AN: My favorite part about editing is the new chapter titles. They crack me up.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it! No!" Asha crashes, her eyes holding frustrated tears as her brows furrow in defeat. She had lost the damned woman within the commotion, the woman falling between trees as the two fliers followed the easily noticeable rhino, foolishly thinking that Aki would remain on the rhino. 

"The eclipse is almost here, if we hurry we can catch up with the invasion and help there, princ- Ash. It's not over yet. Aki can't cause trouble without fire bending, but those warrior have weapons that'll still do harm." Raiko tries pulling the girl by her arm, only for it to be tugged away.  He refrains from using the nickname momentarily, especially after what Aki said.

"What's the point? I've failed once more, whose to say I won't again?"  The defeat is easily heard, but Raiko won't accept it.

"Come on, damn it! You've fought hundreds of people at once before, nearly been killed, and have saved the Avatar countless times; sure a few failures happen, but a wise person once said, that with trying your hardest comes setbacks." Raiko pauses, moving to Asha's hip where her signature satchel was tightly tied. She doesn't stop him  as he digs through it, pulling something out. 

Pulling the brown locks to the side, Asha winces as the feeling of cold twine is brought back to her neck. "Never failures, just a delay to your success." Raiko ties the necklace tightly, smiling as he pulls her hair back to it's original style.

Asha's small fingers reach up to feel the necklace, shocking herself as a poppy petal graces her touch.  She had forgotten all about it. The necklace Aang made her, before all of this fighting became a scarring reality.  

She had forgotten how such a small sign of affection could mean so much, how he remembered such a small thing from her childhood. How he took the time to remember such small things about her.  

Raiko was right, as much as it hurt her to say it. Standing up, Asha realized there was never a thing as failure, not yet at least. 

"Let's go kick some fire nation butt."

___

With both and Raiko and Asha on the ground, running between warriors from both sides (Protecting their own and firing at the enemies, a few cries of 'the Onsra!' escaping the warriors as they do), Asha can see the two water tribe siblings and Aang, which worries her to no extent.

"Please tell me 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 whines with a desperate look, Asha appearing in his line of sight. Which forces him to whine again. "And his queen? Both of them are big scaredy cats. Please say that-"

"He wasn't home. No one was. The entire palace city is abandoned." Aang growls, anger flowing through him, then Asha. 

"They knew, Sokka. Aki, she played me. She played with my emotions then ran off somewhere." Asha speaks up, getting looks of surprise from Aang, who has a sense of relief before that gets flooded with defeat, much like Asha had.

"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 holds his staff tightly, his knuckles turning white as he does.

"No. My instincts tell me he wouldn't go too far. He would have a secret bunker." Sokka begins, holding a fist to his chin. 

"Somewhere he could go so it'll be safe during a siege but still be close enough to lead his nation." Raiko cuts in, Toph beside him.

"That must've been where Aki was headed!" Asha smiles, a new found sense of purpose under her now, which courses through Aang- bringing a smile to his own face. 

"If it's an underground secret bunker we're looking for, I'm just the girl to find it." Toph has a sense of pride as Sokka pulls out a small device. 

"The mechanist gave me this timing device, it looks like we've got about 10 minutes until the full eclipse. 10 minutes to find the Fire couple." Sokka smiles as well, looking to the group before him.

"We can still so this, we can still win the day." Aang wraps an arm around Asha, the feeling now flowing through both at the thought of a new plan. 

"Wait. 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." Katara, being the rational mother-type she is, proves a valid point.

"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 Asha to go for it." Hakoda proves yet another valid point, Asha noticing the bandages around his waist. 

"What do you think? You guys are the ones who have to face the Fire Lord. Whatever you decide, remember, I'm with you." Sokka turns to the two, who turn to face the battle field. 

"We've got to try." 

___

Active lava vents hiss and preen in front of the group of four (Katara and Raiko staying behind), the floor becoming a land mine of unexplored land.  Toph had led the way so far, and now they were faced with this. 

