Chapter 51: Countdown

Only three days remained before the return of Sozin's Comet.

After a full night's rest, it was back to training first thing in the morning, and Zuko had Aang go through everything he had learned so far with firebending. Aang was throwing fire just about everywhere in the backyard, culminating in throwing fire left and right while breathing fire forward. However, he only got a few embers from that final move, prompting a scolding from Zuko until Aang did it again and got three large plumes of fire this time. By then Aang was feeling exhausted, and Zuko wanted him to go through it all over again.

Katara walked outside the house, holding a pair of watermelons, which had been cut open and made into drinks with straws. "Who wants watermelon juice?"

"Me," Aang said, and was already heading towards her.

Zuko stopped him by grabbing the back of Aang's shirt. "Your lesson's not over yet."

Not far away, Suki was relaxing next to Sokka. "Come on Zuko. Just take a break for a few minutes."

"Fine," Zuko said, letting Aang go. "If you want to lounge around like a bunch of snail-sloths all day, then go ahead!"

From the other end of the backyard, Taiyo was watching the whole thing, more inclined towards Zuko's position than Aang's in the argument. Still, he was patient enough to let Aang have his short break, though it was going to be much shorter than Aang would have liked. Taiyo slowly walked over to where Aang was enjoying his fruity drink, crossing his arms and giving him a scornful look. Then his eyes glowed red, shot fire at the drink, resulting in exploding watermelon showering both of them in red juice.

"What'd you do that for?" Aang demanded, licking the juice off his face.

"We don't have time for this," Taiyo said. He wiped off the splattered juice off himself. "Sozin's Comet is almost here and you're not ready for it."

Aang turned his head away, while a somber look appeared. "Yeah, I'm not ready to fight the Fire Lord."

Sokka got up and walked over to them. "He doesn't need to be, not when we've got you on our side."

"We believed that during the eclipse, and look where that got us," Taiyo reasoned. "The Fire Lord has some tough people on his side now, and Azula probably gave him some kryptonite. There's a good chance I won't be able to beat him for you Aang."

"The Fire Lord mastered firebending before I was born," Zuko described. "He can create lightning in an instant. And he will be stronger than ever during the comet. You're going to need everything you can get when you fight him."

Aang sat down, pulled his legs up to his chest, and wrapped his arms around his knees. "Well maybe I don't have to beat him now."

"You can't be serious?" Taiyo asked.

"Just hear me out," Aang insisted. "The Fire Nation already took Ba Sing Se, so they pretty much won the war already. What more could the Fire Lord do now that he already controls the Earth Kingdom?"

"He doesn't control all of it," Taiyo corrected. "Large parts of it are still holding out."

"They won't last much longer," Zuko interrupted. "When Ozai takes his new airship fleet to the Earth Kingdom, he's going to burn it all to the ground."

Every shocked stare was on Zuko, with Aang being the first to say what they were all thinking. "Why didn't you tell us about that sooner?"

"I didn't think I had to," Zuko answered. "I assumed you were still going to fight him before the comet."

The full weight of the danger was bearing down on Aang, nowhere near sure if he could handle it. "This is bad. This is very bad."

"You don't need to do it alone," Katara said.

"We're in this together," Suki said.

"We're all right behind you," Sokka said.

"Yeah," Toph said. "If we all fight the Fire Lord together, we'll definitely take him down."

Aang nodded, his spirits lifted by the faith his friends showed in him. "Fighting the Fire Lord is going to be the hardest thing we've ever done together, but I wouldn't want to do it any other way."

Zuko on the other hand, wasn't so certain. "There's still one technique you need to know before you face my father."

"What's that?" Aang asked.

"How to redirect lightning," Zuko answered. He started showing Aang the arm movements to do it. "If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it. You turn your opponent's energy against them."

"That's like waterbending," Aang noted.

"Exactly," Zuko confirmed. He continued the arm movements, and watch Aang follow along. "My uncle invented this technique himself by studying waterbenders."

