Thanks to everyone who gave reviews! They're very appreciated! Special guest appearance at the end, but can you guess who it is?Here's part one of the war for the world..
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"Aang, stop! I'm not leaving you! I can help!"
"I don't want you to get hurt, you're all that I have. Please, just go back. I can do this!"
"I'm not leaving you!"
Aang jumped up out of his bed. He was covered in a cold sweat and breathing heavily. When he caught his breath, he got up and walked to his window. It was getting dark out and his shift was approaching. "She's coming.." he whispered to himself. He touched his hand to the window. "I told her not to, but she is." He got dressed and walked out onto the deck. Sokka and Ty Lee had gotten up already and were eating.
"Hey Aang, Suki showed me how to work the controls here and she said we can battle out who works them."
"I'll do it Sokka. I need to think some things over. You and Ty Lee can go ahead and keep an eye out for any ships like Suki said. We're getting close."
Sokka looked worried about him but started to leave. He stopped next to Aang and put a hand on his shoulder. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just worried about a dream I had and I need to think over it for a few minutes."
"Okay. Don't let it get to you too much, it was just a dream." Sokka walked out the door and left Aang to his thoughts.
Ty Lee was looking over the side of the deck at the water rushing past. She loved the ocean. She wanted to jump right in and swim but it was incredibly cold at night. Sokka joined her on deck and looked around them for any lights. He thought he saw some way off in the distance, but it disappeared. Probably just a star or something, he thought.
"I never get to see the night. Firebenders are supposed to be up with the sunrise and down with the sunset. It's nice to see the other side of the day. It's beautiful." Ty Lee was staring up at the stars.
"Yeah, it is," Sokka agreed, but he wasn't staring at the stars. He was staring at her. She noticed and laughed. They climbed up on Appa as Zuko and Katara had done earlier that day and laid there looking at the stars.
The day coming ahead of them was going to change the fate of the world. They knew that, everyone knew that. They just didn't know what to do to prepare themselves anymore. Sokka heard a strange noise in the water. He sat up to see Aang bending water from the ocean. I guess he knows how to prepare, he thought. All Sokka could do was sharpen his boomerang and hope for the best. And Suki, all she has are her fans to fight with. Ty Lee was a very flexible and skilled jitsu master, but still no bender. Maybe luck will be on our side and we can catch the firelord offguard while he's fighting the other five benders, his thoughts continued.
"Lost in your thoughts?" Ty Lee interupted.
Sokka jumped and wondered how long he had been like that. He sat up and looked around. The sky was already starting to get a glimpse of light on the horizon. "What happened? Didn't our shift just start?"
"Yeah, when the sun set. Now it's about to rise again. I didn't want to break you from your thoughts, but it's almost time to wake the day shift."
Oh no, he thought. Today's the day. His stomach was churning, he was so nervous. He looked down at Aang, who was just standing there watching ahead of him. He looked tired and depressed and a little scared. "I'm going to check on Aang. When the sun peeks, wake the crew that's not already awake. Zuko, Katara, and Iroh will already be up."Ty Leenodded as Sokka slid down Appa's side and walked to where Aang was standing. "It's almost time to switch. Are you nervous?"
"You have no idea." He kept staring straight ahead. "I just hope we have enough to beat him."
"We have five benders, two warriors, and.. whatever you'd consider the former circus star that is Ty Lee. I'm confident we can beat him."
Aang looked up at him, a little hope now shining in his eyes. "Do you think we can?"
"Absolutely. Now go to bed and rest. We have a big day ahead and you can't afford to be tired."
He smiled, "You're right. Thanks Sokka."
They walked out together just as the sun started over the horizon. The three of them walked down towards the rooms to wake everyone. Some of the other people from the night shift were coming up from the engine room to go to bed as well. Zuko, Katara, and Iroh were already getting up like Sokka had said. Ty Lee went down one hall to wake up the other day shifters and Sokka went down another. He knocked on one door before opening it to wake them. Of course it was Suki's room, that was just his luck. He closed the door back most of the way before calling, "Day shift wake up call," and running down to the next door. When everyone was awake, he went to bed.