"The tunnel continues on the other side and it leads right to the bunker."  Toph explains, her toes curling ever so slightly at the increased temperature. 

"Then we'll have to be fast but careful." Asha explains, not even moving before a vent erupts before her, Aang having to swing his staff and cool it before it even touches her. 

"Wow, you didn't even have to move, Ash." Sokka chuckles. 

"How was that careful?" Aang turns to Asha, despite the fact she didn't even move. His heart rate jumped forty seven beats and he was not okay.

"Fine. We need to be fast, careful and lucky." She snarks before actually moving this time, leading as the others follow. 

No more problems occur, until they're faced with a small cliff that looks over a large river of lava.

"There's no floor! It's just a river of lava!" Sokka looks over in disdain.  The two air benders look over to each other, and with a nod, extend their glider wings. 

"Toph your with me, Sokka you ride with Aang." Asha instructs before feeling Toph wrap her arms tightly around her waist

___

"So, what mother told me was true. You two are alive after all." Azula greets them, the stench of disappointing lies reeks in the air.  They thought they had him, but no. Instead their left with not only Azula, but Aki as well, both sitting in thrones much too large for them.

"I had a hunch that you survived. It doesn't matter, I've know about the invasion for months." Azula seems to take great joy in the shocked faces of the kids. Aki only sits in silence, watching as Asha becomes increasingly distraught. 

Before Aang even has a chance to stop her, Asha snaps. "Where is he?! Where is the Fire Lord?!"  She growls, like an aggressive alpha.

"Hmm, you mean we're not good enough for you? You're hurting my feelings, Asha, love. I thought you would appreciate the bonding time with your new sister." Aki speaks up, taunting the livid Onsra-- which only makes her angrier.

'Don't think about it, Asha. Don't give them the satisfaction.' Aang reminds her, which she does appreciate, as she's sure her anger does nothing but make Aang angry as well.

"Stop wasting our time and give us the information. You're powerless right now, so you're in no position to refuse." Sokka brandishes his sword, looking just as mean as the benders before him.

"And stick to the truth. I'll be able to tell if you're lying." Toph stands in her own defensive position. 

"Are you sure? I'm a pretty good liar." Azula pauses, her face becoming expressionless. "I am a 400 foot tall purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings."

"Okay, you're good. I admit it. But you really ought to consider telling the truth anyway." Toph traps Azula in a cone shape rock, Asha doing the same to Aki.

"Besides, Aki can't lie for shit." Asha smirks, her eyes holding a challenging aura. 

The cones holding the fire benders suddenly burst open, two Dai Li agents falling from the ceiling. 

"When Azula left Ba Sing Se, she brought me some souvenirs. Dai Li agents." Aki smirks, dusting rubble off her shoulder. 

A fight surely enough, breaks out. Three out of four go for the Dai Li agents, but not Asha. Turning to Aki, she growls.

 "This fight, is between you and me." Her blue eyes narrow and she growls. Bending a large stone pillar under Aki, she throws the woman into the air, only to pull the pillar back, allowing her to fall. 

But Asha doesn't stop there. With a gust of wind, Asha throws Aki into a wall, only for Aki to turn and push herself off. She lands uninjured in front of Asha; only branding a broad sword. 

The two females fight, Asha using rocks and wind to deflect the sword while Aki expertly uses the blade like it were apart of her body. Asha can see Aang moving on to fight Azula, but is preoccupied. That is, until Aki turns and bolts, meeting up with Azula and a Dai Li Agent. 

Asha and the others follow quickly, the brunette quick to destroy the large rock meant to stop them (or at least slow them down), and the chase continues. The Dai Li agent is quickly knocked to the side by a stone pillar however, Toph emerging from the wall she fired from.  The Dai Li agent tries to fire his stone gloves, but Toph crushes them, tieing the agent up with metal beams just before the others run past her.

