Author Notes: While the progression of the story roughly follows that of the show, many events are changed, arranged in a different order or omitted. This is fan fiction, after all.

Kuei was still his ridiculously jittery self, but listening to Aang calmed his nerves and brought the Avatar the ears of his top five generals, named the Council of Five. The royal astrologer trailed his fingers over arcane charts as Sokka, seated at the far end tapped his fingers on the mahogany table and Katara yawned during the military yakitey-yak that ensued after each revelation. Her brother was listening but waiting ever more impatiently to start a plan. Mitsu stood in a corner folding his arms, his staff leaning on the wall.

"So it's this day of the next month, my King," the astrologer crossed out a marking on the enlarged calendar.

"That doesn't give us enough time to plan too far ahead, and our troops are scattered over the country. We would need two months at least," General Long noted.

"Without Firebending we can strike at the right moment without getting too many casualties," Aang pointed to the date. "We can use regular army to deal with them."

"The eclipse only lasts about ten minutes, and the second it abates we'll be dead meat if our force isn't large enough. It's not like our navy can match theirs either, how are we going to even get there?" Feng, the tallest general folded his arms and scoffed.

"I met someone in the North Air Temple who can help us," Aang beamed. "He's pretty good with machines and stuff; I've already sent a Messenger Hawk to him and he'll meet us in Chameleon Bay, where you say the Southern Water Tribe warriors are?"

Sokka's chair dropped back to its normal position as soon as he heard the name of his tribe. "My dad is here in the Earth Kingdom?"

"A fleet of Water Tribe ships is moored in the secret Chameleon Bay naval base," General Long pointed to an unmarked section of the map, Earthbending a point on the southern tip. "They have set up tents and camps in the fashion of your people."

Sokka got up, his eyes swelling with anticipation. "I want to be there, then! But who will help the Earth King plan the invasion?"

The five generals looked at him for a few minutes until he realized that they were already doing it.

"I know you're good at planning, Sokka but you really want to see your dad," said Aang. "I'd come too, but I'm part of this big plan too. I'm going to meditate until I can understand the Avatar State better, as the Guru Pathik told me to. You can take Appa there, I'll send you off in a minute."

"I'll stay with Aang and the King, I know how much you want to see Dad," Katara hugged her brother.

"You…are…the…nicest sister ever!" Sokka excitedly kissed his sister on the cheek.

"Take it easy, big brother…" she smirked, "though you're right, I am."

Sokka bowed and left the table, his heart soaring with the prospect of meeting Hakoda his father, after what felt like eternity without them. He had left with other Water Tribe warriors to help out in the North, and Sokka had never heard from him since, being told to stay behind as he had not performed the coming of age ceremony. In reality Hakoda wanted to teach his son responsibility and more seriousness, and Sokka became a mature (if sarcastic) person in no short time, even hunting alone when the tribe needed food. The day they found Aang was the day he killed his first Fire Nation soldier, a deft shot to his neck with Hakoda' s inherited boomerang.

It dawned on the young Water Tribesman that this invasion would cost many lives on both sides, and it seemed that neither Earth nor Fire really cared about their citizenry in times of open war. Perhaps it was fate that the Water Tribe was also involved in this invasion- water might temper the flames and soften the earth, as Aang said to him once. Sokka hardened his heart though, as he still remembered that his mother was one of those very citizens killed by the Fire Nation. His father had cautioned him against blind revenge, but Sokka knew that if Aang didn't defeat the Fire Lord he would have to ,for his mother, whose face he couldn't even remember anymore.

"Hey, Mr. Sarcastic," Toph leaned on the walls of the corridor outside the chambers, "take care of yourself." She jumped into his arms for a hug, praying he wouldn't see her blush.

"I'm going to see my dad! This is so cool, Toph! Why don't you come with me?"

"Why would I want to meet your father? It's not like you haven' met mine, they're all the same, really."

"He's not like your dad, he's actually pretty great! A bit like me, really." Sokka stopped grandstanding when he saw that Toph was looking away from him. A single sob was all it took for his expression to change. He fumbled in his pack for a rag but settled for his finger.

