I know I said only two more chapters, but it came down to this: I could post half this chapter now or I could make you wait (weeks? a month?) until I get the second half written. And if I were a reader, I'd prefer the half chapter now rather than waiting for the whole thing. Hopefully no one minds too much.

Chapter 42: Firestorm

Sokka dug his machete into the ice until he had created a small pile of ice shavings that he then crunched under the toe of his boot. It was a mindless, monotonous task, but one perfectly suited to his current state of nervous boredom.

He and his group of Water Tribe nonbenders were at their position behind the wall, enduring an unusual lull in the fighting. All day the Fire Nation troops had pressed their attack, much more ferociously than in previous days. It had taken all of the waterbenders' collective power to maintain the wall, and still the enemy had broken through in places.

But in the last hour, they had pulled back, and the attacks had slowed. And Sokka knew just as well as everyone else why that was.

Heglanced at the sky obsessively as they waited. It looked normal to him, but he had no idea what he was looking for. Would it be obvious when the comet arrived? Would the firebenders really gain a hundredfold increase in their bending powers? Or was that just a myth?

And if it was true, how long would they be able to hold the North Pole?

But then the sky began to darken, and an unearthly red glow took over the sky. The hair on the back of his neck began to prickle as a streak of fire appeared in the sky. It was white-hot in the middle, fading into yellow and orange at the edges, and from that point on, there was no holding back the floodgates.

The Fire Nation soldiers poured over the walls, steamrolling past anyone in their way. The fire they produced was unlike anything Sokka had ever seen. The wall melted beneath their hands, and while he had planned to bravely stand his ground no matter what, that proved physically impossible.

Because as the Fire Nation troops advanced, they were slowly melting the ice that supported the city.

And all the while, more soldiers came: in little rowboats, in amphibious tanks, even using their firebending to fly through the air. They had known this fight would be one-sided, but the reality was even worse than he had imagined.

The firebenders on their side pushed past the other, largely useless, troops. They met fire for fire, and though they were outnumbered, they slowed the advance.

"Sokka!"

He swiveled around and saw Suki jogging up to him. Despite the seriousness of the situation, he went red to the tips of his ears.

"Uh, hi."

She grabbed his hand and tugged on it, pulling him along with her until they were well behind the front line.

What did she want? This wasn't the time for heartfelt confessions. It was war. Not to mention that he hadn't spoken to Yue yet, and he hadn't even decided-

"Do you know where Fire Lord Zuko is?"

Oh.

"Yeah, Katara took him to the Spirit Oasis. He was pretty messed up."

"Is he okay now?"

"Probably better than before? But I have no idea. Why?"

Suki's brows knit together, and she glanced behind her with a worried frown. "Because Fire Lord Iroh is asking to see him."

"Fire Lord - what?!"

"Yeah, I know. It was like seeing a ghost."

"But how-"

A commotion from behind them cut him off, as they both ducked behind an ice sculpture, their weapons raised.

Marching into the heart of the city, surrounded by Azula and a contingent of firebenders, was Ozai. A large group of their own forces - Kyoshi Warriors, nonbenders, firebenders, and waterbenders, but oddly no earthbenders - formed a half circle in an attempt to halt his progress. They stopped a good ways back from him, the tense anxiety on their faces betraying their fear.

It had only been a few minutes, and the comet was going to last all day. They were all goners.

Ozai raised his hands, and his voice boomed across the ice.

"To those Fire Nation soldiers who have been misled by the errant and traitorous Prince Zuko: return to me now, and you will face no further punishment for your crimes. If you do not, you will be destroyed like those you fight beside." His face hardened. "You will obey your Fire Lord or die."

"It is not your right to decide, Ozai!"

The voice echoed across the ice, and Ozai visibly whitened.

"It can't be," he gasped as a wizened, portly man stepped out from behind a group of Fire Nation soldiers.

"Is that Iroh?" he whispered.

Suki nodded. "Yeah, that's him."

"Wow. Zuko's… well, Zuko's whatever-he-is."

"Huh?"

He shook his head. "Never mind. I've got to find Zuko. He needs to see this."

But before he could go, Suki grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Sokka… be careful." She smiled shyly - an unusual look for her. "Chief Arnook and his daughter are counting on you."

