Disclaimer: I do not own A:TLA or any of it's characters. The only thing I own is my OC.
The Six Rules:
Rule Number One: Alec won't warn the Gaang about things in advance or solve their problems for them, with a few rare exceptions.
Rule Number Two: Only Alec has the right to tell people his true origins, and he will mostly limit this to group members. He will tell new group members his secret as soon as they join the Gaang.
Rule Number Three: There are some changes Alec wants to make, and he will use his knowledge of the future to make those changes.
Rule Number Four: Sometimes, to make a change, Alec will act in a way that doesn't make sense. If that's necessary, he'll tell the Gaang "I need you to absolutely trust me." After he says that, the Gaang has to either do whatever he asks or leave him to do what he needs to do.
Rule Number Five: After a change happens, Alec will tell the Gaang what happened in the original story, in the interest of transparency.
Rule Number Six: If a major change happens that Alec doesn't expect, the Gaang will have a meeting ASAP. In this meeting, Alec will break Rule One and tell them all relevant information that will help them figure out how to respond to the change.
Chapter 16:
The Siege of the North
Alec POV
I blinked and woke up back at the Spirit Oasis. It was still dark out. My friends and family stared intently at me. Yue and Poduk were still there, too.
"How long was I gone?" I asked.
"Less than an hour." Sokka answered.
"Did you get some answers?" Aang inquired.
I nodded and turned to Yue and Poduk. "Thanks for bringing us here. Could you please show us where we'll be staying?"
"We'd be glad to." Yue replied with a smile. She and Poduk led us out of the Spirit Oasis and to our quarters in the city. They bowed and left us.
I turned to face everyone. "I need to tell you a few things. I need your help."
"Well, it turns out a spirit did send me here." I began. "Her name is Lady Ài, she's the Love Spirit."
"Okay, so why did she send you here?" Katara asked.
"She gave me four tasks." I said. "I can't tell you about two of them, yet, though."
Katara looked slightly disappointed by this. "So, what are the tasks you can tell us about?"
I took a deep breath. "The first task has to deal with the upcoming battle. I'm going to break Rule One. I need the battle to go differently this time, and I can't do it alone."
Sokka looked at me gravely. "What do you mean 'go differently'? Did we lose?"
I shook my head. "No. You won, but it came at a cost. What happened last time is that the Fire Nation eventually broke through the city's defenses, and Zhao killed Tui, the Moon Spirit." Everyone's eyes widened, but I continued before they could interrupt. "It was only temporary, and she was revived a few minutes later, but Lady Ài wants me to prevent her death from happening at all."
"So, what do we do?" Katara asked.
"One of the reasons Tui died was because Aang wasn't in the fight at the time." I looked at Aang. "You meditated into the Spirit World to find Tui, along with La, the Ocean Spirit, and ask for their help. While you were in the Spirit World, your body was vulnerable and you couldn't help in the fight."
"So what do I do this time?" He asked.
"You went into the Spirit World because you didn't know where to find Tui and La." I grinned. "I know exactly where they are, so we can stay here, protect them, and keep you in the fight."
Aang smiled and nodded. "Thanks!"
"So, where are they?" Katara asked.
"They're in the Spirit Oasis." I answered.
"Wait, we didn't see anyone there." Sokka objected.
"Remember the koi fish that Momo almost ate?" I asked, giving the lemur a glare. Momo tucked his ears and looked ashamed.
Sokka's eyes bugged out. "That was them? But they look so…small."
"That's them." I confirmed. "The white fish is Tui, and the black fish is La. That's why they need our protection. They're extremely vulnerable in their mortal forms."
"Why's Zhao even after Tui?" Katara asked.
"Because if Tui is killed, the Moon will disappear. No Moon, no waterbending." I explained. Katara's hands flew to her mouth. "It would also wreck the tides and the seasons, but Zhao doesn't care about that. He wants to be known as 'Zhao the Moon Slayer'." I scoffed.
"Can we move Tui and La to a different place?" Sokka suggested.
I shook my head. "If Tui is removed from the Spirit Oasis, it'll cause a lunar eclipse and waterbenders will lose their power. They have to stay in that pond."
"Great." Sokka threw his hands up. "How are we supposed to keep the entire Fire Nation away from two fish?"
I smirked. "That's the thing, we won't have to."
Katara narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean, 'we won't have to'?"
"Zhao's ambition prevents him from letting anyone else kill Tui." I said. "He'll sneak into Spirit Oasis with just a few guards. Four, at most."
"Well," Aang said cheerfully, "That doesn't sound too bad."
"There's a complication." I warned. "Zhao doesn't need to beat us to win, he just needs to get off a lucky shot and hit the pond. So, we can't dodge his attacks. We'll have to block all of them."
Aang gulped. Dodging was his bread and butter. This wouldn't be easy for him.
"Also," I added, "We can't kill him, either." Aang looked okay with that, but my siblings raised an eyebrow. "Why not?" Sokka asked.
"When I was in the Spirit World, I made a deal with Tui and La." I said. "We need to stop Zhao without killing him so that they can drag Zhao into the Spirit World for punishment. In exchange, after we defeat Zhao, La will take care of the Fire Navy."
"What do you mean, 'take care of'?" Sokka asked.
I smirked. "You'll see."
"So, what do we do?" Aang inquired.
I looked at Sokka. "You're the battle plan guy."
Sokka looked thoughtful, then came up with a few ideas that we tweaked a little. After a few minutes, we had a solid plan. I yawned. "We need some sleep. We have that meeting with Chief Arnook tomorrow morning."
The next morning, after a quick breakfast, we assembled in front of Chief Arnook and his council. Pakku, Poduk, and Yue were there as well. I had my box of scrolls with me.
"Good morning." Chief Arnook began. "Alec, do you have the scrolls?"
I nodded. "Yes. How long will you need to copy them?"
One of his elders whispered in his ear. Arnook spoke again. "My chief scribe tells me that he and his students should have copies of all the scrolls before the end of the day. We can get them back to you by then."
"Okay." I said, walking up to hand the scribe the scrolls. "Please give these back to me, undamaged."
The scribe nodded. "You have my word." With that, he left the palace.
"So, Chief, what did you want to ask us?" Sokka inquired.
Arnook took a breath. "We want to ask you about your battle experience against the Fire Nation."
Sokka raised an eyebrow. "You want to compare notes?"
"No." Arnook admitted. "We want to know what we're facing. The Fire Nation hasn't attacked us in eighty-five years."
Sokka and Katara dropped their jaws in shock. "What?!" Sokka exclaimed. "We lived under constant threat of attack in the Southern Water Tribe."
"Why haven't they attacked in that long?" Katara wondered.
"This place is a fortress." I explained. "This isn't like the Southern Water Tribe, where they could attack from all sides. The tundra around the city is too treacherous, so they have to attack from the sea. The Fire Nation would probably focus on conquering the Earth Kingdom if we didn't have something they want."
Aang gave me a questioning look. "What do we have that they want?"
I gave him a look. "Oh, right." He said.
"Any insights you have could be helpful." Arnook said.
I thought back to the Battle of the Northern Air Temple. The chaotic sounds, the fire, the smell. These guys had no idea what they were in for.
Sokka spoke up. "I have a few ideas." He looked at Katara and Aang. "They need to focus on learning waterbending." He turned to Pakku. "When do you have your classes?"
"Every day, from dawn until midday." Pakku replied.
Sokka nodded and turned to me. "Alec, can you learn more firebending in the afternoons, when Aang and Katara are free?" I nodded.
Poduk looked at me. "I was hoping you would help me teach the waterbenders that Pakku has already graduated to fight against firebenders."
I nodded. "I don't know much, but I'll do what I can. I can do that in the mornings. If we're gonna do that, I want some healers nearby."
Arnook looked concerned. "Why do we need healers?"
I gave him a serious look. "So that I can fight without holding back. Plus, the healers will get some practical experience. Also, you might want to have whoever makes your clothes on standby. A few shirts might get ruined by burns."
He swallowed and nodded. "I see. Please don't hurt them permanently."
Sokka nodded. "I'll meet with your commanders and tell them everything we know about Fire Nation tactics."