Katara was still sleepy, but forced herself to get up. She would have to get used to waking with the sun being with a firebender. Zuko was still half asleep too, but he knew what today was. He was so nervous but hid it well. Katara couldn't.
"Zuko, what's going to happen today?"
"I don't know. I try not to think about it and hope for the best outcome possible."
"I'm scared."
Zuko sighed. "I am too."
They walked out together and ate before going out to the deck. Suki was already out there slightly adjusting their course. Appa had gotten up and was flying above them. He needed that since they were on the ship so much. When Katara walked on the deck, she could hear him grunting above them. She could tell he was enjoying the air time. Suddenly he dived down right into the water and splashed it all over the place. Katara lifted her arms and stopped the water before it hit the deck and pushed it back out into the ocean. Appa was swimming next to the ship, and almost as fast. She walked to the edge and looked over at him. He flipped over to get his back and head wet and flipped back over. She laughed at him, then drew some water up and practiced a little.
Zuko walked up behind her, startling her. "Fight me."
She spun around, dropping her water. "What?"
"Fight me, water peasant," he repeated with a smirk.
She studied his eyes, unsure if he was playing or not. "Okay, Zuko. If you want a fight, you'll get a fight."
She took water from the ocean, formed it into spikes, froze it and shot them. He danced around most of them, but melted the rest when he shot a couple fireballs at her. She dodged them easily enough, at the same time maneuvering some water to underneath his feet. He was too busy concentrating on her that he didn't notice this and slipped when she froze it. Suki was watching them but wasn't sure as to whether she should help or not. Zuko jumped up as Katara shot an arm at him, a really sharp icicle aimed for his neck with every intention of stopping before it hit. Zuko kicked the ground towards her, shooting a trail of fire at her. She quickly doused the fire before it took their new ship and whipped him with her water whip. He yelled when it hit the back of his leg. He made a circle of fire around them to try and close them in, but Katara threw water on that too.
"Are you trying to catch the ship on fire?"
"No, I'm trying to get you closer because it's easier to fight like that."
Katara's eyes narrowed. She drew a lot of water to her and wrapped it around Zuko, pulling him closer. She could steam rising from where his fists were buried but he couldn't do anything else because.. well, water beats fire. She released the front and wrapped herself in with him and froze them together.
"You did say you wanted to get closer, right?" They were almost nose to nose if he hadn't been taller than her.
He smiled at her. "Good fight." He brought his face down and kissed her. Her hands were still free and she wrapped her arms around his neck. His hands were heating up and finally broke through the ice and wrapped around her waist pulling her even closer. She pulled away for a second, long enough to say, "Water beats fire," before he pulled her back to him. They were both out of breath from their battle and she kept trying to pull away, but he wouldn't let her go. She finally got free of the liplock and was gasping for breath but happy she was.
"Fire beats ice," he said, breathing heavily as well.
"Not if you slip on it," she laughed.
He pulled her back to him and she turned her face and tried to get away, playfully screaming and laughing. Pakku and Kana walked out on the deck and saw them playing and smiled.
"That's not something I expected from a Fire Nation Prince."
Zuko was startled and let go of Katara quickly, making her fall. He helped her up and apologized. "We were playing."
"That's what I was talking about. I thought you were too serious to play."
"The old me was. I like the new me better, everyone says I act more my own age now. I guess with my past, I was forced to grow up too fast."
"I guess so."
Katara smiled a little when she thought about the reason he was like that now. She was proud of herself. She looked at Kana and noticed she still looked tired. "Shouldn't you be resting?"
"Oh goodness, I've been resting since we left that island. I think I'm all rested out."
Suki had walked out to them with Iroh. Apparently he had joined her while they were fighting. "We're getting close. We should be there just after noon."
