A/N: Alright I'm back in business! Here's the beginning of the end of book 1! Because I was so mean, what with not posting in months, I feel like all of you who have followed/favorited/reviewed deserve a treat. So I will be posting part 2 of the Siege of the North either tonight or tomorrow morning, depending on when it's finished.
Just a heads up with this chapter and the next, it will be a bit darker that usual. While the cartoon was designed for kids, this story is designed to be a more mature telling of the series. So don't worry about any disturbing gore, but there will be minor gore/death involved.
As always please enjoy and review!
-62MoonParade
Chapter 12 – Siege of the North (Pt 1)
Darya was sitting on a bench and watching as Katara trained with the waterbenders while Aang goofed off nearby. She shook her head, exasperated at his lack of attention. She had known Aang since he was a baby, and she knew this was how he trained. It was not very efficient, nor was it great for battle, but he had mastered airbending before anyone else in his class, even before most of her class.
Master Pakku was not happy with him though, and that was clear when he told Aang to show his skills at waterbending. To Darya's horror, he spun the snow into a snowman while Momo leapt around him. Darya grimaced at the horror on Master Pakku's face as he called for an end to the lesson. Darya shook her head in exasperation and rose from her seat. Snow crunched under her feet as she stood and stretched her arms in the air, debating whether to train herself or continue being lazy.
As they stood around practicing for a few more minutes, Darya noticed snow start to fall. She looked up into the sky and noticed the beauty of it, when she realized something was slightly off about the snow. It was black, and snow was definitely not black. Flashbacks of the monks rushing around in fear, children crying, and bison roaring washed over her. This was not snow, it was soot.
Fear struck at her heart, because she knew exactly what created soot out of nowhere.
"Aang!" She sprung up from her place on a chunk of ice to race over to Aang. He was rolling around in the snow while Momo chattered at him, oblivious to the falling soot. Darya punched a fist down and sent air underneath Aang, propelling him upwards and onto his feet. She grabbed his hand and began pulling him away.
"Darya what's going on?" Aang demanded as he struggled to pull his hand out of Darya's fierce grip. Darya spun around and pointed to the sky.
"That is the problem, Aang. That's soot, not snow. You weren't there when the Fire Nation attacked, but the sky was choked with it." Darya snarled, turning to Katara who had followed them. "I'm sure Katara could say the same."
Katara only nodded, fear and determination battling on her face. Darya let out a growl as she felt the black dust coat her golden hair, turning it brown.
"We need to leave, and now. The Fire Nation are still some ways off, we can be on our way before they get here." She turned around again, but this time Aang shook free of her grip. She spun around and looked at him with her brow furrowed.
"We can't just leave. What about the Northern Water Tribe?" Aang said, his tone was hard and determined. Darya felt her pride in him grow, but her concern for his safety did not leave.
"Aang, this will be like Kyoshi all over again, except we have an army breathing down our neck instead of Zuko." Darya pleaded. Of all times for him to become the Avatar, she thought in exasperation. She would've rolled her eyes if the situation wasn't more serious.
"That's exactly why I can't leave! I ran away because I was scared, I'm not running away anymore!" Aang yelled, his voice hard and strong. Darya sighed, impressed and a little frightened at his determination.
"Alright, then we fight, but you aren't leaving my sight for a second." Darya grumbled. Aang nodded his head and lead the way to the great hall.
"The day we have feared for so long has arrived. The Fire Nation is on our doorstep." Chief Arnook spoke gravely, his voice carrying across the icy hall. Darya sat against one of the large ice totems with Katara, Aang, and a very unhappy Sokka. When he had appeared, she had asked him where he had been, but only a grumbled "nowhere" was his answer. Darya could hear the Chief's voice, but she wasn't paying attention to what he was saying. She was preparing herself mentally for the fight to come. She was not happy that they were staying to fight, but part of her relished in the chance to face the Fire Nation once more. She would not let them commit genocide again.
"Count me in." Sokka exclaimed, jumping to his feet and startling Darya out of her thoughts. She looked at him in confusion, not hearing what the Chief had said.
"Sokka!" Katara cried out. Clearly whatever he was agreeing to was not a good idea. However, none of them stopped him as he moved to the front of the hall to stand with a group of other young warriors.
"Be warned, many of you will not return. Come forward to receive my mark if you accept the task." The Chief continued. Darya watched as her best friend received the Chief's mark. Her eyes narrowed into slits. He was making it difficult for her to protect him. Sokka looked up and met her eyes. She could see the sadness within them and she felt like she understood him, she felt the same sadness in her own heart. She relaxed her face and gave him a nod which he returned.
