Chapter 31

The birds chirped as they beckoned in the dawn, signifying the start of the momentous day.

Standing above his bed, Feng looked down at the clothing laid across it. The combined pieces of clothing made two separate outfits, one that represented his past, and one that represented his future.

To no one's surprise, the outfit on the left was his Vengeful Oni outfit, a full-body black suit with red accents, minus the mask that he had given Azula.

On the left was his everyday outfit, a black shirt and pair of pants with an emerald cloak below them. It was what he had grown comfortable with, an outfit that showed how much he had changed, how much he had grown. But there was some small part of him that stopped him from just putting it on, some small part of him that just couldn't help but look back to the outfit that embodied his past.

"To think, I complained about Sokka taking so long to choose his own clothes, and here I am failing to do the same," Feng mused, chuckling wryly as he shook his head, finding amusement in the similarities between them.

"I can't keep looking at them forever, however."

Which was the truth of it, as the day was finally upon them. The day that would change the war, the one that he and the others had trained so long and hard for and had spent so much time with the top brass of the Earth Kingdom planning.

The day of the black sun.

They would be leaving in less than a half hour, so Feng really needed to make his choice. It would have been easier except for one small thing.

*A Few Days Earlier*

"I'd like to help, I really would," Zuko promised, having brought Feng aside on one of their regular visits to the Dancing Dragon. Zuko was looking better than ever, as due to Mai's presence he had been taking more care with his clothes and hair, making sure that they were always clean and never out of place.

Even his scar looked better, as upon Feng's prodding Katara had come in and used her Waterbending to ease some of the scaring. It had long since been healed over of course, which meant that not as much could be done, but the entire scar became a couple of shades lighter, making it not quite as evident on his pale skin.

The most important feature however was that with some delicate use of water scalpels, Katara had opened up the skin around Zuko's eye, giving him a full field of view for the first time in years.

It had given the troubled teen a sense of confidence that he had long since lacked, allowing him to open up and actually joke around slightly with Feng and Toph, enough that, as of now, Feng actually considered him a friend.

"But there's something you need to you mind talking a couple of steps back? Thank you."

Feng looked on curiously as he did as requested, giving Zuko some space among the inflammable white stones of the terrace garden. He watched as Zuko assumed a horse stance, his legs bent and his arms at his side.

"Hah!" Zuko grunted, punching his fist forward, a flame flickering from just in front of his knuckles. Unlike what Feng had expected, however, only a small flame, barely thrice the size of a candle came out, dissipating in the wind with a small puff of smoke.

"Ah…Zuko, you feeling alright?"

"I am," Zuko confirmed, looking a touch annoyed, "but ever since I had a change of heart and actually became, you know, happy, my bending hasn't become the same. It's like…my rage and anger just aren't enough to fuel my fire anymore."

He held his hands in front of him, looking down at them before closing his fists with a grunt. "It's extremely frustrating. Now that I've finlly started to feel more like myself again since I left the Fire Nation Capital, my bending escapes me."

Feng could understand that. If he had suddenly lost his own bending for any reason he'd be quite annoyed as well. Infuriated really.

"Did you ask Iroh about it? He might know what happened."

"I did," Zuko confirmed with a sigh, rubbing his eye. "And he actually does know what happened, because the same thing happened to him when he was younger, just before he embarked on his final campaign for the Fire Nation. Apparently, because a Firebender generates their element from within themselves, a change in personality and belief can affect there fire. It can change it either for the better, or for the worse."

"That's something at least," Feng mused, placing a hand on his chin as he looked inquisitively at Zuko. "Did he say how he fixed it?"

"No, he did not," Zuko huffed, crossing his arms. "And it's annoying the hell out of me. Whenever I ask, he always says the same thing, that I need to follow the Path of the Sun."

"The Path of the Sun?" Feng echoed in confusion. "But that could mean anything."

"Exactly!" Zuko agreed throwing his hands in the air. "It's just the same cryptic nonsense he always says, and when I called him out on that, he just smiled and walked away, like he was amused by my lack of understanding!"

