Chapter 41: Siege of the North, Part 3

Ground Floor

If it weren't for them being held up by Aldo stopping to re-tie his bootlaces, they would have blundered right into a nest of razor sharp ice barriers strung across the room. As it were, the clouds parted for the briefest of moments, before hiding its face behind the clouds as if it knew of the bloodbath that was to stain the capital of the Northern Water Tribe.

"Agni almighty." Jahan muttered to himself. With them stacked in single file in the hallway between two doors, a stairwell and a window, it was the perfect killing zone. With hand signals, he motioned to them to get low in case there was an ambush. Breathing deeply, he placed his hand flat against the wall and sent a pulse of heat radiating through, trying to sense if there were nasty surprises set up. Pulling his hand away from the wall, he noticed it was unusually damp.

In an instant, a long thin icicle sliced the tendons in his hand clean in half. Figuring there was definitely someone behind the wall, he unloaded a full magazine into the wall, tearing a kuai ball sized hole. Dropping the pistol on the floor, he unleashed a jet of flame into the vent hole that suffocated the occupants as his indigo flames greedily consumed the oxygen in the air.

First blood may have gone to the Agni Kai, but the first two to be sent to the Spirit Realm was a young Wolf and his Agni Kai handler. With Jiro bounding over the rest to perform triage, Ursa, Jia Ling and Takashi laid into the other side of the wall while Aldo ventilated the ceiling above. For a moment, it sounded as if multiple people were stapling together papers as fast as humanly possible, before the inevitable click and the muted sounds of the dying and wounded filled the air, along with the familiar smell of fireworks.

With a clacking of metal on metal, Aldo now moved to the front of the train and examined the barrier before him. Summoning a small flame on his fingertip to give some illumination, he snuffed it out when he realised the barrier before them was not made of water, but out of highly flammable petrol. Turning back, he told them as much and all decided it was wise to retreat into the room Jahan had just cleared to regroup and rethink their strategy.

Basement level

Having ducked into a nearby room, Katara sat Kiyi down and performed a more thorough checkup on Kiyi's condition after handing her a new pair of pants to replace her torn leggings. Focusing on manipulating the water she obtained from the adjoining sink, she worked on the bruising her throat and mouth suffered, using it as a flimsy excuse to not look Kiyi in the eye.

After all, how could she when she allowed her to be violently abused while she hid in the shadows, justifying it to herself at the time that stepping in would have gotten them both killed had he noticed she'd escape.

How hollow and selfish it sounded now when she took in the aftermath of what happened, as if the pleas and cries weren't already now hounding her every waking moment like a self-destructive pack of polar bear dogs nipping away at the carcass of her mental fortitude.

Noticing Katara's behaviour, Kiyi asked in a hoarse whisper "Katara, a-are you okay? You haven't been able to look me in the eye, what's going on. Are you okay?"

Are you okay? A simple three word liner that should have been easy to answer but it was the last thing Katara wanted to hear. Even after all she suffered, she has the heart to ask if I'm okay. How can I even answer her? How?

Losing her composure, the ball of water started to tremble and quake, her body language telling, no, screaming out what her lips and tongue refrained, no stubbornly refused to utter.

"Your hands are shaking Kat, tell me, what's wrong Kat? I promise I won't tell anyone." she asked again, clasping Katara's hands in hers. Like a dam about to burst open, the only warning sign was a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth before the inevitable flood that was to follow.

With that, the dam broke and Katara shook off Kiyi's grasp, only to cling tightly to Kiyi as the tears now flowed like the driving snow, apologies spilling forth from her as she buried her head at her feet as if begging for forgiveness.

"Sorry? Sorry for what? I don't understand, tell me Katara!" she asked, taken aback and concerned by her sudden outburst.

"I can't, but I'm sorry Kiyi, I can't, I really can't tell you. Not, not, unless you plan to kill me afterwards."

"Are you even listening to yourself Kat?"

"I-I should have done something, but I hid! I heard everything, a-and-and I just hid there like a coward! I should have stepped in-or-or-Spirits I'm sorry Kiyi!" she half screamed, half whispered.

"Look at me."

"No! How can I?!"

"Spirits damn it Ki, I said no!"
"Katara, look at me! I'm still here, I'm still alive, which means on some level, I'm still fine."

"But he-he did all these things to you! How can you be fine?! You're not fine!"

