34
The battle raged on between the fire benders and the invasion force. The tanks had been set up as something of a barrier to protect the warriors and the benders. Inside, they were able to defend against the brunt of the fire ball attacks that were being fired at them, and fire back with earth bending, or Kotaro's lightning bending. He fired off a particularly powerful bolt at one of the catapults, setting its wooden workings on fire. Sokka, who was near him at the time it fired, grimaced at the rumble that came from it. He looked up when he saw someone coming through the doors of the tower they had taken, and saw Katara walking with Hakoda leaning on her shoulder.
"Dad!" Sokka cried happily, running over to him, "You're back on your feet!"
"Thanks to your sister," Hakoda said, "I'm in no shape to fight, but maybe there's some way I can help." Katara carefully helped him to sit down.
"Everything's going smoothly," Sokka said, "And the eclipse hasn't even kicked in yet."
"Let's hope our luck holds out." Hakoda said.
Katara, staring off at the sky, walked forward a few steps. Kotaro looked at her oddly.
"You okay, Katara? You seem distracted." He said.
"Yeah… is that- is that Aang?" She asked.
"What?" Sokka asked in shock. Everyone looked up to see that Aang was, indeed, flying over the battlefield in his glider, easily maneuvering around the flying fireballs and boulders to get to them. "Please tell me you're here because the Fire Lord turned out to be a big wimp and you didn't even need the eclipse to take him down."
"He wasn't home." Aang said, "No one was. The entire palace city is abandoned."
Kotaro's eyes widened in realization, "They knew."
Aang hung his head, "It's over. The Fire Lord is probably long gone, far away on some remote island where he'll be safe during the eclipse."
"No." Sokka said, "My instincts tell me he wouldn't go too far. He would have a secret bunker, somewhere he could go and be safe during a siege, but still be close enough to lead his nation."
"If it's an underground secret bunker we're looking for," Toph began, having listened in on every word that was said, "I'm just the girl to find it."
"The mechanist gave me this timing device," Sokka said, pulling out a small octagonal object, "It looks like we've got ten minutes until the full eclipse. Ten minutes to find the Fire Lord."
"We can still do this." Aang said, a hopeful smile on his face, "We can still win the day."
"Wait." Katara said, "If they knew we were coming, it could all be a trap. Maybe we should use the time we have left to make sure we all get out of here safely."
"Everyone who's here today came ready to risk everything for this mission." Hakoda said, "They know what's at stake. If there's still a chance, and there's still hope, I think they would want Aang to go for it." Sokka turned to Aang.
"What do you think?" He asked, "You're the one that has to face the Fire Lord. Whatever you decide, I'm with you."
Aang thought for a moment, and then stood up, looking back at the volcano, "I've got to try."
"I'll go with you." Kotaro said, "If Toph has any trouble figuring out who's who, my nose should be able to tell the difference." Sokka nodded.
"Then let's go." He said, they all got on Appa, and they flew up high, heading towards the volcano, but not to the city within. They landed on the side. Toph was the first one down, feeling the vibrations of the ground beneath her to get a feel for where everything was.
"Do you feel anything down there?" Aang asked.
"Yep. There are natural tunnels crisscrossing through the inside of the volcano." Toph said.
"Anything else?" Sokka asked, "Is there a structure somewhere?" Toph moved and jammed her fingers into the ground, feeling the vibrations deeper inside.
"There's something big, dense, and made of metal deep in the heart of the volcano." Toph said.
"Sounds like a secret bunker to me." Kotaro said. Toph stood up and made a tunnel to let them travel into the volcano. Aang turned to Appa and Momo, who looked at him curiously.
"Stay safe. We'll be back soon." Aang promised before following Toph, Sokka, and Kotaro underground. Toph knelt down, feeling the natural floor underneath her, then got up and ran.
"This way! That one's a dead end!" She said, the others quickly followed her.
"What would we do without you?" Sokka asked happily as he ran.
"Perish in burning hot magma." Toph said as they passed by an area where lava was slowly falling down into a small vein of magma that popped out of the volcano walls.
"Yeah, pretty much." Sokka said, jumping back against the wall when he saw it. Kotaro grimaced and held his nose as they went further in, smelling the strong scent of burning rock and sulfur all throughout the volcano. As they kept going, they came to a place where the ground was brittle, and unstable, holes in the ground were allowing lava to come spewing up, like a burning geyser.
"The tunnel continues on the other side," Toph said, "And it leads right to the bunker."
"We'll have to be fast, but careful." Sokka said, as he stepped out onto the ground, a pillar of lava shot up, and he fell back with a surprised yelp. Aang quickly used his air bending to cool the lava, making it solid and unable to move.
"How is that careful?" He asked Sokka.
"I was wrong," Sokka said, standing up, "We need to be fast, careful, and lucky." They all ran together, carefully avoiding the places where lava was shooting upwards into the air as they ran. On the other side, the ground continued on only for a few feet. It was a cliff, and below them was a huge river of burning magma that churned as it moved within the earth.
"There's no floor!" Sokka said in shock, "It's just a river of lava."
"How are we supposed to get across that?!" Kotaro asked. Aang pulled out his glider, opening up the wings.
"Climb aboard and hold on tight." He said, "I can take two at a time, I'll come back for whoever's left."
"Forget it, Twinkle Toes." Toph said, "We don't have that kind of time. You take Sokka and Wolfy across the lava on your glider, I'll get across on my own."
"You're sure?" Kotaro asked, "With the lava flowing through this place, one wrong earth bending move could burn you alive."
"I think I can bend my own path of earth without getting burned to death." Toph said, sounding a little insulted. Kotaro rolled his eyes, knowing he couldn't argue with her.
