Prologue
South Pole
Azula watched her brother's movements from the back of their stolen canoe as they floated through the icebergs. Even through his ridiculous parka, she could tell that his arm still hurt and that he was going to be too stubborn to bandage it. She let out a heavy sigh.
"You're going to get an infection if you don't put something on that," she drawled, meeting his narrowed eyes. He scowled and turned back to the water.
"I really don't understand why you didn't do anything. Father told you to attack."
What she could see of his cheek turned red. He turned to face her quickly, his eyes wide and his breath coming out in steamy spirals.
"I just froze up, okay?"
His new, short hair fell in his face as he yelled and Azula couldn't help but feel bad for him; Father had burned Zuko before, but his dishonor had always been hidden underneath his sleeves.
Earlier that week, Zuko hadn't been able to fight when their captured ship was attacked by Water Tribe warriors and Father had cut his phoenix tail near the base in front of the whole crew, then burned his arm when they were alone.
Azula and her friends were the only ones Zuko had ever told about his punishments, and that was only because they figured it out using a combination of intelligence, obsession, and aura-vision.
"What would you have done if Uncle hadn't been there? You're lucky he wasn't a bender," she snarled at him.
He hung his head and his voice came out defeated. "I don't know..."
"Idiot," she whispered, frowning at an iceberg. Stupid Zuzu. Didn't he realize that he and the others were practically all she had left? Did he have no consideration for Mai? She would be devastated if he'd died.
Two years previously, the competent warriors had left what remained of the Fire Nation (now, only a series of spread out villages, due to the islands being some of the first attacks in the war) and that meant Azula, Zuko, Father, Uncle, her friends and some other people she didn't really care about were stuck on an archaic wooden boat underneath the Water Tribe flag. They had left Mother at home. Zuko had cried.
Azula had not. At least, not until Grandfather had sent a messenger hawk with news of her capture in the raids, and even then it was only in her sleep.
They sat in silence while Zuko tried to find some disgusting, arctic fish to eat. After fifteen minutes of no results, he threw down his spear in frustration. Azula's eyes flickered from the spear to her brother while he crossed his arms and huffed in the cold.
"That's not how you feed the crew."
"I know that! You do it, if you're so perfect!"
Azula stood silently, using the animal fur on the end of her sleeve (how barbaric) to remove Zuko's spit from her face. She ignored the spear and passed Zuko to the front of the canoe. Taking a deep and measured breath, she brought her pointed fingers to the center of her chest, then shot a bolt of lightning into the water.
"Show off," Zuko muttered from where he was sulking in the back of the boat.
She smirked at him as the fish began to appear at the surface.
"Would you be so kind as to hand me the net, Zu-?"
She was knocked down as the canoe was shaken by a violent wave and white fog spread out rapidly.
"Are you okay? Azula!" she heard her brother's voice through the fog and grabbed the edge of the canoe to pull herself up as the fog cleared.
"I'm fine, but what is that?"
She pointed to the cracked, glowing iceberg that had emerged from the water.
North Pole
Two months had passed since Aang's new friends had found him in the iceberg and however strange it was, he knew that it was his duty as the Avatar to restore balance to the world and the first step was to learn waterbending.
Now, Aang thought it would have been easier to have a malicious, blood-bending savage for a master.
"Are you alright?" his Waterbending instructor of the past few weeks laughed, blinking at him with blueblue eyes through dark eyelashes. She sent a wave of snow into his side. "Kumati! You need to focus!"
"Sorry, Princess Katara," he said, flinching internally at her use of his cover name. He hated not being able to tell the world that the Avatar had returned, but Azula said they had to keep it a secret, and Azula was usually right, even if it did mean not being able to stop at the Air Temples or do anything fun.
Aang felt bad enough that he was only in the North Pole because he had to learn waterbending to defeat the Water Tribes. Lying directly to the princess didn't make him feel any better.
She sighed, smiling, and put her hands on her hips.
"That's okay. We're finished anyway."
"Oh, great!" Aang bowed to Katara and grinned up at her, puzzled by the blush on her cheeks.
She looked down to the snow, then back up at him, a smile in her eyes.
"Can I show you something?"
"Sure!"
"Come on," she laughed, tugging his hand. "You're going to love it; they don't have anything like this in the colonies!"
He looked at his hand in hers, the blue of his glove so bright next to her pale purple. Princess Katara couldn't be that much older than him -maybe a year or two?