Everyone knew their roles. It was time to get to work.
The next morning, Poduk and I assembled in a courtyard in front of a group of about a hundred waterbenders. They ranged in age from about my age, to mid-fifties. A group of healers stood off to the side. Some of them were quite young, barely ten years old. The head healer must have brought her students with her. Lastly, I saw a group of women carrying bundles of clothing. Probably seamstresses. I could see Pakku teaching his students in the opposite courtyard, including Aang and Katara. "Any advice on how to get them to listen to me?" I whispered to Poduk.
"They respect strength." Poduk replied, barely moving his mouth. "Make them respect you, or fear you."
I smirked. I had an idea. I cleared my throat. "All right maggots, listen up! Alec's about to teach you the pecking order: it goes you, the ice, the snow rats inside of the ice, Alec's stool, Poduk, then Alec. Any questions?"*
One idiot in the front row was dumb enough to take the bait. He rolled his eyes and scoffed. I shot a fireball at him that impacted right in front of his feet. He jumped back and his eyes widened in terror. The rest of the crowd stared at me in shock.
"Any more questions?" I asked. Dead silence. I smiled evilly. "Good, then we can begin. I want each of you to pair off and spar for a few minutes. When I shoot a fireball into the sky, stop. Now go!"
They began sparring. I sat down and watched, analyzing them. Poduk sat down next to me. "What was that?" He inquired.
I shrugged, not taking my eyes off the sparring waterbenders. "It worked, didn't it?"
He gave a shrug of his own. "I suppose so. What are you doing now?"
"Looking for flaws and weaknesses." I replied. I watched the sparring for several minutes. I noticed something. They always attacked from the front. These waterbenders had no imagination. This would not do.
I stood up and shot a fireball into the sky. Everyone stopped. That was promising, at least they could follow instructions. "That's enough, I've seen all I need to." I turned to Poduk. "Tell the healers to get ready." I whispered. Poduk nodded. I pointed to one of the waterbenders. "You there, step forward."
A guy a few years older than me stepped forward. "What's your name?" I asked.
"Rakus, sir." He replied.
I nodded. "Rakus, you and I are going to spar. Poduk will be the referee. He'll stop us when one of us is unable to continue. Do you understand?" Rakus nodded.
We took our positions on opposite ends of the field, and got in our stances. Poduk raised his hand, and then dropped it. "Begin!"
Rakus didn't waste time, and formed a water whip, shooting it straight at me. I saw it coming and dodged to the left, and shot a beach ball sized fireball at him. Rakus didn't react in time, and took the full force of the blast. He fell to the ground, gritting his teeth in pain. The right sleeve of his jacket was gone, his arm and the right side of his chest were badly burned.
Poduk and I ran over to Rakus. "We need a healer!" I shouted. One of the women ran over and put her hands on Rakus's chest. Her hands glowed, and the burn slowly healed. Rakus stopped gritting his teeth. I helped him back to his feet. "Are you okay?" I asked.
He nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine." He didn't seem to be mad about it. I looked at the group of seamstresses. "Could we get a new jacket over here?" I requested.
One of them ran over and replaced Rakus's ruined coat. "Thanks for your help, Rakus." I said. "Join the rest of them back in line."
Rakus joined the rest of the men. Most of them looked pretty spooked by what they just saw. I cleared my throat. "Let me tell you exactly why I just won that fight." I began. "All of you are predictable. You always attack from the fucking front."
A few of the women gasped and covered the ears of the younger healers. Oops. Well, at least the children got a free vocabulary lesson. I kept going. "What am I standing on?" I asked seriously.
"Ice, sir." One person replied.
"Very good." I continued. "And what is ice made of?"
"Water, sir." Another person answered.
"Exactly!" I shouted, pointing straight down. "I'm standing on fucking ice! On your fucking element! You could fucking freeze me where I stand! You could melt the ice I'm standing on and drop me in the fucking water! I'll do you one better: you could melt the ice, then freeze it back above me so I can't climb out and fucking drown me! We're surrounded by your element! Act like it! Fuck!"
I calmed down and took a deep breath. "The Fire Nation is coming." I stated gravely. "They will burn you and everyone you love. They outnumber us. We need to use every advantage we have. Do whatever it takes. Impale them on giant icicles, drown them, freeze them in a block of ice so they can't even breathe. Hurt them so badly, that even if they win, they will never be able to sleep again without shitting themselves in terror! Make sure that if we die, the Fire Nation will never forget what happened when they attacked the Northern Water Tribe!" I shouted.
Everyone had a stunned expression on their face. "Start sparring again." I instructed. "This time, try to attack from the sides, or the back, or underneath. Try to catch your opponent off-guard."
I sat back down to watch, and I noticed immediate improvement. A few hours passed. As soon as I saw Pakku dismiss his students, I shot a fireball up into the sky, signaling Poduk and my students to stop. "Class is over for today." I announced.
Before the men could leave, I heard someone clear their throat behind me. I turned around and saw Aang, Katara, and Pakku standing there. Aang had a slightly scared look on his face. Pakku maintained a neutral expression. Katara folded her arms with a pissed off look on her face that made me gulp nervously. "Can I help you?" I asked in a small voice. I didn't know what I did wrong, but I knew it had to be something.
"I heard your little speech earlier." Katara said in a low tone. "Did you have to swear so much in front of little girls?"
Uh oh. Normally, my language got a small correction if I swore in front of Katara, but if I got caught swearing in front of kids, there would be hell to pay. I waved my hands in front of my face placatingly. "Katara, you were too far away, you must have misheard." I lied. "I certainly didn't swear in front of kids."
Normally, I had a good poker face. However, I was so scared of my sister right now that my poker face wouldn't fool a blind man. I just hoped she would buy it, and nobody would contradict me.
"Mommy, what does fuck mean?" An adorable little girl asked her mother, sealing my fate.
Katara narrowed her eyes and took a step forward. "Wait!" I shouted. She stopped, curious. I turned around and faced the men, who hadn't left yet. "Men, I must make a minor correction to the pecking order: it now goes you, the ice, the snow rats inside of the ice, Alec's stool, Poduk, Alec, then Katara. Understood?!" I shouted.
The men nodded. "Good. Dismissed! Come back tomorrow." The waterbenders, healers, seamstresses, and Poduk left, leaving me alone with Pakku, Aang, and an angry Katara. "You know, I need to warm up before I start firebending, so, I'm gonna go for a jog." I took off running. I didn't get too far before my boots froze to the ground. It wasn't long before the rest of my body got frozen in place. Suddenly, the ice around me shifted, and I got spun around. I saw my sister, controlling the ice, moving me slowly towards her.
Pakku raised an eyebrow. "Excellent work, Pupil Katara." He praised.
She turned her head to him and smiled. "Thank you, Master Pakku." She turned back to me and her smile vanished. A frown took its place. "You need to get a handle on your mouth in front of kids." She said sternly. She reached into her pocket and pulled out something. I looked at it with dread.
It was a bar of soap. My old nemesis. Katara walked forward with the bar. "I can deal with you swearing in front of me, but I won't let you teach those words to children." She growled.
Tiger seal blubber and seaweed soap smells decent, but it tastes terrible.
After Katara washed my mouth out, and I used breath of fire to burn away the aftertaste, we started working on my firebending. Thankfully, Chief Arnook's scribe was true to his word, and returned my scroll box yesterday with all the original scrolls intact.
The next scroll was jet step. This was something I'd been looking forward to learning. Using a small burst of flame from your feet to either scale a building, or dash forward quickly. It was a good technique, but there was one problem: It was taking forever to learn. Channeling fire to my feet was a little bit harder than my hands, and this had to be an extremely precise burst.
I tried to dash, but the flame just sputtered out and I fell over. I sighed heavily. This scroll was gonna take a while.
Two Weeks Later
I got in my stance. I was close to getting this technique. I could feel it. Katara had carved out an 'x' into the ice twenty feet away from me, where I was supposed to land. I took a deep breath, leaned forward, and jet-stepped. I dashed forward. When I stopped, I looked down. I was standing directly on the 'x'. Finally!
"I did it!" I cheered.
