peacekeeping- zuko

The Invasion Pt. 2

Me, Aang, Toph, and Sokka entered the tunnel Toph made. There were like two hundred tunnels and I can't believe I never knew about these. "This way. That's ones a dead end." Toph ordered. "What would we do without you?" Sokka sighed. "Burn." I blurted, focused on trying to find energy. "Perish in burning hot magma." Toph added. "Pretty much." Sokka mumbled, smiling. This is very...hot. Literally. There was magma everywhere, heat emitting from it. Aang bumped into my back, not paying attention to where he was going. "Oops. Sorry." I shrugged. "Just make sure you don't die. I'm gonna go all Protecter-y and I'm at the Palace right now." Aang nodded.

"Y/N, do you think you can go through that wall?" Toph asked. "Uhhh..I can try." I bumped into the wall. "That's looks like a no." Sokka mumbled, grabbing my arm. "H-hold up." I pulled my arm away, focusing on my spiritual energy. I took a step forward, into the wall. "Looks like I can. There's no one in here." I informed, refocusing my energy. Magma blasted at us, which I tried to bend away, with air. Didn't work. "Wait-hold up- can I not bend like this?" Toph turned to me. "It's okay. We still got this." I paused. "S-should I go come back here in my normal form?" Sokka shook his head, "No. The eclipse is almost over. We need you." Alright, whatever, then. We stopped at a giant metal door.

"Uhh..can anyone bend metal, here?" I asked. Toph smirked, "I got you." She put her fists into the metal, pulling it apart. I stared in awe. "What the fuuuc-" "I am so glad we added you to the team." Sokka cut me off. A guy walked by, who I recognized. Aang pressed his glider to the guy's throat. "The Fire Lord's chamber is that way, down the hall, to the left, and up the stairs, you can't miss it!" He rushed out of fear. Coward. Aang's glare turned to a smile. "Thanks." We rushed towards the place he had told us. Sokka pulled out his little timing device thing. "Only thirty seconds till the total eclipse." We approached a big door. Aang took a deep breath. "I'm ready. I'm ready to face the Fire Lord." We blasted through the doors to find- "Azula?"

Azula smiled at me and Aang. "So, you're alive after all. I had a hunch. Doesn't matter, though. I've known about the invasion for months." I turned to Aang who looked at me. I gave the smallest nod. Aang turned back to Azula. "Where is he? Where's the Fire Lord?" Aang demanded, distracting her from me. I closed my eyes, joining my fists. My form flickered. I was back where I was before. Zuko had left, but I didn't mind. I have to help my friends. "Hakoda! We need you downstai-"

No one was there. Frick. Frick. Where did they go? Doesn't matter, I can do this by myself. I rushed downstairs, through the same passage Toph had made. I am so glad I can bend. I found them chasing Azula. "Wait. Aang! Toph! Stop attacking! Don't you see what she's doing? She's just playing with us! She's not even trying to win this fight!" Sokka pressed. I caught up with them. "Not true. I'm giving it my best." Azula shrugged calm as ever. "You're trying to keep us here and waste our time!" Toph yelled. "Um, yeah, I think your friend just said that, genius. And since you can't see, I should tell, I'm rolling my eyes." Azula shot. "I'll roll your whole head!" Toph shot back. "Okay, okay. Azula, tell me where Ozai is." I asked. "You really shouldn't call your Fire Lord by his name, Y/N." Azula smirked.

She's playing mind games. The thing she's good at. "Ignore her." I ordered. "So, Sokka's your name, right? My favorite prisoner used to mention you all the time. She was convinced you were gonna come rescue her. Of yourself, you never came so she gave up on you." Sokka stopped, turning around. I placed a hand on his chest, pushing him along with us. He pulled my hand away, approaching Azula, blind with rage. "Come and get it." Azula muttered, pulling out a knife. Toph sensed it, and pinned it to the wall. "Where. Is. Suki!" Sokka ordered. Uhm. Getting a little too close there, buddy. I pulled him away. "Sokka, she's wasting our time. I promise, we'll find Suki." Sokka sighed, pulling away from her. I turned around to leave when lightning prickled my throat. Frick.

