I'm back! And here's the next chapter! They start to pack up and go towards the battlefield, with only one chapter left before the Scarlet Solstice!! Hooray!! And seriously, did you guys all leave? Come back! I miss you, and if you're bored, it gets so much better! Please, review if you read it!! Thanks so much, and here we go!

The whole day, Aang had been meeting with Earth Kingdom Generals and leaders of the small villages from around that area that came to fight. It was late at night, again, and he trudged through the snow back to his tent. And again Katara was waiting up for him.

The Avatar practically fell into bed, he was so exhausted. Katara softly smiled at her husband, and she crawled in next to him. She put her hand on his chest and curled up into the crook of his shoulder and neck. "Don't worry. It'll soon be over," she whispered.

He looked at Katara and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her head and sighed. "Thank you. You are my support and my life. I can't count how many times you save me. I love you."

"I love you too, Aang. Goodnight."

They fell asleep quickly and drifted into peace.

Before dawn, Aang awoke to a large thump on the ground. He pulled on his parka and walked out the door. And in the midst of the fading darkness, he saw the giant polar eagle's passengers step off. He smiled and ran to them. "Ara! Zuko!" he cried.

The two turned around and saw Aang running for them, and Ara dropped her things and ran to her father. She had only been gone for a few days, but it felt like an eternity for her. They embrace hard, and she sighed. She was finally home again.

Father and daughter both walked to Zuko and helped him with the supplies. "Glad to see you're okay," Aang said. "though you look a little stiff."

"Yeah, I never really felt comfortable flying, especially with that daredevil," he nodded and smiled to Ara, and put his hand on Aang's shoulder. "you, on the other hand, look exhausted."

"War business; it's keeping me up."

"We need you though, so rest up."

Aang smiled as he and Zuko walked to camp while Ara took care of Warrior. Before they went to the war tent, Zuko stopped his friend. "Hold on, there's something I need to do first." He turned and walked to Mai's tent.

Aang walked into the war tent and sat down, thinking of the war, waiting for Zuko to come back to tell of Iroh's news.

Zuko quietly entered Mai's and Ty Lee's tent. Ty Lee woke up and gasped, and seeing that Zuko was back, she gave a big smile. He immediately put a finger to his lips, and she put her head back down on the pillow but watched through half closed eyes as Zuko sat on Mai's bed.

He studied her sleeping form. She looked calm and peaceful, and beautiful. Softly he leaned over and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, then her lips. "I love you," he whispered, got up, and crept back outside to go to the war tent.

Aang had already wakened the generals, leaders, and Hakoda, who hugged Zuko hard when he walked in. Zuko sat down and began his report:

"Okay; my uncle reported to Ozai as you said, Hakoda, and he will not surrender. So we are going to go ahead with the plan, with all troops beside the ones here will meet us at the rendezvous point we mapped out. For now, Hakoda, Aang, and the rest of us will figure out our strategies, but we must get to work on armor, weapons, and machinery. We are set to leave in 3 weeks. Everyone who can fight must go. And my father still thinks I'm dead. So that's good news for me."

Everyone chuckled. Zuko stood up. "We prepare for the last stand! Against Ozai! Against the Scarlet Solstice!"

The leaders cheered. Aang, Zuko, and Sokka walked out together, and Toph, Katara, and Mai were all waiting for them. Katara and Toph each embraced their own while they looked on as Mai smiled uncontrollably and Zuko ran to her. He caught her in a solid, warm hug, and she embraced him back. His lips then found hers, and they kissed deeply and passionately until he knocked her over into the snow. But they didn't care. He furiously kissed her, and she to him.

"Okay, okay," she breathed, after they had finally parted but they didn't get up. "I was so worried about you. You never escaped my mind."

"I'm okay," he sighed. He wrapped her in a hug. "I'm here. But there's a lot to talk about. Let's take a walk." He grabbed her hand, pulled her up, and winked at Aang. Perfect timing, he mouthed, and Aang knew exactly what Zuko was going to do.

Aang pulled Katara aside and she was just about to ask him what that was all about when she heard a cry.