"Nice job!" Katara praised. "Now try the jump." She made an ice platform about ten feet tall. I crouched down, and jet-stepped. I flew into the air, and landed on the platform.
"Good work, Alec!" Aang cheered.
Katara lowered the platform. I stepped off and jet-stepped over to them. "Thanks." I said. "It's pretty dark out. Let's get some food and start the fire shield scroll tomorrow." I jet-stepped away. I turned back to them. "Well, you coming?" I asked.
Katara ran up to me and raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to keep doing that?"
I smirked. "Just think of it as extra practice."
She rolled her eyes.
Two Weeks Later
Fire shield took me a lot of time to learn. Forming the fire into a different shape was challenging enough. Doing it while spinning and not getting dizzy was even harder. It took a while, but I eventually was able to spin and deflect Katara's water whip consistently.
Aang had improved with his waterbending. He was better with it now than he was at the same time during the show, but Pakku wasn't exactly the best teacher for him. Aang thrived under positive reinforcement, and Pakku didn't do a lot of positive reinforcement.
Katara, on the other hand, was a prodigy. She'd learned more in a month than most of Pakku's students had learned in years. She truly was a once-in-a-generation talent. She swept through all the other students in sparring matches, defeating most of them in a single move. I was so proud of her.
Sokka had really stepped up. He spent his days with all the military commanders of the Northern Water Tribe, helping to organize the city's defenses and telling them everything he knew about Fire Nation tactics. Poduk helped him during the afternoons, embracing his role as the future Chief. Those two would be great Chiefs, one day.
I kept up with my firebending. Even though I only learned two techniques in the past month, I refined my mastery of all the techniques I already knew. I got faster and more precise. If I had to measure my skill level, I would probably put my skill level slightly below Season One Zuko. I couldn't beat him if I fought fair, but if I got under his skin, I could throw him off and get an opening. Also, I got used to firebending to the point that I wasn't eating the group out of house and home. I sparred daily with the waterbenders, helping them prepare to fight the Fire Nation. I played up my role of 'Nasty Drill Sergeant' to keep them on their toes, but they seemed to respect it.
Yue helped organize the women and children. She had the waterbenders build some artificial caves and tunnels under the city that the civilians could hide in. That was good. A battlefield was no place for non-combatants.
As for Hahn, well, he was dead. The idiot tried to hunt an arctic hippo by himself to reclaim his honor. The search party found the top half of his body, so we knew it was him. What a waste.
It was a bright, sunny morning, with a few clouds in the sky. I watched the waterbenders spar. The waterbenders had definitely improved in the past month. Now, they attacked from every single direction. You had to keep on your toes to beat them.
Snow began to fall. That was odd, there weren't that many clouds in the sky. Then I noticed something that made my blood run cold. The snow was black. The Fire Nation was close. I gulped and shot a fireball in the air, stopping the sparring.
"Everyone!" I shouted. I scooped up some of the black snow. "This is soot mixed with snow. This happens when the Fire Nation ships get close."
The men looked worried, but didn't speak. I continued. "They'll probably be here tomorrow. I want you to go home, and spend some time with your families. Tonight, I want you to tell your wives and children that you love them." I put my hand down. "And tomorrow, I want you to make the Fire Nation regret ever coming here!" I shouted. "I am proud of each and every one of you! I know we can win! Dismissed!"
The men left. I turned to Poduk. "Nice speech." He complimented, but his face showed that he was clearly scared out of his mind.
"You scared, too?" I asked.
Paduk looked down at his feet. "I've just received everything I ever wanted, and tomorrow I might lose it all." He said. "I know it sounds selfish, but I wish I had more time."
I nodded sympathetically. "I get it. I won't let you die, if I can help it."
He gave me a small smile. "I won't let you die, either."
We left the courtyard and made our way to the palace.
We assembled in the Palace. The entire Northern Water Tribe was gathered in the main hall. I sat with Aang and my siblings near one of the totems. Chief Arnook stood in front of the crowd. Poduk and Yue sat at his left. Pakku sat to his right. The mood was grim.
"The day we have feared for so long has arrived." Chief Arnook addressed the crowd. "The Fire Nation is on our doorstep. It is with great sadness I call my family here before me, knowing well that some of these faces are about to vanish from our tribe, but they will never vanish from our hearts." He raised his hands. "Now, as we approach the battle for our existence, I call upon the great spirits. Spirit of the Moon! Spirit of the Ocean! Be with us!" He lowered his hands. "All non-combatants should evacuate to your designated shelters tonight. All warriors, waterbenders, and healers, come forward to receive my mark, and then report to Poduk and Sokka for your assignments."
Aang, my siblings, and I lined up. One at a time, Arnook painted three red squiggly lines on our foreheads. After we got the marks, we made our way to an ice table with a large model of the Northern Water Tribe, also made of ice. Once all the warriors, waterbenders, and healers arrived, Poduk stepped forward. "Everyone, listen up!" He bent the ice table, and lifted up the model so everyone could see it. "Our city has three walls. Our first line of defense is here, on the outer wall." He detached the part showing the outer wall. "We'll put some waterbenders up on that wall, and send out a few boats with waterbenders to attack the Fire Navy ships. The Avatar will be joining them." Aang nodded. Poduk continued. "The warriors and some more waterbenders will be on the outer wall. The healers will be on the ground behind next wall. If anyone gets wounded severely enough that they need a healer, someone will get them to a healer."
Poduk broke off another piece of the diagram. "If the Fire Nation breaks through the outer wall and overruns us, we'll have to fall back to the next wall. We'll keep a force of waterbenders on every wall at all times, to cover our retreat if necessary." He broke off another piece. "If we fall back to the second wall, the healers will fall back to the third wall." He broke of the last piece, leaving only the city and the palace. "If we have to fall back to the last wall, the healers fall back to the palace. Any time we need to signal a retreat, either Sokka or I will blow a yak horn. It's loud enough that you'll hear it over the battle."
He put down the model. "Any questions?"
One warrior spoke up. "Shouldn't we try to infiltrate the fleet and take out their commander?"
Sokka shook his head. "No. We thought about doing it, but all the Fire Navy uniforms we have are out-of-date. We'd be spotted immediately."
Poduk nodded. "We're going to have to fight the old-fashioned way. Everybody report to me for your assigned positions. Report to your spots at dawn."
After everyone got their assignments, I walked up to Sokka. "What do we do?" I asked.
"We'll be on the outer wall, on the front lines." Sokka answered. "After night falls, we'll go to the Spirit Oasis to set the trap." He looked at me questioningly. "Are you sure we'll need to do it every night?"
"Yeah, we do." I said seriously. "Let's go get some food and some sleep. We probably won't be sleeping for most of the battle."
We walked outside and saw Aang perched on a snow mound, holding his staff. Katara and Chief Arnook were with him. "The stillness before battle is unbearable." Chief Arnook commented. "Such a quiet dread."
"I wasn't there when the Fire Nation attacked my people." Aang said sadly. He stood up, determined. "I'm gonna make a difference, this time."
That night, Aang, my siblings, and I sat around the fire in our quarters. There was an uncomfortable silence. We all dreaded the fight tomorrow would bring. My knowledge of the possible future gave me no comfort. A battle was so chaotic, with so many variables, that anything could go wrong.
Katara tried to break the awkward silence. "Maybe we should talk about something, to take our mind off tomorrow." She suggested.
I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I'll bite. What do you want to talk about?"
She looked down. "Well, you told us a month ago that the Love Spirit brought you here to do four tasks. Could you tell us about them?"
Aang perked up. "Yeah, we've all been so busy that we never asked you what the tasks were. Do you mind telling us?"
Even Sokka looked interested. I took a deep breath. "Well, she gave me four tasks, but I can't tell you about two of them, yet. Don't worry, the secret tasks aren't anything like 'stop Aang from saving the world' or 'help the Fire Nation'." I assured them.
Sokka counted off on his fingers. "Wait, saving the Moon Spirit is one task, then there are two tasks you can't tell us. That's three. What's the fourth?"
I rubbed the back of my head in embarrassment and blushed. "Well, for the fourth task, she wants me to find my soulmate. She said that was the main reason she brought me here." I explained.
