"TUI'S GILLS! WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE FOOD?!" That's what I woke up to. I was rolling out of my sleeping bag with a sword appearing in my hand before I quite figured out what Sokka said.
"Sokka," I growled as I glared at the boy wrangling a lemur of all things out of a small sack at his side, "you better have a damn good explanation for why you shouted and what the Hades was in that bag?" I pointed my sword at the ground as I stood up beside an equally pissed Katara who was silent with her arms crossed over her chest.
"I, uh, well… I couldn't sleep last night so I went looking around," Sokka said as he got the thing by the back of the neck, "and I found some apples and nuts. I put them in the bag so we could have something when we got up for breakfast but I woke up and saw this," he held up the lemur and waved his hand at it, "was headfirst in the bag and eating our food! I say we eat it!" He said with a somewhat demented look in his eyes.
"Sokka, we can't eat a lemur," I said as I rubbed the bridge of my nose.
"He's made of meat!" Sokka shot back defensively.
"That's not the point, Sokka," Katara said frustratedly. "Do you know how to butcher one of those things? I sure don't. Percy probably doesn't. And I sure as La know you don't," she growled at him as she marched up to him and took the lemur from his hands. The little monkey clambered up her parka and onto her shoulder, it's bulging eyes wide as it pulled on her hair loops experimentally before chattering and flying away.
"Oh, now you've done it! There went breakfast!" Sokka said, throwing his hands up in the air.
"No, there went your breakfast, in its belly," I shot back. Sokka at least had the grace to blush. "Come on, we need to load up Appa. We're sailing today, and for most of the trip, to Kyoshi Island."
"Kyoshi?" Sokka blinked "why are we going to Kyoshi?"
"Because it's the closest settlement to us and we need to resupply thanks to someone eating six weeks of rations in three days," I growled at him, already rolling up my sleeping bag. I put my fingers to my lips as I walked over to a window and gave a sharp whistle. Sokka clapped his hands over his ears and glared at me, "why on Earth would you do that!?" That's when we heard Appa's signature growl/roar as he flew alongside the window, his saddle even with the man-sized portal to a drop thousands of feet above sea level.
"That's why," I snarked. Katara grinned as Sokka looked at the window like he may be sick, "come on, it's time to load the Bison."
XXX
Later…
"Have I mentioned how much I hate your ice barges, Percy? Because I really, really do," Sokka moaned as he spewed what little he had in his stomach through a scupper.
"It's not my favorite way either, believe me, but at least we don't have to fly," I said slightly relieved - even on Appa, I don't like flying.
"But flying is easy! It's smooth, it's fast, and it doesn't throw you up and down like a whale-bear!" he said before retching again.
"Sokka, you're Water Tribe," Katara said with a roll of her eyes. "You do fine on dad's cutter."
"Yeah, but that's an actual ship! This is just ice made into a boat, it's not natural!" he cried as he pulled his head out of the scupper again.
"We've been at sea for three hours, Sokka. We can fly at night but in the day you know we have to sail," I said to him as I sat back on a bench.
"Yeah, so the Fire Nation can't track us, I know. I just really don't like this boat," he repeated miserably as he looked back down at the scupper and glanced out to sea. I had just leaned back and closed my eyes when I heard him yell, "SEA MONSTER!" my eyes snapped open and I saw a giant, red sea serpent hauling ass toward us. I growled and summoned my trident from my necklace, slamming it down on the bottom of the barge's hull. The monster stopped abruptly as if I had pushed a wall of ice up in front of it. I was curious now, can I actually talk to sea monsters now?
"Guys, you're going to think I'm crazy, but I'm going to see if I can communicate with it."
"Communicate with it!?" Sokka yowled, "are you insane!? You may be the Avatar but that's a hundred-foot-long sea monster!"
"Yeah, I've fought bigger," I shrugged, "killed bigger… I'll be back," was the last thing I said as I fell backward over the edge of the barge. The last thing I saw was Katara's wide eyes and could only think 'huh, she might just kill me for that…'
Nonetheless, I willed the unfamiliar currents to send me toward the crimson sea monster.
"Lord La's chosen… I am unworthy," the giant red serpent said in a trembling voice, it's giant eye locked on me as it tried to bow its head, "This one is Kurimuzon, elder Sea Dragon of the South. This one is honored to be in the presence of the Sea Spirit's chosen bender."
"Actually, Kuri, you mind if I call you Kuri? Kurimuzon is just such a mouthful, you know? Well, Kuri, I'm actually not Lord La's chosen," I said to the Sea Dragon, "I'm the son of Poseidon." The dragon whipped it's head up so fast that I could have sworn it was going to break it's own neck.
"My lord! You have returned! Long have we waited the day Lord Neptune would send his chosen to us once again!"
"Uh, that's awesome?" I blinked as the giant sea serpent turned its head back and roared. I felt my bones shake as the dragon sent a wave of sound hurtling through the waves.
"All my kin shall know you have returned, my Lord! This one and his kin are yours to command!" it said excitedly and I looked at it appraisingly.
