at high speed and with a wrench he dismantled the ballistae to render them into useless piles of parts.

"Good luck fixing that," Jee dared.

With the battlements now in ruins, the invasion's air power took to the sky. Appa was in the middle with Katara riding, Sokka was flying to the left, and Blue Beetle was flying to the right. Sokka fired a large green beam from his ring and targeted the war tanks, blasting them into pieces and clearing part of the way. Blue Beetle's armor morphed into twin cannons around his fists and fired hot blue plasma, striking down kimono rhinos and forcing their riders to flee from the heat. Appa flew over the soldiers and Katara struck them down with water, allowing the crawler tanks to advance with less resistance.

"Onward!" Hakoda ordered, pushing the invasion forces ever forward.

More soldiers and firebenders continued to oppose the invasion, and the battle shifted to close quarters combat. Water Tribe warriors fought with their spears and clubs, clashing against cold Fire Nation steel. In the middle of it all Jodai Hex was slashing with his throwing axes into every soldier that got too close, and when an opportunity came along, he threw one into a more distant soldier to spare an ally. At one point he ended up fighting back-to-back with Hakoda, and when they fought together no Fire Nation blade could touch them.

At the front Kurri was slashing with his hook and stabbing with his trident, wielding both weapons as if they were extensions of himself. All around him were the waterbenders of the Northern Water Tribe, striking at firebenders and soldiers that tried to flank him, and supplying him with fresh water for his own bending. Together they were like a miniature tsunami, washing away everything that was caught in the rushing water, even the tanks and komodo-rhinos were swept away. Yet the enemy kept coming, despite the cries of their washed up comrades.

A bold detachment of firebenders tried to go around the invasion force and hit them from behind, to cut off any possible retreat to the submarines. They were promptly snared by vines and seaweed, which acted like tentacles and hurled anyone they grabbed into the sea. Huu had recreated his plant monster from local flora, and he guarded the submarines from any counterattack. Swamp Thing had been assisting him, his vine-arms stretching and twisting to strike at foes, until he wasn't needed there anymore and could advance to rejoin the main attack force.

Up ahead a large wall stood in the way, with a large tower embedded in the center, almost daring invaders to try and take it. On one side of the wall Taiyo rammed into it and tore it down, and on the opposite side Sokka and Blue Beetle demolished the wall with green and blue beams. Their efforts left the tower vulnerable, which Katara and Kurri took advantage of, waterbending and trident clearing out every soldier they encountered inside. The invasion force advanced to support them, and the tower was taken so quickly the crawler tanks didn't bother to slow down.

On both sides of the tower the crawler tanks advanced, passing through the demolished walls and the warriors followed them through. Morale was high as the invasion pressed forward and the Fire Nation forces retreated, as they were progressing faster than they expected. It only took a couple of minutes to get everyone through to the inland side of the wall, securing the land around the tower to cut it off from the Fire Nation. On the inland side the invasion forces started to fortify their position, anticipating a counter attack any moment now.

Hakoda made one more rallying cry for the men. "We're on our way to victory."

Meanwhile, Aang was flying over the island and bypassing all of the defenses on the ground, already reaching the large volcano that housed the capital city in its caldera. Along the way his belly rumbled, and Aang was fortunate that the Mechanist had installed a snack compartment in his new glider. As Aang flew over the eastern rim of the caldera he spotted something strange on the ground, and since he had plenty of time before the eclipse he decided to check it out. Given what he found, he wished he had just left it alone.

Perched on the caldera rim was a metal chair, and sitting in it was a teenager with grey skin and wild black hair. Aang landed next to him and couldn't hold back his curiosity. "Excuse me, uh, who are you?"

The strange teen lowered his sunglasses a little and looked at Aang with red eyes. "Oh don't mind me. I'm just here to see the perfect transit."

Given the context of what day it is, Aang figured that was this stranger's term for the solar eclipse. "Do you have something planned for it?"

The stranger leaned back into his chair, put his sunglasses back into place, and sipped a fruity drink. "The Main Man's having a little pleasure before business elsewhere. The job can wait until after the transit."

"Okay?" Aang muttered, not sure what to make of that. So he readied his glider and prepared to take off. "Well take care."

Aang resumed his flight into the capital city, and soon forgot about the strange person. As he flew he noticed that the streets were completely deserted, as if the whole city was abandoned. He landed on one of the ornate houses and listened for anyone, but only heard the wind and his own breaths. He took flight again and went straight for the palace at the western end of the caldera, but even there Aang saw no one. There was no resistance whatsoever as Aang walked right into the palace, and it was eerily quiet inside its halls.