"Mom!"

She turned around just in time to see Ara jump into her arms. "I missed you, mom," she said. Katara closed her eyes as she hugged her daughter. "I missed you too. It's not as fun without you here. But did you have fun? Isn't Uncle Iroh nice?"

"Yeah, he is. And I did have fun. But I am tired."

"Go get some rest," Aang said. He smiled. "You're gonna need it for all of the work we start today."

Zuko and Mai walked towards the ocean, hands intertwined, neither of them speaking. But Zuko stopped walking, and he knew that it was now or never. "Mai," he started, looking into her eyes. "I don't know where to begin. It started 15 years ago, but now, I don't know what to do."

"What do you mean?"

"Zuko put his head in his hands and groaned. "Mai, I'm sorry it took me this long to realize that I love you, truly, sincerely, and with all of my heart, love you, and that I want to spend the rest of my life with you." He smiled, bent down on one knee in the snow. "Mai, I love you. Will you marry me?"

Her excitement grew, she felt blush rising in her cheeks, and her heart sped up. She smiled. "Yes, yes, yes!" she cried, and she lunged at him, knocking him off of his feet. They kissed over and over, in a love that couldn't be stopped. Finally they parted. "I thought you'd never ask," she said with a smile. She brushed her lips with his once more, making his heart skip a beat, and then she got off him. But they didn't get up out of the snow—just yet.

"I needed to know if you chose me," he whispered.

"Why?"

"Uncle asked me to be Firelord when he's gone."

"Zuko, that's amazing!"

"The problem is, I don't want to be. I'm afraid, Mai. I don't want to lose you. I don't want to lose everything I hold dear here, too."

Mai nodded, but smiled, and understanding filled her eyes. "Whatever you choose, I will be at your side. Always. No matter what." She kissed him again. "I love you, Zuko. You. And I will follow you and support you and love you with all that I have; my heart and my love is yours."

3 WEEKS LATER

More and more soldiers and benders kept arriving each day, while everyone chipped in to make armor, weapons, and transportation. The polar eagles and Appa were fitted with new protective armor, and the leaders all had different armor made, each from their own nation. Ara madder her own, and each leader made their own based on what they wanted. But today it wasn't armor. It was the ships.

The ships that came from the Earth Kingdom were loaded with provisions and stock, while many helped build Water Tribe ships filled with barrels. The barrels were to be filled with water and brought to the battlefield for the waterbenders.

Everyone was working hard, and they didn't stop until late into the night. The night shift workers then took over, while the leaders once again met. And this time, Ara joined them. She watched with open eyes and ears and listened as her grandfather shushed everyone.

Aang stood up. "We have all done a great job," he started. "We have all pulled together and made our work become faster, stronger, and more efficient. Now all we can do is leave." He looked at the generals. "Spread the word. We leave at dawn."

Everyone left the war tent a while later, and as Ara prepared to leave, Aang stopped her. "Ara, wait!"

She turned around. "Yeah, dad?"

"Come here. I have a special job for you tomorrow morning."

An hour later, at midnight, Zuko crashed, face first, onto his bed. The shooting pain in his chest came, but he ignored it. He rolled over and faced the wall of his tent. He was exhausted, and still hurt, and happy, mad, confused, nervous, and every other emotion all at once. But he let his eyelids droop.

Aang and Katara both nervously stared at the ceiling for an hour, but then they shut their eyes and were snoring in a minute.

Sokka and Toph were thinking about each other. They fell asleep dreaming.

Mai was dreaming about Zuko.

Ty Lee was dreaming about the circus.

Appa dreamt about moonpeaches.

Momo dreamt about apples.

Ara was lying awake, listening to the foxcrickets' chirps in the night. She eventually drifted off to sleep, dreaming of the days to come.

But all of them still had the thought of war on their minds.

A few hours before dawn, Ara awoke to the yelling of orders and people packing up camp. She quickly got up, got dressed, grabbed her armor and went to fetch Warrior.

Everyone got up and started loading what things they needed onto the ships, eagles, Appa, and the other transports. Ara didn't even recognize the tribe as her home anymore with all of the people yelling and rushing to pack.

