Chapter 7: Fire and Ice, Part 2

…

You rise with the moon. I rise with the sun.

-Prince Zuko

…

Nami had almost reached them when the bison took off. She barely gave them a glance; she had eyes only for the prince lying face down in the snow. She ran to him and pulled him out and across her lap. His face and hands were icy cold. She breathed deeply as the fierce wind pressed against her parka's hood, pulling her inner fire outward to her hands. She placed his hands over his heart and placed hers on top and warmed them all with the heat pulsing from her palms. Zuko stirred and opened his eyes a crack.

"Nami?" he murmured, looking dizzy. He blinked at her glowing hands on his chest then back up at her. "Where's the Avatar?"

"They got on the bison and went back to the city. I wasn't able to get here in time. I'm just glad I found you before you froze to death. I'm one up on you now, you know." She gave him a tight, half-hearted smile.

His eyes focused better and they widened suddenly. "Nami, you're—you're covered in blood!" He jerked upright and she saw real concern for her in his golden eyes. She had not expected it and it threw her for a moment. Zuko pulled her arm toward him and turned it one way and then another quickly, inspecting her for injuries. He did the same to her other arm, then put his hands around her jaw and turned her head right and left to look at her. It was a more intimate touch than he had ever given her before.

"I'm fine," she told him as his eyes scanned the rest of her, tight with alarm.

"Where—where's all the blood from?"

"I had to fight my way here, Zuko. You told me to go in with the rest of the soldiers and that's what I did."

He gazed into her face, guilt and concern crumpling his expression and giving it more true sincerity than she usually saw in it. "I…I didn't think. I didn't think about… I thought you would be safe." His eyes moved to the bloodstains again and tightened in pain. When they fell to the crusty crimson on her knife and on the sheath it was in, he winced.

She tilted his chin up with her fingers so his eyes were on hers again. "You didn't hire someone who can't hold her own in a fight. I have some bruises, maybe, and some singed bits, but none of this blood is mine. I don't bleed easily. So stop looking like that." She glanced at his Fire Nation clothes critically. "You are not going to be able to keep warm enough in what you're in."

"I'm fine. But we've got to get back to the city. Now."

"C'mon, then," she growled, standing and hauling him to his feet. They began to run back toward the ledge they came up on. Quite suddenly, in the span of an eye's blink, the snow that had been glowing white in the moonlight took on an eerie bloody glow. Nami stumbled in surprise and she and Zuko stared up at the moon in the night sky in shock. A red light was shining from it.

"What the hell?" she breathed. "Who's doing that? How are they doing that?"

Zuko gazed down at the city and the fighting that was still visible, even from their high height. All the waterbenders were running and falling back, their bending weakened to almost nothing.

"Zhao must have done something," he growled. "To weaken the waterbenders."

Nami made a hissing noise. "That fuck—"

"C'mon," he said, grasping her arm. "We have to get down there."

She nodded and they continued running with him. They reached the ledge. Zuko sat down, his legs dangling over the side.

"Hang onto me," he ordered.

Nami had just enough time to sit behind him, put her legs on either side of his, and fasten her arms around his chest before he pushed off. Shocked, her shriek was carried away by the wind almost before she could make it. But they did not tumble down to their deaths. Zuko sent a jet of fire in front of them as they slid down the slick slide he was creating, gaining speed until Nami's hood flew off and she could barely keep her eyes open in the icy rushing air. Zuko did some impressive firebending and slowed them down as they approached the bottom. He got his legs under him suddenly, spun, pressed Nami to his chest, and blasted away from the wall as they reached the ground. Having turned their momentum into lateral motion, he was able to land heavily but safely on his feet, Nami in his arms.

She stared at him as he lowered her to her feet. "That was…impressive."

He allowed himself a brief smirk, and then they ran toward a strangely green area in the back of the city where they could see Aang landing on his bison. They had to scale a short wall to get to it.

"What is this?" Nami asked. Plants growing in the North Pole?

"Shush," Zuko quieted her. She scowled at the degrading phrase, but her retort died in her throat when they came upon a startling scene. Hiding in the cover of trees, they watched as Aang, his group, and Iroh confronted Admiral Zhao who was holding up a dripping, squirming sack.

"…You have no idea what kind of chaos that would unleash on the world," Aang was saying.

"He is right, Zhao," growled Iroh.

"General Iroh," Zhao drawled in a dull voice. "Why am I not surprised to discover your treachery."

"I am no traitor, Zhao," Iroh said, a few yards away from him. "The Fire Nation needs the moon, too. We all depend on the balance. Whatever you do to that spirit, I'll unleash on you tenfold!" he cried, lifting his arms in preparation for battle. "Let it go, now!"

Nami let out a shaky exhale, glancing at the sack, at Zhao, at Iroh. 'That spirit'? The moon spirit?! They watched as Zhao kneeled to place the moon spirit fish back into the water, but a moment after the moon's light came back, Zhao reared back and struck the water with a fire blast. The moon disappeared from the sky as if it had never existed, and with a roar, Iroh attacked Zhao, and Zuko and Nami sprang from the trees with shouts of fury toward Zhao as well. But in the seconds it took for Zhao's soldiers to meet their attack and be defeated by the three of them, Zhao escaped. Zuko took off after him but Nami could not find the drive to do so.

As shock and its rage faded, fear and despair were washing through her. She put a hand on Iroh's arm as he gently took the floating moon spirit fish out of the water. Sokka and Katara stiffened and glared at her, but she ignored them.

"Iroh," she murmured. "That stupid fuck… Oh, gods…"

"There's no hope now," sobbed a pretty Water Tribe girl with snow-white hair. "It's over."