He held her eyes for a moment longer, then nodded silently and pulled away.

As he ran for the Spirit Oasis, he played her words over in his mind. She knew about his arrangement with Yue. The way her voice leaned into the word "daughter" made him sure of it. Yet she hadn't seemed upset. Was this her way of setting aside what they'd had - or might have had - and giving him permission to be with Yue?

It was simultaneously like a blow to the gut and a weight off his shoulders. He liked Suki - a lot. And maybe if things had turned out differently, they would have been perfect for each other.

But Toph had been right: he hadn't been able to commit to one of them. And if he was right about what her words meant, Suki had just made that decision for him. It was just like her to be decisive, to accept her loss gracefully. And not to drag out something that was never going to work out in the first place.

"Yes, who indeed?"

Mai stared at Ty Lee in horror for a full second before Zuko took a step forward, pushing her behind him and out of Ty Lee and Zhao's direct line of sight.

"Listen, Ty Lee," Ling said, his words tumbling out one after the other, "I can explain."

"I'm sure you can," she replied, her face twisting into a sneer. "But I'm not here to listen to your excuses. I'm here to do a job."

"You don't have to do this," he pleaded. "Azula wants you to help her. And you know what I think about it. Please, be reasonable."

"Is the princess' little pet a traitor?" Zhao curled his lip. "We must alert the Fire Lord."

In front of her, Zuko struck a firebending pose. "Thanks, but I was already aware."

He let out a bark of laughter and strode to the pool. "Very funny, boy." He reached a hand towards the pond, but paused as the sky turned to blood.

"Ah," he smiled. "Right on schedule."

"Step away from the pond, Zhao," Zuko said, breathing in deeply. In the glow of the comet he radiated power.

She practically shivered at the thought of what his comet-fueled bending would look like. She felt certain Zuko could take on everyone in that grove single-handedly, including the other firebenders. It was a heady thought.

The only thought that could supersede it was that Ty Lee was here, and she had not counted on seeing her up close. At least until the battle was over.

When they could sit down and talk instead of being forced to attack each other. She was glad Zuko had had the presence of mind to hide her. But she was useless back here, and she hated that. And she was continuing to deceive her friend, and she hated that even more.

Worse, at some point in this confrontation, she would have to make herself known. And when that happened, when Ty Lee learned what she had done… it might not be pretty. So she wasn't going to do that until the perfect moment.

That time might not come for a while, because the stand-off between the two groups seemed to be never-ending. Zhao, Zuko, and Ty Lee all seemed to be waiting for someone else to make the first move.

If someone didn't do something soon-

"Zuko!" Sokka stumbled in through the door, skidding to a stop when he saw the assembled group and their fighting stances. "Oh," he began hesitantly. "Sorry, looks like you're busy here. I wouldn't have bothered you except Suki said it was important and then she showed me, and-"

"What's the problem, Sokka," Zuko said, his jaw set and his eyes never leaving Zhao's.

"Your uncle - uh, father - Fire Lord Iroh! - he's fighting Ozai. Near the wall. I just thought you should know."

"He's here?" His voice was hoarse, and his head turned the barest fraction away from Zhao.

At the same moment, Ty Lee's jaw dropped. "But... Fire Lord Iroh is dead!"

And that was her cue. Mai pushed her way past Zuko, giving him a shove towards Sokka.

"Go," she said, brandishing a handful of stiletto knives. "I'll handle this."

He glanced back at her for a moment, brows furrowed, then ran for the exit, followed by Aki, Yuto, and Lee.

At that moment, three things happened: Zhao reached into the pool and pulled out one of the fish; Ty Lee gave a guttural cry and ran full speed at Mai, and the moon - already hanging in a red-tinged sky - turned to blood.

"No!" Yue cried, her hands flying to her head as if the red moon caused her physical pain. "Stop!"

Mai acted on instinct. She dove out of Ty Lee's way, rolling on the ground until she had a clear line of sight to Zhao. Using her momentum, she flung a stiletto at his wrist.

He cried out, but instead of dropping the fish back into the pond, his hand clenched around it tighter.

That was all the time she had for Zhao, because once again Ty Lee was rushing at her.