"Well...from a certain point of view, it is kind of funny," Feng chuckled. "You've gone from a Tiger-dillo to a house cat, in terms of Firebending prowess. He could be doing this because it may have taken him a while to figure it out, and he wants someone else to suffer the same way he did."

"That would be just like him," Zuko groaned, looking up into the sky as if to ask the spirits why they had to treat him as they day. "Follow the Sun. What utter nonsense. You can't follow the sun, it's way up in the sky!"

That was true, Feng mused. Well, technically Zuko could follow it in the direction of the horizon, but he somehow felt like that wasn't the correct answer.

"Maybe he wasn't being literal? It could be a clue, like something to do with the sun. Meditating on it and whatnot."

"Perhaps," Zuko agreed, slumping slightly as he looked at Feng with two apologetic eyes. "But either way, I won't be of any help for the invasion."

Feng could have pointed out that a number of people joining in on the assault were non-benders with only their weapons to protect them. People like Sokka, or the former freedom fighters. And based on Aang's admission, Zuko was just as skilled if not more so with a blade than Sokka was, and he had been proclaimed to be a prodigy by the Royal Palace guards.

But that was Zuko's choice, and he would accept it.

"Don't worry about it man, we have this," Feng replied, stepping forward to pat him on the shoulder. "Besides, you're not the only one exhibiting a change in their bending."
…

"Why aren't you blue!?" Azula shouted in frustration as she kicked forward, unleashing a fierce-looking jet of flame out of her heel. The heat burned at the air around her and scored the earthen wall that Toph had created for her to practice against. The only thing was that it wasn't the blue flame that Azula was known for.

It was dark red.

Sure, not quite standard compared to the rest of the Firebenders in the world, but still not what Azula was known for. Wisely, the instant Feng heard her frustration, he turned around and walked back out of the training ground, knowing that now was not a time to talk to the still sometimes volatile princess, even if she had been feeling giving information about her country now.

…

*Present*

"Just like I have, Zuko has changed, as has Azula, even if not as much as her brother did. I'd like to think I have changed as well, but I know that deep inside myself, I'd still be willing to go to the same lengths as I have before. I'd hate it, I know that much, but I know that viloet slaughter is something I would sink to again if I didn't have anyother options."

Which is why he didn't want to give up on his old outfit entirely. Luckily however, a moment later a thought struck him. He didn't have to give up on the outfit, but just as it didn't describe him entirely anymore, he didn't have to dress in only the black bodysuit.

Picking it off his bed, he pulled on the tight piece of clothing, stretching out the legs and arms even more than the last time he'd worn it due to the couple extra months of growth and muscle his training had granted him.

It would probably be the last time he would be wearing it, as he had shown no sign of stopping in his increase of height, something he had likely imehrited from the evritale giant that his grandfather had been at almost 2 meteres tall. Hopefully, he wouldn't have any need to, and the invasion today would spell the end for the Fire Nation.

Slipping in his fans, Feng reached towards his green cloak, the second of the original three he had bought seeing as Azula had never given back the one he lent her. Throwing it around his shoulder, the cloaked rested easily on top of them, the weight granting him a sense of comfort.

"Perfect," Feng grinned, placing his hands on his hips as he looked at himself in the mirror, the two separate outfits combining together seamlessly, leaving only his head and his hands uncovered by the material.

The tightfitting nature of his underclothes assestuated his lean phsycique, highlighting teh shfiting of his toned musculature while his Green cloack bulked him up, making him look wider than he was while leaving him enogh ease of momenet to draw out his fans ion the blink of an eye. Overal, he only had this to say about himself.

He looked ready for war.

…

It had been quite entertaining for Feng as past actors in Team Avatar's journeys emerged from the docks one by one. Sure, Feng hadn't personally met all of them, but during their travels, there hadn't always been something to do, whether it was because he was taking a break or because the training location was less than optimal, like on Appa's back on in the middle of a tightly packed forest.