It was nice to talk to someone who was close to his age. Zuko and Mai were a good five years older than him and were way too serious and paranoid. Ty Lee was sweet and funny, but she treated him like a baby even though she was only fifteen. Azula was closest to his age, but, well, she acted like she had grown up a long time ago.
As they walked along the canals they passed the plaza in front of the palace, decorated and festive. Aang smiled at the band setting up as they passed.
"Is there going to be a party?"
"My brother is getting married tonight, to the Northern Princess. That's why we've been here instead of the South Pole," Katara's voice dropped, suddenly irritated.
"What's wrong? Do you not want him to marry her?"
"No, no -I do!" she said, her eyes wide. "I love Yue, but sometimes she's -I don't know- old-fashioned? I don't know what it's like in the colonies, but women have only been able to fight in the Southern Tribe for thirty years. They still can't up here."
"Really?" Aang cried out before he could help himself. From his observations of his new friends, he had thought that the rest of the world had finally gotten equal gender roles.
"I know, right?" she scowled at the path ahead of them. "Sometimes I think that she looks down on me because I'm a warrior. Wow," her voice grew softer and she looked at him, suddenly shy, "I've never told anyone that before..."
Aang could feel himself leaning towards her, regardless of the little, shouting voice in his head that sounded an awful lot like Zuko. She didn't notice and spoke again.
"But isn't that just wrong? Not even one female waterbender fought against the Air Armies in the initial battles!"
"You mean the floods." The words came out flat and bitter. Katara quirked an eyebrow, confused.
"No, I mean the initial battles."
"The Water Tribes defeated the Air Nomads by flooding the temples. They didn't have an army."
"Yes, they did, Kumati," she snapped. "I've been studying the Expansion since I was five. I know what I'm talking about."
"Right, right. I'm sorry," Aang said, taking his face into his hands. Now it was Mai in his head. Oh, are we trying to get caught now? Katara sighed.
"No, I'm sorry. I'm just stressed out because my tutors are trying to force me to learn some high level bending techniques."
"Well, what's wrong with that?"
"You have to promise me you won't run away if I tell you," she almost whispered, her eyes not quite meeting his. Aang took her hand.
"I promise. I'm not leaving you."
"They want me to bloodbend. Isn't that horrible? I can't do it, though."
"Don't do anything you aren't comfortable with, Katara," he said hurriedly, the image of a vicious, bloody Katara in his mind panicking him. "You're your own person. Do what feels right."
"Okay," she smiled warmly, a new spark in her eyes and the blush back on her cheeks. "You know what? You're right. I don't care what my dad says; I can live with the consequences."
"What do you mean?"
The princess of the Southern Water Tribe kissed the Avatar.
Azula led the way into the giant ice building, closely followed by an ever excited Ty Lee, while Mai and Zuko brought up the end.
Zuko felt himself relax slightly as they made their way to the usual table in the back of the room. He could see Mai roll her eyes as his grip on her hand loosened.
"You're so paranoid," she said loudly enough for just him to hear. "You act like they're going to jump us every time we go outside."
"Do not," he muttered, then returned the squeeze that Mai had given his hand with a small smile.
They shuffled into the booth and a waitress with thickly braided hair came swooping over, her fur-lined skirts swaying as she moved, and gave Zuko a smile that made him extremely uncomfortable.
"Well, hello there. Where're you from, handsome? Can't be around here -I'd remember you."
He tried to respond, but nothing came out. He made rough, hurried movements to get his arm around Mai's shoulder.
"We're from the Fire Colonies," Azula covered smoothly with a smile that Zuko could tell she was faking. "Our friend has mixed blood and we came to the homeland so he could learn waterbending."
The waitress grinned back. "It's nice to see colonials who understand the Expansion. My brother's helping in the Earth Kingdom and you wouldn't believe the nasty things they say there. They have no idea how much we're trying to help them."
"I know what you mean," Azula nodded sympathetically, her eyebrows peaking in the center. "We aren't quite ready to order yet. Do you think you could give us a little bit?"
"Sure thing," she said and turned to leave after giving the entire table a grin.
As they looked through the menus, Azula spoke quietly, not raising her eyes.
"Very smooth, Zu-zu. You're a real charmer."
"Don't listen to her, Zuko," Ty Lee grinned at him. "Any girl would be lucky to have you. Right, Mai?"
"Absolutely not; you're an idiot."
Zuko pulled back and slumped against the wall, his arms crossed and his cheeks red. She raised her eyebrows.
