Chapter 7: A Heist in the Night

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Aang walked into the safehouse with a sad sigh. He supposed he should have seen this coming. After all, why would an amazing girl like Katara ever be interested in him? What did he have to offer? Even if they had only been dating for a day, and though he had no way of knowing for sure, it had felt like… like he loved Katara. Like he would do anything for her to be happy. And if he truly loved her, he would just have to accept that she didn't want to be with him anymore. As long as she was happy, then he would be happy for her, even if he felt lost without her.

"Aang?"

He looked sharply to his right to find Suki looking at him in concern.

"Is everything alright?" she questioned as she saw the despair in his eyes. "You look like you just saw a puppy get kicked."

"I'm fine," he tried to smile but it fell just as quickly, so he decided to walk away quickly. "I'm going to take a nap. We'll plan our next steps in a little bit." Before she could say a word, he made his way back outside and Earth Bent himself a small room that no one but Toph could get into. Suki worried for him, but she had enough on her mind right then as it was, so she decided to shrug it off. Not long after, however, Katara came running up, completely out of breath.

"Katara?" Suki asked in confusion. "Why do you look like you just ran a few miles?" Then a thought came to mind. "Are you being chased?" she asked worriedly.

Katara shook her head quickly. "No, just something happened. I need to talk to Aang. Do you know where he is?"

Suki nodded slowly, clearly confused as to what was going on. "Um… yeah. He said he was going to take a nap and went around the side of the base." Katara nodded her thanks and ran out the door again, making Suki even more confused.

"Aang!" Katara called out to him as she ran to the side of the base and was somewhat relieved to see his small 'room'. She was also nervous, as it meant that she would have to tell him she loved him, but she knew this was the only way she could get him back. Taking a deep breath, she walked up to it and awkwardly knocked. "Um… hello?"

There was no response, making Katara even more worried. What if he wouldn't even talk to her anymore? How would she be able to tell him she loved him if he wouldn't even hear her out? "Aang?" she knocked on it again. After another few moments of silence, a small section slid open with his eyes peeking out.

"Hey Katara," he greeted her fake cheerily, unable to hide the sadness shining in his eyes. "Sorry, I was taking a nap. Did you need something?"

"Um, can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked quietly, feeling eyes on them. "Maybe inside your little house?"

Aang's brows furrowed in confusion, but what did he have to lose? She didn't want to be with him anymore, so there was nothing that could hurt him anymore. He nodded and opened a small doorway for her to get in which she crawled quickly into. Closing it behind her, they awkwardly sat there when Aang realized that he couldn't see her. "Here, let me get some light in here." He took out his blade and transformed it into a sword before activating the glowing feature on it. "So…" he started awkwardly, unsure what to say. "What did you want to talk about?"

Katara looked at him in the soft glow of the light, feeling her fear come back to her. She knew she had to tell him how she felt, so why was she hesitating? Looking into his eyes, she could see the pain that she had caused him and hated herself for it. That's it. No more hesitating. No more fear. He needs to know how I feel, she decided before taking a deep breath.

"Look," she began. "I didn't really explain myself very well back there." She laughed a little bitterly. "Actually, I didn't explain myself at all."

"Katara," Aang started sadly, not wanting to hear it again.

She shook her head quickly. "No, Aang. Please, just let me say what I need to say. Please," she almost begged, hoping he could see the sincerity in her eyes. He remained silent for a moment before he reluctantly nodded, ready for the sting of rejection once again. Taking one last deep breath, she looked him in the eyes and spoke the words straight from her heart, throwing all caution to the wind. "Aang, what I was trying to tell you back there… It wasn't that I don't like you anymore."

Aang's eyes widened in disbelief. "What?"

Katara smiled sadly and took his hands in hers. "I still like you, Aang. That's not what I was trying to tell you. I wanted to tell you something else, but… I was scared," she admitted with a sigh.

"What were you scared of?" he asked in confusion when a possibility came to mind. "Were you scared that I would try to kill you?"

