Collide

by FoxBlitz

Katara had been so sure of her plan to liberate the prison rig. How was she to know how efficiently the guards would respond to an uprising? Zuko had been positive that his best course of action was to travel separate from his Uncle. What else was he supposed to do when he came across a person from his past? Sometimes, through all the doubt, two people collide. Eventual Zutara.

38. Ch 38 - The Eclipse

Chapter 38 - The Eclipse

Zuko felt the change as it happened. It was difficult to describe. There was no immediate outward differences per se; however, the Fire Prince could sense his inner fire dwindling almost at once until all that remained was a tiny pilot light sheltering against the elements.

He felt weakened. Drained. His very soul constricted and denied to him. Zuko had thought he had prepared himself mentally for the expectation of the eclipse and the smothering effect it would have on his bending. But the physical toll inflicted by the eclipse was staggering. 'And all firebenders across the nation are feeling this,' Zuko reminded himself quietly.

Debilitating. That was the word for the enfeebling effect the Fire Prince was enduring. It was similar, yet different, to the previous condition Zuko had experience before, back in the Earth Kingdom when his bending had been lost to him once before.

Well, maybe not lost. Zuko shook his head. That wasn't the right word. His firebending was still there. Somewhere slightly out of reach.

Placing his hand on the hilt of his weapon, Zuko drew his Dao broadswords in a smooth, clean motion as the metal grinded against the sheath and he swirled the blades once in his hands to adjust to the familiar weight. The eclipse had started. All firebending would be locked away for eight minutes.

Staring down his Father, Zuko studied the frustration in Ozai's eyes. It was clear that his Father was experiencing the same impairing sensation of being denied access to the very element that Ozai likely thought defined him.

Attempting futilely one more time to summon up his firebending, Ozai growled with bitterness. Reaching down, the Fire Lord picked up a discarded sword from one of his unconscious Royal Fire Guard. Despite being removed from the ability that Ozai likely considered his greatest strength, the Fire Lord evidently was not going to simply admit defeat. Defiantly lifting the short sword and pointing it at his Son, Ozai's expression revealed his disgust with having to resort to using what he almost certainly deemed was a crude instrument utilized by inferior fighters.

Determined to end this quickly, if only to grant his Father that mercy, Zuko dashed forward with a firm swing of his broadswords to breakthrough his Father's novice guard and put an end to this war. Halfway from his Father, Zuko noticed Ozai struggling to figure out which was the best way to attempt to block the incoming sword attack.

A third of the distance. Zuko prepared to feint from the right. Ozai raised his short sword to deflect.

A quarter of the length now. From the shadow of his swing, Zuko lashed out with his real attack with the Dao broadsword in his left hand. Ozai's eyes went wide at the slash he didn't see coming. There was no time for the Fire Lord to shift his short sword to parry.

As Zuko observed what he would describe as the inevitably of defeat cross his Father's face, the Fire Prince noticed belatedly the hidden smirk that Ozai couldn't conceal any longer. In seemingly slow motion, the short sword in Ozai's hands was dropped uselessly to the ground as another weapon almost appeared to fly from the folds of the royal cloak covering the Fire Lord's broad shoulders. The clash of metal echoed throughout the chamber.

Zuko found himself knocked backwards as he tumbled head over foot from his Father's unexpected weapon counter. One of the Fire Prince's Dao broadswords reverberated loudly as it clanged on the ground at the Fire Lord's feet.

Placing a hand on his knee as he supported himself upward into a crouched position, Zuko looked at his Father to see twin metal sickles in Ozai's hands. The Fire Lord made a mocking show of imitating his Son's drawing of the Dao broadswords by spinning the sickles expertly before gripping them tightly at the hilts.

"Another lie. You always pushed the elitist idea that firebending was weakened when a firebender wasted time to learn blade arts," hissed the Fire Prince as he finished standing back up, down one of his swords, as he attempted to figure out how to reclaim the lost blade.

"And the fools who listen to that, are only all the easier to control," taunted Ozai as he walked over to the discarded broadsword. "You didn't think you were the only member of our family to be proficient with a blade, did you?" In a rare show of honor, or perhaps it was arrogance that his Son could never hope to beat him, Ozai kicked Zuko's wayward broadsword back towards the teenager. The metal screeched as it slid across the ground and came to a stop just short of the young firebender.

As Zuko stared at the blade, he heard his Father's goading words. "Pick it up." Raising his gaze, Zuko saw the sneer plastered across the Fire Lord's expression as Ozai repeated himself, slower this time, drawing out each word deliberately. "Pick. It. Up."

Zuko had spent his entire life being underestimated and ignored. There was something in his Father's contemptuous tone that seemed to awaken a dominant dragon that had been slumbering for a long time within the young firebender.

Placing his foot under the blade, near the hilt, Zuko kicked the sword up into the air, catching it in a spin as he finished in a ready stance. "I'm done losing these skirmishes."

Ozai spun his sickles together, the metal sparking as the sharpened edges grinded against each other with each rotation. "Now who's lying?" Both combatants rushed at one another.

---

Azula frowned as she felt her firebending leave her. She had toyed with her opponents too long and now her combat ability had been reduced. With a nod to the Dai Li agent, Azula forced herself to take a step back as the Earth Kingdom covert agent began to bend earthen rock hands at Katara, who used her water whips to swat the projectiles out of the air.

Not particularly interested in that fight anymore, Azula turned her attention to Ty Lee and Mai as they fought against the Earth Kingdom peasant. The fight was much more evenly matched than she had predicted it would go. Neither of her lackeys were benders themselves, but Azula had forced them to train around the clock to the point where benders of all types would have difficulty competing against them. After all, if Ty Lee and Mai were to be her right and left arms, then they needed to be able to do at least that much.

Azula frowned as she watched Jin continue to use metalbending to move a metal whip around her body to prevent Ty Lee from striking any of the Earth Kingdom girl's chi points. It didn't matter how agile Ty Lee was if she couldn't land a solid hit and render her opponent powerless. And it seemed that the fight had dragged on long enough for this Jin girl to grow accustomed to Mai's thrown projectiles. So much so that the Earth Kingdom girl was starting to predict when and where to earthbend a wall up to defend herself with.

The intense clashing of rock and water to her right gave notice that her Dai Li agent was holding her own for now against this upstart water peasant. But Azula had dueled against all her Dai Li agents before. She knew the level of their strength and how it compared. 'Perhaps sending two of them to assassinate Father was a miscalculation,' begrudgingly considered Azula to herself. 'One agent is not going to last the full eight minutes against this waterbender.'

It didn't make a whole lot of sense. Just how did this Water Tribe girl grow so much stronger? Azula had wiped the floor with her during their last encounter. How did she improve so quickly in just a couple of months?

The sounds of her minions fighting continued to echo across the chamber as Azula found herself... hesitant, to join either fray without her bending. It was a foreign feeling, almost alien. Her? The crown Fire Princess, the youngest lightningbender in all of Fire Nation history, was hesitating to fight just because of a stupid solar eclipse?

Father had always said that true firebending masters needed nothing more than their element to overwhelmingly crush their enemies. A weapon or otherwise was disgraceful for a true master of fire. And yet, Azula, for the first time in her life, felt lesser. All due to the fact that her firebending was denied to her. For a full eight minutes.

Then, as quickly as the sense of doubt arose, Azula crushed it under heel. 'I will not cower to these no-name peasants,' thought the Fire Princess inwardly. 'Even with my bending sealed momentarily, I am more than a match for the likes of them.' The two skirmishes on either side of Azula continued loudly as the Fire Princess waited for the opportune moment to intervene.

---

Unease and anxiety were rippling across the Fire Nation port as soldiers and sailors alike were realizing that their firebending was impaired under the light of the total eclipse overhead. Higher ranking officers were barking orders in a tense attempt to maintain good order and discipline, but it was simple enough to see the officer ranks were just as unsettled by the denial to their fire element as the junior ranks were.

Lieutenant Taka pushed through the confusion, flanked by members of the Akagi crew, as he scanned the assembly of apprehensive Fire Nation soldiers flooding the port area. One of his crewmates grabbed his shoulder as the man pointed in a far-off direction and exclaimed, "There!"

Tracing the line of where the Akagi crewmember was indicating, Taka narrowly managed to spy the side profile of Medic Wang moving swiftly through the crowd with several others. Unlike the regular troops in the port, Wang's group didn't appear overly distracted by the ongoing eclipse as they skulked towards an airship hangar at the far end of the base.

"Come on!" urged Taka as he gave chase, bobbing and weaving his way forward. It was a taxing effort as nearly everyone who could unintentionally get in his way, did.

The Fire Nation Lieutenant's leg knocked against a wooden cart that appeared abruptly in his path as he rushed along. The resulting collision caused one of the stacked bird cages in the cart to overturn, panicking a sleeping messenger hawk, who in turn flapped its wings in surprise at the sudden disturbance, making a distracting scene.

Sprawled out across the road after his tumble, Taka was flustered as he awkwardly righted the toppled bird cage and stacked it back on top of the other messenger hawk crates in the cart. The screeching of the agitated birds within the various shipping crates was matched by the irritated voices of the Fire Nation troops responsible for the messenger hawks shouting expletives at the clumsily Lieutenant.

"Sorry! Sorry!" apologized Taka hurriedly as he steadied the bird cages again and attempted to right the situation before taking off in pursuit of Wang's entourage once more. The shouts of the angry soldiers were lost in the crowd as they checked over the messenger hawks' condition.

Taka had lost sight of Wang's group briefly but managed to catch the movement of his sailors still giving chase. Following behind them, the Fire Lieutenant sprinted to close the distance.

The busy main street near the docks fell back behind Taka as he raced onto the interior roads of the portside base. Approaching an airship hangar, Taka paused as he realized that there was no one stationed at the primary entranceway leading into the building. "This isn't right. Where are the guards?" voiced the Fire Lieutenant out loud.

Checking one of the empty guard stations momentarily, Taka heard the faint scuffles of fighting occurring inside the hangar building. Rushing inside, Taka made it just in time to witness the last of his crewmembers collapsing in defeat as Wang and several other people stood near the gang plank leading up to the tethered airship parked in the hangar.

"Wang!" shouted Taka heatedly. "What are you doing?!"