"You know about the metal ships?" I asked and immediately the Crimson dragon snarled.
"Aye, my lord. The Death Floaters have claimed many lesser serpents, Raava herself bound the greater sea dragons from helping our lesser kin save in self defense," it said angrily.
"Then I release you from those bindings, my friend. Save your people." There was a flash of white light as I said that and something that looked like chains fell off of the Sea Dragon like shattered glass. The dragon roared again but it wasn't seconds later that I felt three other pulses in the water. They weren't physical but they were powerful all the same.
"We will destroy the death floaters, my Lord. Where are you bound? This one shall send a lesser dragon to help you. This one will warn you though - they will not attack you, but they are simple animals."
"Kyoshi Island," I said and the red dragon bared his teeth in what I assumed was a smile.
"You are bound for Heise's domain then? She shall be most excited to meet with the one who set her free after millennia of being bound to sit by while hundreds entered her domain. This one thanks you, my Lord. You have done this one and his people a great service." He said the last word and three other, smaller, serpents slithered out of the deeps to Kuri's side. I set to work making chains of ice to tether the serpents to the barge and sighed in relief as I let go of my concentration on the currents to keep us on course. I willed the currents to send me above water and saw an empty barge. I almost panicked but then I looked up to see Katara and Sokka on Appa's back a hundred feet above the water.
I hitched the boat to the ice chains as Appa descended. I had just finished when Sokka and Katara clambered off of the Sky Bison.
"I thought you had been eaten!" Sokka said as Katara just glared at me. I swallowed nervously as she walked up to me slowly.
"Was it worth it?" she asked quietly. I nodded and she sagged slightly in relief but her eyes were still blazing.
"Yeah, Kuri has a couple of sea serpents towing us to Kyoshi now," I said as Katara's eyes narrowed even more dangerously.
"Kuri? So that's his name? Did you name him or did he tell you?"
"He told me," I said, scratching the back of my head, "he talks."
"He talks? The giant sea monster talks? Yeah right," Sokka said dismissively but as soon as he finished speaking the barge gave a sharp jerk and we were rocketing over the water. I focused on my senses and felt my eyes pop when I realized we were hauling at well over two hundred knots.
"Flying Hog Monkeys!" Sokka yelled as we zipped over the waves that I tried to make as smooth as possible, "how are we going so fast!?"
"I don't know!" I yelled back, "but at this rate we'll be there in a matter of hours instead of days!"
"That's good, right!?" Sokka yelled back, I didn't say anything - just grabbing hold of Katara as we hunkered down on the barge's back rail. I looked up at Appa who was managing to hang on for dear life and put a shell of ice around him to hold the sky bison steady. He roared in relief as he hunkered down and used his arms to cover his eyes. Katara buried her face in my chest as I willed the ice to rise in front of us, using it to break the wind slapping at our faces. She moaned slightly in relief as I held the ice wall and her for dear life.
XXX
Eight Hours Later…
"Land ahead!" Sokka yelled. I crawled to the front of the barge and slipped my fingers into the water, shattering the chains connected to the sea dragons. We skidded to a blistering halt and for a second I didn't think the barge would hold, mercifully it did. "Oh thank the Spirits," Sokka moaned, Katara and I both agreed based on the shade of green she was and the way my stomach was turning.
"Let's never do that again," I said. Katara nodded vigorously from her place at my chest and tried to stand up slowly. She failed but I managed to catch her before she ate it.
"Let's just get on Appa," she said hoarsely as Sokka staggered over to a scupper… Again. Mercifully, there was nothing else for him to vomit up.
"I agree!" Sokka said between dry heave, I winced but felt for the guy - I never get seasick but that was gods awful (even by my standards). The only worse ride I've ever had was when I was catapulted out of Mount St. Helens, I still have nightmares about that short flight to this day. I helped Katara up Appa's tail before helping Sokka do the same - though Katara was slightly more steady than Sokka was. I clambered up Appa's horn and onto his head.
"Appa, yip yip," immediately, the Sky Bison growled and took off - roaring in what I took to be relief, "too true, bud." I said, patting his head gently.
It took a few minutes but we made land at Kyoshi in record speed for Appa. We landed on the beach at the deepwater harbor and I groaned while slipping off of Appa's back, staggering over to the water. I sighed in relief as the sea chased away any aches and pains I had from that trip from hell. I glanced up at the horizon and saw the water part as another sea dragon erupted from the water. I cocked my head at it slightly and it nodded, actually freaking nodded, at me as it slipped below the waves. I could only stand there absolutely stunned, right up until a whale sized Koi fish leaped out of the water and I stood there even more stunned.
"What in Poseidon's name are they feeding those fish?"
"Beats me," I heard from behind me. I whirled around to see Sokka and Katara watching the Koi too as Appa flew in lazy circles over the beach. "But if you ask me, they look like they could make a lot of dinner."