Her eyes widened as she shook her head quickly. "No, Aang. That's not what I was scared of, I promise."

Relief flooded over him, but he still didn't understand why she was scared. "Okay… if you weren't scared that I would try to kill you, then what were you afraid of?"

She was silent for a moment before she got angry at herself. Every time she had been hesitant, it had only ended badly for her. No more hesitation. She couldn't allow it anymore. Aang deserved to know the truth. Taking one last deep breath, she looked up into his eyes and said what she should have said back out in the Jungle. "I love you, Aang."

His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at her. "What?"

"I love you, Aang," she whispered lowly as she looked away, fearing his reaction. A warm hand came over her cheek as she found her gaze turned back to him, watching him smile with pure adoration shining in his eyes.

"I love you too, Katara."

Her eyes widened as she stared at him in disbelief. "You… you do?"

"Of course I do," he laughed a little and caressed her cheek, making her lean into his warmth as his fingertips danced across her cheek, sending shivers down her spine as she looked into his eyes. "How could I not? You're the most amazing girl in the world, Katara. I don't see how anyone could not be in love with you."

She smiled so widely she thought her face might break. "Really?" He nodded, gasping in surprise when she attacked him with her lips. He smiled into the kiss and kissed her back, tangling his fingers in her hair to bring her closer as Katara kissed him hungrily. She hadn't thought that he would love her back, but she had at least hoped that he wouldn't get scared off. But now she knew that he did love her, and she was very happy to know that. It all seemed a little crazy to her. After all, they hadn't even gone on an official date yet, but she couldn't deny it any longer. She loved him, and he loved her. Sighing contentedly into his mouth, they slowly pulled apart and smiled at each other.

"I love you," they whispered to each other before they kissed again. They became surprised when their little shelter went back down into the ground, leaving them out in the open. Looking around, they were surprised and a little nervous to see Suki and Toph standing there.

Suki tapped her foot on the ground, looking more than a little pissed. "Really, Aang? You wouldn't give me a chance, but you're in love with the girl you've been ordered to kill?"

Katara looked at him in confusion and a hint of jealousy in her eyes, but he just smiled apologetically. "Sorry, she used to like me."

"Oh," Katara responded before she remembered that they had been busted and looked to Toph. "Why did you help her?"

Toph shrugged and picked her nose before flicking the booger in a random direction, earning a disgusted look from everyone else.. "Because I thought it would be funny." Katara glared at her, but she just shrugged again. "Would it have made a difference? She heard your conversation without my help. The only thing I helped with was make this conversation happen faster," she pointed out.

Katara let out a frustrated sigh and shook her head. "Whatever." She then looked over at Suki who still didn't look very happy. "Look Suki, I-"

"Don't 'Suki' me!" Suki growled with a glare at Katara. "Do you know how long I wanted to date Aang, and all of a sudden you come along and he wants to be with you?"

Aang finally decided to speak up. "Look Suki, I'm sorry, but I just-"

"And you!" Suki cut him off with an accusing finger in his face. "You were lying to us this whole time? We're your friends and you thought you couldn't trust us with this?"

He looked down in shame, feeling remorse for having betrayed his friends' trust. "You're right," he admitted with a sigh. "I'm sorry, Suki. It's not like I wanted to, but I thought that if you guys found out that I was dating the girl I was supposed to kill, that maybe you guys would betray me and tell my agency."

Suki looked at him in disbelief. "Aang, how long have you known us?" She didn't give him the chance to answer. "Years, Aang. We've all been friends for years. I don't care about what your Agency wants." She took a deep breath and sat next to him. "Look, Aang. I get that you were worried, but we would have understood. You can't help who you fall in love with." Even if I wish you had fallen in love with me, she thought wistfully.

He looked at her in surprise. "Really?"

"Really," she agreed with a sad smile. "Aang, our friendship comes before any Agency, right?"

"Of course," he responded simply, making her smile a little.