The men moved into the back of the hall while the Chief and the rest of the villagers began to file out of the hall. Darya needed some space to think out her plan of attack and how best to protect Aang in the chaos to come. She twirled open her glider and perched on the edge of the hall roof, her silhouette taking on an aviary shape. Below her, Aang crouched on a short pillar and looked out over the city.
"The stillness before battle is unbearable. Such a quite dread." Chief Arnook said as he stood next to Aang, observing his city and the soot still falling on it.
"I wasn't there when the Fire Nation attacked my people." Aang looked behind him at Darya who was watching him closely. "I'm gonna make a difference this time."
Darya nodded slowly to him. It seemed the fire of battle was in everyone now. However, she knew that he had never actually experienced true war before. Their skirmishes with Zuko and Zhao were nothing compared to what was lurking in the horizon.
"Aang, I would like your help with the wall defense." Arnook said, drawing their attention back to him. "And you as well Darya. I believe that your airbending can be used to take out any catapults the Fire Nation will be using.
"That sounds like a good idea. We've had a little experience with the Fire Navy already. But Aang, organization goes out the door in a battle, just remember to stay alert at all times." Darya said, wanting him to understand but knowing he wouldn't until the battle actually started. Aang nodded and twirled open his glider. Before he took off he looked back at Katara.
"Are you coming?" Aang asked, motioning to himself. Darya was surprised by his rather bold move. She knew that her little brother had a crush on Katara, but she figured he was a little too shy to do anything about it. It appeared the prospect of battle had given him some courage. Katara blushed and stepped up and wrapped her arms around his waist. Darya smirked as she saw them both avoid each others eyes while blushing profusely. Aang took off into the air, heading for the wall.
Darya chuckled and took off after them, her swords glinting as they were jostled in the wind. She flew quickly up to the great wall that guarded the city and landed near Aang. Appa, seemed to have known they would be there, because he greeted them with a roar. Darya scratched his head as Aang hopped into the saddle.
Darya sat down, leaning against one of Appa's legs and sighed. Now the only thing to do was to wait.
"Darya" Aang's voice was short and clipped, full of tension. Darya shot up and leapt into the saddle next to him.
"What is it?" she asked, scanning the horizon. In the far distance a dark ship was closing in fast. Her heart stopped and she felt butterflies whirl in her stomach. The battle was about to begin.
"I see it." She whispered. Suddenly the ship glowed bring orange and a massive fireball whistled towards them.
"Brace yourselves!" one of the warriors yelled. The fireball collided into the wall, caused a massive hole to form and many warriors to be knocked into the city below. Ice and snow covered the ground and Darya fought off horror as she saw it turn pink. She forced herself to turn away and look back and the approaching ship. Anger swelled and bubbled within her and she reached out and held onto it. Thoughts of Jeong Jeong filled her head. He told me to harness this power, time to put it to use.
With a cry she leapt into the air, her glider spiraling open in a rush of wind. Appa roared next to her and she saw Aang crouched on his head. Appa quickly outpaced her and she watched as Aang successfully diverted another fireball. She felt pride swell into her chest and she felt her confidence in him grow.
Darya saw Appa invert himself and Aang flew to the ship below. Darya followed close behind and landed with him on the ship. The soldiers on the ship looked on as she used her air to push them aside. She concentrated hard and formed a ball of steaming air in her hands. If it wasn't her own bending she would've surely burned herself. The air shimmered with heat as she released it onto one of the catapults. A hiss and whine of contorting medal filled the air as the finer pieces of iron warped under the heat, rendering it useless.
Darya let out a breath and turned to another catapult. It seemed that Aang had left only one as he danced around a soldier wielding odd looking hammers. Darya trusted him to take care of himself for a moment as she sent a narrow rush of air at the bolts keeping the catapult to together.
"Faster." she muttered to herself as one by one the bolts were blasted away. Finally, the catapult groaned and collapsed under its own weight and fell in a heap. Darya grinned a feral smile of triumph and leapt into the air once more. The boat rose beneath her as waterbenders suspended it in ice. She perched on the top of the flagpole to catch her breath when she felt her racing heart stop. In front of her lay at least a hundred Fire Navy ships, all belching ash into the air.
Darya was exhausted. For the past few hours she and Aang had taken out a dozen ships each, but there were still too many. Her battle fire was still lit, but her limbs were heavy and her brain was muddled. She watched as more fireballs whipped past her and slammed into the city behind her. She shot a burst of air at one and diverted it, but there were five more to take its place. After a few more volleys, the sun began to set and the Fire Nation pulled back. Darya sighed in relief and looked for Aang.
