Everyone was awake by the time someone came for the Avatar's group, and they walked along the now bustling underground encampment, impressed by the efficiency of the operation. At last, they arrived in a large cavern peppered with rough stone tables and benches, where refugees and soldiers alike were enjoying a morning meal. The room was alive with hushed conversation as word spread among the people that the Avatar had arrived the night before.
Sokka peered fretfully around the room, searching for the telltale dark green dress of a certain Kyoshi warrior. His heart was starting to sink as his eyes skimmed over the crowd to no avail, but lifted again when he finally spotted a flurry of activity at the far edge of the cave.
There she was, standing with her back to him, overseeing a group of men brining in stacks of crates marked with the Fire Nation insignia. With a wicked little grin, he snuck up behind her on his tiptoes and then quickly brought his hands around her and clamped them down over her eyes.
"Guess who," he sang in what he hoped was a seductive voice.
He smirked as her hands came up and rested over his own, but before he had any idea what was going on, he found himself flying forward over her head to land on the ground with a painful thud.
"Hey!" he shrieked, "is that any way to-"
His objection was stopped short as he stared upside down into the unexpectedly brown eyes of a Kyoshi warrior glaring down at him.
"You're not Suki," he stated matter-of-factly.
"No, she's not," said a familiar but irritated voice from somewhere outside his range of vision, "what is going on here?"
"This boy was getting fresh with me!" answered the brown-eyed girl suspiciously.
Suki's painted face popped into view above the water tribe warrior, still lying prone on his back.
"Sokka!" she gasped in surprise. He beamed up at her as she dismissed the other girl with a wave of one hand, and reached down with the other to help him up.
"Ya know," he began casually as he brushed himself off, "you'd be a lot easier to pick out of a crowd if there weren't five other girls dressed just like you."
Her only response was to smile and wrap him in a tight hug, which he gleefully returned. They held each other happily for a moment before a voice interrupted.
"Oh, get a room!" grumbled Toph loudly as she sauntered by the pair.
The two broke from their embrace and grinned at each other sheepishly, the color rising to Suki's cheeks clearly visible even through her make-up.
"So…" she shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant, "when did you get here? We weren't expecting you until later today."
"Last night," he answered, still gazing at her dreamily. He was so glad to see her safe and sound.
A movement to one side got Suki's attention, and she turned away from Sokka to address a nearby soldier as the crate he was carrying banged to the ground.
"Be careful with those!" she snapped urgently, "do you want to blow the whole place up?"
"What is all this stuff?" asked Sokka as the rest of his companions came over to stand beside them to regard the stacks of crates with equal perplexity.
"We intercepted a caravan of Fire Nation explosives en route to Omashu," she answered grimly.
"Explosives?" wondered Zuko aloud.
He walked to a nearby crate and lifted the lid. Sokka sidled up beside him and peeked into the box, pulling up a dangerously nasty looking rocket-like device.
"What are they going to do with these?" he asked in alarm, "destroy the city?"
"They aren't explosives," replied the prince with a hint of confusion. Looking over the box, he announced thoughtfully, "they're…fireworks."
Sokka cocked a disbelieving eyebrow at the object he held. "Why am I not surprised that fireworks from the Fire Nation look like weapons of mass destruction?"
By now, the entire group was poking through the containers.
"Nephew, look!" crowed Iroh happily. Spinning around, he revealed a pair of bouquets, one in each hand, made up of thin wands topped by colorful, brightly sputtering sparks.
"Sparklers!" A huge cheesy grin was plastered across Iroh's face, and it broke only long enough for the old man to puff a tiny breath of flame to ignite a lone, unlit sparkler before returning.
"Hey!" chimed in Aang from another nearby crate, "check these out!" and he pulled forth a stick wrapped in a long strip of vivid red and gold parchment. With a flick of his wrist, the roll of paper shot out and tapped Momo on the tail, causing the lemur to squeak indignantly.
"I haven't played with one of these in ages!" continued Aang as he repeatedly sent out and retracted the vibrant streamer while Momo chased it about.
Katara rummaged through another crate, and with a look of surprise, held up a beautifully painted doll.
"What's with the dolls?" she asked, tenderly stroking the face and admiring the craftsmanship.
Toph sniffed tentatively at a handful of small, flamboyantly wrapped packages.
"Are these…candies?"
Confused, Suki wandered over to another box and sifted through the contents.
"We thought all the boxes were the same as that one," she murmured, looking back to the fireworks. "What is all this stuff for?"
"Summer Solstice," answered Zuko distantly, seemingly lost in memories as he stared bewilderedly at the crate full of games and puzzles.
"The solstice?" asked Katara dubiously.
"It's the Fire Nation's biggest holiday!" explained Aang excitedly, "I celebrated it a couple times with my friend Kuzon. It's great! They throw a huge party all day long, and give away free toys and candy to all the kids, and when the sun sets, they shoot off hundreds of fireworks!"
"Wait a minute," interjected Sokka seriously, as the gears of his brain started whirring, "crates of toys…candy…fireworks…"
He glanced at Zuko's worried scowl and everything started clicking into place. Aang's bright grin started to fade as he followed Sokka's train of thought.
