Hooray for on time posting! :D I've managed to type not only this chapter, but the next one after that so you don't have to wait as long! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/started reading/favorited my story so far! This chapter is the climax of Book 1: the Siege of the North, Part 1! (No, not with part two, or else it would be waaaaaaay too long). Hope you enjoy it!
I don't own A:TLA, nor will I ever. HOWEVER I do own Mira and Tyrn, so don't steal them! ;)
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Tyrn could only laugh hysterically at Mira's scream as they flew over the Northern Water Tribe. The young airbender couldn't even remember how she convinced her best friend to ride with her on a glide that morning, but she was in too much joy to care.
"Come on! It's not that bad!" Tyrn yelled up to Mira.
Mira only screamed louder. "I can't believe I let you talk me into this!"
Tyrn grinned like a crazed psychopath. "I don't even remember myself! Hold on tight!" She sent them into a spiral nosedive, Tyrn laughing in the thrill of flight and Mira trying not to puke.
The second that they touched ground, Mira toppled onto the cold ground, gasping for air and shivering slightly. Tyrn spun her glider closed and leaned over her slightly green friend. "Uh…you okay?"
Tyrn yelped when a large torrent of snow crashed into her. "HEY! That so wasn't fair!" she complained, shaking the flakes from her head.
Mira sat up with a smile. "You almost made me puke in midair and I blasted you with a cannon's force of snow. I think we're pretty much even."
Tyrn rolled her eyes. "Not so much when you have half the power of a freaking Ocean Spirit!" She held out her hand and helped her friend up. "Come on; let's go see Katara and Aang at the practice grounds."
The two benders walked up the steps, happily chatting along the way. They stopped, however, when they reached the top to find Katara easily defeat another student.
Mira watched in awe as Katara swept her opponent up into the air with a blast of water, freezing him in a towering prison of spikes. "Someone's been doing extra homework." she murmured.
"It's Katara. What can you expect from someone as focused as she is?" Tyrn asked rhetorically.
Katara grinned as she saw them approach. "Oh hey guys!" she called out.
Tyrn gave her a short applause. "That was some epic bending!" she exclaimed.
"Indeed." They both turned to Pakku. "Katara, you have excelled further and more quickly than any student than I've ever taught. Your skill, persistence and determination have proven that with those qualities you can do anything you desire. And…" he turned to gesture behind him. "…that it takes more than raw talent alone."
The three girls turned and giggled at the sight of Aang, who was lazily hovering Momo in the air on top of a sphere. Tyrn just smiled and took over the air sphere, bringing Momo safely into her arms.
Aang looked confused when his air sphere disappeared, but then spotted the three benders. "Oh, hey guys!"
"Pupil Aang!" Pakku reprimanded him. "Would you care to step into the sparring circle? I figured that since you've found time to play with house pets that you've already mastered waterbending." he stated dryly.
Aang hopped up. "Well, I wouldn't say 'mastered', but check this out!" He quickly bended the snow around him and wound up looking like a snowman.
Tyrn and Mira snickered quietly when Momo leaped to knock Aang over as Pakku and Katara shook their heads.
"Master Pakku?" The old waterbending master turned towards a hesitant Mira. "May I ask you something?"
Pakku raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" He had heard of Mira's ability after being saved by the Ocean Spirit. "You want to learn how to waterbend?"
"Well, sort of." Mira twisted her hands as she spoke. "See, I have trouble waterbending because sometimes the part in me that was healed by the Ocean Spirit takes over. I was thinking…maybe you could teach me some techniques to help control it?"
Pakku pondered for a moment, and then gave her a half smile. "I may have some methods of helping you with that. Come with me." he beckoned her as he turned, and then he addressed his students. "I want you all to spar with each other while I'm gone."
Tyrn fiddled with her staff. "I'm going to check on Appa, so I'll see you guys later."
Katara waved as she easily fended off her opponent. "Okay, see ya Tyrn!"
