We all stood at the cliff, the breeze washing around us as a fog rolled in over the ocean. "Oh no. Sokka, do you think the fog will delay the invasion?" Katara questioned but then Sokka brightened instantly, smiling as he realised exactly what was hidden within the fog.
"No, that is the invasion!" With that both water tribe children ran down to the cove with the rest of us following behind. Toph and Aang used their earthbending to create some docks where the water tribe ships pulled into the harbour, the fog having been their shield to keep from sight.
"You made it dad!" Katara called brightly as she and Sokka ran to him.
"Were you able to locate everyone I told you to find?" Sokka questioned and his father nodded his head.
"I did. But I'm a little worried, Sokka." He admitted, looking back to where our swamp friends were getting off the ship. "Some of these men aren't exactly the warrior type." I chuckled, folding my arms then looked to my left as a familiar face appeared.
"Haru, I can't believe it's you!" I greeted warmly and he smiled to me as I walked over and gently gave him an embrace. "You've grown taller."
"And you're more beautiful than I remembered." He answered, making me blush slightly then roll my eyes. "Hi Katara." He said as she ran over then hugged him a little more welcomingly than I had, though I only chuckled as Aang and Toph walked over.
"Toph, this is Haru. When we met him, his town was controlled by the Fire Nation. So we had to hide his earthbending." Aang introduced and Haru nodded his head.
"Katara inspired me and my father to take back our village." He said as Katara blushed modestly as Haru's father appeared at his son's shoulder.
"You helped us find our courage, Katara. Now we're here to help you." He said and she gave a bright smile up at them. Just then Toph took up a defensive stance, her eyes narrowing.
"No way, is that…?" Suddenly two huge arms swept Toph off the ground and I stared at the sheer size of the man.
"The Hippo is happy to see Blind Bandit!" The buff and bulky man said with a childish way of speaking, making me arch my eyebrow in disbelief as Toph glared a little angrily.
"You guys here for a rematch?" She questioned but then a second, smaller man spoke from behind the Hippo.
"Negatory. The Boulder and The Hippo no longer fight for others' entertainment. Now, we fight for our Kingdom!" Boulder declared and I scratched my head. I guess they must be people from the earthbending rumble ring that Toph used to go to secretly. Wow, she must have looked awesome kicking their butts so much.
We found our old friends Pipsqueak and the Duke, as well as the crazy mechanist that had taken over one of the air temples and he'd brought along his son, Teo, who was really glad to see us. I began serving everyone a meal, making sure that everyone got their fair share as Sokka trembled nervously, getting ready to give his attack plan debrief and, quite honestly, I've never seen him so nervous. He tried to tell everyone what the plan was, but his nerves got the better of him and he started to recite our entire history from the moment Aang and I broke free of the ice sphere. Sokka went on and on until finally, Hakoda stepped in and took over.
When we were finally ready to depart, I couldn't help but continuously glance over at Aang with worry. He seemed calm and collected now, but I knew he was still afraid. His hand would twitch every now and then and he'd cover it up by frowning deeply.
He had to do this, it was his destiny. Or was it? Did Aang really have to defeat the Fire Lord alone? I know I shouldn't interfere, but what if he didn't need to fight in the first place? My mind boiled with multiple thoughts as our boats went underwater, one of Sokka's genius inventions to get through to the Fire Nation palace.
If the Fire Lord was already defeated, then Aang wouldn't need to fight. We could claim victory just like that. Aang may be the Avatar…but he's also my little brother. There's no way I'm going to let anybody hurt him. He's scared, I can tell, so there's only one real option. I'll have to take on the Fire Lord myself. If I can defeat him before Aang even gets there, then he won't need to be so afraid.
We resurfaced for air before we reached the beach. Aang had just circled around to make sure the coast was clear and we all walked towards him as he landed. "So this is it, huh?" Aang said, looking to us all and I noticed his hand twitch again.
