Author's note: I noticed I wrote some chapters just too long, so I divided them. Today will be a double release. And I will likely do another double or maybe triple release for the end of the year :)
Fight 56: Black Sun
The invasion force had passed the gate with the main tower and entered the harbor city side. The caterpillars had formed a semi circle against the wall to protect those inside from enemy fire. Sometimes, their sides flipped open and earthbenders would lob stones at the firebenders. Catapults sent burning projectiles. The earthbenders' stones and shockwaves destroyed some catapults. It was time to take stock of the situation. Sokka, Bato, and an earthbender were examining a map on the ground from behind a tank. A fireball crashed against the tank and they winced at the sound as pebbles sprayed on them. Chenlian returned after having destroyed the battlements on the winding path and blasted the catapults aiming at her comrades from the sky. She also got some tanks, cutting the axles linking the main body to the tracks with arches of fire. Sokka saw his sister helping their father through the plaza's large doorways. He was still wounded and holding his side but felt fine enough to walk. Sokka rushed to them and was glad to see him on his feet again. Toph joined them. Katara sat her father down. He might not be in shape to fight but thanks to his daughter, he should still be able to help in some way. Sokka said everything was going smoothly and the eclipse hadn't even kicked in yet. Hakoda hoped their luck would keep holding out.
Katara saw Aang coming back to them, dodging the numerous fireballs. Chenlian joined him in midair and they landed in front of their friends. But it wasn't because the Fire Lord turned out to be such a big wimp that Aang didn't even need the eclipse to take him down, as Sokka's wishful thinking put it. As Chenlian had surmised, it was because there was nobody home. The entire palace city had been abandoned. The Avatar feared that it was all over, that the Fire Lord was long gone, far away on some remote island where he'd be safe during the eclipse. Sokka and Chenlian disagreed. That man wouldn't go too far. He would have a secret bunker, somewhere he could go so it'll be safe during a siege but still be close enough to lead his nation. And if it was an underground secret bunker they were looking for, Toph was just the girl to find it. Sokka pulled out a small device resembling a pocket watch, a timing device that the Mechanist had given him. They still had about 20 minutes until the full eclipse, 20 minutes to find the Fire Lord.
"We can still do this. We can still win the day." Aang spoke with renewed hope.
"Wait. Since they knew we were coming, it's certainly all a trap. Maybe we should use the time we have left to make sure all of us get out of here safely." Katara advised the greatest caution. Chenlian asked for Hakoda's opinion as the one representing the invasion force.
"Everyone who's here today came prepared to risk everything for this mission. 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." Hakoda spoke for all the soldiers.
"There are surely traps. A maze-like layout, and Azula. I also heard she brought back some Dai Li agents. With Toph, I think we can handle the layout problem. We can fight off the Dai Lis too. Azula and Ozai can't firebend but they're still very clever. They'll try to make us waste time until the eclipse is over. They'll play with your minds, with your emotions... However, as long as we don't fall for their ploys and focus solely on defeating Ozai, I believe we can still make it. We still have a chance. There's a possibility I may be blinded by greed though, so it's alright if you don't listen to me. If you want to make sure everyone can get away safely, it would be best to escape now. In any case, I'll follow you whatever you choose." Chenlian gave her opinion.
"What do you think? You're the one who has to face the Fire Lord. Whatever you decide, I'm with you." Sokka concluded, turning to Aang.
"I've got to try." The airbender decided resolutely, standing up and facing the battlefield.
Appa took Aang, Sokka, Chenlian and Toph to the flank of the giant volcano. The children jumped down. The earthbender felt natural tunnels criss-crossing through the inside of the volcano... and something big, dense, and made of metal deep in the heart of the volcano. That sounded like a secret bunker to Sokka. Toph made an opening. Momo and Appa stayed outside while the kids entered the tunnel. The blind girl guided them around as to avoid deadends. Without her they would have probably ended up lost or burning in magma. They came to a cavern filled with active lava vents all over the floor. The tunnel continued on the other side and it led right to the bunker. They had to be fast but careful. Sokka made an attempt but was immediately stopped by an eruption. He yelled in surprise and shielded himself as Aang swung his staff at it, bending a gust of icy wind and cooling down the lava. How was that careful? The plan guy corrected his earlier statement. They needed to be fast, careful AND LUCKY. They ran across the cavern, carefully dodging the steam and lava coming from the vents, and inside the tunnel. And then, they couldn't take another step. They were on a cliff above a large river of magma. Aang opened his glider and told his friends to climb aboard and hold on tight. They reluctantly did... and screamed in fright as the airbender flew upstream and sometimes banked left or right to evade the occasional eruptions due to large bubbles of gaz. Chenlian though was faring just fine on her own. They all made it to the other side and continued on foot. They reached a rather... impressive metal bunker built against the cavern wall. Now, that was some door... but not a problem for Toph and her metalbending. She bent each slab aside, creating an opening through which they entered. And again, Sokka was reminded of how glad he was that they had added her to the group.
