Play With Fire ~Zuko X Reader~

-22- The Day of the Black Sun Pt2

Katara came up the hill with Hakoda.

I followed Sokka over to the two, "Dad! You're on your feet again."

Hakoda sat down, still too weak to fight, "Thanks to your sister. I'm in no shape to fight, but maybe there's some way I can help."

I smirked, "Thanks to Sokka here, everything's going smoothly. And the eclipse hasn't even kicked in yet!"

"Let's hope our luck holds out," Hakoda noticed his daughter stepping back, "Katara, you seem distracted. Is something wrong?"

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

"What?" We turned to face him as Aang landed, Sokka questioned him, "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."

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

I swore under my breath, "I should have expected that. The man won't even die like a true leader."

"They knew."

Aang looked at the dirt below, "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 thought aloud, "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."

"Your instincts would be right," I brought my hand to my chin, "They never told me where it is, but they said there was a bunker nearby. My parents always said I would be led there if there ever was an emergency."

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

Sokka pulled out a device, "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."

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

"Wait! If they knew we were coming it could all be a trap," Katara looked at us all, "Maybe we should use the time we have left to make sure we all get out of here safely."

Hakoda put in his two cents, "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 Aang, "What do you think? You're the one that has to face the Fire Lord. Whatever you decide, I'm with you."

"I've gotta try."

I smiled, "Good, let's start closer to the palace. If my parents thought about it, it means it has to be really close."

We climbed off Appa at the Caldera Volcano.

Aang turned to Toph as soon as she hit the ground, "Do you feel anything down there?"

"Yep," She had her feet firmly on the earth below, "There are natural tunnels criss-crossing through the inside of the volcano."

"Anything else? Is there a structure somewhere?"

She placed her hand on the surface of the volcano, "There is something big, dense and made of metal deep in the heart of the volcano."

Sokka smiled, "Sounds like a secret bunker to me."

Toph created an opening, Sokka followed her inside while I waited on Aang. He turned to Appa and Momo, "Stay safe. We'll be back soon."