The next morning...
Y/n POV
We all went to bed after Zuko went to see his uncle and didn't come out. When the sun streamed into our tent, Sokka and I woke up.
"Ready for a new day?" he asked me. I gave him a small smile.
"Let's get into it," I replied and he smirked at me. We got dressed and went outside the tent, meeting with the others for breakfast and a debriefing.
Zuko seemed to be much lighter in spirit, and I took that to mean that his talk with his Uncle went well. I was going to go speak with them, but Iroh found me first, engulfing me in a warm hug.
"Zuko told me about how you helped him find his way. Thank you for not giving up on him," he whispered to me. I laughed bashfully.
"I didn't do much, Zuko found his way on his own," I said and I grinned at Zuko over Iroh's shoulder. Iroh let go of me, keeping a hand on my shoulder.
"Still, your mother and father would be proud at all you have done for the sake of goodness," he assured me. I bowed to him respectfully, thanking him for his meaningful words.
Everyone gathered around a pot for breakfast and the debriefing finally started. Zuko explained the situation and then proposed his argument.
"Uncle, you're the only person other than the Avatar who can possibly defeat the Father Lord," Zuko reasoned. I raised an eyebrow.
"You mean the Fire Lord?" Toph asked for me. Zuko looked at her confused.
"That's what I just said," he said defensively. Daddy issues, we all got 'em. Iroh shook his head.
"No, Zuko. It won't turn out well. Even if I did defeat Ozai, and I don't know that I could, it would be the wrong way to end a war," Iroh said and he explained the historical and political implications, reducing our actions to senseless violence. "The only way for this war to end peacefully is for the Avatar to defeat the Fire Lord."
"And then...then would you come and take your rightful place on the throne?" Zuko asked hopefully. Once again, Iroh shook his head.
"No. Someone new must take the throne; someone with a pure heart and unquestionable honor. It has to be you, Prince Zuko," Iroh told him. Zuko began to question his own honor, but Iroh shut that down quickly. "You restored your own honor, and only you can restore the honor of the Fire Nation."
"I'll try, Uncle," Zuko promised.
"Well, what if Aang doesn't come back?" Toph asked.
"Sozin's Comet is arriving and our destinies are upon us. Aang will face the Fire Lord. My destiny is to take Ba Sing Se back from the Fire Lord so the Earth Kingdom can be free again," Iroh answered.
"That's why you gathered the members of the White Lotus," I realized. Iroh nodded.
"Zuko, you must return to the Fire Nation, so that when the Fire Lord falls, you can assume the throne and restore peace and order," Iroh instructed. "But Azula will be there waiting for you," he reminded Zuko.
Zuko tried to say he could handle Azula alone, but Iroh made him realize he needed help. He looked at me.
"Y/n-" I cut him off.
"As much as I would love to show Azula how a princess should fight, Katara would do you a lot more help than I would," I said, offering Katara the shot at taking Azula down. Katara smirked at me, silently mouthing a thank you.
"It would be my pleasure," Katara replied and Zuko agreed. With that settled, Sokka looked to Iroh.
"So, then, what about us? What's our destiny today?" He asked Iroh. Iroh smirked.
"What do you think it is?" He asked back. Sokka looked between me and Toph.
"Even though we don't know where Aang is, we need to do everything we can to stop the airship fleet," he replied. I nodded.
"And keep the Earth Kingdom free of Fire Nation reinforcements so the White Lotus we'll have an easy time reclaiming Ba Sign Se," I added.
"And that means, when Aang does face the Fire Lord, we'll be right there if he needs us," Toph finished. Iroh nodded at all of us with an approving smile.
After that we split up to prepare for our missions. Master Piandao helped us out by preparing us a giant eel-hound. I hopped on and helped Toph up to sit in front of me.
"The airship base is on a small island just off the Earth Kingdom shore. You should be able to intercept the fleet within a day's journey," Master Piandao explained.
Sokka and I thanked him, Sokka being especially affectionate and hugging the master. Afterwards he jumped on in front of Toph.
We took one last look at Zuko and Katara before saying goodbye to everyone. Iroh sent us off with some inspiring words.
"Today, destiny is our friend. I know it," he said and he smiled as we left.
Sokka gave me the map, trusting us to navigate us to the edge of the continent and into the water. The journey did take all day, and it was nighttime when we got to the sea.
Soon the night sky turned a bright red. I inhaled and exhaled.
"The comet could actually be considered beautiful," I mumbled.
"Yeah, if the Fire Lord wasn't about to use it to destroy the world," Toph pointed out. I shrugged.
"There's always a catch," I said and I heard Toph chuckle a bit. I looked ahead of us and made sure Sokka saw it too. "That island is the base," I pointed out. He nodded and kept us going in that direction.
We landed on the island a few minutes later, and started moving up the hill side. Once we reached the top, we were greeted by an airship taking off. We're too late...
"The fleet's already taking off," Sokka shouted.
"Then we're taking off, too. Where's the closest airship?" She asked and before we could even answer, she grabbed both of us and launched us into the air with earthbending. Her trajectory was a little off so I used my enhanced firebending to keep us on the right path.