The invaders had progressed and were making their way up the path zigzagging towards the top... and also lined with battlements. The caterpillar blocked the fireballs. Although Chenlian had taken care of said battlements, there were still the foot soldiers, cavalry, and some tanks. A Fire Nation officer looked at the sky. The moon had started obscuring the sun. He ordered the retreat. Everyone was to move to the secondary defensive position. His troops ran back. And the invasion force pressed forward.
"The eclipse is only minutes away! We should be able to make it up the hill by the time it starts and secure the entire palace by the time it's finished!" Hanging on the back of a tank, Bato adressed the soldiers who gave a hearty battle cry. Katara was still supporting her father. She suggested that they wait there but he insisted on pressing forward with the others. So they did.
Within the bunker was another complex layout of tunnels. At an intersection, the kids stumbled upon War Minister Qin. In an instant they were ready to fight him but the old man pressed his back against the wall, raised his hands in surrender, and told them the way to the Fire Lord's chamber. They walked to him menacingly and he fearfully backed further against the wall. Aang suddenly grinned and thanked him and the children left, following his directions. Once they were gone, Qin breathed a sigh of relief, looked left and right to make sure no one had seen anything, composed himself and continued walking and whistling as if nothing happened. Only 30 seconds until the total eclipse. They arrived before another large door with a flame symbol on the front and at the top. Aang took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"I'm ready. I'm ready to face the Fire Lord." The Avatar spoke determinedly. He blew the double door off its hinges with a blast of air and they burst inside. However, to their great shock, it was not the Fire Lord lounging on the throne but the Fire Princess, Azula, who had been coolly waiting for them.
"So, you are alive after all. I had a hunch that you survived. It doesn't matter, I've known about the invasion for months." She looked down on them. "But Chenlian, I never expected YOU to use such a cowardly tactic as faking your death. You're really just like a cockroach, no matter how many times you're killed, you keep crawling back, hiding in corners, scurrying in the dark, and coming out whenever you see a chance." She injected all the venom and disdain she could muster in her voice.
"I simply saw no point in wasting time and energy playing with you or your pets. But I must say that I never expected you to be deceived so easily. It seems I have more allies than you thought I did too." The other female firebender coolly replied, smirking, and completely unfazed by the verbal abuse. On the other hand, her own barbs had reached. On the surface, Azula barely frowned... but Chenlian knew that the fact that there WAS a visible effect (as slight as it was), a slip of the 'perfect composure' mask... meant that the damage inside was much more significant. "Well, now that we exchanged the pleasantries, why don't we get down to business?"
"I'm ready to face you." Zuko said. He was standing before a much smaller door somewhere in another tunnel. He had left his cloak and bag and only had his broadswords slung on his back. He looked down and resolutely slid the door open. His father was sitting on a mat at the back of the chamber, a drapery with the Fire Nation symbol behind him. He was sipping tea, protected by a line of elite guards. He asked his son what he was doing here.
Outside, the moon was passing over the sun, covering almost all of it. The invasion force had left the road and was marching up the steep flanks of the volcano. Only a little was left. And the eclipse was starting. The Mechanist told everyone to put on their eclipse glasses. They put on their wooden visors with a slit for the eyes and resumed their advance.
"I'm here to tell the truth." The Fire Nation Prince professed.
"Telling the truth during the middle of an eclipse. This should be interesting." Ozai waved his hand and the guards left through the side doors.
"First of all, in Ba Sing Se, although it's true that I broke Chenlian and fought her, but I was losing, and it was Azula who defeated her. And what I regret more than anything, what I regretted every single day since then... was breaking and fighting Chenlian. I should have chosen her, protected her... but I failed her. Even though I loved her and still love her so much, and she kept warning me against you, what sort of man you truly are, what you did to her family... I never listened. I should have believed in her, like she believed in me."
"Would you hear that? Ain't that sweet? I thought you had finally become a man but after all, even in death, that girl still has you under her thumb huh?" Ozai scorned his son.
"That's what it means to love a woman, to have your heart stolen by her. But it seems you can't understand that. Also, that day in Ba Sing Se, it was also Azula who took down the Avatar, not me."
"Why would she lie to me about that ?"
"Because the Avatar is not dead. He survived."
"What? !"
