A.N. I had some extra time and motivation, so I decided to just publish what I have before my personal life gets hectic for a bit and I don't have time to update. This update will have four chapters: the two Day of Black Sun episodes, the Western Air Temple episode, and an OC chapter. There will be a bit of skipping around scenes in the canon chapters.

Hope you guys enjoy and thanks for voting, commenting, and reading my work! Would definitely not have made it this far without your support!

Sokka stared down at the map in front of him, studying it intensely. Beside the map sat a pile of notes, Azara's notes, for the invasion. He worked through her notes for the thousandth time, trying to match them up with the markings on the map. Katara walked over, nudged him, and handed him a cup of tea. Sokka shot his sister a small smile, before turning back to the map.

Aang jumped over and Momo hurried to perch up on his shoulder. "Top of the morning, Momo!"

"Sounds like you slept well," Katara spoke as she got to her feet, placing her hands on her hips.

"Like a baby moose lion. I'm ready to face the Fire Lord," Aang assured Katara, getting into a fighting stance.

"So, what's your strategy for taking him down? Gonna get your glow on and hit him with a little Avatar State action?" Toph asked, punching the air with a smirk on her face.

"I can't," Aang sighed, staring at the ground. "When Azula shot me with lightning, my seventh chakra was locked, cutting off my connection to all the cosmic energy in the universe."

"You know what I just heard? Blah, blah, spiritual mumbo jumbo blah, blah, something about space," Toph replied after a moment, looking bored.

Katara glanced at the ocean, before becoming concerned. "Oh, no. Sokka, do you think the fog will delay the invasion?" Katara asked her brother, who walked over. Sokka stared at the fog for a moment, before smiling widely.

"No. That is the invasion!" Sokka pointed out as Southern Water Tribe boats appeared from within the mist.

Toph and Aang worked together to form docks for the approaching ships as Katara and Sokka ran to greet their father. "You made it, Dad!" Katara beamed, hurrying to embrace him.

"Were you able to locate everyone I told you to find?" Sokka asked, standing behind his sister.

"I did. But I'm a little worried, Sokka. Some of these men aren't exactly the 'warrior type,'" Hakoda replied, glancing over at some of the swamp benders.

"Oooh-whee! This place ain't nothing like a swamp!" Due exclaimed as he walked down the plank. "What you reckon that is, Tho? Some sort of Fire Nation exploding trap waiting to eat ya?" he asked, jumping up and pointing at a rock.

"It's just a rock, Due," Tho sighed in a deadpan.

"Well, I'll be!"

"Is it just me, or are those fellas a little loose in the leaf-hat?" Hakoda sighed, looking rather exasperated.

"I just wish they would wear pants," Bato huffed, stopping beside Sokka.

"Pants are an illusion, and so is death," Huu replied, scratching his stomach. Sokka grinned widely as Hakoda, Katara, and Bato looked rather concerned at his statement.

"We also picked up a few extras along the way," Bato added, diverting the conversation away from the swamp benders.

"A few extras?" Katara questioned as two more Water Tribe ships with slightly different designs sailed into the harbor.

Seeing the confused look on his children's faces, Hakoda smiled. "We ran into a group of warriors from the Northern Water Tribe while we were running around the Earth Kingdom. They offered their help. One of them said he knew you guys." Sokka followed Hakoda and Bato over to the other Water Tribe ships while Katara moved to talk with Haru and his father.

As Sokka approached the new Water Tribe ships, a familiar face led the way down the gangplank with a kind smile on his face. "Kesuk?" Sokka realized, his eyes widening in surprise. "I thought we'd never see you again," he admitted honestly as Kesuk walked over.

"Well, we couldn't let the Southern Tribe get all the glory," he joked before straightening up and turning to Hakoda. "It's a pleasure to work with you, Chief Hakoda. Princess Yue of the Northern Water Tribe sends her regards." The two Water Tribe men grabbed each other's forearms in greeting, nodding to each other respectfully.

"So, how do you two know each other?" Hakoda asked, glancing between them as Sokka winced at the question.

"Well, it's a bit of a long story," Sokka started, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I was good friends with his girlfriend while they were staying in the Northern Water Tribe," Kesuk explained, causing Sokka to look at him in surprise.

Before anyone else could say anything else, another Southern Water Tribe warrior ran over to grab Hakoda and Bato for preparations. "We'll leave you two kids to catch up," Bato nodded before the older Water Tribe warriors walked off.

"So, you know then?" Sokka asked awkwardly as Kesuk turned to him.

"Bato may have let it slip once or twice," Kesuk chuckled before smiling reassuringly. "I'm happy for you guys."

"Oh . . . thanks," Sokka replied, straightening up. "So, how's Yue?"

"She's doing well. Spends most of her time preparing to take over for her father soon, but she seems pretty happy. She led a ceremony and everything for when the first group of female waterbenders graduated," Kesuk replied as Sokka nodded along. "And I'm sorry about Azara by the way. Your dad mentioned that she was captured."