Calmly wiping the dripping blood from his blade, Wang acknowledged the lone Fire Nation officer. "Lieutenant Taka. Were these your men? Apologies. I had thought they were more hangar guards." With a subtle gesture from their leader, Wang's men encircled the Fire Lieutenant.

"Who are you really? You're clearly not regular Fire Nation soldiers," stressed Taka as he measured the distance between himself and the soldiers surrounding him. He checked behind himself to take note of the two individuals lingering at his back.

"We are the true Fire Nation," affirmed Wang as he took a confident step forward. "The people who have long suffered under the callous rule of a tyrannical despot, finally taking back what is ours." Lowering his sword for a moment, Wang smiled. "You know, just the other day, you were one of us Taka. Just another nameless grunt being pushed around by those in charge. It's not too late for you to join our order. We could always use a rising star amongst the Fire Nation officers. Someone who can provide reliable intelligence."

His eyes sweeping across the encirclement of enforcers blocking any attempt at escape, Taka retorted, "Somehow, I don't think you're going to give me much of a choice." The Fire Lieutenant motioned to the airship with a head nod. "So, what's the angle here? Commandeer this airship? Then, what?"

"Then, we research this airship, figure out how it is constructed, and use the Fire Lord's new technology against him," replied Wang wisely. "And we're not alone in this fight. We're going to join back up with our likeminded individuals gathering across the world. Common folk who will no longer endure the repressive and smothering rule of a single lofty ruler. The Fire Lord, the Earth King, the Water Chieftains. Everywhere you go, it's the same thing. A single ruler making all the terrible decisions that have led the world to where we are now. It's time for a new system. A system of the people, for the people, by the people."

Wang sheathed his sword as he approached the cautious Taka. The revolutionary added, "It's time to introduce... a little anarchy."

Extending his hand, Wang looked expectantly at Taka as the revolutionary offered, "So how about it? Ready to join the Red Lotus and actually make a difference?"

Taka stared at the blood-soaked hand in front of him as he inwardly debated his options.

---

Fire Lord Ozai vaulted into the air as Zuko matched his height with a jump of his own. Sword and sickle rang out as the steel flashed, neither landing a solid strike. Touching down, both fighters whirled on their heels as they charged to meet again, this time both remaining grounded.

Ozai struck first, brandishing both his sickles in a quick arc as Zuko parried, his charge halted. Swinging low this time, Ozai shifted a step forward as Zuko hopped over the attack. Countering, the Fire Prince lashed out with his Dao broadswords just missing the hairs on the Fire Lord's beard.

Zuko blocked to the right, then pivoted on his heel to defend from the left, as an angry snarl from Ozai indicated the follow-up attack. Jumping backwards forcefully as he shifted his weight, Zuko stopped his Father's next swing as he body checked the Fire Lord, colliding heavily with a loud grunt of exertion.

Before Ozai could recover from the unexpected physical shove, he was forced to parry himself for a change as Zuko began a flurry of attacks, pivoting on his heels each time in an effort to confuse his Father from the direction of the next attack. Ozai paused as the side of his foot touched the base of his throne. He scowled at being driven backwards, especially this far.

Breaking the next thrust of the blade from his Son with a forceful counter, Ozai walked forward, driving his sickles downward repeatedly as he attempted to hook the teenager in the shoulder or neck. Zuko struggled under the gravity of the arced edges, bringing his swords upward to deflect and parry as he was now forced to retreat backwards.

The Fire Prince slammed harshly against the far wall as he held desperately against the double weapon picks from his Father. Grunting with effort, Zuko struggled against the weight of the sickles as Ozai shifted his entire body weight into the stalemate of blades.

Not willing to allow his Father to best him in a simple contest of strength, Zuko resolved to meet this challenge head-on. Flexing his muscles past their breaking point, the young firebender bellowed in contest as he threw the Fire Lord back and lashed out with a horizontal thrust that unfortunately only struck air.

But Zuko wasn't done yet. He dashed forward despite the smirk on Ozai's face, the Fire Lord thinking his Son was being reckless once more. The Fire Lord's smirk evaporated quickly as Zuko parried Ozai's counter effortlessly. Working his way inside his Father's guard, the young firebender kicked Ozai solidly in the chest with a sidekick.

Sliding a few feet backward, Ozai made a show of brushing his hand against his chest as if to imitate wiping away some insignificant blow. "Enough playing around," stated Ozai. The Fire Lord snapped the hilts of his twin sickles together, twisting the shafts as he connected the two smaller scythes into an extended double bladed weapon with sickles on both ends.

Eyes widening in alarm as his Father rushed at him with one hand gripping the new weapon behind the Fire Lord's back, Zuko rapidly brought up his Dao broadswords to block the wide swing of the polearm. As the metal grated against each other, Ozai adjusted his grip, slashing brutally and relentlessly with each curved edge of the sickle repeatedly.

Zuko backpedaled as he attempted to parry the flurry of thrusts, but Ozai was increasing the speed of his piercing attacks with each motion. The latest sickle jab sent the young firebender tumbling head over heels in a backwards roll as Ozai leapt in the air and brought his dual bladed sickle crashing down. The tip of the lead sickle sank into side of Zuko's tunic, drawing blood, as the young Fire Prince barely managed to twist his body out of the way from having his shoulder ripped off completely.

Flipping back onto his feet, Zuko grimaced as Ozai swept his long reaching weapon outward again and ran the blade across the teenager's boot, ripping the leather, and then, with a spin, at the boy's head, clipping some of his hair clean off his head as Zuko ducked to evade a worse outcome.

The Fire Prince's broadsword clanged loudly as he blocked the next attack aimed for his forehead and grunted as the Fire Lord delivered a swift kick to his stomach, pushing the young firebender away. The forcefulness of the armored boot to his ribcage caused Zuko to spit out in pain as he had the wind knocked out of him. His broadswords flew from his hands, one embedding itself in the nearby wall as the other clattered to the ground, ringing as it echoed across the chamber.

Breathing heavily, Zuko rose once more and felt a large gash in his tunic's side where the clothing had been ripped open as he inspected the damage there with his hand, never taking his eyes off his opponent. 'If I was a second slower, that would have taken my entire arm off,' fretted Zuko as he judged his shoulder to still be functional. Luckily his boot absorbed the brunt of the other swipe to his right foot, but the leather had been shredded completely to the point that Zuko's toes could feel the exposed air above them.

Fire Lord Ozai walked slowly towards his Son as he observed the wayward Dao broadswords that Zuko had lost again. "Tsk, tsk," mocked Ozai. "You really need to stop losing those. You're not a threat without your swords." He traced his weapon against the side of the wall, drawing sparks as he loomed closer.

Zuko looked back and forth for a replacement weapon but came up short as there was nothing nearby. The young firebender raised his fists defensively as he settled into a firebending stance despite knowing his bending was currently denied to him by the solar eclipse.

His Father scoffed. "Look at you. Out of tricks and powerless, even after all this time." Ozai hefted up his dual bladed sickles as he charged once more. "Farewell, boy."

---

"I still call no fair on the metalbending!" complained Ty Lee in a sing-song voice as she struck steel plates from the metal whip sword again when she attempted to inhibit the chi points on Jin's back. The acrobat cartwheeled away from the earthen spikes that exploded upward from her feet.

Jin was getting exasperated by the constant buzzing of the wily gymnast. Although the earthbender as doing an admirable job of preventing the chi blocker from striking her, Jin never seemed to manage to land a solid hit on Ty Lee either. It was a frustrating stalemate to say the least.

Which wouldn't be so bad, except for the fact that the earthbender also had to continuously worry about throwing knives that flew at her face and vital points courtesy of Mai every time Ty Lee distracted her. The duo combination of her opponents was rapidly wearing her down and Jin did not know how much longer she could keep this up.

Her vexation getting the better of her, Jin retorted, "If we're talking about fairness, then how is two on one any better?"

This seemed to give Ty Lee pause as she halted mid-charge and placed her finger to her chin in a thinking pose. "Hmm... I guess you're right about that."

"The victor gets to decide what is fair," declared Mai as she released another flurry of blades while glaring at Ty Lee for pausing her attack.

"That doesn't sound very sporting either," mulled Ty Lee before she resumed her charge. Leaping across a pair of earthen columns, the acrobat avoid the pincering snare that attempted to catch her.

Noticing Katara nearby, engaged in combat with a Dai Li agent, Jin send a barrage of rocks flying at all three opponents. As their adversaries blocked or evaded the attacks, Jin drew close to Katara's side.

"Trade dance partners?" asked Jin hurriedly.

"Sounds good to me," agreed Katara quickly. The Dai Li agent she was fighting kept trying to restrain the waterbender's movements anyhow. All it would take would be one earthen hand to hit its mark and the Water Tribe girl would likely be pinned down.

"Oh! I love dancing!" cheered Ty Lee as she had overheard the earthbender and waterbender. "It's so much fun!"

"Then, you're going to love this!" exclaimed Katara as she washed a spread of water across the ground in front of the charging Ty Lee, freezing the liquid as it flowed outward.

Jumping into the air to avoid getting her legs frozen to the ground, Ty Lee struggled to maintain her balance on the frictionless ice once she returned to the floor. Suddenly, a series of knives embedded deeply into the ice, up to their hilts, carving a path towards the waterbender, courtesy of Mai.

Wasting no time, Ty Lee utilized the footholds to hop her way across the freeze trap and leapt at the Water Tribe girl. "No hard feelings about this!" apologized Ty Lee as she lashed out at an unguarded part of Katara's extended arm.

Moving in sequence with the acrobat as she struck, Katara gracefully arced her body like water, grabbing Ty Lee's wrist and spinning around as she shoved the gymnast to the ground. Keeping a hold of Ty Lee's arm and pressing her leg onto Ty Lee's back to keep the acrobat restricted to the ground, Katara swiftly used some more water to freeze Ty Lee in place, immobilizing her opponent.

"That's one down," breathed out Katara as the whistling of steel caused her to move barely in time to avoid taking a dagger to her own back. The edge of Mai's blade still grazed the Water Tribe girl's arm, drawing blood.

Hopping away, Katara's left hand glowed bright blue as she healed the cut on her right arm while staring down the weapon mistress, who stood protectively over the locked down Ty Lee. Dropping a kunai into Ty Lee's hand, Mai extended her wrist as a short tantō slid into her palm.