So, during these times of low activity, they exchanged stories and details of the adventures they'd all had before and after meeting Aang. To be honest, his presence seemed to act as a diverging point for a lot of people. It was as if his very presence caused people to act differently, more in balance.

Feng paused his musings as he gave the cheerful-looking boy a suspicious glance, wondering if it had been intentional. Off the top of his head, every single member of team Avatar, alongside Iroh, Zuko, and Azula, had all changed after meeting Aang. Spirits know's he'd become more peaceful and willing to give his foes a second chance.

But no matter how long he stared at Aang, all he could see was the cheerful little boy he'd come to see as a little brother, with not a single sinister thought in him.

Oh well, it wasn't like it mattered. Feng liked the new person he was becoming.

"…which if you look at him in the front row you can see it…" Sokka spoke, floundering under the attention of the combined invasion forces which consisted of almost 1000 people. These were the elite forces of the nations, the ones who would be taking the fight straight to the palace while the rest distracted the Fire Nation forces scattered around the capital.

"Thank you, Sokka," Hakoda, Sokka and Katara's father, interrupted, stopping the boy from embarrassing himself any further. Feng was happy that he did, as it was almost painful watching that trainwreck continue.

"Why don't you take a break?"

Slumping, Sokka left the stage as he moved back towards where Feng and the others were sitting on an earth ledge Toph had created against the cliffs wall, sitting down with a sigh as he shrunk in on himself, clearly disappointed.

"Let me just clarify a few points for everyone. Today is the day of the black sun, and I want to thank you all for your self-sacrifice, and your courage. There are two steps to the invasion, a naval stage and then a land stage."

Which is where Team Avatar would be taking point. Speaking of team Avatar, Sokka looked quite down at the fact that it was his father performing the debriefing, and not him, so Feng laid a hand on the boy's shoulder, squeezing it slightly when he looked up at him.

"To gain access to the Fire Nation capital, we need to get past our first major obstacle here," Hakoda pointed at the map, tapping on the thick line at the inlet to the capital. "The Great Gates of Azulon. Next, we hit the land, and we hit it hard. We must fight past their battlements and secure the plaza tower. Once we do that, it's up to the Royal Palace." Hakoda said, trailing his finger up the markings of the large map, indicating each staging point in turn. "At that point, the eclipse will begin."

A few murmurings came from the crowd at that statement, with one voice speaking up from a figure Feng had frankly been shocked had shown up to the war party but had been happy that he did despite his…eccentricities.

"Excuse me. The Boulder is confused. Isn't the point to invade during the eclipse? When the Firebenders are powerless?" The Boulder asked, a puzzled expression appearing comically on his oversized, muscular form as he sat on the beach.

"The eclipse only lasts eight minutes, not enough time for the whole invasion," Hakoda replied calmly, shaking his head. "And the Royal place is heavily guarded by Firebenders, likely almost 300 based on our intelligence reports. Due to that figure, more than ever we'll need the eclipse's advantage at the palace the most. When this is finished, the Avatar will have defeated the Fire Lord. We will have control of the Fire Nation capital, and this war will be over!"

The entire crowd cheered, the roar echoing off the stone walls in front of them as a palpable excitement filled the air, the excitement of the invaders causing their moods to soar despite the danger they were about to experience.

"Down with the Fire Nation!" an Earth Kingdom Soldier yelled, thrusting his hand in the air. "Down with the Fire Lord!"

"DOWN WITH THE FIRE LORD!" The small army agreed, their cheers drowning into the environment.

…

This excitement continued as they travelled across the water tribe ships to the Gates of Azulon, a feeling that was joined with a tinge of nervousness. They would only have one shot at this, a single opportunity to win, because if they didn't, if they, at the very least, didn't reduce the Fire Nation's Military assets to a fraction of what they currently were, the war would be all but lost when Sozin's comet came around.

So, you know. No pressure.

"There they are," Hakoda said with a steel-like cadence. "The Great Gats of Azulon."

"I don't see any gates," Katara commented, peering in front of the boat for any sight of them.