"No," Aang said from beside them and Nami flinched in shock and fright when she heard his voice. It was layered with the voices of many people, from many different times, his eyes, mouth, and arrow glowing. "It's not over." He walked into the oasis pond and stood, another fish circling him. Perhaps another spirit? The fish's eyes began to glow as well, and suddenly Aang sank into the pond as if a hole had opened beneath him. A blue glow radiated from the pond and its waters began to rise, coursing with the brilliant blue energy. A form began to rise from the flowing waters and got bigger and bigger. Aang was in the center of the water form that was half-fish and half…spirit.

The spirit moved through the city, washing away Fire Nation soldiers, tanks, everything, with swings of its watery arms.

…

Zuko ran after Zhao as he fled the city, and when he reached a wall edge and was looking down on the Admiral, he fired a fireblast close to him to make him turn around.

Zhao stared at Zuko with wide eyes. "You're alive?"

"You tried to have me killed!" Zuko roared, and blasted fire at Zhao who barely defended himself against it. He rolled and stood again to face the prince.

"Yes, I did. You're the Blue Spirit—an enemy of the Fire Nation. You freed the Avatar."

"I had no choice," Zuko replied, firing at Zhao.

"You should've chosen to accept your failure, your disgrace. Then, at least, you could've lived." He attacked fiercely.

…

Iroh lowered the spirit fish back into the pond.

"It's too late," Katara murmured. "It's dead."

Iroh lowered his head, then looked at Princess Yue. "You have been touched by the moon spirit," he said. "Some of its life is in you."

Nami looked at the girl in surprise.

"Yes," Yue said. "You're right. It gave me life. Maybe I can give it back."

"No!" Sokka protested. "You don't have to do that!"

"It's my duty, Sokka," she replied.

"I won't let you! Your father told me to protect you."

"I have to do this."

Nami was impressed by her bravery and watched as the young woman laid her hands on the dead fish. The fish glowed and the girl collapsed.

"No!" Sokka cried, catching her as she fell. He touched her face gently and closed his eyes, pain on his face. "She's gone."

The girl's body suddenly disappeared into the air and the fish Iroh held began to glow again. He lowered it gently into the water, and it swam around.

A silvery form came up out of the water—it was the princess. She came forward and took Sokka's face in her glowing hands.

"Goodbye, Sokka," she said. "I will always be with you."

They kissed and then she rose and disappeared. The moon appeared in the sky again, glowing white and pure.

…

Zuko was winning his fight. He knocked Zhao to the ground and stood over him as the moon's new light bathed them all.

"No!" Zhao exclaimed. "It can't be!"

Suddenly, slices of water shimmering with electric blue energy rose around both of them like fingers. Zuko dove out of the way as the fingers closed around Zhao.

The fingers of water pulled him down and the Admiral did not resurface.

…

"And I thought a full sized ship was bad enough," Nami growled, her mood sullen. "This is going to be hell."

Iroh chuckled as he made the finishing touches to their wide wooden raft equipped with a sail, rudder, and a wooden locker for food, water, belongings, paddles, and other necessities. It was held up by parallel wooden planks beneath the deck where the three of them lay on top.

"Yes, the journey back will be rough," he agreed.

"I don't think 'rough' is going to cover it." A tiny cage in the middle of the ocean with my enemies. Nowhere to run. Grunting with aches, Nami tried to massage some of her rock-stiff muscles. She looked toward Zuko who was standing silently watching as they moved away from the Northern Water Tribe.

"I'm surprised, Zuko," Iroh said, "that you did not want to stay and try to capture the Avatar."

"I'm tired," the prince replied. Iroh went up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Then you should rest," he said. "A man needs his rest."

Zuko nodded and lay down on the wood and closed his eyes.

"Women, too," Iroh added, looking at Nami who was sitting cross-legged.

"Sleep sounds good," she said, sitting down beside Zuko, though careful not to touch him. The prince opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her.

"So where did you get those Water Tribe clothes?"

Nami shrugged. "There were a lot of empty houses in the front of the city and I took some clothes from one. I was sick of that uniform and it wasn't warm enough."

Zuko rolled his eyes and Iroh laughed.

"It looks nice on you," Iroh said. "Natural."

Zuko glanced at Nami to see how she would take this comment. In the Fire Nation, it would have been considered a scathing insult to say a waterbender's anything looked natural on a firebender. He expected her to be affronted, and was surprised Iroh had said something so rude. But Nami's expression was enigmatic. She met Iroh's eyes. "They feel strange on me," she said quietly. She looked at Zuko and then a corner of her mouth twitched into a crooked smile. "But I'm warmer than both of you, so joke's on you, really."

The prince snorted with contempt, but then became serious again. "You can't be wearing those if we reach land. We can't be seen with you. And no Fire Nation ship is going to offer us help if they think we're some of them."

Nami looked out across the azure arctic sea, her expression distant. After a moment, she asked him, "Did you see the city, Zuko?"

He shrugged stiffly. "Yeah, I saw it."

"Did you see the canalways? The bridges and tunnels? The interlocking buildings, statues, frescos, porticos, and those gorgeously cut pagodas? Did you see the castle?"

"I said I saw it, didn't I?"

She turned her head to level her eyes on him. Her gaze was intimidating. "Do you still think—as you've been told—that the Northern Water Tribe is a bunch of primitive icedwellers?"

His jaw worked. He looked away from her across the water as well. "No," he relented.

Satisfied, Nami said nothing more, but lay down and curled up, her back to him. Iroh watched her face and the mix of emotions that played across it. She closed her eyes, but her face did not relax.

Iroh stroked his beard pensively as he pulled the rope to angle the sail, keeping them on a decidedly southern course.