"Are you ready to let the Fire Nation know that the Avatar is still alive?!" Sokka questioned with enthusiasm so I smirked then ruffled his hair as Aang nodded his head.
"I'm ready."
"I hope you kick some serious Fire Lord butt, twinkle toes." Toph said as Hakoda called everyone to attention and pulled us back to the subs, however Aang and Katara remained rooted in place, shifting slightly and before Sokka could call for his sister to hurry up, I smirked knowingly and clamped my hand down on his mouth then airbended him straight through the hatch of the sub, folding my arms with a proud nod of my head.
"Hey Thyra? I have something for you." I heard Teo say and I turned to look down at him, giving him a smile.
"What is it Teo?" I asked him and he pulled out a long staff that was nestled in his wheelchair then handed it over to me as my eyes widened. "Teo…it's beautiful…" I murmured softly, running my fingers over the wooden staff that Teo had carved wind patterns into. Gripping it firmly I gave a firm shake and it instantly expanded into a glider with pale blue material with white cloud like patterns.
"It was one I found at the air temple. When I heard that you got your airbending, I cleaned it up for you a bit." He said with a shrug, blushing slightly with embarrassment. "I modified it a little too, being probably over a hundred years old, so I hope it works okay." Returning the glider into a staff, I leaned down and kissed Teo's cheek, making him blush an even deeper crimson.
"Thank you Teo, thank you so much. This means a lot to me." I told him gently then began to airbend the air underneath him, gently lifting him up into the air and back into the sub. When I glanced over my shoulder, my mouth dropped open as I saw Aang dive forwards and kiss Katara, who squeaked in surprise however Aang didn't give her a single second to react, as just as quickly he pulled away and flew off into the air. I watched him leave before taking a deep breath. As much as I want to just fly after him…I can't. I have to stay here and help push through the Fire Lord's defences. We have a plan and we need to stick to it. I have to have faith in Aang.
So I turned away and went back into the submarine, even though I felt like the hardest decision I had ever had to make. I gripped my staff tightly and stood in stony silence as we powered our way through the water and avoided being caught by the harpoons, every shake making the others yelp as they lost their footing but I remained firm. The Fire Nation destroyed my people and although revenge was not the answer, a little payback wasn't completely off the table. As the subs pulled up on the beach and the caterpillar tanks were released, I took a deep breath before racing out into battle.
Immediately my senses were overwhelmed by the battle, my ears exploding with the sound of projectiles whilst heat blazed upon my skin. With a flick my glider expanded and I flew forwards, gripping onto it securely as I flew to the head of the charge and as I landed, I summoned all my energy to swing around my staff and guide the air, swirling it around before releasing it into a vicious slash which took out an entire platoon of Fire Nation soldiers. Wind rushed around me, making my hair brush across my vision so I flicked it aside as I stood, glancing around before choosing my next target.
Moving at speed I slammed my staff on the ground and toppled over one of their tanks, the air exploding upwards so that I could then bat it backwards with a strong blast, my hands and feet moving as if I had been bending my entire life. The air gave me life and energy, building up the chi in my body until I could feel it seemingly speaking to me, whispering and guiding my movements. As I continued to fight I felt a tremor in the air behind me so I sprang upwards with a lift of air, spinning around to see the net shoot uselessly across the floor as fire blasts came hurling straight for me whilst I was in the air. Narrowing my eyes I threw my momentum into a tighter spin and created a protective cyclone around me to deflect the attacks before I then landed once more, moving with the wind to shoot a gale directly at the rhinos that were thundering straight for us.
My attacks became more powerful as I found my rhythm, taking on swarms of firebenders at once as I ploughed the hole through, ensuring to keep the way clear. "Agh! Help me out here somebody!" Hearing the cry I turned my head and reacted instinctively, blasting air directly at the tank as it became overrun with soldiers trying to melt their way through and Haru had been trapped by the soldiers as well. The moment he heard the rush of wind he grounded himself, using the earth to sink in his feet and lifted a barrier wall to protect himself as I washed away the soldiers, peeling them from the tank and freeing Haru who then dropped his wall and nodded to me.