"Well that goes for all three of us," Suki told him honestly. "No matter what, whatever we go through, even if we're fighting with each other, we're never going to turn our backs on each other. Right?"

Aang shook his head. "Never." Suki smiled and pulled him into a half hug before releasing him and standing up.

"If you want to be with her, who are we to stop you? What kind of friends would we be if we couldn't support you in this, even if the girl you're dating is on your agency's Most Wanted list?" she half-joked, making him laugh a little.

"So you're really okay with this?" he questioned warily, still not expecting her to be so accepting of it.

She smiled sadly and nodded. "Of course I am, Aang. And I know Zuko will be too when we tell him. We're your friends, and as long as you don't lie to us about it again, then we'll be happy for you."

Aang smiled and pulled her into a hug which she returned happily before he pulled away. "Thanks, Suki. That means a lot to me."

Suki laughed and stood up, offering him a hand. "Come on. We should get inside and start making a plan to get inside the fortress." He took it and stood up before offering a hand to Katara who took it, holding onto it tightly for reassurance that he wouldn't leave her for Suki. He noticed this and kissed her cheek, making her smile happily as they made their way back inside to find Sokka and Zuko talking.

"What are you two talking about?" Suki asked curiously as she saw them deep in conversation.

Sokka laughed nervously and didn't say anything for a moment. "Nothing." Suki didn't look like she believed him. "Nothing important," he amended.

She looked at him for a few more moments and shrugged. "Okay…" She turned to her boyfriend. "Hey Zuko, there's something that Aang here needs to tell you."

Zuko rolled his eyes and took a sip of his water bottle. "What, that he's dating the girl he's supposed to kill?" he muttered sarcastically, taking everyone by surprise.

"How did you know that, Hothead?" Toph questioned.

Zuko blushed as he remembered their moment earlier and shook his head. "Well, if not because they're holding hands right now," he started, making both Aang and Katara blush as they realized they were. "Then because I heard you guys on the earpiece."

Aang's eyes widened in surprise. "You did?" Zuko nodded. "What did you hear?"

"I heard your confessions of love, and let me tell you, it was gross," he grimaced, making everyone else laugh. His grimace fell as he gave Aang a soft smile as he walked up to him and leaned into his ear. "And good job by the way. She's gorgeous."

Aang smiled proudly and nodded. "Thanks." Zuko moved back to take his seat and they all stood there in an awkward silence. So much had happened over the course of a day, no one really knew where to start, so Aang decided he would be the one to kick things off.

"So," he began as he made his way to the table with everyone taking a seat at it. "Now that all our personal issues are resolved, we should focus on the mission again." Zuko and Sokka glanced at each other nervously before returning their attention to their leaders. "Suki said she found a weak point in their defenses. What exactly was it?" he asked as he looked at her.

"Well, there was a soldier who decided to go back inside, so he pulled down a part of the fence and put it back up as he stepped over it," she explained with a shrug.

Aang nodded as he thought about it. "Okay, so if we can take care of the guard and make sure no one else sees us going in, then we should be able to slip in unnoticed." Pulling out some schematics of the place, he placed it on the table as everyone crowded over it. "We're going to want to get to the building in the center here," he pointed to the biggest building in the fortress. "That's their command central and it's where they're probably keeping the plans for whatever it is they're planning."

Katara nodded slowly in thought. "Yeah, that's right. So how are we going to get in there? From what I've seen, most of the soldiers are surrounding it." Surprisingly, Sokka raised his hand. "Yeah, Sokka?"

"Well, when we were looking for an opening, I saw an air vent in the center of the building," he explained. "If we can get up there, then we can sneak in and find out what's going on."

Thinking about it for a moment, Katara and Aang nodded to each other before looking back at Sokka. "Okay, that could work," Katara agreed. "But we still need to figure out how we can get to the air vent without being detected by anything."

"Oh that part will be easy," Aang laughed a little as he pulled out something from his pocket. "It's a little something I whipped up from when I saw how your base was hidden." Everything looked closely at it and noticed that it was a box.