Zuko looked up at the sky. "Uncle, it's almost noon now."
"Then we should be there soon. Hopefully Aang, Sokka, and Ty Lee are rested."
Everyone was getting incredibly nervous now. It was coming right down to the time. By then everyone was doubting themselves. Zuko walked over to the front of the ship and squinted his eyes to see if he could see anything.
"I think there's a thing in here you can use," Suki piped up. She ran to the bridge and started going through shelves and cabinets until she found what she was looking for. She took it back out to Zuko. "I can't remember what it's called," she laughed.
Zuko took it from her and examined it. "It's a telescope." He extended it and looked back out over the ship. He could finally see something way out there. His uncle was right, they were very close now. He saw a couple of the ships that protected the Fire Nation waters.
He turned around to face the others. "We're practically right on top of them now. I saw the guard ships way out in front of us. When we get there, everyone hide down below. I can handle them."
"No problem," Suki gladly said.
Katara started walking back down towards the rooms. "I'm going to wake Aang, Sokka, and Ty Lee and tell them that we're almost there. That'll give them a little time to wake up before we get there." She ran down the stairs and disappeared.
Zuko was thinking about how to get them in there without being attacked. "Suki, are there any handcuffs or chains or anything like that on this ship?"
She knew where he was going. "Downstairs in the room with the cannons I told you about. Come on, I'll show you where it's at."
"I have to change into the uniform I found first, I'll meet you down there." They ran down the stairs.
"Kids grow up so fast, don't they?" Iroh asked, trying to make conversation.
"That they do, I'm afraid."
"I remember when Zuko was younger. He was so happy when his mother was alive. His father never cared for him because he wasn't the great firebender he wanted him to be. Azula, on the other hand, was. She hated Zuko and always tried to overshadow him. She cheered the day that Zuko's father gave him that scar. I looked away. Sometimes I felt like his mother and I were the only people who ever cared for him, and I felt that way until he met Katara. Even before they were together, I knew he liked her but he would never confide in me. He wouldn't stop talking about her though."
"I knew I saw a spark when he first came to our village demanding the Avatar. He walked right up to Katara and me. He looked at her and fought himself inside to keep his eyes away from hers. I could see that. He may hide emotions well on his face, but his eyes tell everything you need to know. No one can hide that."
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Katara burst into Aang's room. "Aang, get up. We can see the guard ships now. You have to be awake by the time we get there."
Aang sat up in his bed. "What?"
"Wake up! We're coming up on them!" She slammed the door behind her as she took off down the hall to Sokka's room. She burst in and quickly turned back around and slammed the door. "Oh geez.. Sokka, get up! We're coming up on the Fire Nation guard ships right now! And.. bring Ty Lee with you!" She ran back up to the deck wanting to gag. Kana, Pakku, and Iroh were sitting on the deck watching the ships come into sight in the distance. "Where's Zuko?"
Iroh turned around to her. "Are you okay? You look sick."
"Yeah, I'll be fine as soon as I can get my mind away from my current thoughts. Where'd he go?"
"He and Suki went under to get handcuffs and chains. He had a plan."
She was tired of running around and sick to her stomach from the disturbing image she caught in her brother's room, but she ran back down to help them. She almost tripped over her feet on the last few steps to the room they were in. She stopped right at the edge of the room to overhear their conversation.
"Why that water girl?"
"After all the run-ins we had, she completely grew on me." She could hear noises that sounded like chains moving around.
"But she's so.. weak. Besides playing with water, what can she do that I can't?"
"She's not weak. She's a great waterbender with the most unique and caring personality. She's probably the best person I know and I'm glad I met her." She smiled at that, but kept listening anyway.
"Unique and caring personality? I'm sure that's not what you were looking for. You need a warrior."
She couldn't stand by and listen anymore. She quietly tip-toed up a few steps before pretending to run back down. "Guys, come on. The ships are getting closer and-" she stopped and looked at them, pretending she didn't hear anything Suki just said. "-did I interupt something?"