"In fact, he probably is leading this invasion. He could be on his way here right now."
"Get out! Get out of my sight right now if you know what's good for you!" The furious Fire Lord stood up.
"That's another thing. I'm not taking orders from you anymore."
"You will obey me or this defiant breath will be your last!" Weighing each word, seething with rage, the man started marching towards his child, clearly intending to teach him a good lesson.
"Think again! I'm going to speak my mind and you are going to listen." Zuko unsheathed his broadswords and brandished them at him. As it was the very first time that his wimp of a son actually showed some grit, and truly stood up to him without backing down, he decided to sit back down and listen to the end.
"Where is he?! Where is the Fire Lord?!" Aang demanded.
"Hm, you mean I'm not good enough for you? You're hurting my feelings." The princess replied sarcastically. Sokka told her to stop wasting their time and give them the information. She was powerless right now so she was in no position to refuse. Toph added to stick to the truth as she'd be able to tell if she was lying. "Are you sure ? I'm a pretty good liar." Her face became completely expressionless. "I am a 400-foot tall purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings." She blatantly lied without the slightest change in her complexion, breathing, heartrate, blood pressure, muscles... anything. After a pause, Toph admitted she was good, but nonetheless strongly advised her to consider telling the truth... and encased her in an earth cone, leaving just her head. But then, the stone trap shattered, shocking the children. Azula smirked as she dusted herself. "When I left Ba Sing Se, I brought home some souvenirs. Dai Li agents." She said as two members of the Dai Li dropped from the ceiling and landed in front of her. Aang swung his staff at them, throwing out a blast of wind that harmlessly hit a stone wall.
Meanwhile, the invasion force had reached the edge of the crater. Bato gave the order to surround the periphery. They had to secure the palace by the time the eclipse was over or they'd be in for the fight of their lives. They made their way down to Caldera city. As they passed through the streets, a group of firebenders suddenly jumped before Haru, Tyro and other earthbenders, blocking their path. Tyro enjoined them to surrender peacefully so they wouldn't be harmed.
"We'll never surrender." The squad leader strongly and proudly declared. He stepped forth and tried to firebend at them... only to find out that he couldn't bend anymore... "Er okay, we surrender." He changed his mind and he and his group all bowed and presented their hands in surrender. Katara and Hakoda finally reached the edge of the crater too and looked down at the Fire Nation capital as the soldiers and tanks headed to the palace.
"There it is. The Fire Nation royal palace. We've come so far." The Water Tribe chief spoke, his voice seeped with emotion. He had been fighting all his life for that. But as his daughter reminded him, it was not over yet.
"For so long, all I wanted was for you to love me, to accept me. I thought it was my honor that I wanted but really, I was just trying to please you. You, my father, who banished me just for talking out of turn, my father, who challenged me, a 13-year-old boy, to an Agni Kai. How can you possibly justify a duel with a child ?" Zuko accused his father, pointing a sword at him.
"It was to teach you respect."
"It was cruel! And it was wrong."
"Then you've learnt nothing." The Fire Lord spat.
"No, I've learnt everything! And I had to learn it on my own. Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history and somehow, the war was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world. What an amazing lie that was. The people of the world are terrified by the Fire Nation! They don't see our greatness, they hate us! And we deserve it. We've created an era of fear in the world. And if we don't want the world to destroy itself, we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness." The young man repeated the words Chenlian had told him so many times, and whose truth he had finally acknowledged.
"Your uncle and Chenlian have gotten to you, haven't they?" Ozai laughed mockingly.
"Yes. They have." The boy smiled with pride, causing his father to frown disapprovingly. His son's mind had been poisoned.
Chenlian blasted the stone wall with a fireball, stunning Azula and her bodyguards. The eclipse had started! How could she still firebend?! The princess frowned deeply. The Dai Lis protected her from a second blast of fire but that second wall was blown too. They shielded themselves from the debris. A sharp pebble scratched Azula's cheek and she cursed, enraged. How much of a thorn in her side must Chenlian be until she was satisfied?! The kids charged. A tall diagonal wall suddenly blocked their path. The airbender passed over it, landed on the other side, and lost no time deflecting the earthbenders' attacks. Toph burst through the stone behind him, creating a hole in it quite high up. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she bended two diagonal earth pillars beneath the enemy earthbenders, pushing them towards the walls. But those two were quite skilled too. They nicely landed and bended a pillar down at Toph, who blocked the attacks with walls. Then she targeted Azula. By sending surging waves of rock, she certainly intended to knock her away, or even out, but the princess had anticipated it, and used the surging stone as a launching pad, and after a back flip in the air, she landed before the throne, smirking.