"And you're a ball of issues." She narrowed her eyes and jabbed a finger into his arm. "But you're my angsty idiot and don't forget it."
He moved back to his normal seat and let his knee touch Mai's under the table. The fact that she sighed and slumped against him made him feel a little better.
Azula had always been bossy, but it had only gotten worse since they had found Aang. What did it matter that he was the Avatar? He was an easily distracted child who needed to save the world and poor Azula had the misfortune of making him, and everyone else, behave. Azula came up with all the plans and, much to Zuko's reluctant satisfaction, they always worked.
If Azula was the brains, Ty Lee was the heart. She could mend the social bridges that Zuko and his sister had only ever burned, and that had been useful during their trek through the western Earth Kingdom to the North Pole, especially when they were out of money and needed food (boys loved Ty Lee). Ty Lee and Aang could even wheedle their way into the usually closed off hearts of Zuko, Azula, and Mai. Zuko was pretty sure their mutual affection for Ty Lee was the only reason they had continued music night after leaving the ship.
Mai was the mediator of the group, able to solve anything quickly and efficiently. She could make Aang see the logic in Azula's plans, could knock Azula down a few pegs when necessary, could explain to Ty Lee and Aang why their cheery disposition was just too much for Zuko sometimes without hurting their feelings, and could make Zuko realize when he was just acting like an idiot. Mai was also absolutely gorgeous when she wrinkled her nose in disgust at the Water Tribe food.
So what did that make Zuko? The brute force? Not even- Azula had him beaten there too. He was just a load, a burden to his friends. How many times had he gotten himself into trouble and risked revealing their secret because they had to rescue him? He was the screw up; his father had made that clear.
He resisted the urge to tug at his sleeves, to try to bury sixteen years' worth of punishment deeper underneath the cloth and fur and leather, never hidden enough. But he couldn't show his agony, not here, not when Ty Lee was around to give him sympathetic looks he didn't deserve for the punishments he did.
Mai would notice too, and would kiss him immediately, one hand on his cheek and the other on his knee. Later, when they were alone, she would try to convince him that his father was to blame, that he was being too hard on himself. Zuko would be grateful for her comfort, but never really happy. Mai didn't understand.
Azula was the only one who ever understood how truly incompetent he was, and even she faltered. Azula had always tried to help him, learning extensive first aid the very week she found out and supporting him ever since in her own way. When they were younger, she had tried to help him with his bending. They had thought that surely if they were evenly matched, Azula with raw talent and Zuko with determination, Father would see Zuko's true worth, but Azula's natural skill created a gap between them, even before she tried to teach him. His pride would not allow him to focus completely and she quickly became frustrated with an unlearning student.
The strain between them had grown and one day over dinner they had come to blows after a snide comment. Zuko was burned later for attacking his sister.
Zuko shook his head and buried his face in Mai's neck. Why did he ever think? It only made him depressed.
The steady beat of drums shook the entire building, probably the entire ice city. Zuko looked around in confusion as the crowd in the pub all made their way outside.
"What's going on?"
Mai took his hand and tugged him out of the booth.
"The big guys are making a speech. We have to go."
Princess Yue knelt in front of the palace stairs, her hands folded in her lap, as the crowd gathered in the plaza to hear her father speak. He and Chief Hakoda stood in front of her, their hands clasped behind their backs as they waited for silence. As the chatter died, her father's voice rang out, clear and joyful.
"Welcome, my brothers and sisters. This is a historical day for the great Water Tribes and you are lucky to be able to witness it. Tonight, underneath the full moon, the Northern and Southern Tribes will be joined as one through the marriage of my daughter, Princess Yue, and Prince Sokka of the Southern Tribe."
Yue looked to her left out of the corner of her eye, where Prince Sokka sat. He had a goofy grin on his face that she could never imagine wearing at a formal announcement; she bit the inside of her lip to keep from laughing as he turned his face ever so slightly and crossed his eyes at her.
She tried to focus back on her father's speech, but was distracted again as Sokka reached into his sleeve and pulled out a small, silver marble. He fiddled with it exaggeratedly, as if he were trying to break her attention and get them in trouble. He gave her a smirk, seeing that he had caught her attention, and she gave him what she hoped was a stern look. He tossed the marble into the air and laid his palm flat to catch it.
The marble fell back down and bounced out of his palm as his fingers closed around where it had been. It fell to the ground and rolled in front of Yue quickly, where she shot out a nimble hand to snatch it up and hold it in her lap.