Katara braced herself as the weapon mistress descended upon her, a flurry of sharp stabs hidden behind the draping fabric of Mai's long sleeved tunic. Each strike came quicker than the last and from an unpredictable direction. It was taking all of Katara's focus to intercept the unrelenting series of thrusts with continuous swings of her hand to generate a small ice shields in time to block and parry.

Without warning, the Water Tribe girl felt a sharp prick on her shoulder and risked an interruption of her focus to look at the distraction. A small senbon needle was embedded in her shoulder. Gripping the thin needle, Katara quickly pulled it out and returned her attention back at Mai, who stood there smirking.

Before Katara could wonder what her opponent was so confident about, she felt her world spin as her vision blurred and her head spun. Her eyelids were feeling extremely heavy and it felt almost a relief to allow them to close.

Mai watched as her opponent stumbled, barely catching herself as the Water Tribe girl futility attempted to figure out what was going on. It was too late for the waterbender to do anything anyway. There was enough sedative on the tip of that senbon needle to bring down a full grown man. A teenage girl didn't stand a chance of withstanding the effects.

Katara took one step forward, missing the placement of her foot, and collapsed in a tangled heap on the ground. The waterbender didn't get back up, much less move from her spot.

Still holding the tantō in her hand, Mai took measured steps forward as she approached her downed opponent carefully. Even if it appeared like her opponent was out of commission, Mai wasn't some rookie. It paid to be ready for the unexpected during a fight.

That was the only thing that allowed Mai to react in time to an ice stalagmite that attacked her from the side as she neared the supposedly unconscious waterbender. Hopping to the side, Mai shattered the ice before it could stab her.

Katara rolled back to her feet as she rapidly weaved water around Mai, picking the weapon mistress up into the air as she added another ring of water, then another, until Mai was encased in an orb of water. There was uncharacteristic panic in the weapon mistress' eyes once she realized that she was struck within the water, unable to breathe.

Pushing her hands down, Katara slammed the water orb onto the ground, leaving a sputtering Mai next to the ice-encased Ty Lee. With a swing of her arm, Katara froze Mai in place as well.

As both fighters caught their breath, Katara from exertion and Mai from being underwater, it was Mai who angrily managed to growl out first, "How?"

"Waterbending healing," returned Katara simply.

Mai narrowed her eyes. "Waterbending healing wouldn't have gotten rid of my sedative. It slows the rhythm of body down, forces you to sleep."

The weapon mistress was right. After realizing that she was about to pass out from whatever had been on that senbon needle, Katara's survival instincts had kicked in and she had performed something that she wasn't sure she was going to ever do again. Something she hadn't even been sure she could do during the day either. The Water Tribe girl had used her bloodbending internally on herself to forcefully speed back up the flow of her blood and jolt her body with a surge of energy to break pass the sedative circulating her system.

Not that it had worked fully, Katara was still struggling to shake off the desire to go to sleep, but that feeling wasn't as strong as it had been a minute ago. That was why the waterbender attacked swiftly and harshly. She needed to end this fight now, especially since she still felt sluggish.

"You're right. I just followed some advice Zuko told me," retorted Katara as she checked to ensure both of her opponents weren't going anywhere.

Mai attempted to lunge back to her feet, but remained firmly in place, frozen to the ground by Katara's ice. "Don't ever say that name around me," growled Mai as she struggled against her restraints.

As Katara started to make a snarky comment, Ty Lee interrupted in confusion, "But Mai, you like Zuko."

"I've told you before, Ty Lee," hissed Mai. "All threats to Azula must be dealt with immediately and severely. That especially means her traitorous Brother."

Now it was Ty Lee's turn to be flabbergasted and interrupted by Katara as the Water Tribe girl spoke up, "Such a convenient word to toss around when there's someone actually trying to save the Fire Nation from the ruthless leaders driving your country into the ground. Zuko's the Fire Lord this country needs. It's Azula and Ozai who are destroying the world."

"Zuko is traitor and a coward," stressed Mai heatedly, her wild struggles not ceasing as she pushed against the ice. Katara reinforced the weight with her waterbending, which only infuriated Mai even more. "He's a turncoat and an apostate. He's not worthy to rule! That's why he was banished! He spoke out against the Fire Lord!"

"Enough, Mai!" pleaded Ty Lee. "You don't mean that! You've been strange ever since we left Ba Sing Se. But I know you, of all people, would never say those things about Zuko! You've always admired him."

As Mai thrashed uselessly against her ice bindings, Katara approached Ty Lee. "What do you mean, strange?"

Ty Lee's attention turned towards the Water Tribe girl as the acrobat admitted truthfully, "Ever since Mai disappeared for a little while in Ba Sing Se, she's been so distant. I mean, Mai's always a bit standoffish, but never to her friends. And never when it comes to Zuko."

"Why? Does she have a crush on him or something?" inquired Katara offhandedly. The Water Tribe girl had expected a quick negative answer, but she was met with an awkward silence as Ty Lee seemed to mental debate revealing Mai's secret.

A peculiar emotion made it's way through Katara. It was a similar emotion to how the waterbender had felt when she observed Jin and Zuko's date back on the ranch; a mixture of jealousy and overprotectiveness.

Standing over Mai, Katara crossed her arms as she talked down to the weapon mistress. "You're telling me that you had a crush on Zuko in the past, but you still just stood by and let him endure all that misery of his childhood and banishment without standing by his side? You allowed Azula to bully him, hurt him, taunt him; all without saying anything? You must have; otherwise, Zuko would have mentioned you when he was telling me about his past."

Katara knelt down next to the restrained Mai to ensure her next words were very clear. "You didn't actually love him. You cared more about yourself and how people would view you if you were seen around Zuko." The Water Tribe girl drew closer. "Well, I have news for you. I'm Zuko's girlfriend. And you're not. And Zuko's the happiest I've ever seen him."

Ty Lee's gasp signaled just how the acrobat received the Water Tribe girl's news. The gymnast cautiously attempted to arc her neck over to see how her friend was taking the waterbender's words. Mai had, simply froze.

Or at least to the outside world, that's how it appeared. However, from deep within Mai's psyche, a series of memories played on repeat. The time when, as kids, Azula had snatched Mai's hairband away and broke it before walking away, laughing cruelly. Mai had cried for days, only for the same hairband to mysteriously reappear on her dresser, haphazardly fixed with glue. Mai had seen a young Zuko later that day with sticky fingers from all the glue he couldn't seem to get off his hands.

And another memory where she watched, from behind a tree, a battered and fatigued Zuko training tirelessly for hours on end within the practice field by himself after a particularly humiliating defeat in an exercise match against Azula. All the teachers and mentors had left, refusing to waste their time on the deadbeat of the royal family, but Mai couldn't help but see Zuko's unwavering persistence to improve himself. It was captivating.

Not to mention the time when Zuko rushed to help her when Azula had placed an apple on Mai's head and set it ablaze with firebending to scare her friend. Both Zuko and Mai had ended up in the fountain, drenched with water, but Zuko did successfully keep Mai's hair from catching fire.

Each memory came faster than the last and each leaving a lasting impression on the stoic girl. The irises in Mai's eyes became less dilated as they returned to normal.

Blinking a couple of times, and with a bewildered expression of someone who was awaking from a dream and not knowing exactly where they were, Mai muttered out, "Ty Lee?" She looked around some more. "Where... What is..." She attempted to move only to realize she was held fast to the ground by frigid ice. "Why am I stuck to the floor?" she grumbled in her normal voice.

Both Ty Lee and Katara exchanged a confused glance as they turned back to the seemingly disoriented Mai.

---

Zuko dodged backwards as he continued to lose ground to his Father's vicious onslaught. Unarmed as he was, there was little else the Fire Prince could do. And he couldn't evade Ozai's sickles forever.

A fact that was made abruptly apparent as Zuko's back collided with a chamber wall. The Fire Prince had lost track of his surroundings as Ozai's attacks had led his Son into a corner.

Zuko grit his teeth as he deflected a sickle swing with his armguard only to get cut on the forearm and the side of his leg. Sliding against the wall, Zuko dove and rolled to avoid the next attack. A deep nasty groove was carved into the rocky wall from where Ozai had struck.

Sensing the heavy horizontal swing of his Father's double-bladed sickle polearm before he actually saw the attack, Zuko pulled a familiar weight from his right boot, drawing his Earth Kingdom dagger from it's hidden sheath. Sparks flew as Zuko's dagger caught the rounded edges of Ozai's sickle, metal grinding along metal, both the Fire Prince's hands gripping the compact hilt for leverage as he precariously held the reaping weapon at bay.

Ozai glared at his Son's risky defense as the Fire Lord clutched the shaft of his weapon tighter and increased the force of his swing. Zuko's focus was set in determination as he fought back even harder to keep his balance. This contest of wills resulted in Ozai's overpowered swing beginning to push Zuko along the ground in an arcing semicircle.

Glancing up at the Fire Lord as he shifted along the dusty ground, Father and Son shared an brief exchange as pale yellow wrathful eyes glared heatedly at resolute golden eyes that returned a steadfast courage. Neither fighter was willing to give an inch.

As he slid across the ground, his Earth Kingdom daggers hazardously holding back the double-bladed sickle that threatened to cleave him in half, Zuko's eyes never left his Father's direction as the Fire Prince reached out with his left hand. Belatedly, Ozai realized that his most recent attack had positioned his Son back in range of one of his discarded weapons.

His fingers wrapping around the hilt of the Dao broadsword that had been embedded in the nearby wall, Zuko yanked the blade free as his arcing semicircle slide pivoted him across the chamber. His right hand still maintaining a firm grip on the dagger locked in a tense exchange with his Father's weapon, Zuko swung out to counter with his left.

The recovered sword edge coerced Ozai to relent in his attack as the Fire Lord was forced to block. Pushing his Father back with a follow-up slash from his Earth Kingdom dagger, Zuko charged forward as he suddenly found himself on the offensive.

"You're wrong, Father," retorted Zuko in response to his Father's earlier dismissal of him. "I do have one power." Father and Son locked blades once more as Zuko confidently stated, "I never give up." Nocking his right arm back, Zuko hurled the knife in his hands with all his strength.

The Fire Lord sidestepped Zuko's Earth Kingdom dagger by a hair's breadth as the engraving on the side of the blade flashed in front of his eyes, 'Never give up without a fight.' Time seemed to slow down long enough for Ozai to read the words.

