WARNINGS: Swearing, and a dirty joke. Sorry in advance. I couldn't help myself.

***

"Hold it." 

"Raiko." 

"Hold it."

"Rai-" 

"I said hold it!" 

A thump is heard shortly after, Asha falling ass over tea kettle; Raiko standing above her with his arms crossed in front of him, green emeralds glaring at her.  He groans, rubbing the bridge of his nose, before walking over slowly and offering a hand to Asha. 

"I said hold it."  

"When your relying on only your hands to hold you upright, it gets hard ya know."  Asha rubs the back of her head with a grunt. 

"So what's your strategy for taking him down? Going to get your glow on and hit him with a little Avatar state action?"  Toph's voice calls over the two's attention, Aang bright and smiling as he talks to the other three.  At mention of the Avatar state, Aang's smile drops and he looks down dejectedly. 

"I can't. When Azula shot me with lightning, my 7th Chakra was locked, cutting off my connection to all the cosmic energy in the Universe."  Aang frowns, looking to his feet.

"Okay, what about Asha?" Sokka looks behind him to the brunette. 

Her blue eyes widen and she steps back at the sudden attention, being pushed forward by Raiko as she tries to take another step forward. Katara offers a smile and a reassuring thumbs up as Asha groans in defeat. 

"I can't either," Asha pauses, taking small steps towards Gumi and Zulu (the dragon groaning lightly with a soft nudge to her side). Pulling out the book from the library, she walks back over to Sokka and them, placing the book over the map then flipping pages rapidly. The group- except Toph- gather around her as she slows.  

Before Toph can say anything, Asha starts reading out loud-- well, paraphrasing. "We all know there are two types of Avatar state, Aang is one and I'm the other.  Mine has a major downfall that if the Avatar is hurt in any way while we're both in Avatar State, it turns the Onsra's energy against them self. When I got hit as well, it almost double the attack." Asha's finger slowly traces the words as she skims for key words.

"So what your saying is, your own energy is tearing you apart from the inside out." Sokka furrows his brows. 

"Pretty much. When I was with Onsra Tanna, she explained it better then I did."  Asha leans back, Aang behind her with a deeper frown. 

'You know it isn't your fault.'  Asha can tell what Aang is thinking before he even thinks it.

'It feels like it.'

'It's not your fault at all, Aang.'  She can feel a small bit of relief bubble up in Aang at the reassurance. If it was anyone's fault, it was Azula's-- the sneaky bi-witch. 

"You know what I just heard? Blah, blah, spiritual mumbo jumbo, blah, blah, something about space." Toph interrupts. 

"Basically when Aang was shot, it hurt his space ego so much, we can no longer glow it up." Asha dumbs it down, Toph letting out a hum in satisfaction. 

"Oh no. Sokka, do you think the fog will delay the invasion?" Katara worriedly looks to the approaching fog, each kid pairing up in case of an attack.

"No, that is the invasion!" Sokka cheers as five water tribe ships appear out of the fog, carrying warriors the group has met on their journey. 

With a quick nudge, Aang and Asha rush off the earth bend some docks, the ships quickly docking with quick efficiency. 

Katara and Sokka quickly run up to their father (Asha guesses, as she's never met him), the man proceeding to embrace the two.  Due and Tho (Faces Asha can actually recognize)  are next to exit a ship. 

"Whooo-Wheee. This place ain't nothing like a swamp." Due points to a simple rock, "What'd you reckon that is, Tho? Some sort of exploding Fire Nation exploding trap that would eat ya?"

"It's just a rock, Due." 

"Well, I'll be." 

"Is it just me, or are those fellas a little loose in the leaf head?" The man hugging Sokka and Katara sounds skeptical.

"I just wish they would wear pants." Bato grimaces, looking to the others.

"Pants are an illusion and so is death." Hue scratches his abdomen, Asha quickly grabbing her scalp with a groan. 

"Stop making me question everything!" She yells in agony, laughs erupting from around her. Katara runs up to another man, this one with facial hair, and the two hug. While they do, Aang walks the three 'newbies' towards the facial-hair dude. 

"This is Haru. When we met him, his town was controlled by the Fire Nation. So we had to hide his Earth bending." Aang introduces, the man smiling brightly while he does. Aang turns to the trio behind him. "This is Toph, Raiko and my Onsra, Asha."