Sokka looked skeptical. "Soulmates are a thing?"
I shrugged. "Apparently so. She told me that my soulmate is a nonbender girl about a year younger than I am now."
Katara's eyes widened in realization. "Is that why she made you fifteen?" She asked.
I nodded. "Yeah."
Sokka looked confused. "Why were you born in a different world, with such a different age?"
Another shrug. "Some sort of accident. According to Lady Ài, soulmates can sometimes be born in different worlds, or even a hundred years apart." I saw Aang glance at Katara, then look away.
Aang's brow furrowed. "How are you supposed to find her? There are so many nonbenders in the world."
I shrugged again. "I have no idea. I figure I'll just look around after our journey is over. I don't want to slow you down so I can find some romance."
Katara smiled kindly. "We'll help you find her."
I returned the smile. "Thanks."
Sokka yawned. "Let's get some sleep."
We woke up just before dawn and ate breakfast. Nobody spoke a word. Sokka and I said nothing while we put on our armor. We got into position on the outer wall. Warriors and waterbenders stood shoulder-to-shoulder. Appa stood atop the wall, with Aang perched on his head. Sokka, Katara, Poduk, and I stood to Aang's right. Aang left Momo in the palace. A battlefield was no place for a lemur. The sun rose on the horizon. We watched, and waited for the ships to show.
I saw a black speck on the horizon. It slowly grew larger in size. Suddenly, a bright flash came from the speck, and a bright object soared towards the wall. A fireball! I summoned a massive fireball in my hands, and compressed it down to the size of a baseball. I threw the fire bomb at the approaching fireball.
I missed.
SHIT!
BOOOOM!
The fireball impacted the wall just below where we stood, and sent us flying. I got buried in snow. This was bad! I had to get myself out, but I didn't even know which way was up. I had an idea. I gathered up a mouthful of spit, and let it drip out of my mouth. It went out of my mouth, and dropped to the right. I was on my right side, so left was up. I turned my left hand into a flamethrower and melted my way out of the snow. I stood up and shook myself off.
"There you are!" I heard Sokka say. I turned to him. He, Poduk, and Katara had gotten themselves out of the snow, too. "Where are Aang and Appa?" I asked.
"He took off. He's attacking the ship." Sokka explained.
I nodded. We heard more explosions. I turned to the source of the noise and saw multiple fireballs hit buildings in the city. It was sad that the Fire Nation could willingly destroy something so beautiful. I shook it off. I didn't have time for that. The four of us ran to the top of the wall. The Fire Nation ship was close enough that you could the tiny forms of people on them. Appa knocked several of them overboard with his tail. I saw one dot just dodging and weaving around the other dots. That had to be Aang. The fight went on for a few minutes, but then, the cavalry arrived. Several boats with waterbenders sailed over, right next to the Fire Nation ship, and impaled it on massive icicles. Aang jumped on Appa and took off.
"I don't get it." Poduk said next to me. "Where's the rest of the Fire Nation fleet? Why did they send only one ship for the first attack?"
"Probably testing our defenses." Sokka replied. "Or, they want to make sure Aang's here before they commit to a full attack."
I chuckled. "Could you imagine how pissed the Fire Lord would be if they sent a massive fleet for nothing?"
Sokka turned and looked at me with disbelief. "Are you laughing?" He asked in shock.
I stopped laughing. "Sorry." I said, completely embarrassed. "I make bad jokes in tense situations."
"Wait, what's that?" Katara asked, pointing at the horizon. I squinted and looked at the direction she was pointing. I saw more black specks in the distance. "Sokka, can I borrow your spyglass?" I asked, holding out my hand.
Sokka handed it to me. I extended it and held it up to my eye. I saw the Fire Navy, and there was a lot of them. I swept the spyglass down the row, counting the total number.
"Let's see…" I thought. "Four rows of thirty-one ships, plus the one Aang just took out…"
I took the telescope off my eye and swallowed. Sokka gave me a look. "How many are there?"
"Is five shitloads an acceptable unit of measurement?" I responded, my eyes wide with fear.
"Alec! Focus!" Katara said sharply.
I shook it off. "One hundred twenty-five ships in total." I reported. "Aang just took one out, so there's one hundred twenty-four, now. Every one of those ships is at least three times as big as Zuko's ship, and they're probably all full of soldiers, rhinos, and tanks."
Sokka swallowed nervously. "They're really going all out."
"Well, on the bright side, if we win, we'll have taken out a big chunk of the Fire Navy." I pointed out optimistically.
I saw several flashes come from the Fire Navy. Multiple fireballs launched towards the city. The waterbenders bent up giant columns of water, catching fireballs and freezing them. A few got through and impacted the city, heavily damaging buildings.
"We have to stop those fireballs!" Katara shouted.
I nodded. "I can blow them up, but it's hard to hit a moving target! You and Poduk can do what the others are doing and stop a few of the fireballs! Sokka, call out targets for us!" I yelled over the noise. I looked up and saw more fireballs soaring overhead.
"Alright, Alec." I thought. "Just like when you went skeet shooting when you were twelve. Lead the target."
"There!" Sokka pointed. I created a firebomb, and shot it in the path of the indicated fireball. This time, I hit it, blasting it to dust. I took a breath, and created another, and shot it in the path of another fireball. Another hit. Katara and Poduk worked together to catch fireballs in ice columns. We made a dent, but the fireballs just kept coming. We worked for hours, sweat soaking through our clothes, and my armor stuck to my shirt. Sokka's voice went hoarse from calling out targets, eventually he just used one hand to point at either me, or Katara and Poduk, and the other hand to point at the target. Eventually, when twilight approached, the fireballs stopped coming.
"Why are they stopping?" Sokka asked, his hoarse voice barely above a whisper.
"Firebenders are stronger in sunlight." I explained, trying to catch my breath. "Waterbenders are stronger at night, under the moonlight, and the full moon is tomorrow night. They're waiting to attack again until daybreak."
Sokka gave me a quizzical look, then he laughed hoarsely. "That explains why you always wake up first."
I chuckled and shrugged. "Maybe, I don't know."
"Another reason to hate the Fire Nation." He laughed. "They're morning people!"
Poduk, Katara, and I laughed out loud. Unlike most of Sokka's jokes, this one was actually funny. Once the laughter died down, I turned to Katara. "Do we have any drinking water?" I inquired. "Sokka looks pretty spent, and I think the rest of us could use a drink, too."
She nodded, and melted some of the ice from the ground, bending it into our mouths, quenching our thirst. I wiped my mouth on my sleeve and smiled appreciatively. "Thanks, Katara."
She smiled. We heard a loud groan from above us and saw Appa and Aang flying towards the Palace. "Aang!" Katara exclaimed with worry. We ran to the palace, hoping Aang was okay.
We arrived at the palace. Yue was there, along with Appa and Aang. Poduk ran over to her, embracing her in a hug. "What are you doing here?" He asked, concerned.
Yue looked down. "I had to see if you were alright." She admitted. "I can't lose you."
I left them alone, and looked over at Appa and Aang. Appa was lying on his belly, exhausted. Aang sat down next to Appa, holding his head in his hands. Thankfully, Aang appeared uninjured, just exhausted.
"I can't do it…I can't do it." He said, defeated.
Katara knelt down next to him. "What happened?" She asked kindly.
"I must have taken out a dozen Fire Navy ships, but there's just too many of them." He replied dimly. "I can't fight them all."
I knelt down and gently grabbed Aang's shoulder. "Aang, it's okay. You took down twelve, there are a hundred twenty-five total, so you took out almost a tenth of their numbers by yourself." I smiled. "You did very well." I leaned over right next to his ear. "Remember, you don't have to stop them all." I whispered. "We just need the plan to succeed."
He looked at me and smiled. "Thanks, Alec."
I looked at Sokka. "We need to get some food and get the trap ready."
Sokka nodded. "Let's get going." He said hoarsely.
I stood up and walked over to Poduk and Yue, still embracing each other. "We're gonna get some food and rest." I announced. "We'll find you in the throne room if we need anything."
Poduk gave me a nod.
"Are you sure he'll show up?" Katara whispered.
