After the war

Game of cabbages round 2

Zuko looked enviously at Ra and Momo who were curled up together, sleeping on the seats they had been using to spectate the bending matches. He had pulled two great feats of firebending in a row now and he could feel the exhaustion weighing heavily on him. He knew he couldn't perform something that spectacular in this round, he was about as useful as a chocolate tea pot right now. Usually, even without using his bending he was a force to be reckoned with, but his movements were failing him as the fatigue crept through his bones.

Team metal stick (take a wild guess who named their team) had regrouped near the knockout line and were strategizing.

"I have a plan, and it sounds insane but bear with me" Zuko informed the group as they sat together near the line. The firebender looked over at team cabbage and noticed they were also strategizing.

"What's the plan Sparky?" Toph asked him eagerly, still incredibly proud of her knockout with Aang earlier.

"We need to throw the match" Zuko said in a dead serious tone and was surprised when he received zero resistance.

"Okay, gonna need more explanation than that" Suki probed the firebender for information.

"After that stunt I pulled with Katara in the bending match all of my energy is pretty much gone, the only reason she's still standing is because of the full moon" Zuko explained as everyone nodded in understanding.

"Okay, makes sense so far" Sokka sat looking intently at his boyfriend.

"I can feel the sun coming, once it comes up, I'll be imbued with more power. It doesn't need to be completely up, just peeking over the horizon. Normally this wouldn't work, but it's so soon after the comet that it will restore my energy enough for one big push against them!" Zuko explained how they needed to stall until the sun came up.

"Okay, we'll put up a good fight until the sun is over the horizon, then Katara and Aang will be weaker and Zuko will be stronger and we can win the next round!" Suki exclaimed excitedly, completely on board with the plan.

"You're so clever Hotshot" Sokka cooed at his boyfriend and kissed him on the cheek. Surprisingly, no one made fun of them for once.

"If we pelt the cabbages at them as fast as we possibly can, we can knock them back over the line! We can strategically aim the cabbages at their heads and legs, that should push them back and we can win!" Katara explained her strategy to Aang and it warmed her heart to see him smile, completely on board with her plan.

"Okay, sweetie! Let's do it!" Aang planted a kiss on his beautiful girlfriend's cheek and stood up, ready to duel team metal stick, he made a mental note to always encourage Sokka to name things.

"Alright! Ready when you are!" The airbender called to the opposition. They replied that they were ready, and everyone took up their positions.

"Okay, hold out for a little while and stall the match until the sun comes up" Zuko reminded his team, swaying slightly as he stood. He felt his face flushing and knew he must have looked like death.

"Alright, Zuko start the match!" Katara called to him, preparing her cabbages.

"Ready"

"Set"

"GO!"

Katara and Aang sprang into action, hailing a merciless onslaught of cabbage projectiles at their opponents.

Zuko batted the cabbages away, moving further away from the line as he did so. He spotted Toph out of the corner of his eye and moved towards her to help her out. As he walked his movements became sluggish and slow, as if he were moving in a dream, he noted that his back was drenched in sweat and he was feeling unbalanced, almost dizzy. He stumbled backwards towards the line and his vision doubled. Zuko's vision cleared in time to see a cabbage hurtling towards him. The projectile caught him in the stomach, and he sailed over the line. He hit the floor and rolled slightly. He attempted to push himself up and the last thing he saw before he blacked out, was Suki stepping in front of him to protect him from the cabbages.