"Okay, Toph." Aang said. Kotaro and Sokka grabbed onto the back of the glider as Aang prepared, "Ready?" The two boys nodded and he jumped off, quickly flying over the river of lava with them on board. It was difficult to fly with the extra weight, but Aang managed it. Toph quickly built a small set of stairs just to the side of the cliff she stood on and quickly ran across it, hoping she was able to keep up with Aang as he flew.
Aang made it to the other side just before Toph did. Once they were all together, they kept running through the tunnel. As they rounded a corner, they saw a huge metal dome at least a hundred feet in height, with a door that was at least twenty feet tall.
"That's some door!" Sokka said, gaping at it.
Toph went up to the door and knocked on it, listening, then stepped back, "Not a problem." She ran at the door, hit it four times, making huge dents in the metal, then stepped back, kissing her fingers as she ran at it again and pierced through the metal and was able to peel it open like it was aluminum foil. Once she was through, she pointed in the direction the Fire Lord might be hiding, and they all ran in.
"I am so glad we added you to the group!" Sokka said happily as he ran behind Kotaro. They quickly ran through the tunnels inside the bunker. "Any idea where the Fire Lord is?"
"Nope. There are tons of metal mini chambers in this place." Toph said, "I have no idea which one might be his." Kotaro lifted his head up suddenly, sniffing the air with a furrowed brow.
"What is it?" Sokka asked.
"…I smell nobility." Kotaro said as they ran. Soon, they passed by an area were their tunnel merged with another, and a man dressed in noble Fire Nation robes happened to be walking by. He gasped at the sight of him, and they all turned to him, ready to fight. The man quickly raised up his arms in surrender, a fearful expression on his face.
"The Fire Lord's chamber is that way, down the hall, to the left, and up the stairs. You can't miss it!" He said quickly, fearing for his life against the avatar and his companions. They all approached him with angry glares.
Aang smiled suddenly and politely said, "Thanks." To the man before running down the hall he had pointed to, following his directions. Once they were gone, the man let out a breath of relief, looked around to see if anyone had spotted him helping the avatar, then turned and continued walking, as if he hadn't just committed treason by giving away the location of the Fire Lord's chambers.
After a few minutes of running, Sokka pulled out his timing device and saw that the eclipse was almost here.
"Only thirty seconds until the total eclipse!" He said to Aang, telling him they needed to hurry. They soon approached a smaller metal bunker with big red doors, the Fire Nation symbol on the top of the door. Aang stopped, taking a deep breath.
"I'm ready." He said, "I'm ready to face the Fire Lord." He used his air bending to blast the metal doors open and off its hinges. What they saw made their jaws drop.
"So. You are alive after all." Azula said as she sat calmly on her father's throne. "I had a hunch that you survived. But it doesn't matter. I've known about the invasion for months." Aang's jaw shut and he glared at the Fire Nation princess.
"Where is he?" He demanded, "Where's the Fire Lord?"
"Hmm, you mean I'm not good enough for you?" Azula said as she stood up, "You're hurting my feelings." She gently flipped her hair, and Kotaro caught a whiff of a scent that lingered on her person. His eyes widened when he recognized it, but said nothing.
"Stop wasting our time!" Sokka said, "Give us the information. You're powerless right now, so you're in no position to refuse!"
"And stick to the truth." Toph said, "I'll be able to tell if you're lying."
"Are you sure?" Azula asked, "I'm a pretty good liar." She stared them straight in the face as she said, "I am a four hundred foot tall purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings."
Toph paused, feeling the vibrations in the earth, and barely felt the physical reaction of Azula's blatant lie, "…Okay, you're good. I admit it. But you really oughta-" She jumped back when Kotaro suddenly fired off a lightning bolt at the princess. "Kotaro! What the hell?!"
"Where is she?" Kotaro asked, his voice deadly calm as he glared daggers at the princess. Everyone looked at him oddly, but with fear. On his face was the most terrifying expression they had ever seen. He looked ready to torture the princess until her dying breath, and just when she was about to die, rip out her heart and show it to her face.
"Who?" Azula asked, a confident smirk on her face.
"You know damn well who!" Kotaro snarled, a wolf-like growl mixing with his words. "I smelled her scent on you!"
"Kotaro, what are you talking about?" Aang asked.
"I smelled it." He said, "It was only for a second, but I know it was hers. The scent I've known almost all my life, the scent of the person dearest to me," His eyes narrowed even more, "Her scent is on your body!"
Sokka glanced uneasily at Aang and Toph, who looked just as worried as he was, "Kotaro… Hoshiko's dead. She died in Ba-Sing-Se." Sokka said softly.
"On the contrary," Azula began as she picked up a chain that rested on the throne and curled around behind it, "The Shinjun girl is very much alive." She yanked it, and a blindfolded body came stumbling out from behind the throne. It was a panther Shinjun girl, with shoulder-length black hair, a long tail, all dressed in black and red clothes, which looked a little tattered. Her wrists were bound in chains, and she was blindfolded. Everyone's jaws dropped further when they saw their long dead friend standing before them as Azula's prisoner.
"Kotaro…?" She asked in a weak voice. "I-Is that you? She's blindfolded me, I can't see anything."
"Hoshiko!" Kotaro said, his heart breaking at the sight of the one he loved most bound in chains.
"I don't understand!" Sokka exclaimed, greatly confused, "I thought you died in Ba-Sing-Se!"
"I didn't die," Hoshiko said, "I let Kagemi have control so we would be able to beat Azula and Zuko, but I gave her too much control, and she ended up becoming Azula's servant. Just before I was put in this place, I was able to get my body back. This is the first time I've been in control of this body since we left Ba-Sing-Se."
"There you have it." Azula said. Kotaro snarled and brought up his hand, sparks flying from his fingers.
"Let her go!" He growled.
"Surrender, and I just might." Azula said.