She pushed herself off the ground and prayed that she had better luck today than she did most times they sparred.

Dodge, dodge, block, jump. Why was Ty Lee so fast?

From the corner of her eye she saw Sokka and Ling deep in battle with Zhao, but she couldn't focus on that because -

"I'm sorry," she gasped, barely dodging the fist aimed at her shoulder. "I'm sorry!"

Tears streamed down Ty Lee's face. "You tricked me! You made me believe-" She let out another cry, but this one was filled with anguish. "How could you do that to me?"

She stumbled as she tried to avoid the next attack, and fell to the ground. Without thinking, she pushed off in another direction and scrambled to her feet. She had escaped that one by the skin of her teeth, but she was flagging; this would be over soon.

"I had to save Zuko," she panted.

"You could have told me!" She paused, her limbs shaking with fury.

It was the perfect opportunity. All it would take was one well-aimed blade, and the fight could be over. If she just threw it now-

Instead, she hesitated. In order to end the fight, it would have to be a life-threatening injury. And she couldn't.

It wasn't that she was afraid of injuring, or even killing people. She had done her share of that while fighting alongside Azula. But the thought of doing it to Ty Lee, even if it was the only option... She'd already hurt her enough.

Her hesitation cost her dearly. In the next moment, Ty Lee landed a blow on her left elbow.

The pain was quick and fleeting. As the pain faded, so did the feeling. It was as if that arm no longer belonged to her body. It hung limp, heavy, numb from her shoulder. The blades that had been clutched strategically in her fist clattered to the ground.

For a moment, Ty Lee didn't move. She stared at her hand and swallowed hard. Then she lifted her eyes up, cold and focused, and advanced towards her yet again.

This was it. Mai hardened her heart. There could be no more weakness. She rushed back a few steps and clutched her weapons in her good hand. She would have time for one good shot, and then it would be over, one way or another.

Ty Lee catapulted forward, jumping into a front handspring, and Mai struck.

Her blade hit its mark, and Ty Lee fell mid-tumble to the ground. She screamed her frustration as she realised what Mai had done: her braid was pinned to the ground.

Before she could twist around to free it, Mai let loose another barrage that pinned sleeves and pants to the ground, too. It wouldn't be enough to keep her there indefinitely, but it had bought her some valuable time.

"I thought it was safer that you didn't know," she said, her voice barely more than a harsh whisper. "Safer for Zuko, but also for you. She would have known you were lying. You know what that would mean."

But Ty Lee turned her head the other way, refusing to acknowledge anything she was saying.

"I'm sorry," she said again, and then ran off to help Sokka and Ling with Zhao.

Her left arm bumped against her side with every step, a reminder that she had to wrap up this fight before Ty Lee managed to free herself. She fumbled in her clothes for more weapons, something that was surprisingly difficult to do one-handed while running.

She paused at the edge of the pond and surveyed the scene.

Zhao had thrown the bag with the fish behind him, and had apparently taken the position that a wildly aggressive offense was the best way to defend it. He was bearing down on Sokka while simultaneously fighting off Ling.

Behind them, Yue was crawling across the grass, trembling from head to foot, in the direction of the bag. She was just a few feet away from it now, and Zhao hadn't noticed her. Probably never would; he had never seen her as a threat.

And she wasn't a threat, not in a battle. She was meek and timid and posed no physical threat to anyone. And yet, there was a stubbornness to her, an inner strength and devotion to her duty that could be every bit as powerful in its own way.

Zhao ignored her to his own detriment.

But at the rate she was inching forward, she wouldn't have freed the fish before the comet returned a hundred years from now.

Meanwhile, Sokka really was in trouble. Ling was distracting Zhao just enough that he hadn't been burned to a crisp yet, but his boomerang and machete were no match for comet-fueled firebending.

He was backed into a corner underneath the bridge, but Zhao's latest attack had set it ablaze. If he didn't get out of there soon, it would collapse on top of him. And if he stepped out of it, he would be right in Zhao's line of fire.

Mai may have been hesitant to hurt Ty Lee, but she had no qualms when it came to Zhao. She ran forward again and hurled a shuriken mid stride, directly at his neck.

