Disclaimer: All rights belong to Nickelodeon, Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, and all the men and women that created the A:TLA show, books, and comics. I take no credit, and I do not mean to break any copyright rules. This is simply a work of fiction made for enjoyment. No money is being made. The lyrics are from the song "Ready, Aim, Fire" by Imagine Dragons
Rating: General Audiences. Warning: some scenes contain dark themes and minor violence
Author's Note: And this is where we begin to diverge from canon. I think you'll find Book 5 to be full of twists and turns
Chapter 14: The Invasion: Part 2
With our backs to the wall
The darkness will fall
We never quite thought
We could lose it all
Sokka kneels behind an Earthbending tank with Kodakah and Suki. Behind them, the battle is raging on. Their ragtag army is keeping up for the moment, but their manpower and energy is running low. The Fire Nation has home advantage - and probably an army marching to help their brothers as they speak.
"I'm still in no shape to fight, but there must be some way I can help," Kodakah says.
"Everything's going smoothly, and the eclipse hasn't even started yet," Sokka replies. He shuts down the nagging feeling deep in his gut.
"Let's hope our luck holds out."
"Suki?" Sokka looks over to see Suki staring at the sky. "What's wrong?"
"I think...I think that's Katara."
A small hurricane is moving fast down the volcano and over the battlefield. It lands a few feet away from them and then dissipates, the water dropping into a puddle on the ground. Katara is standing in the middle of it, looking distraught.
"Please tell me you're here because the Fire Lord turned out to be a wimp and you didn't need the eclipse to take him down," Sokka says.
She shakes her head. "He wasn't there. No one was there. The entire palace city is abandoned."
Sokka feels his whole world crash down around him. Everything was going so smoothly. Everything was going perfectly.
It was all for nothing.
"They knew," he realizes.
"It's over." Katara covers her face with her hands. "The Fire Lord is long gone. We'll never find him - at least not before the eclipse."
"No." Sokka's brain has already kicked into overdrive. "My instincts tell me he wouldn't go far. He would have a secret bunker, somewhere he could go and be safe during a siege but still be close enough to lead his nation."
"If it's an underground secret bunker we're looking for, I'm just the girl to find it," Toph pipes in.
"The inventor gave me this timing device. It looks like we've got about ten minutes before the start of the eclipse. Ten minutes to find the Fire Lord."
"We can still do this," Suki says, standing. "We can still win today."
Katara doesn't look so convinced. "If they knew we were coming, this could all be a trap. Maybe we should use the time we have left to make sure we all get out safely."
Sokka isn't sure that's her only reason for wanting to leave instead of tracking down the Fire Lord.
"Everyone who is here today came prepared to risk everything for this mission," Kodakah says. "They knew what was at stake. If there's still a chance, and still hope, I think they would want Katara to go for it."
Sokka turns to Katara. "What do you think? You're the one who has to face the Fire Lord. Whatever you decide, I'm with you."
He can see conflict reign on her face. She's weighing the choices. He can see that deep down, she wants to leave. She doesn't want to fight the Fire Lord - she never has. But she's also battling her duty as the Avatar.
She looks around, as if checking up on everyone. Her eyes roam over everyone in their temporary encampment, then she peers over the tank at those fighting. A slight wrinkle appears in her forehead. She looks around again, and her concerned expression only grows.
"Where's Zuko?"
"I haven't seen him since we landed on the beach," Suki admits.
"He's probably just fighting out there," Sokka says, throwing a glance out at the plaza.
"I don't feel his presence," Toph admits. "I...don't think he's here."
"I'll do a quick fly over," Aang volunteers. Before anyone can stop him, he's leaping into the air and gliding over the battlefield. He returns a minute later, shaking his head. "I didn't see him."
"Do you think he's hurt?" Sokka asks.
"No." Katara's voice is firm - and there's rage in her eyes. "He went after Ozai."
"Are you sure?"
She nods. "He probably knows about the bunker, too. He might already be there."
