January 1940
100 Miles from Agna Qel'a
"Huoyah!" Fire Nation soldiers screamed as they practiced their bayonet thrusts on dummies. Above them, War Minister Qin looked on his head held high.
"You are aware what will happen if we lose?" One of the lieutenants commanding the force asked him. "I am aware." The minister replied. "I will lose my position and we'll lose the war."
"This is the only way we will stand a chance." The lieutenant nodded. "Do you really think they will change that much?"
"I do. These weapons, are a product of science. This world must be 100 years ahead of us. We must adapt or die." The minister said. "Do you care for some tea lieutenant?" The minister asked turning to the lieutenant.
The lieutenant nodded and the two went back inside. The minister poured himself and the lieutenant some tea and they sat down.
"I'm surprised your using non-benders." The lieutenant said. "What's the use of wasting fire bending talent with a soldier who uses a non-bending weapon. These weapons will empower. I did, however, choose some benders along with non-benders to command the forces. You, rose though the ranks rather easily, especially for a non-bender." The minister replied to which the lieutenant smiled.
"All you need to do is use your head. Earth benders prefer the direct attack as do some Fire Nation lieutenants. All it takes is to use your head. Sometimes the ability to bend can take that away in my experience."
"And I wholeheartedly agree. That is why I chose both non-benders and benders to commandeer these forces." The minister said. "To move to more pressing matters, what is your plan to invade Agna Qel'a?" The lieutenant asked.
"The plan is to send a barrage using our new ships. This will soften them up. We'll destroy their shore defenses and the we'll send in the troops on new landing crafts. We will use our aerial vehicles to support the landing troops. The few we taught to snipe will be used to take out leading commanders. The troops will land and we will achieve landing. From there we will push slowly to the palace and the Northern Water Tribe will fall. They won't stand a chance." The minister replied putting his fingers together.
"So are we only doing a single salvo sir?" The lieutenant asked. The minister nodded, "A single salvo to destroy their defenses."
"Why don't we keep on firing and we would be using the spheres right?" The minister again nodded. "So I'm suggesting we keep on continuously firing and using the explosive projectiles we have. This way we'll do more damage to their defenses." The lieutenant observed.
The minister sat deep in thought. "What did you say your name was lieutenant?" He asked. "Lieutenant Han Zou sir." The lieutenant replied. "I'm glad I picked you as a lieutenant, Han Zou." The minister said smiling.
Han Zou smiled with pride. "Do you have any other suggestions?" The minister asked. "I think we should use the cover of night to our advantage. The Northern Water Tribe will most likely not expect us to come now near the Winter Solstice. We should land some troops on the surrounding glacial caps and have them enter the city by scaling down the cliffs. We should appear in the cover of darkness and that's when we will attack. If need be, we will use the new flares to light everything up. We should also use our aerial vehicles to bomb the Northern Water Tribe while we are attacking sir. This will hopefully limit the amount of casualties for us and them for it will destroy their morale. Our new tanks should also be used in the landing force sir to break through any defenses still standing. We should not have an infantry focused army if what I've heard from the other world is true. We should use these new technologies to the best of our abilities. I think that's what our doctrine should be about." Han Zou said before taking a deep breath in.
All during this the minister sat with his eyes closed. That's when Han Zou got scared, ready to be screamed at by his commanding officer for questioning their plan. This was the typical relationship between benders and non-benders. The benders always looked down upon them. As he prepared to be berated, the minister suddenly smiled.
"I see a very bright future for you Lieutenant Han Zou. I like your prepositions but let's bring them before the other lieutenants and captains. Come, let's head to the main ship." The minister said standing up and putting down his tea. "The meeting should commence in about an hour or so."
An hour and a half later
"So that is the plan." War Minister Qin moved his hand away from the map. "Any questions?"
"Why are we attacking near the winter solstice? We don't have any power without the sun." A lieutenant who can bend exclaimed. "The reason I chose this group as the lieutenants of this new force is because you can go without your bending. Most of you are non-benders. The few of you that know how to think of creative solutions without bending." The minister replied.
The firebending lieutenant nodded. "Lieutenant Han Zou however did bring some things to my attention." The minister turned to the Lieutenant.
"I suggest we send troops on the glaciers to encircle the capital. We can use the aircraft to drop artillery pieces to the troops on the sides, this way we can lay siege to them. We will continuously bomb them and destroy their morale. We will approach with the cover of darkness for the Water Tribe will never expect us then. We must make sure there is no moon that day. We shut off every lighting, every candle and when the time comes, we light them up with our new ships. The tanks will go on shore with our infantry."
