The Legend of Arin

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE: THE ECLIPSE

AANG HAD RETURNED to the battlefield, a bad feeling already in Arin's stomach as she watched him fly over. Once he had, Aang told them that the Fire Lord wasn't even in the palace when he got there. Nobody was.

"They knew about the invasion." Arin clenched her fist in irritation.

"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 figured, looking among Sokka, Arin, Toph, Katara, and Hakoda who had been healed by the water bender.

"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 thought aloud.

"If it's an underground secret bunker we're looking for, I'm just the girl to find it." Toph pointed to herself with a smile.

"The Mechanist gave me this timing device. It looks like we've got about ten minutes until the full eclipse." Sokka pulled out the device.

"That's ten minutes to find the Fire Lord," Arin finalized.

"We can still do this. We can still win the day." Aang smiled hopefully.

"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 suggested, looking to Sokka.

"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 then there's still hope. I think they would want Aang to go for it." Hakoda voiced his opinion.

"What do you think, Aang? You're the one who has to fight the Fire Lord. Whatever you decide to do, we'll be with you." Arin looked to Aang, everyone else looking at him as well.

"I've got to try." Aang stood up with a harsh expression, his gaze set on the volcano that housed the capital city.

THE GROUP, excluding Katara headed up the volcano before landing on the side. Toph used her seismic sense to see if there were any hidden bunkers in the side of it and lo and behold, there was in the heart of the volcano. That's where they were headed.

Toph created a pathway down for them and they entered, leaving Momo and Appa outside for their safety. Half because Appa wouldn't be able to fit inside.

"This way. That one's a dead end." Toph informed as she pointed behind them.

"What would we do without you?" Sokka sighed with a huge grin.

"Perish in burning hot magma." Toph bluntly stated as they traveled down a path, passing a puddle of magma in a crevice in the wall.

"Yeah, sums it up pretty well." Arin shrugged as she walked behind Sokka, Aang close behind her. They found themselves in front of a hot area, ahead of them was an obsidian room, magma, and hot gas pushing through holes in the ground.

"The tunnel continues on the other side and it leads right to the bunker," Toph assured them.

"We'll have to be fast but careful." Sokka stepped down and immediately a geyser of magma rose. Arin jumped toward it, drying it mid-air with cold air.

"Fast but careful is my specialty." She smirked as she jumped down next to Sokka who had frozen in a flinched position from the magma frightening him.

Arin led the way, jumping past the holes in the ground quickly and efficiently with Toph, Aang, and Sokka running behind her. Once they passed all the geysers, they came up on a cliff. Under them was just a pool of magma.