"Then tell me what do you want me to do?"

"Tui and La, I don't know!'

"Kill you to put you out of your guilt and misery? What will that solve? Killing you doesn't undo what he did to me. Neither does burning you. That you have to live with your actions for the rest of your life is punishment enough, I think."

"But-"

"Not now. Focus on the task at hand, we'll talk about this later."

"I-"

"What part of not now do you not fucking understand! You losing focus will get us both killed!" Kiyi hoarsely whispered back, her nerves and temper starting to get frayed as the need for survival took precedence over her other emotions despite her current condition.

Grabbing Katara's by the cheeks, she forced her to look her in the eye and stated "If you really, really, really wanted to make it up to me, I suggest you focus on the task at hand because right now I have a fucking score to settle and you wallowing in guilt isn't getting me any damn closer, you hear me?"

Southeastern Oblast

Northern Water Tribe

"The hell you standing there, let's go and the hell out of here!" Miska shouted, rousing them into action. Turning to his superior, he asked "Boss, what do we do about him?" gesturing to the bound man.

In response, Hahn flicked the safety off his weapon and pushed it all the way to automatic, before unloading half a magazine's worth into the man, smashing his chest and face and leaving a bloody mangled mess.

"What was that for? He wasn't a threat!" Aang protested.

"Taking him back to HQ would have been pointless, people like him would never break. Besides, he would be dead weight dragging us down."

"What was he going to do? Make a break for it? Try to strangle us with his bare hands? Monkeyfeathers the bastard's tied up as it were! It was impossible for him to make an escape!"

"You don't know that. Now let's go, else we won't get a chance to debate if we're all dead!" With that, they hastily made their way to the vehicle with Zuko, Bulan, Aang and Hahn in the front while Miska, Azula and Sokka sat facing the rear, weapons drawn in case any of them tried to get close. Turning the ignition, the engine whined and protested, only just beginning to warm up after being left out in the cold for a while. As seconds turned into minutes, the whirr of engines and the frenzied yelps and barks of the polar bear dogs.

"Agni almighty Zuko get us out of here!"
"Just need a few more seconds!"

"We don't have a few more seconds! They're going to be right on top of us!"

Sensing no other choice, Azula thrust her weapon into Sokka's hands and ordered him "Cover me, I'm going to try and buy Zuzu his fucking precious seconds! You owe me big time, you hear that Zuzu!"

"But- ah shit!" Sokka responded and he began to engage the leading elements of the hunting party arrayed against them while Azula hopped down and began to summon the largest lightning bolt she could, her hands moving in a circular motion as she steadily built a massive charge of 'cold fire' in her hands, eyes furrowed in concentration as a slip up here meant they were all going to be at best, heavily concussed; worst case scenario would leave a smoking crater where they stood.

The first shots arrayed against them went wide, as snowmobile and polar bear dogs did not make for the most stable of firing platforms. However, with the gap ever diminishing, the incoming fire grew more and more accurate as well as varied in its delivery format, ranging from small fireballs zipping past at breakneck speeds, to frozen darts that landed precariously close to where Azula was standing.

With bullets, fireballs and icicles raining forth, Miska and Sokka's efforts in suppressing fire had at least knocked out one rider and kept some of the more daring ones at bay with bullet holes. Soon, metal was beginning to be chipped away and scorch marks left wide black streaks on the paint. Just as the boys were down to their last few rounds in their magazine, Azula took in one more deep breath and let fly with the bolt, aiming at the largest concentration of enemy forces she could see.

As the bolt left her fingers, time seemed to slow down to a glacial crawl as hunter and hunted was bathed in the cold unfeeling white of lightning, before speeding back up like a bat out of hell as men, machine and animal were either incinerated, burned or electrocuted by the impact of the lightning strike. However, the resultant sonic boom knocked both Miska and Sokka flat on their backs with a crash, as their weapons clattered on the truck bed while Azula smacked into the bumper and crumpled to the ground in an ungainly heap, the concussion of hitting against the vehicle and the massive toll on her chi all but ensured her passing out.

Dazed, Sokka noticed a crumpled heap that resembled Azula laying on the ground. Somehow, he fought through the fog, crawling inch by inch as ear splitting headaches and ringing in his ears threatened to break his hold on reality. Scooping up the limp body, he struggled to clamber back up, every movement an ordeal. With loud slaps on the sheet metal, Zuko gunned it and they sped back to civilization and the nearest medical facility.