"For our doctrine on the use of these weapons, I suggest we center it around armored warfare. We should use the tanks to the best of our ability to breakthrough their lines. Our planes will demolish enemy defenses along with our ships and artillery pieces. This is a purely offensive doctrine. Not a defensive one. For defense, we should dig in and hold them off. The tanks will be hard for them to bypass, especially now that we've added explosive projectiles along with machine guns. The Northern Water Tribe will not stand a chance."
The other lieutenants and captains nodded. They whispered to each other as Han Zou stood patiently.
"I like the plan." One of the non-bending captains said.
"How will our troops see without the moon and with so few firebenders to provide light. I see only 10 to 15 benders in this room." A bender captain observed. "We will use flares which will light up the sky. The only way to get rid of them is by shooting them with a gun." Han Zou replied.
"Other than that, I believe that this is the best plan." The bender captain replied.
"I'm also happy with this plan." Another lieutenant said.
"As am I."
"Me too."
"It sounds foolproof."
Han Zou smiled. "Then we attack during the next period of no moon. Meeting dismissed" War Minister Qin said before he left, leaving Han Zou proud in his wake.
Agna Qel'a
Iroh sat peacefully in a building drinking some tea. It was very good tea and it was quite delicious. It was made with herbs he had never tried before. It was a Northern Water Tribe specialty.
He recalled talking with the other members if the White Lotus earlier on how to approach the question of new weaponry. Most of the other members believed these rumors to be false. Iroh however knew better. He trusted his friend.
Iroh took another sip of his tea. Iroh feared what the Fire Nation could do. He had received Zuko's letter weeks prior talking on the weapons of the new world. How sophisticated they were and how they relied on science and Zuko was no liar.
Iroh did not fear for himself, but for others. He feared the power the Fire Nation now had. He feared how easily they could kill and destroy others. The Fire Nation had to be put down. They must be defeated before they are unstoppable.
Suddenly Iroh heard a whirring. He stood up and walked outside and looked up. There was nothing. But the whirring was so loud, it sounded like an engine. It sounded as if it was right above Iroh.
He looked closer into the night sky. Nothing could go invisible, there must be something up there. He had an idea. Iroh shot a beam of fire into the air and saw a shadow of a bird-looking object sailing through the sky.
Iroh fired another beam of fire into the sky and his worst fears were confirmed. He saw the Fire Nation emblem on the object. This had to be a plane he thought. Zuko had described them as this.
Then, just as quickly as it came, the plane was gone. Iroh turned and walked towards the middle of the city. Towards the meeting area of the White Lotus.
Iroh continued in deep thought. He thought about this new thing. The thing which could fly through the air without attracting attention. He was sure he was the only one who saw it.
Then he came to the building. Iroh knocked on the door and a hole appeared in the door as someone looked through.
"It's me." Iroh said.
The door unlocked and Iroh walked in to see the other members of the White Lotus. "I have bad news." Iroh began. The other members nodded.
"I saw a Fire Nation vehicle flying overhead." Iroh said and silence descended on the room.
"An airship was overhead? How did we not see it?" Jeong Jeong asked.
"It was not an airship. It was one of the Fire Nation's new vehicles. I believe they call it a plane."
Silence once again descended on the room.
"Have you been drinking that tea again Iroh?" Pakku asked. "It can cause hallucinations if you drink to much."
"It was not a hallucination, I assure you. I saw the Fire Nation emblem on it." Iroh replied.
"I don't believe you even saw it Iroh. You must have drank too much tea. The Fire Nation would never do anything near the Winter Solstice. They rely on their bending far to much." Piandao said.
"These weapons rely on non-benders." Iroh pointed out.
"Iroh, you're being absurd. That is impossible. The Fire Nation would never sacrifice their bending." Bumi scoffed. "I think you should rest Iroh." Pakku said.
"I know what I saw."
"You may think you did see a plane thing but it could have been the tea." Pakku replied. "Fine, but this is a warning." Iroh said and then he walked out by himself out the door.
When the Fire Nation came knocking, they would be unprepared all because of their unwillingness to believe Iroh thought as he trudged silently through the night.
10 miles away from Agna Qel'a
A hand reached across the cold ice of the glacier. Then came the arm and the rest of the head, pulling up a man. Lieutenant Han Zou climbed up onto the glacier. He peeked down and saw other soldiers attempting to climb up.