"Have you ever redirected lightning before?" Aang asked.

"No," Zuko admitted. "And if you're lucky, you won't have to. Try to avoid Ozai's lightning if you can. If you can't, and if you make a mistake with this technique, you might not live long enough to try again."

Aang tried to swallow that growing lump in his throat. "Yeah… I'll try to remember that."

There was still one more point that Zuko wanted to drive home. "You'll have to take the Fire Lord's life before he takes yours."

"I'll just do that," Aang said, without any enthusiasm whatsoever.

Later in the day, everyone gathered in a remote part of Ember Island, where cragged rock formations and barren hillsides didn't match the marketing of a romantic getaway. There weren't even any signposts on the narrow dirt trails out this way, since no one in their right mind would be out here. This made it the perfect spot to practice before a battle, way out in the middle of nowhere with no chance of someone stumbling across them. Even if someone happened to be out here, the group would be gone long before they could be reported.

"Okay team, gather round," Sokka said, and soon they were all in a very small circle. "If we're going to take down the Fire Lord, we're going to need to throw everything we have at him. So we need to practice doing exactly that."

"Except we don't have a Fire Lord here to fight," Toph muttered.

"Ah but we do, or at least someone just as dangerous," Sokka said.

Taiyo crossed his arms. "Me."

"It's our worst case scenario," Sokka elaborated. "Assuming Ozai has kryptonite, or Taiyo is busy with the other powerful guys, it's up to the rest of us to stop Ozai. So, Taiyo will stand in for the Fire Lord today."

"All you have to do is reach me," Taiyo said. "The Fire Lord is a lot squishier than I am, one good strong blow would be enough to finish him. If you guys manage to hit me, you win."

"Sounds simple enough," Suki said.

"Got it," Toph said, clenching her fist. "This ought to be fun."

It only took a few minutes for everyone to get into position, and few minutes more for everyone to get ready for the fight. Taiyo flew up to the peak of a cragged hill, where he had a good view of the terrain around him. He waited there while everyone else figured a battle plan, and he didn't dare listen in on them and spoil the surprise. The point was for him to fight as the Fire Lord would, and the Fire Lord couldn't listen in on every word being said. Besides, he was curious to see what they would try, and wanted to be surprised.

Taiyo spotted movement on his right, and he shot fire from his eyes in that direction. This forced Katara and Suki to quickly get out of the way, and the spot they had been was now on fire. His burning gaze followed them as they ran to the left, until they got behind some boulders, where they could catch their breath. Katara drew some water and flung it around the other side of the boulders, only to hear a loud sizzle when Taiyo's fire evaporated the water into a cloud of steam. Suki signaled Katara, she nodded back, and they dashed out from behind cover, going in opposite directions to split Taiyo's attention.

Meanwhile Toph and Zuko had gone around to Taiyo's right, and when he figured they had gotten close enough, Zuko tapped Toph's shoulder and pointed. She summoned a large boulder from the ground and hurled it at Taiyo, but then his fiery gaze turned toward that boulder. The concentrated fire burned into the boulder's core, and the intense heat grew until the boulder exploded, showering the battlefield with hot gravel. Taiyo turned his gaze towards Zuko and Toph next, certain that they could defend against it.

Zuko punched just as the burning gaze fell on him, shooting his own fire into Taiyo's and keeping it at bay for a short time. While Zuko worked against the blaze Toph went around the clashing flames, raising a small stone wall and making it slide to stay between her and Taiyo. After getting several yards closer, Toph hurled another boulder, only for it to be superheated into exploding just like the first one. Zuko had tried to advance while Toph attacked, only be halted when the hot gravel pelted him in the face.

"Okay, what's the play?" Taiyo wondered. He stopped using fire for a moment to properly observe the slope, noting the positions of everyone on the ground. "What are you all doing?"

