PARADOX

Chapter 23: Invasion of the North pt. 1

It had been about a month since I kicked Pakku's ass at waterbending. He was much less strict about male and female roles now that a girl had beaten him. All genders were taught equally now. Men learned healing and women learned to fight. Some stayed focused on what their gender were said to do, while others branched out preferring to do the other.

I had managed to pound some healing lessons into Pakku's head too, which wasn't easy.

Aang and Katara worked with both Pakku and I, we worked them to the bone every night so they were learning as much as possible in a short amount of time. Katara was, of course, learning faster. Aang was still a kid and tended to slack off to play around instead of learning all he could.

We had decided we were going to leave the north pole a week from now.

It was a couple hours after noon when black snow started falling. I had been with Yagoda training some of the male waterbenders to heal. Everyone rushed to the meeting hall to see what we were to do.

"The day we have feared for so long has arrived." The Chief announced loudly. "The Fire Nation is on our door step. It is with great sadness that I call my family here before me. Knowing full well that some of these faces are about to vanish from our tribe. But they will never vanish from our hearts. Now as we approach the battle for our existence I call upon the great spirits. Spirit of the ocean, Spirit of the moon, be with us." He held his hands up towards the ceiling as if pleading for divine intervention.

"Now I'm going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission." He announced scanning the room.

Sokka got to his feet. "Count me in."

"Sokka." Katara whispered in protest.

"Be warned, many of you will not return. Come forward to receive my mark, if you accept this task." He announced.

Slowly several people approached. Sokka was second in line and gave Yue a longing, yet hurt look before he left with the new red paint on his forehead.

I held back in the meeting waiting for everyone else to leave before me. I wanted to help with the Chief's mission but I knew I would be refused because I was a girl. So I waited. Aang was just visible from where I stood. He was crouched waiting on a huge decorated slab of ice. Then a man and Katara walked up to him. I couldn't hear what they said but I noticed when Aang got that determined face on. He stood his glider held in one hand behind his back.

Everything was silent as we waited on the outer wall. Then Aang squinted staring out at the ocean. A gleam of yellow drew my attention then I realized it was one of those fireballs flying towards us. It hit the wall harshly sending ice, smoke, and ash outwards and throwing us away from the wall. A hole had been driven into the Water Tribe symbol on the gate.

A second fireball came soon after, but this one flew over the gate and into the city itself, crashing into a canal. The third fireball hit the wall again and Aang quickly took off on Appa's back towards the ships.

Kovu was actually not with me. He was currently guarding the healers encase the Fire Nation managed to enter the city. Most of the healers were still not as good at battle bending as they were with healing.

I got on a boat with a dozen other water benders and began using bending to lift the ships out of the water with giant spires of ice. So it looked like the ship that had become my home. We managed to get nearly two dozen ships that way but there were so many we couldn't even put a dent in the forces. Soon we were called to retreat back to the wall to reinforce the wall. I cast an ice dragon and a water dragon to attack the nearest two boats while the men used their bending to send us back to the wall. The ice dragon pierced the hull of one of the ships, but the water dragon wasn't hard enough to do that so it just swept the crew of the other ship.

Several hours later it was near moonrise and the Fire Navy ships started dropping anchors.

The moon was full tonight. I looked up at it worried. If Zhao did what he thought I was going to do, which was killing the moon spirit, he would do it tonight. I could barely remember most of the things that happened in the series but I remembered the important parts. Zhao would kill the moon spirit. Yue would give her life to return the moon spirit. Zuko would try to capture Aang. The in between was so hard to remember. I remembered the spirit oasis was the place where all those things happened but I couldn't remember the timeline all that well.

Just as I finished thinking that Yue lead Aang, Katara and I away.

We entered the oasis and it was even more beautiful than I remembered it. The grass was lush green, and the bamboo grew behind a pi (as in 3.14) shaped wooden structure. Aang immediately sat in his meditation pose. Hands fist-ed and pressed together so his arrows pointed at each other and sitting "Indian style".

I wandered several feet away, just out of sight for anyone in the oasis itself, but I would still be able to see and hear everything that went on. I sat several yards out of sight and watched what was going on in the oasis with half a mind. Which was probably why I was caught off guard when I was grabbed from behind.

