Balance | Old Version

Chapter 100 (The Day Of Black Sun, Part 2: The Eclipse)

Elua's POV.

Aang and I run out of the palace and jump into the air with our gliders, fly back to where Sokka, Toph, and Katara are. We fly through the sky, dodging fireballs as we go. We land in front of the others, they look at us confused and concerned.
"Please tell 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?" Sokka asks with to much hope.
"He wasn't home. No one was. The entire palace city is abandoned," I tell them. Everyone's eyes go wide with shock and realization.
"They knew," Sokka states.
"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 says shaking his head as he kneels down.

"No. My instincts tell me he wouldn't go too far," Sokka states. "He would have a secret bunker. Somewhere he could go so it'll be safe during a siege but still be close enough to lead his nation," He states. "Do you know of any bunkers?" He asks me, I shake my head.
"No. Azulon wasn't allowed to tell me anything related to the Fire Nation's army or palace secrets," I explain.
"Well, if it's an underground secret bunker we're looking for, I'm just the girl to find it," Toph states proudly.
"The Mechanist gave me this timing device," Sokka says as he takes a small device out of his pocket. "It looks like we've got about 10 minutes until the full eclipse. 10 minutes to find the Fire Lord," He states.

"We can still do this. We can still win the day," Aang says as we stand back up.
"Wait," Katara says. "If they knew we were coming, it could all be a trap. Maybe we should use the time we have left to make sure all of us get out of here safely," She suggests.
"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 and Elua to go for it," Hakoda says, he seemed to be hurt but ignoring the pain.
"What do you think? You guys are the ones who have to face the Fire Lord. Whatever you decide, I'm with you," Sokka tells Aang and I. I look over to Aang, we had to do this and I could tell he agreed.
"We've got to try," Aang says, I nod in agreement.

Toph, Aang, Sokka, and I all get on Appa and fly back over to the volcano. We hop off Appa's back and Toph puts her hand to the ground.
"Do you feel anything down there?" Aang asks.
"Yep. There are natural tunnels crisscrossing through the inside of the volcano," She tells us.
"Anything else?" I ask.
"Is there a structure somewhere?" Sokka questions.
"There's something big, dense, and made of metal deep in the heart of the volcano," Toph states.
"Sounds like a secret bunker to me," Sokka says with a smile as Toph bends a hole into the side of the volcano, leading down into it.

"Stay safe. We'll be back soon," Aang tells Appa and Momo as we all jump down into the tunnels and look down the two paths.
"This way! That one's a dead end," Toph says as she turns right and we follow her down the tunnels.
"What would we do without you?" Sokka asks.
"Perish in burning hot magma," Toph tells him seriously and she wasn't wrong.
"Yeah, pretty much," Sokka says as we walk into a cavern filled with active lava vents all over the floor. What fun.
"The tunnel continues on the other side and it leads right to the bunker," Toph states.

"We'll have to be fast, but careful," Sokka says as he attempts to run across, but is immediately stopped by one of the vents erupting. He yells in surprise and shields himself as I swing my staff at it, bending a gust of wind and cooling down the lava before it burns him.
"How was that careful?" I ask him in shock.
"I was wrong. We need to be fast, careful, and lucky," Sokka states as we run across the cavern, carefully dodging the steam and lava coming from the vents and we make it. Only to run into another room with no floor, just lava. You have to be kidding me.
"There's no floor! It's just a river of lava," Sokka says staring at the bubbling substance in shock. Aang and I open our gliders.
"Climb aboard and hold on tight," I tell them, Sokka looks at me and sighs.

Toph holds onto Aang's glider while Sokka holds onto mine and we fly over the lava, Sokka and Toph screaming in fear. We land on the other side of the lava river and see a large metal bunker built against the cavern wall.
"That's some door!" Sokka says in awe. Toph walks up to the door, places her ear against it, and knocks on it, creating a metallic thud.
"Not a problem," Toph says as she takes a step back before bashing her elbows into the door, denting it. She takes another step back, kisses her middle and index fingers, and forcefully stabs them through the middle of the door before kicking a hole through the metal.
"I am so glad we added you to the group!" Sokka says as we continue to run. We turn a corner, only to be met with a Fire Nation man. He sees us and gasps, backing away in fear.

We all take fighting stances, ready to attack at any moment. But, he raises his arms in surrender.
"The Fire Lord's chamber is that way, down the hall to the left, and up the stairs. You can't miss it," The man tells us. We all look at him shocked, but we're not complaining.
"Thanks," Aang says with a smile as we continue running through the bunker. Sokka pulls out the Mechanist's device and checks the time.
"Only 30 seconds until the total eclipse," Sokka states as we find a golden door with a flame symbol on the front and at the top. Aang takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a moment.
"I'm ready. I'm ready to face the Fire Lord," Aang says with a glare as he sends a gust of air at the door, blowing it down and allowing us to walk inside. But we aren't met with the Fire Lord, we're met with Azula.

"So, you are alive after all, I had a hunch that you survived," Azula says as she lazily sits on a throne. "It doesn't matter, I've known about the invasion for months," She says smirking as we stare at her in shock.
"Where is he? Where is the Fire Lord?" Aang asks angrily.
"Hm, you mean I'm not good enough for you? You're hurting my feelings," Azula fake pouts.
"Stop wasting our time and give us the information. You're powerless right now so you're in no position to refuse," Sokka says with a glare.
"And stick to the truth. I'll be able to tell if you're lying," Toph tells her sharply.
"Are you sure? I'm a pretty good liar." Azula says smirking evilly. "I am a 400-foot tall purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings," She says with a completely straight face.

"...Okay, you're good, I admit it," Toph says as she encloses her in rock. "But you really ought to consider telling the truth anyway," She tells her. Azula smirks as the earth enclosing her begins to break, we look at her shocked.
"When I left Ba Sing Se, I brought home some souvenirs," Azula states as she brushes the dust off her clothes. "Dai Li agents," She says as two Dai Li agents land in front of her. I send a gust of wind at them, but they bend a wall of earth before it hits them. Toph breaks down the wall and attacks the Dai Li agents while Aang and I send air gust after air gust at Azula, but she dodges all of them and starts to run away from us. We run after her, chase her up, down, and over the walls and rocks that have been created. I create a boulder in front of her, almost making her fall but she flips over it and lands perfectly, smirking over her shoulder as she runs out of the room.