Zuko picked up the chains they found and glared at Suki. "Nothing at all. We were just looking for these." He walked towards the stairs and stopped next to Katara and kissed her. "Come on, I have a plan." They started up the stairs together, leaving Suki below.
"Ty Lee and Uncle Iroh will be leading you five by these chains since they're known Fire Nation people. I have a way of hiding emotions in my face, in case none of you noticed, so I'll be leading all of you straight to my father and since we'll have Aang they'll let us go without a problem. They'll just think I've come to get my honor back. When we get inside, we'll get you guys off the chains and lock the door and bring him down. Surely with eight of us it'll be no problem, but we still want to be very careful."
Zuko looked proud of his plan and everyone thought it was brilliant. Katara was looking over the chains. They had cuffs on them, but they were pretty long. She pulled some water from the ocean, flattened into a disk, froze it and hurled it at both sets of the chains, breaking them off after the cuffs they needed. That way Ty Lee could lead two of them and Iroh could lead the other three.
"Good thinking, Kat," Zuko said, kissing her on the head. He made sure Suki was watching and that he was serious about her. "That'll make things smoother. Okay now, everyone down below. We're coming up to the guard ships." Everyone ran down except for Zuko, who stood on the deck, and Suki, who was still driving.
"What's your business here?" one of the guards called.
Zuko leaned over the edge and yelled back, "I've captured the Avatar and come to reclaim my honor and my position for the throne! Let me through!"
"I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you, Prince Zuko. Very well." The guard shot up three fireballs to tell the others to let him by.
They got by the other ships with no problem as he had said. He walked over to the stairs and told everyone to get the cuffs on and prepare to dock. They were a little bit loose on Katara's and Aang's wrists, but they just held the chain under the cuffs and they stayed up fairly well. Ty Lee and Iroh grabbed the ends of the chains and they got ready to walk out. They could hear people yelling out there and their stomachs started doing flips. They were docking.
Zuko came to the stairs and yelled, "Bring up the prisoners!" He did a good job acting, he sounded like the old Zuko again.
Iroh and Ty Lee walked up the stairs with the chains in their hands. They didn't jerk them until they got out where everyone could see them. Iroh was leading Katara, Pakku, and Aang and Ty Lee was leading Sokka and Suki. They lead them down the ramp and onto the dock.
"These people were traveling with the Avatar and refused to leave him, so we brought them as well," Zuko said to a man at the dock. He walked over and inspected Aang before letting them go.
They walked through the town towards the Fire Temple. Everyone stopped in the streets to watch the Avatar pass. Some people threw things, some people yelled obsenities, some people even spat at them. A few people took the time to welcome Prince Zuko back. He just shoved through the growing crowd and kept going towards the Temple.
"I'm not liking this," Aang whispered to Katara as spit his his bald head.
Zuko whirled around. "Silence from you, prisoners, or you'll be silenced!" He startled them all. He turned back around and continued walking. I hope this isn't going where it sounds like it's going, Katara thought. He's acting like his old self again and I can't tell if he's acting or not. They were getting closer to the Temple, getting more and more nervous. The "prisoners" didn't even have to pretend to look scared, they were scared. People continued to throw things at Aang, some hitting Pakku as well. A couple of things hit Sokka and Suki trying to get to Aang. Nothing got to Katara until they got to the Temple and people were throwing things from behind.
The doors to the Temple opened in front of them. They started to walk in when they heard someone yelling.
"Aang, stop! I'm not leaving you! I can help!"
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Don't hate me for making Suki like that, I had to do something that would make her want to leave after the battle. Mwahaha! If you can't figure out who the voice is at the end, you'll have to wait until I post part 2! R&R!
P.S. Part 2 will make you cry. I was cryingwhile writing it lol.Prepare your tissues!
Jenn, waterbending master of the south