"You're in no position to bargain." Sokka said, holding out his sword.
"Actually, I believe I am." Azula said as she pulled a knife out of her sleeve and held it to Hoshiko's throat, grabbing her by the roots of her hair, "Drop your weapons or she dies." Kotaro's eyes darkened angrily. He was too overcome by emotion to listen to her words, and fired off a lightning bolt at her. She barely avoided it, having to release Hoshiko as a result of it.
Toph quickly bended the earth beneath Hoshiko's feet and brought her over to them where she was safe. Kotaro quickly took her in his arms, holding her to him, breathing in as much of her as he could in one breath.
"Are you okay?" He asked, she nodded, "Toph, can you get her cuffs, I'll get the blindfold."
Sokka looked up at Azula, who simply stood there, watching the scene with a smirk on his face. Something wasn't right about this… Why would she just give up her hostage like that?
Toph metal bent the metal off Hoshiko's wrists just as Kotaro took the blindfold off her. Her eyes opened to reveal white pupils on black eyes, and he jumped back as a grin came across her face.
"Toph, get back!" He shouted, grabbing the earth bender as a group of shadows came up from the ground, piercing the area where they had just been.
She laughed softly as she stood up, "Thanks ever so much Kota!" Kagemi said in false happiness, "I can't tell you how uncomfortable it was in those chains."
"Kagemi!" Kotaro growled angrily.
"How've you been?" Kagemi asked, "The last time I saw you was when I scarred your handsome face." Kotaro's hand unconsciously went to the scar above his eye when she mentioned it.
"Wait, what's going on?" Sokka asked, "Who's Kagemi? What happened to Hoshiko?"
"Oh, that's right, she never told you, did she?" Kagemi said, looking at Sokka, still grinning, "Even the dimmest of lights should know that every shadow bender is born with a ni-nin, another part of them that's the source of their power. I'm Hoshiko's. My name is Kagemi, and I hate all of you." Her shadows surrounded her protectively as she grinned at them.
"Where's Hoshiko?" Toph demanded.
"Locked away, never to be seen again." Kagemi said with an evil grin, "You see, I only come into control when she wishes me to. And when I do, it's for a limited amount of time set be her. This time, there was no time limit, and since we didn't win, I didn't have to go back. Hoshiko remains in the place I was locked up, inside her subconscious, or should I say, my subconscious. I've been in control since Ba-Sing-Se, and will stay in control and serve the royal Fire Nation family."
"You should be ashamed." Kotaro said.
"And yet, here I stand, shameless and in command." Kagemi replied, "I think that's enough chatter." She waved her hands forward, and the shadows jumped to life, zooming straight for them. They all jumped back, and Toph put up a protective barrier of earth to keep them all from getting hit. "Ah-ah-ah!" Kagemi's shadows began moving through the earth she had pulled up, shocking Toph immensely. It pierced through and shot at her, but Kotaro was quick and grabbed Toph before the shadows could reach her. "Don't underestimate my power. I am the source of Hoshiko's abilities, I know every move possible, and all the moves she doesn't. I am stronger than her!" She shot her shadows at them again, and Aang deflected them as best he could with air bending, using wind to push them back, away from him. He looked at Kagemi, and his eyes widened when he saw little black cracks underneath her eyes.
Like Hikaru… He thought. When he landed on the ground, he shouted, "Toph! Make a shelter!" Not sure why he wanted this, but not going to go against him, Toph did as he asked, Sokka and Kotaro hiding with her as Aang flew towards them.
The tanks and warriors traveled up the side of the volcano, the eclipse steadily moving onward. The world was dimmed without the sun's light, but they still moved forward. Everyone was wearing special eclipse glasses so they could look directly at the eclipse without the risk of blinding themselves. Inside the volcano lay the capital city, Bato led the troops forward.
"Surround the periphery!" He shouted, "We have to secure the palace before the eclipse is over! Otherwise, we'll be in for the fight of our lives!" The tanks and soldiers moved past him, Xana and her brothers running past him as well. They ran down to the capital city, moving quickly through the buildings. A small platoon of Fire Nation soldiers soon stood in their path, and they all took fighting stances.
"Stop!" Makozo shouted at them, "Surrender peacefully, and we won't harm you!"
"We will never surrender!" One of the soldiers shouted, he jumped forward, making a few moves to prepare a fire bending attack, but when he held out his hands to strike, a tiny spark only came out, showing that he was completely powerless. He looked back at the other soldiers, and they all held out their wrists to them, "Okay, we surrender."
"Hope you don't mind us using our own cuffs." Xana said, as she and her brothers raised their hands up high, the ground rumbling beneath them for a moment. The stone pavement of the city cracked, and high towers of sand sprung up from the ground. The sand moved up and around the soldiers, encasing their wrists and suddenly hardening into thick, solid cuffs of earth. They grabbed the soldiers and had them move with their troops.
"Don't you just love that thick layer of sand underneath all ground?" Xenak asked his brother, Haxen.
"More than my own mother." Haxen replied, the two brothers sharing a high-five and a laugh.
"Come on, guys," Farx said to them as Makozo continued to direct them on, "We need to keep moving and secure the palace." The two brothers nodded and followed the rest of their family as they kept going through the city.
At the top of the volcano, just arriving on the battle scene was Katara, her father still leaning on her shoulder.
"There it is." Hakoda said, "The Fire Nation royal palace. We've come so far."
"It's not over yet." Katara said. They continued onward, wanting to see this invasion to the end.
"You cannot hide from me!" Kagemi said, taking her shadows up and bringing them down on the shelter, trying to break through it. Everyone sat inside the shelter.
"Why are we here?" Sokka asked, "It'll only be a matter of time until she breaks through this!"
"I know, but we can bring Hoshiko back." Aang said, shocking everyone but Kotaro.