Chenlian ran and with a precise bending-enhanced jump, dived through the hold Toph had made, before flipping and thrusting her joined feet, sending another fireball at the other firebender. In the same time, Aang charged the princess. Seeing that, a Dai Li raised yet another wall and jumped in front of it. The fire blasted a hole. And without even an eye contact, Chenlian attacked the earthbender, distracting him and allowing Aang to pass through the wall she had made. She sent a fast and low wave of flames, preventing any escape inside the grounding and cutting his contact with his element and forcing him to jump. Then she sent a torrent at him while he was in midair, make him crash into the wall and knocking him out. The Avatar hurled blasts and arches of wind at Azula who easily avoided everything, as she kept running, somersaulting, and jumping around, all while heading towards the entrance. Although not as much as Ty Lee, she too was very agile. Chenlian, factoring in Aang's attacks and Azula's evasive habits, managed to hit her with a large plume of fire but not cleanly, and she was able to defend herself, although she still fell down, off balance. However, she was able to quickly recover and evade the monk's attack. The Fire Lord's daughter jumped up to the top of a pillar and slid down it. The other firebender blew the pillar with her lightning. The princess jumped just in time but the shockwave and debris upset her. Toph joined in the chase too. The other Dai Li agent came to her help his master, and bended a pillar up from beneath her, sending Azula into the air towards the hole in the wall that Toph had made. As Sokka was climbing up into it and passing inside, Azula flew above him, just inches away. She smirked down at him while he fearfully looked back at her. She landed on the other side and ran towards the exit. As he moved to climb back down, the Dai Li member also jumped over him and through the hole, followed by Toph, Chenlian, and then Aang. The Water Tribe warrior dropped down and went after them. The Avatar noted Azula was too quick to be pinned down.
The Dai Li agent left the room right after Azula and blocked the door with a wall that Aang shattered. As the male earthbender ran away, a pillar suddenly erupted from the wall that knocked him to the side... inside the groove of the large steel beam supporting the structure. A hole opened above the pillar and Toph came flying out. She smashed the Dai Li's gloves before grabbing both sides of the beam's grooves and pulling them in, trapping the agent. She and Aang were going after Azula when their two comrades stopped them and told them to stop attacking. They all stopped, even Azula.
"Azula is not our target, the Fire Lord is! Don't waste any more time on her." Chenlian reminded them.
"That's right! Don't you see what she's doing?! She's just playing with us. She's not even trying to win this fight!" Sokka agreed.
"Not true, I'm giving it my all." The princess sarcastically replied.
"You're trying to keep us here and waste all our time!" Toph accusingly pointed at her.
"Um, right. I think your friends just said that, genius. And since you can't see, I should tell you I'm rolling my eyes."
"I'll roll your whole head!" Toph was ready to fight, and was stopped from being baited again. They had no choice but to ignore her, get out of here and find the Fire Lord on their own somehow. They turned and started walking away.
"It's a trap. Don't say I didn't warn you." The firebender started again. Aang and Toph stopped and turned to her but Sokka kept walking, waving a hand back at her, and telling his friends to ignore her. "So, Sokka's your name right? My favorite prisoner used to mention you all the time." She taunted. The boy stopped to and turned to her. "She was convinced that you were going to come rescue her. Of course, you never came and she gave up on you." She affected hurtful casualness. As expected, Sokka's face contorted in anger and anguish as tears streamed down his face. Thinking of the one he had left behind and Azula's horrible ways, he let out a cry of fury and rushed at the princess, blinded with rage.
"Sokka! Don't!" Chenlian yelled.
"Come and get it..." The Fire Nation royal spoke under her breath with a smirk full of malice. She slipped a deadly, ornate blade from her sleeve into her hand. She had taken the concealed daggers trick from Mai. However, Toph sensed the deception and hurled a half stone circle at Azula, pinning her wrist to the wall, the blade dropping to the ground. Sokka grabbed the firebender's shoulder, pushed her up again the wall, and glared into her eyes.
"Where is Suki ?!" He demanded through gritted teeth.
"After I leave here today, I'm going to free Uncle Iroh from his prison and I'm going to beg for his forgiveness. He is the one who has been a real father to me." Zuko announced.
"That's just beautiful. Maybe he can pass down to you the ways of tea and failure." His father chuckled disdainfully.
"But I've come to an even more important decision. I'm going to join the Avatar. And I'm going to help him defeat you." The boy openly voiced his intention and rebelled against his parent.
"Really? Since you're a full blown traitor now and you want me gone, why wait ? I'm powerless, you've got your swords, why don't you just do it now ? You can take revenge for Chenlian's parents, and accomplish what your deceased ex-girlfriend couldn't do, since you seem to have inherited her will." The Fire Lord grinned slyly.