We landed on a balcony and caught Toph, making sure she didn't fall.
Alright, let's get this party started...
Sokka POV
We entered inside our airship, and Y/n was able to guide us to the control room. We snuck up to it silently, before Toph metal bent the door down. She wore the door like armor, taking down half of the firebenders inside. Y/n jumped in and handled the other half, and soon we were in.
"Good work, Toph. Time to take control of the ship. Take the wheel," I said and Toph looked at me sarcastically.
"That's a great idea. Let the blind girl steer the giant airship," she said smugly.
"I was talking to Y/n," I clarified, and Y/n already heard me and did what I said.
"We need to get rid of the rest of the crew," Y/n pointed out and I had an idea.
"Take us down closer to the water," I instructed and she steered us down. I grabbed the microphone and changed my voice. "Attention crew, this is your captain speaking. Everyone please report to the bomb bay immediately, for hot cakes and sweet cream. We have a very special birthday to celebrate," I said. Y/n laughed.
"Dropping the load," she said and she pulled a lever, letting all the crew members fall into the ocean. Y/n pulled up and brought us back to cruising altitude with the other ships. We speed up to go after the Fire Lord's ship.
"Fire Lord Ozai, here we come," I said determinedly.
My determination faltered when we couldn't catch up to the Fire Lord's ship. We watched as he unleashed his enhanced firebending on the land, a huge wave of fire washing over it.
All of a sudden, the Fire Lord's ship veered off course, crashing into the rocks below it.
"What just happened?" Y/n asked. I smiled.
"It's Aang! He's back!" I cheered. Y/n and Toph laughed in triumph before Y/n looked at me.
"Change of plans, right?" She clarified. I nodded.
"We need to stay focused on stopping the rest of that fleet from burning down the Earth Kingdom," I said.
"And how do we do that, Captain Boomerang? I can't see outside of this floating hunk of metal," Toph pointed out. I thought for a minute and then turned to the girls with a smirk on my face.
"Airship slice!" I said and I took the wheel from Y/n. I guided us up and then turned us around sharply, taking us back to the other airships. While I was turning, the other ships started their assault, opening fire on the Earth Kingdom. I heard Y/n and Toph gasp in slight fear.
I took the ship down towards the others, pulling every knob and lever to make it go as fast as possible. I grabbed Toph and shouted to Y/n.
"It's gonna be a rough ride! We need to get to the top of this thing, fast," I yelled. I pushed Toph out the control room door and Y/n stopped to question me.
"Ok, and then what?" she asked. I put my hands on her shoulders, smiling at her.
"Watch each others' backs, and if we make it that far..I'll let you know," I promised her, kissing her lips quickly. She smiled and ran after Toph. Y/n directed us to the quickest way to the top, and we were jolted by our airship slicing the tops of the others.
We made it to the top, running across the length of our ship, before being forced to jump onto another one. Debris fell from the sky, and Y/n and I shielded Toph from everything she couldn't see.
Once the coast was clear, we got up and started to move again. But I noticed when Y/n stopped to block a wave of fire coming at us. I turned around and the crew members from the ship we had landed on had come up to fight us.
"Sokka, protect Toph and get out of here, I'll hold them off!" Y/n yelled. She was already running towards the soldiers, firing shots at them quickly and strategically. I looked behind me and saw a trap door leading inside the ship. I groaned in frustration and started pulling Toph towards the drop down.
We were almost there when I heard an explosion. I turned around and saw my worst fear. The damage from our airbeding slice must've made the top of the airship volatile. Y/n or a soldier must've tripped a wire, because an explosion went off and I saw Y/n's body falling off the side of the ship.
"NO!" I yelled. Toph's grip on my hand tightened in fear.
"Sokka what happend?" She asked frantically. She's gone. She's really gone... I started to freak out but then I remembered it wasn't over yet. Y/n told me to protect Toph and get out of here, and that's just what I'm going to do. I wiped my tears and took a deep breath.
"Y/n's gone..but we need to get out of here. Come on!" I said and I kept pulling her. I led us to the rudder and gave instructions. "Metal bend the rudder so it's stuck in a turning position. The ship will spiral and slam into the others."
Toph nodded and got to work, executing the plan flawlessly. But a firebender coming to attack us made us fall off the edge of the ship. I used my sword to slow our descent, and I managed to land on one of the planks for the firebenders to rain fire down from.
I landed on my leg, hurting it badly, but I kept my hold on Toph.
"Hang on, Toph," I shouted down to her, knowing full well the alternative wasn't really an option.
"Aye aye, captian," she responded. I looked to my left and my right and there were soldiers on both sides of me. Before they could bend at me, I threw my boomerang to my right and my sword to my left, taking out both soldiers. There goes the last of my weapons...
More soldiers appeared on the main balcony of the ship, poised to attack us. I gripped Toph's hand as tight as I could.
"I don't think boomerang's coming back, Toph. It looks like this is the end," I said to her, figuring she wouldn't want me to lie to her in our final moments.
Neither boomerang or Y/n's coming back...
It's over...
~|~
Thanks for reading 💙💙