Twirling open her staff, Tyrn leaped off the top of the stairs and flew over the city. Smiling down at the citizens as she passed over them, the young airbender did a big loop in the air before spiraling down to the area where the animals were kept.
She walked happily over to Appa, who greeted her with a happy rumble. "Good to see you, Appa!" she said, grabbing a bale of hay over to his giant nose. Tyrn laughed when Appa poked her with his blue-black nose before eating the hay. "I'm glad you like it."
Sitting on Appa's giant furry leg as he ate, Tyrn stared up into the clouds, lost in thought. It took a second for her to realize that she was fingering the necklace that Aang had made.
"Ugh, what am I doing?" she muttered to herself. Sighing, Tyrn reached around and undid the necklace, holding it out in front of her. Eyeing the dry, curling flower in the middle, Tyrn laid the necklace on her hand as she thought. "I couldn't have fallen in love, I'm still practically at kid!" she murmured, stroking the flower. "So why am I still hoping?"
Getting an idea, Tyrn turned over the necklace and picked up some snow. Wetting the flower with it to reduce the dryness, Tyrn then blasted it with a small jet of air. When she turned it facing up again, she was pleased to see that it was no longer curling like before, and was almost good as new.
Putting it back on, Tyrn looked up to see Sokka and Yue walking towards her. "Hi Yue, hi Sokka!" she said, getting up.
Yue smiled and walked over to her, giving her a hug. "Hi Tyrn, how have you been?" she asked warmly.
Tyrn shrugged. "It's been tad too cold for my tastes, but I've been fine." She rolled her eyes when Sokka scoffed. "So, what are you two doing?"
Yue replied, "Sokka was going to show me Appa." They both turned to said warrior, who had walked up to Appa.
"Sure was!" he smiled at the giant bison. "Appa and I go way back, don't we boy?" He suddenly was tackled by Appa, who started to repeatedly lick his face.
Tyrn and Yue held back their laughter as they looked on. "Looks like you haven't been giving Appa much attention." Yue stated with a smile.
"Or he feels like he's in a glomping mood. Either way, I'm so glad I'm not in that two-person bison pile." Tyrn snickered.
A few moments later (after they had both helped Sokka clean off the saliva from his coat) Tyrn was helping Yue climb onto Appa's saddle next to Sokka.
"So how does this work?" Yue questioned, sitting down.
Tyrn smiled up at them. "All I need to say is that you better hold on tight!" she called up to her.
Sokka smirked. "Yip…yip." Yue started to laugh as they flew up into the air.
Tyrn waved as they flew away. "You guys have fun!" she yelled. "And no funny business!" she added with a grin.
"Shut up Tyrn!" Sokka yelled back. Tyrn could only shake at head, smiling at what was sure to be an awkward moment up in the sky.
Grabbing her staff, Tyrn started to walk back to the palace. She smiled at the people of the Northern Water Tribe, who happily waved at her as she passed. Stopping to admire a fountain, Tyrn was mesmerized as she stared at the clear, flowing water.
She was suddenly brought out of her reverie when the water slowly grew gray and murky. Alarmed, Tyrn looked up into the sky to see black snowflakes falling all over the city.
Holding out her hand, Tyrn caught some of the flakes in her hand. Her eyes widened when she realized what was happening. "Oh my god." she whispered.
Tyrn threw her staff up into the air and caught it as it looped back at her, flying towards the palace as fast as she could, all the while trying not to breathe in the ominous soot falling down.
The group sat in the large chamber of the palace, talking rapidly amongst the others in the room. Tyrn glanced at Sokka, who looked depressed. Knowing that Yue just told him that she couldn't see him anymore, Tyrn placed a hand on his shoulder. Sokka looked up at her and nodded in thanks. Mira just gave him an understanding look before she looked up at the Chief.
Chief Arnook signaled for his people to be quiet. "The day we have feared for so long has finally arrived." he announced grimly. "The Fire Nation is on our doorstep."