"Because I know my own destiny. Taking you down is the Avatar's destiny. Chenlian had understood that, which was why she wanted to depose you, not kill you. I always envied her strength, her ability to do what was right, to face everything and everyone, to look at others with unclouded eyes and to keep forging ahead without losing herself to rage, pain, sadness, hate, or resentment. I believe that HER strength is TRUE strength. And I'll grow stronger and prove it to you. It's true I inherited her will, but do not make a mistake, this is MY will too. This is the decision I made after seeing and accepting the truth." His son answered. "Goodbye." He turned to leave.
"Coward! You think you're brave enough to face me but you'll only do it during an eclipse! If you have any real courage, you'll stick around until the sun comes out! Why don't you cut out that disgusting hypocrisy?! You're pretending now, this late in the game, to be the loyal and devoted lover, after you used her, and trampled her all you wanted, after you betrayed her and got another woman? Yeah, right! Be more honest! You never actually cared about her, did you?" Ozai challenged his son, hoping to finish him off once firebending was back. Zuko was already a failure, if he turned against him, then he should be disposed of. Such a thing could not be family.
And indeed, Zuko stopped, balled his fists, and trembled. He wanted to rage and attack his father. That was because he had been hit where it hurt the most. But he had already decided to face his guilt regarding his actions towards Chenlian. Whatever was said or done to him, he deserved it, and had to accept it. So he simply withstood the blow, and walked forwards again. He had to pay for what he had done. The Avatar and those Water Tribe siblings were sure to hate him and resent him a lot because they really loved Chenlian. Convincing them was going to be difficult. He was prepared to endure anything and wait as long as it took, just like she always did. As his provocation didn't work, Ozai used another sure sensitive point.
"Don't you want to know what happened to your mother ?" And it worked. Zuko stopped at the doors and turned back to him. The Fire Lord grinned venomously. Right, the lover, Chenlian, and the mother, Ursa... these two women were his son's two sources of strength and greatest weaknesses. He was just a weakling who's been protected by women all his life.
"What happened that night ?"
"My father, Fire Lord Azulon, had commanded me to do the unthinkable to you, my own son. And I was going to do it. Your mother had found out and swore she would protect you at any cost. She knew I wanted the throne and she proposed a plan... a plan in which I would become Fire Lord and your life would be spared."
"Where's Suki?! Answer me!" Sokka glared at Azula from up close, but of course, the princess didn't pip a word. Aang grabbed his shoulder, meaning for him to ignore her and resume their search as she wasn't going to talk. Sokka hesitated, then turned back to Azuka. "Where are you keeping her ?!" He insisted. The captive kept smirking silently. Chenlian clicked her tongue and gritted her teeth. Sokka had completely fallen for that woman's trap, hook, line, and sinker. The way he was now, he just couldn't listen to anyone.
"Guys, I'm going ahead. If you won't go after the Fire Lord, I will." The mahogany-haired girl warned.
"Wait! It's too dangerous for you to go alone!" Toph tried to stop her.
"Then hurry and convince that guy. I won't let myself get distracted again at the very end and lose sight of what I must do." Chenlian left without looking back.
"Your mother did vicious, treasonous things that night. She knew the consequences and accepted them. For her treason, she was banished." Ozai finished explaining.
"So she's alive." Tears of relief overflowed from his eyes.
"Perhaps. I had Chenlian's parents killed because they were dangerous. I was lenient with your mother and spared her life. But now I realize that banishment is far too merciful a penalty for treason. Your penalty will be far steeper. No, I guess after all I AM still too merciful... since you seem to miss Chenlian so much I'll let you join her, by ending your worthless pathetic life!" As the Fire Lord said that, the moon moved, unblocking the sun, the first rays shone through. Ozai stepped forth and swung his arms, creating two arcs of lightning from the tips of his fingers that he thrust at his son. Zuko slid backward from the force of the attack, but he withstood it and managed to redirect it just as his uncle had taught him. The bolt struck the ground where Ozai was standing, creating an explosion that knocked the Fire Lord against the wall behind him and made him collapse on all fours. When he stood up, glaring, Zuko was gone and the carpet was burning at the place of the explosion.