"Sorry about that, I'm just a bit excited to see him. Don't cry," he said softly as Toph buried her crying face in his chest.

"You've been reading that journal of your father's haven't you?" he held her tight.

"I'm not an angry person, am I Sokka? I'm just…guilty," she used his real name for once.

"Guilty of what? It didn't take us too long to figure out that you didn't leave home with his blessing." Sokka looked down on the unusually strong Earthbending master.

"I miss them, I miss my parents!" she hung her head low. "I'm not like you and Katara; at least you two have each other and your dad. I'm not like that at all. I haven't even heard from them…"

"Well, we are running all over the place," Sokka wiped a tear from the blind girl's eye. "Come on, you haven't met my dad. He's really cool, and it'll get you out of here, at least." After initially taking her hand Sokka found himself dragged by the Earthbender as she excitedly hopped her way to Appa. He smiled to himself, as she was quite happy and for once she wasn't making fun of someone to be that way. He was even surprised that she was excited as Appa took off, usually not one for flying due to her loss of 'sight'. Aang ran out onto the galley waving with both hands, making Appa do a sharp turn round.

"Hey, why are we on the ground?" Toph turned her head from side to side.

"Hey Sokka, just thought I'd let you know, there are three girls here to see the King. It's the Kyoshi Warriors!"

"Suki!" Sokka nearly leaped off the saddle. But his father was more important to him in this moment and his fingers refused to let go of the leather saddle. "Tell her I'm going to the Bay, and well, you know…"

"Yeah, I get it. I'm happy they're here too; I'll tell them as soon as they've seen the King. Hey, isn't that Mitsu?" Aang pointed to a flying man in the distance, going westwards.

"We've all got somewhere to go, I guess," Toph folded her arms. "Let's go already, Sokka!"

Aang grunted again and after a farewell stroke by Aang, who sent a gust of wind to give them a boost. Toph held on to her bun as Appa sped towards the south, bypassing the Outer Wall quite easily and streaking down the shore of the Western Lake. The wind alone was exciting, though she did secretly like the sensation of not looking down- a blind person wouldn't have a fear of heights.

"Sokka, it's great that you've taken me along," she turned to him when Appa reached a steady speed.

"No need to cry, alright? You'll love the guys, even though they can be over macho at the time."

"I can handle macho, I think," Toph punched Sokka in the arm.

"Sorry about what I said about your dad, I was over excited."

"You're not totally wrong; it's just that it was my father. He isn't really a bad person, just overly protective of well, everything." Toph sat on the floor of the giant saddle.

"He's afraid that something might happen to you, even though he knows you're tough. My dad didn't let me or Katara out of his sight until he left the South Pole." Sokka mused. "After our mom died he made sure of that."

"I've always wondered," Toph seemed to look at her feet.

"Wondered what?"

"What my mother looks like."

"So do I, sometimes."

"You mean you don't know?"

Sokka pulled at his wolf tail and scratched the shaved sides. "I can't remember her face at all, since she died when I was like, three. Every time I see her face, I see Katara's face instead. Weird, huh? I've never told anyone that before. Not even Katara."

Toph smiled, "She's kind of mom to all of us, I guess. You tell her though, I'll kill you."

Sokka nodded and looked over Appa's head, noticing a patch of blue among the yellow rock. "There, Appa! Down there in the bay!"

Appa made a loud noise and began his descent from the clouds. The southern parts of the Earth Kingdom appeared below them, all but the cliffs covered in green shrubbery and yellowish clay. Distant sandstorms could be seen on the horizon where the Song Yi was while the sea rolled in waves to the south. The blue patch Sokka spotted was soon to be a grouping of light blue tents, with a larger structure in the north of the camp that looked like a large boat converted into a building. Appa landed with a thump, not expecting the icy floor that was glassy to the touch. Some men who were clearly Northern Tribe Waterbenders ran out to catch the sliding Sky Bison, bending the ice to stop him.

"Sorry about that!" one of them called out. "We were wondering when you would come to see the camp!"

