not from around here | Zuko X OC

| chapter fifty two |

I sheltered behind a tank with Sokka and Toph, studying a map to do a final check on where we should be going next.

I looked up and saw Katara and Hakoda coming towards us and tapped Sokka on the shoulder before pointing to them.

"Dad!" Called Sokka, getting up and running over to his dad and sister.
"You're up on your feet again."
Me and Toph followed him, standing and watching as he talked to his father.

"Thanks to your sister. I'm in no shape to fight, but maybe there's some way I can help." Hakoda said, weakly.
"Everything's going smoothly and the eclipse hasn't even kicked in yet." Sokka said, grinning triumphantly.

I looked around at the sky, when I saw something coming down towards us as Hakoda spoke.
"Let's hope our luck holds out."
I tapped Katara's arm and pointed to it, and she squinted at it, trying to see what it was.
Suddenly, we both realised.
"Katara, you seem distracted. Is something wrong?" Hakoda asked, looking down at his daughter.

"Yeah. Is that... is that Aang?" She asked, looking up at him as he flew towards us on his glider.
"What?" Asked Sokka, turning as Aang landed. "Please tell me you're here because the Fire Lord turned out to be a big wimp and you didn't even need the eclipse to take him down."

"He wasn't home. No one was. The entire palace city is abandoned." I gasped and my eyes went wide, looking at Sokka who had the same reaction.
"They knew."

"It's over. The Fire Lord is probably long-gone; far away on some remote island where he'll be safe during the eclipse." Aang said in dismay.
"No. My instincts tell me he wouldn't go too far. He would have a secret bunker; somewhere he could go and be safe during the siege but still be close enough to lead his nation." Sokka answered, thinking hard.

"If it's an underground secret bunker we're looking for, I'm just the girl to find it." Said Toph, pointing at herself.

"The mechanist gave me this timing device. It looks like we've got about ten minutes until the full eclipse. Ten minutes to find the Fire Lord." Sokka told us, showing us what seemed to be the Zuko world version of a clock. I mean avatar world. Yeah.

"We can still do this. We can still win the day." Aang said.
"Wait! If they knew we were coming it could all be a trap. Maybe we should use the time we have left to make sure we all get out of here safely." Voiced Katara, worried.
"Everyone who's here today came prepared to risk everything for this mission. They know what's at stake. If there's still a chance and there's still hope, I think they would want Aang to go for it." Spoke up Hakoda.
I nodded in agreement and looked between the group.

"What do you think? You're the one that has to face the Fire Lord. Whatever you decide, I'm with you." Sokka said to Aang.
"I've gotta try." He said, standing and looking determined.

ʕ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ

We all jumped off of Appa and onto the valcano's ground. All that had been on my mind the flight here was "where was Zuko?"
I couldn't help but think of him. Aang said the whole palace kingdom was empty, so he had to be somewhere safe. Probably in the bunker with his father.

I had also become very painfully wary of the slit in my arm, and had started to heal it on the way here, however I should have worked on it sooner and I really didn't have time now.

"Do you feel anything down there?" Asked Aang as Toph put her hand on the ground, feeling for a bunker.
"Yep. There are natural tunnels criss-crossing through the inside of the volcano." She said.