4- Weathering the Storm.
A few days later, the Fire Nation fleet continued its course toward their target. It was early in the morning at the time and Packard's battalion was passing time all by themselves; checking up their equipment, playing some game or joking around. They preferred to be separated from the rest of the warriors, but from time to time some of the female warriors of the army passed nearby them to saluted them, with all their faces blushing in red, as they liked to see them, something that Packard's men always enjoyed.
"Man, I never got tired of this." Slivko confessed, as he liked to see some girls who wanted his attention.
"What you writing there, Chap?" Mills asked to his superior, although now they didn't act according to ranking, but as pals.
"Letter to my boy." Chapman said while writing a letter for his son.
"Hmm." Mills got nearby and rode the letter. "Dear Billy. I know I said I'd be home by your birthday, but I lied straight to your face. I'm a terrible dad. I hope this letter makes up for it."
Instead of get offended, Chapman found this hilarious, just like his teammates. "That's too short."
Meanwhile, far from there, the Water Tribe-Earth Kingdom combined fleet stopped moving as they encounter something big, powerful and imposing in front of them: the great storm that surrounded the island they were looking for. Its dark clouds were continuously emitting lightning and thunder, which could be heard from the distance. This could be seeing by everyone, like Conrad who was nearby the bridge, or Hakoda, Bato, Noriko/Ursa and the Beifong couple, who were on deck.
"I don't like how that looks like." Hakoda confessed a little intimidated by the storm.
"How come the sea around it isn't as rough as it should be?" Bato asked confused.
"Remember what they said about it back then. The storm is perpetual and seems to be maintaining the island and its limits surrounded, somehow." Noriko/Ursa reminded.
"That's how it has been isolated from the world all this time." Poppy added intrigued.
"A storm that doesn't move from its place and never dies? How is that possible?" Lao asked, the same intrigued as his wife.
"I've no idea, but there's one thing for sure. Our destination is beyond that storm, and it seems that…the only way to reach it…" Hakoda said before swallowing hard and nervous. "…is crossing, right through it."
All them knew that was true, and didn't like that idea too, but then Hakoda noticed something coming from behind the fleet, something that made him gasp in shock and horror. And because everyone was focused on their stormy obstacle and the constant thunder was hiding any other suspecting sound, nobody was aware of that. The same plan of crossing the storm was also in discussion on the bridge by the ones in charge of the mission.
"This storm looks a lot worst in person. Maybe we should consider postponing the mission." Nieves said looking at the storm.
"How far away is this island?" The Water Tribe captain of the mission asked to some official.
"50 miles, maybe more."
"Take us closer." Randa requested.
"You wanna go, you do it from here."
"Can you punch through that, captain? Our opening is now."
"Through this hole right here?" The captain recalled, pointing at some part of the storm drawn on some replica of its map.
"Yeah, it's a rare low-pressure pocket."
"I appreciate your passion, Randa, but as Field Supervisor of the controlling division, I say we abort." Nieves decided, not sure that the plan was gonna work anymore. "That's it, we're gonna abort."
"Wise call. I'm sure the scientific community of Ba Sing Se will be inspired by your courage and your consequent lack of results." Randa objected sarcastically, totally in disagreement with him.
"No, they'll be inspired by my common sense. This is only a map survey."
"To one of the last uncharted areas on the face of the Earth, not talking that it could be perhaps the place where we could finally find something that can allow us to stop the Fire Nation. And you wanna call it on account of rain? Stay on this boat if you want to. It could be years before we get another shot at this. I'm told our waterbenders are capable of handling inclement weather, captain. Why don't we leave it to our captain to break the tie?"
"There is no way I'm getting through there."
Then Hakoda and Bato entered in the bridge running. They seemed to be in a hurry.
"Captain! Mr. Randa!" Bato shouted alarmed.
"Bato, Hakoda. What's going on?" The captain asked puzzled.
"It's the Fire Nation! They found us!" Hakoda said alarmed too.
That alarmed everyone in the room and went out to see it by themselves. Once on the stern of the ship they saw a big fleet of the Fire Nation coming at them from the distance. The captain took a better look with his spyglass.
"It's definitely an assault fleet, but how they have found us and knew where we're going, that's what I don't understand. They were supposed to have no knowledge or presence in these waters." The captain recalled.
"Well, that doesn't matter anymore. It is clear that they have come after us. Now we cannot go back where we came." Randa declared.
Then, an idea passed through Hakoda's mind. "But…maybe we can lose them." That made everyone to look at him both surprised and confused. "There." He said pointing at the storm.
