There was a tense atmosphere in the fire lord's chamber. The meeting with the Imperium happened 3 days ago and he had not slept since. He knew there was so much to do, so much to fix. Throughout the process he kept thinking about weather he did the right thing. Should he of declined their demands, should he of declared war? Now all he can do is try and fix the problem at hand.

The first thing to do was make sure the army was still in any kind of form to beat back the invaders. This was more difficult then he first thought due to the limitations forced on him and the army. The fire nation had a limit on the size of its army and the relationship between the other nations were still fragile. When the war comes he knew he would need all the help he could get.

Maybe Mai really was helpful.

The earth king's royal palace was a magnificent sight to behold. The outside was completely smooth without a single imperfection. The inside was just as beautiful with marble covering the floor, clean enough to see your own reflection. Toph walked through indifferent to the amazing architecture. she did know that the building was a perfect creation but it didn't matter to her. It just wasn't important. The king sat at the other end of the room with two of the flying boars, the ones that had stayed behind to guard their king.

'Toph it is good to see you back safely, but where are the other guards?' the king asked. He was right and the people before him were the only ones left.

'The negotiations went wrong,' Toph replied. 'They made demands but they were lying and we thought them off.

'This is very bad news. If they start a war it could be very costly and they must be powerful to kill some of your personal soldiers. At least we won showing that we are still a dangerous foe. Who attacked first?'

Toph answered hesitantly. 'It was Zuko. When he found out they were lying he attacked them.' He was still an old friend and she didn't want him to get in trouble.

'I think that can work in our advantage. If this opponent is too powerful we can use the fire-nation as a scapegoat and survive without any fighting.' He said with complete seriousness.

'We can't do that!' Toph lashed out. 'We can't let them be destroyed like that! There are innocent people an-'

'I think you forget yourself Bei Fong. The fate of the glories earth kingdom is the largest priority. we will help the fire nation but not because of chivalry but for self preservation. We will not suffer for that fool Zuko's mistake!' He sighed and caught his breath. 'If this does become a full on war we need help. We need the avatar.'

'Lord, he hasn't been seen for years,' answered Toph.

'I am aware of that but I also know but you were once his friend. Find him and get him to support us.'

'I don't know if I can do that. What if something happens while I am gone?' She asked trying to think of an excuse to stay.

'Then I will call for you. Now go to general Izzac and tell him all you know about their military and tactics. And after that go find the avatar. Use anything at your disposal. He must be found.'

Toph left along with two of her guards Jin and Haru. they walked away unsure of how it would play out and how the world would change. All they knew is that things were going to get worse.

The cloaked man left the palace shortly after Toph did. After walking for several minutes through catacombs and tunnels. If you were to get lost within then you would never escape. At the end of the tunnels was a single wooden door. Within was a large pool of water with a small raft floating on top. A man in a robe sat on top in deep thought.

'lord, tensions are high and we can finally begin.'

'Perfect,' Long Feng replied

By the emperor she is powerful I thought. I always knew she was dangerous. Anyone trained by the assaoruim is, it was their duty. but I have to wonder. The worst thing is that she seams unstable. I don't think its worth having here around anymore, she is more use as a ground soldiers, or an agent. She only has to protect me when I go to the surface, I'm safe up here. Hopefully.

I arrive at the meeting hall with two commissioners and a sergeant of one of my squads. He was smart and one day might become a full fledged commander. But this was either going to be a quick skirmish or a massacre. Either way it wasn't worth risking anyone too important.

'Welcome to all of you. We are going to assault this island here called Diebe. We are going to capture as many of them as we can. I suggest that we surround the village from the north and as we attack they will be stuck between us and the sea,' they take everything in.

'Commander what kind of struggle are we expecting? The more powerful they are the less likely we'll be able to capture them unharmed or at all,' the sergeant replied. He really is smart.

'Well luckily the mechanicuim has come through for us. You will be given special guns which will be able to incapacitate them but not kill them. They wont have guns but they will probably have a large proportion of psykers. That is why I need you two.' I say pointing at the commissioners. While I dislike them I can see that there methods are effective. 'You two will be responsible for moral and everyone who retreats. '

'Yes sir!' They say with true vigor.

'Good to hear. Attack with as much force as you can and make sure no one escapes. I don't want any others on the planet finding out about this mission.'

The water tribe outcast phoenix kept on going with his journey unaware of what had been going on in the rest of the world and how he would play one of the most important roles within it. After the boat trip through the icy waters and deadly storms he arrived at the port of the town he was trying to reach. The town of Diebe, this is where he could find his next part of mystery behind his real parents.

The guardsmen were nearly ready. They had their armour, guns and equipment ready, waiting for the order to attack. 200 soldiers and 5 tanks were about to ponce on the unsuspecting town. They would never survive.

