A/N Hey guys. Sorry it took me awhile to get back into the writing business. I got hit by a serious flu, but I'm making progress in getting over it. I really hope this will never happen again. I really need to wrap this story up, so this will be the last chapter. Don't be surprised if you realize this chapter is quite longer than all the others. I might work on a sequel to the story, and hopefully it will be even better than this one.

It is a pleasure writing for all you Avatar fans out there. Hopefully, I didn't disappoint any of you. Nothing puts a smile on my face more than a satisfied reader. On to the final chapter!

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Ten more soldiers fell to the wrath of the Avatar as he swung his hot sword right through their spears and sliced all ten of the soldiers with one stroke. Their screams died away as they burned to ashes from Aang's pyrodium blade. Toph was wreaking just as much havoc as her beloved, using the entire amphitheater as her weapon. Toph slammed her palm into the steel floor, causing huge spikes to poke right out of the floor and impale twelve soldiers unfortunate enough to stand in her deadly path.

Dozens and dozens of soldiers' bodies lie around the Avatar and the mightiest earth-bender in the entire world. However, despite the warpath the duo unleashed, there were still over a thousand soldiers all around them, waiting to spill the heroes' very blood.

Aang and Toph panted for breath, wondering if either of them would ever make it out of the palace in one piece. The damn soldiers were like roaches to Aang and Toph: no matter how many they squashed, more and more of them keep coming! What gave them some hope in beating the odds were their new abilities. Not only has Aang learned the advanced techniques of bending fire, but Toph Beifong has achieved what seemed impossible: the ability to bend metal!

"It's a good thing you learned to bend fire, Twinkle Toes. Imagine that: the unstoppable force of nature turns out to be the boy I love. Hehe. I like that," Toph said, feeling Aang's back leaning on her own.

"You got stronger too, Toph. Much stronger. When did you get to learn to bend metal?" Aang asked, keeping his eyes on the fire-bending soldiers and holding his sword close to himself.

"I learned it two days ago. After hours of giving the floor a good hit, I finally get to bend metal to my own will."

"What? You mean you were hanging on that wall knowing you could break free? Why didn't you break out earlier? I might have needed a hand fighting Blackburn."

"Are you kidding me, Twinkle Toes? You did just fine against that son of a bitch. Besides, the Agni Kai was your moment to shine, not mine."

Aaang couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Toph Beifong, I love the way you think. Ready to give them true hell?"

"Music to my ears, Twinkle Toes!"

Aang unleashed more fire out of his pyrodium sword. With one motion, Aang separated his sword into two deadly blades. Aang twirled his swords around, hoping to satisfy his swords' bloodlust. Toph clenched her fists, focusing on the chains around her knuckles. In a flash, Toph's chains transformed into three-foot-long razor-claws, giving herself an extra edge. From that very moment, it was a bloody nightmare. Aang and Toph killed and maimed enemies left and right, making their killing spree look like a beautiful dance. Without even thinking, Aang and Toph held hands and spun together to keep their enemies at bay, metal and fire spinning into a wheel of doom. More soldiers died where they stood, unable to withstand their might.

However, the dance of death from Aang and Toph could only last so long. Despite Aang's fire-bending and Toph's metal-bending, the soldiers of the Fire Lord were still strong in numbers. Not only did they use their spears and swords to try to take down the mighty duo, but they also used their advanced forms of fire-bending. Every time one soldier died, it seemed that ten more came in to take his place.

A line of soldiers unleashed massive fireballs at Toph. The metal-bender ripped metal out of the ground and slammed it right into the skulls of five soldiers, but she didn't sense the fireballs coming.

"TOPH!" Aang tackled Toph to the ground and avoided the fireballs. The deadly fireballs ended the lives of eight soldiers to make up for missing their main target.

"Toph, are you all right? You were about to get cooked out there," Aang said.

"Yeah… I'm fine. Thanks."