"What?" Nieves said in disbelief. "We're not actually going into that hurricane?"
"I'm with Hakoda. They'd be so crazy to follow us, wouldn't they?" The captain reassured, agreeing with Hakoda's idea.
"They may have bigger and stronger ships, but we have waterbenders. We've more chances on passing that storm than them." Bato added.
"Then it's settled. Let's do it." Randa concluded.
They sent the alarm and the order for everyone to prepare for weathering the storm as the ships restarted moving, advancing into the tempest. This was also observed from the main ship of the Fire Nation fleet by Iroh and Packard with their spyglasses.
"Unbelievable. They are going right into the storm." Iroh witnessed surprised, as he didn't expect their enemies to make such move.
On the contrary of him, Packard found it much amusing. "It's a defiance. They challenge us to follow them there. Well, then we'll play their same game." He proclaimed with a smile on his face. "After them. Full speed ahead."
"Are you serious?!" Iroh protested at that order without his consent. "What if it's a trap? The only reason they're going into that storm is because they found us out. And by having waterbenders they are able to better maneuver the storm. In that situation we're the ones in disadvantage, especially if we end up falling into an ambush."
"Maybe, but our ships are better. Stronger, bigger, tougher…" Packard defended. "Besides, waterbenders aren't reckless when it comes to hurricanes. Nobody would be fool enough to set an ambush inside a storm like that. That's what they're going to the other side: to reach their terrain which is the island and prepare any kind of counterattack for us there while the others prepare to leave their secret base. And we're not going to give them a chance. We have to do something, Your Highness. So, it's now or never."
Iroh was still reluctant to such plan, but he had to admit that the colonel was right. Whatever their enemies were up to, they couldn't allow them to do it. So he ended nodding at the colonel as his final decision. And so, the Fire Nation fleet began the chase. Suddenly, the Athena separated from the rest of the fleet heading to the left, where the refuel team was prepared for the future extraction of everyone in three days. This was also witnessed in the enemy bridge.
"Sir, Your Highness, one of the ships is leaving the fleet. It doesn't look like the others." The captain of the ship reported to Iroh and Packard. "Do we pursue it?"
"No, that must be the extraction ship. And that fleet is far more important than a single ship." Iroh ordered. "Don't change course."
"Order our refuel ship to stay behind and stand by. They know their orders." Packard said next.
And thus, one of the ships of the Fire Nation separated too from the fleet and went to their right. Their orders were to wait for three days too until going for extracting everyone on the island. Back at the expedition fleet, everyone was preparing to shelter themselves for when they're passing through the storm.
"We did ask to bring all the bombs that we could. Shouldn't they know why?" Brooks asked to Randa while they're preparing to face the perpetual tropical storm.
"Why? And raise an alarm? Purely a precaution, Brooks." Randa assured confident.
"Right." Brooks said unconvinced before going with San and Steve.
Weaver was doing some final painting of the situation and another one of the storm from the distance before going inside the ship she was, which was the same one of where Conrad was, who was already waiting near the entrance. She signaled him to step aside with her hand, and he did before following her inside. The group of young ones were also going for cover themselves for the incoming turbulent weather inside the ship they chose to be now.
"I don't know if this is going to work. There are so much things that can happen during a storm like that." Noriko/Ursa said worried and scared.
Bato put a hand on her shoulder, drawing her attention. "We know how you feel. We're also scared of what it's to come and what could happen next. But you're not alone on this, you've your friends here." He said smiling at her, the same as Hakoda, Lao and Poppy. "We're going to get through this together, and we're all gonna reach that island safe and sound."
Those words made Noriko/Ursa to feel better and more confident, which made her to smile at them, even if she only met them for a few days. Back to the Fire Nation fleet, Packard's men were prepared to facing the storm, even if it seemed like some bad idea for some of them.
"What's the old man getting us into, Cole?" Mills asked his pal.
"Nothing he wouldn't do himself. He's taking the lead alongside Prince Iroh."
"Doesn't he miss his bed? I miss my bed! Don't you miss your bed?"
But Cole didn't say anything.
"Do you even have a bed, Cole?" Mills asked again, but nothing neither. "You got a bed, right?"
Cole only got inside the ship, and Mills followed him tired of asking without any answer.
"See you at the rendezvous, Chapman." Packard said to his second in command while followed Iroh.
"Yes, sir." Chapman said bowing before him. Next he ran at the edge, jumped and reached another ship using fire rockets.
Everyone from both fleets checked everything: weapons, explosives, items, food, water…any and every kind of resources they could need from now on. And just in time for the explorers' fleet, as it was the moment of truth for them as they began to get inside the storm. Iroh and Packard saw it from the bridge of the commanding ship.