Before he could insult his Son for the groan-worthy trash talk, Ozai flinched in surprise as Zuko was already on top of him again, forcing the Fire Lord to block a horizontal swing aimed at the Fire Lord's exposed left side. Ozai winced slightly in pain as Zuko still managed to clip the Fire Lord with a cut to the man's forearm as the young firebender drew his Dao broadsword back from the recent parry. The cut wasn't the worst, but it was still enough to draw blood; the first real wound Ozai had received in a long time.

Hissing in pain as he retreated a couple of steps, Ozai looked downright murderous at the confident look in his Son's eyes as the boy settled into another ready stance. Ozai touched his left side with his right hand absentmindedly as he kept his eyes locked on the little upstart. His eyes flickered to the red smudge on his fingers as the stickiness caught his attention and his eyes narrowed. No one had ever harmed the Fire Lord before and never had he once lost blood in a fight. Ozai had toyed around too long; long enough for his Son to think that he had even the slightest chance of winning.

Snarling, Ozai was going to end this fight right now. Whirling his dual bladed sickle around, he lunged at the young firebender with another series of repeated thrusts, but Zuko was ready this time. Instead of blocking, the Fire Prince sidestepped the first piercing thrust and slashed downward, gripping his single Dao broadsword with both hands to increase his strength. With an arduous yell, Zuko cleaved Ozai's long polearm back into two separate pieces as he destroyed the weapon's shaft.

Off balance at the abrupt change to his weapon, Ozai stumbled a step forward and just barely managed to bring his now separated sickles to bear in time to deflect the follow-up flurry of slashes from his Son. Hooking his straight blade around the curved edges of his Father's twin sickles in a single deadlock, Zuko twirled both of his Father's weapons in a small circle that quickly grew to a large ring as both sickles flew from the Fire Lord's grasp. In shock, Ozai hopped back a couple of paces rapidly to create more distance.

Now weaponless himself, the Fire Lord scowled angrily at his predicament. No firebending, no weapons, no remaining allies; he was at the mercy of his Son, a situation he had never expected and one he was clearly displeased with. Then, Ozai heard the clattering of metal bouncing off the ground as both of his twin sickles were kicked back towards him.

Zuko was standing a couple of steps away, the Dao broadsword in his right hand extended towards Ozai while he had recovered his Earth Kingdom dagger back into his left, both blades held close defensively. Motioning to the discarded iron sickles that had been kicked back to Ozai's feet, Zuko stated confidently, "Pick them up," echoing his Father's earlier taunt, except Zuko's voice did not hold any of his Father's provocation, but instead all of the chivalry of an honorable warrior that the Fire Prince was.

Fire Lord Ozai stared at the charity resting just at his feet, the handout lying there within his reach, the magnanimity. His scowl slowly transformed into a dark glare as he snarled infuriatedly. He was the Fire Lord, not some beggar. He utterly refused to accept the generosity from someone he knew to be beneath him. "This changes nothing, boy."

"Pick. Them. Up," reaffirmed Zuko firmly. "You may be a tyrant, but you showed honor earlier and I will return the favor."

"Honor," jeered Ozai flippantly. "A convenient word. You just want a clear conscience when you cut down your own Father and seize the throne for yourself."

"This isn't about the throne," countered Zuko sharply. "This is about doing what's right."

"Don't try to cover this up with pretty words. It's a power grab, pure and simple," mocked Ozai jeeringly. "Although, quite frankly, I must admit, I am a little proud of you, if only for this once. I honestly did not think you had it in you to raise an army and challenge me, but here we are. Perhaps there is some hope for you after all. Maybe you do have the soul of a conqueror in you somewhere."

"I am your child," shot back Zuko swiftly in response. "But I am more than that. I am my Mother's child as well," proclaimed the Fire Prince gallantly.

"Ah," drew out the Fire Lord with an unhidden smirk. "Your Mother. So, now we come to the heart of the matter," taunted Ozai. "You seem to know so much, do you know the truth of what happened to her?"

That gave the Fire Prince pause. Zuko could tell his Father was stalling, not picking up the iron sickles at his feet and suddenly becoming talkative. He needed to end this conversation now and get back to finishing this battle before the eclipse ended and the advantage was lost. He knew that, and yet... "I know enough. You killed her, or you had her killed; either way, she is long dead."

A low, deep chuckle escaped Fire Lord Ozai's throat as the laughter grew in volume and tempo. "No..." declared Ozai evocatively. "She yet lives."

The mixture of emotions that played across Zuko's face was readily apparent: surprise, distrust, confusion, wrathfulness, but most importantly, hope. "Where?" When Ozai didn't respond, Zuko demanded louder. "Where?!"

"Closer than you think and further than you will ever know," replied Ozai cryptically. "You seem to hold her in high regard, but she is just as sinful as the rest of us. Did you know that she did vicious, treasonous things the night the former Fire Lord died? All to protect you. Or at least that's what I told her."

Zuko was fighting with himself to put a lid on the anger that was threatening to boil over within. Breathing deeply to calm himself, Zuko leveled his blades at his Father once more. "That's all I'm going to get out of you, isn't it? Fine. After this war is done and settled, I'll find her myself."

Ozai appeared oddly calm despite his current situation. "You assume that you are going to survive this day? Bold ambitions for a traitor. You were banished once before. It seems that was far too merciful a measure." Ozai closed his eyes as he focused. "I will ensure your new penalty, is far steeper."

Zuko felt the change as it happened, like a great spark igniting within him as he felt his inner fire roar back to life like an insatiable inferno of might. Zuko knew exactly what had just happened. The eclipse, had ended.

Fire Lord Ozai's eyes snapped open as he whipped his arms around and generated lightning by ripping at the yin and yang energies and firing that bolt of lightning directly at his Son in a matter of seconds. Zuko's eyes widened in alarm as he dropped his blades to the ground and accepted the electricity into his body, sliding back a good distance from the force of the impact. The lightning raced in from his extended left arm, down through his stomach, and back out through his now extended right arm as the Fire Prince punched forward.

Ozai expected this redirect and released a second blast of lightning that collided with the first. Both deadly attacks clashed with one another, neither gaining ground, but both racing upward until they slammed against the ceiling and exploded, bringing a large collection of rocks and debris raining down.

Zuko coughed through the cloud of dust as he scanned through the dirty smoke, searching for any sign of the next attack. Nothing came. As the smog cleared, Zuko cursed as he realized his Father had done the one thing Zuko never actually expected the Fire Lord to do. Ozai had withdrawn through a hidden exit behind the throne.

---

Noki had followed Azula back to the Fire Nation with her two fellow Dai Li agents because, like many others of their order, they believed Azula had the strength and ruthlessness necessary to rule a nation. Far more so than the clumsily oaf Kuei or the far-too cautious Long Feng. Kuei had been a sheltered monarch who was little more than a puppet whose strings were pulled by Long Feng. But even with all that power, Long Feng couldn't match the fear-to-disobey that Azula instilled in her followers.

Ba Sing Se required a ruler who was strong, indomitable, unshakable. Someone who would allow for the preservation of the great antiquity of the immemorial city. Whether that person was Earth Kingdom or Fire Nation mattered little. If the Dai Li needed to follow the Fire Nation to maintain Ba Sing Se's continued existence, then the Dai Li would serve.

However, right now, in this very instance, Noki found herself reevaluating that assessment. Azula was currently hanging back at the edge of the two fights going on in the closed off chamber. The strength of this unknown earthbender in front of Noki was, quite simply, firmly in control of this contest of earthbending. It didn't matter what approach Noki took or angle she attacked from. Each assault of earthbending was blocked by a steadfast wall or endured by resolute column or broken apart in the hands of this firm earthbender.

The Dai Li agent held onto her limp left arm with her right as her wound dripped with blood; the after-effect of several rock chucks piercing her person. The agent had not been so nimble as to avoid all of the projectiles.

"You're strong," noted Noki as she attempted to figure out a way to strike at the earthbender opposite of her.

Jin allowed herself a small smirk. "You should consider yourself fortunate that you are facing me. My master would scold me if she saw that I hadn't wiped the floor with you yet."

Noki internalized that piece of information. 'If this is the student, then how much stronger is the master?' Not that Jin gave the Dai Li agent time to ponder that particular thought. Noki hurriedly brought up an earthen wall to absorb the impact of a hailstorm of stones.

None of Noki's earthen fists were ever going to lockdown the limbs of her opponent, Jin just destroyed the projectiles whenever they got close. And without the swarming tactics normally employed by multiple Dai Li, Noki did not hold much hope in herself landing an effective attack in the near-future. Especially since her opponent seemed to be improving as the fight continued.

The Dai Li agent dropped her earthen wall to strike out again, only to widen her eyes in confusion when she saw that Jin hadn't remained stationary like most immobile earthbenders. Instead, Jin had somehow kept her charging footsteps silent with earthbending as she approached. When Noki's earth wall crumbled, Jin was right there to slam Noki in-between a pincer of two sturdily constructed earthen walls.

Dazed from the impact, Noki was slow to react to the metal that she felt clasp around her left wrist and drag her to the nearby underground chamber wall. The metal brace dug firmly into a solid wooden pillar that was supporting the ceiling. Noki futilely grasped at the metal restraint with her right hand, but she couldn't break the binding nor could she bend the wooden pillar. The Dai Li agent had been taken out of the fight.

Noki had failed to delay her earthbending opponent any longer as she watched the Earth Kingdom girl rush to the Water Tribe girl's side. Confided as she was, Noki could only hope her fellow Dai Li agents were having better luck in their ambush of the Fire Lord; otherwise, a displeased Azula could spell much doom for Ba Sing Se.

---

Azula scowled as she observed her Dai Li agent lose completely. Perhaps attempting to eliminate her Father during the eclipse had been a miscalculation. It looked like she actually needed all of her Dai Li here together. 'Useless pawns,' berated Azula in her head. 'Can't even win a one-on-one fight.'

Not that her other minions were doing much better. Both Ty Lee and Mai had been restrained by the waterbender and appeared out of the fight.

The Fire Princess formulated a new plan as she noticed both Katara and Jin reunite and make their way towards her direction. Although, Azula always had a card to play, even now.

With a mocking slow clap, Azula applauded her opponents as they walked closer. "Expertly done. You've clearly bested my champions. No wonder my favorite prisoner had such faith that you would be the one to rescue him. He used to mention you all the time," declared Azula.