"Well, they're there." Hakoda chuckled, Bato nodding in agreement as he collapsed his telescope. "Katara, you and the swamp benders whip up a fog cover."

"We'll sneak by them statues just like we snuck by that Fire Nation blockade!" Tho cheered, dressed in only his leafy loincloth. It didn't stop him, the other swamp benders, and Katara Waterbending a thick fog cover up from the ocean water they were travelling through, the combined strength of every single water bender travelling with them cloaking the boats in a dense mist.

Aang and Feng did their part by ensuring that the wind was travelling the way they wanted it to, moving in circular unison to steadily push the fog towards the direction of the gates, easing the roles of the Waterbenders. Every single person on the boats fell silent as they travelled through the water, their eyes peeled for any sight of danger coming towards them as they approached the two giant statues of Azulon, the gatekeepers of the inlet.

"Keep it up, we're almost through!" Hakoda yelled in encouragement, a glint of excitement in his eyes as they closed the distance between them and the gate.

For a moment, Feng believed that they'd actually make it through the gates unhindered, taking advantage of the confusion of a suddenly occurring natural phenomenon to beguile the minds of the Fire Nation soldiers stationed upon the gate.

That belief was shattered however when the deafeningly clear sound of a bell rang through the air, signalling the ones in command of the gate to raise its defends. A huge metal net rose out of the water, one enormous in size that was only made even more intimidating by the fact that it was set on fire.

It should have been a disaster, especially since the roaring sounds of patrol boats came from either side of them, but this occurrence had been something the people in charge of planning had known would happen.

So Hakoda, the nominal leader of the invasion after he'd taken command earlier, wasted no time in giving out his orders.

"Everyone below deck!" He yelled, passing by Sokka as they made their weight to the entrance. "Let's hope your invention works."

Feng followed silently among the rest, everyone moving swiftly and silently as one by one they passed through the metal hatch located at the bottom of the boat, Sokka being the last as he closed the bulwarks door, swinging it shut behind him to create an airtight seal.

"And now for step two." Feng grinned, an expression that Sokka shared.

…

"No ones' on board, sir!" A male Fire Nation soldier yelled from aboard the recently vacated Watertrib ship, scratching his head in confusion,

"Where'd they go?" A Female Soldier asked similarity puzzled as she scanned across the empty boat's deck. She could have sworn she saw the blurry forms of invaders crossing the deck as they had approached the ship with the patrol boat.

When they'd arrived, however, there was diddly squat to be found, and for that, she was flummoxed.

…

The missing invaders hadn't just disappeared out of nowhere of course. No, they were safely sequestered away in submarines that were travelling quietly through the water, each and every one of them packed full of soldiers ready to fight.

"You've really outdone yourself this time, son," Hakoda said, placing his hand on Sokka's shoulder as he stood behind him proudly.

"Yeah," Toph agreed sarcastically from the floor behind them, "congratulations Sokka. You managed to invent a worse way of travel than flying." She held a hand up to her mouth, turning green.

Feng made his way over to her, sitting beside her as he began to rub his hand in circles on her back. To be honest, he didn't feel overall comfortable either, the stagnant air feeling wrong to his senses, but he had the advantage of being able to limit his connection to his element and staring through the windows to settle himself.

Toph had no such advantage due to her blindness.

"Helmet?" The Duke asked from Toph's other side, the gentle giant taking off his bucket-like helmet and offering it to the poor girl just in time as it seem her stomach finally won the battle over her mind, the girl spilling out her guts in the poor man's helmet.

While the acidic smell bothered his nose a little, Feng didn't let it bother him as he continued to rub circles on her back, knowing that it had made him feel better when he was younger.

"Well, I just came up with the idea. The Mechanist did all the work." Sokka said humbly, trying to play off his achievement.

"Now, don't sell yourself short, my boy," The Mechanist laughed, pointing towards where Katara and Huu were Waterbending, pushing and pulling water out of the vehicle's buoyancy tanks. "It was your idea to use Waterbending to make the subs sink and float, brilliant!"