"Darya, we need to go back. Appa can barely fly and you're slowing down." Aang called to her. She circled over to him so she could fly next to Appa. Despite how much she wanted to collapse on his saddle, she knew he would be too tired to carry both of them.
"Let's go." She said, not able to argue with him. They flew as fast as their weary bodies could until they were behind the safety of the walls. They saw Yue and Katara near the great hall, both looking anxious. Darya lead Appa over to them and they both landed heavily. Appa collapsed onto his belly and groaned. Aang slid off him and onto the cold ground. Darya leaned on her staff and tried to keep her eyes open, she was so tired.
"I can't do it." Aang said, despondent. "I can't do it." Darya looked over at him as he crouched down and let his face fall into his hands. They hadn't had a chance to talk to each other on the battlefield, but seeing as it was his first time witnessing carnage on this scale, she knew he would be emotionally drained as well.
"You ok?" She asked him, wanting to comfort him but too tired to move.
"I don't know." Aang muttered, looking up at Darya with heavy eyes. Not for the first time she felt he was too young to deal with such burdens. They all were. "It'll get better" was all she could say to him.
"What happened?" Katara asked, running over and putting a hand on Aang's back, trying to comfort him.
"Darya and I had to have taken out at least two dozen ships, but there's just too many of them. We can't fight them all." Aang looked up at Katara as she continued to rub his back gently. Darya turned away. Her emotions had vanished after the first few ships. All she could think about was destruction, and her rage had fueled it. She felt it even now while there was a shred of calm. Despite her tired limbs, she still wished to fight. When did I become a warrior? She thought. The monks would surely have thrown her out of the temple had they seen her today. They had already been nervous about her Fire Nation heritage. Her lack of emotion would have been the last straw for them. She felt a piece of her chip away at how she was somewhere in between an airbender and a firebender. She shook her head, now is not the time to be thinking like that!
She wandered away from her friends for a moment and found herself inside the great hall. A fire was roaring in the center and there were several concerned families dotted around it. She wandered over to a quiet corner to sit for a moment and rest, needing to close her eyes for just a moment. Almost immediately she was asleep.
"Darya wake up."
Someone was shaking her awake and she swatted them away with a sore arm. Her muscles screamed in protest and the pain caused her to groan awake. She blinked slowly and noticed immediately that the sun and fully set. The moon must have been bright because she could clearly see Katara standing above her.
"Wassup?" Darya slurred, sleep still holding onto her. She shook her head to clear it and felt the world come into focus. Katara was giggling, obviously entertained by her friend's sleepiness.
"I don't think I've ever seen someone have to wake you up before. You're always doing your morning stretches before any of us are awake." Katara laughed quietly. Darya laughed with her, but she was so sore that she quickly stopped.
"I'm sorry that I had to wake you up, but Yue said there's a portal to the Spirit World here, or something like that at least. You want to come with?" Katara asked, falling serious.
"Of course! Let's go." Darya said, rising slowly so as not to anger her muscles even more. She used her staff for support as she followed Katara, Yue, and Aang behind the great hall. As they walk, Darya tried to straighten out her wild hair. It was still tangled from so much flying and then sleeping on a hard floor, not to mention the ash that was still in it. She growled to herself as she battled with a particularly difficult knot. Katara fell into step with her a giggled at her friend's antics.
"Need help?" Katara asked, a smile plastering her face.
"Gah!" Darya said, throwing her hands in the air in defeat. "Yes, please!"
Katara used her waterbending to melt some of the snow and slowly moved it around Darya's head.
"That's cold!" Darya yelled, grimacing.
"Stop complaining. You're hair's a mess Darya." Katara said firmly, and Darya fell silent and tried to ignore her head becoming numb.
"Almost there." Katara said, removing the water from Darya's hair. "All done! Clean and untangled!"
Darya ran a hand through her soaking wet hair and couldn't find a single knot. She conjured a fistful of hot air and used it to form a small tornado around her hair. Within seconds it was dry and lying in golden waves on her shoulders.
"Thanks Katara, I was feeling pretty gross after that battle." Darya said, smiling. Katara returned the smile and then fell into a fit of laughter.
"Aang hasn't bathed either and he smells terrible, part of me wants to just splash him with some water." Darya laughed at the idea, causing Yue and Aang to look at the two girls curiously.
"What?" Aang huffed.
"Nothing!" Darya and Katara said in unison with their hands in front of them.
"Here." Yue said, interrupting the two giggling girls.
They had arrived at an ice wall with a small round door carved into the middle of it. How in Agni are we supposed to fit through that? She thought as Yue opened the door.