Sokka's almost scared by how angry she looks. He's glad that he's not at the other end of it. "So what are we doing?"
Katara narrows her eyes. "We're going after the Fire Lord and ending this war. Right now."
Appa flies Toph, Sokka, and Katara up to the side of the volcano while Aang and Suki stay to provide much needed support and leadership for the troops battling in the plaza. As they land, Toph leaps off the bison and sets her hand on the ground, feeling the earth beneath.
"There are tunnels crisscrossing underneath this mountain," she says.
"Good, but are there any structures?" Sokka asks.
She thrusts her hands into the dirt. "There's something big, dense, and made of solid metal deep in the heart of the volcano."
"Sounds like a secret bunker to me."
Toph blasts open the entrance to the tunnel. On Appa's back, Momo chitters.
"Stay safe," Katara instructs him. "We'll be back soon."
"This way!" Toph shouts, leading them down one side. "That way is a dead end!"
"What would we do without you?" Sokka says as they follow on her heels.
"Perish and burn in hot magma."
Sokka sidesteps a small magma stream. "Sounds about right."
They reach a small cavern filled with pockets of bursting lava.
"The main entrance to the bunker is right on the other side," Toph points out.
"Okay. We'll have to be fast, but careful." Sokka begins running, only to swerve just as a pocket explodes where he had just been. Katara waterbends a stream to douse it.
"How was that careful?" she demands.
"I was wrong. We need to be fast, careful, and lucky."
They run the rest of the way across, skidding to a stop at the next cavern. A river of magma meets them.
"There's no floor!" Sokka exclaims. "It's just a river of lava."
Katara takes a deep breath. "I'm going to try something," she says. "You guys better run fast."
She falls into a firebending stance and moves her palms forward, creating a small path between the two sides of the lava. Sokka glances over at Toph before she takes off - and he's right at her heels. Katara follows them, releasing the lava behind her as they run.
They reach the other end safely - and find themselves standing right in front of a huge metal dome. A large set of rectangular doors loom in front of them.
"That's one large door," Sokka whispers in awe.
Toph walks straight up to it and raps on it with her fist, the hollow building echoing. "Not a problem," she announces before promptly punching the seam. A few hits and she's dented the metal enough to reach her hands to pull it apart. They all slip through the hole, Sokka singing his gratitude to her.
Outside, Aang and Suki are continuing to lead the assault. Even as they advance up the volcano, the sky begins to get darker. A Fire Nation general glances up.
"Retreat!" he calls. "Everyone, move to the secondary defensive positions! Retreat!"
Suki turns back to her troops. "The eclipse is only minutes away! We should make it up the hill before it starts!"
Aang blasts a group of Fire Nation soldiers away, clearing the path for their remaining tanks. Just because the capital is no longer occupied doesn't mean that it's not still a target. Katara is doing her side of the battle; Aang has to make sure that their side is keeping up on their end.
"To the palace!" he yells.
"To the palace!" their army yells back.
Toph, Katara, and Sokka sprint through the bunker. They pass a Fire Nation official - and then double back. Before Sokka even has his boomerang out the man is pointing.
"The Fire Lord's chamber is that way. Down the hall and to the left, then up the stairs. Can't miss it."
They step closer to him. He gulps.
"Thanks!" Toph says brightly, and then they're running, following the man's instructions.
"Only thirty seconds until the total eclipse!" Sokka calls out, glancing at his timing device.
They arrive at a large door with a Fire Nation flame logo carved into it. This must be it. Katara can feel her heart pounding. She's not sure what she's more scared of - the Fire Lord, or finding whatever's left of Zuko.
Toph blasts the door open and they run in. At the end of the hall is a throne. And sitting - no, not sitting; lounging across the throne is none other than Azula.
"So." She looks amused as they stumble to a halt. "You made it here after all. I had a hunch you'd get this far." She raises her chin. "But it doesn't matter. I've known about the invasion for months."