Reaching into his pouch, the Mechanist withdrew a tattered-looking scroll with a crude drawing of a submarine on it, holding it out so the rest could see. "Though your original designs were a bit difficult to decipher. Unfortunately, there is one problem I couldn't fix. The subs have a limited air supply. Before we land on the beaches, we'll need to resurface."

That didn't sound good to Feng, the teen listening in to the conversation even as he continued to rub Toph's back through her bouts of sickness, her body merely shuddering now and then rather than throwing up due to a lack of substance in her stomach. The main defence of the subs was the fact that no one knew about them, seeing as they were a new invention.

It wouldn't matter much for this battle, but in future, anyone who used the machines again would have to keep an eye out for mines, as Feng didn't think it would be hard to just sink the already existing ones designed for ships.

More importantly in the present, however, the surfacing subs would be at risk of being detected by Fire Nation patrol boats, of which there would at least be 5 scattered around the cove. He didn't voice this concern aloud, however, because it would make no difference.

Instead, he focused on his patient.

"Are you going to be alright for the battle Toph?"

"What? Of course I will, you don't even need to -blurgh!" Toph gaged, keeping hold of her helmet even as she just hovered above it. "Of course I will," she continued like nothing had happened, wiping some of the saliva off her mouth. "I just…need to get my feet on the ground is all."

"Hmm," Feng noted, carefully looking at her face. She was a bit paler than normal but didn't seem too bad in his eyes. By his judgment, she'd be alright within five minutes of landing at the beach, as he had seen people with similar expressions of nausea aboard the Ferry they'd use to make it to Ba Sing Se.

Sure, he could choose to think about how weird it was that the boat hadn't set her off, but the sub did, but he suspected it was due to the presence of the sea breeze they'd experienced on the boat. That gave him an idea actually.

Holding up his hand, he began to wave it back and forth, connecting his chi to the surrounding air as he began to push it against Toph in the direction the sub was moving, simulating a breeze that made her hair sway slightly.

"What are you doing?" Toph asked in confusion even as Feng continued his action, drawing the air from behind Toph around her and back to its starting point, allowing him to use the limited air without inconveniencing anyone else.

Almost instantly Toph started to look better.

"Never mind. Just keep doing what you're doing," Toph sighed in relief, leaning into Feng as he grinned, glad that his plan had worked.

It wasn't long after that that the Subs surfaced, breaching the water with their tops as they came to a halt, seeking to reduce their chances of being spotted due to a wake.

Everyone got out of the sub to stretch, not having a lot of room inside due to the cramped conditions, enjoying the fresh air as they did.

Duke especially, as he reached over the edge to rinse out his helmet of the foul material located in it, continually dunking it in the water and then tipping it out until he was left with a dripping wet but clean helmet.

Almost without warning, Aang came swooping in on Appa as they burst out of the water, the giant beast of burning looking extra spiffy in his brown armour as Aang hopped off of him, walking over to join his friends.

"So this is it, huh?" Aang said towards Toph, Sokka, Katara and Feng.

"I guess it is," Katara replied, looking at the water wistfully. "It's kind of weird to think that we're doing this, you know? We spent so long simply evading the Fire Nation, dodging their pursuits thanks to Appa, that now that we're finally assaulting the centre of their power, it hardly feels real."

"It's real Katara," Aang chuckled, reaching forward to grab her hand and give it a squeeze, earning a smile from the girl.

"Yeah, I can prove it too," Toph said cheekily, pinching Katara's exposed midriff between two fingers as the girl squealed.

"Toph!"

"What?" she replied far too innocently, shrugging. "Just trying to help."

"Yeah, well your help isn't appreciated," Katara replied hotly, making Feng shake his head as he pointed his palms at both of them, two small streams of air leaving his palms and blowing their hair.

"Girls, girls, you're both pretty, there's no need to fight. You'd think today of all days you wouldn't be messing around like that. We do kind of need to focus, you know."