"Hurry up! We're on a schedule!" He screamed down at them. 10 minutes later, there were 6 soldiers on top of the glacier. They put metal spikes into the side and swung a rope around it.
Then they nailed a pulley to the ground and attached the rope to to it. On the ground, a wooden platform lied with 5 men aboard it. Each of the six men on the glacier grabbed the rope and pulled.
Slowly the platform was pulled up the glacier and five more men joined their ranks. Next ten more men came. Then 15 and soon there were a few companies of men atop the glacier.
Next, artillery pieces were hauled up by each company. Then pieces of wood were brought up and then finally the ostrich horses which were covered in a weather protective gear were brought up.
Next, sleds were assembled out of the pieces of wood and were connected to the the ostrich horses. Then the men marched five miles towards the fortress and stopped. Han Zou took out his binoculars and looked out.
"They have no defenses which is surprising considering we did this last invasion. We will stay here. We rest for about an hour and then we begin constructing an airfield for air operations." He said turning to the many companies.
"Yes sir!" They called and began setting up camp. Han Zou looked out at the fields of ice illuminated by the half moon. They had a week to construct the airfield before the attack. After they had constructed the airfield, they would construct a tunnel to reach the Northern Water Tribe.
Han Zou had been placed in charge of these companies before the attack before he would join the invasion force and another lieutenant would take overnight 5 days. Han Zou would join his unit again for the invasion. These soldiers were foreign to him.
Han Zou took out one of his favorite new things from the other world, a cigarette. He lit it with his new lighter and stared out into darkness. He let out a breath and watched his breath turn into smoke.
It was cold in the night. Every soldier wore mandatory winter gear to hide them from the elements. Han Zou was no different. His gear still contained his insignia on it like his uniform.
Han Zou took out the cigarette and realized it was done. He dropped it on the ground and stomped on it. He sighed. It might be time for a bit of a nap.
A few hours later
Han Zou pointed at the map in front of him. "We will build the airfield here. All we need is a single paved lane. I trust you have the concrete."
The company commanders who were in charge of building the airfield nodded.
"Now I want you," he pointed to the other company commanders. "To build a tunnel about a half mile away from the fortress. This way we can sneak in behind the front and cut them off from supply lines. That should be about here."
Han Zou pointed to the map again at an area relatively near the fortress.
"From what we have observed, they don't have any sentries. We can get as close as we want and build the tunnel under the cover of night. I would like to repeat this again to you. They do not expect us to come but that can all be ruined by one misstep, literally and figuratively. You are dismissed."
The company commanders saluted and then left, leaving Han Zou alone. He sighed and leaned against the table containing the map. In 4 days Captain Sua would replace him. From what he understood, he was a firebender that would help finish the tunnel.
Han Zou stepped outside the meeting tent and stared out into the night sky. He hated the pure darkness. He detested it. It made everything so cold and took the light away.
The no moon period would be upon them in 5 days and Han Zou had to prepare these men. He had to make the necessary preparations that the minister had told him to make.
He stepped back into the tent and touched the map. He stared at the planning of the fortress and thought about the many lives that will be killed in taking the fortress. He sincerely hoped that not many of his men would be killed. He hoped that the Northern Water Tribe would surrender after a few minutes of fighting. But he knew it was useless wishing for such things.
Han Zou looked at the beach. The War Minister had told him where he and his corps would land. They had the western beach and would have to fight up from there into the fortress. It would be deadly either way. The waterbenders would not surrender and would attempt to take as many of his troops with them. Han Zou however knew it was useless to.
The weapons they had found and reverse engineered were amazing. They were nearly impossible for a bender to resist against. Even Han Zou feared them. They were terrifying and Han Zou would not want to find himself facing them.
He laid out the plans for the airfield. It was two large runways, one hangar as it was called that was capable of holding many planes. There could only be about 5 fighters and 1 bomber or 7 fighters or 4 bombers. The rest of the planes would have to stay outside however it was unlikely they had more than 7 fighters or 4 bombers.
One of the captured ships was one that could carry planes. To Han Zou, it was a support ship. It was something that could be used from very far away and receive little to no damage. The only way to harm them was more planes.
Han Zou could see all the opportunities for the planes to be used. They could easily be utilized to weaken enemy defenses and that is exactly how they would be used.
He believed it would be the combination of the new technology that would win them the battle. Alone, they were fine but guns, planes, and the new ships and tanks all used together to break the enemies line. The use of all these technology together would be the difference.