Sokka's jaw drops open. Toph's sightless eyes narrow. Katara clutches her hands into fists.
Zuko stands in front of a small metal door. Two torches flank it, their flames casting flickering shadows across the tunnel. Zuko throws back his hood.
"I'm ready to face you," he says.
He throws open the doors. A line of guards stand halfway between the doorway and the throne at the back of the room - a throne on which his father is sitting, sipping a cup of tea. He freezes, his cup halfway to his mouth.
"Prince Zuko," Ozai says, surprised. "What are you doing here?"
The army marches up the side of the volcano, totally unopposed now. The eclipse has begun.
"Put on your eclipse glasses!" the inventor calls out. The army halts for a few seconds as they put the glasses on before they continue their march.
The Fire Nation palace is in sight. And, overhead, the moon has covered up the sun completely.
"Why are you here?" Ozai asks as Zuko steps into the room. His tone is only slightly aggressive, leading Zuko to believe that Azula hasn't told him what really happened the night the Avatar escaped.
"I'm here to tell the truth," Zuko answers.
"Telling the truth during the middle of an eclipse," Ozai muses. "This should be interesting."
He waves the guards away. They march out, leaving only the two of them in the small chamber.
"First of all, Azula has been lying to you about me." Zuko narrows his eyes as the deadly truth slips out. "The Avatar didn't have a guard on the inside to help her escape. I was the one who let her go."
"Why would you do that?"
"Because I believe in the world she wants to create. A world where fathers don't try to murder their children or banish their family. A world without oppression and hate."
Ozai stands quickly, his eyes flaming. "Get out! Get out right now if you know what's good for you!"
"What, are you giving me a choice this time? To be chased by your soldiers the rest of my life or to be killed right now by you? How generous." Zuko spits to the side. "I'm not done. And I'm not taking orders from you anymore."
"You have one more chance to obey me or this defiant breath will be your last!"
Zuko reaches back and whips out his twin swords, brandishing them in front of him. "Think again!"
Ozai hesitates at the sight.
"I am going to speak my mind," Zuko continues, "and you are going to listen!"
Ozai regards the blades for another moment before sitting back slowly.
"Where is he?" Katara demands. "Where's the Fire Lord?"
"Hmm." Azula stands. "You mean, I'm not good enough for you?" She presses a hand to her heart. "You're hurting my feelings."
Sokka brandishes his club at her. "Stop wasting our time and give us the information! You're powerless right now, so you're in no position to refuse!"
"And stick to the truth." Toph holds up a fist. "I'll be able to tell if you're lying."
"Are you sure?" Azula meanders closer to them. "I'm a pretty good liar." Her tone changes slightly. "I am a four-hundred foot tall platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings."
Toph holds out for about three seconds. "Okay, you're good, I'll admit it." She shifts her feet, sending a stone block to surround Azula up to her neck. "But you really outta consider telling the truth anyway."
The stone prison around Azula cracks and then shatters. She nonchalantly wipes off a stray piece from her shoulder. "When I left Ba Sing Se, I brought home some souvenirs," she says.
Two men drop down from the ceiling in a blur of green and black.
"Dai Li Agents."
"Surround the periphery!" Suki calls out. "We have to secure the palace by the time the eclipse is over!"
The tanks and men pour over the opening of the crater into the capital city.
"Otherwise," she continues, "we'll be in for the fight of our lives."
They swarm into the city. At one intersection, they encounter a group of Fire Nation soldiers.
"Stop! Surrender peacefully and we won't harm you!" the Earthbenders call out.
"We'll never surrender!" the Fire Nation soldier yells back. He firebends a stream of fire at them - only nothing but a tiny spark and smoke comes out. "Okay, we surrender."
"There it is," Kodakah says, limping to the edge of the crater. Aang is supporting him. "The Fire Nation palace. We've come so far."
"It's not over yet," Aang warns before they continue down to the city.
"For so long, all I wanted was for you to love me."