"Is food all you think about!?" Katara snapped at her brother, "you sound like a jabbering hog-monkey and eat like a Polar Bear-dog!"
"Hey! Food's not all I think about!" Sokka yelled back defensively.
"Your boomerang doesn't count," I snarked back at him as I splashed water on my face. He turned crimson but before he could say anything, I saw something move in the trees. "Get Appa, both of you," I said in a deadly serious tone as I kept my eyes on the trees, "we're being watched. Get him into the sky calmly, I'll see who we're dealing with." They both turned sheet white and walked up toward where Appa was with me leading toward the trees..
"Who goes there!?" I called out as I drew my Trident and called a shield of ice up from the sea, turns out I needed it.
As soon as the Water Tribe siblings got within ten feet of Appa, ten girls in white face paint and green dresses - that were obviously a form of body armor - fell out of the trees with fans splayed at their sides or swords in their hands. They didn't say a word as they all charged at me. I met their charge as Katara and Sokka sprinted up Appa's tail, mercifully I heard Katara shout "Yip yip," and the siblings were airborne. I almost sighed in relief but that was short-lived as I intercepted a fan off my ice shield. I drove the shield forward but dropped the Trident, calling a baton of ice from the sea in its place.
I swung the baton at another girl's calf even as I caught a sword on my shield. I growled and the fight was on. I brought the short club down in a vicious arc on the back of the sword girl's head - she fell like a sack of potatoes. I looked back up only to see one girl looking up at the sky, tracking Appa with a look of concentration that was obvious even under the makeup. Time seemed to slow down as she crouched and almost rocketed off the ground. I didn't have time to think - thank you ADHD - as I took my shield and threw it like a giant frisbee. The shield caught the girl in the stomach, sending her veering off course and into the sea with an almost explosive splash as the shield fell a few meters from her.
I barely had time to summon a second shield before I was tossed airborne and launched a third of the way toward the girl currently floundering in the water a hundred yards offshore. I hit the water and bounced off the top, skidding to a stop on top of the surface. I took in a ragged breath but stood up on the water as if it was solid ground anyway. The last eight of the girls looked at me in what was probably horror as I stepped forward while water wrapped around my body and froze into an approximation of my Roman armor back at camp Jupiter. I have nothing against my Greek gear but the Roman stuff is just so much better. Greaves and leg armor froze around me in the first few steps and I was nearly at the shoreline when the ice solidified into a replica of the Segmentata and Galea.
"Round two," I growled as I felt my boots sink into the soft sand. I leaped forward with the baton raised only for it to be intercepted on a bronze shield. I looked up only to see a girl twirling her fans while her comrades jumped out of the way. I willed the water from the sea to hold her down before her little motion could be finished and she was frozen in place with three more of her sisters in arms. I did the same without thinking for the other five who were on my other side.
"Stop! Stop this madness!" I heard from my right, I raised my baton and pointed it at the man with a ridiculously large top knot as he ran down the hill huffing and puffing.
"No further," I barked back at him. He froze in his tracks, his eyes wide as he stared at the floundering girl (who had finally managed to make it back to shore), the girl lying in the sand unconscious, and her eight companions who were all struggling against the ice holding them, "you will answer for this attack on me and my companions."
"You showed up on our shores and you think we owe you an explanation," flounder said as she staggered through the sand to stand beside the leader man.
"Yes," I growled, "usually port authorities will usually at least say 'state your name and business,' before launching a full-blown attack on peaceful travelers. For Neptune's sake, we were in the water!" I barked at Flounder who just puffed her chest out a bit more as she stepped toward me.
"At least I didn't beat up a bunch of girls," she said with a small smirk like she won. There was a round of snickers from the frozen girls and even leader man looked slightly amused at that. I raised my hand and clenched my fist slightly, making the ice squeeze the girls down a bit tighter. That stopped their snickers dead.
"Girls who are all trained killers apparently," I snarled, Flounder looked furious but she didn't say anything else, "oh, and airbenders to boot, or do you think I'll believe you're part frog?" Her eyes widened and so did Leader guy's who looked like he was about a heartbeat away from panicking.
"Who do you think you are?" She asked as she got closer into my face.
"Perseus Jackson," I snapped back, "and to you, I'm a waterbender. I'll tell your leader here who I am in private."
"I'm the leader of the Warriors of Kyoshi," Flounder fired right back. "I have a right to know who you are to protect this island!" I just smirked as she narrowed her eyes.
"Alright then, if you insist," I said as I brought my fingers to my lips and looked up at the sky, sending off a sharp, quick whistle to call Appa back down. The Sky Bison immediately started his descent and two minutes later, he was on the ground and Katara and Sokka were both at my sides - both of them eyeing my armor in awe. Thankfully, Katara had a stream of water circling her body while Sokka had his club in one hand and boomerang in the other.
"Sokka, club slightly lower. Katara, good work," I said after a short glance back at them, "but we're not fighting anymore." Without a thought, the girls encased in ice fell to the sand, dresses soaking wet as they tried to fight the weight of the water and the heavy armor.