Sokka took Toph's hand as they came off Appa, the Bison fitted with special shoes to stand in the ice. "Where's my dad, Hakoda?" Sokka held Toph's hand tight, as she couldn't see on the ice. To her it felt like a hollow mass, as if she was floating on air. She insisted on being barefoot though, as Sokka's grip was oddly comforting.

"He's in the headquarters over there," a Southerner embraced Sokka and pointed to the largest tent, which covered a similarly sized ship.

"What are Northerners doing here?"

"We volunteered to fight with the Earth Kingdom after the Avatar and you left the Poles. The Master was reluctant, but we felt that the Moon was willing us to come here," a Northerner pointed to the half-moon in the sky. Sokka sighed and let go of Toph's hand before taking it again.

"Are you alright, Sokka?"

"I'm fine, just trying not to remember someone." Yue seemed to wink at him from above, but he turned his gaze to the head boat. The Southern fleet wasn't that big, given the size of the tribe itself but that made it more close knit. Everyone knew Sokka of course, but was curious about his companion and the flying beast. The Northerners also greeted him warmly, though Sokka was much more interested in his own brethren, calling out people by name. He stood at the foot of the gangplank connecting the boat to the ground, the bridge dropping down.

"Dad!" Sokka instantly leapt up to the deck and hugged his father. "We haven't seen you in…in…" Sokka had no more words as Hakoda simply embraced his son tight. Except for the traditional wolf tail the two bore no resemblance to each other barring their deep blue eyes. Everyone in the Southern Water Tribe knew, however that they were perfectly father in son from their knack for inventing to the lame puns they both seemed to make. In fact Hakoda made a terrible pun right off the bat.

"Hey, you bring a girl home to see me, and you can't even get that right," Hakoda prodded his son.

"Well, she isn't exactly here to see you…oh I get it! Sokka laughed lightly. Toph huffed and scratched her head. This was Sokka Senior!

"Nice to meet you, Chief Hakoda," she waved. "I'm Toph Bei Fong, but people just call me Toph. And no, I'm not his girlfriend." Sokka caught the hesitance in her voice when saying that, though he didn't point it out. His thoughts went immediately to Suki, who oddly enough was in Ba Sing Se.

"This is Toph; she's the Avatar's Earthbending master. Katara's his Waterbending master. Cool huh dad?"

"Katara's a Waterbending master?" Hakoda opened the door and motioned for Toph to be brought in. "I looked long and hard for someone from our tribe to teach her up till the day I left with the men."

"Our Master Pakku trained her," one of the Northerners pulled down his facemask. "She was pretty good when she got to the North Pole, though. Pakku called her a true master when they left. We followed her example and came here."

"This Avatar, where is he from? I've only heard names, and those Northerners only came a week or so ago."

"He's an Airbender, believe it or not," Toph butted in, beginning to feel ignored on the meeting floor of these rather tall gentlemen.

"An Air bender? I didn't even know they existed anymore."

"He's the last one apart from that Sky Bison out there," Sokka mused. "Aang's also learning quickly, right now he's learning from Toph here and other Earthbending masters."

Hakoda's face turned grim. "If I'm right, the Avatar has to master all four elements. You wouldn't happen to know any friendly Firebenders, do you?"

"We met one old guy a while ago, but Aang couldn't control his fire and almost burned Katara. Luckily she learned how to heal with water after that. Aang's promised not to Firebend ever again."

"It can't be helped," Toph stood up. "He needs a Firebending teacher; it's just that one won't pop up right in front of him. He also needs his fur ball and his sarcasm teacher, so we had better get back so you can see your Suki," she said somewhat menacingly.

Hakoda got up and some men held out baskets of finger food which Toph smelled and knew were freshly baked.

"I thought you might like some home cooked treats," Hakoda took one meat rasher and swallowed it in one go. Sokka grabbed one whole basket and started chowing down. After one teasing touch Toph's taste buds hummed and she was fighting Sokka for the basket. She couldn't Earthbend, although the solid floor gave her perfect foot-vision.

"Always works," Hakoda grinned at his lieutenant. "Son, you should take me to see this Suki someday."

