Aang twisted and knotted the chains of the catapult, then released the lever. The flaming boulder flopped straight down and made a gaping round hole in the main deck. The Avatar grinned. It was a trick he'd tried at the North Pole, and it never failed to make him laugh with his own ingenuity.
He swung his staff to blow a charging Fire Nation ensign out of his path. Suddenly, the deck began to shake violently. A booming detonation from inside the ship knocked both of them off their feet. Aang lay sprawled on his back, gaping with awe at the hot orange fireworks and flames exploding from below.
That came from the engine room, Aang realized. He could feel the deck tilting. The ship was starting to sink. Oh, no. Toph! He ran down the steps into the hull looking for her and nearly ran smack into a Toph-sized, metal-covered monster.
"Out of the way, Twinkletoes! This thing's gonna blow!" her voice echoed out of the makeshift armor.
The two raced up to the deck, which was now slanted heavily and half submerged. As the Fire Nation soldiers remaining around them jumped ship, Aang opened his glider. "We'll be too heavy with all that metal. Lose it!" Toph swiftly shook off her metal covering and grabbed his waist as he took off, flying them to the next vessel. "What did you do down there, anyway?"
Unbelievably, Toph laughed. "I metalbended the pipes leading out of the main boiler."
Aang couldn't help but be impressed. "Of course! You hit the pressure points!"
Hanging on tight, Toph smiled broadly. "You mean you've actually been listening when I was teaching you? Remind me to thank you!"
"Thank me later," Aang called down to her, "we're not out of this yet. Ready for another one?"
The earthbender laughed heartily, exhilarated by the thrill of fighting. "Bring it on!"
ooo LL ooo
The sun began to glare through the clouds with the onset of midday. Meanwhile, the battle for the South Pole raged on with no signs of slowing. Like a swarm of yellowjacket-bees teeming from a downed hive, it seemed the Fire Nation soldiers would never stop coming through the breach in the ice wall. The white snows were overwhelmed with the scarlet and gold of Fire Nation armor.
Katara leapt into the fray once more and thrust out an elongated water whip, smacking down a line of assailants before collapsing onto her knees and gasping for breath. She felt dizzy, her legs shaking and unsteady. She hadn't had to fight this long continuously before on the front lines of battle; she was strong, but her endurance was wearing thin. Muscles aching and begging for relief, she gritted her teeth and forced herself to keep going.
As Katara whirled around to face yet another red-uniformed attacker with a faceless white mask staring back at her, she saw out of the corners of her eyes that her companions were dropping like flies. Three of her Kyoshi warrior friends were on the ground, either unconscious or dead, and the two who doggedly fought on beside her were showing signs of exhaustion as well. Katara realized with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that this couldn't go on much longer. She couldn't go on much longer.
A thick red pillar of flame erupted behind her, warming her back through the anorak as though it would singe her very skin. Using a water-arm to jerk down her assailant, Katara turned to face whoever had sent off that fire-blast with her jaw clenched. Fortunately, it turned out to be Iroh. There was no time for thanks, only an affirming nod. From that moment they fought back-to-back and cleared a circle around them.
Abruptly, a cold, superior voice broke through the sounds of battle. Katara and Iroh's heads jerked up as they recognized Princess Azula. The cruel beauty met their gaze across the battlefield of snow. "Well, look who's here. The Avatar's girlfriend, his fan-girls, and my traitor uncle, all in one place. This is my lucky day."
A deep frown furrowed Iroh's brow. "I cannot face her alone," he admitted under his breath, "she is too powerful."
"Together, then," Katara quietly confirmed as they advanced to meet their opponent.
ooo LL ooo
Zuko's eyes flashed open. It was still night, but something was amiss. He could feel it. He glanced around at the place where the Dai Li had been sleeping around him. Their beds were empty, as were Lieutenant Jee's and Tai Lan's. Narrowing his eyes, he rose and crept down the hall and outside.
In the alleyway behind the inn, sandwiched in solid rock so they couldn't move, were Zuko's companions, their faces filled with anger and fear in the flickering torchlight.