I barely had time to smile back before suddenly a blast of fire flashed in my face. Like a leaf on the wind I leaned backwards, avoiding the blast as my hands reached backwards to fall into a crab position, flipping back to avoid more blasts as a group of soldiers focused on me and forced me to retreat up a wall where I jumped with a lift of air before I then swung my staff and smacked back a fiery explosion straight into one of the towers, making it burst into rubble. "Yeah! Go Thyra!" Sokka cheered for me and I chuckled softly as I landed on the ground again. "We're making good progress, we still have time before the full eclipse takes place, but we're struggling to get past these towers." He pointed to them and I looked up, seeing that they lined the entire stretch. "Can you help us take them out?"
"I'll do what I can." I nodded before I called out to Toph. "Tough-shot, big boulders into the air, hurry!" Toph instantly responded with punching the ground and ripping up huge chunks which she tossed upwards, allowing me to shoot into the skies and as I landed on one, I began to work my hands and feet. Two blasts sent the first two boulders straight into separate towards at my guidance, smashing them up completely however I was already working on the third. I ran along its surface, increasing my speed until I was a halo of air around it, making several jaws dropped as it reached the zenith of its ascent. Expressing the effort through a yell, I pushed myself off the boulder and a cyclone wrapped around my foot, keeping me attached to the boulder so that as I fell and flung my leg over my head, I fired the boulder into another one of those assault towers and tore it completely in half.
Landing on my feet I took a moment to catch my breath, observing my handiwork as Katara, Sokka and their father went to take out the last two. Not long now before we're up that mountain. We can do this. Hang in there Aang, I'll be with you soon. Without warning more troops suddenly ran across our path and blocked the entire road, forming a strong line before all at once powering numerous blasts of fire that came spiralling towards us all, making the non-benders cry out in alarm and the earthbenders hurriedly lift a wall between us however I spiralled my staff around my head, thinking of Monk Gyatso's teachings as I had watched Aang train. Air can be gentle, but it is also an element that contains hidden and untold power. Power enough to match that of fire.
Sucking in a deep breath I roared, lifting my hands in a waterbending style before thrusting it forwards with all my might and to my shock, the wind answered. I am not certain how I did it, however the entire air in the area suddenly pushed forwards in thunderous winds which cut through the fire attack and sent it back, blasting through the defences faster than conceivably possible and just as quickly as the wind had appeared it then settled, becoming tranquil once more. I blinked, staring before I then looked down at my hand. Had I always had this much power?
"Wow, I don't know what just happened, but I think you messed up my hair Thyra." Toph announced and I looked back to see her looking completely dishevelled. I couldn't help it, I laughed.
"Sorry Toph, guess I had more juice than I expected. Who knew?"
"Yeah, no kidding." Her dry humour made me chuckle again as Sokka then appeared, ordering everyone into wedge formation with the warriors and benders in the middle and me onto the front tank to deflect any attacks. Happily I obeyed, following Sokka's lead as he drew his meteor sword and yelled for everyone to charge. The invasion force rallied and I smirked to myself as I spun my staff like a windmill, sending every blast away from the formation as we headed directly for the tower and blasted our way through. Somehow we managed to keep fighting all the way up to the volcano where the royal palace lay within, though we were all tired and most had sustained injuries.
When we made it to the plaza wall we all halted, forming a half circle to barricade ourselves and I took one of the flanks to help keep the attacks at bay as much as I could though these soldiers had plenty of firepower going spare. You knocked one down, three more popped back up. I was sweating badly, exhausted from the sheer amount of physical activity I had been doing in such a short amount of time. I'll have to work on my fitness after this. A huge explosion of fire caught my side and knocked me off my feet, causing me to cry out as I hit the ground but I was back up in an instant, blasting the ground with my breath to flip myself back onto my feet then with my eyes narrowed in irritation, I punched out at the firebenders lining the top of the plaza wall, knocking several of them down before I then blocked another incoming attack, sweeping the missile aside so that it exploded into the rock of the mountainside, causing a landslide which buried a number of their tanks and forced their drivers to evacuate.