Asha offers a hand a a gentle smile, which Haru returns both.

"Katara inspired me and my Father to take back out village." The flattery from Haru causes Katara's cheek to brighten with a crimson flush. A much older man comes up behind them (Aang helpfully tells Asha that it was Haru's dad).  "You helped us find our courage, Katara. Now we're here to help you." 

Toph jumps to a fighting stance quite quickly, seemingly out of nowhere, her eyes narrowing. "No way. Is that..."

The Hippo quickly stomps up, embracing Toph happily. "Hippo happy to see Blind Bandit!" 

"You guys here for a re-match?" Toph growls. 

"Negatory. The Boulder and The Hippo no longer fight for other's entertainment. Now, we fight for our kingdom!" The boulder cheers, raising his arms in enthusiasm. 

"Sweet." Toph smiles, though all interaction is halted as an explosion is heard from a boat, Asha and Raiko quickly running to investigate.

"Teo!" Asha cheers as said boy wheels towards them, the two embracing in a sweet hug; Raiko helping his dad who was currently covered in an orange goo. 

"Onsra Asha, quite a pleasure." He laughs as they separate, goo spreading to both of them.

"Was that a new invention?" Sokka catches up to them, helping Raiko with Teo's dad.

"Yes. But unfortunately, the incendiary capabilities of peanut sauce proved to be a failure." 

"Peanut sauce bombs?" Raiko furrows a brow, watching Asha and Teo lick sauce from their hand, only to laugh at each other. Two more people walk up, one riding the shoulders of the other.

"They're destructive." 

"And delicious!" The two laugh, Asha and Teo joining.

"Were you able to complete work on the plans I sent you?" Sokka resumes conversation, giving Teo an idea, seemingly. 

"Oh, Asha, Aang!" Teo calls over the air benders, taking two pole-like objects from his wheelchair. "My dad and I made these for you."

The two thank him as they take it, eyeing it skeptically before Aang's sprouts new, bright blue wings. "A new glider! This is amazing!" He smiles brightly, watching as Asha twirls hers, revealing yellow wings. 

"And as a special feature, I added a snack compartment."  Teo's dad holds his head under the handle and pulls it, peanuts falling into his mouth as he does.

"Oh, well, I'm sure that will come in handy." Aang shrugs, his girlfriend latching onto his shoulder, hanging off with a small giggle.

"You know I'm a sucker for snacks." 

___

"Good morning, everyone!" Sokka calls everyone's attention towards him, some holding the last bit of a meal. The group of five sit on a ledge a ways away, Asha leaning on Aang as she pops a peanut in her mouth. 

'Man, wouldn't it be funny to find out right now if I had a peanut allergy?'

'No. No it would not. Please stop trying to give me a heart attack, I'm only sixteen.'

'A hundred and sixteen, Aang-'

" Uhm... So, as you know today we're invading the Fire Nation. I mean I know you know that. Because otherwise why else would you be here Anyway... The Fire Lord's palace is here." Sokka interrupts the two's conversation, flipping his map around a few times while his nerves get the best of him. "And uh there's an eclipse today and Aang's going to fight the Fire Lord, Asha's going to fight his queen, and the fire benders won't have any fire to use so that's good for us and uhm... I'm sorry, let me start at the beginning." The boy stops to compose himself, breathing in slowly before slurring his words rapidly.

"Katara and I discovered Aang frozen in an iceberg. Now I didn't like Aang at first but I grew to love him over time. Then we went over to the Southern Air Temple where Aang used to live and then we met Suki, who is a Kyoshi warrior. She made me dress like a woman and then she kissed me, and none of us know where Asha came from." 

'That's fair.'

'You did not come from nowhere.'

'How do you know that?"

'Asha, I swear to the spirits you give me high blood pressure.'

"Wow, when he says beginning, means beginning, beginning." Katara whispers to the air benders.

Sokka's dad, Hakoda steps up pushing Sokka over to his friends, taking over Sokka's speech. He explains the route and how their going to get there, answering any questions along the way. Quite impressive actually, if not much more boring than Sokka's trainwreck.