"Oh. Sounds like the firebending's back on." Azula noted from the sound of the explosion. She kicked her leg upward, creating an arc of blue fire, startling Sokka and making him jump back in surprise. She thrust her foot forward, shooting a fireball at him. He was saved by Toph, who pushed him out of the way. Azula flipped up and placed her feet on the wall so she could give more strength to her arms. She freed herself and tried to heel drop Aang who jumped out way to stand before his friends. All three were ready for more. "Dad's all the way at the end of the hall and down the secret stairway on the left. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to see you now. You shouldn't waste time or it'll be too late for Chenlian. You wouldn't want her to be recaptured... or killed so soon, right? You know that even alone, she'll keep going ahead without stopping." And with that she quickly ran away down the tunnel.
"I fell for it! I used up all our time!" Sokka finally realized. Toph tried to comfort him. It was not his fault. Azula was ready for them. She had every move planned out. "And now it's too late." The Water Tribe boy dejectedly closed his eyes. The Avatar denied him. He could still face the Fire Lord even if the eclipse was over. He was ready. He had come here with a job to do and everyone was counting on him. Chenlian was already headed over there, he had to join her. But Sokka and Toph were against it. Without the element of surprise and with the Fire Lord's cunning and reading ability, the cards were stacked against them. Another chance was sure to come, so what they needed to do now was to go help their friends. Aang reluctantly agreed. But now, they had to bring Chenlian back.
Chenlian was running down a hallway when suddenly a wall erupted before her, blocking her path. She quickly turned to face her enemies but dropped her guard a bit when she saw Toph.
"We've lost this one. Let's stop this here and go back to the others. I made a shortcut to let the guys out. They're calling Appa over. We must go now." The earthbender said.
"You want me to give up now when Ozai is right in front of me? We haven't lost yet." The older girl disputed, sounding incredibly cold, implacable and forbidding. Toph, sensing the heat and sheer hostility the firebender was emiting, was surprised to feel cold sweat running down her back. Although she knew that murderous intent was not directed at her, she too was at risk of being burned by the fire that was consuming Chenlian's mind. She also understood what the others were saying about Chenlian needing people to stop her from going too far. And then, the blind child remembered their meeting in the wilds, when they were drinking tea with Iroh. She recalled how warm, kind Chenlian had been then, how she had spoken of her friends and the bonds she had formed with them, and how important those bonds were to her. More than anything, Chenlian was a person who cared about her comrades. That was the true her.
"Then, which is more important, fighting the Fire Lord alone, or helping your friends and all the people who came to fight with us get to safety?" Toph walked to her friend. The Fire Nation noblewoman felt like she had suddenly been slapped awake. She closed her eyes and calmed down.
"Isn't it obvious? Let's go. Since they were THIS prepared, I wouldn't put it past that bunch to have readied some sort of unpleasant trump card that would be too much for our guys to handle." Chenlian had completely recovered. Toph smiled.
The palace was surrounded by the tanks and warriors of the invasion force. Katara lay her father against one of the tanks. Everyone had taken off their eclipse glasses. Bato came running and asked Hakoda what they should do. Shouldn't something have happened by now ? The chief had no idea, but now that the eclipse was over he expected to see some firebenders any minute. Suddenly, all the troops looked up in shock as five Fire Nation war balloons ascended into the air behind Caldera City. The mechanist was horrified to see his own invention being used like this by the enemy. His son placed a consoling hand on his arm. And then, behind the war balloons were five enormous zeppelins. Katara saw Appa flying back to them, carrying Aang, Chenlian, Sokka and Toph who were also filled with dread as they watched the menacing flying machines. The female firebender bit her lip in frustration and tightly gripped the saddle. That day at the Northern Air Temple she should have gotten down and burned the remains of that war balloon. Then it wouldn't have fallen into those people's hands. As the bison landed, Katara ran to them. The Avatar was uneasily looking down at her.
"It was all a trap! Azula had plotted out every move and we fell for it!" Sokka summed up as he jumped down with Toph. "We 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, but so do I! I'm going to do what I can to slow them down." The airbender opened his glider and took off. Chenlian soared as well. Katara climbed on Appa and they took off too. Sokka ordered everyone to get back to the subs. They followed him.
The firebenders shot at the Avatar who avoided them and pierced straight through the fabric of the balloon. Air leaked and the machine went down. Katara slashed through another balloon with water from her flasks. Chenlian shot the three other balloons whose fabric started burning and the baskets fell. They headed to the zeppelins but the fire here was too nourished for Aang and Katara who couldn't do anything. It took all they had just to protect themselves. They had no choice but to return to the others.