One muscular arm wrapped around my torso, pinning my arms to my sides and my back flush against a very male chest. The man's other hand went over my mouth muffling any sound I would make. I thrashed wildly against the grip, my head being thrown back and forth trying to free my mouth so I could scream a warning to Katara and Yue. I kicked backwards trying to hit my captors legs to make him let me go. Finally as a last resort I bit his hand, it wasn't a very strong bite because I couldn't open my mouth wide enough to exert a lot of force.

The hand on my mouth warmed up noticeably. Firebender, then. Probably Zuko, Zhao wasn't supposed to show for a while yet.

I could still hear what Katara and Yue were saying. I felt a pinch on the back of my neck and I fell limply to the ground, not unconscious just unable to move. I felt a rope being weaved around my body tying my hands so they couldn't move at all and my legs together so I couldn't run. The paralysis thing must wear off quickly, then. I thought as I felt him bring a gag over my mouth and around the back of my head so I couldn't talk. A minute later I was proven right when I felt the feeling return to my arms and legs.

I thrashed on the ground like a fish pulled from the water. Zuko looked down at me then crept closer to the oasis.

"Is he okay?" I heard Yue's voice.

"He's crossing into the spirit world. He'll be fine as long as we don't move his body. That's his way back to the physical world." Katara reassured Yue.

"Maybe we should get some help." Yue suggested heading towards the exit.

"No. He's my friend. I'm perfectly capable of protecting him.

"Well. Aren't you a big girl now." Zuko said mockingly as he stepped into the oasis dragging me along by the rope along my back. I was tossed to the side carelessly.

"No." Katara whispered turning to see Zuko stalking across the bridge and me laying on my stomach on the bridge.

"Yes." Zuko mocked back. "Hand him over and I won't have to hurt you."

Katara moved into a waterbending stance and Yue ran towards the exit. Zuko moved into his own stance and started off by kicking out a heel of fire, then two fistfuls of fire.

Katara drew water up to part the fire around her and Aang. Then sent a wave of water at Zuko as soon as there was a break in his attacks. He was knocked backwards and over landing hard on his torso facing away from Katara.

"I see you've learned a new trick." He said as he climbed to his feet still facing away from Katara. "but I didn't come to lose to you." he whipped around throwing a stream of fire. Katara blocked it with another wave of water then sent her own stream back, knocking Zuko onto the water and freezing him there. Then she made a bunch of grandiose circular movements building a ball of water around Zuko and freezing it.

"You little peasant. You've found a master haven't you." Zuko's voice came oddly distorted from within the see-through ice prison.

The ice turned orange as Zuko built up his fire and busted the prison and sent another fireball at Katara, who quickly blocked it with water that evaporated at the heat of the fire.

Soon Zuko was only a foot away shooting fireballs at Katara who barely had time to block them all so none of them would hit Aang who was behind her. Zuko threw another fireball and spun around her as she blocked it almost grasping Aang's shirt before he was blasted away by a wave of water.

I longed to help her but I was a little tied up at the moment.

Zuko hit the water on his back and Katara quickly swept him up against the ice wall with more water and froze him there. His hands caught on either side of his head in no position to make a fist.

Katara walked back towards Aang seeming to forget all about little old me, still all tied up. The sun bathed the oasis in warmth and I had time to thing 'oh shit' before Zuko freed himself with his newly refreshed fire. He then hit Katara with a fireball that she barely had time to block. She flew backward and hit the wood post hard, she stayed awake long enough to see Zuko grab Aang by the scruff of his shirt before her eyes slid shut, unconscious.

I was grabbed by my binds and pulled along with them. I was slung over one of Zuko's shoulders and Aang had the other one as we walked into a blizzard. I felt my teeth start to chatter as the wind blew through my thin parka. I had taken off my thick parka when we reached the oasis.

Right at that moment I felt glad and envious that Aang was unconscious. If he was awake he would probably be freezing his arrows off. But I was freezing my ass off because I wasn't unconscious. I felt my teeth start to chatter as I leaned against Zuko, not caring that he was my enemy at the moment, because he was warm; he was radiating heat. I felt my eyes drift closed, unable to keep them open, as a night without sleep caught up to me, and I fell asleep laying on the shoulder of the banished prince of the Fire Nation.

A/N: I'm back! Who missed me? I finally bogged down and finished this chapter. So really guys I need an answer.

Should I make this story into three different stories or make it one extreamely long story.

1. Keep it one story

2. Divide it into the three books that the series has

Choose!

And REVIEW!

I only need one more review to reach 100! I'll dedicate the next chapter to you. (sing songingly bribes readers).