"We're not out of the woods yet, Toph." Aang and Toph realized that despite putting up one helluva fight, the lovers were still hopelessly surrounded. The swords that fell out of Aang's hands deteriorated into ashes. Defying the odds, Aang let raging fire burst out of his hands. Seeing the two young teens on the ground, victory was only a few steps away for the Fire Lord and his men.

A huge shower of arrows streaked out of the darkness from above and impaled dozens of soldiers, causing them to scream for their lives before losing them. As dozens more arrows rain down on the horde, spears of ice rained down on more victims, adding onto the onslaught.

A figure in black leapt out of the darkness from the ceiling and landed gently nearby Aang and Toph. Aang and Toph couldn't believe their senses.

"KATARA!" Aang and Toph shouted. Katara opened her water-jugs and unleashed all the water around her.

"We're gonna get out of here, guys!" Katara announced. As hordes of soldiers lunge for them, Katara swatted them away with her water, using the water as though they were her own arms.

While Katara was swatting the soldiers away, Sokka drew out another special arrow and aimed it right at the horde below.

"Bye bye." Sokka let loose the arrow. As the arrow whistled right at its target, the arrow suddenly burst into 25 lethal arrows! All of the arrows hit their mark, digging deep into the heart, the throat, or the skull. Seeing more bodies drop, Sokka leapt off the ceiling and landed next to Aang, Toph and Katara. The Water Tribesman put up his fists and got into a fighting position he learned from Suki. Katara blushed deeply when Sokka was standing very close to her.

"SOKKA!" Aang and Toph shouted.

"Did you think you two are gonna have all the fun?" Sokka asked with a smirk on his face. The Aang Gang is together again! The fearsome foursome stood back to back, surrounded by the soldiers of Fire Lord Ozai. The Fire Lord sat comfortably on his throne, watching the four teenagers struggling with the odds.

"Oh yeah. I think this is yours." Sokka tossed to Aang his air-bending staff, letting it fly in the air. With a smile as big as Ba Sing Se, Aang leapt into the air and grabbed the staff. With a huge battle cry, Aang descended into 50 fire-bending warriors and blasted them away with a huge gust of wind. From that very moment, Toph, Sokka and Katara got back into the fray! Fire, water, metal, air and fists collided into the wrath of the Fire Nation's finest.

Aang, Katara and Toph were able to hold their own, but Sokka had to fight them off like a heartless rampaging beast. What he lacked in bending, he made up with swords, shurikens, fists, tooth and nail! Sokka punched one soldier, spin-kicked the next three, elbow-smashed the fifth one's skull, palm-heel-struck the sixth soldier, judo-threw the seventh into three fire-benders, and mule-kicked the eighth right in the face. After getting up from the devastating mule kick, Sokka drew out his twin swords from his legs and killed six more soldiers in front of him.

A fire-bender unleashed a huge fireball at the unsuspecting Water Tribesman. Sokka turned to see the fireball heading right his way, but he had no time to dodge or block the attack! Suddenly, a dark figure rose from the shadows and took the impact of the fireball. The fireball exploded upon impact, causing Sokka to shield his eyes. When the smoke settled, Sokka couldn't believe his eyes.

The pale-eyed Dark Inferno warlord named Kiba stood between the fire-bending soldier and Sokka, hand smoking harmlessly from the fireball that was meant to kill Sokka. His pale eyes formed a pair of slits.

"… Let me show you how it's done." Kiba shot a huge gust of fire out of his hand, incinerating the soldier and scores of his men right behind him. Many of the soldiers stood there completely puzzled, wondering why a fire-bending ninja would attack a fellow fire-bender. That bewilderment was all Kiba needed. In a split second, about 50 ninjas emerged from the shadows and killed the distracted soldiers with true precision, either by blade or by fire.

"DEFEND THE AVATAR HIS FRIENDS WITH YOUR LIVES!" Kiba commanded.