I nodded. "Oh yeah, he's too persistent not to." I replied back quietly.
We were in the Spirit Oasis. Aang sat by the pond, meditating. Sokka, Katara, and I hid in the bushes behind the pond. We watched and waited, sleeping in shifts. Aang's meditation provided him the rest that sleep normally would. Just when my final sleeping shift started, the door to the Oasis opened slowly. In walked Zuko, looking more scarred than usual, wearing only thin clothing, no heavy jacket. He must be relying on breath of fire to keep from freezing to death. Bruises and scars covered his face. I suspected they covered the rest of his body as well. He looked like shit, but, then again, he'd woken up on the wrong side of an explosive assassination attempt.
I nudged Sokka and Katara from their slumber, holding my hands over their mouths so that they wouldn't cry out. "He's here." I whispered, before taking my hands away from their mouths. They became alert instantly, and we crouched, ready to spring the trap. Sokka held up three fingers, as Zuko approached Aang cautiously. Two fingers. Zuko was five feet away from Aang. One finger. Zuko reached out his hand to grab Aang by the collar. I got into a sprinter's pose.
Zero fingers. I jet-stepped, dashing and stopping right in front of Zuko, grabbing his wrist. He cried out in surprise. "You!"
I smirked. "Not just me." Katara and Sokka emerged from the bushes. Katara took a stance. Sokka drew his club and boomerang. Aang's eyes shot open, and he stood up, taking a stance of his own.
Zuko narrowed his eyes. He took his free fist and threw a punch, forcing me to let go and block the fireball. If I hadn't done that, the fireball could've hit the pond!
"Hey!" I shouted. "Don't hurt the koi fish!"
Zuko paused, and looked at the pond. He seemed to look thoughtful for a few seconds, then he nodded. "Fine, let's keep the fight away from the pond."
I nodded, and took several steps away from the pond, so that it wouldn't be in the line of fire. I took a stance. "I suggest you surrender, your outnumbered and outmatched."
Zuko had no chance here, even if he was at a hundred percent. Aang was definitely more powerful than him now, Katara was a pretty even match, and I could probably take him in his current condition. He could probably beat Sokka, but it wouldn't be as easy as it was the first time they met.
Zuko narrowed his eyes, shifting his gaze from Aang, to Katara, then to Sokka, then to me, sizing us up. He shot a fireball at me. I blocked it and shot a fireball of my own. Katara shot a water whip at Zuko. He shot out both his hands, blocking both our attacks. Aang brought his staff down in a sweeping motion, knocking Zuko into the ice wall. Zuko groaned and stood back up. I had to hand it to him, he was fighting while suffering from previous injury, sleep deprivation, and borderline hypothermia. He probably shouldn't be able to move, but he was still fighting.
Katara did a rapid series of sweeping motions, trapping Zuko in a sphere of ice. "You little peasant." He spat. "You've found a master, haven't you?"
The ice ball began to glow orange and rumble. Then it exploded. Zuko jumped out, and shot a fireball at me. I spun and deflected it with Fire Shield. Katara bent the water at Zuko's feet, freezing him to the ground. Aang hit him with a blast of air, making him start to lose his balance. While he was reeling, Sokka threw his boomerang, hitting Zuko square in the forehead, knocking him out.
I gave Sokka a nod. "Nice throw."
He smirked "Thanks."
Aang poked Zuko with his foot. "So, what do we do with him?"
Sokka looked at me. "Should we contact the Fire Navy and offer to trade him for peace?"
I shook my head. "Zhao won't take the deal. I think we should restrain him, and take him to Poduk and Yue. I have an idea."
We tied Zuko's hands behind his back with a chain. Sokka and I carried him to the throne room. We put him down on the floor in front of Poduk and Yue.
Poduk looked to be in a bad mood. "Who's this?" He asked tersely.
I raised an eyebrow. "Problem?"
He snorted. "Chief Arnook wants me off the front lines. He said we can't afford to lose the future Chief." Yue put her hand on his arm to comfort him.
I winced. I knew Poduk wanted to fight. "Sorry about that. Anyway, this is Prince Zuko, the banished prince of the Fire Nation."
Poduk and Yue's eyes widened. "Can we use him as a hostage?" Poduk asked.
I shook my head. "Unfortunately, no. I said banished prince. They don't want him back. I think we should keep him in the cells, and figure out what to do with him later. We'll need someone to watch him, though."
He shrugged. "I'll do it. Chief Arnook wants me off the front lines, and this way, I'll still be doing something useful."
Yue looked at me. "I'll help, too."
I nodded. "Well, we should probably put him in the cell before he wakes up."
Once we put Zuko in the cell, I turned to my sister. "Katara, I think you should heal him." I said.
She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Why?" She asked in an irritated tone.
"He's pretty banged up, and we need him alive." I explained. "We should probably get him a blanket, too. With those clothes, he'll be freezing, even with breath of fire."
"Fine." Katara huffed.
Yue perked up. "I know where one is, I'll go get it."
"I'll go too." Poduk added. "If he got in, there's no telling if anyone else did, too."
The two lovebirds left the jail. Katara went into the cell and began healing Zuko. Her eyes widened when she realized the full extent of his injuries. "What happened to him?" She whispered.
"Zhao hired the pirates we stole from to blow up his ship." I explained. Aang and Sokka turned to me with wide eyes. "He put up a fire shield at the last second, but he still got hurt."
"How did he even get here?" Sokka asked.
"He stowed away on Zhao's ship, then he swam." I explained.
Sokka looked at me like I'd grown a second head. "You're kidding. In that water?"
I nodded. "He's determined, I'll give him that."
Poduk and Yue returned with a thick blanket. Katara finished healing Zuko. Yue covered the scarred prince with the blanket and exited the cell. Poduk shut the door and locked it. "So, now what?" He asked.
"Well, now we wait for Prince Angsty to wake up." I replied. "We might want to get him some hot food. He probably hasn't eaten in a while."
Sokka smirked. "I'll get him some stewed sea prunes."
I shuddered. "Sokka! Torture is wrong!"
Everyone laughed. Zuko started to stir. He rubbed his hand on his forehead and sat up. He blinked, then he looked at us through the bars. He jumped up and took a stance. Aang, Katara, Sokka, Poduk, and I took stances. Yue moved behind Poduk.
"Zuko, you're caught." I said sternly. "Just stand down. You can't melt your way out of that cell, and if you try, Katara and Poduk will freeze you to the wall."
Zuko narrowed his eyes. Then he dropped his hands. "Fine!" He spat.
We slowly got out of our stances. I turned to Poduk. "Make sure he doesn't escape."
Poduk nodded. "What are you going to do?"
I swallowed. "We have to get back to the battlefield. It's almost dawn. They'll attack again, soon."
We gathered on the battlefield with the rest of the warriors. The outer wall was too damaged to stand on. We gathered a force of warriors and waterbenders in the area between the outer wall and the first inner wall. A line of warriors with spears and shields stood in the front, with a line of waterbenders standing just behind them. Another force of waterbenders stood atop the inner wall, each standing above one of the chutes that water flowed out of.
Katara, and I stood just behind the front line. Aang sat atop Appa on the second wall, ready to provide air support. Sokka stood next to them, coordinating our forces. The air was thick with tension. The anticipation was killing me. When the sun peeked over the ruined outer wall, there was a loud crash. A Fire Navy ship rammed through the wall. The bowsprit lowered down into a ramp, and Fire Nation soldiers armed with spears ran down the ramp towards our lines.
Our front line formed a phalanx, with their spears poking out of the gaps. The benders in the second line got in their stances. The Fire Nation soldiers charged. They crashed into the front line near where Katara and I stood.
"Benders!" Katara shouted. "Attack through the gaps!"
Katara and several waterbenders sent water whips through the gaps, knocking back several soldiers. Some of the other waterbenders weren't as merciful, and shot icicles through the gaps, skewering the enemy soldiers. I reached between the two soldiers in front of me and sent a ten-foot flamethower into the enemy lines. I heard the enemy scream in agony, and the air quickly filled with a familiar smell.