"Yeah, in Ba Sing Se," Sokka sighed, his shoulders sagging slightly.

"I'm really sorry to hear that. She doesn't deserve that." Kesuk paused for a moment, seeing Sokka's downward expression. "But we'll get her back today. I know we will, Sokka."

"Thanks, Kesuk," Sokka responded, the two Water Tribe boys grabbing each other's forearms in goodbye before Kesuk walked off to join his fellow tribesmen.

While everyone else milled around, meeting and catching up with their fellow invaders, Sokka gathered his maps and notes. He looked nervously out at the growing crowd from beside his father, who was rather composed as usual.

"Don't worry, you'll do great," Hakoda assured his son, before pushing him gently towards the stage.

"Good morning, everyone!" Sokka greeted before promptly tripping over his own feet, sending his maps and notes all over the place. He hurried to gather them, standing shakily on his feet. "Umm . . . so, as you know, today, we're invading the Fire Nation! I mean I know you know that because otherwise why would you be here?"

Sokka laughed nervously, but when no one else laughed along with him, he hurried to hang up his maps. "Uh, anyway, the Fire Lord's palace is here, uh nope, uh wait, uh wait, uh wait, it's here!" Sokka exclaimed, flipping through the maps before pointing to one of Caldera City.

"And uh, there's an eclipse today and Aang's gonna fight the Fire Lord and the firebenders won't have any fire to use so that's good for us!" The crowd blinked back at him, causing him to falter more. "Um . . ." Sokka trailed off before lowering his head. "I'm sorry let me start at the beginning." He stood up straighter before speaking rapidly.

"Katara and I discovered Aang frozen in an iceberg, now I didn't like Aang at first, but grew to love him over time, and when we were rescuing him, we met Azara, who I really didn't like at first either, but now she's my girlfriend and I love and miss her so much, and then we went to the Southern Air Temple where Aang used to live and then we met Suki, who's a Kyoshi warrior. She dressed me like a woman, which was surprisingly empowering, and then Aang's friend was a crazy old king and . . ."

"Wow, when he says the beginning, he means the beginning beginning," Katara murmured to her father, who got to his feet as Sokka continued to ramble on.

". . . And then Katara got Haru arrested and then now he's grown a mustache which if you look at him in the front row you can see it—"

"—Thank you, Sokka," Hakoda interjected, placing a hand on his son's shoulder. "It's okay, why don't you take a break?" he suggested quietly to Sokka, who nodded and moved to sit down, clearly disappointed in himself. Hakoda turned to the crowd. "Let me just clarify a few points for everyone. Today, is the Day of Black Sun, and I want to thank you all for your self-sacrifice, and your courage."

"There are two steps to the invasion, a naval stage, and then a land stage. To gain sea access to the Fire Nation capital, we need to get past our first major obstacle here, the Great Gates of Azulon. Next, we hit the land, and we hit it hard. We must fight past their battlements and secure the plaza tower. Once we do that, it's up to the Royal Palace. At that point, the eclipse will begin."

"Excuse me. The Boulder is confused. Isn't the point to invade during the eclipse, when the firebenders are powerless?" The Boulder asked, making eccentric hand gestures as he did so.

"The eclipse only lasts eight minutes, not enough time for the whole invasion. And the Royal Palace is heavily guarded by firebenders. So that's where we'll need the eclipse's advantage the most. When this is finished, the Avatar will have defeated the Fire Lord. We will have control of the Fire Nation capital, and this war will be over!" Hakoda announced, raising a fist in the air.

Sokka looked to the ground as everyone cheered before slinking away to go prepare for the battle. He pulled on his Water Tribe armor and strapped his sword to his back before walking up to the cliffside. Standing near the edge, Sokka stared down at the wolf helmet his father had given him. Aang flew up on his new glider, before landing softly beside Sokka.

"We've been looking everywhere for you. The boats are ready to leave."

"I messed up, Aang," Sokka sighed, looking away.

"What?"

"The invasion plan was my moment of truth and I completely flubbed it. I just fell apart," Sokka replied, his shoulders slumped.

"Sokka, that speech wasn't your moment of truth," Aang reminded Sokka, walking over and placing a hand on his shoulder. "That was just public speaking, and nobody's really good at that."

"My dad is! He explained the plan perfectly and inspired everyone, like a real leader should."

"Look, your moment of truth isn't going to be in front of some map. It's going to be out there on the battlefield."

"You seem so confident about everything. How do you know we're going to win?" Sokka asked Aang, his anxiety still clear in his tone.

"Because I already failed the world once at Ba Sing Se. I won't let myself fail again," Aang stated confidently, staring out at the sea.

"I think I know what you mean," Sokka mumbled, staring down at his helmet, before smiling at Aang. "Thanks, Aang."

"Any time, Sokka. Now, let's go."

Sokka nodded, slipping his helmet on, before moving to follow Aang down to the boats. Pausing momentarily, Sokka turned back to the sea. "I'm coming, Azara. I'll be there before you know it."

