AN: Here it comes…the Battle on the Day of Darkness!

Encounter with Embers

AANG ROSE EARLY on August sixth. He dressed quickly and quietly as dawn seeped through his windows. Outwardly, he was calm, cool, and collected. Inwardly, he was a jumble of nerves, stress, and anxiety. He tried to remind himself again and again that they were only setting sail for the Fire Nation. The real battle wasn't until August ninth…

That didn't do anything to quell the proverbial butterflies in his stomach. Not in the least.

Perhaps it was the fear of dying in the most gruesome ways? Because no one could truly estimate the cruelty of Ozai and Azula. And no one else was a strong as himself, so if he failed, they all would.

That's another thing…he was the strongest. Him. Aang. A simple monk…was the Avatar. So much pressure…a responsibility he never chose nor desired. To be young and free once more was a recurring dream of his. To be born as a normal child…to hand the position of Avatar over to some else…someone more able, more willing…

But no, this was fate. This was destiny. This was his and his alone. And he had to take it all into his own hands, place everything on his own shoulders.

Had it not been for Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, and all the others…he would have tripped and fallen a long time ago.

Katara had given him all the support and kindness and love he'd needed to feel whole. She taught him how to Waterbend, how to be strong, how to stand of face the enemy.

Yes, he'd fallen in love with her along the way, but it was not meant to be. She found Haru, and Aang knew he'd propose any day. Haru loved Katara. He cherished her. He'd make her happy. That was all that truly mattered: Katara's happiness.

Sokka agreed. He could see it.

Sokka…ha! Good ol' Sokka. He was always there to crack a joke or tease him relentlessly. He was always there with a well thought out plan or idea. He was always there to make sure everyone was okay. If Katara could be considered the Mother of the initial Team Avatar, then Sokka was the Father.

Aang wrinkled his nose. Strange family dynamics. He chuckled.

When Toph had been added to their little family, it had rounded them out. She added her own little quirky personality and he had to thank her for it. She was tough where Katara was soft. She was strong where he himself was weak. And she was serious when Sokka was goofy. Or vice versa.

He grinned at the memories of their quartet. But, it hadn't lasted long, and had changed for the better with the arrival of Zuko, Mai, and Iroh. He smiled when he thought of Zuko. What a strange friendship they had. Zuko had gone from chasing him around the world to helping him in his quest to save it instead. What a total one eighty.

But he owed Zuko a lot. A great debt that he'd try the rest of his life to repay. For Zuko had risen up to Aang's responsibilities and taken a good portion of them off of his shoulders. Zuko had become the stand in leader so Aang wouldn't have to. He had strategized, planned, and organized so he wouldn't have to. He led them into battle and offered them words of encouragement, so he wouldn't have to.

And the entire time Zuko did all this, he remained respectful to him. Had treated Aang like an equal. As a friend. He didn't view Aang as weak, or as a wimp, for wanting to shirk his duties. He viewed him for what a he was: a twelve year old monk boy who needed someone's helping hand.

Mai, although she was quiet, was a nice girl. Aang could see that. The way she vowed to rescue Ty Lee, the way she had betrayed Azula to join Zuko, and the way she continually supported him told him so. Behind her calm exterior, Aang saw a woman with a big heart.

Iroh was a joy to have around. His words of wisdom, his reassurances, and his love for the simpler things in life reminded Aang somewhat of Monk Gyatso. Although Iroh tended to hold onto the worldly pleasures of teas and hot baths, he was still monk-like in certain ways.

When Zuko, Mai, and Iroh joined their team, four others had been unexpectedly added to the mix. Jet, Suki, Karida, and Batu.

Jet, although a criminal in the past, had turned over a new leaf and was actually a guy you could rely on. He was strong, determined, and true. And he'd become a friend as well, even though he was sometimes quiet, observing everything around him, and keeping to himself. His presence was enough.

Suki was great. Had been great. Her passion for battle and life was as great as her honor, strength, and loyalty. Her death had been something that stung Aang. He'd liked her a lot, and had liked what she'd done for Sokka. To see him grieve…it still cut him to the bone.

But they'd had to carry on. They couldn't let the world fall around them. The pains of war…to be unable to grieve properly because you still had to fight the next day…sometimes it angered him so much…

But Karida and Batu, Suki's loyal Kyoshi warriors, had done right by Suki. They observed her burial. They continued to fight in her name. They quietly watched over Sokka, whether he was aware of it or not.

Batu's death was also regrettable. The cruel had of war had slain her, along with all of the other Kyoshi Warriors, leaving Karida alone.

He felt his heart reach out to Karida. For all that she had lost. It was unfair. But, then again, when had life been fair to any of them? Katara had lost her mother to death and father to fight a useless war, Sokka had lost his parents in addition to two women he loved deeply, Toph had suffered silently in a restrictive household, Zuko had been burnt and banished by the man he once called father, Iroh had been betrayed by his brother and lost his son, Mai had to betray her friends and family to do what was right, Jet had lost both of his parents because of the Fire Nation, Suki lost her life, Yue lost her life, Batu had lost her life, and Ty Lee had betrayed her friends and family to do what was right.