Zuko has waited forever for this day - for the day when he could stand up to his father. Katara is going to burst in at any moment and go all Avatar State on him - and who knows if he's going to survive? - so Zuko has to get this all out before that happens. He wants his father to know the truth. This will be his father's defeat - not against the Avatar, but as a person.
"I thought it was honor that I wanted. But really, I was just trying to please you. You, my father, who banished me for talking out of turn. My father, who challenged a thirteen year old boy to an Agni Kai. How can you possibly justify a duel with a child?"
Zuko doesn't even realize that he's pointing a sword straight at Ozai. He doesn't care, either; he's not scared of the consequences of his actions anymore. He's not afraid of Ozai.
"It was to teach you respect," Ozai spits back.
"It was cruel! And it was wrong."
"Then you've learned nothing."
"No. I've learned everything!" Zuko slices through the air with his sword as emphasis. "And I've had to learn it on my own. Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history and somehow, the war was a way of sharing our greatness with the world. What an amazing lie that was! The people of the world are terrified of the Fire Nation. They don't see our greatness. They hate us, and we deserve it. We've created an era of fear in the world. And if we don't want the world to destroy itself, we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness."
Ozai throws his head back and laughs. It's a bellowing laugh that fills the chamber and echoes back.
"Your uncle has gotten to you, hasn't he?"
Zuko lets a small smile flit across his face. "Yes. He has."
Katara, Sokka, and Toph run as the Dai Li send chunks of rock flying their way. Katara blocks them with a whip of water. Toph slides under, sending pillars of rock to shoot the agents towards the walls. But instead of crashing, they push off the sides and send pillars hurling her way that she barely blocks. She shoots the ground out under Azula's feet, but the princess simply flips and lands in a crouch, not a hair out of place.
Katara sprints toward Azula. A Dai Li agent throws himself to the ground in front of her and creates a wall of stone. She attempts to leap over it, but he grows it, so instead she smashes through it and lands three feet away from him. She kicks out at him, but he ducks and spins away, sending another boulder at her. She smashes it with a fist and shoots up a column under his feet, sending him flying. Then she runs to Azula.
The girl avoids every one of Katara's attacks, moving just a millisecond faster. She jumps from the ground to the wall, to the top of her throne, then back on the ground before sprinting away. Katara follows.
Azula loops around the room, returning back to the hole Katara had created and soars through it, back to the exit. Toph and Sokka are now at her heels along with Katara.
"I can't pin her down! She's too quick!"
Toph smashes a Dai Li agent into a metal column and then folds the metal around him. They continue chasing Azula down another hallway.
"Wait!" Sokka calls out. "Katara! Toph! Stop attacking! Don't you see what she's doing? She's playing with us! She's not even trying to win this fight."
"Not true!" Azula protests, a few feet down the hall. "I'm giving it my all."
"You're trying to keep us here and waste all our time!" Toph points at her, enraged.
"Um, right. I think your friend just said that, genius. And since you can't see, I should tell you that I'm rolling my eyes."
"I'll roll your whole head!"
"She's just baiting you again." Sokka sets his hand on Toph's shoulder.
"We just need to ignore her," Katara says. "We need to find the Fire Lord."
"It's a trap," Azula says as they walk away from her. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
"Ignore!"
"So...Sokka's your name, right? What a good Water Tribe name for a good little Water Tribe boy. Too bad you couldn't help Mommy and Daddy when my grandfather attacked them."
Sokka freezes. Katara sets a hand on his back, trying to nudge him forward.
"Instead you ran away like a coward. Did you hear them screaming as you turned your back? Did you even see their bodies? I heard rumors that our soldiers brought some of them back for experimentation. Maybe while you were napping peacefully in the ice they were screaming in our labs."
Sokka raises his club and shouts as he charges Azula. Katara and Toph don't even try to stop him. There's a dull metallic sound and Toph reacts instantly, throwing up a rock cuff to pin Azula's wrist to the wall before she can throw the blade in her hand. Sokka catches up to her and presses her against the wall.