Back on the island phoenix was asking about his parents when an old man overheard him. 'Come over here I believe I can help you,' he said.

'You can? Do you know them?' Phoenix asked, finally getting hopeful.

'Yes I can and I will happily do so. You need to talk to Iroh, he lives in the earth kingdom. He will be easy to find.'

'Can't you tell me anything about them?' He replied slightly disappointed.

'Young man you were lucky enough to find me in the first place don't sound so disappointed. I met Iroh once and we became good friends. I also met your mother.'

'You did?' He said and his face glowed.

'Yes and now I hear that she lives at the north pole. However you need to talk to Iroh first. Something happened to her and he is one of the only ones who knows. Before you meet her you need to find out what happened.'

'Did you ever find out?' Phoenix asked inquisitively.

'No I was never close enough.' Those were his last words.

The first expolsive ripped one of the houses apart. each splinter the size of knives, each claiming a victim. the imperial guards men attacked from all sides and for a while the defenders had no idea what to do. they were failing left and right and the others got scared. there wasn't a military force in the town in the first place. the citizens could see a few people fighting and even groups of earth benders fighting back but that all changed when they saw the tanks.

The tanks were monstrous beings, very few of the citizens had seen fire-nation tanks and even they were mild by comparison. They were twice the size and several times as strong. They rolled through the houses crushing anything underneath. People ran away just from the sight of them. How could they fight such an opponent?

Phoenix had no idea what to do. The attack was so sudden, so deadly he just didn't no what to do. 'Help us please!' A woman cried at him and he snapped out of the shock. He called over to 3 earth benders hiding behind a house.

'You 3 over here!' They came over to him. 'We need to get out of here but it looks like they have surrounded. I think we should attack their left flank and use all our strength to break through at one point, understand?' they nodded, Phoenix's charisma making sure they followed him.

'Everyone on me!' cried Phoenix and several people flocked to him. 'Benders on the outside, weaker people in the middle. we're going to charge their flank and then make a run for the dock on the other side of the island. Phoenix was taking charge and if he wasn't in danger he would be enjoying it. He would think more about it after he got out.

At first it looked like they could get out. By concentrating all their efforts on one side they faced the least resistance. The earth benders could easily take out the imperial guards men one on one. By the time they reached the outer limits they had about 50 people in their group. They almost escaped.

'What do you mean they are escaping?' said the sergeant in charge of the attack.

'They've grouped together and are attacking the left flank. There are to many of them and they are to powerful,' replied his comm officer.

'Damn it. Tell all soldiers from groups 2, 3 and 4 to surround them but only fire if they attack. We might be able to get this lot without casualties. I will not lose to these savages!' he left quickly straight to the battlefield.

They were trapped. They were quickly surrounded by guardsmen, 20 on each side. Phoenix and the earth benders were ready knowing that this was the last hurdle before they broke out of the blockade. Phoenix addressed the people in his group to motivate them for the fight which was bout to begin. 'Today we might die but know this, if we give up now after we fall they will forget we exist and go one with their lives. Lets give them something to remember us by!' They cheered and attacked with all the vigor in their hearts.

The sergeant was in place along with the rest of his soldiers and had them surrounded. He was surprised they they even tried to fight back. He would show them the true might of the imperial guard. 'fire!'

The first group of earth benders fell to the ground immediately. A couple managed to throw rocks but not enough to make a difference. After the next two volleys nearly all of them fell, only one was still standing. It was Phoenix with darts all over his body. His refusal to fall like the rest amused the sergeant. 'Stand down I'll deal with him.' If I beat this person unarmed single handed then it'll boast moral and they'll respect me even more. It should also be a lot of fun.

Phoenix brushed the darts off his body. Maybe it was luck or determination or something else entirely but even he didn't know why he wasn't on the floor. He saw one of the soldiers remove his weapons and walk up to him. He had a smug grin. He knew that this battle was hopeless but at least he could humiliate their commander.

They both took up a fighting position 3 meters away from each other. The guardsmen started to chant their leaders name and cheer wildly. They knew they had won no mattered what happened next. The sergeant attack first and Phoenix blocked it with his arm. He grunted in pain and realized the other guy was stronger but he was faster. He dodged the next hit and the one after that. He then took his chance and punched him straight in the gut, he didn't flinch and Phoenix then got knocked down to the floor with a powerful uppercut. Before he could get up he got kicked in the face and was knocked out. He made a valiant effort but these were the imperial guard. He never stood a chance.

authors note:

Sorry for the long wait, I would give an excuse but it's just laziness but I will try to do more. Reviews are really helpfull because my work can definitely be better and you can help with that. Thanks to all of you that have kept reading anyway.