But her dead arm, still wobbling from running, threw off her center of balance and the shuriken instead gouged out a slice of his ear before hitting the ground.

Zhao roared and spun around, locking eyes with her. He pushed Ling back with a powerful blast of fire and then came at Mai, stalking her as if she were his prey.

Running was useless in such a small space, and if she let him get too close, she was dead. So instead she fumbled again for another weapon and aimed. She couldn't afford to miss this time.

But just as the shuriken left her fingers, he abruptly changed course, running at top speed.

He had spotted Yue.

Yue saw him coming and quickly held the bag with the fish behind her, using her body as a shield. She trembled more than ever, but her eyes bored through him as if daring him to make her back down.

He yelled, raising his fists.

Mai's good hand searched uselessly for another blade. Yue was helpless. Someone had to do something.

Fire lept from Zhao's fists, a blaze twice as wide as his body, and certainly more than enough to engulf her tiny form.

Her fumbling fingers finally found something. She pulled two throwing knives from her ankle and the moment the first one left her fingers she knew it would hit its mark. She also knew it would be too late for Yue.

It all happened in slow motion.

The fire was practically on top of Yue when Sokka barrelled towards her, leaping between her and the fire.

Sokka let out a scream of pain the same time Zhao hit the ground, a knife protruding from the base of his neck.

Somehow despite being consumed by fire, Sokka managed to slam into Yue, rolling the two of them over the grass in the direction of the pond. Their momentum carried them to within a few feet of the pond, where he lay as still as death.

Yue let out a wail as she rolled him off of her. "Sokka," she cried, her hands floating above his body, looking for an uninjured place she could safely touch, but finding none.

At last she rolled him onto his back, cradling his head in her lap. Tears fell freely down her face.

He groaned and whimpered, and Mai nearly had to turn away from the sight and smell of all that burned flesh.

It reminded her too strongly of Zuko's face, that day in Omashu, what the bandages hadn't been quite able to conceal. Sokka's hair was gone, his clothing mostly destroyed, and his skin a mess of ash and bubbly red burns.

Would the senseless violence never cease? For a hundred years the Fire Nation had perpetrated genicide and war crimes across the globe. The reason she'd joined the Order of the White Lotus was to right these wrongs, because while she loved her country, she was not blind to its faults.

But what good had she been able to do? First Zuko, now Sokka. And there would be more serious injuries and deaths before the day was over.

The sky, the moon, Sokka's skin, the blood pooling on the ground beneath Zhao. All red. Fire Nation red. And Mai, too, saw red.

She gripped the second knife and aimed for the middle of Zhao's dishonorable forehead.

She brought her arm back to throw, but a strong hand grasped her wrist.

"That's enough," Ling said. "He's already dead."

He loosened his hold on her wrist, and she dropped the knife. Her breaths were coming faster now, and her blood thrummed through her veins.

They stared at each other for a moment, and then Ling spun on his heel and walked over to Ty Lee.

She ought to go, too, to apologize again. But she found she couldn't turn away from Yue.

"Don't die, Sokka," she kept crying, as she grasped him under his arms and began to drag him the final few feet into the pond. "You can't die."

She held his head above the surface of the water with one hand, while the other opened the bag she'd been holding and released the fish back into the pond.

The clearing instantly brightened as the light came back to the moon. The fish swam around frantically for a moment, before coming back to brush against Yue's hands. She stroked it fondly.

"Spirit of the moon," she said in a quiet, tremulous voice, that nonetheless carried across the space, "this man protected you with his life. Please heal him, as you once healed me."

The hairs on Mai's arms stood on end. She was not a spiritual person, but there was something in the air just then that she could not explain in any other way. The air in the clearing turned cool, so cold that she shivered. The water itself began to glow, growing in intensity until she had to hold up a hand to shield her eyes.

When the light faded and the air had returned to its odd warmth, Sokka was sitting up in the water. His hair had grown back, but now it was stark white, the same color as Yue's. His skin was no longer burnt, but healthy and had a slight glow to it, as thought the light from the pond hadn't quite faded from him yet.

"Oh," Ty Lee gasped from behind her, as Ling was helping her up from the ground. "They have the most beautiful auras I've ever seen."