"I am not a coward," he hisses. "You're the one who's going to be screaming in a lab when they open you up to see how much evil managed to sink itself in your brain."
"Sokka!" Katara gasps, pulling him back. "She's not worth it! We need to go."
"Run away, little children," Azula taunts them. "You can't run forever."
"After I leave here today, I'm going to free Uncle Iroh from his prison. He's the one who's been a real father to me."
Ozai chuckles. "Now that's just beautiful. Maybe he can also pass down the ways of tea and failure."
"But I've come to an even more important decision." Zuko catches his father's eye. "I'm never going to leave the Avatar's side. Not until you're defeated. Not until the Fire Nation ends this war. And not until there's peace in the four nations."
"Really?" Ozai has the same cruel grin that Azula always wears. "Since you've become a full-blown traitor now and want me gone, why wait? I'm powerless. You've got your swords. Why don't you just do it now?"
Zuko is tempted. He really is. He wants nothing more than to end his father's reign today. He knows how much Katara is stressing out about this; why shouldn't he just do it for her?
He can't. The balance between good and evil is still so precarious inside of him. He refuses to give into his dark side after fighting it for so long.
"Because I know my own destiny," he says. "Taking you down is the Avatar's destiny."
Someone in the family has to end the cycle of death and destruction and hate. If that person has to be Zuko, then so be it.
He sheathes his swords. "Goodbye."
"Coward!" Ozai calls as he walks out. "You think you're brave enough to face me, but you'll only do it during the eclipse. If you have any real courage, you'll stick around until the sun comes out."
Zuko ignores his taunts. That is, until Ozai hits a nerve.
"Don't you want to know what happened to your mother?"
He freezes. Then turns around.
"What happened that night?"
Zuko has heard rumors. Everyone has. But he wants to hear it from his father himself.
"My father, Azulon, had commanded I do the unthinkable to you, my own son. And I was going to do it. You mother found out and swore she would protect you at any cost."
Zuko bares his teeth.
"She knew I wanted the throne and proposed a plan. A plan in which I would become Fire Lord and your life would be spared. Your mother did vicious, treasonous things that night. She knew the consequences and accepted them. For her treason, she was banished."
"So she is alive," Zuko whispers, a tear slipping down his cheek. And she didn't abandon me.
"Perhaps." Ozai scowls. "Now I realize that banishment is far too merciful a punishment for treason. Your penalty will be far steeper."
His eyes light up. His arms whip around and before Zuko can blink, he's sending twin lightning bolts right at him.
Zuko catches them and lets it course through his one arm and then out the other, throwing it back at Ozai's feet. Enough to throw him backwards and stun him, but not enough to kill him. Because no matter how upset Zuko is right now, he's not upset enough to lose control. Not anymore.
By the time the smoke clears, Zuko is long gone.
"Oh. Sounds like the firebending is back on." Azula smashes through her binding and then gives chase to the others. They aren't far, and she catches up to them easily.
"Dad's all the way down the hall, down a secret stairway on the left," she tells them helpfully. "I'm sure he'd be more than happy to see you now."
Before they can fight her, she sprints away. Her job is done.
"I fell for it," Sokka cries. "I wasted too much of our time."
"It's not your fault, Sokka. Azula was ready for us." Toph lifts her hands up in defeat. "She had every move planned out."
"And now it's too late."
"Maybe it's not too late." Katara stands at the end of the hall, looking forward. "The eclipse is over, but maybe I can fight the Fire Lord anyway."
"No." Sokka shakes his head. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"But I'm ready." Her eyes flash dangerously. "I came here with a job to do, and everyone's counting on me."
"Is this about Zuko disappearing?" Toph asks.
"No!" Katara clenches her hand into a fist. "It's about me being too cowardly to stand up and fight. Azula was right. When the Water Tribe was attacked, I just ran away. I saw my parents die, and I just ran away."
