Traitor - Zuko X Reader

Chapter 37

Sozin's Comet Part 3

As the eel-hound skimmed across the top of the water, the pit in my stomach grew more and more as the sky grew darker. What was once beautiful shades of early-morning blues had turned into an ominous shade of red and orange. The comet was slowly making its way towards us and I had to fight the urge to check it every five seconds as if it would suddenly speed up just to spite us. The air was getting warmer as well and the light spray of the ocean as we rode on did little to help the ever-increasing heat.

"It's weird to say, but the comet actually looks beautiful," Suki commented, breaking the tension in the air.

"Too bad the Firelord's about to use it to destroy the world," said Toph from in front of me.

I spared a glance down at the back of her head, noting the obvious worry in her voice. I looked back up and saw that the take-off point for the war balloons had become solidly visible on the horizon. It was a collection of jagged rocks which was able to conceal the fleet from our sight. The eel-hound sped up its pace without warning and in only a few more minutes we were dismounting on the rocky shore. I gave the creature a small rub on the snout and it grunted happily before sitting down in its place to wait for our return. I caught up to everyone else, crouching as we all scaled the side of the rocks to infiltrate the fleet. Once we made it closer to the top, my heart stopped momentarily at the sound of an engine whirring loudly. I picked up my pace and stood beside Sokka, my eyes widening at the sight of one of the airships slowly rising into the air.

Sokka's expression was one of shock and fear, "We're too late! The fleet's already taking off!"

"Then we're taking off too," Toph stated, "Where's the closest airship?"

"It's right-," my sentence was cut off with a yelp as Toph used her bending to propel us upwards to the closest ship.

The wind made my face feel weird as we shot up, my hair whipping around wildly from the force of it. I looked down and saw we were on track to land on one of the balconies on the side of the ship. I braced myself to land, hitting the metal floor in a crouching position before righting myself and smoothing my hair. I looked back to where we came from and noticed Toph coming towards us quickly, Sokka and I braced ourselves and caught her in our arms. She grunted and we let her go before Sokka led us to the nearby ladder that would allow us access inside the balloon.

Once inside, it took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting of the interior. Along the hallway were lanterns that provided an eerily warm glow and casted shadows on the floor in front of us. I kept my ears and eyes sharp to make sure no one was nearby as I followed behind Sokka to make it to the control room. After not even ten minutes of trudging along, we found ourselves in front of a large and imposing metal door. There were no guards posted out front, as they most likely believed no one could sneak aboard so easily. Well, we were about to prove them wrong.

Sokka and I stood on one side of the door, Suki on the other as we waited for Toph to knock the door down. She knocked in a cheery rhythm before sending the last knock which sent the door falling to the ground on the other side. From my spot on the other side of the wall, all I could hear was clanging metal and fire blasts as she took out the guards inside. Suddenly, a large blast of fire came shooting out of the door and Sokka pulled me out of the vicinity of the flames. The fighting continued in the other room and I could feel the temperature rising from the fires the soldiers had started in their battle with the metal-bender. One of the guards came flying out of the room, landing with a thud against the wall adjacent to us. We peeked inside and were met with the sight of Toph in a suit made of metal and the control room in a messed state. There were small fires in the corner, the windows had broken which allowed some cool air to seep in, and there were several guards passed out on the ground. I stared at the girl in amazement, always impressed at her fighting and bending capabilities, as she took off her metal armor.