He looked around him. "It is with great sadness that I've called in my family, whose faces may disappear from this tribe forever." Tyrn looked at Yue, whose face showed no emotion as she stared ahead. "They will never vanish, however, from our hearts."
"Now, as we approach the battle for our existence, I call upon the Great Spirits." He raised his hands. "Spirit of the Ocean, Spirit of the Moon! Please be with us in this battle." Arnook called out. Mira and Yue felt a strange sensation pass through them as Arnook's call rang out in the large chamber, as if the parts of their soul that had been touched by the Moon and Ocean Spirits were responding.
Arnook addressed the crowd in front of him. "I'm going to need to ask for volunteers for a dangerous mission."
Tyrn, Katara, Aang and Mira looked up in shock as Sokka stood up determinedly. "I'm in!" he declared.
Mira stood up as well. "Count me in, too!" she said, ignoring the stares she got.
Katara looked worried. "Sokka, Mira!" she whispered as they both walked up to the stage.
Tyrn patted her shoulder. "Sokka and Mira are more than capable for this, they'll be fine." she assured the worried waterbender, even though Tyrn was worried for her friends' safety as well.
"Many of you will not return. Come forward if you wish to accept my task and receive my mark." Arnook told the men (and Mira) who had stood up.
Mira was the first to walk up to Arnook, who gave her a small smile for her bravery and marked her forehead. Sokka made his way to the Chief, who also marked three lines on his forehead. Turning to walk away, Sokka glanced back at Yue, who sadly turned her head away. Sokka sighed and continued to walk, not noticing the silent tears on the princess's cheeks.
Tyrn stood next to Aang, who was on top of a small stand at the top of the stairs. She looked out over the quiet city, feeling the tenseness in the air.
Arnook walked out behind them. "The silence before a battle is almost too much to bear." he stated, eyebrows creased with worry. "It is such a quiet dread."
Aang sighed as he continued to look forward. "I wasn't there when the Fire Nation attacked by people." He hopped off his stand. "I'm going to make a difference this time." Arnook nodded as he walked away, called upon by his advisor.
"You know something?" Aang turned to Tyrn, who spoke up. "Even though I'm not officially part of the Air Nomads or this world, I'm going to fight like I was meant to be here." She looked up, a flame of determination in her eyes. "So if you're going to fight in the spirit of your people, I'll do it for them too."
Aang smiled and gave her a hug. "That really means a lot, thanks." he whispered, making Tyrn blush at the close contact.
Tyrn smiled back as she broke the hug. "Let's do this thing." she grinned.
Running up to them, Katara adjusted her water skins around her belt. "Come on, let's get to the gate." Katara said, looking up when she saw Sokka fly over on Appa. All three of them nodded as they got on, soaring over to where the other warriors were patiently waiting for the onslaught of fireballs.
Touching down, Katara and Sokka hopped off and stood against the half-wall, staring out over the cold sea. Tyrn and Aang had decided to take on the ships on Appa, and were seated on the furry bison, staffs in hand.
A sudden ball of light was launched into the air by a black spot on the horizon, flying towards the group. Tyrn's eyes widened when the fiery ball came faster and closer, its aim at the wall. "EVERYONE DUCK!" she yelled, gripping the saddle moments before the impact.
Everyone screamed as the fireball blew through the lower part of the wall, sending icy chunks into the ocean and people flying. More of them started to fly towards them, soaring overhead.
Appa roared as he moved away from the fireball. "Appa, yip yip!" Aang yelled, sending Appa into the sky.
Tyrn looked back at the crumbling wall, and was relieved to see Katara and Sokka escape unharmed from the fireballs. Turning back to face forward, she gripped her staff as they approached the first Fire Nation ship. "This is going to be fun." she said with a smirk.
With a yell, Aang flung away a fireball coming at them, sending it to the side of the cliff. "Appa, we'll take it from here!" he told his loyal beast, and the two airbenders leaped off Appa, flying on their staffs down to the ship.