Exhaling wearily I lifted my head, seeing a shadow in the sky flying towards us. "Aang?" He was back already? This was either going to be very good or extremely bad news and considering our track record, I'm going to assume the worst and not end up disappointed. "Aang! Are you hurt? What happened?" I demanded as I rushed to his side worriedly, grasping his shoulders and looking him up and down.
"I'm fine Thyra, the Fire Lord wasn't even there. The city is abandoned." Aang explained again and I blinked before sighing with relief. To be honest I'm rather glad, though it did mean this whole invasion was all for nothing.
"They must have known we were coming." Sokka reasoned and I looked up as Aang and I stood side by side, gliders in hand though I kept one of mine resting on his shoulders, leaning on him a little dependently as I'd hurt my leg in one of the explosions. Toph had had to earthbend at top speed to keep me from being buried however several had hit my leg and bruised it up badly. I was lucky it wasn't worse.
"It's over. The Fire Lord is probably long gone by now, somewhere far away on a remote island where he'll be safe during the eclipse." Hanging his head my brother tightened his grip on his staff so I squeezed his shoulder in comfort. This wasn't his fault but he'd blame himself for this failure. I knew he would, he took too much responsibility on himself.
"No. My instincts tell me he wouldn't go too far. He would have a secret bunker, somewhere he could go so it'll be safe during a siege but still be close enough to lead his nation." Sokka reasoned and Toph instantly grinned, cracking her knuckles loudly.
"If it's an underground secret bunker we're looking for, I'm just the girl to find it."
"We still have time." I agreed, lifting my head with a determined yet slightly grim expression. "If we're fast we can find the Fire Lord and flush him out of hiding so let's get moving." Turning to look at my brother I gave him a warm smile before reaching forwards and pulling him into my embrace. "We can still fix this Aang, don't worry. The day isn't over yet."
"Wait a moment. If they knew we were coming, it could all be a trap. Maybe we should use the time we have left to make sure all of us get out of here safely." Katara reasoned and I respected her wisdom. It was a good idea, but we'd already come so far and it would completely devastate the morale if we retreated now. However, before I could even open my mouth to answer, her father stepped up and placed his arm around her.
"Everyone who's here today came prepared to risk everything for this mission. They know what's at stake. If there's still a chance and there's still hope, I think they would want Aang to go for it." We all looked to my brother who bit on his lip slightly, mulling over his choices.
"What do you think? You're the one who has to face the Fire Lord. Whatever you decide, I'm with you." It did not take long for my brother to decide, making his choice and speaking with a firm voice that made me glow with an inward pride as he turned to face the battlefield.
"I've got to try." Another huge explosion of fire blossomed close by and I reacted quickly, blasting it away to keep it from spreading towards us. "Everyone climb on! Let's move!" Aang ordered so I took a running jump and air lifted myself up onto Appa before pulling the others up too, Aang taking the reins before we flew over the battle and head directly for the volcano's mountainside. Several attacks turned on us however I stood at Appa's back and blasted them back with precise cuts and slices, not letting a single ember singe my fluffy friend. When we landed Toph instantly put her hand to the ground, sensing everything within the earth. "Do you feel anything down there?"
"Yep. There are natural tunnels crossing through the inside of the volcano." She informed us all and I exhaled the breath I hadn't known I'd been holding. Only then did a thought occur to me. If the Fire Lord was down there then it probably meant that Azula would be there too. Not only that, but Zuko as well. Just thinking about him was enough to set off a physical reaction strong enough to make my stomach churn and I gagged, clamping my hand down over my mouth as the painful emotions contorted within me. I wasn't sure what I was going to do when I saw him. If he made me I'll have to fight him, but I was also so angry at him that I might just attack him anyway. I was so confused about how I felt that it made me dizzy.