"Wait! Guys, stop attacking them. Don't you see what their doing? They're playing with us, their not even trying to win this fight!" Sokka stops the three benders, the fire benders stopping as well. 

"Not true, I'm giving it my all!" Azula whines sarcastically. 

"You're trying to keep us here and waste all our time." Toph growls.

"Um, right. I think your friend just say that genius. And since you can't see, I should tell you I'm rolling my eyes." Aki snorts, coming to Azula's aid. 

This strikes Asha as she pops up with widened eyes, realizing what has been happening this whole time. 

"I'll roll your whole head!"  Toph shouts, angry venom lacing her words. She's pulled back by Asha's gentle hand. 

"She's baiting you. She did it to me too."  That calms her down, knowing that the Onsra can be just as aggravated as she was. Aki rolls her eyes once more. 

"Yea, keep rolling them, maybe you'll find a brain back there!" Asha shouts, her quick wits coming in handy. The brunette remains calm though. 

"Okay, so what do we do? Just ignore her?" Aang steps in, looking to Sokka. 

"We don't have a choice. We just have to get out of here and find the fire lord on our own somehow." Sokka turns to leave as he speaks.   The others turn with him, despite the fire benders behind them.

"It's a trap. Don't say I didn't warn you."  Azula almost sings as they walk away, Sokka crying out to ignore her to the others. 

"So, Sokka's your name right? My favorite prisoner used to mention you all the time. She was convinced that you were going to come rescue her. Of course, you never came and she gave up on you." Aki pokes a bear, Sokka turning around as she speaks.  

"Sokka, no!" Asha tries but it's too late, the boy runs towards the woman, Toph and Asha having to trap the woman before they can hurt him. 

"Where is Suki?! Answer me!" Sokka growls angrily, the womans' arms pinned above their heads as he does. 

"Sokka, she won't talk." Aang tries, grabbing the other boy's shoulder. 

"Where are you keeping her?!" Sokka barks after a moment of hesitation. 

"Oh, sounds like the fire bending's back on." Azula smirks after a moment, kicking her leg with a blue arc of fire.   She thrusts he foot forward and shoots a fireball at Sokka who is saved from the attack by Toph, who jumps in and pushes him out of the way. With a fancy flip, Azula lands and places her feet on the wall, straining herself to break her arms free. She grins as the rock trapping her there explodes in a blue flame. 

She springs off the wall towards Aang and flips forward. Aang jumps out of the way as Azula lands with a fiery heel drop where he was standing. Aang, Sokka, and Toph all ready themselves for another attack.  

Meanwhile, Asha is busy with Aki, who tries to throw a fireball at the Onsra (after freeing herself), but watches as it's destroyed with a blast of air.  She tries to then punch the brunette with a fiery fist, but is left in a shocking agony as another one catches her own. The red and yellow (Almost white) flames dance with each other as Asha glares at Aki. Still holding the woman's hand, Asha turns her body with a lit heel, kicking Aki away from her.  The yellow flames spark about as Asha places her foot down, the fire in her soul being released.

The woman is unfortunately helped up by Azula, who faces the group. "Dad's all the way at the end of the hall and down the secret stairway on the left. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to see you now." Azula smirks, her and Aki quickly running away. 

___

With the two air benders on their gliders and the water benders on the animals, the four are faced with the hot air balloons once used at the northern air temple.  While Katara and Aang take one, Asha and Raiko take the other. 

Twirling her staff, Asha is quick to drop and roll as she lands on a balloon. She quickly tears a large hole in the fabric with her glider, watching as air leaks and the balloon starts to fall down. Raiko is beside the balloon on Gumi, taking out another with an assortment of icicles slicing and poking holes. 

With her glider, Asha is quick to land back on her dragon, who grunts happily as she effortlessly weaves him through oncoming fireballs (Zulu being left with Momo on land), Appa not being as lucky however. He's hit a few times, but his armor protects him (Gumi wearing very similar armor).   Asha takes offence, handing the reigns to Raiko as she climbs to Gumi's head; firing beams of fire at the soldiers, blocking attacks directed at them. She looks over fairly briefly as Appa flies next to them, Aang gliding beside the bison as Katara drives.