"Hello?" Aang said, his voice echoing. "Anyone home?"

Nothing stopped Aang from running deeper into the palace, going from one empty hallway to the next in search of the Fire Lord. He stumbled across the throne room and made a grand entrance by blowing through the entry curtain, but even here he found no reaction to his presence. The throne room was completely dark and empty, as the fire wall he'd heard so much about was extinguished. All alone in the throne room Aang dropped his staff and fell to his knees, finding this development worse than any nightmare.

"No," Aang muttered. "Fire Lord Ozai, where are you?!"

Having no idea where the Fire Lord could be hiding, Aang picked up his staff and ran out of the throne room. He left the palace and took flight again, heading east to reunite with the invasion force. By the time he got there, the invasion had seized the large tower and secured a position on the western side, using crawler tanks for barricades to block firebender attacks. Earthbenders and warriors continued to fight the enemy around the tanks, and shielded behind them was a relatively safe spot for a mid-battle meeting to take place.

When Aang landed near Sokka and the others, Taiyo blurred into view. "Why did you come back? The eclipse hasn't even started!"

"The Fire Lord wasn't home," Aang answered. "No one was. The entire palace city is abandoned."

Sokka came to a dire realization. "They knew."

Taiyo looked at him. "Told you they plan for eclipses."

"Not just that," Sokka said. "They knew we would be invading on this eclipse."

"How did they figure that out?" Katara asked.

"Could have noticed the ships we had moving across the world," Taiyo speculated. "Or you know, lucky guess. This is the last eclipse before Sozin's Comet arrives."

"So they were expecting something to happen today," Toph said.

"The Fire Lord is probably long gone," Aang guessed. "Off far away on some remote island where he'll be safe during the eclipse."

"No he's not," Taiyo corrected. "There are a series of bunkers underneath the palace, built back in the Sun Warriors era when civil wars were common. He'll be down there."

Katara glared at Taiyo. "And you didn't mention this before why?"

Taiyo looked back at Katara. "I assumed that Aang would have the sense to earthbend his way to the bottom and find Ozai with Toph's earth sight." Then Taiyo looked at Toph. "You did teach him that skill?"

"The basics," Toph answered. "I could still find these bunkers faster."

Sokka took a simple clock out of his pocket and checked the time. "We have ten minutes before the eclipse. Ten minutes to find the Fire Lord."

"We can still do this," Aang said. "We can still win the day."

"Wait," Katara interrupted. "If they knew we were coming, it could all be a trap."

"Of course it's a trap," Taiyo answered. "But no trap is foolproof. And we've got far more firepower than Ozai could have anticipated."

Aang nodded, and turned to face the capital. "We have to try."

Their brief respite was finished, and they returned to the matter at hand. The battle for the capital city raged on, with the invaders steadily making their way up to the volcano's slope. Aang flew ahead on his glider, Taiyo kept pace on the ground, and Sokka flew behind while carrying the others in a small green bubble. They took care to avoid the defenses on the ground, letting their allies keep the attention of the capital's defenders. The point of the battle was to let Aang slip through unnoticed, and so far it had worked without a hitch.

The group stopped near the top of the volcano, landing just outside the caldera rim, where they could access the city's underground via earthbending. A labyrinth of tunnels lay underneath, both natural and manmade, spread across the interior of the caldera. Among those tunnels were express passageways, meant for getting around the city quickly and unseen, which had just been used by elite firebenders on their way to the front lines. Rushed footsteps could still be heard, but from the opposite direction Aang and the others needed to go.

"This way," Taiyo said, pointing in the other direction. "It will take us straight to the bunker."

They made their way through the tunnels, crossing the caldera far quicker than they could have on the surface, bypassing all the buildings that would have been in the way. It was hot and stuffy inside the tunnels, the ventilation nowhere near good enough to handle the heat of a volcano, but they tolerated it for the time being. A greater inconvenience was the magma chamber at the heart of the volcano, which prevented the construction of tunnels beneath the exact center of the caldera, and going around would cost Aang a few precious minutes.