He looked at the numbers of the battle. The Fire Nation had sent two new battleships, both Ozai class along with an Empire class battleship too. There were a few destroyers and one aircraft carrier. Then there were 50 planes, 20 air support, 6 bombers and 24 fighters.
Then there were 5 lieutenants each commanding 300 troops along with some captains. In total, there were 1500 men, 1275 would be landing. The rest were based on the tops of the glaciers. They also had about 15 firebenders.
Han Zou looked up and envisioned the future. He could see men charging up the beach and being hit down by ice spikes. He could imagine all the dead and he sighed.
Once again, he walked out of the tent and stayed outside. He took out another cigarette and put it in his mouth and silently stared out into darkness, wondering what was to come.
February 3rd 23:00
"Are you ready for the invasion lieutenant?" War Minister Qin asked Han Zou. "Yes, all I have to do is address my men. When do the landing ships deploy?"
"The ships should see the ice wall in about two hours. We turn the lights off in half an hour. Once the ice wall is destroyed, the landing ships are deployed. I want your unit up there in an hour's time so I can repeat the plan once more."
"Yes sir. I will go address my men now." Han Zou said and he turned and walked towards his unit's dorm.
He pushed open the door and rang the miniature bell inside. "Hello," Han Zou said, waving as soldiers, men and women got out of bed and saluted. "At ease. You can sit."
The soldiers sat on their beds but kept their attention on Han Zou. "I'm sure some of you know me from serving under me in the Earth Kingdom. But some of you may not, I am Lieutenant Han Zou and you are my men. All of you were handpicked for your love of our nation. Everyone in this company would lay down their lives. You are fearless and brave. You have proven that you are capable soldiers, all of you. The men and the women. If I hear anything of sexism by any of you, you will be court martialed. I see each of you have your new weapons." The soldiers nodded.
"Good. Now onto the reason I came to talk with all of you. As you all know, we are invading the Northern Water tribe. If you didn't, you know now." Han Zou tacked a map of the fortress to the wall.
"I want to explain to you the invasion because I know that all of you know little to nothing of the invasion plan. In about 30 minutes, we're going dark. There will be no light displayed on the outside of the ship. We will sneak up to the front of the fortress and we will open up with our new guns. The fortress wall will fall and the ships will pound the onshore defenses along with the planes. We will get into the landing boats and we'll land on shore. We should land here." He pointed to the Western area.
"I can not stress to you the importance of how fast we have to take the beach. We must do this before the Northern Water Tribe can recuperate from our pounding of the defenses. We must hit them hard and fast. We should blitz them. Now once we have a beachfront, we will push our way up. Avoid artillery strikes from the artillery situated on the glacier. We will also be aided by armor so we should be fine."
"I hope I eased your nerves for the coming invasion. I will be in the landing craft too with all of you. I have my own gun, a new Fire Nation sub-machine gun who I call Gunny." A few soldiers laughed at the highly uncreative nickname. "I know, I know. It's extremely uncreative."
"I wish all of you luck. The war minister should be calling us on deck in about an hour. Get some sleep." The lieutenant said before leaving the room.
Atop the ice wall, February 4th, 1:00
A northern water tribe soldier stood atop the ice wall, staring into darkness. He looked up and noted the absence of the princess or moon. Some still called her the princess while others called her the moon princess. He didn't have a preference.
It was incredibly dark out. He had trouble making anything out at all at sea. He found this job both boring and useless. The Fire Nation would never attack without the sun. The sun was what gave them power. He highly doubted they would throw away their bending for new weapons.
The soldier noted the appearance of dark shapes on the horizon. It was hard for him to tell if it was even there. It was so hard to distinguish night, the ocean, and icebergs from each other.
The soldier watched calmly as they got closer. They looked like icebergs. He let loose a sigh from his boredom. Those icebergs were now really close. He began to debate if he should tell somebody.
Nah, they looked like an iceberg. If he said something was a Fire Nation ship and it really was an iceberg, he might get an even worse job than this. Instead he remained silent, a fatal error.
At 3 miles away, the soldier began to worry. These icebergs moved unnaturally, why would they move towards the fortress. He watched as the iceberg turned to the right and it got much bigger. That was very suspicious.
The soldier still waited to ring the alarm. He didn't want to get stuck guarding somewhere stupid like atop the glacier. He'd be the only one doing that job.