"Kagemi's in a steady control." Kotaro said, "It'll take hours to get her back, and we don't have that kind of time."
"It might not take that long." Aang said.
"That might be true, but we still need to find the Fire Lord." Sokka said, "The eclipse is happening now! We can't waste time here."
"But it's Hoshiko!" Aang said pointedly, he looked at Kotaro, "You should be the one who wants her back the most!"
Kotaro paused, trying to ignore the constant sound of banging on the outside of their shelter, "I do want Hoshiko back, but I want this war to end more than that. We can get her back at another time." Aang frowned at his answer. "Look, how's this for a plan, you go after Azula, I'll take her on myself. I should be able to give you enough time to find Ozai."
"I'm not losing anyone else in this battle." Aang said firmly.
"You won't." Kotaro said, "I'll be fine."
"Time's up!" Kagemi's voice shouted from outside the shelter, her shadows finally breaking through the stone. Everyone jumped back as a sharp shadowy tendril came in and pierced the ground. She pierced through again and again, and they somehow miraculously avoided the blows, "Come on! If you're not gonna send the avatar out to fight me, then at least give me the little wolf boy! I've been waiting to kick his ass for years!" Kotaro looked out through one of the holes she had made and saw her grinning evilly, her shadows surrounding her protectively. He took a careful look at her form, and frowned.
"Something's off about this…" He muttered.
"Huh?" Toph was unsure of what he meant.
"Toph, fire off some boulders at her." Kotaro said. When she looked a little hesitant, he explained what he wanted to do, "There's something off about Kagemi, and I think I might know what it is, but I need to test it first."
"Okay, if you think so." Toph said, she removed the shelter, and used its remains as projectiles to fire at Kagemi. Her shadows easily pierced through each projectile, crushing it before it could hit her. Kotaro, seeing this, decided to do the other half of his test on his own. He ran at her, his lightning charging up to fire. It wasn't enough power to seriously injure or kill her, but it would be enough to hurt. He ran at Kagemi, and she jumped out of the way before he could touch her. He ran at her again, and again she jumped back, her shadows following her. He ran at her once more, and she jumped back. She gave him an odd look, knowing that it would be better for him to fight at long distance, so why was he so insistent on getting so close to her?
Kotaro stopped, a grin suddenly forming on his face, "I think I see now."
"See what?" Kagemi asked.
"You can't hurt us." Kotaro said. Kagemi jumped.
"What? Of course I can hurt you!" She said instantly, a grin coming on her face.
"Has anyone else noticed that, in all the attacks she's shot at us," Kotaro said, speaking to the others, but keeping his eyes on Kagemi, "She hasn't so much as scratched us? Even though her aim was perfect enough to take out all those boulders that Toph shot at her?" Everyone looked at Kagemi, who was glaring fiercely at Kotaro, her teeth grinding in anger and frustration.
"Shut up!" She screamed, waving her hand forward and having her shadows claw at him, breaking through the armor Kotaro wore and scarring his chest. He let out a grunt as he jumped back, avoiding them as best he could. He looked at Kagemi, who seemed to wait on something for a moment, then smiled in something similar to relief, "See? I have no limits! I can kill you!" She stopped when the cracks on her face suddenly grew down to her jaw and along her temples, turning white as they did. Her eyes were wide, and she seemed silent for a moment, then let out a shriek, her hands at her face, "No! No! Go away!" Her body trembled, and Azula watched her carefully as everyone waited to see what would happen.
"Shoot… me…" A voice came from Kagemi's throat, but it certainly wasn't hers. Kotaro felt his heart pounding as he saw her lift up her head, and saw blue eyes shining against the darkness, instead of white ones. "Kota… shoot me… with lightning…" She let out a groan, and she covered her face again, hunching over in pain.
"You stupid bitch!" Kagemi cursed, "Stay down! I won't let you take over so easily! Stay down!" She looked up, glaring at Kotaro, and raised her hand, poised to attack, but she cried out in pain again. She lifted her head once more and blue eyes shone brightly.
"Kotaro, shoot!" Hoshiko shouted at him, "Fire now!"
"Shut up!" Kagemi growled, her eyes suddenly returning, "Go away! I had you locked up! Go away!"
"But…" Kotaro seemed to actually consider the idea of firing at her, but he didn't want to harm Hoshiko while she was still hiding away in Kagemi's body.
"Do it now!" Hoshiko shouted.
"Don't you dare!" Kagemi snarled.
Kotaro, unsure of what to do, began bending up a bolt of lightning and fired it at Kagemi. She raised her hand, her shadows somehow blocking the blow and holding it back before it could hit her, but the stream of lightning was continuous. He watched as Kagemi's shadows began to turn white at the top, and he watched as a form came out of the shadows, looking like a white shadow of Hoshiko as she rested at the top of Kagemi's shadows.
"Don't stop!" She shouted at him. She raised her arms, and Kagemi watched in horror as her shadows began to turn against her, wrapping around her without stopping the shadow that was blocking Kotaro's lightning. She tried to move it away, but it wouldn't obey her. The shadows were under someone else's control now. The cracks on Kagemi's face grew, covering her neck and shoulders as well as growing across her forehead. The cracks continued to grow across her arms and cover her hands, her torso, her legs and her feet. She looked at them fearfully, knowing she couldn't get rid of them without stopping the shadow that was blocking the lightning stream. Kotaro looked up at Hoshiko, and saw her smile apologetically at him. He looked at her fearfully, not knowing why she was looking at him like that, and then she waved her hand, white shadows covering Kagemi's black one and stopping the lightning block. The lightning, now free to move, went straight for its target, and hit Kagemi right at the place where her neck and shoulder connected. She let out a shriek and all the shadows, including the one that Hoshiko had taken form in, began to disintegrate. Just before her form disappeared, she shouted at Kagemi, "You broke your promise long ago! I'm taking my body back!"