It turned out that all four of them were just a distraction, their failures to land a hit being a part of the plan. They were keeping Taiyo's gaze on the ground, instead of in the air where the real attack would come from. For Sokka had gotten behind him and was flying high above him, now going in for a dive bomb with his green ring aimed forward. Sokka fired a green beam from his right at the last second, only to see Taiyo jump out of the way and his beam hitting the ground. Taiyo was now sliding down the hill, looking up and shooting fire at Sokka.

Sokka made a green shield to block the fire, which followed his movements as he tried to fly around Taiyo's attack. It stopped when Taiyo reached the bottom of the hill, and was replaced by a large boulder he threw into the air. The Fire Lord would have catapults on his airships after all, so they ought to be expecting flying rocks during the fight. Sokka flew around the boulder that Taiyo had thrown, but more of them were coming. Taiyo didn't catch any boulders that Toph hurled at him though, but did start throwing other boulders back at them.

From the top of another craggy hill Aang watched the fight, waiting for the right moment to strike. That moment came when all four of his friends were attacking from the same direction, and Taiyo was moving backward to stay ahead of the collective attacks. Aang unfolded his glider and took off, flying to intercept Taiyo's path while staying in his blind spot. Aang closed in on Taiyo, collapsed his glider back into his staff, drew a long stick that he could afford to break, and swung that stick like a staff right at Taiyo's neck.

But at the last second, Aang stopped.

Everyone else stopped in turn, all looking at Aang's hesitation. Zuko in particular was not happy about it. "What are you waiting for? Take him out!"

Aang shook his head. "I can't."

"What's wrong with you?" Sokka demanded, walking up to Aang. "If this was the real deal, you'd be shot full of lightning right now."

"I'm sorry," Aang said, looking away. "But it just didn't feel right. I didn't feel like myself."

Sokka used his ring to make a long green sword. "Here, this is how it's done."

The green sword was swung without hesitation, only to shatter against Taiyo's neck. "I don't think that's what you were going for."

"Yeah, forgot about that," Sokka admitted. "Still, Aang, you saw how I did it. That's how it's supposed to be done, against people who aren't aliens anyway."

Throughout the rest of the evening, Aang's thoughts were plagued by what happened today, going over it again and again in an endless circle.

He understood the points his friends had made, of what he would have to do once he faced the Fire Lord. Yet still he hesitated, unable to go through with it, even in practice where no one would actually get hurt. It seemed so simple, one life in exchange for the entire world, and he would have to make that happen. Yet Aang struggled with it, wanting to avoid that choice by any means necessary, unable to think of a solution. It went against everything Aang stood for as an Air Nomad, yet it was demanded of him as the Avatar.

The two sides of his being were in conflict, wanting to have peace but forced to go to war. Aang didn't know how to resolve the conflict within, and there just wasn't enough time to figure it out. Only days remained before Sozin's Comet, and Aang could not think of an alternative. He struggled to hide his concerns from his friends, and when they noticed they tried their best to reassure him, however little it actually helped. Night arrived before Aang realized it, and it would be the last night Aang would get on Ember Island.

The plan was to depart in the morning and head for the easternmost island in the Fire Nation, where the airship fleet was to take off from for the trip to the Earth Kingdom. They would intercept the Fire Lord aboard his airship, fight though the forces he brought with him, and then close in for the confrontation. All of that would need to be done before the Fire Lord would begin the burning of the Earth Kingdom, to prevent the destruction that would irreparably harm the world. This would probably be the last time any of them could get a good night's rest, as they would be on the move from here on out.

But when the morning came, Aang had vanished.

Just after sunrise, everyone got to work packing up their things for the journey.

A lot of stuff would be left behind, as the group was only taking the essentials with them. They were going to have to move fast, so what they packed was very light on Appa's back. They took the time for one last meal on Ember Island, a breakfast that was certainly going to be better than all the other meals for the next few days. The sun was still low on the eastern horizon when they were ready to leave, promising a journey with the light in their eyes for the first few hours. They were planning to fly for the entire day if necessary, and Appa was well rested for the trip.