"FOR THE DARK INFERNO CLAN!" the entire clan screamed.

"We… we've been betrayed. Kill the traitors! DESTROY THEM AL-" Kiba silenced a sergeant by impaling him with his sword and kicking the body away to get his sword back. The deadly battle continued, ninjas letting out just as much ferocity as the one they've sworn to protect. Fire clashed with fire, ninja versus soldier. Kiba drove his fists into two soldiers' solar plexuses and smashed their skulls together. After knocking them both out, he summoned a pyrodium staff and fought on. Kiba prayed to himself that none of his fellow ninjas would die.

After twelve more minutes of the bloody battle, Aang, Toph, Sokka, Katara, Kiba and the Dark Inferno Clan were completely surrounded. Hundreds of bodies surrounded the proud warriors of hope, but that very hope was waning away as hordes of soldiers aimed their deadly weapons upon the heroes and those willing to betray their very nation. The soldiers began to close the gap between themselves and their adversaries, thousands strong.

"Kiba. Why? Why did you decide to help us? You didn't have to get involved, you know?" Aang asked.

"I got involved ever since I made you my fire-bending student. Nightingale wanted me to help you learn to bend fire, and there was no way I could turn her down. I've seen how corrupt the Dark Infernos were becoming over the years. It's time I turned the Clan around and make it work for the right purposes. The Fire Lord is tainted with corruption, and it's time we left his influence! You are our only hope in bringing balance back to our world, and it is our duty to keep you alive. If bringing balance back to the world means the annihilation of the Fire Lord, SO BE IT!" Kiba announced, letting his eyes flare up with fury.

"Nice speech, but that's not gonna help us get out of this mess!" Sokka said.

"Where are the rest of the Dark Infernos?" Toph asked.

"Yeah. There should a lot more of you guys," Katara added.

"The rest of the Clan is escorting the civilians out of the palace. We had a bad feeling that something terrible is about to happen, so rest of the clan is helping all the civilians escape before it's too late. I gave out the order as soon as the Agni Kai was over," Kiba said. Aang wondered what happened to all the fans watching the Agni Kai. The evacuation from the Dark Infernos further won Aang's trust.

"Nice job, but how the hell are we gonna get out of here?" Sokka asked.

An enormous explosion shook the entire palace. Hundreds and hundreds of the Fire Lord's soldiers were knocked off their feet from the explosion and ended up piling up on each other. Aang and Toph instinctively held onto each other. Katara was about to fall flat on her back, but Sokka caught her by the waist. Katara quickly wrapped her arms around Sokka's neck to further prevent the fall. Being a good big brother, Sokka helped her up.

"Katara, are you okay?" Sokka asked.

"I… I think so," Katara said, gazing into his blue eyes.

"Uh, Katara? You can let go of me now." Katara blushed and quickly removed her arms from her brother. Katara turned away from Sokka and blushed even deeper, nervously rubbing her arm.

"What the hell just happened?" Toph asked.

"I haven't the faintest clue," Aang responded.

-:-:-

"RELOAD!" Momo commanded.

Thirty miles east of Zhang, Momo, Appa and the blacksmiths prepared another huge shell for Momo's latest invention: the cannon! Weighing 85 tons, the behemoth had enough firepower to blast 200 feet of pure concrete into rubble! Momo didn't test it on steel, though, but he had faith in his genius and believed that not even the hardest of metal can withstand the roaring beast. Not only was the cannon gifted with power, but also with incredible trajectory.

Appa rolled another fresh shell towards the cannon, nicknamed by Momo as the Dragon Killah. Ten blacksmiths lifted the enormous shell and placed it right into the gigantic chamber. Mr. Mitsubishi closed the chamber.

"Reloading complete, boss!" Mitsubishi called out.

"Good job, boys. We have to turn the cannon just a little bit. I know this is the hardest task you all have ever done, but we have to help the Avatar by any means necessary! If we lose Aang, all will be lost! Continue providing cover-fire!" Momo said.