There was a bright flash of light that filled the entire chamber, and everyone held up their hands to cover their eyes to avoid blindness, except for Toph, who shielded herself from the heat of the bright light. When the light died down, Kotaro looked to see a swaying body with a huge scar at the place he had struck the body. Hoshiko lifted up her head, and Kotaro felt relief flood through him at the sight of Hoshiko's blue eyes. She gave him a weak smile.
"Thank you…" She murmured, before her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell to the ground. Any relief that Kotaro had suddenly turned to a horrible, gut-wrenching fear that he may have taken her life with his lightning.
"No!" He shouted, running over to her body. He gently cradled her head in his grasp and he looked at her, his eyes welling up in fearful tears. He didn't want to say they were tears of mourning until he was absolutely sure that he had done the unthinkable. "Hoshiko." He patted her cheek, "Hoshiko, wake up." She didn't move, she only lay there. "No… Hoshiko, please." His tears began to fall and landed on her cheeks, "Please… wake up."
Toph's eyes began to fill with tears as well as she realized what had happened. Sokka leaned in close to her, "Toph, can you feel her heartbeat?"
Toph moved her foot along the ground, trying to feel the vibrations, and she told him in a broken voice "…No."
Kotaro heard them and he let out a small sound that sounded like he was trying to hold back his tears, "Gods, what have I done?" He pulled Hoshiko's body to him, "Hoshiko…"
"What a beautiful little love story." Azula said, catching Kotaro's attention, "A shame it didn't last longer. I think a long and painful death would have been much more fitting to the end of this tragedy." Kotaro turned and glared at her.
"Damn you!" He shouted at her, and jumped up, sparks flying from his fingertips. Before it could touch her, a slab of earth came out and blocked it from hitting her. All four of them stood there, stunned, as Azula casually brushed off any dust from her armor.
"When I left Ba-Sing-Se, I brought home some souvenirs." She said, from above to green clad earth benders appeared before them. All but Kotaro recognized them, "Dai Lee agents."
Seeing that Azula was now getting a little serious, Aang shot off a blast of air at her that was quickly blocked by the Dai Lee agents. And so the battle began. Aang destroyed the earth they had brought up and he and Toph ran at them, Sokka did the same, but he was promptly blocked by the huge stone wall, which still stood. He ran by Kotaro, and saw he was still holding Hoshiko's body, soundless tears flowing down his cheeks. He looked back at the battle and at the wall. He knew he wouldn't be able to climb it in time, so he went to his friend's side.
"Kotaro…" He put his hand on his shoulder, and Kotaro remained still, the tears still coming, "There's nothing we can do."
"I killed her." Kotaro said softly, the tears flowing a little faster, "I killed Hoshiko…"
"It's hard to lose someone you love," Sokka said, "And we can mourn later, but right now, we have a battle to fight." Kotaro looked at him, the tears still running down his face. Sokka felt sympathy well up inside him for his friend. "We'll hold a proper memorial service. It's the least we can do to honor her." Kotaro nodded, leaning down and pressing a single kiss to Hoshiko's lips before gently putting her down on the ground and jumping up, wiping away his tears. He and Sokka headed for the wall, and Kotaro quickly climbed up to the hole Aang had made when he went past it, and jumped back when he saw Azula coming through the same hole. She went over him with a confident smirk, and Kotaro felt his insides burn in hatred. Kagemi had served her with all the loyalty she had, and when she had died, she had felt nothing?
He growled and went after her, ignoring the fact that there was only one Dai Lee agent now, and ignoring Aang, Toph, and Sokka as they followed behind.
"I can't pin her down!" Aang said to Toph, "She's too quick!" Kotaro snarled as a Dai Lee agent ran past him and sealed up the entrance to the chambers as he and Azula ran out. Kotaro blasted through it with his lightning and ran after Azula. A large piece of earth shot out of the wall and jabbed into the Dai Lee agent that followed Azula and knocked him into a metal bar that helped to hold up the bunker. She went over and used her metal bending to trap him inside. Kotaro ran past her, heading straight for Azula, Aang and Toph just behind him, Sokka bringing up the end.
Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he called out, "Wait! Guys, stop!" They did as he asked, though Kotaro looked very angry about it. "Don't you see what she's doing? She's just playing with us! She's not even trying to win this fight."
"Not true!" Azula said, faking a tone of offense, "I'm giving it my all."
"You're trying to keep us here and waste all our time!" Toph said, realizing the same thing Sokka had.
"Um, right, I think your friend just said that, Genius." Azula said, "And since you can't see, I should tell you, I'm rolling my eyes."
"I'll roll your whole head!" Toph growled.
"She's just baiting you again!" Sokka said quickly.
"So… what do we do?" Aang asked, "Just ignore her?"
"We don't have a choice." Sokka said, "We have to get out of here and find the Fire Lord on our own somehow." Although they all seemed reluctant to do it, they had to agree with him and turned around, following Sokka.
"It's a trap." Azula said, "Don't say I didn't warn you." Everyone but Sokka looked back at her, wondering if what she said was true. Although Kotaro looked back just to glare at her.
"Ignore!" Sokka said, everyone listened to him and kept walking.
"So, Sokka's your name, right?" Azula said, he continued to ignore her, "My favorite prisoner used to mention you all the time." Sokka stopped. Prisoner? What prisoner would talk about him? He stopped and looked back at her as she continued speaking, "She was convinced you were going to come rescue her. Of course, you never came, and she gave up on you." Sokka's heart sank when he realized exactly who he was talking about.
Suki.