And he had to give up his life to pander to humanity. He had lost his people, was the last left of them. But had he really been the one to lose the most? Or had they all lost the greatest thing, in their own way?

Spirits…why?

He shook off all of these heavy thoughts and left his chambers to pet Appa and Momo one last time. Soon after, he joined the others.

Everyone was as quiet and grim as he, he noted, as they boarded the ships that would take them all across the seas to the Fire Nation. For many, he was certain this would be their last voyage. This would be last time their eyes would see the sprawling lands of the Earth Kingdom. Their pyres and funeral rites would be on enemy soil, instead of on their respective lands of their birth.

He noticed Zuko discreetly rest a hand on Mai's stomach. Her hand covered his, and they shared a look wrought with deep emotion. Their unborn child, nestled safely in Mai's womb, would be deeply loved, Aang knew.

That's why they all fought in this war. Not just for Mai and Zuko's unborn babe, but for all the children who had been born and had yet to come. The children who deserved to grow up in peace and calm.

He glanced at Katara and Haru, who grimly held hands as they looked toward the unseen borders of the Fire Nation. Their children, born of earth and water, would be able to grow tall and strong, given that this battle was won.

Ty Lee and Jet stood close to one another. They too, if they ended up together, could have their children grow without prejudice and fear.

He sighed softly, wondering if he'd ever find happiness and peace after this hundred year war. If he'd ever have children of his own.

If…no. Just focus on here. Focus on now, he told himself. You have a war to win. It was all he could do, for now.

KARIDA STOOD ON the deck of the ship with her companions in silence. The breeze lapped fiercely at her face and her auburn hair tumbled about. The smell of the salt air was surprisingly refreshing, and the vast oceans before her calmed her slightly. It seemed that she felt calm for the first time in weeks.

Karida would have never guessed her life could have changed so drastically in the past numerous weeks. Joining Suki in her quest to assist the Avatar had brought her more than she had bargained for. She decided to join Suki because she wanted to assure Suki's safety, as her loyal student and friend.

But Suki had been killed in battle, with honor fit for a Kyoshi Warrior. But Suki's death rendered her nearly helpless, for Suki, her leader, her captain, had been the reason she was even here.

Now she had become the reason Karida was still here. She wanted to have a hand in avenging Suki's death. She wanted to make Suki proud in the afterworld. She had a feeling Suki would be.

The deaths of Batu and the other Kyoshi Warriors had been another devastating blow. It had torn her heart to pieces, and also had filled her with more ambition to do right by them.

Karida clenched the railing on the deck of the ship. I'll avenge you all, she vowed intensely. They were supposed to be alive right now, all of them. They all should have been aboard this ship, by her side.

It made her heart sick. But she knew she had to carry on. She had to live, and return to Kyoshi Island, alone, to teach the future generations the art of Kyoshi's fighting style. It was up to her now.

She hadn't been sure she'd come to fight in this final battle. Sokka had even told her not to, she remembered bleakly…

"Hey." Sokka greeted her gently, so as not to startle her.

She turned away from the moon, half-ripe in the sky, and was startled more by how handsome he looked cast in the white light than by his voice. "Hey." She managed to reply.

It was late now, and everyone had retired for bed. But she couldn't sleep. Not when such an important decision weighed so heavily in her mind.

"What are you thinking of?" he inquired gently. Since Suki's death, Karida had come to get to know this young warrior from the Southern Water Tribe. She knew of his grief, his endless love for her former leader, of his skill in battle. She knew his strengths, his weaknesses, his hopes, his sorrows.

And he had come to know her as well. They fought side by side, and when you shared such acute grief, you couldn't help but come to know the stranger who had loved the same person as you.

She fought a chuckle. "That's a loaded question. How about you?"

He sighed, stepping closer and peering at the moon. "I'm probably thinking the same as you."

"Oh?" she turned to gaze at the moon once more, struggling to silence her heart.

He nodded mutely, his fingers stroking the stone sill of the window. The night air was still and stagnant with heat.

She tucked an auburn strand behind her ear. "The moon is so bright…" she commented, not wanting to confess anything else that sat in her mind.

"I loved the moon, once, when she was a woman." Sokka remarked, seeming almost entranced by the silver crescent hanging in the sky.

Karida blinked. "What?" she was confused by such a statement.

Sokka turned his face to gaze at her. "The Northern Water Tribe's only Princess. Her name was Yue, for the moon that had given her life. She gave it back." The pain was in his voice, in his eyes.

"She must have been beautiful."

He nodded. "She was." he sighed wistfully. "She's the first love of my life. But, she's still here, watching over me. She promised to." He sincerely believed it.

"Suki is too." Karida whispered, fighting tears. She was failing miserably. "For the both of us."

He fought them as well. "I know." He raked a hand through his hair, which was free from his customary wolf-tail. "But Spirits, I miss her."

"I do too." Karida confessed. She smiled feebly. "She's the whole reason I came…and the whole reason I'm going with you to the Fire Nation tomorrow."