Tyrn rolled into a crouch on the metal ship, quickly whirling around her staff to sweep away the soldiers. Jumping up, she airbended a soldier overboard before blocking a punch from another.
Out of the corner of her eye, Tyrn grinned at Aang, who was running around and messing with the fireball launchers. She quickly somersaulted over two soldiers, causing them to run into each other, and ran over to Aang to help with the sabotage.
Aang quickly grabbed a hammer and banged the chain into the ground before dodging another soldier. The snagged launcher merely slammed its fiery cargo into the hull of the ship, creating a rather large gap on the deck.
Raising an eyebrow, Tyrn tied together two of the launcher's chains before airbending over to Aang, whose foot was on the release lever. "Should I be afraid that you're being too enthusiastic about this?" she stated with a grin.
"Yup!" Aang grinned back, stepping on the release lever and grabbing Tyrn out of the way. They laughed slightly as the launchers flipped over one other before slamming into the tower of the ship.
Running over to the last launcher, Aang didn't notice the menacing brute with the two hammers on chains walk towards him. Tyrn's eyes widened as he swung the hammers around, trying to hit the Avatar.
Tyrn looked up and yelled for Appa. "Hey Appa, need help with a hammer happy bad guy!" She smiled as Appa swooped down, grabbing the brute in his gigantic foot before dropping him overboard.
Aang quickly ran over and leaped onto Appa's head. "Thanks for the rescue buddy!" he said happily.
Tyrn leaped onto his saddle. "Come on! It looks like the waterbenders will finish this up!" she said, glancing at the Water Tribe boats coming towards them. Aang nodded as he got the reins and directed Appa to fly off, leaving the ship as it was being hoisted out of the water by large icicles.
The two airbender's faces changed to horror as they saw the massive Fire Nation navy ahead of them. There were literally over 50 navy ships in formation, fireballs ready to be lit and launched.
Tyrn groaned as she took in the sight, while Aang just looked at it incredulously. "You have GOT to be kidding me!" he exclaimed.
Mira stood with the others as they were briefed by Chief Arnook, spears in their hands. The other men looked at her curiously, she being the only girl in the room, but she just ignored them as she looked at Arnook.
"Men…and Mira," Mira grinned as Sokka gave her a thumbs up while Arnook continued, "You will be infiltrating the Fire Nation navy. You will all need to wear these uniforms." He gestured to Hahn, who was wearing an outdated navy uniform.
Everyone turned to Mira and Sokka, who were snickering. "What's your guys' problem?" Hahn asked snobbishly.
Sokka pointed at the uniform. "Fire Navy uniforms don't look like that."
Hahn narrowed his eyes. "What the heck are you talking about, these are actual uniforms captured from actual Fire Navy soldiers."
"Yeah, when spikes that could poke your eyes out were all the rage." Mira said sarcastically as she and Sokka walked up to Hahn.
Sokka looked over the uniform. "When did you acquire these uniforms?" Sokka asked Arnook.
"85 years ago, I believe." Arnook replied.
Mira flicked at the spiky shoulder pads. "The Fire Navy doesn't use spikes on their shoulder pads anymore, they're more streamlined."
Hahn looked irritatedly at Mira. "How do we know we can trust you two? Such bold talk from new recruits…and girls." Mira and Sokka glared at Hahn, who glared right back.
Arnook frowned upon Hahn's behavior. "Sokka is from our sister tribe, and while Mira may be a woman, both she and Sokka and more than capable for this mission, and I value their input." Sokka looked smugly at Hahn when Arnook spoke.
"Now, our first objective is to identify their commanding officer." Arnook raised an eyebrow when Mira raised her hand. "Yes, Mira?"
"His name is Zhao." Mira recalled from watching the series.
Sokka added to Mira's statement. "Middle aged, big sideburns, bigger temper…" he grinned at the last part.
"He looks sort of like a monkey if you look at him straight on." Mira continued.