The Kyoshi warrior he loved so much was in a Fire Nation prison. He had wondered what had happened to her when he realized that Azula and her cronies were posing as the Kyoshi warriors. Now he knew that they had been arrested. It killed him to know that Suki was locked away somewhere, and she had been waiting for him to come and rescue her, but he never knew, so he never came. Azula was taunting him with her life, and her misery, and he should have ignored it.
But he couldn't.
Tears leaked out of his eyes and he let out a wild cry as he ran at the princess, who looked completely ready for him.
"Come and get it." She said quietly, holding a knife that she had hidden in her sleeve. Toph felt her sneak it out, and quickly bent up a stone and shot it at the hand that held the knife, knocking her back into the wall and keeping her there. Sokka came up to her, his expression fierce and angry.
"Where. Is. Suki?" He demanded.
Kotaro was a little confused, who was Suki?
"Where's Suki?!" Sokka demanded again. Azula didn't say a word, she just kept that increasingly annoying confident smirk on her face, "Answer me!"
"Sokka," Aang came up to him and put his hand on Sokka's shoulder, "She won't talk."
Sokka knew that he was right, and that they should keep going, but he couldn't let this chance to know about Suki just slip through his fingers. He looked back at the princess and demanded, "Where are you keeping her?!"
Azula only smirked.
Everyone's heads turned as a sudden, thunder-like rumbling was heard just down the hallway.
"Oh!" Azula said delightedly, "It sounds like the fire bending is back on." She kicked up her leg, blue flames following it. Sokka let out a yelp as he avoided it, and another as she used her legs to blast a blue fire ball at him, and Toph tackled him to the ground so he wouldn't get burned. Azula did an impressive flip, her hand still held by the stone cuff Toph had made, but she easily blasted through it with her fire, and brought down a flaming foot on where Aang was, but he easily jumped out of the way and she stood up.
"Dad's all the way at the end of the hall then down a secret stairway to the left." Azula said, "I'm sure he'd be more than happy to see you now." She turned and ran down the hallway, away from all of them and to safety. She had given them the information they wanted, but now the eclipse was over. It wasn't any good.
"I fell for it!" Sokka said, mentally cursing at himself, "I used up all our time!"
"It's not your fault Sokka." Toph said, "Azula was ready for us. She had every move planned out."
"And now, it's too late." Sokka said, continuing on his personal hatred.
"Maybe it's not too late." Aang said, "The eclipse is over, but I can face the Fire Lord anyway."
"No." Sokka said, "I don't think that's a good idea."
"But I'm ready!" Aang said, "I came here with a job to do, and everyone's counting on me!"
"The Fire Lord knew we were coming this time." Toph said, "We thought we had surprise on our side, but we didn't. It just wasn't our day. What we need to do now is go help our friends." Aang looked away, thinking.
"I guess you guys are right." He said. Sokka reached out and put his hand on Aang's shoulder.
"You'll have another chance." Sokka said, "I know you will." Aang nodded.
"Come on, let's go." He said, they all ran through the tunnels, knowing they had to get to their friends quickly before any soldiers found them. Now that the fire benders had their fire back, the capital city was the worst place for any invader to be. As they ran by the Fire Lord's fake chambers, Kotaro looked in, glancing at Hoshiko's body. She seemed to be paler than a moment ago, and the scar on her shoulder was red, and it was giving off an oily sheen from the horrible burn that he had given her. He bit back his tears and followed the others as quickly as he could.
Toph felt his shoulders shaking as they ran, but she never heard him sob. She couldn't blame him for crying, Hoshiko was closer to him than anyone else on earth. She was literally the other half of his soul. She could only imagine the pain he felt at that moment.
In the Fire Nation capital, Katara brought her father over to a tank and rested him against it. The eclipse was over, and now they were all out in the open.
"Hakoda," He turned his head as Xana and her oldest brother Makozo came over to him, "What should we do?"
"Yeah," Xana agreed, "Shouldn't something have happened by now?"
"I don't know." Hakoda admitted, "But now that the eclipse is over, I expect we're going to see some fire benders any minute." He and Katara scowled.
Xana looked up at something behind them, and gasped, her amber eyes wide. The others looked back to see what had caused her shock and saw six big red war balloons floating over the city.
"My own invention…!" The mechanist lamented when he saw them, "Oh, this is terrible!"
Something rose up behind them, and they saw six huge, scarlet red war zeppelins just behind them.
"And it looks like they improved it, too." Xana said when she saw them.
Katara looked off to the side and saw Appa flying through the air, "They're back!" She ran to meet them as they flew closer.
As they passed by the zeppelins, Aang and the others looked at them with despair. The Fire Nation had definitely been ready for them, if they had prepared those things to attack. They landed near the troops, and Katara looked up at them, seeing the defeat on their faces.
"It was all a trap!" Sokka said to her as he climbed off Appa, "Azula knew we were coming and she's plotted out every move!" He jumped off the bison, Toph and Kotaro following. "We've just got to get to the beach as fast as we can. If we can make it to the submarines, maybe we can get away safely."
"They've got air power," Aang said, looking up at the zeppelins, "But so do I." He opened up his glider, "I'm gonna do whatever I can to slow them down!" He jumped up into the air under his glider, Momo following him up into the sky. Appa let out a grunt when he saw Aang leaving.
"Appa, you and I can help, too." Katara said, jumping onto his back and flying off after Aang. Everyone watched as they flew up towards the war balloons, preparing to take them out, or at least take out as many as they could.
"Everyone!" Sokka called out, "Let's get back to the subs!" The soldiers and troops all headed back for the subs, taking out any fire benders that they happened to come across. As Kotaro walked, the soldiers all noticed a significant change about him. He was silent, and he didn't seem to be paying attention to his surroundings. Toph stayed close to him to make sure he wasn't hurt while his mind drifted away.