___

Pulling Aang's forehead back, Asha gently scraps the oh-so loved hair off, discarding it into the river below them. Both were clad in clothing that sharply resembled the air nomads, Aang in robes and Asha in a cuffed light orange jumpsuits, that tied around her waist, wrists and ankles in a darker orange, her brown locks brushed and now back to their original length, sides clipped back with small orange and red jeweled clips. 

"Not gonna lie, I'm gonna miss this hair." She whispers, careful of Aang's neck as she finishes her final row.

"Maybe I'll go through a rebellious phase and grow it back." Aang chuckles, standing and facing Asha (the girl standing as well).  Said girls lets out a hum in contentment, burrowing herself in Aang's chest.

"This is it, huh." Asha sounds hopeful, the two just standing within each others arms.

"Yep. Heh, then we can focus on other things." Aang pulls away with a smirk, making his counterpart furrow a brow before tilting her head with a smirk.

"Oh yeah, like what?"

"Rebuilding the Air nomad empire?" Aang chuckles as he's hastily pushed away, Asha blushing a bright furious red.

"Aang!"

___

With both animals clad in bright new armor, the ships ready to go, and the air benders ready with their gliders, the battle is just over the horizon. Except for one thing. Sokka.

With her glider already to go, Asha is the one to go search for him, landing beside him with a small smile. He doesn't return it, but it doesn't stop her.

"The boats are ready to leave."

"I messed up, Ash." Sokka sounds disappointed in himself.

"What do you mean?" She walks to stand beside Sokka, looking up at him with doe eyes.

"The invasion plan was my moment of truth, and I completely flopped it. I just fell apart." Sokka avoids her gaze, the blue eyes becoming a merciless firing squad. He totally got how Aang fell to her will so easily now. 

"Sokka, that speech wasn't your moment of truth. Public speaking is stupid and no ones really good at it, look at me. I can't even look at a group of people without biting my lip like a child. " 

"My dad's good at it. He explained it perfectly and inspired everyone, like a real leader should."  Asha places a hand on Sokka's shoulder, pushing him to face the ocean in front of them. 

"Your moment of truth isn't going to be in front of some map. It's out there, on the battlefield, when your wiping out soldiers left and right with your sword skills." Asha smiles, Sokka finally looking to her.

"Oh yeah? How do you know?" 

"I was there when you were trained, remember?" Asha pokes his head with a small smirk, Sokka only groaning in response.

"You seem so confident about everything. How do you know we're going to win?" Sokka looks down to the brunette, who looses her smile.

With a grim look, she focuses on the ocean. "Because I already failed everyone once. I'm not gonna let myself do it again. And if it means lying to myself with a sense of confidence, I'm willing to take it." 

"Here's to lying to ourselves then." Sokka finally lets out a smile, pulling the girl in for a one armed hug before ruffling her hair.

___

Ropes shoot out of the statue of Azulon's sleeves as the group approaches, creating a wall which quickly erupts in flame. The cloud cover they are currently using doesn't seem to work a second time as alarms blare, jet skis racing towards them. 

"Everyone below deck!" Hakoda is quick to rush everyone below, the gang all doing so (Boyfriends helping girlfriend, brothers helping sisters). 

"Let's hope your invention works, Sokka." Hakoda smiles despite the obvious doubt in his voice. It makes Sokka frown, but a small smile from Asha has him back to normal. After all, if the all-powerful Onsra believed in him, he must've done something right.

Sokka's invention, submarines, prove useful and working as the invasions slips under the gates undetected, Appa and Gumi swimming with air bubbles over their heads.  Toph sits in Raiko's lap, her face green as Raiko rubs her back in an attempt to comfort her, a slight chuckle escaping his lips as she pukes in an offered helmet.

___

Asha sits on top of a submarine with her legs to her chest, taking in all around her. The invasion imminent and becoming a very scary thought to her own mind.  She turns her head as Aang sits beside her, pulling her in close. 

"So this is it, huh?" Aang smiles ever so slightly, Asha's curls tickling his head. 

"Are you two ready for the fire nation to know the Avatar and Onsra are alive?" Sokka and the others approach them as well. 

"I'm ready." Asha nods with Aang's declaration.  Before the can say anything more, Sokka pulls the two into a hug, which the others quickly join.

"I hope you kick some serious fire lord butt, twinkle toes."  Toph smiles.

"You too, princess."  Raiko laughs out, the rest following.