*|*|*|*|*

Zuko kneeled in front of a painting of his mother, his head bowed. "I know I've made some bad choices, but today, I'm going to set things right," Zuko promised the portrait. Standing up, he grabbed his swords, placed his pack onto his back, and pulled the hood of his robe over his head.

Leaving his room, Zuko turned down the hall, and entered Azara's room. He didn't trust Izen or the official report on Azara. So, just to be sure that she knew what he was doing, he wrote a letter for her. He placed the scroll on her pillow before turning for the door.

"I'm sorry I didn't realize it earlier, Azara," he spoke to himself, hoping that somehow his sister would know what he was doing.

*|*|*|*|*

Sokka directed Appa to land behind the front lines, before turning to help Katara with lowering their father to the ground. Bending water over the burn, Katara turned to Hakoda. "How does that feel, Dad?" she asked quietly as he groaned.

"A little . . . better. I need . . . to get back to the troops," Hakoda stated, trying to stand, before stopping as pain shot through his body.

"You're hurt. Badly. You can't fight anymore," Katara argued, helping him back down.

"Everyone's counting on me to lead this mission, Katara. I won't let them down," Hakoda replied, before trying to get up again, only to fall down in pain.

"Can't you heal him any faster?" Sokka asked, supporting his father.

"I'm doing everything I can," Katara sighed, bending the water around Hakoda's wound.

Sokka looked around, thinking something over in his head, before his expression hardened. He turned back to Katara, a determined look in his eyes. "I'll do it."

"No offense, Sokka, but you're not exactly Mr. Healing Hands."

"No." Sokka got to his feet. "I'll lead the invasion force."

"Don't be crazy, Sokka."

"Maybe I'm a little crazy, but the eclipse is about to start, and we need to be up that volcano by the time it does."

"You can do this." Hakoda winced in pain before smiling up at Sokka. "I'm proud of you, son."

"I still think you're crazy, but I'm proud of you too," Katara spoke, a small smile on her face.

Sokka nodded back before slipping his helmet back on and climbing up Appa's side. "Yip yip!" Flying back to the battlefield, Sokka thought back to his discussions with Azara about this exact moment.

"Now, once you've reached the shore, there's several battlements up these walls designed to thin the herd before you make it to the actual fight," Azara pointed out, her finger trailing around the map as they sat side-by-side in their Ba Sing Se house. "You'll want to take these out quickly to minimize casualties."

"Okay, Step 1, take out the battlements. What's Step 2?" Sokka asked, studying the map.

"Then, this tower. It's the main hub for reinforcements at this stage. They've got some serious tanks and other things you don't want to face if you don't have to. Best strategy is to outflank and surround them. They'll probably retreat once you do and fall back to defend the rest of the city," Azara explained, her finger resting on the tower.

"So, that tower is the key to taking the shore then?"

"Definitely. And after you take the tower, there should be some time before you have to face anyone else. The next batch of reinforcements aren't until the crest of the volcano, so it's a good place to pause and regroup before moving on."

Sokka rubbed his chin as he thought over Azara's words, clearly stressed as he thought over the plan. It was important to have all possible outcomes covered if they were going to present the plan to the Earth King and his generals.

"Hey, stop stressing out about it. You'll be fine," Azara assured Sokka, placing a hand on his shoulder. "In front of the generals and in the heat of battle."

"I'm not too worried. At this point we should have support from the Earth Kingdom generals and my dad. They'll know what to do," Sokka nodded as Azara smiled softly.

"You'll be there too, Cactus Brain. Don't sell yourself short," Azara teased as Sokka returned her smile. "I know you can do this, Sokka."

"Thanks, Azara." She smiled and nodded, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek, before going back to the battle plans.

Sokka directed Appa to land in front of the tanks. Appa growled out, knocking back one of the Fire Nation tanks with a flick of his head. Sokka ran to the back of Appa's saddle and cupped his mouth with his hands. "Listen up, everyone! I want the tanks in wedge formation. Warriors and benders in the middle. We're taking the tower and heading for the royal palace."

Sitting on Appa's head once more, Sokka drew his sword as everyone finished getting into position behind him. Thrusting it forward, he yelled out again. "Charge!"

In the new formation, and with a little help of some explosives, the invasion force managed to break through the inner walls of the tower. Sokka landed Appa on the other side of the wall as the soldiers charged forward, moving to take the volcano.

"The Fire Nation is falling back!"

"Sokka, we're on our way to victory!" Bato called to Sokka, who nodded, but maintained a stoic expression as he stared up at the volcano. His hands shook lightly, but he clenched them into fists. He couldn't fall apart now. Not when they were so close.

A.N. So,

Kesuk is back! I always intended to bring him back at some point in Book 3, and now he's here. But he's not a homewrecker, I promise.

Also, I realized that I never gave Azara and Sokka pet names for each other. So, "Cactus Brain" is Azara's for Sokka. Lowkey inspired by PJO and "Seaweed Brain" because I have a soft spot for water boys with swords.