"We know, Feng," Sokka replied calmly, his hand tightening around the handle of his state-issued sword. "We all know what's at stake, just what could happen if things went wrong. And when the time comes, we'll be ready. But right now…"

Sokka trailed off as he gestured around the Sub, indicating the various groups of people who were joking and chuckling in the fresh air. "For now, we're just defusing the tension. Getting out the nervous jitters."

Feng's face cleared up at Sokka's explanation, feeling slightly embarrassed that he hadn't realised that.

"Right…my bad."

"It's all good buddy, I know you're feeling it just as much as we are. Just…don't let it get to you, alright? Today is about bringing balance to the world, to restore it to its natural order. We don't want to let our emotions get the better of us. We don't want this to just become about...vengeance."

Easier said than done, Sokka. In his mind, Feng knew, and agreed, with what Sokka had said. He had come a long way from the demon in the dark that he once was, and he was proud of how far he'd come. But in his heart…his heart was crying out to get vengeance for his family. To get revenge for the lives of his fellow Airbenders.

But that was his own problem, one that'd he'd deal with himself.

"I won't," Feng promised, allowing an easy smile to grace his features even if he wasn't feeling it.

"Good," Sokka nodded firmly, turning towards where Katara and Aang had stood aside, engrossed in their own conversation.

Silently, Toph reached up from her position beside Feng, grabbing his hand and giving it a firm squeeze. She didn't say anything, but she did smile up at Feng, giving him some reassurance for what was to come.

"So, who here is ready to kick the Fire Lords' butt?" Sokka asked.

"We are!" All of Team Avatar called out, each of them smiling at the juvenile question.

"Damn right we are," Sokka smirked, punching his fist in the air. Then, he brought out his arms, stretching them out wide. "Now, time for a group hug!"

This wasn't the first time he'd done this, but it was the first time each of them moved into the hug without complaint, Sokka and Feng forming the outside as the three smaller members nestled in between them.

It was a promise to each other and themselves. An unspoke one that each of them knew in their hearts without needing to voice it aloud, leaving them standing silently on the Sub floating in the middle of the Fire Nation sea.

Come back alive.

"Right, tanks are full people!" The Machinist yelled, drawing everyone's attention. "Everyone back in the subs!"

"This is it," Feng replied, disengaging from the hug. "We all have our own roles, but we know who has the most important one."

Everyone turned to look at Aang, the boy in question standing with quiet determination.

"I will defeat the Fire Lord. Count on it." Aang grinned, making the other grin in turn. He had every right to be confident, as they all knew just how powerful Aang was in the Avatar state. Eclipse or no Eclipse, he would stand no chance against Aang in a fight.

"Hello?! C'mon people, let's move it!" The Machinist yelled again, this time directly at Aang and the others as they hurriedly broke apart in embarrassment, each of them going to their assigned places.

Feng joined Katara as they went over to Appa, stepping atop his back as Feng took the reins, Katara positioned beside him.

Aang unholstered his glider, snapping the wings open as he took flight, soaring through the air.

Finally, Toph and Sokka returned to the interior of the sub, the door sealing shut behind them.

…

Submerged in the water as they were on top of Appa, it was eerily quiet with neither of them talking. Katara didn't because she was busy bending the water around them, her arms flowing back and forth as the water broke in front of Appa's head and reconnected just behind Feng and Katara, leaving Feng able to focus on keeping an eye out for any trouble, while Feng just didn't feel like talking.

You see, Katara and Feng's role was to defend the submarines in case they got discovered, using a combination of their bending to disable either the patrol ships or the defensive towers scattered around the cliffs that bored the port they were making land in.

Much to his surprise, they actually made it almost the entire way to the port before being spotted, the signs of activity coming from the port turning frantic as a few harpoons were sent into the water.

Most missed due to the speed the subs were travelling at, but the one on the left was unlucky enough to be skewered in the tail, the vehicle soon being heaved up and out of the water by the metal chain.

"Katara!" Feng yelled as he pulled on the reins, directing Appa to pull into the air.