"Um, not to be rude or anything, but how is a box going to help us?" Sokka questioned.

Aang laughed sheepishly and rubbed his neck. "Right, sorry. I forgot to press the button." Taking the box and setting it on the ground, he pressed a button on it and watched as it transformed into a miniature closet as everyone else gasped in amazement. Sorting through it, he looked until he found what he was looking for. A pure black outfit, but something seemed off about it… Almost as if it was humming with power.

"What's that?" Suki asked curiously as she tried to get a closer look at it.

"It's a camouflage suit," he explained with a smile, proud of his work. "It'll help us get in without anybody seeing us."

Sokka looked at it pessimistically. "Um, we have camouflage suits at the Agency, but they can be scanned if using the right equipment. What's different about this?"

Aang took it off the rack of the closet and handed it to him, making him gasp as he barely felt it. "This stuff is so light, any scanner that tries to recognize it won't be able to," he explained. "There's only a certain amount that a scanner can register, and this is too thin for it to be able to tell between skin and clothing. Since it won't be able to tell, it won't be able to recognize that there's anything there at all."

Sokka thought about it for a moment and nodded. "Okay, that makes sense," he finally agreed. "But you've only got one. There's six of us."

Zuko snapped his fingers and dug around in his pocket, producing what appeared to be a small pistol from his pocket. "This should help."

"What is it?" Toph asked as she tried to feel it through her Earthbending, but found that she couldn't.

"How is a gun going to help us?" Suki wondered as she looked at it.

Zuko laughed a little and picked it up before hitting a button on the side. "Duplicator activated," a robotic voice came from the gun.

"That's how," he told them before he aimed it at the clothing that was still in Sokka's hand, making Sokka yelp as he shot it. The clothing duplicated with every shot until there were six separate outfits on the ground. Everyone picked one up and hung onto it.

"Great," Aang said as he looked at all of them. "Now we have a plan and we know what to do. Get all of your gear and meet me at the front door in an hour. We'll go out at night to make sure that it's harder to detect us."

"Aye Aye, Captain!" Toph sarcastically saluted, making everyone laugh. Toph started walking upstairs and accidentally bumped into Zuko, making them both blush before Zuko walked away. Sokka and Suki gave each other a weird look but then blushed as well before going away quickly.

Katara looked at Aang with bewilderment etched on her face. "What was that about? They looked like something happened."

"I don't know," Aang replied bemusedly as he tried to figure it out himself, but found that he couldn't. Shaking his head, he looked back to her with a smile. "We'll worry about that later. Let's go get ready." He offered a hand to her. "Shall we?"

She smiled in return and took it happily. "We shall," she agreed as they walked upstairs and got ready, wondering just what the night had in store for them.

An hour later, as requested, everyone showed up in their camouflage, ready for what lay ahead. Though they were nervous, they were also excited. This was their first real mission, one that could affect the fate of the world if they weren't careful, but they were up to the challenge and confident that they could do it. There was still an uneasy feeling between the four as they waited for their leaders to finish with their pep talk, but they knew that at least for now it had to be put off. There were more important things to worry about at the moment.

"So," Aang's voice snapped Zuko out of his thoughts as he resumed listening to him. "Although I know this is a little scary, I know we can do this if we work together, okay?"

"Okay," everyone murmured in agreement.

"Good," Katara smiled as she looked at her friends. "Now let's go do this!" she cheered, making them all cheer in response before they started moving out the door. They walked and made their way to the base, but as they went, they couldn't help but think about all that had happened in the past couple days. None of them had imagined this would have happened, but it had happened all the same. Aang and Katara were happy with how everything had turned out so far, but everyone else was conflicted. Zuko for instance. He knew he still loved Suki, but he knew he felt something for Toph too…

After talking to Sokka, nothing had really been worked out. There had only been more questions. Normally Zuko would have been jealous that Sokka liked Suki too, but he couldn't be angry at him when he liked Toph as well. It was rather annoying, as he wasn't one to think too much into his emotions, but this was proving to be the rare exception as he found that he couldn't think about anything else. As they walked, he unconsciously took Suki's hand in his, both of them feeling the tingles it sent up their arms, but being unsure about what to do with it. Something had changed, they both knew it, but they knew that now wasn't the right time to talk about it. It would just have to wait until later. After a few more minutes of walking, they finally reached the spot that Suki and Sokka had been at and stopped as Aang and Katara turned to them.