"If they're shipping toys and fireworks to Omashu for Solstice…" the Avatar realized out loud, "then that means-"
"There are civilians in the city," Sokka continued ominously, "families…"
"And children," finished Zuko gravely, gazing down at the multihued wooden top in his hand.
A deathly silence fell over the group as they began to comprehend the magnitude of the situation. Aang looked around at the others with open apprehension and announced resolutely.
"We need to find General How."
Suki led the group to General How's makeshift office; a largish room carved into a passageway through earth bending, with a raised slab of rock for a desk and a crudely fashioned stone chair. He barely glanced up from the report he was reading when they walked in.
"Ah, there you are," he said absently, "I was just about to send for you."
As he set down the page in his hand, a small avalanche of toys was dumped on the desk in front of him. His eyes widened in surprise.
"What is all this?" he asked as he looked up to see Sokka still holding the upturned bag.
"That's what we found in those crates your men intercepted this morning," the warrior answered. How picked up a doll and turned it over with an expression of confusion.
"I'm not sure I understand…," he said slowly, still examining the doll.
"These toys are for the solstice celebration next week," Aang explained soberly, "they're gifts for the children living in Omashu."
How glanced up, looking wholly uncomfortable, but as he opened his mouth to speak, another voice interrupted from the doorway.
"And what do children in Omashu have to do with anything?"
Everyone turned in surprise just as General Fong stepped into the room.
"Oh great," Sokka muttered darkly as he crossed his arms, "him again."
Iroh leaned in toward the boy and whispered, "Who's that?"
"Trouble," he replied, but left it at that as Fong came into earshot.
"The Fire Nation has already colonized the city," Aang said firmly, glaring coldly at the crazy general who had once tried to force him into the Avatar state to be used as a weapon. "If we attack Omashu now, civilian families will be put in danger."
"Innocent lives never stopped the Fire Nation from attacking our homes and villages," Fong said condescendingly, "why should we have any concern for their citizens?"
Aang and the others bristled visibly at this comment, but before anyone could throw back a nasty retort, How stood up.
"Thank you, General, that will be all," he intervened hastily. He then addressed the room in a tone that brooked no argument, "Now, if everyone will excuse us, I'd like to have a word with the Avatar…alone."
Once the others were gone, How lifted his fists and a slab of stone rose up in the doorway, shutting off the room from the outside to afford the two some privacy. With a tired frown, he sat back down at his desk and gazed at the toys still laying there as he collected his thought.
"Please believe that I do understand your concerns," he began diplomatically, "but General Fong makes a valid point."
Seeing Aang about to say something, the general held up a hand in a silent plea to be heard out.
"That's not to say that I agree with his opinion," he clarified calmly, "But you must realize that my duty is to the rightful citizens of Omashu. There are over five hundred refugees here waiting to get their city back. Do you honestly expect me to call off the attack and tell them they'll have to return to Ba Sing Se simply because you don't want to risk harming the people who have taken over their homes?"
Aang hung his head as he realized the logic in what How said. The general was right, and he knew it. But the Avatar wasn't prepared to give in so easily.
"There has to be another way," he said stubbornly.
"If you have some other option, I'll be happy to hear it," How offered earnestly, "but otherwise, the strike must go on as planned. We don't have enough supplies to see us through a delay, and if we are to have any hopes at all of distracting Ozai's army so that you can infiltrate the Fire Nation, then we need access to Omashu's resources."
"When do you plan on attacking?" asked Aang, his voice tinged with resignation.
"At sunset," How replied briskly, "with any luck we can take them by surprise and gain some slight advantage over their fire benders."
Hearing this, Aang merely nodded, and then turned to leave. Just as he took a stance to reopen the door, How called out.
"I am sorry."
Aang glanced back over his shoulder at the general, his expression grim but otherwise unreadable. Without a word, he unsealed the door and walked out.
The others stood in the hallway, waiting anxiously for Aang to come out. Sokka had told Toph, Iroh, and Zuko about their previous encounter with Fong, so now the entire group had an equal and well-deserved dislike for the man. When the wall gave way to reveal the Avatar, they all gathered around him expectantly.
"Well?" asked Sokka.
"The Earth Kingdom is launching its attack on the city tonight, at sunset," he told them bluntly.
"But…what about the civilians?" stammered Katara desperately. Aang leveled a hard stare at her.
"What about the Omashu refugees that came all this way hoping to get their homes back?" he replied, obviously not happy about the situation either.
At this, everyone looked around at each other dismally. There seemed to be no way out of their current predicament.
"Well this just stinks," groused Toph angrily, crossing her arms over her chest.
"That's putting it mildly," Sokka concurred, taking the same pose as the blind earth bender.
"So what are we going to do?" asked Zuko quietly.
Iroh raised an eyebrow at his nephew's use of the word 'we', but said nothing. Aang took a deep breath, and regarded his friends with a determined gaze.
"We're going to find a better way. And to do that, I need to talk to King Bumi."