"Aw, man!" Sokka said, throwing his hands in the air - still holding onto his weapons. "You always have all the fun, Percy!"
"Not all of it, Sokka," I said with a small grin, "these girls seemed to have a good time too."
"Oh, I'm not sure, Perce," Katara said sweetly, her little water whip sailing through the air back toward the sea. The unassuming girl was a monstrously powerful waterbender and I had only been teaching her for a week, and I'm not (technically) a waterbender! She could probably have matched me in control of water when I was thirteen, "it looks like they want a little more." The girls in soaking dresses narrowed their eyes at Katara dangerously but I took a half step forward and they backed down.
"Now you listen here," Flounder said with fire in her eyes but before she could go on I cut in.
"Shut it," I hissed, royally pissed off already. "You attacked us unprovoked, decided that you would do anything possible to make sure we wouldn't leave the island, and you're trying to threaten my friends?"
"Let us all be calm," the old man said nervously, glancing back and forth between Flounder, me, and Katara, "let us not resort to even more violence."
"I couldn't agree more," I snarled but never broke eye contact with Flounder. She narrowed her eyes as she turned on her heel and stalked away with their comrades. I let their group get out of earshot with Leader guy before I turned back to Sokka and Katara.
"What in La's name happened here, Percy," Sokka whisper-hissed at me, his hand resting on his club.
"They underestimated me," I said seriously, "never, ever, do that or you'll end up like they did. Don't underestimate them, Sokka."
"But they're just girls!" He protested. I actually stopped on the path and whirled around to face him. I could feel my eyes blazing but really didn't care.
"You egocentric, stupid, sexist, idiot,"I growled, "those girls could have taken out any equal sized team of any kind of benders and could have killed me if I didn't see them before they ambushed us!"
"But you're just one guy and you beat all of them!" He protested weakly.
"I think we both know I'm no run of the mill waterbender, Sokka," I snarled, "they managed to catch me off guard more than once and if it wasn't for me freezing them in blocks of ice I may have been hurt or worse. Don't underestimate them," I growled. I glanced at Katara who had gone pale at my little diatribe. "You okay, 'Tara?"
"They could have killed you?" she asked darkly, glaring up the hill.
"Yeah, and they can still do damage to us until we gain some measure of peace with them," I said, glaring at Sokka to make sure he got the message. He threw his hands in the air in defeat.
"Fine! I won't provoke the wannabe warriors!" he said with his nose in the air. I just massaged my forehead and turned to Katara.
"The only good thing about him getting himself killed? He won't eat all our food in three days again," she blinked and laughed with bell-like clarity, I couldn't help but smile myself as Sokka protested even more.
XXX
"I am Lao, chief of Kyoshi Island. This is Suki, Commander of the Warriors of Kyoshi. You have requested this meeting to state your identity and business on Kyoshi Island," old top-knot said as we sat across from each other at the small table. Flounder - sorry, Suki - was at his side while Katara and Sokka were at mine.
"These are Sokka and Katara: son and daughter of Hakoda, chief of the Southern Water Tribe," Lao's eyes widened in horror at the name but I went on, "I am Perseus Jackson. Successor of Aang, Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, Yangchen, and many more before they in a long, proud lineage," I said but didn't notice when my eyes started glowing as I started naming off people I've never even heard of, "I am the Avatar. A son of Water." I blinked and the glowing stopped, I noticed that Lao and Suki both looked horror struck but carried on. "We are here to resupply and rest before we resume on our way to the North Pole. Our food ran out last night and we will need three months supply - hardtack and rice will suffice but we prefer smoked meats if they're available. This load will also need to be carried on Sky Bison back."
"Oh… Oh my," Lao said with wide eyes, "we attacked the Avatar… spirits forgive us… We attacked the Avatar," he said quietly and I raised my hand to cut him off. Suki was sitting there gaping like the Flounder I thought she was earlier but stayed quiet.
"You'll keep that little tidbit under wraps, both of you," I said seriously.
"But the world has the right to know the Avatar's back!" Suki finally burst out. "You've been gone for a hundred years, the world needs you!"
"To fight the Fire Nation?" I asked with a slight sneer, "I plan on taking Ozai down, hard. Make no doubt about that. But right now, I have a Prince hunting me, need to get reinforcements, and learn all four elements before I can even think about outing myself to the world. I won't kill Ozai unless I'm forced to, but I will topple him. But for me to do that I need legitimacy - I can't just up and take the Throne. So, I either leave Ozai, a murderous Tyrant, on the throne or let his son or daughter take over. I have no guarantee that either one of them wouldn't be just as bad, or worse, than Ozai currently is. So, who takes the Blazing Throne if I decide to march to the Fire Nation and kill Ozai where he stands? The Devil we know or the Devil we don't? I think we can all agree that no one wants that. So, for now, Ozai stays. But, that also means that I need to learn airbending while I try and figure out how to sort through this mess," I said hesitantly, yet seriously. Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth before she stopped herself and closed it, bringing her fingers to her chin as Lao looked at me thoughtfully.