"Okay," Aang started as he looked them all in the eyes. "You know the plan. We go in, get the information and get out." He looked over and noticed two guards standing by the section they needed to go through. "But how are we going to get them out of the way?" he wondered aloud.

"Can't we just kill them?" Sokka asked. "That would be easier than trying to sneak past them."

Katara shook her head. "No, Sokka. We can't kill them. Or at least not right there," she amended as she followed Aang's gaze. "We don't need any other guards getting suspicious, so we need to get them away from their position."

Aang nodded in agreement. "She's right. If they see two guards randomly die, they'll know something's wrong. We need to get them away from there." He looked back to them. "Any ideas?"

They all thought about it before Suki thought of something. "Appa and Momo! They could distract them, right?"

Aang smiled as he realized she was right. "Oh yeah, how did I not think of that?" Taking a deep breath, he brought his fingers to his mouth and let out a loud whistle, making everyone else cover their ears until it was over.

"What was that for?" Zuko asked grumpily as he took his hands off his ears. Aang didn't respond as Appa and Momo came out of nowhere and went to their master.

"Hey guys!" Aang greeted them cheerfully as Appa licked him and Momo nuzzled his head. "Want to help us out?" Appa barked and wagged his tail while Momo chirped in agreement. "Great, so here's the plan…

One soldier stood in front of the gate with a tired look on his face. "This job is so boring. Why don't we get to do anything exciting?" he asked with a yawn.

The other soldier rolled his eyes. "Would you rather be on clean up duty for the boss?" He shook his head quickly with a look of disgust. "Yeah, that's what I thought." A loud whimper could be heard from inside the Jungle. "Is that one of our dogs?" he asked his comrade.

"It sounds like it." Another whimper came from the area. "Let's go check it out." The other soldier shrugged and followed him as he led the way and found a wounded dog laying down near a tree. "Well, it's not one of ours." He walked up to it and checked the wound. The fear in the dog's eyes was obvious, so he tried to soothe it as it started whimpering. "Hey, it's okay. We're going to get you patched up." What he didn't know was that his comrade had been killed and moved away. The sound of wind flaps came from behind him. "What the-" He was cut off as Momo tore his throat out with his talons, making him fall to the ground dead. Everyone stepped out of some bushes as Appa 'healed' himself and went over to Aang who pet him on the head.

"Good job guys!" Aang smiled at them before turning back to the group. "Okay, so now we can get inside. Everyone knows what to do?" They all nodded. "Great. To make sure that we're not making too much noise, we'll split up again. Zuko and Suki, Toph and Sokka, and me and Katara."

He was surprised to see that not everyone seemed happy about it. Actually, the only one who seemed to be more than okay with it was Katara. What happened? He wondered. Shaking his head, he continued.

"Okay, well you guys know what to do. Be careful and don't get caught. We'll rendezvous at the building and figure out the next step." They all nodded and split up in their separate directions while Aang looked at Katara. "Did you notice something… different about them?"

She thought about it for a moment and nodded slowly. "Kind of, yeah. They didn't seem all that eager to go with their partners, even though it's their boyfriend/girlfriend. Almost like something happened…" she trailed off thoughtfully.

Aang sighed a little. This wasn't really what the team needed right now, but he supposed it would have to wait until the mission was over. "Yeah, we'll have to see what's going on later. Right now we've got more important things to worry about." He offered his hand to her. "Shall we?" She smiled and took his hand with a kiss on the cheek before they activated their camouflage and made their way inside the gate. Once inside, they looked around and crept their way through, occasionally letting a guard go by just to be on the safe side. They better be careful… he thought worriedly as they made their way towards the center.