"I see it!" Katara replied, concentrating the water onto her arms again as she planted her feet, glaring at the chain as they approached it. The split second they passed it by, Katara whipped her arms forward, sending two condensed blades of water flying at the chain, swiftly severed the metal in one go with a squeal as a large splash occurred behind them, the sound of the Sub reentering the water.

Up in the air now, Feng could hear the bells ringing around the port, signifying that their presence had most definitely been discovered. That meant that speed was now of the essence.

"I think they know we're here!"

"Rea-lly?" Katara yelled back sarcastically, making him chuckle as he directed Appa to swerve around a few missiles that the Fire Nation battlements had sent at them, holding the reins in one hand as he swiped the other in front of him, a stream of air leaving his fingers to redirect a rocket that was on track to hit them.

Joining in on this, Katara used her water-whip arms to pick the missile out of the air, flexing the tentacle-like extremities to throw them back into the paths of other missiles in a collection of small explosions.

At the same time, a small explosion occurred in the water as six consecutive torpedos struck the last defence of the port, blowing a hole wide open in the port gate as a large volume of liquid bulged out of the water, the muffled sound and light of the explosion showing that it had worked.

"Well, that's another thing that worked, Let's hope the rest do as well," Feng said to himself, shaking his head as he refocused on his surroundings. He couldn't afford to let himself be distracted, not with so much going on.

Taking a deep breath, Feng infused as much chi as he felt comfortable in it as his lungs expanded under the pressure.

Travelling through the hole, the subs quickly surfaced, several floating vehicles bobbing in the water as they became easy targets for the misses coming from the Fire Nation battlements, the turrets quickly unleashing their payload as they shoot through the air, small trails of smoke hovering behind them.

Before they could connect, however, Feng unleashed his own attack, allowing an expanding cone of forceful air to emerge from his mouth, one that caught the entirety of the Fire Nation payload as the missiles were returned back to sender, destroying three of the turrets in a cacophony of explosions while blinding a few more of them.

This left the Submarines free to finish their journey, beaching themselves against the white and red concrete slope of the port as they split open at the front, the metal nose cones expanding to give room for the Earth kingdom caterpillar tanks to move forward, joined by the roaring forms of the combined nation's soldiers.

"Feng! Incoming!" Katara yelled, alerting him to a harpoon coming at them from behind them, outside of his range of vision.

He only had a split second to react, and with how fast the spike of metal was moving, he wasn't confident Appa's armour would hold. The thought of losing the gentle giant was unthinkable, so Feng let go of the reins without hesitation as he jumped off of Appa's head, having just enough time to wink at Katara's shocked expression as he flew past before he was forced to contend with the metal spike coming towards him.

Allowing the air to move him as it wished, Feng rotated his arms around his body, creating a swirling shield of air that drew the Harpoon towards him. Not directly of course, but it was enough to redirect the path the harpoon was taking, letting it pass harmlessly underneath Appa before it skewered into the concrete with an explosion of small chips.

He would have worried about more coming, but that was the last harpoon the port turrets were able to unleash before the Eathbenders took care of them, boulders of earth flying into the somewhat delicate apparatuses in a screech of shattering metal.

Safe for now from them at least, Feng turned his attention towards landing safely, which he did beside the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe soldiers with a cushion of air beneath his feet.

"Feng? What are you doing here?"

It just so happened that the soldier he had landed next to was Sokka, the young man dressed in traditional Southern Water tribe armour with a sword and shield alongside his wolf-like helmet.

"Oh, you know, just…dropping in."

"That was bad, and you should feel bad." Sokka snorted, taking off to catch up to his squad mates as Feng followed behind him, looking forward and seeing Katara land Appa off to the left and the front of the metal caterpillar tanks.

Feng saw her glance around for him to a frantic worry, so he leaned forward to run towards her, speeding himself up a little with some air behind him in a pseudo-air-sprint.

"Feng, your alright!" Katara yelled in relief as soon as she saw him.

"It'll take more than a measly harpoon to take me down," Feng replied with a confident grin, enjoying the moment of levity before the groaning sound of large metal doors drew his attention, opening to reveal three Fire Nation tanks that were joined by two more of their brethren that were already in the port.