I heard another crash, and saw another ship ram through the outer wall, deploying more enemy troops. We continued our defense, the shield wall blocking the infantry, and the waterbenders attacking them. The ground slowly turned from white to red. We were inflicting heavy losses on the enemy, but there were so many of them that we were slowly forced back.
I heard a roar come from one of the ships. I looked in the direction of the noise and saw rhinos. Shit! Those would trample over our lines easily! Then I heard a massive groan from behind me that made me smile. A shadow fell over the battlefield and then Appa and Aang crashed down in front of the rhinos. Appa sent several flying with his tail, and Aang flipped over a few with airbending. The infantry tried to attack them, but Appa swept them away with his tail before they could do anything. Aang and Appa took off again after they dealt with the rhinos.
The shield-holder in front of me got stabbed in the leg through the gap in the phalanx. He groaned in pain. I shot a flamethrower through the gap to give him some space. Once we had some breathing room, I looked him in the eye. "Give me your shield, and fall back!" I shouted. "You can't keep up the formation with that wound!"
He nodded, and handed me his shield, limping back towards the second wall. I took up the shield and held it up in the phalanx. The soldiers stopped coming. That was odd. Why would they stop attacking?
Then I heard a noise I hadn't heard in a month. The sound of metal and steam. I looked over my shield and saw them. The tundra tanks were here. The tanks formed up in front of the enemy infantry. They began shooting fireballs at us. The shields provided the soldiers some protection, but the fireballs hit with enough force that it sent them reeling back. I dropped my shield, and blocked a fireball. I shot a firebomb into the canopy of a tank, blowing it to pieces.
"Waterbenders! Attack the wheels!" I shouted. Katara raised up her arms, and ice spikes shot up from underneath one of the tanks, breaking the wheels off their axle. The other waterbenders followed suit. I kept blocking fireballs and blowing up tanks. We destroyed a lot of them, but they just kept coming, and every fireball that wasn't blocked by a shield or me took out at least one of our people. The smell of burning flesh filled the air.
Sokka blew his horn, calling for us to retreat to the second wall. We all backed up, keeping up our defenses as best we could. Once we got close to the wall, the waterbenders on the wall shot out massive jets of water from the chutes. The jets went over our forces and slammed into the enemy tanks, knocking them back. The waterbenders lifted up their hands, and created a ten-foot wall to cover our retreat. It wouldn't hold for long, but it would last long enough.
The benders on the wall created a massive staircase so that our troops could retreat behind the wall. We scrambled up the stairs and to the wall. Katara and I reunited with Sokka and Aang on top of the wall. Once all our still-living troops made it, Sokka raised his hand, and then dropped it quickly. "NOW!" He screamed.
The waterbenders turned the staircase into a massive wave, crashing over the enemy tanks and soldiers. Then, they froze the water, trapping the enemy where they lay. I turned to Sokka. "How'd you come up with that idea?" I inquired.
"Remember the time Aang washed all our supplies downriver with a massive wave?" Sokka replied with a smirk.
I shook my head and grinned. "You have the craziest ideas." I put on my serious face. "How did we do down there?"
Sokka shook his head. "About as well as we could have. For every one of us we lost, we took down at least a dozen of their guys.
Katara looked confused. "I don't get it. How can Zhao keep sending troops like this if we keep defeating them. What's his strategy?"
I shook my head sadly. "Overwhelming force." I explained. "Zhao wants to win, and doesn't care how many of his own troops die in the process." I turned to Sokka. "What's our strategy, now?"
He frowned. "We can't use a shield wall again. If they break through this wall, we'll be fighting in the city. There's not enough room for the shield wall. We'll need to fight building by building. The waterbenders will focus on the rhinos and tanks, and the soldiers will fight their infantry. Once night falls, you, Aang, and Katara need to go set the trap."
Aang cocked his head. "What about you?"
Sokka shook his head. "Poduk's guarding Zuko, so I have to run things on the battlefield."
We all hugged Sokka. "Good luck." Katara whispered.
"You too." He replied warmly.
When we broke the hug, I saw flashes of light in the distance. Fireball artillery was back in play. The waterbenders stopped some of them, but about half made it through and hit buildings in the city. I heard more crashes. Two more Fire Navy ships crashed into the wall, and started sending out tanks. These tanks had ballistae mounted on top of them. The tanks fireballs made short work of the ten-foot wall, and approached the wall we stood on. The waterbenders shot massive jets of water out of the chutes like cannons, but it didn't take out all the tanks. There were just too many of them.
One of the tanks shot it's ballista through the wall. The spike it launched was attached to a chain. The tank pulled back on the chain, reeling it back like a fishing pole. Finally, part of the wall gave out and crumbled, leaving a gap in the wall big enough for a tank to roll through.
Sokka's eyes widened, and he blew his horn immediately. We hurried down the wall and into the city proper. "I need to go back to the next wall." Sokka told us. "We probably won't see each other until the battle is over." We all nodded. Sokka took off to the final wall.
Now the battle had moved into the outskirts of the city. There were buildings here, but they were pretty spaced out. Not a good defensive position. We gave it everything we got, especially Aang, Katara, and I, but it wasn't even an hour before we heard the horn. Aang blew his whistle, calling Appa to us. We climbed aboard and took off. We looked down at the city from the sky. The outskirts were overrun with Fire Nation troops and tanks. We saw the signs of battle. The ground, once a pristine icy white, was stained red with blood. I couldn't count the number of bodies I saw down there. All this death and destruction. War truly is hell.
Appa put us down behind the final wall, in the city. "We need to stick together." I said urgently. "Once night falls, we need to set the trap."
"Right." Aang and Katara said together.
The next several hours were chaotic. We fought the Fire Nation hard, making them pay in blood for every inch they advanced. Aang used his staff and launched soldiers and tanks dozens of feet away into walls, knocking them out and breaking bones. Katara hit the enemy with massive waves, before freezing them to the ground. I shot fire bombs at the troops, doing severe damage and scattering them. If the enemy got too close, I'd jet-step up to them and stab them with a fire dagger. Aang and Katara fought hard, but they played by Batman rules: They wouldn't kill you, but they would injure you so bad you might never walk again. I played by Red Hood rules: I aimed to kill. I didn't enjoy this, but I couldn't afford to hold back.
After hours of urban warfare, the sun finally set. Aang blew his whistle, and we boarded Appa. Aang flew us to the Spirit Oasis, and we got off the bison. Aang turned to Appa. "Sorry, buddy, but you need to go. We need stealth here."
Appa groaned unhappily, but took off anyway. We took our position behind the bushes, and waited. A few hours later, the door to the Spirit Oasis opened. Zhao walked in, followed by multiple guards. There was a problem. Last time he had four guards, this time there were twenty!
Katara's eyes widened. "Why are there so many guards?" She whispered.
"I don't know." I replied, scared. "We fought a lot harder than last time, maybe that made Zhao more cautious."
"What do we do?" Aang whispered.
I saw the Spirit Oasis door open again, but this time, a short, stocky figure in a red cloak entered. An idea formed in my head. "Spring the trap." I said with a smirk.
Katara gave me a look. "Are you crazy?"
"Just do it!" I replied.
We jumped out of the bushes and took stances. Zhao saw us and laughed. "The Avatar and his friends. Come to surrender?" He said cockily.
I narrowed my eyes. "We know why you're here, Zhao." I said grimly. "Did you think you could plot to kill a spirit without them finding out about it? Master Jeong Jeong said you had no restraint, but this is insane!"
Zhao cocked an eyebrow. "So, my old master took you as a student, eh?"
I smirked. "Yeah, he gave me some excellent reading material, too. A whole set of firebending scrolls." Zhao's eyes went wide. I kept talking. "They were so good that I just had to share them with the Northern Water Tribe. They liked them so much, that they made copies."
Zhao clenched his fists. "You gave military secrets to the enemy?!" He asked, enraged.
I shook my head. "No, I gave military secrets to your enemy." I snarked.
Zhao sputtered angrily. Before he could collect himself, I turned my gaze to the hooded figure. "General Iroh, is that you?" I inquired.
The figure lowered his hood, revealing the Dragon of the West. "Yes, Alec. It is."