Zuko and Suki crept together in an awkward silence. It was obvious to both of them that there was something wrong, but they knew that now wasn't really the time.

"Halt!"

They froze in place and expected the worst, but the guard behind them walked forward as a vehicle came in through the main entrance. "State your business," he told the driver.

"I'm bringing in goods for the boss," the driver told him as he lit a cigarette and took a puff. "You know, the stuff he requested for his little project."

The guard chuckled a little and shook his head. "I wouldn't call it 'little'. After all, when his project's completed, he'll have the power to rule the world," making Zuko and Suki gasp a little. They tried listening in, but the conversation had turned to other things, and they knew they couldn't move yet. Their outlines would be seen in the headlights of the vehicle, so they would just have to wait until the driver was gone.

"So," Zuko whispered awkwardly. "How've you been?"

Suki gave him a look which he couldn't see under his mask, but he knew what it was all the same. "Zuko, why are we acting weird?" she questioned him.

He let out a long sigh and shrugged. "I don't know." He was hesitant, now certainly wasn't the right time, but they could be waiting for a while. If nothing else, maybe they could talk this out and figure out what to do. "Look, I… When I had to hang out with Toph, we sort of got to know each other and…"

Suki raised a brow that he couldn't see. "And what?"

Another moment of silence passed between them before he continued. "And we almost kissed," he admitted, making her somewhat relieved and a little jealous.

Zuko was surprised however when she grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "It's okay, Zuko. When Sokka and I were looking around, I think I got some feelings for him too," she admitted quietly. They were both silent for a moment, letting that information register in their minds.

"So what do we do about it?" he thought aloud quietly as he looked at her. "I know I still love you, but…" He sighed again. "I don't know."

Suki thought about it for a moment and shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted before the vehicle finally moved away. "But we'll worry about that later. We've got a mission to do."

"Right. Let's get this over with," he grumbled and got up while offering a hand to her. She took it and they continued to make their way to the rendezvous point.

Sokka was a little grumpy. Not because he was hungry, because he wasn't. Not because he hadn't gotten enough sleep, because he had. Sighing a little, he shook his head. If it hadn't been for his stupid sister asking him to go with Suki, maybe they wouldn't be in this position. Maybe if he had gone with Zuko, maybe this never would have happened. Then maybe he wouldn't feel so awkward around his girlfriend.

"Sokka?"

Sokka's attention snapped to his girlfriend. "Yeah?" he asked as his whole attention was on her.

She took a deep breath, making Sokka confused. It was almost like she was… nervous. He hadn't known her for very long, but he knew her enough to know that she didn't get nervous. Or at least she didn't until now, anyway. "Look," she started awkwardly. "I know now isn't the best time, but-" she was cut off as Sokka saw a Guard coming around the corner and dragged her into a tent with him, waiting until the Guard was gone before he looked back at her.

"Sorry. There was a guard there," he apologized sheepishly. She just rolled her eyes a little and continued.

"Okay… While you were with Suki, me and Zuko got to talking and we almost… kissed," she admitted quietly, taking him by surprise, but in an odd mix of relief and jealousy. Though he knew he couldn't say anything, as he was basically in the same boat.

"Well… I've got a bit of a confession to make to," he told her quietly, making her 'look' at him in surprise with a raised brow.

"What do you mean?"

He looked down at his feet and shrugged. "Well, while we were out there talking, I kind of got some feelings for her," he admitted, making Toph sigh a little.

"What do we do, Meathead?" she asked tiredly.

"I don't know," he admitted before looking up to see their destination not far away. "But we'll worry about that later. Let's just get this over with."

Toph was silent for a moment, but then nodded in agreement. "Yeah. It'll have to wait," she agreed before punching him in the shoulder. "If you ever tell anyone I was soft for a minute, I'll punch you ten times harder," she warned him.