Azula had somehow gotten out. "Now. If you give yourselves up. She can go." Azula smirked. There was something off in her energy. "No." Aang's eyes widened in horror. "Go. She's not going to hurt me." I ordered. Aang advanced and the lightning was brought closer to my throat. I leaned back, hitting Azula's armor. "Go." I ordered. "But-" Aang tried. I narrowed my eyes. "Trust me." Aang's eyes lit up with realization. "Oh. Let's go." He pulled the others with him. The door closed behind them. I kicked Azula's elbow, sending her stumbling back. I grabbed water from my pouch, freezing her hands and feet to the wall. She unfroze them, cause, like..Fire. It melts ice. Anyways, she kicked a blue flame at me. I grabbed her foot. "Azula, look, I don't want to fight you." I tried.

"Too late." A pinwheel of blue fire cut off a bit of my hair. Too close for comfort. Lightning was shot at me, which I narrowly missed. I made a dome of air around me, pushing it outwards throwing Azula back, again. I don't know where she went but I didn't really care. I left the volcano, frantically searching for the others. They had evacuated, on the ridge of the Fire Nation capital. I surged upward, propelling myself with air. "Y/N!" Katara exclaimed. "They told us that Azula had everything planned. She knew!" I nodded. "She did."

"They destroyed the submarines at the beach. We can't leave." Hakoda sighed, seeming to have lost hope. Fire Nation soldiers were advancing towards us. A river lied beyond them, circling the Fire Nation. An idea hit me. It was gonna take a lot out of me, though. But we don't have any other choice. "Sokka, stay beside me," I ordered. "What?" "Just trust me!" I took a deep breath, stomping my foot and raising my hands. The ground shook, the pebbles on it shaking along with its rhythm. I raised my hands a bit higher, the river raised along with them. I can't believe it. I'm bending an entire river. An. Entire. River. I haven't done this before. The water rushed over the invasion's head, flooding into the Fire Nation. "What in doodle doo was that?" One of the swamp people asked. I dropped my hands, dropping the river with it.

Everyone inside their homes was safe, anyone outside was frozen waist below. My weight shifted and I collapsed into Sokka's side. Sokka set a protective arm around me, shifting my head against his shoulder. I immediately blacked out, lights dancing in my vision.

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Mist rushed overhead as Y/N surged the water upward, into the Fire Nation. She froze it, causing the soldiers advancing on us to freeze. Sokka turned to Y/N just in time to see her limp form falling towards him. He caught her, eyes concerned.
"What happened?" Aang pressed. "I don't know. She bent a the river and-" "She bent the entire river! Without the Protecter State!?" Aang shrieked. Sokka nodded. "Well, frick." Toph added. Hakoda saw the unusual sight and approached it. "I think you guys should leave." He offered. "What! We can't leave, I- there's the eclipse, and we-" The chief put a hand on his sons unoccupied shoulder. "Sokka, it's okay. You'll be able to fight again, another day. Maybe not with us, but with your friends. Trust me." Sokka turned to the submarines, fully destroyed. He closed his eyes, feeling nothing but resentment towards himself. "Fine." Sokka climbed up, setting Y/N on Appa.

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I blinked open my eyes with little energy I had. The invasion was still here, except the sun wasn't blocked out. Yue, if only you could've stayed a little longer. I peered over the top of Appa's saddle. The mechanist was helping his son onto Appa. "Bye son." He sighed, hugging Teo. "Bye dad. I'm really proud of you." Teo replied. I stared at the heartwarming but heartbreaking scene. "I'll miss you Pipsqueak." The Duke said, also mounting Appa. "Take care the Duke." Haru hugged his father, "We'll be back for you, Dad." His dad smiled, "If we don't escape on our own, first." Chief Hakoda placed his hands on his kid's shoulders, "We lost today but we've never been this close. We tasted victory and that counts for something."

Katara turned around, also hugging her dad. "Bye, Dad. We won't be apart for too long, I promise." Sokka mumbled into his dad's uniform. Aang was on Appa's head, tears streaming down his face. "Y/N's awake." Hakoda said to his children, catching my attention. Sokka rushed up to me. "You should be resting." He said, setting me down. "Resting? I-I we failed, we didn't-their gonna-" "Okay, okay. Just sleep for right now, 'kay? It'll be fine." Sokka comforted, throwing a blanket on me. It made me comfortable, which I didn't want. Comfort meant sleep. "Thank you all for being so brave and strong. I'm gonna make this up to you." Aang's tears voice said, somewhere over Appa's saddle. I was too busy falling asleep in Sokka's lap, even though I wanted to go back and fight.