"Of course, dad!" Sokka was prying the stubborn Toph off the basket with his feet. "If I can get a hold of this basket first! Hey Toph, stop biting my arm!" he waved her away. "You'll love Suki, dad! She's an amazing girl, let me tell you that!" His thoughts fluttered for a moment and Toph found the basket an easy steal, although she felt it to be a pyrrhic victory as Sokka chanted the Kyoshi Warrior's name.

"Yeah, whatever …." She mumbled between gobbles.

The next few hours were more formal, with Sokka describing the plan to invade the Fire Nation on the day of the solar eclipse. Toph was impressed with the normally wise-cracking Sokka's serious tone of voice, detailing how he had left a suggestion for Katara to convey to the Earth King , namely that the Mechanist be involved as well as Appa himself donning armor. The eccentric inventor would be the wild card the Fire Nation might not expect, especially given that his inventions were largely for the Fire Nation, albeit unwillingly crafted. Sokka stood up, looking every inch the scrawny teenager that his father reluctantly left at home but with confident eyes Hakoda had not seen for a while.

"We'd be honored to take part! We didn't come to the Earth Kingdom for nothing," Hakoda raised his son's arm to cheers from the Water Tribesmen around him. "We'll ready our ships and pay back the Fire Nation!" More cheered, but Sokka waved the cheers down this time.

"The Fire Nation has better ships than either Earth or Water countries; my plan involves us stealing some to distract the Admirals of the fleet. The eclipse won't last long, and the Fire Nation has a lot of other weapons it can use like its ships. Dad…we might have to sacrifice our own boats to pull this off." Sokka looked nervously at his father, as Water Tribesmen considered boats to be their prize possession, particularly ocean going vessels.

"Whatever it takes," Hakoda replied grimly. There was no cheering this time, although all were in agreement.

"I wish I could help, but I'm no good at sea. I can't even swim!" Toph shrugged.

"You can do something for us, young lady," Hakoda walked towards her. "Can you make some narrow caves for us? If we're to trap the Fire Nation ships we'll need a fake dock, complete with…"

Sokka exhaled and let his father continue talking. That was Hakoda's habit, launching right into a plan before consulting people. But unlike Sokka, his father was a much better planner and more in tune with the warriors of the tribe. Toph was nodding and shuffling her feet, anxious to get started but wanting to hear more of Hakoda's plan.

"I'm in," she took the chief's hand. Hakoda nodded at his lieutenants and they exited the room, ostensibly to spread the news and to prepare. Fire Nation ships regularly passed by their hidden refuge; getting some would be easy enough. Hakoda hugged his son and left the room to the two younger warriors, who were left sitting next to each other.

"Your dad sounds like a really cool guy," Toph turned toward Sokka.

"He is," Sokka munched on the basket's content. "That's why he's the chief. Katara doesn't share that feeling much though," Sokka looked at the crumbs on his hand.

"How come?"

"I think she blames him for leaving us to come here. You think she wanted to come here? I know her better than that," Sokka swallowed some bread.

"And I thought Sugar Queen would be delighted to have a family reunion," Toph brushed some crumbs off her feet.

"We both love Dad, but I guess she just doesn't identify with him as much. You know how that feels, I suppose."

Toph reached in a pocket and pulled out her father's embossed journal. "I'm not so sure anymore, Sokka. The more I read this, the less different I feel we are. I'm not going back there, though. I know my place and it's with you guys."

"Toph," Sokka took the book out of her hand and ran his hand over it, "wherever we are, our parents are still our parents. Our home is still our home. I've gone right across the world to the North Pole, but home is with Gran-Gran and the South." Toph felt Sokka's gloved hand come over hers as he handed the book back. She heard his heart beat a little slower, as if he was sad when talking about home. "I'm sure your parents just want you to be home for the right reasons, and they'll welcome you back like you never left," he put his arm round her shoulder.

"Thanks, Sokka," Toph wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. He was warm to the touch, though his heartbeat remained the same. "I've always wanted to send them a letter, but I need someone to write it."

"When we get back we can borrow Mitsu's Messenger Hawk. Right now you need to start doing what my dad asked."