Back in the room, Aldo improvised a breaching charge using whatever grenades they had on hand, some water and a piece of metal they scrounged from somewhere.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Jiro asked.

"We can spend the time to disarm every Agni-damned booby trap in this house of horrors or we could make our own entrance. Given we have two hostages to rescue, I'd suggest the latter."

"What if we blew a hole right over their cell and injured them in the process?" Takashi questioned

"It's a risk I'm willing to take. Now everyone get in the bathtub, I'm going to blow it."

A loud bang and the crunch of wood being kinetically dismantled signalled a success, as his improvised breaching charge blew a home large enough for a man to hop in. Peering through the smoke and dust, Jia Ling and Jahan dropped two flashbangs for good measure, all but ensuring the occupants, if any were deaf, stunned and blind when they entered. Jumping into the hole first was Aldo, followed by Takashi, Jiro and Ursa, with Jia Ling and Jahan pulling rear security.

When they had all entered the room, Jiro peeked out of the door, half expecting a bullet to nail him in the head as by now, the occupants would know for sure that they had unwanted guests which needed to be ejected from the premises with lethal force. Besides, any element of stealth had since taken a short walk into the canal after Aldo's stunt. Seeing that the coast was clear, he motioned for them to stack up behind him. Creeping up to the nearest door, they prepared to clear it when the sound of a door creaking behind them had them wheeling on the balls of their feet to the source of the noise. Staring down back at the fireteam with guns drawn, was Kiyi with a bright orange hue around her free hand, and Katara with a lethal array of icicles waiting to burrow themselves into human flesh at the slightest provocation.

For a moment, Ursa could hardly believe the girl in front of her was the same person she had sent off almost a month and a half ago. Where the Kiyi she sent off was bright eyed, full of life and intelligence with a spark of mischief in her golden eyes, the one standing before her was in a sorry state, the spark of mischievousness and energy had been replaced with the cold hungry void of revenge, violence and tragedy, hair in a mess and bloodshot eyes.

"Put down your weapons!" Jahan ordered.

"Not a fucking chance, you asswipes."

"I'm not asking again, lower your weapons."

"Stand down."

"What?"

"I said stand down." Ursa repeated.

"M-mom? Is-is that, you?" Kiyi asked, voice still hoarse from the assault. At that moment, the door they had been stacked up against flung open and a Wolf stepped forward with a sawn off scattergat. Instinct took over and his finger squeezed on the trigger, spraying the air with lethal buckshot in a large pattern as the fireteam dived out of the , Takashi was caught in the middle of the spread and tens of steel pellets perforated his coat and thin vest, grinding his internal organs into a pulp and breaking bones before flinging his lifeless corpse against the wall.

As the fireteam stared in shock at the sudden but violent demise of Takashi, Kiyi and Katara burnt and speared the Wolf, bringing him to his knees screaming from burn wounds and clutching his side where an ice dart had plunged itself. Then he saw and felt no more as more darts cut bloody swaths through his internals, making him look like a human pincushion before a screaming fireball severed his brain stem.

As the man lay dead in a pool of blood, exhaustion finally caught up to Kiyi and she too fell to the floor. At once, Ursa ran forth and cradled her daughter in her arms, clutching her tightly as if she would dematerialize if she loosened her grip just a little. "What did they do you sweetie?" she asked an unconscious Kiyi, noticing the faint bruises around her throat and wrists.

"Ma'am we have to go, this place isn't safe." Jahan's voice cut through.

"Right." she answered as if in a daze, trying to reconcile the bubbly and confident child she sent off a month and a half ago with the broken and bruised body laying in her arms.

From their vantage point, he could hear the wail of sirens getting closer and closer and considered his options. He could cut his losses and retreat to the compound, where he would then sail with the cargo to the Earth Kingdom or stand and duke it out with the Northern Water Tribe in all out war. Neither option seemed appealing as the former would all but guarantee he had to obey every command and whim of the Earth King, which meant in actuality acting as the expendable proxy of the Dai Li and their leader, who was the true power behind the throne.

The second option would result in him either being killed in action or being handed over to the not-so tender mercies of the Northern Water Tribe, with enhanced interrogation techniques being liberally experimented with at the cost of his physical wellbeing and sanity, before some prison guards would be paid to look the other way as a Fire Nation assassin terminated his journey upon the mortal coil.