Once she had the marble in her possession, she faced pointedly forward and listened to Chief Hakoda, who was now making his speech. The sound of another marble rolling across the ice caught her attention and she grabbed it too as it came to her. This time she would not be distracted by Prince Sokka and his devious smile and silly sleeve-marbles and refused to reward his behavior by looking at him.
She caught another two marbles as they passed her and could feel her jaw tighten when the fifth and sixth came rolling over at the same time, faster than before. This was just getting ridiculous.
She soon lost the use of her left hand for snatching them, due to the need to keep the growing pile of marbles from falling out of her lap, but they scattered to the ice regardless, as Sokka sent five marbles over at once.
As soon as they hit the ice, it melted and froze them in place. Yue looked to the other side of her father and Chief Hakoda and met Master Pakku's narrowed eyes. She hung her head.
"...celebrations will be held in the plaza tonight until sunrise, after the formal ceremony in the Spirit Oasis. May the spirits of the moon and ocean bless this union and..."
Yue nearly sighed in annoyance. She had missed the majority of Chief Hakoda's speech. As her father brought the assembly to a close, Sokka's hand wrapped around her wrist and the second the crowd began to rise and the chatter grew he pulled her up and, leaving his marbles embedded in the ground, swung her into the palace.
"What are you doing?"
He forced her to run through the hallways and she tugged her arm from his grip. She crossed her arms and he turned around laughing.
"Oh, come on. I was just joking around. Dad's gonna make a million speeches tonight."
"That's not the point!" she whined and gave him a swat of her hand with each word. "Why are you so infuriating?"
His only response was to laugh harder.
"Stop that!" She hit him again. "Say something!"
She screamed as he pulled her to his body by wrapping his arms around her waist and lifted her from the ground, spinning her around.
"Put me down!"
He let her feet rest on the ground again, but kept her close, her arms already wrapped around his neck. He had that goofy grin on again and a dreamy look in his eyes.
"You're so beautiful when you're infuriated."
She giggled and could feel the hard look on her face melt into a smile. She reached up and kissed him on the cheek.
"I forgive you."
"I was hoping you would; tonight would be kind of awkward if you didn't. Come with me. I have a surprise for you."
Prince Sokka led Yue to the watchtowers on the edge of the city, telling her stories of his travels with his dad and Princess Katara. She was so glad that he was the prince she was going to marry. Silly as he was, she felt bubbly when she was with him and even though she had only known him for a few weeks, she couldn't imagine life without him. She grinned; she would never need to.
They made their way up the spiral staircase that was the entirety of the watchtower up to a closed door that blocked off the room at the top. Sokka turned to her, one hand on the door and the other reaching out to Yue.
"Close your eyes and give me your hand."
"Alright."
"No peeking."
"I won't."
Yue closed her eyes and put a dainty hand in front of them. Sokka led her up the last stair and through the open door. He let go of her hand.
"Okay. Now open your eyes."
Sokka knelt on the ground in front of her, between his teeth a deep red daisy-rose that he must have hidden in the watchtower. Along with the otter-penguin. Yue burst out laughing.
"Oh, Sokka. It's lovely!" She took the flower from his hand as he stood up and held it out to her. It stood out strongly from all the greys around them. She wove it into her hair, hoping the white would make it even stronger. "Now, who is your friend?"
"Do you like him?" Sokka turned to the otter-penguin and flopped down next to it, feeding it a fish from a nearby bucket. "I kind of took him from the group that we brought up here for the wildlife exchange. His name is Katara."
"I don't get it," she said, her eyebrows coming together in confusion.
"Watch this."
Sokka reached out and grabbed the otter-penguin's lower flipper. It began to squawk and fight, batting at him with all three of its other flippers. Sokka let go and snickered as the otter-penguin waddled around the small room irritatedly. He patted the ground next to him. "Come on. He won't bite."
Yue knelt down and reached out a tentative hand to scratch it on the head. The penguin flapped its flippers and pushed into her touch.
"Well, now that we're all acquainted, it's time for the surprise."
"If the surprise is coming now, why did you have me close my eyes earlier?" Yue quipped as Sokka made his way over to the stairway.
"Hmm...this is Sokka's Surprise: Part Two," he said, grinning. "Plus, I got to hold your hand."
"Oh, so that's why you're the smart one."
"That's right. Can you bring Katara over here?"
Yue coaxed the otter-penguin in Sokka's general direction.