She walked to Warrior's stall, and the giant bird looked at her with confusion about all of the yelling and noise. She stroked him until he was calm, then fetched his beautiful armor that Sokka made for him, and she began to strap him up.

After twenty minutes, she stepped back to look over her work, and Warrior stood up proudly. The armor was a beautiful vivid blue-grey that covered his entire body except his tail and his wing feathers, so he could still fly. The armor on his back had a smooth white saddle welded into it. And the headpiece was beautiful. It was grey, with the outline of his arrow on his head in blue. He was the only eagle born with the grey feathers of the arrows all down his wings and on the crown of his head. His eyes were clearly visible, and the helmet stopped after his eyes. His beak was free to move.

"You look ready and proud, Warrior," she said. The eagle nuzzled her. She led him out and tied him to her tent.

Aang was getting the troops loaded on every ship they had. Katara had started pulling down all of the tents and packing them. Sokka was the weapons director, and he was checking each parcel and box as it was loaded onto each ship. Toph was packing essentials. Zuko was looking over maps and strategies. And Hakoda oversaw it all.

Finally, it was time. The bugle was called for everyone to get onto the ships. People started filling in in lines, while some of the Water Tribe riders mounted their eagles.

Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, Mai, Ty Lee, and Momo all got on Appa. Ara got on Warrior. They were all ready to go. But they were to be the last to leave.

As the last ship pulled out of port, and all of the polar eagles except Warrior left, Appa and Warrior took to the sky, but stayed over the land. "What are we doing?" Sokka yelled to Aang.

"You'll see," he yelled back as Appa circled one more time.

"Ara!" Aang yelled. "Get ready!" Ara nodded to her father and waited for the signal.

"Go!" he yelled, and Ara jumped off of the eagle's back, falling far to the ocean below.

Zuko watched with horror. "Are you crazy, Aang? She's going to get herself killed!"

"Zuko, just watch!"

They all looked to the falling form, but she didn't hit the water's surface. She formed an air scooter and rode it over the surface. While she kept the air scooter running, she suddenly curved to the right, so she was parallel with the land, and she raised one hand as she turned. Instantly, a wall of water 300 feet high began to form, and it froze at the desired height she wanted. She continued to freeze the water wall, and she finally finished it. It circled the whole harbor and land, and was about a half mile long. It blocked the entrance of the harbor.

Ara then airbended herself back onto Warrior, and now it was Aang's turn. He jumped down from Appa, made himself an air scooter, jumped on, and then hit the water. He then bent a water cyclone and, standing on it, began to bend carvings into the wall. It took ten minutes, but then he called for Katara. She then jumped off Appa, bent her own water cyclone, and riding it, took the black paint she had mixed with her water in her pouch, and bent it into the carvings, so they stood out. Aang went after her, and, blowing an airbender's breath, froze the paint so it wouldn't smear. He and Katara then jumped back onto the waiting Appa, and Ara flew Warrior alongside the wall. She bent more water from her pouch over the writing, protecting it and making the wall one layer again. They all looked back at their work as they followed the ships and other polar eagles, and now Sokka and Zuko saw that it was a giant message that read:

All armies and warriors to the Earth Kingdom battlefield. We meet at the Southern Harbor. The Water Tribe has left.

Zuko and Sokka nodded. "Good idea," Sokka yelled to Aang. Warrior and Appa took off to catch up with the rest of the group.

So they're on their way! I hope you guys liked the giant sign! Thanks for everything, and please read and review! Please come back!! Waaaaaaaaaaaaa!!

Iroh: I can see you're upset. Would you like some tea?

Me: I guess I have no choice anymore. (Gulp)

Iroh: Just try this type…you'll like it.

Me: (sips) Mmm… this is good! What type is it?

Iroh: (blushes) umm…

Me (freaking out): YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU GAVE ME??

Iroh: Oh, yeah, it's jasmine.

Me: Oh. I NEED MY READERS BACK!!

But thanks to all of you guys who do review, please stay with me!

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