On the other hand, he would only be nominally beholden to his Dai Li handler/agent should he actually succeed in slipping away from the NWT. There, he could effectively terminate their contract by dumping the Dai Li agent's body into the sea, where denizens of the deep would all but ensure his body would never be found.

"Sir, should we blow it now?" a foot soldier asked him, rousing him from his thoughts.

"No, not yet. Let the police get closer first, then blow it."

"Yes sir."

" 'Zula, can you hear me? Are you awake? 'Zu, hello? Sokka to Azula, can you hear me?"

A tight slap echoed in the small room, followed by a very annoyed growl "Spirits will you shut the fuck up? Agni, my head is pounding." she replied, eyes adjusting to the dim yellow lights as she clutched her head. Feeling something was off, she patted around and felt bandages instead of hair. Turning around, she spotted Sokka rubbing his cheek and mumbling something about her and her penchant for hitting him rather violently.

"Oh shit sorry Sokka! I didn't know it was you. I-I didn't hit you too hard, did I?"

"What do you think, firefly?"

"Oops?"

"I appreciate it very much if your default action was not hitting your fiance in the face when he calls you."

"Sorry." she blushed.

"Anyways, doc said you had a nasty concussion and a large cut on your head, which is pretty lucky considering you did kinda slam against the tailgate super hard.. Also, he said something about overworking your chi, whatever that means. All I know is, you were out cold for like twenty hours straight, I thought you wouldn't wake up." he answered, before picking up a tray of mochi from the bedside table and continuing to munch away.

"I am now. Where's Zuzu and the rest of the gang?"

"They're all sleeping right now."

"What's that you're eating Sokka?"

"This? It's mochi. Didn't think I'd find it all the way up here this far north." he replied.

"Ahem." she uttered, folding her arms in displeasure and fixing him with a glare.

"What? Is there something on my face? Oh yeah, that reminds me, he told me to bring you to see a professional in Agna Q'ela. There's only so much he can do this far from civilization." he replied with his mouth full.

Seeing her face grow more displeased by the second, he asked "Stop giving me that look, if you got a problem just spit it out."

"I'm giving you ten seconds to figure it out, then I'm crispifying your ass, doctor's orders or not." she growled, before clutching the side of her head as a headache slammed into her.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a concerned tone

"What." "Do." "You." "Think."

"No?"

"So why are you sitting there?"

"Oh, right!" he squeaked, before exiting the room to find some painkillers and water. Seizing the opportunity, she staggered off the bed and wolfed down the remaining mochi, before climbing back on to the bed contentedly. When Sokka returned with a glass of water and some painkillers, he spotted his tray of treats was now mysteriously empty and a suspiciously content Azula resting against the headrest.

"Azula?"

"Hmm?"

"Did anyone come in here?"

"I don't know Sokka."

Raising an eyebrow, he placed the pills and the glass on her bedside, before giving her an unexpected kiss. Breaking apart, he licked his lips before commenting "You know, that was the last tray of mochi they sold in that vending machine."

"Well that's a shame."

"Did you change lip balm flavours recently?" he asked. Curious at the seemingly abrupt change of topic, she replied "No, I've always used cherry and honey flavoured lip balm. Why do you ask?"

"Because your lips taste suspiciously like mochi."

"Are you sure it isn't you?"

"Pretty sure there were three pieces left."

"Who knows, maybe Aang might have eaten it." she shrugged.

"Aang's got a sweet tooth for sure, but he likes cream puffs, not mochi. Besides, the rest of them are in the hallway sleeping."

"Maybe he's got a sleepwalking condition we don't know about."

"Tell me, have you ever seen him sleepwalking before? You've worked with him longer than I have."

"No, but then again Sokka I'm a princess, I need my beauty sleep."

"Admit it, you ate them, didn't you?"

"What? Me? Come on Sokka, surely you don't think I ate your mochi, do you?" she replied, feigning innocence and putting on her best puppy eyes. Unfortunately, Sokka wasn't fooled by her attempts.

"You could have just asked you know." he replied, sounding rather displeased.

"I'm sorry, but you were going to finish off that whole tray in front of me. I had to do something."

"Like I said, you could have just asked instead of glaring at me like I pissed you off or something. Seriously, it wouldn't kill you to open your mouth and ask. I'm not telepathic you know."