"You know, that really isn't very nice."
"Eh. Whatever. Okay, this is it."
He rubbed his hands together in front of him for a moment and took a deep breath, then made a grand gesture towards the stairs. They gave a weak shake.
He groaned, his hand smacking his forehead, "Come on, water! Bend!"
The stairs stayed still and he looked at Yue, annoyed.
"It's okay. This happens all the time. Katara says it's because I'm not connected to the spirits well enough."
Yue nodded; she wasn't sure what else to do. She had always had a very strong connection to the spirits, she did owe her life to the Moon, after all.
"I believe in you, Sokka."
He nodded and stiffened his expression in determination, then repeated the grand gesture. This time, the stairs shifted as one, forming a gigantic, spiraling slide.
"Now," he said smugly, wearing his I'm-totally-charming-you-right-now face, "Princess Yue of the Northern Water Tribe, will you go penguin sledding with me?"
Yue couldn't believe her eyes as the otter-penguin laid down on its belly and Sokka sat down on its rear end, his legs spread out on either side of it. She laughed again.
"It would be my honor, Prince Sokka."
She settled on the otter-penguin between Sokka's legs and held tightly to the arm he had wrapped around her waist.
"Ready?" he whispered into her ear. Her grip tightened around his arm.
"Ready."
Sokka used his free hand to push off, then wrapped it too around Yue's waist as they took off down the former staircase. Her screaming quickly transformed into laughing as the otter-penguin slid faster and faster until they were almost pressed against the tower wall. Yue could feel Sokka place his chin on her shoulder and sigh contentedly, his chest pressed to her back and his arms around her.
Yue's screaming returned when they burst out of the open door at the bottom of the watchtower and crashed into another couple. Before Yue had the chance to apologize, the flurry of dark blues and pale purples that was Princess Katara was all over Sokka, swatting and reprimanding him.
"What is wrong with you? You could have killed us, Sokka!"
"Why am I the only one in trouble?"
Both princesses gave him disapproving looks, but Yue's could in no way compare to Katara's.
"Oh, do not drag Yue into this! It's got 'Sokka's stupid idea' written all over it!" She looked over his shoulder to see the otter-penguin waddling a bit slower now, having taken off the second the fighting started. "Where did you even get that?"
"I found it there!" Sokka shouted defensively and pointed an accusing finger at Princess Katara's companion, a pale-skinned boy with short black hair poking out from between his fur-lined hood and the white cloth wrapped around his forehead. "And who is that anyway? What are you doing?"
"Not that it's any of your business, but..." Katara paused and gave Sokka a dirty look before continuing in a gushing voice Yue had never heard her use. "His name is Kumati and he's a waterbender from the Fire Colonies. He's my new boyfriend."
As they continued to bicker, Yue extended a hand to Kumati, who looked absolutely terrified.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Princess Yue."
He took her hand and smiled nervously.
"Thanks. You too."
If anything could be said of Princess Katara, it was that she would surely begin a social revolution.
For the headquarters of the most evil empire in all history, the Northern Water Tribe capital city was fantastically boring. Mai had expected that with Zuko's temper they would at least get into a few bar fights, but Zuko had decided to mope rather than yell and the most trouble they had gotten into was almost forgetting to pay for dinner. How disappointing.
Mai's head was resting on her stupid boyfriend's lap in their room of the massive chunk of ice that claimed to be an apartment building near the palace. Mai's stupid boyfriend had been staring at the door (meaning, of course, a flap of leather that prevented a gaping hole in their ice chunk) ever since they had walked in and flopped down a whole ten minutes ago. Mai groaned.
"Zuko."
He looked away from the flap for a second and down to her and, after determining that she wasn't going to die or kiss him or anything, looked right back up.
"What?"
"Chill."
"I'm fine."
Mai rolled her eyes, a gesture that was lost on Zuko due to his inability to chill out.
"Liar."
Zuko was so intimidated by Mai's wit that he didn't respond. She sighed and examined her fingernails.
"Where do you think they are?" Zuko said in a way that he could be addressing anyone, but since Mai was the only one in the room, she figured it would be best answer.
"Who cares? They'll be here soon."
Zuko was not convinced, Mai thought, by the way he continued staring at the flap. Mai rephrased her answer.
"They're just a little Lee probably wanted to buy a polar puppy or something."
"But Aang's missing too."
"Late. Aang's late, not missing. You know how easily distracted he is."