"Azula was just trying to distract us," Sokka says.
"It doesn't matter. She was right. I'm a coward, and I've always been. And now I have to do what needs to be done."
She turns and starts running. Sokka and Toph follow her. "Wait!"
Katara doesn't turn back.
Ozai is still picking himself up when the Avatar bursts through the door, her eyes furious and a stream of water surrounding her. He brushes a little debris off his shoulder and smiles at her.
"What a surprise! I was rather hoping you'd visit me today."
"Today is your last, so I hope you enjoyed it."
At the sound of a fight, his guards return. Ozai motions them to the side.
Katara whips her water at him, throws a boulder, and follows it up with a few fireballs. He deflects them all the way one would swat away a pesky mosquito.
"You've learned some new tricks since our last meeting, I see."
She advances with three ice spears, which he sidesteps. A rock platform tries to shoot him in the air, but he stomps it down. A wave of fire obscures his vision, and he parts it with his hands.
"You know, I'm a little disappointed," he continues. "I was hoping for the whole glowing-eyes trick. Are your celestial powers just not working so well today?"
"I'll show you celestial powers!"
She fights harder, sending more powerful attacks his way. He actually has to put in some effort to evade them. For an annoying insect, she has some strength. It's only a shame she's decided to fight for the losing team.
Ozai sees a bit of Azula in her. She has potential. But, like Zuko, she's decided to waste it.
"My son came in here earlier, you know. Said some nice things about you. But he always picks the wrong side - just like his mother. He had the audacity to stand up against me. For that, he must die." Out of the corner of his eye, Ozai sees a couple of her friends in the doorway. This is getting boring. Her attacks aren't worth his attention. "You must, too."
He finishes blocking her current attacks and, before she can begin again, lifts his hands up to the sky. Lightning crackles down and follows his fingers as he fires it straight at her.
Zuko is almost out of the bunker when he hears fighting back the way he came. He had been waiting for Katara to show up, but once the eclipse was over he just figured something had gone amiss up on the surface or she had decided to get out and push back the fight to another day. Obviously the Fire Nation had figured out their invasion plans - they had evacuated the capital city and the palace.
But now, hearing the sound of conflict, Zuko wonders if perhaps they were just delayed. Is it possible…
No. Katara wouldn't be foolish enough to attack his father now, when the eclipse is over. Or would she?
He begins running, retracing his earlier steps. He knows he's risking his life, but he has to know. Katara isn't strong enough to take on the Fire Lord without the eclipse. Not yet.
The sounds of fighting escalate. He pushes himself faster. The open doorway is in sight. He hugs the wall, peeking around. The last thing they need is for his father to see him and become even angrier than before.
Sokka and Toph round the opposite corner, skidding to a stop when they see him. "What are you doing here?" Sokka demands.
"That's not important right now!" Zuko whisper-shouts back. "What's going on in there? Don't tell me Katara is fighting my father."
"Azula made her really angry," Toph replies. She and Sokka creep in the doorway. Zuko hears his father's booming voice. He peers over Sokka's shoulder right as Katara turns around, terror in her eyes.
Zuko recognizes the glowing blue light before the others do. Fear paralyzes him at the same time he realizes there's nothing he can do.
Katara convulses mid-step, collapsing on the ground. A large black spot covers the middle of her back, and smoke drifts lazily upwards. Sokka cries out and lunges forward, Toph on his heels.
"Don't bother with the others," Ozai tells his guards as he strides out through the side door. "They aren't a threat. We have more important business."
As soon as they're out of sight, Zuko rushes forward. Sokka has turned Katara over. Her eyes are closed and her limbs are limp. Toph is holding a hand over her heart.
"I can't hear anything," Toph says, her milky eyes wide. "It's silent."
For the first time in his life, Zuko feels absolutely nothing. No rage, no grief - just a vast emptiness.
END BOOK 4. To be continued in BOOK 5: THE PHOENIX QUEEN