Suddenly the soldier was blinded by lights coming from the iceberg. His eyes finally adjusted and he saw a giant ship with things faced directly at him. Actually he saw multiple ships with guns facing at him. His horror grew as he stared up towards the flag pole and saw a Fire Nation flag.
He stumbled backwards.
"Fire Nation." He screamed before he ran to the bell and began ringing it. He did everything he could possibly do. Sadly, it seemed like the city was asleep.
He turned back to the ships and watched as little flashes came from the things. He saw streaks of smoke flying towards the wall and his heart froze. "That's not good." He said before shells impacted the wall, collapsing it.
Within Agna Qel'a
Iroh awoke from his slumber as there was a large boom. He quickly ran outside and looked towards the wall. He was horrified when all he saw nothing there.
"The Fire Nation is attacking!" He heard someone scream. Iroh steeled his emotions and ran towards the beach. Soldiers ran through the streets, beginning to set up a defense. Bumi, luckily, had set up shore defenses.
Iroh saw Pakku directing soldiers and made his way towards him. "Pakku what's wrong?" Iroh asked.
"Whoever was on the wall rang the bell that signaled a Fire Nation attack before it collapsed. Whoever did it is most likely dead." Pakku said grimly.
Suddenly they heard a buzzing from above. They looked up and saw weird machines flying above them. "What are those!?" Pakku asked in horror.
"Those are the things I warned you about." Iroh replied. Pakku only looked at him with wide eyes.
"Look down there, that's their defenses." The commander of the small force of planes in the air said. "Let's put them out of their misery. For the Fire Nation!" He screamed into his radio and they dove.
"What are they doing?" Iroh asked no one in particular. His question was answered when cylinders dropped from the bottom of them. Iroh watched as when they impacted the ground, they exploded.
He watched as the machine streaked overhead, shooting stuff out from them which killed people on impact. Iroh turned to Pakku with a wide mouth and found Pakku with the same reaction.
Suddenly they heard explosions coming from the glaciers. They looked towards them and saw Fire Nation flags flying and more machines shooting explosives from them, bombarding the city.
Iroh turned to Pakku. "You never put soldiers on the glacier!?" He screamed at Pakku. "I didn't think that we needed it." Pakku said meekly.
"I suggested it. I said that the Fire Nation would most likely do it again." Iroh said, regaining control of himself. "But it is your fault that many more people will die." He added.
"Is Bumi going to create more defenses?!" Pakku asked.
"He most likely is further in the city or on the other side."
"What is that?" Pakku pointed to grey streaks flying through the sky.
Iroh thought he realized what they were, fireballs. "Look out!" He said, grabbing Pakku and pulling him down.
The explosive shells impacted the beach and all Iroh could hear were explosions and the sounds of dying men.
Half a mile away from Agna Qel'a
Lieutenant Han Zou stood in the small landing craft with his men. He turned to the machine gunner and nodded. The machine gunner nodded back and he watched the beach approach.
On the beach
Iroh stood up from the rubble and offered his hand to Pakku who took it. Iroh gazed around and all he saw was rubble. He looked down and saw a bloody hand pointing out of the rubble.
Iroh grimaced at the sight. "We have landing ships coming." Pakku noted. "They don't look like Fire Nation ships." Iroh replied.
"Still, they have the Fire Nation insignia." Pakku looked around and pointed to a soldier. "You, are you a water bender." The soldier nodded.
"Stop those landing craft."
The soldier raised his hands.
A quarter mile away from Agna Qel'a
"It seems there's a water bender stopping us. Gunner, you know what to do." Han Zou said
The gunner nodded and fired the machine gun.
On the beach
Iroh and Pakku watched in horror as the soldier fell to the ground. They ran over and looked at the soldier. He was bleeding from the mouth and had many holes through him.
"Healing won't save him." Pakku said grimly.
"My friend spoke the truth. They do have new weaponry." Iroh stated.
"What kind of weapon could do this to a man?"
"We'll find out soon. As the leader rally the men, Pakku."
Pakku nodded and left.
Within a minute, there were 30 men positioned around the beach with spears.
"I don't believe that spears will be helpful against these weapons." Iroh said.
"No, but waterbending will always destroy them. I have 10 more waterbenders coming." Iroh nodded and they both turned and watched the landing craft reach the shore.
On landing craft
"When it drops, be fearless. Be ready to be attacked and shoot whoever does, especially water benders." Han Zou said to his troops.
Han Zou prepared his gun and made sure it was off safety. It was time to go.