"They're in trouble; I just know it. Aang probably slipped up and got captured. Azula would definitely think she could save him herself and Ty Lee does whatever she says."
Mai sighed again and tried not to look at Zuko, with his pleading, golden eyes and that cute way he thought he had to save everyone even though more often than not he was the dashing damsel in distress. She could feel the words grating against her nerves even as she said them. Stupid cute.
"Fine. We can go look for them."
The determined look on Zuko's face was worth the cold as they walked through the capital along the canals. Zuko darted circles around Mai, peering over the crowd on his tiptoes and searching frantically.
Mai smiled to herself as Zuko ducked into an alleyway a few yards ahead of her and popped back out, dissatisfied. Zuko's saving people thing had been kind of annoying at first, especially right after they had found Aang and he developed a habit of 'protecting' her by locking her in a closet the second the action started, but now he was just kind of adorable.
"Maybe..." Zuko thought aloud while Mai followed him around with her arms crossed. "Maybe they're hiding them in the palace."
"Or maybe they're right over there," Mai said dryly, uncrossing her arms to point one hand lazily at the circular, wooden door she had just seen Azula and Ty Lee head into.
The first thing they could hear as they passed through the door was Ty Lee's panicking voice.
"No. No-no-no-no-no-no-no. Azula, you can't hurt it!"
"What's going on?" Mai called out across the water, hurrying down the ledge leading to the island and tugging off her parka. Ty Lee's face lit up, but her eyes were still wide and her arms were still spread out, her body blocking Azula's access to the pond. Her words came out in a single breath.
"Oh, thank Agni you're here! At the Chiefs' speeches they said something about a Spirit Oasis and Azula wanted to find it, so we did and there were these koi fish and their auras were, like, super-auras, so I knew that they were spirits. Azula thinks that they're the Moon and Ocean, 'cause we're in the Water Tribe and stuff, but now she wants to kill them and that's just not a good idea!"
Azula rolled her eyes, her arms crossed across her chest, and tapped her foot on the grass. She avoided Mai's eyes.
"Come on, Azula," Mai sighed. "What good is going to come from killing the fish?"
"They aren't just fish!" she snapped. "These are the Water Tribes' power source, the Moon and Ocean spirits. If we destroyed them, their bending would be gone. We could join up with Father and the Earth King; we could defeat them in a matter of months."
"I don't know, Azula," Zuko said, reaching out for his sister's arm. "Uncle says not to mess with the spirits. He and Aang said we need to restore balance to the world, not annihilate another nation."
"Annihilation is what they deserve! They destroyed our people; we're honor bound to return the favor."
Mai took Azula's hand to pull her away from the fish and back out into the city.
"Come on. Let's just go home and stick to the plan. We're still going to fix the war, but with the Avatar, not some smelly fish."
"No!" Azula ripped her hand from Mai's grip. "You aren't in charge here, Mai; I am!" She decided it would be best to emphasize her point with a shove.
Now, what happens when you tell a crazy, prideful firebender not to kill a fish because it would upset the balance of the universe? That crazy, prideful firebender proves her dominance by turning right back around and killing that fish.
Sokka dropped to his knees to catch Yue before she hit the ground.
"Yue! Yue, what's wrong?"
He shook her shoulders and she screwed up her delicate features in pain, her hands coming up to her temples. Sokka looked up at his sister in panic, his voice cracking as he shouted up to her.
"Katara! Katara, what's wrong with you? Heal her!"
"Don't you think I'm trying?" she shrieked, trying over and over to pull the water from her skin, with no results. "Sokka, something's wrong. Something's really wrong! I can't bend -it's just gone."
Katara fell to her knees too, wrapping her arms around her stomach and pulling her lower lip between her teeth.
"I just feel empty."
Sokka's mind was spinning. His fiance dropped randomly, his sister's bending was gone. What was going on? He looked up to Katara's boyfriend.
"You! Uh-uh-colonies kid! You can bend, right? Can you heal her?"
Sokka wouldn't notice until later that the kid's head was in his hands too.
"I can't. My bending's gone too. I can feel it -or, I guess, I can't feel it. Like Katara said, I'm empty."
If he tried hard enough, Sokka could see what they meant; even he was able to feel something missing in his gut. It didn't really bother him that much and he certainly wasn't going to start crying like Katara was. It wasn't as if he was any good at bending anyway. Colonies Kid spoke again.
"Something must be wrong with the spirits."