I smiled. Time to make Zhao's day even worse. "I have a proposition for you, General. We have Prince Zuko in our custody." Zhao's eyes nearly bugged out of his head, but Iroh's expression didn't change. "If you help us defeat Zhao and his men, we'll allow both you and Zuko to leave the Northern Water Tribe peacefully."
Aang and Katara looked at me like I was insane. Iroh walked up to us, turned to face Zhao, and took a stance. "I accept your proposal."
"You traitor!" Zhao shouted.
"The Fire Nation needs the Moon, too." Iroh replied simply. "And I will do anything to protect my nephew."
Zhao narrowed his eyes. "So be it." He turned to his men. "Attack them, but leave the young firebender to me!"
The firebenders engaged us. Iroh took on fifteen at once, dodging and weaving, blocking any fireball that threatened to hit the pond. Aang and Katara fought back to back, surrounded by the other five guards.
I focused on Zhao. This was bad. I couldn't mess with his head, because if he attacked wildly, he might hit the pond. Zhao had years of experience, and he was fresh. I was still learning, and tired from fighting all day. On top of that, I had to take him alive. This would be hard.
I shot a fireball at Zhao. He deflected it and shot a flamethrower at me. I spun around and used fire shield to diffuse it. I made a fire bomb and shot it at him. He dodged it, clearing the blast radius just in time. Then he did something I didn't expect. He jet-stepped right up to me, and grabbed me by the throat, choking me.
"I'll enjoy watching you rot in the Boiling Rock." He taunted. Then he punched me in the head and tossed me aside, disorienting me, but not knocking me out.
I was seeing double. I tried desperately to shake it off. Through my blurry vision, I saw Zhao make his way to the pond. He knelt down and grabbed Tui, putting her in a bag.
The moon and the sky turned red. I looked and saw the water whip Katara made deform and fall. Aang kept fighting, desperate to keep her safe. This was bad! I needed to act, now!
Just when I thought it was over, my vision cleared. I saw Zhao look up at the red moon. "I am…a legend, now!" He declared dramatically. I sized up the distance between myself and him. "The Fire Nation will, for generations, tell stories about the great Zhao, who darkened the Moon." I got into a sprinter's pose. "They will call me Zhao the Conqueror, Zhao the Moon Slayer, Zhao the Invincible!"
I jet-stepped over to Zhao and grabbed his right wrist with my left hand. I glared at his surprised eyes. "Zhao the Dead." I growled.
I made a fire dagger in my right hand and cut off Zhao's hand, leaving a smoking stump on his right wrist. Zhao screamed in terrible agony and dropped to his knees, holding his wrist. The rest of the fight stopped, and everyone turned towards us, curious about what made such a horrible noise. His guards saw what happened, and then they ran away, leaving me, Aang, Katara, Iroh, and Zhao in the Oasis.
I pried the bag out of Zhao's disembodied hand, and I knelt down in front of the pond. I opened the bag and let Tui out into the water. The sky returned to normal. I turned to face the Avatar. "Aang, come over here. We need you."
Aang nodded, still shocked by what I'd done. "Can I have Appa's whistle?" I asked. He looked at me questioningly. "I'll give it back, I promise." He nodded and handed it to me.
He walked over to the pond, and looked at the fish. La stopped swimming in a circle, and locked eyes with Aang. Aang's eyes and tattoos glowed with white light, along with La's eyes and the spot on his back. Aang stepped into the pond and sank down. The pond began to glow with blue light. Then, a massive hand shot out of the pond and grabbed Zhao. The hand was electric blue, with dark blue splotches. It pulled Zhao under the water. I blew the whistle. A few seconds later, Appa appeared, and landed right in front of us. I turned to Katara and Iroh. "Get on!" I shouted. They ran and climbed into the saddle. I climbed on Appa's head and cracked the reins. "Yip yip!"
We took off. The water in the Oasis began to glow just like the hand that grabbed Zhao. Then the water extended up to form a massive creature that dwarfed the palace in size. It had the head of a koi fish, but the body of a human. Aang stood in an orb in the center of the creature, piloting it like a gundam.
"What is that!?" Katara exclaimed in awe.
"That's Aang and La working together." I explained. "We need to fly over the city and keep an eye out for Sokka!"
The creature waded through the city, attacking Fire Nation soldiers everywhere it saw them. We flew over the city, searching for any sign of our brother. We found him and a group of warriors backed into a corner, surrounded by Fire Nation troops. Appa landed between Sokka and the enemy, and sent the enemy flying with a sweep of his tail. I turned and looked at my brother. "Sokka, get on!" I shouted.
Sokka didn't waste any time, he scrambled up to Appa and got in the saddle. We took off again, keeping our eyes on the creature. Sokka noticed the saddle's other occupant.
"What's he doing here!?" He shouted. "And why did the sky turn red for a second!? And what in the world is that thing!?"
I didn't take my eyes off the kaiju. "In order, Iroh helped us fight Zhao in exchange for Zuko's release and safe passage out of the Northern Water Tribe. The sky turned red because Zhao took Tui out of the pond, but we stopped him before he could kill her. That," I pointed at the kaiju, "Is Aang and La working together to get rid of the rest of the Fire Nation."
"Are you sure we can trust him?" Sokka asked suspiciously.
"Yes, if we keep up our end of the bargain, he'll leave us in peace." I answered.
"I am curious, though." Iroh spoke. "What happened to Zhao? He disappeared when the Ocean Spirit dragged him under the water."
"They probably took him to the Fog of Lost Souls." I answered.
Iroh was silent for a few seconds before he spoke again. "I cannot say he did not deserve it, but I do not envy his fate." He said sadly.
"What's the Fog of Lost Souls?" Katara inquired.
"It's a prison in the Spirit World for humans. The fog is actually a spirit that infects your mind and slowly drives you insane, imprisoning you in your darkest thoughts and memories, forever." I answered.
"Yikes." Sokka said.
The kaiju made its way to the ruined outer wall. Once there, it created a massive wave, pushing most of the Fire Navy ships miles away, and capsizing several of them in the process. Once the Fire Nation was gone, the kaiju set Aang down on the ruined outer wall, then it disappeared into the ocean. We set Appa down on the ruined wall, got off, and ran over to Aang, embracing him in a massive group hug. Iroh stood at a respectful distance.
"Did we win?" Aang asked tiredly.
I smiled. "Yeah, we did."
The following morning, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Poduk, Yue and I stood in front of a small boat with Iroh and Zuko. The boat was about half the size of Bato's. We replaced the blue sails and Water Tribe flags with red sails and Fire Nation flags.
Zuko looked at the boat with disbelief. "You've got to be kidding."
I grinned and shook my head. "It's the biggest ship they have that two people can operate alone." I explained. "Plus, it's loaded with three weeks worth of food and water."
Iroh smiled. "We'll take it." He bowed to us. "Thank you for holding up your end of the bargain."
I returned the bow. "We couldn't have stopped Zhao without you." I gave him a look. "General Iroh, We can't return the dead Fire Nation soldiers to their homes. What should we do with them?" I asked.
Iroh looked sad. "Give them a funeral pyre, and scatter the ashes in the sea." He answered sadly. I nodded.
Iroh and Zuko climbed aboard the ship. Just before they cast off, Zuko glared at Aang. "Don't think this is over, Avatar." He growled. "I'll be back."
Aang looked down, sadly. "I know." He looked up with determination in his eyes. "And we'll be ready for you."
Zuko and Iroh sailed away.
Third Person POV
Floating on a piece of driftwood in the sea, among the shipwrecks of the Fire Navy miles away from the Northern Water Tribe, lay a man. A thin, black-haired man with a nondescript face in his late teens. A very angry and confused man. It didn't make any sense. The Northern Water Tribe was supposed to be a bunch of savages. They weren't supposed to be a threat. They certainly weren't supposed to win.
It was that firebender's fault. He gave the Water Tribe firebending scrolls. He persuaded the Dragon of the West to turn traitor. He killed Zhao. The Fire Nation needed to know about him.
"Captain! We found a survivor!" A voice shouted.
The man looked up, and saw the shadow of a Fire Navy vessel. Salvation had come at last.
The man was fed, and given fresh water to drink. The door to his room opened, and the captain walked in. The man stood at attention. The captain put up his hand. "At ease, soldier. Sit down, you've been through a lot, recently."