But between Aang's new glider and Sokka's ring, they were able to fly over the bubbling lava that flowed beneath them. They made it across the magma chamber quickly, burst through the wall that kept the chamber sealed off, and reentered the tunnel network much closer to the Fire Lord's bunker. Here the corridor walls changed from smooth stone to sharp volcanic rock, telling Taiyo precisely where they were relative to the city above them. Underneath some of the noble estates in fact, only a few city block's worth away from the bunker.

In another half minute they reached a point where several corridors intersected, and a thick metal wall stood to block the way. There were a pair of large doors in the metal, and they could only be opened from the other side. The doors were completely smooth with nothing to grab hold on, clearly meant to withstand a siege for years if necessary. But they could never have been designed to block this group, having all sorts of ways to get through. They just needed to pick one, whichever trick would be practical to reveal early.

"So who wants to take these down?" Aang asked.

"I need to conserve power for the eclipse," Taiyo said.

"I'd rather save mine for a surprise," Sokka said.

"I guess I'll do it," Toph said. With some well-placed hits she bent the very metal, ripping open a hole in the doors large enough for them to get through. "Like that."

"Forgot you could do that now," Katara admitted.

After passing through the new hole, they entered the large underground bunker, and in these corridors there were large metal struts holding up the ceiling to prevent cave-ins. Along the way they passed by a rather unfortunate yet cooperative Minister Qin, who while under threat eagerly provided directions to the Fire Lord's chamber. By the time they reached the chamber it was almost time for the eclipse to begin, but when they knocked down these doors all of them were surprised to see the only person inside.

"Zhao?!"

Sitting on a small throne meant for the Fire Lord, wearing the standard Fire Navy uniform, and making no effort to hide the stump of his amputated arm, Zhao glared at the intruders. "In the flesh."

"When did you escape?" Taiyo demanded.

"How did you escape?" Aang demanded.

"Who is this guy?" Toph asked.

"Oh yeah, you never met him," Katara said.

"Crazy Sideburns Guy was the firebender that chased us across the world before Azula showed up," Sokka described. "Aside from Zuko."

"I've been waiting for you to get down here," Zhao said. He stood up, aimed his remaining fist at Taiyo, letting them see the red ring on his finger, which glowed with an ominous red light. "So I can do this!"

From Zhao's ring a thick red beam shot across the chamber, hitting Taiyo's chest before blasting him through the open doors. Everyone else stared even after the beam was gone, and then they looked back at Zhao. Right before their eyes Zhao's navy uniform morphed into an even redder version but with a dark Red Lantern insignia on his chest, followed by red energy pouring out from the stump of his amputated limb and shaping into a new arm that ended with a clawed hand. And attached to his waist was a red power battery, a match for Sokka's in all but color.

Zhao's body glowed with a red aura, right before he flew across the chamber to strike again. Sokka reacted first by using his ring to conjure up a large green bat and swung it at the right moment, hitting Zhao in midflight and knocking him into the far wall. Zhao retaliated by firing another large red beam, which was quickly matched by a green beam that Sokka fired. The red and green energies met in the middle and pushed against each other, but the collision point gradually moved towards Sokka's end of the room.

"GO!" Sokka yelled.

Aang didn't need to be told twice, and he ran for the back of the chamber where he spotted a small door. He figured that was the way to the Fire Lord, since that was really the only way forward. Katara and Toph ran after him, eyes and feet sharp for any more unanticipated threats. Just as they had left Zhao's red beam overpowered Sokka's green beam, and blasted him into the other wall. Zhao flew towards Sokka but halfway across he was struck by a blur, which was Taiyo coming back and ramming into him.

The strike shoved Zhao all the way to the small throne, which shattered upon impact and Zhao fell amongst the scattered pieces of rubble. Protected by his red aura Zhao had not been harmed by the blow, and he got in time to see Taiyo and Sokka standing side by side. Zhao fired his red beam and it collided with Sokka's green one again, only this time the green was supported by Taiyo shooting fire from his eyes. The combined might held Zhao's attack at bay, until Zhao stopped and leaped above them.

"Just die already!" Zhao yelled.

Zhao punched with his red energy fist, hit Taiyo's face, and as Taiyo's head went back Zhao's red fist shattered. Zhao's fist reformed and grabbed Taiyo's shoulder before throwing him into the ceiling, only for his fist to be smashed again by a large green hammer. Sokka swung his green hammer around and up to hit Zhao right between the legs, which launched him straight up into the ceiling after Taiyo. Sokka took flight and ascended through the ceiling after them, reaching a higher floor to resume their fight there.

"Let's take it somewhere else," Sokka insisted.