Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender.

Chapter 11: Preparations

He was so lucky. Two seconds more and he would have been crumpled in a ball on the floor begging for mercy. Mimi and Yaku had gotten there just in time to stop me from beating Soku into a bloody pulp. He had no idea, I thought as I glared at him over my lunch. Stupid, cocky moron. I was so glad we were going to be in two separate places when we attacked the palace.

I could sense the tension at the table. Barely anyone spoke, and when they did their idle chatter was quite obviously fake and forced. Tonight was the night of the full moon, and tonight we were putting everything on the line for one final attack on the Fire Nation. Everyone was picking at there food and getting yelled at by Katara for not eating. She kept saying that we needed our energy and we better eat all the food on our plate.

Sokka cleared his throat and the scattered chatter ended almost immediately. He looked around the table sadly, and I could tell what he was about to say was very hard for him to put into words. I put down my bowl and looked expectantly at the young warrior just like the rest of the kids at the table.

"Well, there is no sense in denying it anymore," he finally said, "It looks like the rest of our group isn't going to make it. They wouldn't have taken this long if nothing was wrong," He paused again before saying what was on everyone's mind. "They have probably been captured, or worse. It looks like we're the only ones left."

A silence passed around the table as everyone nodded or looked at their bowl. This was it. We were going in there alone, only a group of fifteen children against the most powerful army in the world. Although we did have a plan and a few tricks up our sleeves, the odds still weren't too pretty.

After lunch, I went out to the courtyard to practice. I couldn't just sit around and wait for our attack; I had to do something. We would be leaving soon. Those of us who were going to be attacking the palace were going on Appa. The others who were attacking the prison were going to purchase tickets for the boat that took people from the island to the mainland. Mai and Ty Lee had decided to accompany the group attacking the prison because they knew a secret entrance that only those who ran prisons knew. Mai's uncle had told her about it when she was younger and she was determined to help as much as possible. It was slightly unnerving knowing how close we were to the palace.

I closed my eyes and slowly let out a breath of smoke. Wiping some sweat off my brow I headed inside. I had to find Mimi. We had been separated for ten years and I had to see my sister before the battle, just in case it was the last time I saw her.

I found her in our room sitting on her bed and crying. She was curled in a ball with her head on her knees shuttering slightly. I instantly sat next to the crying airbender and put an arm around her back to comfort her. She jumped slightly and looked up at me with surprise.

"Oh, hi Kim," she said hastily wiping tears from her eyes. "I was just thinking."

"I know," I said giving her my best reassuring smile. I wonder if she could tell it was fake. "It's okay to be scared. I know I'm scared out of my mind, but we'll get through this."

"You think so?" Mimi's big grey eyes looked up at me and I felt the helplessness I always felt when she cried. Mimi had always been an emotional person and I had always been very unemotional. Mom had always dried Mimi's tears in the past. She always knew the right things to say and do. I felt a pang of sadness. I missed her so much. She would know what to do now, but she wasn't here.

"Yeah the Fire Nation may have the numbers, but we have something more. We have something worth fighting for; something we are willing to sacrifice anything for. The Fire Nation soldiers don't have that. All they have are orders. They have no real reason. We'll make it through this, and bring peace to the world again. It's been over 100 years. It's about time this war ended, don't you think so?"

She nodded and the two of us hugged tightly. As we sat on her bed embracing I felt fear stronger then I had ever experienced before. I was afraid I would lose her. I was afraid that after the fight I would never see my sister again. One of us could very well die tonight and I wanted to make sure that I never forgot her.

I pulled away from the embrace and started to take off my boot. Mimi looked at me, confused. I removed my boot to reveal a small bracelet tied around my ankle. I slipped it off and held it up to Mimi.

"Do you remember this?" I asked her.

She smiled widely and replied, "Is that the bracelet I made for you on our fifth birthday?"

I nodded. "The very one," I said smiling back at her. It was just a simple piece of twine with three faded yellow beads threaded through it, but it was the one thing that I had kept from my old life.

"I can't believe you still have it," Mimi said.

"Yeah," I looked at the insignificant looking piece of jewelry and then handed it to my sister. "Here," I said "will you hold onto this for me? After the fight is over you can give it back, okay?"

"But what if we don't-"

"We will see each other again. That's a promise," I said cutting her off. "Okay?" I asked handing her the ankle bracelet.

"Okay." She took it and slipped it onto her ankle.

We were interrupted by a light knocking. We turned around to see Yaku standing in the doorway.

"May I borrow Mimi for a while?" he asked. I smiled and got up.

"Sure," I said. I stood up and walked towards the doorway. "I'll give you two some privacy." I said, before turning and winking at Mimi. She looked slightly surprised. She probably didn't know I knew about the two of them. I closed the door on the Yaku and Mimi hugging. Later I was to find out that Yaku had asked my sister to marry him after the battle, if everything went well.

The ride on Appa was silent. Aang was concentrating on keeping up our cloud cover and the rest of us were deep in thought. Toph was gripping Appa's saddle with more force then normal and Sokka and Suki were huddled together holding onto what might be their last moments. Although on opposite sides of the bison I noticed that Zuko and Katara kept shooting glances at each other. Katara would always look away with an annoyed huff, but I could tell there was something else hidden under her hatred.

We landed just as the sky was beginning to change into the bright colors of a sunset. Unfortunately we were unable to enjoy it because we had to follow Toph underground. We knew this was the only way to get close enough to the castle without getting killed instantly. The only light was from Zuko's and my palms and the only sound was Toph and Aang's earthbending.

I wondered if the others had made it off the boat yet and how close they were to the prison. I hoped Mimi and everyone else would be okay. We silently made our way as close to the palace as we could. We had gotten past the gate and were under the ground to the side of the castle. Toph said it was safe, so she and Aang quickly dug their way to the top and we made it out into the cool night air. We positioned ourselves to we could see the prison, but could still take refuge under ground if we needed to.

We waited silently for the signal to attack.

A/N: Woot! Another chapter! Sorry this one's so short, but the next chapter is the big battle scene and I needed to end it before then. Hope you liked it. Please Review!!