Don't Leave Me (Zuko x OC)

Chapter 35

We came to a stand still as we reached a particularly difficult wall of soldiers and tanks to break through. We took a moment to look at the map and figure out our best way up the mountain. Soon Katara joined, helping an injured Hakoda walk.

"Dad!" Sokka exclaimed out of relief, "You're on your feet again."

"Thanks to your sister. I'm in no shape to fight, but maybe thereis someway I can help." Hakoda said, sitting down to relieve the pressure on his wounds.

Sokka knelt down to be eye level with him, "Everything's going smoothly and the eclipse hasn't even kicked in yet."

"Let's hope our luck holds out." Hakoda looked up as Katara stepped away from us, "Katara, you seem distracted. Is something wrong?"

"Yeah. Is that-is that Aang?!"

Well, that's not good.

"What?!" Sokka yelled as we watched Aang glide toward us, evading fire balls and missiles. "Please tell me your here because the Fire Lord turned out to be a big wimp, and you didn't even need the eclipse to take him down."

Aang stood annoyed, "He wasn't home. No one was. The entire palace city is abandoned."

Sokka's eyes widened, "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."

Sokka grabbed his chin thoughtfully, "No, instincts tell me he wouldn't go too far. He would have a secret bunker. Somewhere he could go and it'll be safe during a siege but still be close enough to lead his nation."

I gasped, "The sunken palace!"

"The sunken what-now?" Toph quipped.

"It's an old legend." I told them, "Centuries ago the only building in the crater was the palace but the ground wasn't stable enough to hold the wait and it sunk. They built a sturdier foundation over it and built the new palace and Capital City right on top. That's where he'll be."

Toph smirked, "If it's an underground secret bunker we're looking for, I'm just the girl to find it!"

Sokka pulled something out of his pocket, "The Mechanist gave me this timing device. It looks like we've got about 10 minutes until the full eclipse. Ten minutes to find the Fire Lord."

"We can still do this!" Aang smiled, his optimism returned, "We can still win the day."

"Wait-" Katara stopped his roll, "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."

Hakoda straightened up and spoke directly to his son, "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."

Sokka turned to his friend, "What do you think? You're the one who has to face the Fire Lord. Whatever you decide, I'm with you."

Aang got to his feet and confidently looked up to the Capital City.

"I've got to try."

*****

After jumping on Appa, we swiftly flew up the mountain, landing on the side of the mountain. Toph quickly got to work, placing both her hands and feet into the dirt.

"Do you feel anything down there?" Aang asked.

"Yep." She confirmed, "There are natural tunnels criss crossing through the inside of the volcano."