However, Chenlian wasn't giving up just like this. She knew that by commissioning those airships, Ozai wanted to instill fear, shock, awe and despair into his enemies. So although she could simply destroy the rotors propelling those machines, she wanted to create an even stronger impact. She wanted to bring them down with an even more overwhelming power. She wanted to show them, to show Ozai, Azula, Zuko and all those blind idiots that she was still here, she could still fight, that she was strong, and they could never bring her down. She didn't care about the toll on her body. She wanted to do it. She took the higher ground and called for more power, reaching into the innermost depths of her self. Chenlian created a blade of fire she extended and started cutting into the rear end of the aircraft. Her power kept rising, as did the heat of her flaming sword that sliced through the whole tail. There were explosion and the zeppelin lost altitude and started sinking, leaving a trail of debris and billowing black smoke. She attacked the second one. Like some watermark or some heat sensitive red ink, markings started appearing on her body, although barely visible. And then as she finished slicing the tail of that second airship, suddenly, like a warning that she had overcome her limit, pain shot through her back and rippled through her body like lightning. It was a crippling, excruciating pain. She screamed and, writhing, freely fell. Fortunately, her friends who had seen her stay and decided to stay near out of worry for her zoomed towards her. They caught her and helped her into the saddle.
Zuko arrived at the prison. He saw damages indicating a battle had taken place. He ran inside, through the corridors, and saw more damage, as well as a guard lying on the floor who looked up, and then winced as Zuko ran past him. Something had obviously traumatized the jailer. The prince reached Iroh's cell.
"Uncle!" He yelled, only to find a huge hole in the cage that had clearly been blasted from the inside. He grabbed a groggy and tied up Poon by the collar and shook him. "Where is my Uncle?!" The teen demanded.
"He's gone! He busted himself out. I... I've never seen anything like it! He was like a one man army!" The warden answered, still overwhelmed by fear and awe. Zuko left.
The withdrawing invaders were running down the winding road on the flank of the volcano towards the harbor city, when the Water Tribe boy stopped and looked up. The airships were slowly passing over them when bomb bay doors opened up on their underside.
"Try and find cover! I think we're about to see some bombs." Sokka warned as Appa landed next to him with Katara and Aang. The girls jumped down and joined their friends. Chenlian staggered and dropped down on one knee but the waterbender supported her. The pain had subsided for a good part, only to be replaced by exhaustion. Well not only had she overdone it, but she hadn't been able to recover her peak condition in time, plus Guang wasn't there to support her anymore. Of course the backlash would be severe. They huddled together as Toph bended a large slab of stone above them. Other earthbenders did the same, protecting the other warriors. Bombs rained on them. They exploded all around them, on the tanks and earth shields. The cracking slabs menaced to crumble and crush them but they were reinforced and supported by pillars. The raid stopped as the zeppelins continued down their route. Katara wondered why they weren't turning back to attack them again. Aang noted they were headed for the beach. They were going to destroy the submarines! "How are we all going to escape ?!" Sokka exclaimed.
"We're not." His father said. It was simply impossible.
"Then our only choice is to stand and fight. We have the Avatar, we could still win!" The young strategist decided.
"Yes, with the Avatar we could still win... on another day. You kids have to leave. You have to escape on Appa together." Hakoda rectified him as Bato helped him over to them.
"What?! We can't leave you behind. We won't leave anyone behind." His daughter disagreed.
"We won't have to leave anyone behind. I'll just go back up there and destroy those three remaining things and we'll escape together." Chenlian spoke strongly as she stood up, glaring at the airships. But as she took off, Hakoda caught her arm and brought her back down.
"No! You've already done enough. Don't destroy yourself any more than that. We still need you." Hakoda said. However, the firebender insisted that she was fine and seemed so hell-bent on going that the Water Tribe Chief slapped her, stunning her. "Chenlian, I'm sure you feel ashamed and want to atone for your failures and for what the Fire Nation did. You feel responsible for our presence here. But that isn't something you should bear alone. It was our choice to come here, and we came prepared. And you don't seem to think about your friends' feelings at all. You have no idea how much you're hurting them with that attitude of yours. For those who love you, seeing you care so little about yourself is painful. They're not just allies, they're your FRIENDS. For them, you must treasure yourself more. But that's not all, you know, ever since Katara and Sokka have been considering you as their sister, you've been a daughter a mine." Hakoda suddenly hugged Chenlian, stunning her even more.
... A "father"... it was the "love of a father"... that she had so keenly felt in both that slap and that strong embrace. And just a few tears streamed down her eyes. She had completely forgotten what it was like. As an orphaned girl she had no choice but to grow used to living without it... 'I don't have anyone, I must be able to do it all on my own, I must be strong enough not to depend on others' She had forgotten just how big of an existence a father could be. Because you felt loved and protected, because you felt you had a place where you could always return to, you gained confidence in yourself, you gained strength, and that existence became a pillar of support. She had told Zuko that she understood his feelings of wanting his father to love him... but she didn't. Because she had forgotten what it was like to have a father, because she could no longer relate to it, she could never grasp the depth of his feelings and understand him. She really couldn't say anything now. Katara and Sokka joined in the group hug. Right, this smothering yet warm and comforting thing that made you feel like you were safely tucked in a cocoon was a family. Her biological family had taught her how to be her own person. And this family had taught her about the intimacy of a family. There were different ways of loving and supporting each other. They loved her. They cared for her. They wanted her to be safe.