"Although that might do it," Feng admitted with a groan, setting his feet as he crouched down, pulling his arms to his sides as he condensed the air around both him and Katara, a whitish film partially obscuring his vision as a half-mere thick wall of condensed air formed into a rotating sphere around them.

"You know, we were expecting it, but it doesn't mean that it's not annoying that they were ready for us," Feng said, watching as three jets of flame erupted from the mouths of the tanks, all three travelling towards the Caterpillar Tanks and the soldiers beside them.

"As opposed to what, catching them completely by surprise?" Katara queried, not bothered in the least by how he had trapped her inside his dome of air with him.

"That would have been ideal," Feng grunted as more and more tanks emerged from around the port, joined by the presence of flaming boulders being sent from catapults hosed further and higher up in the port.

Seeing one fly towards them, Feng set his feet as he punched forward, sending a stream of air at the side of the flaming rock, redirecting it to the side.

"But unrealistic," Katara pointed out, making him nod as closed his eyes for a second, letting the outermost layer of his shield dissipate into the air around them as he set up his detection field. He was glad that he did because it allowed him to feel the Fire Nation Tank coming from his left, and one coming from his right, both of them sending their own streams of fire at them.

He first kicked out a leg in the direction of the tank on his left, causing a portion of his shield to bulge before splitting apart as a stream of condensed air was sent flying into and through the tanks stream of fire, ending at the mouth of the tank as an explosion covered it.

At the same time as he was doing this, a flamethrower coming from his right struck his shield, the fire momentarily flaring up as it consumed the condensed air to create a small backwash effect, countering the attack for a split second as it was pushed back.

A split second that Feng harnessed as he stepped forward in a lunge, punching both arms forward to send a larger-than-average stream of empowered air in the direction of the flames' source, big enough to fully engulf the tank as the explosion sent it soaring into two that were coming out from the gate behind it.

"Why are there so many?" Feng grunted, dropping down on one foot to perform a spinning kick that shot the remains of his shield in every direction, colliding with three separate tanks and two flaming rocks in an explosion of noise and movement.

Of these threats, only four of them were disabled, one of the tanks was only pushed aside some but remained otherwise unharmed.

Katara opened her mouth to reply, but Feng gave her no chance to.

"It was rhetorical!" He yelled, sprinting forward and to the left as he aimed towards one of the catapults up on the infrastructure above, the flat red wall ordinarily giving no purchase. For a master Airbender however, it was simplicity itself to defy gravity and run up the slick surface.

Well, that was a lie, it wasn't simple, nor was it easy, but he did it regardless, leaping back and into the air at the top as he floated in front of the surprised eyes of the Fire Nation soldiers manning the catapult.

"Sorry, not sorry!" He yelled, throwing his shoulder back before curving his hand forward with an open palm, a blade of air leaving it that swiftly severed the rope holding the counterweight, causing the massive object to slam into the ground below and making the soldiers stumble slightly.

The last thing he saw before he fell out of view was the stunned expressions of the Fire Nation soldiers. Feng guessed they had not been expecting to see him today. Flipping around, Feng flipped in mid-air as he brought his limbs together, shooting them out when he was correctly orientated to shoot a massive stream of air out of his feet, knocking the tank below him onto its side.

Landing in front of it with a jet of air, Feng spin-kicked to create a gale-force wind, sending the tank rotating wildly as it slammed into one of the guard stations located at the exit of the port, the collision sending up a plume of dust as the small building crumbled around the reinforced tank.

"This day is just getting started!" Feng grinned, unholstering his war fans with an aura of excitement.

AN: Boom, start of the invasion! And I do mean start, as it's going to take a few chapters to get through. I won't be copying it event for event however, but the attack on the port doesn't leave much room for change, nor does the path up to the palace. Once we get to the palace though? Ooh boy, we are going to get wild!

Also, I'll mostly be focusing on Feng, as he is the main character of this story.

As always, thanks for reading, Ervin.