Sokka was in Appa's saddle and checking their setup. "Okay, that's everything."

"No it's not," Toph said, realizing that one essential thing was missing. "Where's Aang?"

"Aang?" Zuko called out, hurrying into the house with everyone else right behind him. "Aang!"

Toph was the last one to go inside. "Come on, let's go."

The six of them scattered to search the house, Taiyo going outside while the others checked every room. But as they searched one thing became very clear, that Aang simply wasn't here. All they could find was Aang's staff, something that he wouldn't leave behind if he had a choice in the matter. Outside the house they found a set of footprints no one could account for, leading from the house down to the beach and stopping at the mark of high tide. Everyone gathered at the end of the footprints, since that was the only clue they had.

"Am I missing something?" Suki wondered. "Did Aang just go for a swim and never come back?"

"I bet he ran away again," Toph figured.

"Nope," Sokka said. "He left his glider and Appa behind."

"So what did happen to him?" Zuko wondered.

"It's pretty obvious," Sokka said. "Aang mysteriously disappears before an important battle? He's definitely on a Spirit World journey."

"Wouldn't his body still be here?" Zuko pointed out.

"Oh yeah," Sokka muttered. "I forgot about that."

"Well he's got to be somewhere on Ember Island," Katara figured. She turned to Taiyo. "Maybe you could narrow down the search for us?"

Taiyo had his eyes closed and was listening for Aang's voice, and then for any chittering from Momo. He immediately heard all the noise from the nearby town, along with all the wild animals in the forests, and needed to tune it out one sound at a time. Soon the sounds were reduced to just the waves crashing against the island's shores, and Taiyo soon filtered that out as well. He didn't hear Aang anywhere on the island, not a word, not even a whimper. The closest he found was the actress who portrayed Aang in that play, something Taiyo kept to himself.

"I'm not getting anything," Taiyo said. "Which means he's either out cold, or he's not on this island anymore."

When Aang awoke, he found himself in a place that was completely unfamiliar.

That was saying something for someone that had been all over the world, before and after the century spent on ice. It was some kind of jungle growing out of sloped terrain, though Aang couldn't identify the tropical trees and vegetation all around him. The worst part was that he had no idea how he got here, wherever here happened to be. The last thing he remembered was going to sleep, everything after that was a complete blank. But at least he still had Momo with him, so he wasn't completely alone, wherever he was.

Aang placed Momo on his shoulder. "Where in the world are we?"

Taiyo spent the better part of an afternoon searching for Aang, flying high in the air and peering through all the terrain he flew over.

For good measure, checked Ember Island first, in case he had missed something while listening for Aang's voice, but found nothing. Then he checked the nearest islands, the ones that Aang could have reached with waterbending, assuming that he had left at sundown, but Aang wasn't there either. Then Taiyo checked islands even further out, every island he knew about in this region, only to find nothing. It was like Aang had simply vanished, and so Taiyo had to return to Ember Island emptyhanded, where everyone else was waiting for him.

Landing in front of everyone else, Taiyo shook his head. "Well guys, I guess we're going to have to do this without Aang."

"So what do you suggest?" Zuko asked.

"That we stick to the plan," Taiyo said. "Find the Fire Lord, fight through his airship fleet, and stop him."

"Without Aang?" Katara questioned.

"Without Aang," Taiyo said. "Really what difference will it make who does the deed?"

"It's supposed to be the Avatar," Katara said. "I think there's a rule somewhere about that."

"So we'll just say Aang did it," Sokka said. "It's not like anyone will know what really happened."

"Not until long after it's over," Taiyo said.

"We will know," Zuko said. "If we do this, go fight my father without Aang, there's one matter I want to settle first. It may help with our strategy against him."

Taiyo nodded. "That's fair."

In a few short moments, everyone that couldn't fly was on Appa and the bison was in the air, flying straight east and into the morning sun. Taiyo and Sokka were flying under their own power, reducing the weight that Appa had to carry and making flying somewhat easier for the bison. They made rather good time considering they were traveling across the world, having crossed the ocean by noon and flying over the Earth Kingdom by afternoon. They still had a lot of sky to cross, and Zuko wasn't saying much about where he wanted to go.