Hoshiko's eyes slowly fluttered open. She looked around to see that she was in the Fire Lord's chambers in the bunker underground.
She froze as she realized she was the one that was seeing.
She couldn't help the laughter that came out of her mouth in relief as she realized her plan had worked.
The idea was shaky on its own. She didn't have enough strength to take her body back from Kagemi after she had first broken her vow by killing Usagi, the sweet rabbit Shinjun nomad, and Kagemi didn't even realize she was breaking her promise when she did it. She needed to get more strength, but she couldn't do it with the power she had at the moment, she was unsure of where she could find a way to get stronger. When you're trapped inside your own subconscious, you have nothing better to do than to think of a way to get out. And then it hit her. Kotaro was her hanbun tamashi, her half-soul, they shared an unbreakable bond for the rest of their lives and the afterlife all the way to the end of eternity. His soul carried a part of her soul. That could give her the extra boost she needed to help escape and put Kagemi away permanently. But how could she get it? Kagemi would never touch him, and she didn't have enough strength to even take control of her finger, much less enough of her body to force her to touch him. But what if he attacked her? He was bound to be a part of the invasion, and that would be the perfect time for her to get some kind of connection to him! But how to do it? Well, bending was a part of any person, and he was a lightning bender. Maybe, if he struck her with lightning, she could get the strength she needed to get her body back! There was the chance that it could kill her, but if she could get her body back…
So, when Kotaro fired at her, she did her best to get all obstacles out of the way by becoming a part of the shadows Kagemi had created. It was the only way she could take a physical form at the moment, and the shadows were plentiful, so she could create everything from her knees up. It was enough for her to get Kotaro's lightning bolt to come through, and the second the bolt made contact with Kagemi, she had been able to grasp onto the part of her that was hidden within the lightning and use that strength to pull Kagemi away and take back her place in control of her body.
What she hadn't counted on was the horrible pain from the aftershock of being shot by lightning. She could see why it had killed Aang, it hurt! It was the most painful experience she had ever gone through, but she was alive, and she had her body back, and at the moment, that was all she cared about.
She moved to get up, hissing in pain as she felt the wound on her shoulder burn at her movements, but she had to get up. She had to get back to the others before the invasion ended. She didn't know how much time had passed, but hopefully, she would be able to catch up to the others. She let out a moan as she pushed herself up to stand. She leaned against the wall, her hand gently covering her new wound as she tried to ease the pain. The skin was incredibly sensitive, however, and there was no way she could touch it without hurting herself, but the least she could do was try and protect it with her hand as she escaped. She carefully moved along the walls to the door, and began moving down the hallways.
As she walked, she began to realize that she didn't know the way out. Azula had grabbed Kagemi, blindfolded, kicking and screaming through the tunnels. Hoshiko realized that, once Kagemi told her that she was fighting back, Azula must have known that she could regain control on the Day of Black Sun, so she took extra precautions to make sure that, if she did regain her body, she would be able to take her prisoner and have her executed for crimes against the Fire Nation. She cursed the princess for her strategy, and decided to simply rely on luck to get her out of the bunkers. Although, it wouldn't be easy to get out when she could barely take a step without feeling the burning pain of her shoulder, and she was hardly in a position to fight, but she wouldn't let that stop her. She was determined to get out of that bunker and back to Kotaro if it was the last thing she did.
She heard running footsteps behind her, and she quickly turned around, thinking it might be an enemy, but was surprised at what she saw.
Prince Zuko ran down the hallways, trying to get to the war balloon he had hidden away before anyone heard of what had happened between him and his father. He wanted to hurry and free his uncle before he left, but it seemed that he had already done that on his own. The bars of his cell had been torn apart, and the all prison guards on duty had been seriously hurt, but not killed. He would just have to leave without his uncle, and hopefully be able to receive his forgiveness later.
As he turned a corner, he saw someone walking along the halls, and instantly reached for his dao blades, thinking it would be someone who would try and arrest him for treason. He stopped when he realized it was an injured Shinjun. After looking at her for a moment, he saw that it was Kagemi, but something was different about her. There was a different air about her appearance, and she seemed calmer, and less irritating than before. He looked at her eyes and saw they were no longer dark with white pupils, but a crystal blue shade.
This wasn't Kagemi. It was Hoshiko. And she looked just as surprised to see him as he was to see her.
"Prince Zuko…" She murmured, she turned, and he saw that she was wounded on her shoulder. He pulled out his dao blades and pointed them at her, she stepped back. Her ears drooped, and he saw her expression become more frightened and sad. "I know I'm not Kagemi, but I need to get out of here. If you'd just show me a little mercy…"
"I know you're not Kagemi." Zuko said, "But are you my enemy?" Hoshiko looked confused. She looked down for a moment to think, and then looked back up at him.
"That depends on whether or not you are my enemy." She said to him. Zuko lowered his blades slightly.
"Are you still fighting for the avatar?" He asked.
"Yes." She said. Zuko sheathed his blades.
"So am I." He said. A smile came across Hoshiko's face in both relief, and Zuko thought he saw a touch of pride in there, but he quickly brushed it off as his own imagination. He went over to her, "What happened to you?"
"Long story." Hoshiko said, "I need to get out of here and back to the others."
Zuko nodded, "I can help you with that." He smiled at her, and she returned it, both of them glad to have found an ally.
Everyone kept running towards the submarines, but they weren't fast enough to outrun the war zeppelins. Aang and Katara were already flying back, they had been able to take down a couple of war balloons, but they couldn't even come close to the war zeppelins without getting seriously hurt. While the war balloons carried only a pair of fire benders, the zeppelins carried ten times that much, and there was no way they could take those out without risking an arm or leg. They landed near Sokka as he shouted out, "Try and find cover! I think we're about to see some bombs!" Toph used her earth bending to create a small shelter as the bottom of the zeppelins opened up, and red bombs began falling out from them.