Sitting on the back of the cannon, Momo grabbed his binoculars and stuck it right into his enormous eyes. The highly advanced binoculars brought the Fire Nation's Royal Palace right to his eyes, despite being dozens of miles away. He smiled when he saw a part of the palace up in smoke.

"Okay, boys. Crank the cannon up by 15 degrees. More. Just a little more. Okay, stop! Now turn the Dragon Killah just 10 degrees to the left. Steady, steady, steady, STOP! Perfect!" Momo said.

"Prepare to fire the Dragon Killah!" Appa commanded. Appa and all the blacksmiths held onto their helmets, turned away from the cannon and ducked. Wearing a much smaller green helmet, Momo held onto the cannon for support from the next upcoming round. Mitsubishi grabbed the rope and waited for Momo's command.

"FFFFIIYAAAAHHHH!!!" Momo screamed, holding onto the binoculars and pointing at their main target. Mitsubishi pulled the rope. The cannon fired another round, causing all of the earth around it to shake to its might. The enormous fireball flew right for its target, leaving behind a huge trail of smoke.

-:-:-

Another explosion rocked the Royal Palace, blasting a hole the size of a mansion right in the walls of the Throne Room! The entire amphitheater transformed from a battlefield into a home for pandemonium! The captains of many squads of soldiers barked out many orders, ranging from defending the outer perimeters from the unknown attacks to protecting the Fire Lord. Seeing the soldiers in complete disorder, Aang finally saw their chance.

"That explosion ripped wide open an exit for us! LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" Aang screamed. A split second later, the Avatar and all of his friends ran right for the exit. Many of the soldiers decided to ignore the Avatar and his allies and focus more on what the hell was attacking the Royal Palace with such ferocity. Those who tried to stop the Aang gang and the Dark Inferno Clan ended up either burned alive, crushed by the metal around them, killed by ice blades, or smashed by a really mean fist.

Many of the Dark Infernos leapt right through the hole and managed to get out of the Palace. When Aang, Toph and Katara were about to jump out of through the wide hole, they realized someone wasn't with them.

Sokka wasn't leaving.

"Sokka, what are you doing? We have to leave now!" Katara shouted.

Sokka drew out his arrow and placed it nicely into his bow. He aimed his arrow right at the Fire Lord's skull from far away.

"Aang isn't going to finish off the Fire Lord. I will. Since Aang's not 100 percent, I'm going to kill the Fire Lord right here, right now! IT ENDS HERE!" Sokka lets loose his mighty arrow. The arrow splits up and becomes 25 arrows, and they're all heading right for the Fire Lord! Sokka smiled to himself, hoping to hit every single part of the Fire Lord's body with so many projectiles.

The Fire Lord raised his hand and created an enormous pulse of fire around him, almost looking like a fiery bubble. The wave of fire immediately burned away all the arrows, burning them away into harmless pieces of dead wood. The Fire Lord got up and let his eyes burn with fury. Those very eyes were right on Sokka. Feeling sweat pour down his face and hands trembling, Sokka prepared another arrow.

Katara grabbed Sokka by the wrist and tried to pull him away from the amphitheater.

"Sokka, we have to go!"

"Katara, no! This is our only chance to end the war!"

"This is not the time, Sokka! He'll kill you! I… I don't want to lose you! If anything happens to you, how can I go on? This isn't the time to stop the Fire Lord. When we're ready, we'll stop him. All of us." Sokka felt his rage dying down and looked into the eyes of Katara. Sokka smiled and placed his hand on hers.

"Okay, sis. Let's get out of here."

"Hey, you two! Are you gonna get out of there or what?" Toph called out. When they noticed how impatient Toph was becoming, Sokka and Katara high-tailed out of the Palace. Everyone was finally out. As soon as Sokka and Katara got out, Aang and Toph got into their earth-bending position.