"The idea has merit, young Avatar. Your identity shall remain hidden, though most will already know that you are a waterbender of considerable skill to have beaten our warriors so handily. Kyoshi has managed to stay out of this war so far and out of it we will remain. Although we are honor-bound to help Kyoshi's successor," Lao said. I just scoffed.
"So instead of trading with the Air Nomads, Earth Kingdom, and Water Tribe, you've whored yourself out by supplying the Fire Nation?"
"We had no choice," Suki snapped tersely. "It's either the Fire Nation or the Air-"
"Silence," Lao snapped at her warningly. I raised my eyebrow and looked at Suki.
"Lao," I started slowly, "she can tell me now or she'll tell me while she's teaching me Airbending. When would you prefer her to get on with it?" He blinked owlishly before he turned to her and nodded slowly.
"Be wary, Suki. He is the Avatar but a stranger still," he said and I scoffed.
"Man, I'm taking on the Fire Lord and his Army because they're hurting people. If there's a problem, tell me and I'll help anyway I can," I said seriously. We locked eyes and he nodded slowly, "alright then, Suki," our eyes met for a beat and I continued, "what's the problem?" She looked down at her gloved hands for a few seconds before she started in a quiet voice.
"What do you know of the Sky Tribes?" she asked quietly, I blinked owlishly at her.
"The whosit what now?" Her head snapped up and her eyes were slits but they quickly widened when she realized I legitimately had no idea. She sighed and brought her hands up to her face and when she started talking I could barely hear her.
"The Sky Tribes, they were the free spirits of the Air Clans - according to what little written history we could salvage from the Southern and Eastern Air Temples - and the people that could be considered the more militant branch of the Air Nomads. We don't know much about them except that they were founded by a man named Shen and were a Shield of the Temples, for what good it did them," she snarled. "The Sky Tribes were scattered throughout the world yet the population of the Air peoples were never incredibly large and they were hunted down by the Fire Nation that fateful day… But, unlike the temple monks, a small sect survived. The Tribes turned from a life of peaceful gathering with their Sky Bisons to stealing, and then to reaving, and now to rape - of land and of people." She said quietly and I felt my hackles rise at the term. There's always been one thing I've absolutely hated in life and that's the act of rape. Any man that has to bring himself to force a woman to do those acts with him is evil and belongs in the deepest pits Tartarus has to offer.
"When was the last time they were on this island?" I asked quietly. Suki and Katara's eyes both snapped to me, both probably realizing the note of pure danger in the question. But my eyes were trained on Suki.
"Sixteen years ago," she said quietly, "months before I was born." I nodded slowly and covered her gloved hand with my own.
"Listen," I started slowly, "I don't like you... Yet. You tried to kill my friends and me without any provocation. But I swear to you, I'll help you take these… monsters, down," I growled. She smirked slightly and nodded.
"That's all I can ask for," she said quietly, reaching across the table with her hand extended. I took it and we clasped forearms tightly, "come to the Warrior's dojo tonight and we'll start your training."
"Deal," I said with a small grin.
XXX
"Shield! Shield! Backhand! Underhand! Over! Over! Over!" I barked at Sokka as our seventh day on Kyoshi Island dawned. Sokka was armored in heavy, leather gear that weighed him down as he attacked a tall oak log with his club in the loose sand. He had a shield that I borrowed from the Warriors our third day here. Turns out, I'm bad at airbending, very bad. I try to imagine it as less dense water but that only works when I can compress the air into my hands. Surprisingly, that works rather well as a kind of air grenade that I can toss at a target to throw it pretty damn far away. But after a week of training, I've had no luck besides that little feat and I'm only able to train at night to keep it a secret from the other Warriors. On the plus side? It turns out Suki is pretty chill and is a damn good teacher. Another plus? I've gotten much closer to Sokka and Katara both.
I've been training Sokka in the mornings with his club and a borrowed sword, and shield so he can actually learn to fight for himself. He's actually damn good with a sword for only a few days of learning; he just needed some training. And Katara? The girl is a natural with water. She's a powerhouse and has finesse - but she's still only had about two weeks of training with me and I'm not an actual waterbender.
"Good, Sokka! Take a five-minute break," I said with a grin as I tossed him a canteen, "you've earned it!"
"Thanks, Perce," Sokka panted, "what's next?" I only grinned broadly as I summoned Backbiter from my necklace.
"You're dueling with me!" Sokka's eyes widened in horror at the sight of the three and a half foot bastard sword before his eyes drifted to his shield and the katana braced at his side. Slowly, a smile started to creep up his face.
"You're on!" he said excitedly as he sat down in the sand, upending the water flask and drinking as much as he could. I just shook my head and sat down beside him, looking out to sea but frowning as I caught sight of something.
"May have to take a rain check," I said seriously, looking at the spot on the horizon that worried me.
"What's wrong?" he asked as he looked out to sea and froze in his place, "is that what I think it is?"