"Well now you know. If I ever see you eating mochi, you are to give at least half to me. No exceptions. Do I make myself clear?"

"What do you mean, at least half?! Spirits 'Zula you can't be serious?!"

"Does this face look like it's joking, Sokka? Or do you need another asswhooping to get it into that pea brain of yours?"

"Are you really willing to beat up your fiance for mochi? Me, your loving fiance and the love of your life over some sticky rice flour cake?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Especially when a glutton like you is holding the tray." she replied matter of factly.

"That's not very nice."

"Gee Sokka, what were you thinking when you decided to shack yourself up with me?"

"See 'Zula, it's times like these when I ask myself the same questions."

"Well Sokka, it's a bit too late to back out now, so I suggest you get with the program and bring me my tribute of mochi. Understood?"

"Yes, Princess." he grumbled.

"You seem to be doing well."

"I was, until you finished off my mochi by faking a headache. Which need I remind you, was the last tray in the vending machine."

"Just so you know, that headache was real okay?! I might do many things for mochi, but faking headaches isn't on the list."

"Fine, fine, if you say so." Sokka huffed.

Seeing that he was most likely going to stay angry for the foreseeable future unless she apologized, Azula reluctantly swallowed her pride and asked "I'm sorry Sokka. I'll promise to ask next time, okay? Please don't get angry over mochi."

Hearing her swallow her pride and apologize, Sokka softened his heart and replied "I forgive you, this time. Just, tell me if you want it. I'll be more than happy to share."

"You will?"

"Anything to see you smile, firefly."

Grabbing him by the collar, Azula yanked him into a deep passionate kiss. Initially taken aback by her moves, he followed suit and wrapped his arms around her, keeping her head in place as their tongues swirled around, each one exploring the other's mouth. Breaking for air, each panted loudly and took in deep lungfuls.

"You know, you should switch up lip balm flavours every once in a while."

"If you can find me a mochi flavoured lip balm sure." she replied, leaning back on to her pillow.

"Sokka?"

"Yes firefly?"

"I love you."

"I love you too. Now get some rest, I have a feeling we're going to need all the benders we can get when we get back to Agna Q'ela." he replied, kissing her on her forehead.

"Sweet dreams, Princess Firefly."

"You too." she replied, kissing him on his nose, before giggling.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing. Just,"

"Just what?"

"Thinking about you makes me act like a schoolgirl with her first crush."

"Well, glad to know I have that effect on you. But really, you should rest. You got hit on your head pretty badly."

"Okay dad, I'm not a baby anymore."

"You are to me."

"Can you not be so sappy?"

"No. You'll just have to live with it, I suppose."

"One more thing."

"Yes?"

"Would you, um, stay with me? I can't sleep nowadays without you beside me." she asked, scooting over to make space for him.

"Well, how could I refuse?" he replied, before climbing on to the bed, whereupon Azula wrapped her arms and legs around him like a human teddy bear, before mumbling 'thank you' into his shoulder. Patting her gently on her head, he replied 'no problem' before his eyes too, grew heavy from the sounds of Azula softly snoring and he fell asleep, exhaustion crashing over him like a tidal wave.

"Boss, if we don't pull the trigger now, they'll get away!"

"Patience." he replied, watching the police launches pulling up to the docks. When it had disgorged its content of heavily armed law enforcement, he turned to his subordinate and ordered "Do it."

Inside, dust began to fall from the ceiling as the fireteam made their way up the steps, having been forced to leave Takashi's body behind in the interest of preserving the life of Katara and Kiyi. As their objective came into view, a loud explosion was heard behind them as a section of the wall was kinetically deconstructed at high speeds via explosive force, blowing a large hole and rendering Aldo and Jiro deaf and stunned. In front, another blast knocked Jahan and Jia Ling on their feet, knocking them out cold from the concussive blast. Son of a bitch rigged the whole Agni-damned house to blow. Fuck, it was a setup, Ursa thought to herself as another blast ripped the upper floor to shreds, eviscerating anyone and anything in its wake.

Outside, the brick walls exploded in a shower of stone fragments, smashing its way through five White Lotus militsiya members who were attached to the patrol before taking away the leg of a police officer from the knee down, shredding his calf. The ambassador's boat sustained damage to its windscreen and paint, but not much else, it's ceramic standoff armour bearing the brunt of the shrapnel blast.

"Clean up any survivors, dead men tell no tales."

"Yes sir."