"They did it. They went in." Iroh said still surprised that their enemies decided to do such risky thing. Then he looked at Packard and nodded at him.
Packard nodded back and grabbed a speaker in order to inform everyone inside the ship. "This is Fox Leader to Fox Group. It is time, once again, for the Griffin and ant show. As usual, remember, hold onto your butts!"
The fleet increased their speed as they went right toward the storm like nothing was wrong with it.
"That's it. Combat formation. Keep visual in front, form up on me. Keep it together! Let's do this! Maintain course." Packard said to himself confident, although it also seemed like if he was talking to the rest of the fleet, even if they couldn't hear him, something that Iroh saw. He found it a little weird and amusing, but he ignored it as he left the colonel to give the orders and do the coordination of the fleet for their incoming climate challenging obstacle. Next the colonel grabbed the speaker again, talking now to both his men, the crew and the rest of the troops of inside the ship. "Everything's fine, men. Nothing we haven't done before. Another challenge, another battle, another victory assured."
Inside the ship, even if they were well sheltered, everyone couldn't avoid to feel worried and a little uncomfortable, looking at every place cause of any sound that caught their attention.
"Dear Billy. You ever looked into a hurricane and decide, 'Maybe I should go straight through it?' Because that's what's about to happen." Mills said to himself, knowing what was to come for him and his comrades.
"Dear Billy. You might wanna hang on." Cole answered, preparing himself for lots of incoming shakes and sea turbulence.
And just as he warned, the Fire Nation fleet followed the other one and started entering those violent and agitated waters. The Earth Kingdom-Water Tribe fleet ships were much up ahead. At first it seemed that they were very troubled because of the strong winds, the huge waves and some blindly lightning that hit nearby and almost one of the ships, but thanks to the waterbenders' efforts, things were not that ugly for them actually. In fact, they were going pretty fast. Inside the ships, everyone did their best to endure the onslaught of the storm: closing their eyes, covering themselves, holding on tight, embracing each other, etc… At the same time, behind them the enemy fleet was going through the same situation. Maybe their ships were bigger and stronger, but they also couldn't avoid feeling the force of the waves hitting them, and said sensation was totally not enjoyable. Despite that, both fleets did not slow down on their different quests.
"Fox Leader to Fox Group. Switch to inertial navigation." Packard said to the crew in charge of piloting the ship before talking through the speaker again to everyone else. "And remember the story of Icarus, whose father gave him wings made of wax and warned him not to fly too close to the sun." Now he seemed to be telling some kind of tale in order to calm down the crew or encourage them perhaps. "But the exhilaration was too great, so he flew higher and higher until the sun melted his wings and he fell into the sea. But the Fire Nation Army is not an irresponsible father. And although they have not given us wings yet, they gave us a strong and powerful armor of the best white-hot, cold-rolled metal of the world. Guaranteed not to melt, break or sink."
After a while of intense and scary endurance against the furious sea, the waters surrounding the first fleet calmed down as they started to get out of the stormy zone and see the warm and comforting light of the sun again. Feeling that the shaking was over, everyone went out and stood speechless and amazed of what was in front of them: there was so many small rocky islands and islets, with plants growing on them everywhere, on the surrounding and nearby waters before mainland's beginning, like if they were shielding it in some way, all that bathed with the morning's sunlight. At the distance they could see the largest mountain on the island, which surprisingly some part of it had the shape of a skull too. The boats continued passing through the huge islets that formed lots of additional salt water rivers interconnected while admiring the beauty of nature.
"Ooh!" Bato exhaled impressed.
"Yes pal. We're here. We found it." Hakoda added contemplating the island up ahead.
"Oh, hey, that's pretty, huh?" Lao expressed.
"It's beautiful." Noriko/Ursa added admiring the scene in front of them.
"Let's take everyone into mainland and quickly. We've to be ready before the Fire Nation arrives." The Water Tribe captain ordered.
The waterbenders used their skills to bring the ships to the coast quicklier while others were still charmed by the island's beauty.
Like Weaver, who laughed at the increasing speed of the boat where she was while trying her best to do a painting of most of the island. "Whoo!"
There was no doubt, they had arrived at their destination: Skull Island. On their path they could see flocks of white birds flying over them as they were getting close to mainland. But they knew that they couldn't stop and admire the place for too long. There was an incoming battle upon them and they had to be ready for it.
Well, here they are, they finally arrived to the island. Next chapter, things are going to become very ugly, as something or someone is going to get mad a lot.