Arnook nodded. "Sokka and Mira, I want both of you to tell everything you know to Hahn. He is leading this mission. And Hahn, I expect you to show both of them your respect. I wouldn't expect nothing less from my future son-in-law." He told them before walking out of the room.
Sokka gaped at Hahn. "Princess Yue is marrying you?"
Hahn looked indifferent. "Yeah, what of it?"
Sokka turned away, a scowl on his face. "Nothing…congratulations." He turned away to start sharpening the spears for battle.
"Why?" Hahn turned to Mira, who had a look of disgust on her face. "Why the heck are you marrying Yue?"
Hahn shrugged as he sharpened his knife. "I've dated a lot of girls in my past, but Yue is the finest." Mira felt a vein pop up on her forehead as he continued. "And she comes with the most perks."
"Perks?" Sokka yelled as Mira clenched her fist.
"I mean, Yue is nice and everything, but the points with the Chief isn't bad either." Hahn smirked as he examined his knife before picking up another one.
Sokka glared down as his axe. "Princess Yue is wasted on a self-absorbed jerk like you." he stated angrily.
Hahn raised an eyebrow at Sokka. "Whoa, wait! What do you care?" he asked suspiciously. "You're just a simple peasant from the Southern Water Tribe, an outcast who doesn't know the political complexities of OUR life, no offense." he finished with a smirk. "Who cares about marrying for love? I could care less if Yue jumped off a bridge...after we get married, of course."
Hahn was taken off guard as Mira and Sokka tackled him in fury. He tried to hold off Mira's punches as she yelled at him. "How DARE you try and take advantage of Yue like that, you SEXIST MACHOISTIC PIG!"
Sokka joined her in wrestling Hahn. "You're just a jerk without a soul, no offense!" the outraged warrior shouted. The three of them rolled around on the floor for a few minutes until a loud voice halted their actions.
"THAT'S ENOUGH." Chief Arnook yanked Hahn away from Sokka and Mira. "Sokka and Mira, you two are off the mission."
"What?" Mira yelled. "It was his fault!" she pointed at Hahn, who was smirking. But Chief Arnook didn't hear her as he walked away.
"Alright, fall in men!" Hahn called out in his jerkiness. "Everyone listen to what I say and we'll show that Admiral Cho who's boss!" he smirked at Sokka and Mira before walking away.
Sokka yelled exasperatedly after him. "It's Admiral ZHAO!" Both of them crossed their arms in anger as the men left the room.
"God, I'd love to punch that jerk's pompous ego right into the ocean." Mira muttered, and then sighed. "Sorry I went and picked a fight with him. I should've told you to stay out of it."
Sokka shook his head. "Nah, its fine. Either way I was going to take him out. By the way, remind me never to get on your bad side, you punch hard…for a girl." he joked.
Mira rolled her eyes. "Don't mess with me, I can kick your butt faster than the Kyoshi Warriors did." she stated, the power of the Ocean Spirit in her eyes as she spoke.
Sokka laughed nervously as they idly sharpened their weapons; Sokka his boomerang and Mira a short katana. "I'll keep that in mind."
Yue and Katara observed the ships as the fireballs raining on the city slowly stopped. "They've stopped firing." Yue stated, and both of them looked up when a familiar furry bison appeared over the gates.
"Aang, Tyrn!" Katara yelled, and both of them ran down to meet the two. They were surprised to see Tyrn handing the reins, Aang heaving from exhaustion next to her.
Appa tiredly laid down as Aang slid down Appa's leg. "I can't do it…I can't do it." Aang whispered, hugging his knees.
"What happened?" Katara asked worriedly.
Tyrn sighed as she flew down next to Aang, sitting next to him. "There were so many of those ships…Aang and I tried to do too much." she stated, her weariness shown in her slumped shoulders.
Aang held his head in his hands. "We must've taken down a dozen Fire Navy ships each, but there was just too many of them." He looked down, upset and worn out.
"But…" Yue clasped her hands. "You have to! You're the Avatar!" She looked at Tyrn. "And you're one of the last airbenders, you have to!"