The earth shook violently as the huge multitude of explosions hit the ground, and Toph had to bend up a couple of pillars just to make sure their shelter didn't collapse on them. The earth tanks seemed to be okay, taking the brunt of the explosions without harming the earth benders inside.
Once it was over, the zeppelins continued onward, heading past the invaders. Everyone watched as they kept flying forward.
"Why aren't they turning around to attack us again?" Katara asked, confused by their actions.
"They're headed for the beach…" Aang said, thinking aloud as he tried to figure out why. Then it struck him, "They're gonna destroy the submarines!"
"How are we all gonna escape?" Sokka asked, fear creeping into him for the first time since the invasion began.
"We aren't." Kotaro said, his words shocking everyone, mostly because it was the first thing he had said since they left the bunker. His expression was hopeless, and he seemed to be surrounded in despair.
"Then our only choice is to stand and fight." Sokka said, "We have the avatar! We could still win!"
"Yes," Hakoda said, getting his son's attention, "With the avatar we could still win- on another day." Bato released his arm from Hakoda and he stood up straight, his hand covering the wound he had received, "You kids have to leave. You have to escape on Appa together."
"What?" Katara went to her father, "We can't leave you behind! We won't leave anyone behind!"
"You're our only chance in the long-run." Hakoda said, "You and Sokka have to go with Aang somewhere safe. It's the only way to keep hope alive." Katara looked back at her brother and Aang, sadly realizing that her father was right, no matter how much she hated it.
"The youngest of our group should go with you." Bato said. "The adults will stay behind and surrender."
"I agree with Bato." Makozo said, looking at Katara's sad expression, "We'll be prisoners, but we'll all survive this battle."
"Yeah, if we aren't executed on sight." Farx muttered dryly. He was quickly elbowed and shushed by his brother Haxen, and Xana, both of them shushing him.
"I've got some experience with the Fire Nation prisons." Haru's father said, coming up to the three warriors. "It's not going to be easy, but we'll get by."
"Look!" Xana's brother Zeju exclaimed, "They're at the beach already!" Everyone watched as the swamp benders who were on defense down at the beach tried to defend the subs as best they could, but the bombs were too numerous, and the subs were destroyed within minutes of their attack.
Seeing that there was truly no way out, everyone began to get their youngest into Appa's saddle. Teo was first because he couldn't walk on his own. His father took him out of his wheelchair and held him as Toph created an earth lift to get him near the saddle so he could easily place him inside. Teo hugged him before he pulled away.
"Bye son." The Mechanist said, holding his son close.
"Bye Dad." Teo said, as he pulled away from his father, he said, "I'm really proud of you." The Mechanist nodded and let Toph put him back down on the earth.
The Duke grunted as he tried to pull himself up to the saddle, hanging onto Appa's horn, but he didn't have the arm strength. A large hand came and helped to push him up.
"I'll miss you, Pipsqueak." He said as he let Pipsqueak push him to the saddle.
"Take care, The Duke." He said, stepping back as The Duke climbed upwards on Appa's head.
Haru embraced his father, "We'll be back for you, Dad." He promised to him.
"If we don't escape on our own first." He responded, giving his son an encouraging smile. Haru tried to return it, if a little weakly.
Hakoda put his hand on each of his children's shoulders, "We lost today, but we've never been this close." He got down on his knees and looked at the two of them. "We tasted victory, and that counts for something." He smiled at them, but they didn't return it.
"We'll miss you, Dad." Katara said. She quickly embraced him, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. Sokka came up and joined them, putting his arms around his father's and Katara's shoulders.
"Bye Dad." He said, "We won't be apart for too long this time, I promise."
Xana looked at her brothers sadly, "Take care of yourself." She said to them, tears forming in her eyes.
"You know we will." Makozo said.
Xana nodded, but the tears poured down her cheeks. She ran up and embraced her brother, tears spilling out. Makozo returned it, and all her brothers surrounded her, making sure that she was receiving all that they could give her at that moment. After a moment, Xana released Makozo, wiping her tears from her eyes, sniffling. Her brother Xenak leaned down and softly kissed her head.
"Don't be so afraid." He said to her, "At least we can expect what happens to us. We'll all be alive, and we'll all come back together again. I know it." Xana nodded.
"I know…" She said, "I love all of you."
"We love you, too, Xana." Haxen said. Xana moved through her crowd of brethren to get to Appa, where Kotaro helped to pull her up with the others.
Aang sat at Appa's head, tears flowing down his cheeks. Katara came up to him, putting her hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her and she gave him an encouraging smile. He wiped his eyes and sniffed. He stood up and turned to the troops.
"Thank you all for being so brave and so strong!" He said, speaking loudly so everyone could hear him, "I'm gonna make this up to you!" He sat down at Appa's head and whipped the reigns. The bison took off, leaving all the other soldiers behind as they escaped to safety. They flew by one of the war zeppelins, and everyone's heart pounded as they waited to see if they would attack, fortunately, they didn't, and they passed by them quickly and easily. Once they were sure they were safe, Aang said, "I know just the place we can go where we'll be safe for a while. The Western Air Temple."
They flew onward, unaware of the small war balloon that was following them. In its basket rested two people: The former prince of the Fire Nation, Zuko, and a newly bandaged Hoshiko just beside him.
"Are you sure the war balloon can keep up with them?" She asked him.
"Yes." Zuko said, "The zeppelins are much slower because of their weight. We'll be light enough to keep up without getting spotted." Hoshiko nodded, trusting his information. She looked up at Appa, seeing a glimpse of white hair among all the heads on the saddle and her heart clenched painfully.
Kotaro… please be okay.
Tada! I was so excited for this chapter that I did it really fast! I hope you like it!