At one point during the long flight Sokka flew close enough to talk to Zuko. "So what do you need to do in the Earth Kingdom?"

"You don't have to come along," Zuko said. "Go do something else for a while."

"Won't that make it hard to find you guys again?" Sokka asked.

"We're using a big white bison," Zuko said. "That's not hard to find. I know. That's how I followed you guys across the world for months."

"Good point," Sokka said. "Still, not like I have anything better to do."

Taiyo flew close enough to say something quickly. "I'll meet up with you guys later."

Zuko watched Taiyo fly off northward. "Sokka, what's off in that direction?"

While travelling alone, a flight across the world was much faster, and Taiyo made it to the North Pole not long after leaving everyone else behind. It really was the only place Taiyo could think of to pass the time, a place that could provide insight for what he should do during the comet. The Fortress of Solitude awaited him at the top of the world, and this time Taiyo flew directly into the massive crystalline structure. The crystals simply spread apart to let him in, only having to stop once he was already inside.

There Taiyo walked through the long halls of the Fortress, stopping to glance into each of its rooms one by one. Even now, after everything he had seen since first coming here, he wondered what it would have been like to grow up in a place like this. To live a life surrounded by technology far beyond what he knew on Earth, to be someone else entirely. If only fate had been kinder, he would have been on some other world living what would be a normal life there. But that was not to be, and he had to accept that he had a role to play here.

If Aang was to be this world's Avatar, then Taiyo would be this world's Superman.

Taiyo entered the room with the large screens on the walls, and was reminded of what the Fortress could do. "Hmm… wonder if this still works. Fortress: locate the Avatar."

"Acknowledged."

An image of the world appeared in the room, made of light and displaying the continents and oceans in all their glory. The globe turned until the eastern Fire Nation and western Earth Kingdom were facing Taiyo, with the sea in between in the center. A tiny red dot appeared there, just off the coast of the Earth Kingdom. Taiyo raised an eyebrow, since that location didn't make any sense. Aang wasn't fast enough to go that far on his own, so he must have had help getting there. Then Taiyo noticed that the dot was moving, heading toward the shore.

"What are you doing all the way out there?" Taiyo wondered aloud.

Although he was tempted to leave immediately and fly straight to Aang, Taiyo wasn't ready to leave the Fortress just yet. Given the short amount of time before the arrival of Sozin's Comet, there was a possibility that Taiyo wouldn't get a chance to come back here one more time before then. There was something Taiyo wanted to get while he was here, and he left the room to go and find it. Eventually, Taiyo reached the Fortress's wardrobe, where he had found the black uniform that he had worn during the solar eclipse.

The outfit had served its purpose, but it didn't seem appropriate for Sozin's Comet. On that day, the sky would appear to be on fire, and he didn't want to be a black dot amid that backdrop. He went through the other clothes kept here, wanting something with a lot more color to it. Most of the outfits available weren't to his liking, until he got to something that was kept in the far back. Plenty of red and blue, arranged in ways that were pleasing to his eye, with the kryptonian symbol on the chest. Taiyo had no idea what kind of fashion had been in style to produce this outfit, but it felt right to him.

And it would look cool with a cape.

By evening Zuko found what he had been looking for, a seedy Earth Kingdom tavern.

It was a favorite hangout of a particular bounty hunter, whom Zuko had worked with before. Though it wasn't really the bounty hunter Zuko needed, but the animal she used during her hunts for fugitives and criminals. The shirshu could track any scent across the world, or at least it did until it tried to track Aang's scent. However, Zuko had a backup option, and a keepsake from his uncle for the shirshu to track instead. The trail from that scent had the shirshu lead them even further across the Earth Kingdom, heading all the way east to Ba Sing Se.