"We can't keep them all back. They're too many of them!" Katara shouts, getting ready to turn Appa around. 

"Let's join the others then!" Raiko turns Gumi, Asha jumping to the saddle as he does. Aang follows without much fight, dodging another fireball.

The four quickly land, meeting up with Toph and Sokka, the latter focusing on the not destroyed air ships.

"Try and find cover! I think we're about to see some bombs!" Sokka cries out, grabbing his sister quickly. Aang grabs Asha, pulling her closer to Raiko and Toph (the siblings as well)before Toph bends a large stone above them for cover.  

Asha buries herself into Aang, who holds her tightly, as bombs explode around them, Toph continuing to protect the group under the slab of rock.  Asha's fists curl around Aang robes as she tries to get impossibly closer, ground shaking below them. Her eyes are squeezed shut and they don't open until the shaking stops, causing her to look up in confusion. The gang quickly running out of the shelter, watching as the air ships fly towards the beach.

"Why aren't they turning around to attack us again?" Katara speaks the question on everyone's mind, until it hits. 

The realization hits like a ton of bricks, Asha quickly looking up with horror. "They're headed to for the beach. They're going to destroy the submarines!" Asha cries, stepping back as she tries to formulate a plan.

"How are we all going to escape?" Sokka looks up to his dad.

"We're not." The reply Hakoda gives is grim and causes frowns to appear on the others' faces.

"Then our only choice is to stand and fight. We have the Avatar and the Onsra, we could still win!" Sokka looks for an optimistic stand point but doesn't find any.

"Yes, with those two we could still win on another day. You kids have to leave. You have to escape on Appa and Gumi together." Hakoda gestures to the two animals. 

"What? We can't leave you you behind!" Katara cries at the thought. 

"We won't leave anyone behind." Asha is quick to correct, though she knows it's in a mute attempt. She knows they'll have to leave someone behind.

"You're our only chance in a long run. You and Sokka have to go with Aang and Asha somewhere safe. It's the only way to keep hope alive. "

"The youngest of our group should go with you. The adults will stay behind and surrender. We'll be prisoners but we'll all survive this battle." Bato is quick to back up Hakoda, looking to the group of kids.

"I've got some experience with the Fire Nation prisons. It's not going to be easy, but we'll get by." Tyro, Haru's dad, steps in as well.

"They're at the beach already!" Sokka yells, the group turning as well. They can only watch as one by one the submarines are destroyed, despite Hue, Due and Tho's best efforts.

"Alright." Eyes land on Asha as she stares at the rising smoke. "Youngest will be split between riding with me and Raiko on Gumi and the others on Appa."  Asha walks over to her dragon, signaling for him to lay down, for people to get in better. 

Asha bends a stone platform with herself, Teo and his dad on it. The two males give their goodbyes as Asha continues watching the smoke.  The Duke (Asha learned his name), struggles the get on top of Appa, but pipsqueak helps him and they share their own goodbye. Haru bows to his father, after some words, before climbing up Appa.  

Finally looking away from the smoke, Asha feels tear drip down her cheek, before their quickly wiped off by Raiko's quick hand.  With a nod towards Appa and the others, Asha stands on Gumi's head addressing them all.

"Thank you all, for being so brave and so strong. I promise, an Avatar promise, that we will make this up to you." Asha holds her head high and strong despite the worry and defeat sinking in her soul. 

Sliding down Gumi's neck, Asha mutters a small 'Yip, Yip ' before the dragon takes off; Appa following close behind.

'Where are we going?' Asha asks Aang, not giving much though to the where, just the getting out off impending doom. 

'Some where we'll be safe for a while. The Western air temple.'

___

An: That Q&A is still open for a limited time only!