The man sat back down on his cot. "Tell me your name." The captain said.
The man looked up. "My name is Private Lee, sir. I was part of Admiral Zhao's personal guard during the invasion."
The captain's eyebrows shot up. "I'm Captain Raizu. I'd like to ask you about what happened." He pulled up a chair and sat in front of Lee. "It all seemed to be going so well, then the sky turned red for a minute, then a giant monster pushed our ship miles away from the Water Tribe with no explanation." He looked Lee in the eyes. "Can you tell me what happened to Admiral Zhao?"
Lee swallowed nervously. "Admiral Zhao…is dead."
Raizu nodded. "I thought so. Do you know what happened?"
Lee took a deep breath. "During the second night of the battle, Zhao left the flagship, and brought all twenty of his personal guard, and General Iroh, with him to the battlefield."
Raizu looked puzzled. "Why did he have so many?"
Lee gave him a haunted look. "The Northern Water Tribe made us fight for every inch of territory. The ice was slick with blood. It was horrifying."
Raizu looked at Lee with sympathy. "It's okay, soldier. Just tell me what happened."
Lee calmed down and told the Captain his tale. He told him about the rogue firebender who gave the scrolls to the enemy, the betrayal of General Iroh, and the fight. Lee didn't see most of the fight between the firebender and Zhao, he was focused on fighting the Avatar and the waterbender at the time. He told the tale of Zhao's scream, and seeing the firebender cut off the admiral's hand. Lee did lie about one thing: he claimed that he ran after Zhao's defeat to inform the chain of command, when he actually ran away out of fear. Raizu didn't call him out on it though.
When he finished his tale, Raizu looked at him with serious eyes. "Private, is this story true?"
Lee nodded. "Yes, Captain, it is."
Raizu stood up and walked to the door. He opened it and addressed one of his sailors. "Get the scribe in here." He ordered.
He sat back down in the chair, and looked Lee in the eye. "Tell me, does this hand slicer have a name?"
Lee nodded. "I heard Iroh say his name was 'Alec'."
Alec POV
It took a long time to gather all the Fire Nation corpses, but with the soldiers' help, we managed to get it done by sunset. We built a gigantic pyre for the enemy outside the city, just on the edge of the water. I couldn't begin to count the thousands of bodies in the pile, soaked in whale oil to make sure they'd burn. Aang and I were the only ones who stuck around to send the enemy off to the afterlife. I didn't blame Sokka and Katara for not showing up. The Fire Nation was responsible for all the death and destruction, after all. Momo sat on Aang's shoulder.
I lit the pyre with a fireball, and it started to burn. Aang and I watched the massive bonfire in sadness. "It's good of you to do this." Aang said. "You didn't have to."
I shrugged. "I felt like someone should." I took a deep breath. "It wasn't their fault that they attacked us. The Fire Lord is the one keeping the war going. All this death is on his head."
"So much death." Aang said sadly. "On both sides."
We watched the pyre burn. Hours later, it turned to ashes. Aang used airbending to scatter the ashes into the sea.
We found Katara and Sokka standing with Arnook, Pakku, Yue, and Poduk outside the palace. Pakku spoke to Katara. "I've decided to go to the South Pole." He announced. "Some other benders and healers want to join me. It's time we helped rebuild our sister tribe."
"What about Aang?" Katara asked. "He still needs to learn waterbending."
Pakku smiled at her. "Well, then he better get used to calling you Master Katara."
Katara smiled brightly.
Arnook turned to me. "When you told me this morning that not only did we have the Fire Lord's brother and son in our custody, but you wanted to let them go, I thought you were insane." He said seriously.
"Without Iroh, we wouldn't have saved the Moon Spirit." I answered plainly.
Arnook smiled. "And by offering him that deal, you helped save our Tribe." He shook my hand. "I'll be sure to have our scribes send copies of those firebending scrolls to our allies in the Earth Kingdom."
He walked over to Sokka. "You are one of the finest strategists I've ever met, and have shown much courage and heart in battle." He praised. "I'll be certain to write to your father about your exploits."
Sokka teared up a little, then he bowed. "Thank you."
Poduk and Yue made their way towards me. "Thank you so much for helping us be together again, and fighting for us." Yue said sincerely.
"I never thought I'd say this to a firebender, but I'm really glad I met you." Poduk added.
I smiled. "Thanks for letting me out of prison and giving me a chance."
I shook Poduk's hand and gave Yue a polite bow. I walked over to Aang and my siblings, and watched the horizon with them.
Third Person POV
Fire Lord Ozai was in a bad mood. To be fair, he was rarely ever in a good mood, but today was especially taxing on his short temper. The flames in his throne room were a foot higher than normal, such was his anger.
Zhao had lost. Not only had he lost, but most of his ships were wiped out. The most infuriating part was the lack of information. So far, nobody who was on the ground in the Northern Water Tribe had reported in. The only news he had heard was that the sky turned red briefly, before returning to normal. Then, a massive monster attacked the Fire Navy, pushing all the ships back with a massive wave. If multiple sources hadn't reported the exact same thing, he would have dismissed it as nonsense.
The throne room doors opened, and a messenger entered. He prostrated himself before the throne. "Rise." Ozai said. "What is it?"
"My lord, a black ribbon scroll has arrived for you." The messenger said fearfully.
Ozai gave a curt nod. "Approach."
The messenger walked up to the throne, and handed Ozai the scroll, before going back down the steps and kneeling, awaiting further instructions. Ozai broke the label and unraveled it. The scroll contained a message, as well as a drawing of a young man. Ozai read the scroll.
"Fire Lord Ozai,
This is Captain Raizu of the Fire Navy. Our ship picked up a survivor of the failed attack on the Northern Water Tribe. He identified himself as Private Lee, one of Admiral Zhao's personal guard. He told us a very interesting tale. We asked him multiple times, and he is adamant that this is the truth."
Finally, Ozai could get some answers. He kept reading.
"He claims that a rogue firebender named Alec has joined forces with the Avatar. Alec claimed to have given firebending scrolls to the Northern Water Tribe to copy and study the techniques within. He also managed to capture Prince Zuko, and convince General Iroh to betray Admiral Zhao in exchange for safe passage out of the Northern Water Tribe for both General Iroh and Prince Zuko."
The flames in the throne room shot up a dozen feet, licking the throne room ceiling. Iroh had betrayed his nation for that pathetic whelp?! Ozai calmed down and kept reading.
"General Iroh, Alec, the Avatar and a waterbender girl fought against Admiral Zhao and his guards. Alec fought Admiral Zhao personally. Private Lee didn't see most of Admiral Zhao's fight, as he was fighting against the Avatar and the girl at the time. But, he heard a terrible scream, and he turned and saw that Alec had cut off Admiral Zhao's right hand with a fire dagger. Private Lee left to inform the chain of command about Admiral Zhao's defeat, but the fleet was destroyed by a monster before he could report in. I had our scribes draw a picture of Alec from Private Lee's description of him for your convenience.
Your loyal servant,
Captain Raizu
Postscript: Private Lee has been having nightmares. He keeps muttering 'hand slicer' over and over in his sleep. This seems to lend credence to his story. Liars don't have nightmares about their lies."
Ozai contemplated this information. He'd clearly underestimated the Avatar. This rogue firebender was also a concern. He turned his attention to the still-kneeling messenger. "Messenger, what is the standard bounty for a traitor?" He inquired. He could never keep track of those prices.
"I believe it is 500 gold pieces, my lord." The messenger replied.
"Take this to the bounty office." The Fire Lord ordered. "I want a bounty of 1,000 gold pieces on the young man in this picture."
The messenger rose and took the letter from the Fire Lord. "As you wish, my lord, will that be all?"
"Send for my daughter." Ozai ordered.
The messenger bowed and left. In walked his daughter. His prodigy. His perfect weapon. She knelt before the throne.
"Iroh is a traitor, and your brother Zuko is a failure." Ozai said. "I have a task for you."
AN: And so ends Book One. I'll get started on Book Two immediately.
*Yes, I made a Team Four Star reference. I apologize for nothing.