The beast refused to enter the walled city, despite the rather large gash in the outer wall that let anyone pass in or out whenever they wanted. So the bounty hunter left them there and took the shirshu away, having no other purpose in being there. Still, it confirmed that Iroh was still somewhere in Ba Sing Se, and wouldn't be too hard to find. But not on this day, since the last of the daylight was fading away when they arrived. Considering that they had spent the day travelling across the world, they had actually lost a few hours of light just from going so far east.

"It's been a long day," Zuko said, looking into the city. "Let's camp and start our search again at dawn."

After a few hours everyone was sound asleep, until Toph was awoken by a sudden vibration in the ground. "We have company!"

Everyone else woke up immediately, and they were not even close to prepared to face what had come for them. Rock rose up all around them in a wide circle, forming a barricade that would have trapped ordinary people. Toph was ready to bust down that circle of rock, and Sokka took flight to go over it. But then the top of the raised rock was set on fire, creating a wall of flames on top of a wall of rock. On the middle of the city-side circle the flames parted, and four much older gentlemen stood on the rock facing the group below.

Katara couldn't believe it, but she recognized those people standing up there. "Bumi, Pakku, Jeong Jeong, and uh… hmm… who are you?"

The fourth and last one was a Fire Nation man carrying a sword. "My name is Piandao."

Still just as puzzled as his sister, Sokka kept his ring aimed at him. "Never heard of you."

"What's going on?" Toph asked, reading mixed reactions from her friends and from those around them. "We're surrounded by old people."

"Not just any old people," Katara said, relaxing in the knowledge that these people weren't here to harm them. "These are great masters."

"Good, that'll save some time," Zuko said. Although he had never met any of the four, he knew two of them by reputation. And judging by the company they kept, Zuko had an idea what was going on here. "You must be the Order of the White Lotus."

"Order of the what?" Sokka asked.

"We're part of an ancient secret society," Piandao answered. "It's a group that transcends the divisions of the four nations."

"Yup, that's us," Bumi said.

Jeong Jeong ignored him. "The White Lotus has always been about philosophy and beauty and truth. But about a month ago, a call went out that we were needed for something important."

Pakku felt the need to take over, looking at Zuko in particular. "It came from a Grand Lotus, your uncle."

"I'm looking for him," Zuko said. "Is uncle here?"

Piandao nodded. "He escaped from Dai Li custody three weeks ago. We'll bring you to him."

The White Lotus led everyone into Ba Sing Se, passing through the Agrarian Zone and heading for a camp not far from the inner wall. Along the way Sokka wondered how Bumi had gotten here, having last seen him stuck in Omashu. Bumi enjoyed the opportunity to tell his story again, of how he had managed to liberate Omashu singlehandedly during the solar eclipse. The firebenders occupying that city had been powerless at the time, and they were certainly no match for an earthbender of King Bumi's caliber.

Bumi was just about finished when they arrived. "Well, here we are. Welcome to Old People Camp."

There had to be enough tents for at least fifty people here, though most of the people were out and about even at this late hour. Bumi's description was somewhat of a misnomer, as there were some younger folks mixed in with the old masters, likely apprentices and protégés of the old masters. They all wore the same white and blue uniforms, matching a flag of the white lotus waving in the wind. One thing was clear just by looking at them, that they were here on a mission that they were determined to see through to the end.

Zuko looked around, but didn't see his uncle anywhere. "Where is he?"

Piandao pointed to a tent on the other side of the camp. "Your uncle's in there, Prince Zuko."

Right away Zuko walked over to that tent and went inside it, wanting to apologize for everything but worried that Iroh would hear none of it. However, when Zuko entered he found his uncle sleeping in a cot, and Zuko didn't dare start his apology by waking him up. So he sat down and waited the entire night, patiently waiting for his uncle to awaken. Sometime during the night Zuko managed to get some sleep of his own, yet it was Iroh that slept in later. So even then Zuko had to wait some more, and he would wait as long as he needed.

