The small army of people gathered on the beach to hear the plan. Lu Ten sat on the edge of the people up front, next to Toph. He heard Sokka gulp as he clutched his maps tightly to his chest. Hakoda whispered words of comfort to him. He took a deep breath and then made his way onto the earth stage that Toph had created.
"Good morning, everyone!" he began, but then tripped with a shout of surprise. His papers flew from his hands and scattered on the ground. He scrambled to pick everything up as he got back on his feet. "So…as you know, today we're invading the Fire Nation. I mean, I know you know that, because otherwise, why else would you be here?"
With an uncomfortable laugh, he began putting the papers up on a wall to explain the plan. But the first one was wrong and he pointed to nothing when he described taking the palace. Lu Ten winced watching it. He knew Sokka would be kicking himself later as he flipped through maps to get everything right. The crowd seemed confused as Sokka sputtered through the plan. When he started over, he really started from the beginning, with Katara and his discovery of Aang. Hakoda shook his head before relieving his son.
"Let me just clarify a few points for everyone," Hakoda began. "Today is the Day of Black Sun, and I want to thank you all for your self-sacrifice and your courage. There are two steps to the invasion, a naval stage, and then a land stage. To gain sea access to the Fire Nation capital, we have to get past our first major obstacle here: the Great Gates of Azulon." He flipped the page. "Next, we hit the land, and we hit hard. We must fight past their battlements and secure the Plaza Tower. Once we do that, we come to the royal palace. At that point, the eclipse will begin."
"Excuse me," the Boulder said, raising his hand. "The Boulder is confused. Isn't the point to invade during the eclipse when the fire benders are powerless?"
"The eclipse only lasts eight minutes," Hakoda explained. "Not enough time for the whole invasion. And the royal palace is heavily guarded by fire benders. So that's where we'll need the eclipse advantage the most. When this is finished, the Avatar will have defeated the Fire Lord, we will have control of the Fire Nation capital, and this war will be over!"
The words inspired the troops. Everyone cheered, but Lu Ten noticed Sokka looking embarrassed and dejected in the midst of it all.
Then, everyone was preparing for the fight of their lives. Katara was gathering as much water as she could. Toph tugged on gauntlets with some other earth benders. Lu Ten actually had Fire Nation armor. He felt strange putting it on. Like it never truly belonged to him. This was no longer who he was. His life as a Fire Nation prince seemed to be someone else entirely, like a character from a story he read. But it was himself he was facing.
"It seems odd we should have someone from the Fire Nation storming the gates with us," came the voice of Hakoda.
Lu Ten turned to face him. "Yeah. Honestly, it was so long ago, I hope I'm still right about everything."
"What did you tell the kids to convince them to trust you?" Hakoda asked, and Lu Ten appreciated the straightforwardness of the question. "If you were a Fire Nation noble, you had to have a very good reason to leave that life."
"It was a good reason," Lu Ten said. "I fell in love."
"Ah," Hakoda returned. "Well, that is compelling."
"Speaking of love, Chief Hakoda," Lu Ten continued. "Has Ursa not returned to you?"
Hakoda's eyes went wide. "How do you know Ursa?"
"Ursa and I go way back," Lu Ten said. "But we met up in Ba Sing Se. She told me about her time with you. I guessed that you were lovers. I thought that she would be with you now."
Hakoda shook his head. "I haven't seen Ursa since she went to Ba Sing Se. I don't know what happened to her."
Lu Ten could not say he was shocked. If Ursa had tried to confront Azula, it probably did not go well. He didn't know what to say now, but he could see how worried Hakoda was.
"I don't know what happened to her once we split up," Lu Ten said. "But I know she's strong. I'm sure she's okay."
"I hope so," Hakoda said. "And please, don't say anything about my relationship with her to my children. They lost their mother years ago, but this…it would be difficult for them to accept, especially for Katara."
"Sure," Lu Ten agreed. "Now, let's go win this war. We both have people who are counting on us."
Hakoda smiled, and together they went to the beach. Everyone loaded onto the ships and set out for the Fire Nation capital. They quickly came upon their first obstacle.
"There they are," said Bato. "The Great Gates of Azulon."
"I don't see any gates," Karata said.
"It's not what you think," Lu Ten said. "The Gates of Azulon are made of fire. They appear only when someone gets close enough to trigger them. We should get to the submarines soon."
Katara and the other water benders created a fog cover just to be safe. Then the sound of a warning bell rang out, loud and startling. The ropes emerged from the water and were set alight. Hakoda instructed everyone to get below deck. Lu Ten ran down with the others and boarded the submarines Sokka had designed. They used water bending to move and they passed beneath the Gates of Azulon, right under the noses of the guards. The mechanist explained that there was limited oxygen in the subs, and they would have to re-surface before they reached the beach.