He rubbed the offended shoulder grumpily. "Fine. I won't," he promised. "Now let's finish this." She nodded in agreement and they continued moving, wondering just how everything would turn out.

They all finally met up at the spot they had agreed upon and crowded together. "Good job, guys," Aang congratulated them. "But now's the hard part." Everyone quietly groaned a little, but he just shrugged it off as he handed them each a pair of gloves. "These gloves are magnetized and will help us go up the wall to the vent."

"But what if we fall?" Sokka questioned worriedly.

"You'll just have to be extra careful," Aang replied simply, unsure of what else he could say. "These are top of the line, so it should be fine. Just make sure you have a good grip on the wall, okay?"

Sokka reluctantly nodded in agreement before Aang gestured for them all to follow. Creeping over to the wall, he activated his gloves and effortlessly started climbing it, making Katara smile. She had the coolest boyfriend ever. Everyone else had more of a struggle with it, but they too got it down and followed him as he led the way up to the vent. As he reached it, he saw that it was bolted down. There was no way he could rip it off. How am I going to get past this thing? He wondered before an idea came to mind. Taking one of his hands off the wall, he dug around in his pants pocket and pulled out his pen. Turning it on, he cut through the vent grate and put it inside the vent as they crawled in. Fortunately for him, he had prepared for this and had memorized the schematics of the place. He knew every corner of the building, and he knew just where he needed to go. After a few minutes of everyone crawling through the cramped space, Aang found what he was looking for and looked down, surprised to see no guards there. Shrugging, he kicked the vent open and set it on the other end before jumping down.

"Come on guys," he whispered. Katara jumped down and landed in his arms as he caught her with a smile before he put her down and moved out of the way for everyone else to come down. Once everyone was out, he then turned to the main controls of the building and looked around until he found what he was looking for: The Fortress' database. He nodded to Zuko who nodded back and walked over with a USB in hand. Plugging it in, he watched as Aang started sifting through the information until he found what he wanted. "Operation: World Storm?" he whispered to himself in confusion. Clicking on it, he opened it to see a video from underground. A large room housed a machine that Aang couldn't quite describe, but as he watched a man press a button, it made a noise that he recognized well. One that he had spent years as a kid perfecting. The sound of making a thunderstorm.

"What is that?" Sokka gasped as he watched from Aang's right shoulder. Aang didn't respond, afraid of what he was seeing, but decided to keep that to himself. The video shifted to an aerial view of the island as the thunderstorm grew and grew until it was the size of the island itself. The winds picked up, lightning shot in multiple places, a torrent of rain poured down on the island.

"It's a Storm Maker," Aang murmured, making everyone look at him.

"What's a Storm Maker?" Suki asked curiously.

"It's a device that can create storms from a rainstorm to a category five hurricane," he responded seriously, taking everyone by surprise. They had never heard him be so serious before. "Only a Peacekeeper is supposed to have that kind of power, but if they managed to do that…" He shook his head quickly. "We need to focus." Once the video had ended, it showed a synopsis of their plan. Reading through it, his eyes widened in disbelief. "They're going to end the world."

Katara looked at him in utter surprise. "What?"

He looked at her. "They're going to end the world. If they use this machine, they can make enough hurricanes, tempests, thunderstorms… whatever they need to obliterate the world. Then they can start all over and rule the world."

Everyone was silent as they tried to register that. "Wow," Katara breathed. "That's..."

"Evil," Aang agreed before he downloaded the file onto the USB. "Once this thing is downloaded, we need to get out of here. If we're going to stop them, we need to come up with a plan. Fast." They all anxiously waited for the file to download before it finally completed. Grabbing the USB, Zuko put it in his pocket and nodded to Aang.

"Come on. We need to-" he was cut off as alarms started blaring and the room turned red, making them all worry as a voice came over the speakers in the room.

"Intruder detected," a robotic female voice rang over the speakers. "All units converge on the command tower."

Everyone looked at each other nervously. "Uh oh…"