Meanwhile, the others got plenty of sleep in tents the White Lotus offered, and were well rested by the time the sun rose. It seemed awfully peaceful this morning, the last one they would get before the Comet. They spent it having a decent meal and pleasant conversations, appreciating the hospitality of the White Lotus. It still seemed a little hard to believe, that there was a society like this in existence. Regardless it was good to catch up with the people they knew from across the world, right before they would get to work saving it.

At a late hour of the morning, Iroh finally woke up, and was pleasantly surprised to find Zuko patiently waiting for him. Zuko apologized for everything that had happened, everything that had gone wrong between them. Halfway through it Zuko's voice was cracking, and by the end tears were running down his face. Iroh accepted the apology with a hug only family could give, much to Zuko's surprise to find that his uncle wasn't angry with him after all. He had just been worried that his nephew had lost his way, and Zuko admitted that he had, if only for a short time.

About an hour before noon Zuko rejoined the others, and he brought Iroh along with him. The five teenagers and one old man sat down in a circle, having an early lunch while they talked about their situation. They brought Iroh up to speed on the plan they had, including the alternative if Aang remained missing. Iroh did not speak until they were finished, except to get clarification on something he didn't understand. All of them were almost done eating when they finished, and Iroh finally gave his opinion on the matter.

"I am not sure if this is the right way to end the war," Iroh said. "If it is not the Avatar that defeats Ozai, history will see it as just more senseless violence."

"Yeah, I'm not buying it," Sokka said. "What difference does it make who stops the Fire Lord if it stops the Fire Nation from burning down the Earth Kingdom? The war will still be over."

"If Taiyo were to do this, it would just be seen as an overthrow for the sake of taking power," Iroh said. "As for the rest of you, there may be peace at first, until the rest of the world demands vengeance against the Fire Nation. Only the Avatar can bring peace, and make peace last and keep the world in balance."

"Well," Toph said, bringing up the obvious counter argument. "What if Aang doesn't come back?"

Iroh did not seem too concerned with that, having faith that everything would work out. "Sozin's Comet is arriving, and our destinies are upon us. Aang will face the Fire Lord."

"What about us?" Sokka asked. "What is our destiny today?"

"What do you think it is?" Iroh asked.

"I think we still need to be there, even if Aang's the one supposed to beat him," Sokka reasoned. "He's got some tough people on his side, so we can keep them busy so that it's just Ozai fighting Aang."

"My niece in particular comes to mind," Iroh said.

"Azula's not a problem," Zuko assured him. "Taiyo took her to the farthest corner of the world he could think of. No way she's back by now."

"She has a knack for turning up in places she shouldn't be," Iroh pointed out. "My informants in the city have received word that Azula is here."

"Of course she is…" Sokka grumbled. "Zuko, I think you and Katara ought to be enough to deal with Azula. If she's not here, then you guys can help the old man."

Katara nodded. "We can do that."

"Still leaves Zhao and the two aliens," Sokka said. He tried not to laugh at Iroh's face, as it was the older man's turn to be confused. "I'll explain later. Anyway, they need to be dealt with too."

"You've got the magic ring," Toph pointed out. "This is more your department than any of ours."

"Yes it is," Sokka said, holding up his fist with the green ring. "But before me and Taiyo work on that, we'll need to drop off someone at the airship fleet. Toph, that has to be you, what with the metalbending."

"I'm gonna need some help with that," Toph admitted. "I'll only be able to see whichever airship I'm in. The rest will be invisible to me once they're in the air."

"I'll do it," Suki said. "Not like there's anything else I can do besides being Toph's eyes."

"Then it's settled," Zuko said. "We have our plan."

Iroh nodded, and looked at Toph and Suki. "If you're going after the airship fleet, Piandao would gladly lend you his eel-hound."

"That won't be necessary," Sokka said. He stood up, and in a bright flash of green light he changed into his Green Lantern uniform. "We have our own transport."

Although surprised, Iroh couldn't help but smile. "Today, destiny is our friend. I know it."