"A smoke pillar on the horizon? Yep."
"What could be burning at s-" he stopped himself as his eyes widened in shock, "the Fire Nation… We have to get back to the village!" I nodded and stood up, bursting into a light trot with Sokka at my heels.
"Fire Nation! Fire Nation!" Sokka yelled as we ran into town square, I saw Suki and Katara talking at one of the market stalls and the two turned to us with wide eyes. They ran to us as Sokka yelled about the Fire Nation through the stalls.
"What's happening!?" Katara yelled before as soon as the two got close to me.
"Spotted a smoke column on the horizon, possible Fire Nation ship inbound," I said calmly.
"It could be Whale Tail depots' supply convoy," Suki said. I raised an eyebrow at her but she went on, "except for the fact that they left the day before you arrived…"
"They send a ship here, for supplies?" I asked, appreciating the irony that went over the girls' heads.
"Yes," Suki said calmly, "the elephant-koi are apparently an excellent way to feed an entire shipyard for at least a few weeks, a couple of them a month keep them happy long enough to keep us out of the war."
"Best get to the beach to see if it's Zuko or a supply convoy," I snarked at Katara, she scrunched her nose at the thought of the Crown Prince but nodded to me.
"Zuko? Prince Zuko?" Suki asked, stunned, "why would he be coming he- don't tell me he knows! Of all people! Dammit Percy! Of all the reasons you could have asked me about the Fire Nation royal family I didn't think you had them already chasing you! Wait… He's the Prince chasing you!? Does he know who you are!?" she growled quietly as she dragged me to a side alley.
"No, at least he doesn't know for sure. But if he even thinks I could be the Avatar you know he'll chase me," I pointed out. She snarled but grudgingly nodded.
"He's chasing Appa," Katara said suddenly. Suki's eyes widened in time with mine as she pointed out the obvious.
"We can slip under the radar but Appa? He's going to stick out anywhere we go," I muttered, kicking the dirt in frustration. I missed the glance Suki and Katara shared at my little slip but glared up at the alley's mouth anyway. "Well, let's hope for the best."
Luck hates me, apparently. We had set up on a small lookout post the Warriors had hidden on a hill overlooking the deepwater harbor and out to sea. They had a pair of spyglasses in the blind to watch the sea with, one that I was currently using to watch the familiar ship haul toward the harbor at full steam while Suki scanned the horizon for other ships or threats.
"He's alone," Suki said as she pulled her eye away from the glass.
"And that's definitely him," I said heavily.
"Well that's just great," Sokka snarked as Katara glared at the ship like she could Firebend it with the power of her mind.
"What do we do?" Suki asked, "ambush and try to beat them back?'
"No," I said slowly, "they'll know your tactics and how to counter them. We have to do something unexpected…"
"Like what? Take a final stand on the beach?" Suki asked as she rolled her eyes.
"Well, I am a waterbender after all," I said with a dry grin. Suki rolled her eyes again as I stood up.
"Are you really doing this, Percy?" Katara asked with a note of steel in her voice. I looked her in the eyes and nodded, opening my arms slightly. She hesitated before tackling me into a hug. "Come back to me," she whispered in my ear as she pulled back. I stared at her utterly stunned, dumbly nodding in agreement.
"Yeah… Yeah, of course," I said. She smirked and started down the trail.
"Well, aren't you coming?" She asked over her shoulder.
"Katara!" Sokka yelped as he started after her, leaving me and Suki to catch up with them.
"Well, who's ready to fight the Fire Nation?" I asked as we started down the trail at a brisk jog.
"First time for everything, right?" she shot back at me as we caught up to the Water Tribe Siblings. We jogged down the hill in silence and made it to the beach a minute later, fanning out to wait for the ship to dock.
Just minutes after that, Zuko's ship sailed into the harbor. The sloop's prow fell open to allow Zuko, Iroh, and twenty soldiers behind them to march onto the beach. Zuko's eyes narrowed as he stared right at me.
"You!" he said, pointing at me, "you lied to me! You said the Avatar was dead, but you were him the whole time!" he roared. It didn't take a genius to realize that not even his soldiers really believed I was the Avatar but they had to go along with this.
"That miserable old timer?" I barked back, "he has been dead, and if you think I'm the Avatar you're real funny, man!" I said across the beach.
"Then explain your sky bison!" He called, his voice triumphant.
"Appa!? We found him roaming around the icefields one day lost as you wouldn't believe! Saved our lives too, we had just lost our canoe to rough water when we stumbled on him. Had a saddle and everything. Maybe your country didn't do such a great job killing Airbenders!" I shot back just knowing that would hit a nerve. Oh, how right I was. All the soldiers shifted uncomfortably, Iroh winced, but Zuko puffed out his chest.
"The Air Savages were responsible for hundreds of my countrymen's deaths," he yelled, obviously pissed off.
"And your nation wiped them off the face of the Earth and decided to wage war on the world! How are those two even remotely close!?" I barked back. His eyes widened for a beat before he yelled incoherently for a second before calming enough to point his finger at me and yell:
"Agni Kai!"