Confusion graced both Katara's and Jin's facial expressions as both narrowed their eyebrows. "Who are you talking about?" asked Katara. Their group of friends had divided into different teams to fight multiple battles, but there was no way Azula had captured and interrogated any of the others in that short time frame.

A touch of sinister glee crossed Azula's face. "Really now? And people call me cold. Katara, was it? That's your name, right? My favorite prisoner was always absolutely convinced that you would come running to save him any day now." The smirk grew on Azula's mouth. "Of course, you never came, and he eventually gave up on you. Broken spirit and all that. Such a shame. I would have though a famed powerful bender like that would have had more willpower. Oh well."

Realization hit Katara like a ton of bricks. With everything else going on, she couldn't believe that it had slipped her mind in the first place. Of course, there was only one person who Azula could be talking about. The bewilderment that had been on the Water Tribe girl's face silently contorted into a blind rage. Katara rushed at the Fire Princess with an angry shout.

Grinning wickedly, Azula slid a dagger into her hand from her sleeve. "Come and get it," she whispered darkly.

However, the glint from the metal in Azula's hands didn't escape Jin's notice. With simple step and shift of her feet, Jin summoned a pair of earthen cuffs that raced past Katara's charging form and caught each of Azula's wrists, binding the Fire Princess to the wall just as Katara reached her target.

Shoving her forearm against the base Azula's neck, preventing the Fire Princess from moving further, Katara snarled with anger. "Where. Is. Aang?!" she demanded harshly, her voice dripping with venom.

Azula's smirking face was the only response Katara received and it infuriated her to no end. Katara waterbent an array of pointed ice needles with her free hand as she hovered the projectiles inches away from various vitals on Azula's person. "I'm done playing your games, Azula. Where are you keeping Aang?! Answer me!"

Coughing against the force that Katara was placing on her throat with the Water Tribe girl's forearm, Azula just laughed coarsely. "Oh what are you going to do? Kill me? If you do that, then there will be no one to give the order to the soldiers waiting to eliminate that useless idiot in his cage. And if you hold me prisoner, then do you really think you have the strength keep me locked me up? What to do? What to do? Tick-tock little waterbender, not much time left to decide."

Several ice needles shot rapidly into the wall along Azula's head and near her heart. The Fire Princess didn't have a drop of fear in her expression as she called Katara's bluff. "So scary..." mocked Azula with smirk. "Cheap tricks aren't going to-"

The Fire Princess grunted in pain as an ice needle dug roughly into her left arm. The confident superiority rapidly shifted into unbridled outrage as Azula narrowed her eyes and growled, "That... was a mistake, you dirty water savage."

"No, that was just the beginning," returned Katara as she waterbent another ice needle forward, this time into the upper portion of Azula's right leg.

As the Fire Princess struggled to repress the cry of pain, Katara forced herself to continue the hardline stance. There was a tiny voice in the back of her mind whispering to inflict all sorts of dark torture upon the firebender in front of her. And it was taking a large amount of focus by the waterbender to keep that voice in check. It led to a place that Katara never wanted to go again.

"I said, I'm not playing games Azula," stated Katara resolutely as she readied more ice needles. "Where are you holding Aang? Tell me know, otherwise, you're going to learn what pain ready is."

Azula glared at the Water Tribe girl in front of her. Perhaps provoking the water savage was the wrong tactic. Azula had been expecting the waterbender to bark and nip for information. The Fire Princess had never expected this sheltered looking girl to actually strike a defenseless opponent. The blood dripping from the wounds on her arm and leg signaled just how much of a misread that had been. Because now, Azula wasn't entirely such that Katara wouldn't actually cause more physical harm in order to learn the Avatar's location.

Before anyone in the chamber could make another move, an explosion from somewhere down in the tunnel system rocked the entire room as some dirt and dust fell from the ceiling. The change that disruption brought was immediate.

"Oh, sounds like the firebending's back on," stated Azula matter-of-factly as she kicked her leg into a wide arc and sent a blue fire blast that nearly struck Katara as the Water Tribe girl twisted out of the way to avoid the surprise attack. Somersaulting her body up to gain leverage, Azula employed measured fire blasts to break her earthen shackles. From her place on the wall, the Fire Princess kicked out several more arcs of fire both Katara and Jin, who each backpedaled to create more distance.

Looking past the waterbender and earthbender, Azula smirked as she noticed both Mai and Ty Lee approaching from behind her opponents. The Water Tribe girl and Earth Kingdom girl didn't even seem to realize that they were about to be ambushed. Azula watched as Mai slid a small dagger into either one of her hands, and Ty Lee cartwheeled closer.

However, the feeling of triumph quickly evaporated into a sense of disgust when Azula saw both Mai and Ty Lee continue past the Water Tribe girl and Earth Kingdom girl to stand side-by-side with them instead of ending the fight then and there.

"What are you fools doing?!" growled Azula. "You could have killed them quietly!"

"Yeah... no," dismissed Mai flatly. "You brainwash me and expect me to follow you blindly forever? Not anymore. We're done being used by you Azula."

"What?!" snarled Azula, the last of her allies leaving her. Lightning sparks crackled across her fingers in fury. "Get over here now, or you're going to receive the same treatment as these invaders."

"How could you mess with Mai's mind, Azula? I thought we were all friends," stated Ty Lee.

Mai readied the knives in her hands. "It seems my love for Zuko was stronger than my fear of you." Katara flinched at Mai's words, but held her tongue for now. That issue could wait. "Being reminded of that broke me free of your brainwashing. I'm not going back to being your lapdog," finished Mai.

Something within Azula snapped. The thought of anyone defying her, especially the minions she specifically groomed to follow her, enraged the Fire Princess to no end. Without further warning, Azula shot deadly lightning at the group.

Reacting quickly, Jin raised an earthen wall as Katara encased the blockade with ice to strengthen the overall barrier. The defense shook violently, but held under the impact of the cold blooded fire.

Turning to the weapon mistress, Katara challenged, "Were you being truthful about going against Azula?"

"Yes," returned Mai simply.

Katara seemed to debate something for a moment before coming to a decision. "Azula said that she has Aang locked up somewhere. Do you know where that is? Can you rescue him and bring him to the invasion force above ground?"

Surprise entered Jin's eyes as she turned to her friend. "Katara? You're trusting these two with the Avatar's life?"

"We don't have much of a choice. We need to deal with Azula and someone needs to rescue Aang. We can't do both at the same time. And we're out of time now that the eclipse has ended," surmised Katara.

Jin looked like she wanted to say something else, but Mai spoke first. "I remember everything from my time under Azula's mind control. I know where the Avatar is and how to handle the guards. Ty Lee and I will free him. I'll do it for Zuko."

Now it was Ty Lee's turn to look surprised. "Mai? You've never been this honest about your feelings for Zuko."

Mai didn't answer as she made her way to the far chamber wall and pressed a hidden button as a doorway slid open and the weapon mistress rushed through. Ty Lee chased after her friend. "Wait! Mai!" Poking her head back through the doorframe, Ty Lee gave a tiny wave towards Katara and Jin. "Don't worry! We'll free the Avatar, no problem!" With that, the acrobat disappeared into the side wall as the hidden door shut behind her.

"Guess we're working with them now," muttered Jin.

"We can talk about it later," returned Katara. "We need to focus on taking down Azula."

As the Earth Kingdom girl turned her attention back towards the Fire Princess, Jin noticed that Azula was just standing there quietly. The firebender was glaring at the spot on the wall where Mai and Ty Lee had darted into.

"Careful," warned Katara to her friend as she studied Azula with a cautious eye. "There's something wrong with Azula. If anything, she seems even more dangerous."

Jin examined Azula as the firebending prodigy appeared to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She saw Azula's mouth moving slightly, but she couldn't make out the words the girl was saying to herself softly.

"They abandoned me! Me!" muttered Azula lowly and darkly to herself, her head turned down towards the ground. "No one turns their backs on the Princess of the Fire Nation! It's just not done. I'm the one who does the rejecting, not the other way around."

A snap decision crossed Azula's facial features as a sinister laugh escaped her throat. "They paint me the bad guy? That's fine. It's no fault of mine. I don't need them anyway. I don't need any of them. I alone am enough to lay waste to my enemies. Besides, you can't be betrayed if there's no one there to betray you."

Looking up, the Fire Princess glared at the two remaining benders in the bunker with a crazed expression. Louder, Azula taunted, "So you two think that you're a match for me? Oh, how ambitious we have become today. You should have fled the second the eclipse ended." Lightning crackled in her palms. "Allow me to show you why firebending stands at the pinnacle of strength."

Jin metalbent the metal stake from earlier closer to protect them from the electricity. However, Azula was counting on that. As the metal post was brought closer, the Fire Princess dispersed the lightning that had been forming in her hands and instead released a blue inferno at the metal rod, quickly melting it into a useless lump of molten magma.

"Not good!" exclaimed the Earth Kingdom girl as she realized she had been baited by Azula's ploy. Hastily, Jin attempted to reform the metal post but the bright red and white molten steel was sluggish to react. More lightning crackled in Azula's hands as Jin tried to work faster. Out of the corner of her eye, Jin noticed Azula taking a step forward to unleash her deadly lightning. Jin knew that there was no way she was going to finish reconstructing the metal lightning rod in time. In desperation, Jin attempted to shout out a warning to her friend.

Seconds away from releasing her attack, the Fire Princess' wrist jerked abruptly towards a different direction and the electricity harmlessly scorched a spot on the far wall. Jin turned to see Katara in an odd bending stance and locked in a firm focus. "Was that...?"

Katara nodded solemnly. "Bloodbending," the waterbender confirmed. The drain on her concentration that this specialized technique required right now was enormous.

"But there's no full moon," noted Jin, perplexed. "How?"

Wiping off a bead of sweat on her forehead with her arm, the Water Tribe girl returned to her ready stance as she explained, "The eclipse need a full moon in order to block out the sun, right? Even underground, I can still feel the full moon high above. It's moving away and I can't leverage full control of my bloodbending, but I can at least do this much."

Azula screeched in fury as she released burst after burst of lightning, only for Katara to grab her wrist each time with bloodbending and redirect the deadly attack in a harmless direction. "You stupid little water savage! You're just like a cockroach ant! Quit struggling and just die already!" This process repeated for some time, but it seemed like Azula was the one tiring, while Katara was getting more familiar with her new bending style with each clash.