"So is this the way to the Spirit World?" Aang asked, looking slightly confused.
"No, you'll have to get there on your own." Yue giggled as she motioned for Aang to go in. "But I can take you to the most spiritual place in the entire North Pole."
Darya stepped through the door after Aang and her jaw dropped open. A long pool of water stretched before them and ended in a small grassy oasis. The temperature immediately rose, to Darya's relief, and she followed Aang to the oasis. Upon closer inspection, she could see a small pool in the middle of the grass with a large stone gate behind it covered in flowers.
"I never thought I'd miss grass this much!" Aang said as he rolled around in the rich green foliage. Darya laughed at his childish behavior and was glad to see that the earlier bloodshed wasn't affecting him too much.
"It's so warm here! How is that possible?" Katara asked, taking off her thick fur overcoat. Darya, who had no such protection in her airbending outfit, finally felt comfortable. She stretched her arms up slowly and heard her joints creak. Once she felt her muscles loosen up, she shook out her body and rolled her head around. When she looked up again, the other three were looking at her strangely.
"What?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You just looked really weird." Aang said and he began to laugh. The others joined in as Darya rolled her eyes.
"Fine, no more stretching. Now let's get down to business." Darya smiled and leaned over the smaller pool. Two koi fish were circling around each other. One was all black with a small white spot on its head while the other was the exact opposite.
"They're beautiful." She whispered to herself, suddenly feeling very calm.
Aang sat down on the warm grass and fell into a meditation pose. Darya joined the younger girls as they watched over Aang. His breathing was evening out but he was still in the earthly world.
"Why is he sitting like that?" Yue whispered to her and Katara.
"He's meditating. Trying to cross into the Spirit World. It takes all his concentration." Katara whispered back.
"Is there any way we can help?" Yue asked.
"We can always annoy him so he wants to get to the Spirit World more." Darya joked. The girls giggled quietly to themselves, or so they thought.
"How about some quiet!?" Aang snapped, spinning around. "C'mon guys, I can hear every word you're saying!"
The girls looked at each other and giggled once more before Darya decided to be the mature one.
"Alright, I'll go fly around and see how the city's looking. I'll be back in a bit." She said, spinning open her glider. She took off into the air and soared around the city in big loops.
Zuko rowed slowly in order to avoid making too much noise. He had already almost been spotted by a guard and he didn't want to deal with that. He felt trapped between a rock and a hard place as the Water Tribe loomed ahead and Zhao spat fire at his back. His felt worried for his uncle, perhaps for the first time. He had always viewed his uncle as a guiding figure and he looked up to him greatly, despite his temper. However, to hear that Iroh thought of him as a son was almost more than he could bare. Why couldn't his own father be like that? It felt unfair that he should have an absent father and Iroh should lose his son. He had always liked his cousin, even if they were spread apart in age.
Zuko tried to clear his head of anymore thoughts and turned to concentrating on his task ahead. He succeeded for only a few moments when the object of so many of his thoughts suddenly burst into the moonlight. She streaked out of the sky like a golden comet and Zuko cursed his bad luck. However, he quickly noticed she wasn't coming after him. He looked off to his left to see a small boat filled with Fire Nation soldiers. They were trying to lay a sneak attack, but she's too clever for that. He felt himself smile, but then he realized he shouldn't be happy she had ruined some plans of the Fire Nation, he should be angry!
His thoughts were put on pause as he watched her unleash a roar of air that rocked the boat, sending several soldiers into the water. They had several firebenders on board who began shooting fire at her. With grace and agility that baffled him, Zuko watched as she twisted in the air, her glider becoming a weapon. She dodged, parried, and attacked all in the same movement. It was like watching a storm come down over the mountains, and soon the boat was shattered and its cargo underwater. He watched, desperate she wouldn't see him from his hiding spot behind one of the many icebergs. She landed on another iceberg not far away and collapsed in a heap, clearly exhausted.
"Damn it!" She cried out and she slammed a fist into the ice, causing part of it to melt under the hot air. She rose slowly, leaning heavily on her glider. It looked like she was taking several deep breaths before she took to the air again. Her take off was a little wobbly, but she eventually straightened herself out.
Zuko waited until her silhouette was gone before he began paddling again. He had seen her fight, but she had never hurt anyone. And yet, he had just witnessed her kill an entire boat full of soldiers. He had admired her, sure, but he had always thought she was rather soft. His image of her changed and he saw that she was much fiercer than he had originally imagined. As he paddled, he came across bits of the boat that had washed away in the current. He avoided looking in the water and seeing the faces of Fire Nation soldiers. Clearly the deaths of them had impacted her somewhat as he had never seen her crack like she had. He understood why she had killed them, if he were in her position he would've done the same thing, but it still shocked him to see her maneuver through their attacks.