"The Hades does that mean!?"
"A fight between two, it is our highest form of single combat."
"Thanks, Iroh! So is this with swords or bending?"
"BOTH!"
"Ohhh, daring today aren't we?"
"ARGH! LEE, GET MY SWORDS!" the teenager yelled as a pretty well decorated soldier raised his hand to another soldier who was about to sprint up the ramp as he loosened his sword belt with his other hand, passing it to the pissed off Prince who took it all while snarling at me. I summoned Backbiter from my necklace paired off with an Ice Shield, grinning as Zuko stopped for a second, obviously stunned at the sudden appearance of the longsword and the fact I called a shield from the sea ten meters away. He got his wits about him rather quickly though, glared, and marched down the beach. I looked up at one of the soldiers and shrugged. He nodded and marched down to a place at the beach and stopped. I grinned but before I could go I felt a hand on my bicep. I turned to see Suki glaring at me.
"Don't do this, Percy," she said quietly, "he's been trained with the best swords masters in the Fire Nation since he was seven."
"And I've trained with the best in the World and my teacher was the best of the best. I've got this," I said, squeezing her hand with my semi-free left hand before I gripped the shield again. She rolled her eyes and shoved me toward the waiting soldier.
"What are the terms?" I called across the sand as I drew level with the man, Iroh looked down at Zuko who was kneeling - shirtless for some reason - in the sand.
"If you win this duel, we will leave this island - peacefully," Iroh called out, "if Prince Zuko wins, then you will leave this island with us." I leapt on that offer.
"Deal. I will leave this Island with you - peacefully - should Zuko win," I called back, "but you never mentioned anything about me staying with you onboard the ship!"
"Kneel and rise, Percy," Iroh called tightly, "then the Agni Kai will begin."
I shook my head but did as Iroh told me to do - but not without rolling my eyes. I knelt long enough for my knee to touch the sand and then rose almost immediately, still in full gear as Zuko stood under the hot morning sun shirtless. There was a short pause before Zuko brought his blade up and launched twin swathes of fire toward me using his broadswords.
I grinned and caught the fire on my shield, I was going to prove a point in this fight. One, I'm only a simple waterbender and two, that I'm a damn sight better than Zuko with swords. I leaped toward Zuko, nearly flying over the sand in one bound. Backbiter sang through the sand before I brought it up in a single, lethal arc. Zuko's good eye widened as he jerked his left most broadsword up. I didn't put nearly as much force behind the strike as I could have and still almost ripped it out of his hand with a deafening clang! I almost grinned as I spotted the gouge in the steel but Zuko was better than I gave him credit for, he may have even been a good warm-up if I didn't have a shield. I caught his attack on my shield and felt my eyes widen when his left blade had already recovered from the massive hit I dealt to it and was hissing toward my leg. I danced backward and caught the strike on Backbiter.
Zuko frowned as he tried to get around my shield with his right sword but couldn't figure out a way to do it well. He snarled again and sent out a jet of fire from point-blank range. I threw myself backward toward the water as he did. I landed feet-first in the water, instantly forming my ice armor once again to try and combat the terrible waves of heat Zuko was shooting at me with impunity. I realized rather quickly that Fire wasn't even a Firebender's most lethal weapon, it was heat itself.
I growled and extended my armor down my arms and over my thighs, pulling a thick face mask up and leaving it as clear as I could make it around my eyes to try and protect myself that way. I watched Zuko's good eye widened as he realized what I just did. He screamed in frustration as he launched wave after wave of fire at me, trying to melt my armor. Thankfully, that attempt was doomed from the start. I simply walked through the Fire by pulling the steam back into the armor as soon as it evaporated off of me, using it to have a small layer of water on the ice as a kind of insulation. I charged with the ice shield leveled at my chest with Backbiter raised, Zuko damn near panicked. His fire was doing nothing, he couldn't get around my shield, and he realized he was outclassed with swords. Guess he figured it was time for the unorthodox.
The guy dropped to his back - in sand, mind you - and tried to do a breakdance style spin… The keyword there? Tried.
He stuck with his feet pointed toward me, which still blasted me with the largest gout of fire of the day (so that sucked), but his attack mostly failed. In planning, execution, and how it left him floundering on his back. I condensed the water under my boots into something resembling snowshoes and ran as fast as I could toward the human flame thrower to try and end this.
I leveled my sword at his throat as he finally stopped flailing in the sand like some sort of beached whale.
"Yield," I growled as I pressed the tip to his throat. His unscarred eye widened as both of them locked onto the bar of twin metals pressing against his Adam's apple. He swallowed nervously and nodded. I pulled the sword back but left the armor on, letting the sword and shield fall to my sides and condense into the signature ball of light and a splash of water as I looked up at Iroh and nodded respectfully, "maybe next time, Iroh," I said with a grin that I didn't know he couldn't see. He nodded tightly as he walked over to his nephew who - since the fear disappeared - was already raging. He had started running toward me with his fist wreathed in fire. Thankfully, he was screaming so it was easy to spin around and catch his fist in my still gauntleted hand. I squinted dangerously at him as he tried to pull his hand free.