"Of course!" Sokka sprung into action, standing up once he had a decent hold on Yue, and began running.
"Sokka, where are you going?" Katara said from beside him, unable to keep the sob from her voice.
"The Spirit Oasis. The Moon saved her as a baby in there; she probably needs to restock on moon-magic. I know turning the bending back on is important, but we have no idea how to do that and Yue is more urgent."
Yue groaned into his chest and Sokka risked a glance down to make sure she was okay. She looked so frail.
"Sokka, what's going on?"
He tightened his grip on her and pushed himself to run faster, faster than he had ever run. He could see the door now.
"We're going to fix it, Yue. Don't worry."
He could hear Katara shouting behind him and Colonies Kid ran past and swung open the door. Sokka jumped in through the hole and saw a little group hanging near to koi pond.
They all stopped talking and one of the girls sneered at him.
"And who are you?" she said in a bossy voice across the water.
"Prince Sokka, Southern Water Tribe; maybe you've heard of me. Move. Move. Move."
He forced his way through to the pond and noticed that Yue was shaking his shoulder.
"Sokka, you can put me down. I can walk now."
He set her on her feet and gave her a once over, making sure she was alright, then kissed her, satisfied that she was.
"Are you okay? Yue, what happened?"
"I don't know, Sokka. I think the Moon Spirit is in trouble."
"I think that's a bit of an understatement," said a dry voice behind them. The girl with the shiny hair was pointing to the koi pond, where the black fish was swimming in a frantic circle around the burned body of the white one.
Prince Sokka's aura darkened as he dropped in front of the Moon.
"What's going on?" Aang called out from behind them, a girl with ribbons woven into her intricate, braided loops standing next to him. His waterbending master, Ty Lee realized, the one that made his aura get all fluttery when he spoke about her.
"My crazy sister killed the Moon!" Zuko shouted, throwing his hands into the air and continuing his pacing.
The girl's aura turned a deep, angry red as she turned towards Mai.
"You did what?"
Azula snickered and Zuko let out an angry groan.
"Try again. I'm the girlfriend, not the crazy sister." Mai said, rolling her eyes at the princess.
Chaos broke out as the princess jumped onto Azula's back, wrapping her legs around Azula's waist and her fists around the two braids on Azula's head.
"Katara, stop!" Aang shouted over their angry yelping.
"Get off of me!" Azula said, spinning around and shooting wild flames. "Help me, dum-dum! Can't you feel the sun's power?"
Azula was right; the sun was brighter and it was warmer, so much warmer.
Zuko cocked his fists into a fighting stance, but looked confused about what to do. Ty Lee noticed Prince Sokka over his shoulder and realized that a fight was not what they needed right now.
"Zuko, don't even think about it! If you do, I swear to Agni, I will take away your bending!"
When Ty Lee turned her head back around, Aang had somehow forced himself between Azula and the princess. Both girls had their teeth bared and Aang had a hand on each of their shoulders.
"What are you doing with this Water Tribe scum?" Azula snarled to him, not taking her eyes off of the princess.
"Kumati, you'd better explain yourself. Right now."
Aang hung his head.
"I don't know how to, Katara."
"Oh, please," Azula laughed. "Aang is the Avatar. He needed to learn waterbending."
"Is that true...?" Katara let the question hang, clearly unsure how to address Aang. Azula laughed again.
"It's Aang. His name is Aang."
"Azula, stop," Ty Lee snapped at her and for once, she listened. Ty Lee had noticed the girl who was sitting by the pond, weeping. Her aura was pure light, unearthly. Ty Lee sat down next to her and took her hand.
"I'm Ty Lee."
"Yue," she said, her face coated with the pretty kind of tears that only nobility could master. Both girls faced the pond, their eyes never leaving the Ocean's disturbed dance.
"You're special; I can tell. I can see auras and yours is like nothing I've ever seen before. It's white, but silvery and clear and just amazing. It spikes out though. Not harshly, but like it's strained. Like it's reaching for something."
She met Yue's eyes and gave the dead fish a meaningful look.
"You've been touched by the Moon Spirit," Ty Lee whispered, unable to keep the crack from her voice.
"You're right."
"What are you saying?" Prince Sokka said harshly, looking like he was ready to throw Ty Lee into the pond. Yue stood up and put a hand on his chest.
"The Moon Spirit gave me life. I have to give it back."
"You can't," the prince whispered, placing a hand on her cheek. "Our wedding is tonight." He gestured wildly around him, tears spilling from his eyes. "Right here. We're supposed to be getting married here."