"Ready, Toph?"

"Hell yeah!" Aang and Toph stomped their feet into the streets. A huge piece of earth ripped right out of the streets. With one motion, Aang and Toph clogged the gigantic hole that violated the Royal Palace. Glad that nobody could get through the clog, Aang and Toph clamped hands in triumph.

"Oh yeah! You and I are truly an unstoppable team!" Toph said.

"You said it, Toph! We can take on ANYBODY!" Aang added. Toph's smile slowly faded away. A tear began to stream down her face.

"Toph? What's the matter?" Toph quickly wrapped her arms around Aang, holding him tight like there was no tomorrow.

"Oh, Aang! I thought… I thought I was going to lose you back there! Promise me we'll always be together! Promise me," Toph pleaded. Feeling tears dripping onto his shoulder, Aang held onto Toph and gently stroke her back.

"I promise that I we'll always be together. Always…" Aang said softly. Kiba whistled into the air. Seconds later, a pair of horses trotted their way and stopped in front of the Aang gang.

"Avatar Aang. Take these horses and get out of the capital as quickly as possible!" Kiba said.

"But what about you, Kiba? You're outlaws to the Fire Nation now. Where will you go?" Aang asked.

"Don't worry about us. We're survivors just like you. Now hurry and GO!" Aang and Toph quickly mounted on one of the horses, Toph holding onto Aang's waist. Sokka and Katara mounted onto the other horse.

"We'll never forget you, Kiba. You've done so much for us. Thanks for getting us out of there alive," Aang said.

"Hey, it's no big deal. You would have done the same for us. Now get going, will ya? Take care of yourself, little brother."

"See ya around… big brother." With a good whip of the harness, Aang got the horse running at maximum speed, followed by Sokka's horse. The Aang gang rode their horses through the streets of the Fire Nation capital. The sooner they get to sense the trees and the mountains, the safer they'll feel. Eventually, the whole gang made it out of the capital without any problems. The military was too busy keeping the populace under control when the Royal Palace was still being barraged by unknown, powerful projectiles. Aang smiled to himself while Toph tightened her hold around his waist.

"Whoever you are out there… thanks." Aang said to himself.

-:-:-

"Thanks for giving us more supplies, Wing Shu."

"It is a pleasure having the Avatar and his friends as our guests. Feel free to come back to Zhang any time you want."

Aang and his friends were getting ready to leave Zhang and be on their merry way. It had been three days since Aang and his friends returned from the Fire Nation and put an end to their dilemma with the Dark Inferno Clan. As soon as they all returned to Zhang, the entire city celebrated for their return and gave them a victory party. Everyone had a blast, especially Aang and Toph. The two young teens rarely had time to have fun like real kids, and the couple didn't waste a single minute.

"You know, Sokka? I wish we found out who lent us a hand back at the Fire Nation. I want to thank him for all the help he gave us," Aang said.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. There was no doubt that whoever provided for us cover-fire was a true genius! Man, I could learn a lot from this guy," Sokka added. Momo and Appa gave Mitsubishi a wink. Mitsubishi smiled and winked back.

"Hey, Sugar Queen. You were really awesome back there. No hard feelings?" Toph asked, offering Katara a handshake. Katara smiled and shook hands with Toph.

"No hard feelings," Katara said, being a good sport. Eventually the whole gang strapped their supplies securely onto Appa's saddle. Seeing all of his friends ready, Aang got onto Appa's neck and grabbed the harness.

"We'll never forget you, Wing Shu. We'll always be in your debt. Time to go, Appa! YIP YIP!" Appa roared to Aang's command and flew off into the sky. Thousands and thousands of Zhang's citizens waved farewell to the Aang gang, grateful that they get to have heroes to stay in their benevolent city. Wing Shu smiled.

"May destiny lead you to victory, Avatar Aang." Wing Shu said.