"Everyone listen up. The next time we resurface, it'll be on the beaches. So stay alert and fight smart. Now break time's over, back in the sub." Hakoda directs them, four out of six of the gang leaving for the subs, all that's left are the air benders.

"Ash, I-"

"Aang-" 

The two pause before laughing, cheeks flushing ever so slightly. 

"You go first." He holds Asha's hands as he allows her to speak, the girl biting her lip before taking a deep breath. 

"If you would've asked me when I was younger, if I would end up dating the Avatar, I would've laughed. If you would've then told me I was the Onsra, I would've laughed even harder. But now, I wouldn't change a thing. We've been through so much, before and after the freezing. You helped me find Gumi, you've saved me countless times and have helped me grow. Your no longer the small nomad, goofy boy, no; your now a full fledged Avatar who isn't afraid of anyone and I'm so, so proud of you, Aang." Asha smiles at him, gently brushing his cheek with her thumb. "And I love you, so, so much." 

"Oh, Ash." Aang laughs, only for it to fall into a frown. "Everything is going to be different after today, isn't it?"  Asha nods. 

"What if...what if I don't come back? Or you don't?" Aang's voice is laced with uncertainty.

"Aang, don't say that. I'll come back, you'll-" Asha is cut off by Aang connecting their lips, passion and promises made within those few moments. Aang holds Asha by her waist as her arms snake around his neck. Separating, Aang is quick to fly off, leaving Asha on the submarine.

___

Gumi's wings fly as effortlessly as they did a hundred years ago, allowing Asha and Raiko to get into position quickly and effortlessly. Aki stupid enough to lead clues right to her, a house on the outskirts of the kingdom.  

"Are you absolutely ready for this?"  Raiko puts a hand on Asha's shoulder as the house comes into view. 

"Not in the slightest." 

"Well, honesty is nice. Just know that, I won't leave without you." Raiko smiles, a sadder version gracing Asha's lips as she nods. No words need to be spoken for he understands the expression on her face. Sometimes, she needed the reassurance from Raiko more than any one else. He would tell it like it was without ghoulish overkill. 

Before either know it Gumi is landing before a house, the riders quickly jumping off--Zulu staying in the saddle. Bursting through the front door, they're met with Aki sitting on the couch, calmly sipping from a pristine white teacup. 

"Hello, daughter dearest." Her red curls frame her face and she's clad in a light pink house robe. Perfect fighting wardrobe, she's sure.

"I'm not your daughter." Asha growls, her fists tightening.

"Hmm, fill me in. Then whose daughter are you?"  Aki smirks, disgustingly and smugly.  Raiko places a reassuring hand on Asha's shoulder, the girl calming ever so slightly. 

"Not yours."  Asha's lip curls in an almost animal  type snarl. Her pearly white teeth glimmer from under her gums, almost like a warning; the air bender has come a long way, not afraid to fight back anymore.

"By law, I'm your only living family, making me your mother." Aki's smirk remains as she holds up a hand, looking greedily at the large rock on the second to last finger. "And Fire Lord Ozai your step-dad."  

Gag Asha with a goddamn spoon.

The woman takes great satisfaction in watching Asha's face morph with disgust and horror at the revelation. Asha's mind hadn't thought to go there, instead was focused on bringing them down entirely. 

"Princess Asha has quite a nice ring, does it not?" The red head's tone breaks Asha as she hurls an air bubble- one that holds sharp shards of ice and rock- towards Aki, who dodges as it destroys the couch. Wood shards fly everywhere as Aki lets out a series of 'tsk, tsk, tsk'. 

"Hit me while I'm down why don't ya?" Aki's face now holds a snarl of her own, which quickly falls as she seems to remember part of their own plan. 

Facing an angry Onsra and water bending master (Both of which now hold elements to their will, ready to attack, Asha now holding her staff as an added bonus), Aki can tell she's out numbered, she can tell she's lost. The eclipse hadn't started yet, but the two are too blinded by anger to realize this.  With a whistle a komodo Rhino bursts through the wall, saving Aki as it runs past the shocked two.

"Ash, you follow them with your glider, Gumi and I will catch up." Raiko's brain works faster than Asha's, delivering orders which get met with a nod. With a twirl for style (even if they don't have the time), Asha releases the wings on her staff before taking off through the hole left from Aki's escape. 

There was no way in hell that she would get away this time.