"You know," I started casually, "peacefully, usually doesn't mean trying to punch someone in the face with fire." I growled as I jerked his fist down and unleashed a short, yet brutal, uppercut to his jaw. No wasted motion, just a slight bend of the knees to drive my fist up and through his chin. It may have lifted him an inch or two off the sand but that's irrelevant. I looked up at Iroh who looked down at the unconscious, slumped over form of Zuko as he laid face down in the hot sand.
"I apologize for my nephew," he said quietly, "by the terms of the fight, we will leave this island in peace. The most I can do is promise you a day of respite as I attempt to get my nephew to heal as we return Lady Ursa to Whale Tail harbor to stock for a long hunt."
"And for that I'll be grateful, General," I said. Iroh looked startled but I just indicated Suki with a small shrug, "she's the one who told me. Take care of your nephew, Iroh. We'll meet again. Who knows, maybe we'll even have another cup of tea/" I bowed to the old man slightly before I turned back to the group - only slightly surprised to see Appa already there. I pulled up on his horn to drag myself into the saddle and saw my bag at the back with Katara's, Sokka's, and an unfamiliar one.
"You didn't think I'd let you get away that easily, did you?" Suki asked as she climbed up onto Appa too as the Fire nation soldiers loaded the ship.
"Good to have you," I snarked as Katara and Sokka loaded up too. I tried to move to Appa's neck but before I could I was dragged into another hug.
"Never do anything like that again!" Katara said quietly as she squeezed my ribs so tightly I thought they might break.
"No… Promises…" I gasped out into the girl's hair.
"Appa, yip yip!" I heard Sokka call as Katara dragged me down beside her and Suki. We didn't say anything as we climbed up into the sky. I just happened to look behind us at the island and the dot that was the Lady Ursa when I saw an even bigger problem looming on the horizon.
"Oh, shit…" I said at the sight of a small armada of Fire Nation ships rising over the horizon.
"What's happening?" Sokka asked as he climbed up from Appa's neck to join us at the back of the saddle. He drew level with me and looked out to what I had just spotted, "oh by Tui's gills and La's fins that is not a good sign… What are we going to do?" He asked nervously.
"We're going to help," I said doggedly, "turn Appa around. I have an idea…"
"That's never good," Katara quipped. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. But she didn't say anything as I turned to Suki.
"How far out do you think they are?"
"We're about twice as high as our tallest mountain and we can usually get two hours of warning from there for their supply convoy… They're moving a little bit faster and that's a much bigger effort than the convoy."
"So, the village will have - at most - an hour and a half to prepare if we leave them high and dry? And it looks like a war party is coming here?" I asked seriously.
"Pretty much, yes," Suki said grimly. I did a quick calculation in my head, figuring we may have three hours before they were at Kyoshi from where we were at - probably less.
"Sokka, get Appa to fly as fast as he can," I said seriously as the Bison finally came about, "the village has no chance unless we can get there before they reach the island. I'll need you to get us over deep water though."
"Alright, I can do that," Sokka called back, "what's the plan?"
"When I give you the signal, run like hell back to the island," I said, seeing that Sokka was flying over the Island as we spoke. Just a few more seconds…
"What's that supposed to mean!?" Sokka and Katara called back to me. I just gave a lopsided grin and stood up.
"That means run like hell," I said as I turned around and swan dove over Appa's saddle as I heard Katara screaming at me for all she was worth and at Sokka to catch me. But before he had the chance to even react, I had broken through the water's surface and willed the ocean to drag me deeper and faster. The speed I was going meant it only took me about six seconds to get about halfway between the ships and the island, two more seconds later and the island was fifty miles behind me and the ships were about fifteen ahead.
I sucked in a breath and willed myself up out of the water, concentrating on what I wanted to happen. I never noticed my eyes starting to glow or the Trident appearing in my hand as I broke the water's surface. I growled as I opened my eyes, the wind whipping around me and clouds swirling to help create the strongest hurricane I had ever tried to make. I focused on pouring more power into the storm, using the Trident like a lasso as I whirled it over my head - whipping the already wild winds into a frenzy. It didn't take long for the storm to start expanding, pushing out from around me and up into the sky. What I didn't see were that the clouds already up there had started condensing and writhing into the storm, strengthening it much faster than what I could have done on my own.
Seconds after I started, I heard the first clap of thunder. Followed by another, and another, and another until sheets of white rain started pelting me and lightning was brightening the now black sky. I couldn't help but grin as the hurricane pulsed and started moving toward where I knew the fleet was going to be. The small but intense storm hurtling to intercept the war fleet.
I grinned manically as the eye of the storm passed over me, but blinked as the storm managed to somehow gain more intensity as it raced toward the unsuspecting fleet.