Deciding to simply overpower the waterbender and her strange bending power, Azula gathered more electricity into her palms, more than she had ever attempted before, as she shifted the power across each of her fingertips, charging each one. This was more lightning than even her Father had bent before, than anyone had ever bent before. One wrong move and the attack would backfire, but she was Azula, the fire prodigy.

Flinging both arms forward, sending an array of ten lightning strikes out from each finger, Azula felt both her wrists being bent sideways as the lightning danced from her fingertips and struck out at everything around the bunker. The inelegance of the attack was unbecoming of a royal princess, but in the moment, Azula did not care. This version of lightningbending forfeited precision for sheer powerful destruction. And what Azula needed right now was power, not grace. Everything in the lightning barrage's path was simply ripped apart as it was struck.

Katara and Jin both dove for cover as electricity shot all around the cavern, crashing into everything; the walls, the ceiling, pipes, supply crates. Rocks and debris exploded outward everywhere as the entire chamber shook. "She's going to bring this whole place down!" exclaimed Jin, her tone laced with urgency.

"First, I'm going to kill you two. Next, I'm going to kill each and every one of your little friends. And finally, when my Brother is broken and devastated over your deaths, only then will I put him out of his misery and take my rightful place as Fire Lord," announced Azula from amidst the explosive maelstrom. "Then, I'll track down all the traitors and betrayers and scum who have dared to ever insult me, and I'll break all of them."

"Azula! Don't!" shouted Katara in warning, but the Fire Princess was already charging another one of her full powered lightning blasts. The waterbender set her face in concentration as she seized Azula's wrists with bloodbending and pushed them in opposite directions as the electricity danced across the ceiling, ripping apart rock and stone. With a shutter, a flurry of rock shards exploded outward as countless boulders began to fall.

Jin grabbed Katara's arm as she pulled the Water Tribe girl into a full on sprint towards the exit and did her best to earthbend the numerous falling rocks away from them. A grunt of agony rang out from behind the earthbender, followed by a quick, "I'm fine! Keep going! Get the door!" in Katara's pained voice.

Jin metalbent the sealed iron door out of the way to create an opening and the two of them jumped through the entrance as the entire ceiling gave way behind them, the earth shifting and settling as piles of rocks came to rest in the chamber they were just in. A cloud of dust surged into the hall corridor, covering everyone and everything outside the collapsed chamber in a fine coating of dust.

Outside the collapsed chamber were the surviving members of Katara's and Jin's strike team. It seemed that there was an ambush out here too as the strike team clashed with members of the Fire Nation defensive guard. Fortunately, the allied forces appeared to come out on top.

Katara leaned her back against the wall opposite of the entrance to the collapsed chamber as she sat down, her legs stretched out in front of her and her right arm across her body, gingerly cradling her left side. "She wouldn't stop..." muttered the Water Tribe girl as she attempted to catch her breath. "I tried to warn Azula. But she just wouldn't stop..."

Jin dusted herself off as she stood up and put her hand on the pile of rocks blocking the previous pathway. Reaching out for a couple moments, she stated, "I don't feel any movement in there. But the whole place is a mess." Katara let out a grunt of pain as Jin looked back. The waterbender looked a little pale. "You alright?"

Katara nodded slowly. "Yeah. Just... a little tired from all the bloodbending. Just give me a minute to catch my breath."

As Jin was about to say something else, Zuko and Toph came running around the corner, followed by the rest of their battered, but still alive, strike team members. They seemed to be in a urgent hurry.

However, Zuko's eyes widened when he saw Katara resting against the wall and he signaled for his forces to halt as he cried out, "Katara!" He rushed to her side, his previous objective momentarily forgotten. "What's wrong? Are you hurt somewhere? We heard the cave-in and Toph told us it was a big one."

Katara gave him a warm smile as she held his outstretched hand with her left hand. Zuko placed his other hand on top of hers. "Everything is alright. I'm okay, really," answered the Water Tribe girl. "Just a bit exhausted. The fight told a lot out of me."

Zuko raised the Water Tribe girl's dusty hand to his mouth as he kissed the back of it. "Thank goodness you're okay." Then, he paused as he looked around, finally taking stock of the others. "Are you alright too, Jin?"

Jin nodded after being acknowledged as she motioned to the rest of their team. "We're all good here." She looked back at the collapsed chamber overflowing with piles of rocks. "But, Azula..." Jin shook her head. "That cave-in you heard. Azula caused it. She was in the middle of the chamber when it happened. Only Katara and I got out."

Zuko's face grew sorrowful for a moment as he understood what the earthbender was implying. He was now an only child. Something he had never wanted and something he had hoped Azula never truly wanted either, despite the numerous taunts she had told him to the contrary. "I... see," Zuko whispered after a moment.

Getting up from his place next to Katara, Zuko approached the piles of rocks haphazardly sliding from the entrance to the collapsed chamber. Putting his hand on a flat-faced stone, Zuko bowed his head as he took a moment. "Farewell, Sister. I hope you find peace in the next life."

Giving her boyfriend a minute, Katara eventually asked the important question that had been on her mind as she shifted uncomfortably. "Did you defeat the Fire Lord?"

"No," answered Zuko as he continued to stare at the rumble. "Father fled once he lost the upper hand. We were pursuing him."

Katara looked sternly at the Fire Prince with purposeful eyes. "Then, keep going. The fight against Azula took a lot out of me. I need some time to rest up. But I'll catch up soon."

Toph looked at Katara critically at the waterbender's words. She stepped over to say something as Zuko spoke first. "Are you sure you're alright? It couldn't have been a simple thing to face my Sister. I'm just thrilled that you're okay. At least allow me to leave some soldiers here to protect you as you recover."

"I'm fine," stressed Katara with considerable effort. "I can still protect myself and you're going to need everyone you can get to break through any more barriers between you and the Fire Lord. Now go! You're wasting time. We can't miss this opportunity to end the war. We're so close!"

Zuko looked back at his girlfriend once more. Determined blue eyes met concerned golden orbs. Then, with a nod of understanding, Zuko turned to lead his forces in pursuit once more.

It was then that Toph spoke up. "Hey Katara, what are..."

"The rest of you!" interrupted Katara loudly as she addressed the remaining members of both allied strike teams. "We're in the final push now! The Fire Lord is on the run! I'm counting on everyone here to support Prince Zuko with everything you've got! Just a little more and this war will be over!"

Approving cheers rang out from the assembly of allied soldiers as morale skyrocketed. Katara gave Toph a very pointed look that silenced Toph for a moment.

When Zuko looked confused and hesitant at the Water Tribe girl's outburst, Jin interceded on Katara's behalf. "I'll stay with Katara and make sure that we both make it back to the invasion forces above ground."

Satisfied, Zuko replied, "Thanks, Jin. You both stay safe." With that the Fire Prince continued down the Fire Catacombs as he led the combined assault force.

Toph lingered for another moment. As the last of the soldiers took off down the tunnel, the little earthbender leveled a glare at the waterbender. "What's really going on? You just lied to Zuko, Katara. Why?" Jin's gaze snapped toward the Water Tribe girl at Toph's statement.

At Toph's confrontation, Katara slumped down further on the wall from her already seated position. The tough front she had been putting on had truly been a facade as her strength left her. Blood began pooling at her left side as she no longer had the stamina to keep bloodbending. She kept pressure with her right hand, but that clearly wasn't enough.

Jin rushed to her friend's side as she peeked at the wound Katara had been concealing. There was a large shard of rock puncturing the Water Tribe girl's lower back, blood was leaking from the gashing injury. A sharp gasp escaped Jin's throat as the Earth Kingdom girl raised her hands to cover her mouth. Toph grimaced as she saw the extent of Katara's injury.

"No, no, no..." muttered Jin in a panic as she tried to put pressure on the wound. Katara's touch on her friend's hand gave Jin pause as the waterbender shook her head.

"I don't think I have long," declared Katara weakly, all the strength and fierceness from her earlier bravado completely spent. "I don't have the strength left to waterbend, and I'm not entirely sure I could patch this up with my healing even if I did. I think the rock is actually the only thing keeping me alive right now."

"This is all my fault!" lamented Jin loudly. "I failed to block all the falling rocks!"

Katara coughed up some blood. "You did everything you could, Jin. I just wasn't fast enough." She turned to Toph. "Don't tell Zuko," demanded Katara sternly. "Don't tell him. Not until after the Fire Lord is defeated. He can't be worrying about me at a time like this. He wouldn't have left my side if he knew and he may abandon the battle if he finds out now."

"Katara..." started Toph. "He deserves to know."

"Not yet!" shouted Katara forcefully as the exertion caused her to cough up some more blood. "Help him, Toph. Please!"

The little earthbender turned away from the Water Tribe girl with a frustrated expression on her face. "I... won't tell him," Toph declared after a moment. Then, lower in volume, almost only to herself, the little earthbender whispered softly, "You were like the older sister I never knew I wanted..." Then, Toph took off down the same tunnel that Zuko and the others traveled with tears falling from her eyes.

"Thank you... Toph," smiled Katara. She felt Jin interlock her fingers with her own. Tears started to run down the waterbender's eyes as the gravity of the situation started to take hold. "I don't want to die..." Katara murmured softly, the last of her courage fading away and only the harsh reality remaining. "I don't want to go..."

Jin already had a full stream of tears coursing down her face. "If I earthbend the rock out carefully, could you use your healing ability then?" She didn't get a response. "Katara?" The waterbender's hand went slack within the earthbender's grasp. "Katara?!" But the Water Tribe girl was already gone.

---

Hakoda withdrew his whalebone spear from the chest of a Fire Nation soldier as the allied forces finished repelling the latest effort by the Capital garrison force attempting to reclaim the Imperial Palace courtyard. Catching his breath, the Water Chieftain took a quick survey of the allied forces.

Most of the soldiers were sporting wounds of some sort or the other. And they had attrit about twenty percent of their original force already through the fighting from the docks to the capital to their current position.

The earthbenders had been hit the hardest. It wasn't like the allied forces had many of them in the first place, and ever since the climb up the road leading to the Capital City, the Fire Nation forces almost seemed to target the earthbenders specifically.