Feeling the warm breeze, Toph wrapped her arm around Aang's waist. She smiled as she let her body touch his. Aang couldn't help but wrap his arm around her waist and rub his cheek into hers.

"That was one hell of an adventure, Toph. Where should we go next?"

"How about we head to the Springs of Kyoshi? I heard their hot-springs are legendary. Besides, I can't wait to have you get out of your clothes…" Toph said slyly. Aang blushed and giggled.

"… And I can't wait to have you get out of yours…" Aang said, picturing Toph in a sexy swimsuit. Toph giggled and gave Aang a kiss on the cheek. Aang slowly turned to Toph and kissed her back, squarely on the lips. Toph leaned in closer to Aang and brushed her lips into his, enjoying the taste of her beloved. Putting Appa on auto-pilot, Aang had Toph lie down with him and continued to kiss her. Their heat continued to rise when their chests touched and their hands gently stroked each other's back. Toph finally broke away from Aang's kiss.

"Hey, Twinkle Toes. Do you think the Dark Infernos are going to be all right?"

"They'll be all right, Toph. Like Kiba said: they're survivors. At least we have more allies to take down the Fire Lord. When the time is right, we'll fight side by side and mmmmm…." Toph's delicious kiss silenced the Avatar. Smiling to himself, Aang held onto Toph and gently brushed his lips into hers.

"Less talking, more kissing…" Toph whispered.

-:-:-

In the dense Forest of Kosugi, Kiba and Nightingale stood side by side. With the entire Dark Inferno Clan right behind them, the two powerful ninjas slowly looked all around the forest.

"I never imagined myself to be the new warlord of the Dark Inferno Clan," Kiba said.

"I didn't expect that to happen either. I thought we were going to leave the Dark Infernos and live our own lives. It seems that destiny has a change of plans for you."

"Destiny has a change of plans… for the both of us."

"… Kiba."

"This is going to be our new home, Nightingale. Blackburn taught us the best ways to survive, and we must honor his teachings, no matter how dark his heart became. The Dark Infernos will no longer be influenced by the corruption of the Fire Lord or any else within the Fire Nation. Our new beginning starts today." Kiba turned his attention to the entire ninja clan.

"Hear me, Dark Infernos! The fleeting desires bestowed upon us by the Fire Nation will no longer be ours! We left the Fire Nation so we can truly learn the ways of ninjutsu! The Fire Nation has weakened you! Softened you! Well, no more! The Fire Nation corrupted Blackburn, and I won't let it corrupt you! The Forest of Kosugi will be our new training ground! We will train harder than ever, and our spirits will continue to be forged like iron! Let Nature be our true mother." Kiba eyed the biggest tree in front of them, picturing it to be his headquarters. Kiba lowered his eyes.

"… Aang. Thank you. Thank you for opening my eyes. Thank you… for opening my heart. If it weren't for you…none of this would have happened," Kiba said to himself.

"That goes double for me," Nightingale said softly. Kiba turned his attention back to his fellow ninjas. Nightingale smiled to Kiba's growth.

"Come on, Dark Infernos! We got a lot of work to do. We're home. We're truly home."

-:-:-

Katara accepted Aang's choice, but she still couldn't handle seeing Aang and Toph making out. Katara slowly turned away from Aang and Toph, still feeling her heart was in need of mending. Sokka felt hurt seeing Katara all broken-hearted. Sokka sat next to Katara and gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, you okay, Katara?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine."

"Don't worry. I know there's somebody out there. Who knows? You might find him sooner than you think. Cheer up." Katara smiled to Sokka's words. Gazing into his eyes, Katara gently held Sokka's hand. Feeling how soft his hand was, Katara's smile began to widen.

(I think I already found him…) Katara said to herself. Sokka eyed Katara nervously and began to feel a bead of sweat drop down his head.

(Why is she looking at me like that?!) Sokka asked himself.

--The End--