When they did so, Lu Ten really felt his nerves growing. At least if he were captured here, no one would know about his wife and daughter. If Zuko was going to reveal him, he would have done it in Ba Sing Se. He guessed that Zuko stayed quiet because Lu Ten was a threat to his spot on the throne, but Zuko didn't really have it in him to kill. Lu Ten thanked the spirits for this. He then looked over at the kids. Aang was now going off on his own to face the Fire Lord, while the rest of the forces assaulted the beach. He embraced his friends before Hakoda ordered everyone back in the subs. Katara and Aang lingered outside.
Lu Ten stood in the submarine and looked at his own hands. They were trembling. As the eclipse drew nearer, he felt his power draining a bit. He just hoped he could still be useful while the eclipse was in full effect. He also hoped no one in the Fire Nation capital would recognize him.
They submerged again and were finally in sight of the beach. As they came upon the gate, another bell rang out, and spears fired at the subs from above. Lu Ten warned them about this defense, so the water benders anticipated and dodged accordingly. One of the subs narrowly escaped getting dragged out by the chains, but Katara cut them free to continue to the beach. Lu Ten also told them about the wall in place at the gate, and where there were weak points for them to fire at. They launched torpedoes to break through the defenses and sailed smoothly through.
Lu Ten lined up among the Water Tribe warriors as they came upon the beach. The earth benders were in the tanks and they were going to lead the charge and protect the warriors that were exposed. The second they emerged from the water, they were bombarded with ammunition from the Fire Nation guards. The tanks went out, and Lu Ten inhaled deeply, drawing on every ounce of strength he still had. He thought briefly of Cho and Malina, and remembered they were the reason he was where he was. Then, he surged forward.
Explosions went off on every side of them. The earth benders hurled rocks toward the guard towers to thwart the bombs, with varying effectiveness. The Fire Nation had tanks of their own, but they were smaller. They had one barrel from which to shoot flames. The water benders created shields around the warriors. Then the swamp bender, with his seaweed creation, began plucking the Fire Nation tanks off the shore or smashing them to the side.
Hakoda, Sokka, Lu Ten, and a few more soldiers ran into some Fire Nation guards. Sokka quickly stole one of the rhinos and Hakoda dodged a bit of fire on the ground. Lu Ten saw two more Fire Nation soldiers going for Hakoda's back. They must have thought he was on their side, for when he first approached, they did not attack him. Then he shot two fists of fire at them in Hakoda's defense. They were so surprised, they were both struck and went to the ground. Hakoda nodded in thanks and then mounted behind Sokka on the rhino. Then the chief and his children took Appa to take out the battlements and stop the onslaught their side was facing.
Meanwhile, Lu Ten was locked in fierce combat with the rest of the invaders. As the Water Tribe family took out the battlements, it became easier, but the Fire Nation soldiers were still strong. Lu Ten saw the surprise on each face as the Fire Nation soldiers realized he was with the opposition, but he used this to his advantage and caught them off guard. On soldier, however, came charging at Lu Ten.
"Traitor!" he shouted as he ran.
Lu Ten reacted quickly, and fired several shots at once. The soldier dodged them all and returned fire just as rapidly. Lu Ten put up a shield and backed up, but did not lose his stance. They went back and forth this way, for this soldier was more skilled than the rest. He had to be a commander of some sort. Lu Ten felt sweat on his neck from the effort of holding off this one, and in his peripheral vision, he saw Sokka returning to them on Appa. He needed to end this quickly. Summoning his strength, he used a technique he almost thought he had forgotten, and fired lightning straight at the soldier. This put an end to their fight.
Inwardly, Lu Ten apologized to the man, and then retreated to hear Sokka. He had no idea what had happened to Hakoda and Katara, but he assumed they were okay, since Sokka didn't seem worried. He told them to get behind the tanks, which were put into a wedge shape. They were going to take the tower now.
They quickly pushed through the defenses, who were useless against the earth bender tanks. When they got through the wall and in sight of the volcano, it was as though they had already won.
"The Fire Nation is falling back!" Tyro cried excited.
"Sokka, we're on our way to victory!" Bato agreed.
Sokka looked up at the volcano. Lu Ten did as well. Something did not feel right. This was going too smoothly, and it seemed that the Fire Nation had left its capital scarcely defended. They were well on their way to the palace and the eclipse had not even started. Lu Ten's stomach lurched with unease. Why was this going so well?