"Hey Thyra! You just going to stand there or what?" Sokka called so I quickly snapped out of it, getting a grip on myself.
"Sorry, I'm coming." With my staff in hand I patted Appa's head before jumping into the hole that Toph had created, bringing up the rear as everyone followed Toph's lead, relying on her seismic sense to find the most direct route to the Fire Lord.
"This way! That one's a dead end." Turning she ran towards the tunnel that glowed hot red and I could already feel the heat of the lava underneath the rock as we all hurried after her.
"What would we do without you?" Sokka praised and I caught a small smirk on Toph's face.
"Perish and burn in hot magma." A nasty way to die. Together Aang, Toph, Sokka and I all crawled our way forwards until we entered a large chamber filled with naturally occurring vents which expelled plumes of lava and allowed the heat to escape upwards. "The tunnel continues on the other side and it leads right to the bunker." Toph pointed to the exit tunnel on the other side of the chamber, making me purse my lips. It's never just a simple walk in the park, is it?
"We'll have to be fast but careful." Sokka informed us all firmly however the moment he stepped out he was almost blasted by lava had I not grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and hauled him backwards, shaking my head despairingly. With his luck, he'll be lucky to make it out of here in one piece. "Correction, we need to be fast, careful and lucky. Thanks Thyra."
"Don't mention it." Letting him go we carefully made our way across and I used the air to sense when the next burst was coming, noticing that the air became a little hotter just before a vent exploded and several times I pulled either Aang or Sokka out the way. Toph seemed to manage just fine by herself but I kept an eye on her as well. Just as we crossed and began to feel a little more hopeful, our spirits were dashed as we were faced with a floor of lava without a bridge or any safe way to cross. "Seriously? What is wrong with these people, who would ever think that a volcano was ever a great place to build a hideout? It's hugely inconvenient!" I complained before extending my glider and looked to Aang. "We'll have to fly. Sokka, grab onto me and hold on tight. Aang, will you be okay with Toph?"
"Sure, climb on Toph." He answered as he also extended his glider and together, we flew forwards after we had Sokka and Toph secured. Sokka clung to me like a baby koala-monkey, whimpering and screaming comically as he practically crushed the breath from my lungs but I kept on going, tightening my grip and angled myself directly for the other side. I'll tell you, I'm glad I borrowed Aang's old glider to practice flying whilst he was unconscious otherwise I would have been completely helpless right now. A sudden burst of lava erupted before me so I banked around with Aang taking the other side and Sokka screamed, scrambling to hold onto me tighter.
"Will you stay still?! At this rate I'll end up dropping you!" I yelled at Sokka who had his eyes tightly pressed shut. I gladly set him down on the other side and the moment he did so, he kissed the floor in relief.
"Thank goodness I thought I was going to die-OW! Hot! Hot!" What an idiot. Of course the floor is hot. Flapping a hand at his mouth I stalked past him, grasping his collar and dragged him behind me as he fussed over his burnt lip, eyebrow twitching in irritation at his whimpering. Eventually I managed to pull him to his feet, calling him an idiot before affectionately bending some air around his face to cool his lip, bringing him some relief as we walked until we came upon the huge iron door of the bunker. All our jaws dropped. Well, except for Toph's. "That's some door!" She walked forwards nonchalantly and pressed her ear against it, feeling for the earth refined within the metal before grinning.
"Not a problem." Without a moment's hesitation Toph hammered her elbow into the great iron door and dented it, making my eyes widen. She was fearless, you had to admire that about her. Once she had busted through the door we all entered unhindered and continued on our way with Toph leading.
"I am so glad we added you to the group." Sokka sighed happily and I chuckled.
"Yeah, Toph is funnier than you are Sokka. I was beginning to grow crazy listening to your meat jokes."
