THE VILLAGE | Avatar the last airbender

022. MOVING IN

THE VILLAGE | An Avatar The Last Airbender Fanfiction

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Barries had fallen and so had the defences. The fight was ongoing, nowhere near done. Hakoda had been hurt but thanks to Katara's healing was able to stand. Many troops had been taken down courtesy of each strong individual fighter amongst them. They were all so strong, so forward-thinking. Exactly what they needed.

They were nearly at the city by then, extremely close anyway. The identical red houses covered most of the view from then in and made Adeline want to tear up.

Only a month ago she was still living in ignorance and although Zuko may have completely ruined her trust in people, she couldn't help but somewhat thank the brat for letting her take part in this. This was a story for the generations. She needed to be a part of this. She would never forget it.

Hakoda, Sokka, Katara and Toph situated themselves behind a bent mound of earth. Sokka knelt in front of his injured father. "everything's going smoothly and the eclipse hasn't even kicked in yet."

Hakoda clutched his side with a groan. "Let's hope our luck holds out"

Katara stepped forward, and head to the skies. Hakoda followed his daughter's moments. "Katara, you seem distracted. Is something wrong?"

"Yeah," She said as all of their heads turned. "Is that--is that Aang?"

"What!" Sokka muttered as the monk landed in front of them, his new glider tucking in tightly beside him. "Please tell me you're here because the Firelord turned out to be a big wimp and you didn't even need the eclipse to take him down?"

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

Sokka's face dropped "They knew"

"It's over. The Firelord is probably long gone, far away on some remote island where he'll be safe during the eclipse"

Adeline and Sokka shared a thoughtful look. "No, he's a political leader, right? Technically it would be cowardice to leave it up to your people to fight" the girl thought aloud.

"You make the Firelord seem regal," Toph added.

"No, Adeline's right. My instinct tells me he wouldn't go too far, he's the leader like Adeline said. Updates are important in case he needs to step in. He would have a secret bunker. Somewhere he could go, and be safe during a siege, but still be close enough to lead his nation."

"If it's an underground secret bunker we're looking for, I'm just the girl to find it." Toph declared, pointing to herself to finish to statement. They all nodded.

"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 Firelord."

Adeline cringed."That's cutting it close"

Aang clenched his fists with a determined nod. "We can still do this. We can still win the day."

"Wait-" Katara put in. "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"

Hakoda shifted onto his right side, trying to tolerate the jabs of pain. "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 who has to face the Firelord. Whatever you decide, I'm with you"

Aang stood up and turned away from them. "I've got to try."