"This is my duty, Sokka."
She pulled the red daisy-rose from her hair and closed his fingers around it, wrapping her hands around his.
Ty Lee stepped back and watched the scene progress, her throat aching from holding back sobs. Yue knelt to the ground and placed her palms on the fish. It began to glow and sprung to life in the water, resuming its dance with the Ocean. She fell into Sokka's arms, his entire body shaking.
She vanished and reappeared before them as a spirit, floating above them.
She placed her fingertips over his heart.
"I'll never leave you."
As the Moon Spirit kissed her lost love, Ty Lee looked to Aang, Azula, Zuko, and Mai and nodded. They started to back away.
When she disappeared, Ty Lee sprang forward and, with three quick jabs, paralyzed the prince and princess, tears trailing down her face.
She turned and ran after her friends, choking out an apology. She could hear Aang shouting back.
"I'm sorry, Katara. I have to restore balance to the world. It's a lie! Everything they're teaching you is a lie! I never wanted to hurt you."
Hours later, Princess Katara was walking through the halls of the palace, her head hanging and her arms wrapped around her stomach. She felt so vulnerable.
"What are you doing out of bed?"
She looked up to see her brother, sitting on a window ledge.
"I couldn't sleep."
She leaned against the wall and looked at him. His eyes were red and swollen and his lips were chapped. He held none of the joy that she had come to associate with her brother. He was broken.
"Watch this," he deadpanned, not taking his eyes from the sky. He flexed his hand and water from a skin on his hip flowed easily out and obeyed his every move.
"What happened?" she asked in awe, before she could stop herself. Sokka had always been a terrible bender.
"You were right," he said, smiling flatly. "I didn't have a strong enough spiritual connection. I guess I do now."
"Sokka, that's..." Great? Horrible?
He chuckled darkly. "I know. I understand what you meant now, about feeling the water, having it be a part of you. I get it."
They sat in heavy silence, staring at the cloudy sky, his view of the moon obstructed.
"I'll find them. This isn't my life. I'm supposed to be married right now. To her. I'm supposed to be with her, protect her, raise a family with her. They killed her...and I'm going to kill them. I'm going to train, master my bending. Then, I'll find them."
Katara rubbed her hand in smooth circles on his back, tears rolling down her cheeks. This wasn't her brother.
Katara found her way to the palace library. She tore through the shelves, looking for something, anything, that would answer her questions.
She sat on the floor as she read, horror and guilt bubbling in her stomach; she could find nothing to confirm what she had always been taught.
The war had begun on the Day of Black Sun, a solar eclipse that rendered firebenders useless. The leaders of the Water Tribes had joined as one, fearing that the Fire Nation would attack at the arrival of their Great Comet, and wiped out all the main islands from all sides on the day of the eclipse.
The rebellions on the day of the Great Comet were ineffective and brought more of the firebenders out into the open. Groups of the most elite waterbenders were formed and while the other three nations were still in shock from the attacks, the Air Nomads, and the Avatar, were eliminated.
Katara threw the books away from her, disgusted with her countrymen.
She wept as she ran through the hallways, but silenced herself as she passed what she knew was Chief Arnook's office. He and her father had not emerged from it since she and Sokka had returned to the palace. She caught their voices as she passed.
"Yes, but the union will not be complete without a marriage."
"Well, perhaps we could find another young Northern noblewoman to marry Sokka."
"I don't think so. It would be disrespectful to my daughter's memory and would only remind your son of his recent loss."
"You're right. Well, my daughter isn't quite of marrying age yet, but perhaps we could make an exception."
She fled down the hall before she could hear anymore.
Her world was crumbing around her and Katara could not find a way to hold it together. She sat on her bed with her knees pulled to chest and allowed her tears to flow freely. The Avatar's words rang in her head: You're your own person. Do what feels right. She knew what needed to be done.
She gathered some basic clothing and other essentials into a bag and went to sit before her mirror. Slowly, she took down her hair from its loops and braids and removed the ribbons and beads and other decorations.
She peered up at the painted portrait of her family that hung on the wall and could not stop another tear from escaping.
"I'm sorry."
By midnight, the clouds had cleared and the entire North Pole seemed to be illuminated by the full moon. Under its light, a single canoe fled out into the ocean and away from the capital city. It moved gracefully and unnaturally quickly through the water, its only occupants two weeks worth of food and the princess of the Southern Water Tribe.