His head snapped up to gaze into her eyes. "What?"

Karida felt defensive suddenly. "Why, did you think I was going to wave you goodbye tomorrow and depart for Kyoshi Island?"

His silence confirmed her suspicion.

She frowned. "I'm going with you. I need to avenge Suki, Batu, and the other warriors. And I need to…" she stopped herself, turning back to gaze at the moon.

"You need to what, Karida? What?" he pressed her, grasping her arm to force her to look at him.

"I need to protect you." She whispered meekly.

Sokka released her arm and laughed, then continued laughing.

Karida blinked, startled. She was unsure if he was going crazy or…

"What are you doing? Have you gone mad?" she finally asked as his laughter died down.

He wiped his tears of hysteria and shook his head. "You women…you all think you need to protect me, when it's really the other way around."

Karida arched a brow and opened her mouth to protest against his sexist comment. But he held up a hand to silence her.

"I don't mean it like that; cool your feminism for a second." He shook his head, chuckled once more, then glanced at her.

She crossed her arms as if to say, 'Well?'

He smiled and spoke: "Yue, Suki, and even Toph have all tried to protect me. And now you. I know you're all strong and you're all capable, but isn't it nice when you forgo being strong and just let a man protect you?"

"I don't have any particular man that I want to protect me." Karida said flatly.

"Well, you certainly can't protect me." Sokka stated.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she challenged.

"I don't need it." he answered. He looked at her with his deep blue eyes.

"You do and I will because that's what Suki'd want me to do." Karida replied. She glared slightly the Water Tribe boy.

"No, she'd want you to return to Kyoshi and teach the art of fighting to the next generations. You're the last of them now." He said it tentatively, as if he was afraid to lance the boil.

Karida looked away. "I can't run away from this. Not now, not ever."

"You're not a coward for going back there and doing what you should." His voice was mild and his eyes sincere.

"It's now about cowardice, it's about doing what's right." She spat back. She fidgeted, suddenly restless.

"There's nothing wrong with going back." He tried to assure her.

"It feels wrong to me!" Karida exclaimed, whirling to face him.

He softened, and touched her arm once more, this time gently. "Then come with me tomorrow, and we'll fight together. And we'll win together." He smiled gently.

Without thinking, Karida leaned over, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "Agreed." She fought the blush, and left for bed.

Sokka touched his lips briefly, watching Karida's retreating form. So many questions immediately sprang to his mind, the most important being about Karida's feelings towards him.

He was slightly awed and wondered if Karida had come to love him as they grew to know one another better. He felt flattered, and he knew he respected and admired Karida for the strength she possessed. But he also knew he loved Suki too much to turn around and suddenly form a new relationship with one of her closest comrades.

He shook his head with a sigh. He had found Karida in the hall, admiring the moon, and decided to speak with her because he couldn't sleep. Now he'd have no better luck with it because she'd kissed him. Damn it…

Karida smiled at the memory. Poor Sokka, she'd probably confused him last night. She glanced over to him, where he sat talking calmly with Toph. The quiet before the battle had tamed them all from the normal antics. Instead they enjoyed one another's company and nervously awaited the morning when they would dock at the Fire Nation's shores.

A part of her desperately wanted that morning to never come. For time to rewind so she could have told Sokka more of what was on her mind last night. Now, if she or he died in this epic battle, she'd never get the chance.

She'd have to survive. And he would too, she decided, that way she could tell him everything. Now she wanted to fast forward time to after August ninth, so she could tell Sokka everything.

But she reminded herself to be patient, and take each day at face value. She had to, other wise she'd go insane.

ON AUGUST NINTH, Omashu's Army docked on the shores of the Fire Nation just before dawn. All of the soldiers exited their ships and assembled themselves into neat rows and divisions, awaiting their orders from their leaders.

Zuko turned to 'Team Avatar' which now consisted of Mai, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Haru, Jet, and Ty Lee. They all wore grim expressions on their faces. "Souzin's Comet is coming. If we don't defeat my father on this day, he'll destroy everything!"

They all nodded and shared long looks.

"Fight with everything you have today. If you fall, you fall with honor and strength. If any of us should…" he trailed off momentarily, then straightened himself. "It's been an honor and a privilege to fight alongside all of you. You're warriors in the truest sense. I would have been less a man had I never known any of you."

Everyone fought the emotion that was thick in their hearts.

The sun rose in the sky. It was watched carefully by the army huddled in the cove of the Fire Nation. And, miraculously, they observed as the full moon slid smoothly over it and before it, casting the sky into a dark hue.

It let them all in awe and breathless. Now was the time to act.

Each commander gave their respective orders, and the numerous soldiers marched forward to begin their attack. At first, they met little opposition, as the few soldiers guarding the borders discovered their presence.

And also discovered their abilities to Firebend were stripped from them.

Most soldiers of the Fire Nation were disabled and few died as the Omashu Army began their march straight to the capital of the Fire Nation, where Ozai would lay in wait with his daughter Azula.