Chinook approached his Chieftain's side. "We can't hold this position much longer. We're losing too many trying to defend an area. We need to get mobile again. We can't let the enemy pin us down like this."

Hakoda grimaced. Chinook had a point. The allied force's losses skyrocketed when the assault stalled out in front of the Imperial Palace. The problem was, they still didn't know where the Fire Lord actually was. Only the scouting team that had checked out the communications relay site had actually reported back in.

Which meant that the teams belonging to his Daughter and the Fire Prince ran into complications that made them unable to report in. Hakoda refused to think that either team had been actually wiped out. He couldn't allow his thoughts to go there.

And the additional team that Hakoda had sent into the Imperial Palace confirmed the earlier reports that the Fire Lord was not inside. Which kept them in their current predicament of holding their current position.

Jeong Jeong approached from Hakoda's other side. "Your warrior is right," affirmed the Fire Admiral. "We need to change locations. Otherwise we risk being overrun."

"Too late," commented Bato as he approached with Jee at his side. The Water Warrior gestured towards the swarms of Fire Nation forces amassing across the various roads.

"That's three full battalions worth of troops at least," added Jee. "And I'm seeing the banners of some of the forces that had been fighting in the Earth Kingdom. It appears the Fire Lord recalled some of his frontline forces to crush this invasion. They won't be the same push-overs we've been facing from the garrison forces."

Overhead, the shadow of the full moon encapsuling the sun shifted as the daylight returned to normal. There was a noticeable change amidst the Fire Nation deserters in the allied forces as their firebending returned to them.

"The eclipse has ended," noted Bato with dissatisfaction. "That's not good."

The enemy Fire Nation battalions began to march closer in the distance.

"What's the plan, Chief?" implored Chinook. "I'm all for smashing Fire Nation heads, but this is too much for our forces to hope to match."

Hakoda breathed out to calm his nerves. Addressing all his warriors, the Water Chieftain stated firmly. "We all knew that when we came here, we were going to be in for the fight of our lives. Even if we succeeded in defeating the Fire Lord, we would have to fight our way out of here. We have teams out there, still fighting. Fighting to find and stop the Fire Lord. And they need time to do that."

The Water Chieftain's eyes swept across his forces. "That is our role. We can give them that time. We can hold the enemy here. Keep their attention on us."

A tense silence rippled across the allied forces as they realized the gravity of the fight they would have to somehow endure. Every minute would be paid for in blood.

With an accepting nod, Chinook acknowledged his Chieftain's order as he returned to his place on the battleline to rally the Water Warriors around him.

"Come on, you all heard the Chief!" called out Bato as he joined Chinook amongst the Water Tribe ranks. "Look alive! We'll give as good as we get from these jokers!"

The enemy Fire Nation battalions had increased the pace of their march as they continued to draw closer.

Jeong Jeong and Jee moved to the front of the amassed Fire Nation deserters as they observed the oncoming enemy forces. Hearing the rattling of armor, Jeong Jeong glanced over to his side to see one of his men shaking in his boots.

"Spirits preserve us," muttered the frightened Fire Nation deserter as the man took an involuntary step backwards at the sight of the approaching enemy hoard. A very human reaction.

Captain Jee grabbed the scared soldier by the shoulder before the man's panic could spread to the other anxious troops gathered around them. "The Spirits aren't here," asserted the Fire Captain sternly. "It's just you and me and our comrades-in-arms. Fight for the soldier at side and trust they will fight for you."

That didn't seem to comfort the frightened Fire Nation deserter as he glanced back over at the fast moving enemy wave, then back at Captain Jee. The man turned to run again. "Please! Let me go!"

Shoving the panicked deserter back into position, Jee held the man roughly as he shook the man's shoulders and pulled the deserter's attention squarely on the Fire Captain. "The sun rises, and now my course is set. It shall not end until my death."

The panicked man stared back at Captain Jee in confusion. Clearly, the deserter had no clue what Jee was talking about.

But Admiral Jeong Jeong did. It was the old Fire Nation oath that flickered into the Admiral's memory. A pledge long forgotten ever since Ozai took over as Fire Lord and abolished the practice. Ozai had not wanted his soldiers to be loyal to the Fire Nation, but instead loyal to him. The wording of the old oath had changed. But it was no wonder that Jee knew the original words. The Fire Captain may be new to the rank, but he had been in the Fire Navy for a long time.

Standing there, even Jeong Jeong was reminded of his early days, back when he first said the same words as he became a recognized soldier in the Fire Nation forces. The old Admiral found his voice joining in with the Fire Captain as the next verse was said.

"I shall hone my skill, master my strengths, overcome my weakness. I shall serve the people and safeguard the innocent," continued Jeong Jeong as his eyes met with Jee's and both men nodded.

The enemy komodo rhinos bellowed loudly in challenge from the front of the enemy's charge as the battlelines stampeded closer. Spears were lowered and secured as the cavalry broke forward.

Jeong Jeong and Jee were about to affirm the next verse of the old Fire Soldier oath when several other voices joined in with theirs, voices belonging to multiple other older members within the Fire Nation deserter ranks. "I am the flame that will light the way, the sun that will bring the dawn. I am the kindling that will spark victory, the burning sword in the darkness."

Those who did not know the words, the younger Fire Nation deserters and the other allied forces alike, felt oddly energized by the words and determination from the graybeards in the Fire Nation deserters ranks. Pikemen lowered their spears to brace for the incoming cavalry charge as allied firebenders and earthbenders summoned their respective elements close.

Jeong Jeong took position at the front of the allied forces, fire blaring to life in his hands as his voice echoed the loudest amongst the others chanting the final verse of the old oath. "I pledge my life and honor to the Fire Nation, for this day and all the days to come!"

Moments later, there were nothing else heard save for battle shouts and frenzied cries as the two opposing forces clashed. Chaos ensued as the komodo rhino cavalry charged directly into the allied forces lines.

---

"Times about up," declared Wang sternly, just an arm's length away from Taka. "Are you in or out?" The other Red Lotus members surrounding the pair tensed as they prepared to react to Wang's next order about what to do with the wayward Fire Nation officer in their midst.

For his part, Lieutenant Taka remained tentative. Joining up with a bunch of unpredictable anarchists who just viciously cut down several Fire Nation sailors may not be the best idea. The young Lieutenant noticed the sharp glint of the array of swords encircling him. Then again, refusing the gracious offer being presented to him might also not be great for his immediate health either.

As Taka opened his mouth to give his answer, a single Fire Nation soldier wandered into the unsecured airship hangar. "Hey, Pazu! That you over there?!" the soldier called out as he walked into the area. "Can you believe the nerve of our unit? Everyone ditched work today!"

The Red Lotus members exchanged glances, then looked to Wang for guidance. The revolutionary leader gave a speechless head nod for his men to intercept the new arrival.

"I mean, Muska, I can understand," continued to talk the unexpected interloper. "That guy has always been a flake. But for everyone to abandon their posts and force us to guard this place alone? That's just down right irresponsible," griped the Fire Nation soldier as he continued to approach Taka and Wang.

As the Red Lotus members surrounded the Fire Nation soldier, the man seemed to finally take notice of the people barring his path. "Who are these guys? Come on, Pazu, we've talked about this. You can't be showing off the airships to your friends."

"Ha, ha... friends! Yup! That's what we all are here! Everyone's a friend," nervously stated Taka as he felt the tense energy of the situation spike with every step this outspoken Fire Nation soldier took. "So there's no need for..."

"Kill them both," ordered Wang flatly as he drew his sword swiftly in an effort to cleave Taka in half from the speed of his draw.

"Whoa!" cried out Taka as he fell back horizontally, just somehow managing to angle his body underneath the deadly metal arc.

Catching the wrist of the closest Red Lotus member to him, the gatecrashing Fire Nation soldier twisted his attacker's sword out of his grasp and dropped a small, lit explosive into the now vacant hand. "Here, hold this for me, would ya?" Giving the Red Lotus member a quick kick to the back of his knee, the Fire Nation soldier sidestepped the measured explosion that engulfed the hapless revolutionary fighter.

Sliding some burning firecrackers across the slick warehouse floor, the Fire Nation soldier disrupted the three charging Red Lotus warriors that attempted to rush him. As the revolutionaries performed an awkward dance of high knees to avoid the exploding fireworks at their feet, the intruding Fire Nation soldier produced a compact metal pole and slammed it harshly across the back of the necks of his opponents, dropping them quickly.

Taking a step to direct his men, Wang was forced to hop back as Taka struck out with his own sword, catching both their blades in an interlocking stalemate. With a cry of exertion, Taka overpowered Wang's defense and shoved his foe away.

Not allowing Wang time to think, Taka surged forward with a flurry of calculated sword swings and thrusts that put the revolutionary leader on the defensive as the Red Lotus mouthpiece struggled to keep up with the onslaught of heavy blows. From an upward swing that raised Wang guard, to a double strike from the left that forced Wang to block with his less dominate hand, Taka was clearly the superior swordfighter between the two.

Seeing an opening, Wang lashed out with a desperate sword thrust when Taka appeared to stumble slightly. Catching his footing and pivoting on his heel, Taka crashed his black obsidian blade forcefully on top of Wang's outstretched steel edge. Metal shattered into jagged chunks everywhere as Wang's inferiorly crafted sword fragmented from the heavy impact.

Holding the hilt of his broken sword up in disbelief, Wang was unprepared when Taka stepped within the revolutionary leader's guard and smashed the pommel of his obsidian blade into the man's face. As Wang toppled over, defeated, Taka turned to take stock of the rest of the situation.

Another series of small explosions resounded throughout the airship hangar as the remaining Red Lotus fighters collapsed in blackened heaps. Apparently, the other Fire Nation soldier didn't need any help as he disposed of the other opponents.

Holding his sword at the ready, Taka cautiously approached the interloper. He didn't know how this man would react once he realized that Taka wasn't this Pazu person that the man had called out to before. Pazu was probably one of the original guards protecting this warehouse that had been eliminated by the Red Lotus revolutionaries beforehand.

"Any more of them around?" asked the explosive expert as the Fire Nation soldier walked up to Taka without much concern for the sword being held out at him.

Taka looked around while keeping his sword up. "These were all the ones I saw," he answered after a minute. Then, the Fire Nation Lieutenant tilted his head as he studied the other Fire Nation soldier's face. "You look familiar... You were the soldier transporting all those messenger hawks! You followed me all the way out here?"