The front of the craft dropped.
Everything was silent. The two forces stared at each other for a second then.
"Go! Go! Go!" Han Zou screamed and the Fire Nation soldiers let loose a battle cry. Pakku brought some water and turned it into an ice spike and impaled it into the first few men.
The Fire Nation soldiers quickly ran up the beach with their bayonets. Water Tribe soldiers moved to stop them but they were shot. The soldiers in the makeshift trenches raised spears to stop the charging soldiers.
Han Zou ran forward with his gun and shot unleashed bullets into the first trench.
"Iroh, this beach is lost. There are 29 more landing craft coming. We have to leave now!" Pakku exclaimed.
Iroh nodded and ordered a retreat. They watched as a plane flew overhead and Pakku sent water through the plane, cutting its back off. The plane tumbled into a house in a blaze. Iroh and Pakku smiled.
That smile was wiped off when they heard the screams of the occupants of the house as they ran out covered in fire.
"Help us!" They screamed and Iroh could only watch in horror as they slowly burned to death. "I didn't know." Pakku said quietly.
"We couldn't control wherever that thing would've crashed. You saved more lives by hitting it down." Iroh reassured him but he had his doubts. Suddenly there were sounds of cracking ice.
They looked at the ice house and saw many circular marks through it, holes from Fire Nation weapons. They ran.
"They can shoot through ice." Pakku said in shock. "We have to organize a defense in the middle of the city.
Han Zou led his troops through the streets. "Keep your eyes up. Expect the unexpected."
A water tribe soldier jumped out and began to water bend at them. "Get behind the houses!" Han Zou screamed.
The soldiers ran behind the houses. "You five, flank. The rest of you, provide cover fire."
The five soldiers went through the alleys between houses while the others fired at the water bender.
"There he is!" One of the five exclaimed. He quickly aimed and fired, killing the water bender.
The force continued to move forward through the streets. Then five water tribe soldiers walked out. "Surrender and we won't harm you." Han Zou called to them.
"Never!" The leader screamed before he fired an ice spike into the ranks of the Fire Nation soldiers. The Fire Nation soldiers returned this by firing a volley from their rifles, killing all five. Han Zou sighed.
Atop the glacier, the artillery continued to fire with deadly accuracy.
"Fire." The captain called and the artillery exploded. "Reload." The shells fell out of the back of the artillery gun and it was reloaded with a new shell.
"Aim." A soldier adjusted the angle of the artillery. "Fire!" There was a deafening crack as the shells shot out of the many artillery guns and smashed into the city.
On the sides of the city, Fire Nation soldiers rushed into the city, pushing their way towards the main part of the fortress, the palace.
As Han Zou followed the canal, a water tribe soldier shot an arrow at him from atop a bridge. He raised his submachine gun and fired a burst blowing the soldier back into the now red water.
He felt something graze his lower cheek.
"Another archer, on the roof!" One of his soldiers exclaimed. Another soldier grabbed the lieutenant and pulled him behind a building.
"You alright sir?" He asked. "I'm fine." Han Zou replied.
"There's four archers on the roof." The first soldier exclaimed. "Do we have a firebender here?" Han Zou asked. A soldier raised their hand.
"Blow a hole through this wall of ice." The soldier nodded and placed his hand against the wall. It slowly melted until a hole that was big enough for one to walk through.
"You, you, and you, you're with me." Han Zou pointed to 3 soldiers. "The rest of you provide us cover fire. We'll head up these stairs and jump across the roof and shoot the archers. Come on!"
The lieutenant and the other 3 soldiers ran through the hole made by the firebender and found the stairs. They ran up and found themselves on the roof.
"There!" One of the soldiers exclaimed. Han Zou could see the fear in their eyes as they realized they had been flanked. They desperately tried to turn and fire arrows but Han Zou and his soldiers were faster.
There were rifle shots and the sounds of shells hitting the ground. The archers fell from the building to the ground. The soldiers climbed down and continued on their way.
Finally they reached the main area of the city and made their way through the throne room. "Did we apprehend all the prisoners that were here?" Han Zou asked the lieutenant who got there first.
"Yeah then some. They said it was a man by the name of Pakku along with a group he's a part of. We didn't apprehend him."
"Let's try and find them."
Atop the fortress a lone soldier placed a Fire Nation flag. The other soldiers on the ground cheered. The Northern Water Tribe had fallen in one of the most one-sided battles of all time. The Fire Nation finally ruled the world.