"What's going on here?" Zuko demanded of the tall, hooded figure that appeared to be guarding them. "Who are you? Show yourself!"
The figure lowered his hood to reveal a creepy-looking old man. White tufts of hair stuck out from the sides of his head, and one eye bulged larger than the other, giving him a demented appearance.
Zuko didn't want to think about how one old man had incapacitated a Fire Nation officer and nine Dai Li agents, but he knew better than to show fear now. "Who are you?" he repeated.
The old man folded his arms across his robes and shook his head, clucking to himself. "You should know. You're the one who's been looking for me."
Zuko's face dawned with recognition. "You're King Bumi?"
"That's right. So! You must be the famous Lord Naga. Used to be a Dai Li agent, eh? You don't move like an earthbender. Let's see if you fight like one."
"Huah!" Zuko hit the ground as Bumi earthbended a rock straight at him, then narrowly dodged an assault of flying stones. "What are you doing?"
"Ascertaining your level of skill, of course. Doesn't seem to be very high. You duck out of the way like an airbender," Bumi chided. "Are you sure you're not the Avatar?"
Zuko's brow furrowed with the insinuation. "I'm not the Avatar, and I wasn't a Dai Li agent. Now can we please just talk?"
"If you lie about who you are, how do I know you'll tell the truth about anything else?" Bumi pointed out, jumping down and sending a crack through the earth towards where Zuko was standing.
Zuko leapt out of the way as a fault opened up the ground where his feet had been. "Fine! I'm Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation; now quit throwing things at me because we're wasting precious time!"
"Prince Zuko, eh? Why didn't you say so in the first place?" King Bumi cackled. "Sorry about that, but it is pretty fun to mess with people - and it's necessary when you don't know their intentions. Care to tell me yours, young firebender?"
"First, release my friends," Zuko insisted cagily.
Bumi made a fist and then released his hand with a sweep out to the side. The rocks around the Dai Li and Lieutenant Jee crumbled to the earth. "Done. Wouldn't want our negotiations to be rocky starting off, would we?" He snorted at his own joke.
Zuko raised a wary eyebrow. This was the Earth Kingdom's military genius? He was one platypus-bear egg short of an omelette - and that egg was definitely cracked.
"Follow me, boys," Bumi said then, waving an arm. "Could anyone else use a midnight snack?"
ooo LL ooo
Azula couldn't believe her eyes. The waterbender never fought with any weapon but her bending, so the hilt bulging from her hip stuck out like a sore thumb. That's Zuzu's knife. The one Uncle gave him. He would never have given it away. Unless… Anger rippled like a chill through the princess's limbs as she began to understand. The Kyoshi warriors didn't escape from the ship. Zuko set them free. My brother betrayed the Fire Nation and got himself killed, all for the sake of a worthless Water Tribe peasant.
"Turns out you're not the only traitor in the family, Uncle," she announced sharply. "Although you're the only one I have to kill."
"What are you talking about?" Iroh demanded, not liking where she was going with this.
Katara shuddered. She uncapped her water flask, keeping it at the ready.
"Haven't you heard?" Azula said triumphantly. "Zuko is dead."
Iroh halted in midstep, careful not to glance at Katara. He knew that any show of doubt on his part would send Katara into pieces. "I don't believe you."
Azula shrugged nonchalantly. "I wouldn't have believed it myself, but seeing as it was Mai who wrote to let me know…it's all too true. The Dai Li killed him. They found out he was a traitor, just like you, and they eliminated him."
The thought of Zuko's death shook Katara to the bone. "You're a liar!" she cried, lashing out at the princess with a volley of jagged-edged ice daggers.
"No!" shouted Iroh, rushing behind her to catch up.
Azula smiled maliciously. This was exactly what she wanted. An emotional opponent was a weak opponent. The waterbender had unwisely divided herself from General Iroh by dashing ahead of him to attack. Azula quickly burned up the daggers in a spurted blue flame and kicked out a blinding flash of lightning in Katara's direction, laughing wildly.