The Dragon Princess and the Wolf Warrior

Chapter 95 [~|~] The Day of Black Sun (Part 2: The Eclipse)

Sokka sat with other fighters behind the cover of a tank as they planned out the next phase of the battle. Looking up, Sokka got to his feet at the sight of his family. "Dad! You're on your feet again." Katara helped their father to sit down within the circle, an arm wrapped cautiously around his waist.

"Thanks to your sister. I'm in no shape to fight, but maybe there's some way I can help."

"Everything's going smoothly, and the eclipse hasn't even kicked in yet," Sokka assured his father as Katara glanced up at the sky.

"Let's hope our luck holds out," Hakoda sighed before noticing Katara walking away. "Katara, you seem distracted. Is something wrong?"

"Yeah. Is that . . . is that Aang?" Katara asked, staring up.

"What?" Sokka gasped, getting to his feet. Aang dodged several fireballs before landing in front of the group. "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," Sokka pleaded, though he knew he was just kidding himself.

"He wasn't home. No one was. The entire palace city is abandoned," Aang informed the group, looking disturbed.

"They knew," Sokka gasped, his eyes widening in shock.

"It's over. The Fire Lord is probably long-gone; far away on some remote island where he'll be safe during the eclipse."

"No. 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 argued, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

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

Sokka nodded before pulling out a clock from his pocket. "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."

"We can still do this. We can still win the day," Aang agreed, nodding at Sokka.

"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," Katara interjected, glancing around at the others.

"Everyone who's here today came prepared to risk everything for this mission. They know what's at stake. If there's still a chance and there's still hope, I think they would want Aang to go for it," Hakoda piped up from the ground, a determined look in his eye.

Sokka nodded before turning to Aang. "What do you think? You're the one that has to face the Fire Lord. Whatever you decide, I'm with you."

Aang stood up, turning to face the volcano. "I've got to try," he decided, staring ahead.

Aang, Toph, and Sokka hurried to climb onto Appa before flying ahead of the invasion force. Aang directed Appa to land on the side of the volcano before the three of them slid off. "Do you feel anything down there?" Sokka asked Toph as she placed her hands on the ground.

"Yep. There are natural tunnels crisscrossing through the inside of the volcano."

"Anything else? Is there a structure somewhere?" Sokka questioned, standing behind her.

Toph dug her fingers farther into the volcanic surface, feeling around more with her seismic sense. "There is something big, dense, and made of metal deep in the heart of the volcano."