Avatar - The Last Airbender (Storyteller Version)

Chapter 24: The Day of Black Sun

Early the next morning, Aang woke up and cheerfully greeted his friends.

AANG: Top of the morning, Momo!

KATARA: Sounds like you slept well.

AANG: Like a baby moose lion. I'm ready to face the Fire Lord!

TOPH: So what's your strategy for taking him down, gonna get your glow on and hit him with a little Avatar State action?

AANG: I can't. When Azula shot me with lightning, my seventh chakra was locked, cutting off all my connection to all the cosmic energy in the universe.

TOPH: You know what I just heard? Blah, blah, spiritual mumbo jumbo blah, blah, something about space.

At that instant, Katara spotted a thick fog covering the ocean. But then... some ships loomed out of the mist. It was Hakoda's Southern Water Tribe ships! Toph and Aang fashioned makeshift docks just as the boats arrived at the coves. Welcoming their father, Katara and Sokka also spotted familiar faces disembarking from the ships. Haru the earthbender and his father, Tyro, the Mechanist and his son, Teo, the swampbenders, the Freedom Fighters Pipsqueak and The Duke — all had volunteered to accompany Hakoda and the others in the fight against the Fire Nation. They were all joined by the earthbenders Aang and the others had rescued several months earlier. Even the Boulder and the Big Bad Hippo from Earth Rumble Six were eager to participate, much to Toph's surprise.

THE BOULDER: The Boulder and The Hippo no longer fight for others' entertainment. Now we fight for our kingdom!

TOPH: (Deadpan) Sweet.

Shortly after, the combined infantry assembled on the beach as Hakoda addressed them.

HAKODA: Today is the day of Black Sun, and I want to thank you all for your self-sacrifice and your courage. There are two steps to the invasion—a naval stage and then a land stage. To gain sea access to the Fire Nation capital, we have to get past our first major obstacle—the Great Gates of Azulon. Next, we hit the land, and we hit hard. We must fight past their battlements and secure the plaza tower. Once we do that, it's up to the Royal Palace. At that point, the eclipse will begin. The eclipse only lasts eight minutes, not enough time for the whole invasion. And the Royal Palace is heavily guarded by firebenders. So that's where we'll need the eclipse's advantage the most. When this is finished, the Avatar will have defeated the Fire Lord. We will have control of the Fire Nation capital, and this war will be over!

ALL: (Cheering)

Soon preparations for the invasion were underway. Both Toph and Sokka donned battle gear, while Appa was covered from head to toe in armor customized especially for him.

APPA: (Roaring)

Aang, meanwhile, shaved his head, exposing his arrow tattoos for the first time in months. Finally, when everything was ready, the combined forces boarded the ships and they set off for the Fire Nation, with Appa flying alongside them.

After a long period of crossing the ocean, the fleet sighted a massive statue of Fire Lord Azulon protruding from the sea. Katara and the swampbenders shrouded the ships in mist, hoping to pass it unnoticed. But no sooner had they finished, then the sound of a wailing siren pierced the atmosphere. Then a massive net rose out of the sea on both sides of the statue, bursting into flames. The Great Gates of Azulon had been activated! Fire Nation soldiers charged across the ocean on jet skis toward the ships. They raced aboard and searched for the intruders—but the ships were deserted.