*Bee*

Fresh air. Sweet, sweet fresh air.

I took it in gulps, savoring it while it lasted. We only had a few minutes until we had to get back in the sub.

I looked around. The Duke was washing out his helmet. Sometimes that kid's too nice for his – or his helmet's – own good.

Most of the others were just stretching. The guy with the mustache – what was his name? Haru? – was sitting with his legs dangling over the side of the sub. Katara, Aang, Sokka, and Toph were talking. Longshot was – wait a minute, where was he?

"Everyone, listen up," the Chief called. Everyone turned to him. I glanced around one more time, but I still didn't see Longshot.

"The next time we resurface, it'll be on the beaches. So stay alert and fight smart. Now, break time's over. Back in the subs."

Everyone but Aang and Katara started going back in. I ran over to the Duke. "Have you seen Longshot?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No. Why?"

"'Cause I can't find him."

His eyes widened. "Maybe he stayed under."

"Why? He's even more claustrophobic than I am."

He shrugged. "I'll check." He ran back in.

I looked around again. Aang and Katara were the only others there. I groaned quietly and sat down, rubbing my forehead. The day we've been waiting for our whole lives – the day we finally get to take out the Fire Nation – and he goes missing!

I heard Aang and Katara talking.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is," she said, "I'm really proud of you."

"Everything's gonna be different after today, isn't it?" he asked.

She brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "Yes. It is."

"What if… What if I don't come back?"

"Aang. Don't say that. Of course you'll–"

He kissed her.

After a moment of looking startled, she closed her eyes.

They separated.

She blinked several times. Then she looked away, blushing.

Aang flew off. She turned and watched him.

Sokka's head popped out of the sub. "What are you doing? It's time to submerge!"

Even from behind, I could tell she was surprised. "What? Right. I'm on it."

She jumped off the sub, glided over to Appa, jumped on him, and bended an air bubble around his head. He dove.

I ran up to the hatch and climbed back in.

I sat down on the first bare spot I found, eyes wide. That was… unexpected, to say the least.

The Duke ran over. "He stayed down. Don't know why, but – Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

He looked me up and down, like he didn't believe me. Which he probably didn't.

"Well, then, come on!" he said. Okay, so maybe he did. I stood up and followed him back to Toph and Longshot.

"Feeling better, Toph?" I asked as I sat down, trying to forget what I saw.

"A little. At least I can see down here," she said.

Okay, that confused me a bit. "How?" I asked.

"I can sort of see through metal, but since it doesn't carry as many vibrations, it's harder."

"How can you see through it at all?"

"Well, metal is made from earth. There are still little pieces in it. Enough for me to bend it, and to sort of see through it."

"You can bend metal?" the Duke and I asked at the same time.

"Yep. The only known metalbender in the world."

"Awesome!" Once again, that was both of us.

I turned to Longshot to see why he wasn't saying – I'm sorry, "saying" – anything.

And he was just staring at me.

"What?" I asked.

He stood up, grabbed my arm, and dragged me away from them.

"What?" I asked.

(Okay, something's wrong.)

"What?"

(I mean with you.)

Oh, dear. Okay, I could trust Longshot, but… Neither of them knew I saw, and… "Nothing's wrong."

He crossed his arms.

"I'm serious!"

(Bee…)

I sighed. "I saw something. Something I wasn't supposed to."

He looked kind of concerned. (What?)

"Aang kissing Katara," I whispered quickly.

(Wait, what?)

I pointed up, as in to the sky, made my fingers look like lips touching, and pointed to Katara.

His eyes widened. (Okay, I knew he liked her, but…)

"No, he surprised her. He said, "What if I don't come back?" She started saying something, but he… cut her off."

(And neither of them knows you were there?)

I shook my head.

(Let me guess: Sokka has no idea.)

"I don't think so. Should I tell him?"

He shrugged. (Depends, I guess. Before you say anything, ask him… I don't know… if he likes Aang, or something. You'll think of something. But you might wanna wait for this to be over.)

"Yeah, that might be smart." I looked over at Sokka, standing next to the guy steering the sub… The Mechanist or something. The kid in the wheelchair's dad. He looked so… responsible.

This was gonna be a long invasion.