The Fire Nation soldier grinned. "I couldn't leave a distressed ally in the lurch. You looked like you needed a hand after all." Motioning to the bodies scattered around the hangar, the Fire Nation solider chuckled. "Looks like I was right."

When Taka continued to look clueless for a minute, the Fire Nation soldier hinted, "Master Jeong Jeong's camp? You ate several bowls of potato soup despite being suspicious that we might have poisoned it to capture Aang."

"Chey?!" recognized Sokka as he finally put a name to the face of the man in front of him. "What are you doing here?!"

"I could ask the same of you," replied Chey as he slapped Sokka's shoulder energetically. "Why aren't you with the main invasion force?"

"I got separated," answered Sokka as he sheathed his meteorite sword back onto his waist. "We got ambushed by the Fire Nation Central Fleet at the Pale Cliffs and I was the distraction."

"From what I hear, you were responsible for much more than a distraction," commented Chey. "By the sounds of it, you quite nearly brought down the entire Central Fleet by yourself. How did you manage to get away from the explosion?"

"Uhh..." came the stalling reply from the Water Tribe boy as he thought back to what he remembered.

---

Peeking his head out of a barrel, Sokka watched as the last of the Fire Nation sailors exited the cargo hold of the Water Tribe ship. He listened to their heavy footsteps as they walked back up the wooden stairs.

Creeping out from his hiding place, Sokka snuck over to the where he had stashed the tied cords to the array of blasting jelly barrels. Fumbling with the flint for a moment, the Water Tribe boy got to work striking the fire stater with a small knife, flinging sparks over the cord of kindling. As the edge of the cord burst to life as it caught fire, Sokka looked back up at the hulking pile of explosive blasting jelly. Suddenly, the gravity of his plan hit him harder as he imagined what was about to happen.

The footsteps on the stairs behind him signaled the return of a Fire Nation sailor, which ultimately snapped Sokka's attention back to the quickly burning denotation cord in his hands that was racing towards the stockpile. Dropping the cord, Sokka charged towards the stairs and stormed right past the surprised Fire Nation sailor, who had not expected to see someone running out a room that had already been cleared.

Ignoring the shouts to stop coming from behind him, there was only one singular thought repeating through Sokka's head as he ran across the deck towards the nearest guardrail. 'Get off the ship, get off the ship, get off the ship!'

Firebent fireballs roared all around him as the enemy sailors attempted to interfere with Sokka's determined charge. One or two burning projectiles singed Sokka's arms and legs, but the Water Tribe boy still managed to grab the side of the ship and leapt overboard just as chain of explosions started from within the ship's hold.

A piece of debris struck Sokka's head as he fell towards the sea below, and the Water Warrior impacted the cold salty water with a rough splash. Sokka could feel his consciousness waving back and forth as he sank further and further into the murky depths. Somewhere in the back of his brain, Sokka knew that he needed to move if he wanted to keep living.

Above the flickering waves, Sokka faintly observed the relentless explosions from the blasting jelly tearing both the Water Tribe ship and the nearby Fire Nation vessels apart with each eruption of concussive denotations of shrapnel and fiery powder. Time seemed to stretch on slowly as Sokka sank, watching the destruction above, his arms and legs unwilling to make the strenuous effort it would take to swim, and his vision fading to black.

Distantly, indistinctly, alarm sirens blared loudly as the Fire Nation armada above struggled to react to the unchecked devastation ravaging their fleet. However, it was just a dull ringing in Sokka's ears, the sounds muffled through dense water. The light of the sun was growing further in the distance as the Water Tribe boy descended down to the bottomless depths.

Sokka couldn't be sure if his drastic efforts had made a difference in the long run, or if his friends had even managed to escape. All he knew for certain, as he continued to drift downward into the ocean, was that everything felt oddly peacefully underneath the sea. Sokka could feel his eyelids growing heavier by the second as the last thing he thought he saw was a large, dark shadow racing towards him.

---

"Honestly, I don't really know how I survived," replied Sokka earnestly. "Last thing that I can remember was passing out as I sank into the ocean, and then, the next thing I knew, I was coughing up sea water on the side of some burning wreckage. There were several seriously burnt, dead Fire Nation soldiers around me. So, I swapped clothes with one of them and swam to the nearest still floating ship. I slipped into Fire Nation ranks, acting like one of them, and made my way here. I had to leave my boomerang because it would have stood out too much, but somehow, I lucked into getting it back as a reward."

"And you somehow managed to get an officer commission in that short span of time. Not many of my fire ferrets could pull something like that off," congratulated Chey with a toothy grin. "You'd make an excellent scout. Plus, it seems like you've got a Spirit or two looking out for you. Can't think of another reason for how you went from nearly drowning at the bottom of the sea to hanging onto some burning ship plating above water without recalling how you got there."

Shrugging at the thought of Spirits looking out for him, Sokka instead continued with, "At first, I was just hoping to figure out how to make my way over to the invasion force." Sokka glanced over at the airship parked in the hangar. "But then, once Captain Daizan told me that we were sailing here to the Fire Lord's special project base, I knew that I needed to stick around. I never imagined that the Fire Lord was constructing a fleet of airships. The Mechanist and Teo made something like this back at the Northern Air Temple. But it was a much smaller version of this."

"That's where the original design came from," informed Chey regretfully.

"W-What?!" stammered Sokka in return.

"Some Fire Nation officer captured a prototype during an expedition to the Northern Air Temple and brought it back here for study," explained Chey as he also glanced over at the outside of the airship. "Looks like they've made some major modifications to boot."

"Both Teo and the Mechanist would freak out if they knew that their creations were being used by the Fire Nation to prolong the war," grumbled Sokka. "I thought about snooping around myself, but with my Lieutenant rank, I figured waiting for Captain Daizan to just brief me on the airship plan would have been the smarter idea."

Chey shook his head with another laugh. "Kid, Admiral Jeong Jeong took you for a screw-up, but you're just like me, aint'cha? Playing the unassuming fool on the outside, but up here," Chey pointed to his brain. "Up here, we're as smart as they come."

"Thanks... I think," returned Sokka, not exactly sure how he felt being compared to Chey.

"Though, you don't have to wait for that Captain's brief," added Chey. "My scouts have already sent word to the allied forces. We need to either finish this invasion fast, or get out of dodge quickly. These airships are set to launch as a counterattack after the eclipse ends."

As if on cue, the sky changed outside as the sunlight flooded into the airship hangar from the large windows overhead. "The eclipse just ended, didn't it?" noted Sokka.

"Yup," replied Chey.

Both the Water Tribe boy and the Fire Nation scout turned their heads over to the hangar bay doors just as they burst open and a flood of soldiers rushed into the building.

"The airship crew?" commented Sokka.

"Probably," acknowledged Chey.

A team of the masked security forces responsible for the protection of the airship hangars drew close to both Chey and Sokka, weapons in hand. "Freeze! Drop your weapons! Explain what happened here, right now!" ordered a stern, authoritative feminine voice from the lead security officer. Behind them, the airship crews rushed onboard the airship as they checked over the vessel and readied for take-off.

"We wasted too much time talking," grumbled Sokka.

"I enjoy a good tale every now and then," declared Chey. He winked at the Water Tribe boy. "Otherwise it can be difficult to get perspective." Chey's hands shot up, palms out, as he signaled his surrender.

Except for the fact there were two pulled pins on either of his index fingers. Two metal containers clanged as they bounced on the ground and started emitting a thick, ashen smoke.

The lead security guard threw a pair of chakrams at where both the two intruders had been standing, but frowned as she realized that she had struck air. With a silent signal, she motioned to her team to enter the smoke cloud.

Sokka felt Chey lead him towards a ladder leading up towards the airship cabin. "We'll hitch a ride out of here," stated Chey moments before he was forced to dodge a short guard's dagger.

Sokka had to duck and weave out of the way of a pair of hooked blades. The Water Tribe boy paused as he locked blades with his opponent. "Wait a minute..." realized Sokka.

With a twist of his arm, Sokka expertly shoved the hooked blades to the side by redirecting his own obsidian sword edge. Without hesitating, the Water Warrior threw a sharp elbow that knocked off the mask of his opponent. "Jet?!" exclaimed Sokka in surprise. "You have got to be kidding me?!"

Jet backflipped away from a wide arcing swing from Sokka's meteorite sword. Placing his feet on the side of the airship, the rogue launched himself as if from a coiled spring, his hooked blades extended outward to pierce the chest of the Water Warrior.

Recognizing Jet's impromptu move as a similar technique he had performed during his fight against Piando, Sokka swiftly sidestepped Jet's outstretched blades and dropped the pommel of his weapon downward to strike Jet heavily in the back as the rogue flew by. Jet grunted in pain as he rolled across the ground, awkwardly recovering from the reversal strike. The rogue appeared surprised at how simply Sokka had been able to counter that.

Even Sokka appeared a little confused at how slow Jet seemed to move compared to the last time they had fought one another. Then, it slowly began to dawn on the Water Warrior; Jet hadn't really improved since their previous fight. Piando's sword had been much faster.

"You know these two?" asked Chey as he held the shorter masked guard up in the air by the back of the guard's tunic. He had already disarmed his opponent and taken off the mask.

Sokka nodded as he recognized Smellerbee. "Yeah... it's complicated, but these two are just pawns being controlled by Azula. I'd rather not..." The entire hangar shook as the rooftop ceiling separated into two opening hatches.

"The airship's about to take off!" shouted Chey. He knocked out Smellerbee with a curt palm strike to the base of her neck. "Go! I'll collect these two. I still have some fire ferrets running around here. We'll smuggle them out."

"Careful!" warned Sokka as he gripped the metal rungs of the ladder and scurried up. "Jet won't let up without a fight!"

Chey lit a couple of small bombs in his hands as he sized up the Freedom Fighter squaring off against him. Smirking, the Fire Nation scout stated, "He's just a ruffian. Plenty of those back in the Earth Kingdom."

Sokka made it up the ladder as the airship began to lift into the air. Scanning the deck quickly, the Water Warrior darted into the nearest hatch and out of sight before any of the normal airship crew came across him.

However, as Sokka shut the door behind him, he failed to notice the chakram-wielding security guard from earlier watching him from across the airship deck.