Aang just shook his head, hiding his head in his arms. Tyrn wearily put a hand on his shoulder. "We're just kids." she said softly, heartbroken to see Aang almost break down. Katara helped both of them up and helped support them as the group of four walked up to the palace.
The moon was high up in the sky after Aang and Tyrn had taken a well-needed nap. Tyrn yawned as she got up and stretched, feeling her neck crack. She got up and walked out to the terrace, leaning against the ledge as she stared at the moon.
Tyrn heard the door open behind her and turned her head, seeing Aang rub his eyes as he walked out. "How was your nap?" she asked.
Aang shrugged. "It was good. Yours?" he asked in return.
Tyrn looked down. "Not that great." She sighed as she looked out. "You know, even though it's great being an airbender, it's tough to know that everyone expects me to do more since I'm the only one besides you." She stopped for a moment. "Maybe I should do more, you know, since I know more about what's going to happen." she said guiltily.
"Now you know how I feel." Aang stated, placing his arms on the ledge. "But no one expects you to do more because you KNOW more." he assured her. "Just refer to it when you need to, like what you did with Jet."
Tyrn nodded. "I try to block out the episodes most of the time, and it's not that hard when all of this is happening." she smiled lightly. "Who has time to remember when you're busy screwing with the Fire Navy ships?" The two smiled at each other as they recalled their tactics of stopping the ships.
The two turned to find Katara and Yue walk up to them. "Oh, you guys are up!" Katara placed a hand on the railing as she faced them. "Are you guys feeling better?"
Aang smiled at her. "Much better, actually." He sighed as he turned to look out again. "I wish we could come up with a better way to take out the ships, though."
"Yeah, I mean, fooling around with their fireball launchers is fun, but it gets way to tiring and tedious after the first seven ships." Tyrn agreed. "I wish the moon could help us, it's a pretty powerful waterbender all on its own."
Yue nodded. "Our legends say that the moon was the first waterbender, and our ancestors saw how it manipulated the tides and learned how to do it themselves."
Katara looked thoughtful. "I always noticed how my waterbending is stronger at night."
Yue continued. "Our strength comes from the spirit of the moon; our life comes from the spirit of the ocean. They work together to keep balance." she explained.
"The spirits!" The three girls raised an eyebrow when Aang perked up excitedly. "Maybe I can find them and get their help!"
The princess looked confused. "How can you do that?"
"The Avatar is the bridge between our world and the spirit world. Aang can talk to them!" Katara revealed to Yue.
Yue suddenly grew hopeful. "Maybe they can give you the wisdom to win this battle!"
"Or maybe they'll unleash a crazy awesome spirit attack on the Fire Nation!" Aang gestured widely.
Katara and Yue just stared at him as Tyrn giggled. "That might be truer than you know…" Tyrn murmured to herself.
Aang blinked. "Or wisdom…wisdom's good too." he said sheepishly.
"There's a problem." They looked at Katara. "Last time you got to the Spirit World it was an accident. How are you going to get there this time?"
Yue smiled. "I have an idea. Follow me!" she turned and started walking, Tyrn just smiling knowingly at Katara and Aang before following Yue.
"Hello, spirits!" Tyrn said softly so that the others couldn't hear as she knelt down at the edge of the pond. The group had just discovered the warm, grassy Spirit Oasis behind the palace. She could almost swear that the Ocean Spirit looked knowingly at her for a second before resuming its dance.
Aang walked across from Tyrn at the small indent over the pond. "You're right Yue; this place is so peaceful. So…" he searched for the right word, "…tranquil!" He got into his meditating position and closed his eyes.
The three girls crept quietly behind Aang. A few minutes passed before the silence was broken.
"Why is he sitting like that?" Yue asked.
Katara whispered back. "He's meditating; trying to pass over into the Spirit World. It takes all of his concentration."
Yue shifted a little. "Is there anyway we can help?"