"Hey! I am hilarious!" He argued back however when he saw me laughing under my breath he rolled his eyes. "Haha very funny. You know, I think I liked you better when you didn't have a sense of humour or liked to make fun of me all the time." Giving a shrug the four of us continued forwards however ahead I could hear someone whistling so we all took defensive stances as we broke into a run, rushing forwards before we emerged from a tunnel that joined two separate ones together and we quickly turned on him, eyes narrowed in warning as he squealed and pressed himself into the wall in surrender. He looked at us each in turn and when his eyes turned to me I closed my fist threateningly, making him shiver and quickly begin to talk.
"The Fire Lord's chamber is that way down the hall to the left and up the stairs. You can't miss it." We paused a moment, waiting to see if he would crack further however when Toph didn't inform us that he was lying, Aang suddenly grinned at him.
"Thanks!" Then we were all racing away, Aang and I taking the lead as we bent the air to give us some extra speed, ascending the stairs, Sokka calling out that we only had thirty seconds left until the total eclipse. The day of Black Sun, now the real battle was about to begin. As we approached a gigantic door with huge fire emblems, we all came skidding to a halt. Aang stared up at the emblem, one that seemed to swallow our entire vision however he calmly turned and looked dead ahead.
"I'm ready. I'm ready to face the Fire Lord."
"We're right here with you Aang." I promised him softly, giving him a confident smile before I held my staff in a defensive stance, ready for anything that we might find on the other side of that door. Together Aang and I span our staffs up and forwards, blasting the door off its hinges with a boom of sound that made everything tremble as they fell forwards and the both of us flew inside, mirroring one another's movements exactly as we stood in the large hall where torches flickered warmly, casting large shadows upon the walls.
"So, you are alive after all." My blood ran cold and I grit my teeth, brow furrowing as I saw Azula lounging upon the throne as if she had already claimed it from her father. The others were speechless however I berated myself for not seeing this coming. Of course the Fire Lord would not dare challenge Aang without his firebending. He was a coward. "I had a hunch that you survived. It doesn't matter, I've known about the invasion for months."
"Where is he? Where is the Fire Lord?"
"You mean I'm not good enough for you? You're hurting my feelings." Azula feigned hurt with a flick of her sharp nails through her hair and I instinctively moved forwards to block her way to Aang, feeling overpowering rage overcome me as I remembered how she had almost been the one who took my brother away from me forever.
"If you had feelings, Azula, then you wouldn't be such a monster. Powerless or not, I will blast you into a thousand pieces right now unless you cooperate." I warned her darkly as I directed my staff at her. "So tell us where to find your father."
"And stick to the truth. I'll be able to tell if you're lying." Toph added as she too stepped to my side, the four of us now standing shoulder to shoulder against her yet even when she was outnumbered, Azula betrayed no sign of fear or even an inkling of concern. Why do I get the feeling that she has us exactly where she wants us and that this is all going exactly as she planned it? That girl is going to get what's coming to her and I do not mind whipping up a tornado and ripping her apart limb from limb, pacifist or no. I guess I'm not exactly the best Air Nomad if I'm too happy to inflict pain and suffering on others.
"Are you sure? I'm a pretty good liar." With a smirk Azula cleared her throat then began to speak. "I am a four hundred foot tall purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings." Arching an eyebrow I looked across to Toph, hoping that she had picked up on something however her face was blank.
"Okay you're good, I admit it." Still undeterred Toph bent the earth to snap around Azula and lock her in place so that she couldn't escape. We were running out of time. If we don't hurry the sun will return and then we'll be fighting against the Fire Lord and every other firebender in the palace. "But you really ought to consider telling the truth anyway." Azula's face darkened into a sickening smirk before all at once the rock around her shattered, freeing her from Toph's tomb which caused all of us to feel our stomach's plummet as she dusted herself off.
"When I left Ba Sing Se, I brought home some souvenirs." Azula announced as two men dropped down from above and stood between us and the princess, wearing robes of green and broad rimmed hats. "Dai Li agents." No wonder she was so calm, Azula knew she would have no firebending so she brought earthbenders in to serve as her bodyguards. That wretch! Ugh! I can't wait to smack that sick smirk off her face!