"Chenlian, what you must do is to protect the Avatar and your siblings and take care of them. You're our only chance in a long run. You, Katara and Sokka have to go with Aang somewhere safe. It's the only way to keep hope alive." Hakoda insisted, releasing his children.
"The youngest of our group should go with you. The adults will stay behind and surrender. We'll be prisoners but we'll all survive this battle." Bato added.
"I've got some experience with the Fire Nation prisons. It's not going to be easy but we'll get by." Tyro spoke too.
"They're at the beach already!" Sokka yelled. The aircrafts reached the shore and started discharching their deadly cargo. Hue, Due and Tho did their best to protect the submarines, detonating the shells before it reached them or swatting them away, but there were just too many of them, the three swampbenders couldn't keep up. First the green creature, then the subs were bombed, though Hue was fine, having been shielded by the sheer amount of seaweed. The Avatar and his friend looked on in despair as their sole hope of escaping together burned away. Sokka tightly shut his eyes. Now, there was really no other choice but to accept his father's proposal.
Toph bended a pillar of stone allowing the mechanist to carry his son and place him on Appa's saddle. The father and child hugged and said their goodbyes. Teo was really proud of his dad. Pipsqueak helped The Duke onto the bison's head.
"I'll miss you, Pipsqueak."
"Take care, The Duke."
"I'll be back for you dad." Haru told his father as they were also hugging each other goodbye.
"If we don't escape on our own first." Tyro showed off. His son put his fist into his hand and bowed respectfully.
"We lost today but we've never been this close. We tasted victory and that counts for something." Hakoda reassured his children. This defeat hasn't been in vain.
"We'll miss you, dad." Katara said, hugging him again. Sokka joined the group hug.
"Bye dad. We won't be apart for too long this time. I promise." The boy put on a brave front. They climbed onto the bison. Aang was on his knees on Appa's head, crying. Katara went to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He glanced at her and she smiled at him. The monk wiped his eyes before standing up and addressing the rest of the invasion force.
"Thank you all for being so brave and so strong. I'm going to make this up to you." He looked at everyone. Katara climbed onto the saddle.
"Chenlian, you too." The female waterbender encouraged her too. Chenlian felt really shameful. She had roused those people, called them to fight her own country because she wanted to save it, yet she couldn't do a thing for them. Of course she understood what Hakoda and the others were saying, and that they were all acting for themselves and their respective countries too. But she still couldn't help but feel responsible. And she knew that Aang, being the Avatar, must be at least as frustrated as her. Yet he had still stood up and faced everyone. She couldn't be the only one running away.
"Well, I don't have much else to say, I am honored to have fought alongside you in this battle, but while we lost this one, there's no need to feel sad because nothing's over yet! And you all already know this, but I'll say it again: don't die! We'll win by keeping on living. We'll win by keeping on resisting and fighting! We'll win because we won't break! Wherever we are, whatever we do, we'll keep fighting until we win!" Chenlian declared strongly. The troops cheered. She and Aang sat back down. Momo perched himself on the monk's shoulder and Appa took off. The Water Tribe siblings looked back at all those they were leaving behind, like the adults watched the seeds of hope fly away.
"Should we follow them, Princess?" A zeppelin captain questioned as they observed the retreating sky bison.
"No. They're too fast. It doesn't matter, they'll be back." Azula smirked.
Aang and the children looked back at the zeppelin. Once sure it wasn't following them, they turned back to the front. Teo was holding Chenlian close to make sure she behaved and didn't go after that airship. He could easily tell that despite everything she'd said, she just wanted to DO something even though she was in no condition to, and he was worried about her. As for the airbender, he knew just the place for them to go where they would be safe for a while... the Western Air Temple. As they flew into the distance, Chenlian regretfully looked back one last time... and spotted what looked like a single Fire Nation war balloon rising above the clouds behind them and following them. She instinctively moved but Teo held her back and scolded her, and he wasn't the only one. Annoyed, she clicked her tongue innerly but nonetheless reluctantly agreed to stay put. Well, they should be able to lose it with their speed and the clouds. Inside the basket, holding onto the ropes, Zuko was staring off at Appa.