Aang whirled around exasperatedly. "How about some peace and quiet! Come on guys, I can hear every word you're saying." The two Water Tribe girls mumbled their apologies.
The group sat there for a few more minutes before Aang sighed again. "It's just not working!" he cried out.
"Hey Aang?" he turned to Tyrn, who had decided to interfere once again. "You notice how the fish are always swimming with each other?"
"Huh?" They all looked at the two black and white koi in the pond.
Yue shrugged. "I don't know why they do that…it's almost like they're two halves of a whole I guess."
Aang stared at the dancing koi. "Two halves…" The fish swam before his eyes, slowly merging to form a Ying Yang symbol before he was consumed by a light.
The girls' eyes widened when Aang's tattoos and eyes lit up in a bright, electric blue light. "What's happening?" Yue asked worriedly. "Is he alright?"
Katara nodded. "He's crossing over to the Spirit World." She looked slightly concerned. "He'll be fine as long as we don't move his body. That's his way back into the real world."
Yue still hesitated. "Maybe we should get some help?"
"Look, he's our friend." Tyrn assured her. "Two benders who are almost masters are perfectly capable of protecting him." Katara and Tyrn smiled at each other.
"Well…aren't you two big girls now." They all whirled around to see Zuko stalking over the bridge, panting and soaked to the bone.
Tyrn groaned. "What are you, a stalker?" she said irritatedly. Both Katara and Tyrn got into a fighting position as Yue ran off to get Sokka and Mira.
Zuko roared as he kicked and punched fire blasts at Tyrn, who deflected them each time with whirling kicks. Katara ran forward and bended a large torrent of water from the pond, sending it straight into the Fire Nation prince.
He spat out the water as he got up. "I see you two learned some new tricks. But I didn't come this far to lose to you!"
He blasted another fiery shot at Katara, who shielded herself with a water shield. She let out a grunt as she pushed Zuko back against the wall. Katara glared fiercely as she went through a complex technique, making Tyrn widen her eyes as she encased Zuko in an icy dome-like prison.
"You little peasant…" Zuko spat out venomously as he increased the heat inside the dome. "You've found a master, haven't you?" He yelled as the dome exploded, sending its icy shards all over as Zuko leaped out, attacking the two once again.
Katara and Zuko fended off each other's element as Zuko inched closer and closer to Aang. Throwing the waterbender off-balance, Zuko quickly ran over and just managed to grab the back of Aang's collar.
Unfortunately for him, he forgot that Tyrn was in the area. "Get away from him!" she screeched as she let out a mighty tornado, sweeping Zuko up against the opposite cliff. Katara quickly bended large waves to hold him against the cliff, 20 feet high off the ground in a spiky icicle hill that was similar to the one she conjured against her sparring partner much earlier.
Tyrn and Katara sighed in relief as Zuko appeared to be knocked out from the attack. They landed on the ground in exhaustion as they took in a breath.
"Operation: Protect Aang has been successful so far!" Tyrn smiled as she looked at Katara.
"Uh, not for long!" Katara said worriedly, as she pointed behind her. Tyrn and Katara gasped as Zuko suddenly awoke, melting the spikes holding him and slid down the slope. They quickly got up to defend themselves, but as Zuko unleashed a powerful fire blow, they were each knocked into the wooden poles, rendering them unconscious.
Tyrn opened her eyes a little as her head pounded, and her eyes widened a little as she saw Zuko grab Aang. She watched in pain as Zuko started to escape. "You rise with the moon…I rise with the sun." Tyrn heard Zuko state as he disappeared from sight.
The injured airbender just laid on the ground as the pain in her skull slowly died down to a dull ache. Tyrn stayed there for a couple of minutes before finally deciding on what she should do.
"Don't worry, Aang. I'm coming."
Dun dun DUUUUUUUUUUUUN...
Please leave me reviews on what you thought of this chappie! In the next chapter we will continue the Siege of the North and wrap it up. Notice how I didn't say wrap up Book 1 just yet...*coughHINTcough*
Until then, ciao!