It was clear to him now that she had always been pulling her punches. Once more he felt the urge to remain hidden from her, because he had no idea how she would react to him, seeing as their last meeting had ended in her leaving him paralyzed and covered in perfume. He had replayed that moment over and over and decided to take her advice. Instead of running into the Water Tribe fire blazing, he was being stealthy and smart. He wanted to hear what she thought of his plan, but seeing as it revolved around kidnapping her so called "little brother" that wouldn't end well. He smirked to himself as he imagined her yelling at him. As he got off the boat and tried to find a way into the Water Tribe, he knew he needed to avoid her at all costs, but he still couldn't help the tug on his heart that called out to her.
Darya was cursing herself as she wheeled above the city. She had wanted a relaxing flight and had ended up killing a dozen men. Yes, they were Fire Nation soldiers and yes, they were probably going to ambush the city at night or do something awful that would lead to more death, but she hated herself at the same time. And yet she was cursing herself because she didn't feel as bad as she should. She thought she should be in tears or depressed or going crazy, at least something! Instead she felt…normal. Or at least normal for being in a war zone. Maybe it was the battle that had happened earlier. She had sunk several ships herself, probably killing some soldiers then, but she hadn't seen them die. Granted she hadn't seen the men in the boat die either, but they certainly didn't resurface. Even if they did, they would die from the cold. Maybe it's the Fire Nation blood in me. Maybe there is something wrong with me.
She continued her circular path as the sun began to peak over the horizon. She knew that with the sun's rise there would be more fighting. In fact, she could see several ships start to shift in the water as if they were creeping forward. Still, the deaths of those soldiers remained with her, bothering her as if she had stepped on a piece of glass. She growled and continued to watch the ships, wanting to get her aggression out on something. There's definitely something wrong with me.
As she made another pass over the great hall, a small explosion shot a flare of fire into the sky.
"Agni what now!?" Darya shouted as she spun around and shot towards the flame like a bullet. As she entered the clearing, she could only see Katara on the ground, unconscious.
"Katara, Katara wake up." Darya said as she tried to shake her friend awake. "Damn it, where's Aang?"
Darya twirled around when it was clear Katara wasn't coming back to the world for some time. She stalked around the clearing, trying to find traces of what happened to Aang. She saw burn marks on the stone surrounding the oasis and her stomach dropped. Somehow, Fire Nation soldiers had gotten past her and taken Aang. She could see evidence of Katara's fight as well. Water and ice covered most of the grass. It seems she put up a fight.
"Darya, what happened?!" The sound of Sokka's desperate shout caught Darya's attention. She saw him leap off of the landing Appa while Yue climbed down gracefully.
"I don't know, I left to give Aang some peace to concentrate." Darya said, guilt beginning to gnaw at her belly. If she hadn't left, Aang might still be here.
"Aang!" Katara's startled shout drew their attention. Sokka rushed over to his sister and helped her stand up.
"What happened? Where's Zuko?" He asked her softly. Darya felt her anger spike.
"Zuko was here?!" She snarled. The other three teens eyes widened at Darya's tone. They had heard her angry, but this was another level of anger. Steam was rolling off of her lightly and they couldn't help but take a step back from the fuming airbender. Darya paced, too angry to stand still. I swear I'll kill him when I find him!
"He, he took Aang. He took him right out from under me." Katara whispered sadly, her head hanging. Darya felt her anger begin to boil over.
"You WHAT?" She cried, her pacing becoming more frantic. The enemy had the Avatar. For all they knew Aang could be dead and the world was out of balance once more.
"Damn it!" Darya punched the icy wall in her anger, causing the ice to melt and sizzle under the heat of her air. "Agni!"
She continued to curse and stalk around the pool. Katara and Yue looked at Darya in fear, while Sokka took a step towards her.
"Darya calm down, we can't find Aang if your head is clouded." He said, his voice strong. He reached out and placed a hand on Darya's shoulder to get her to stop pacing. Her green eyes met his blue ones, and for a moment Sokka was afraid she would attack him. The usually calm emeralds were wild with a fierce fire. However, upon seeing Sokka, she felt herself calm somewhat.
"Sorry." She said, taking a deep breath and letting out a stream of air. The air was still hot and it caused steam to rise in the night air. A few snowflakes got caught in the stream and fell to the earth as rain.
"We need to find Aang, but where did they go?" Sokka said to her. Darya turned back to face him, worrying in her eyes as the snow began to fall heavier.
"I don't know." Was all she could say.