Previously on Fire and Earth…
"This will truly be one for the history books, General Iroh" my father said as we continued to sail. We had been at sea for some time, and it wouldn't be long before we reached the North Pole. "Just think: centuries from now, people will study the great Admiral Zhao, who destroyed the last of the Water Tribe civilization. You're lucky you're here to see it".
She and her two escorts started to walk back down the hall, but Takara turned to me and said "I know you love your father, but don't let him dictate your destiny. Choose one for yourself".
"There's no room for argument here" I said firmly, trying to maintain my stoic expression. "Out there is only ice and snow. There is no earth for you to bend, and if you can't bend, then you would probably die out there. That is something I CANNOT allow. I love you boys, you know that; I won't let you die out in the cold. You'll stay on the ship and await my return. Do you understand?"
They both glanced at each other, their serious expressions belying the fact that they understood. Eventually, they both nodded, and I embraced them in a loving hug.
Looking down at the twins, I saw the shocked expressions on their faces. "Look, I'm going after him whether you like it or not! If I don't stop him, then there's a chance that he might capture the Avatar for himself, and none of us want that".
The Earthbending boys both sighed before reluctantly nodding at me.
"It's the anniversary of mother's death" I said quietly, looking up at my father's face.
He flinched, setting his bowl down. He looked down at the table with a serious expression, and I could see the briefest flicker of happy memories cross his face. "I'd… completely forgotten" he said, sounding mournful.
"It's been twenty years" I added. "You've never spoken about her since she passed".
And just like that, the precious moment with my father was gone. He shook his head and looked at me with a smile. "It doesn't matter" he said, matter-of-factly. "Tomorrow, the name of Zhao will live in infamy, and I will finally attain the glory that I deserve".
I tried to get out of the way, but it was just too fast, and it struck me in the face, throwing me clear across to the other side of the small island. As everything became black, I could hear my father lecturing me on keeping my senses sharp and alert for everything around me. Once again, I'd made a mistake, and I questioned whether or not I would survive this latest one.
I stood with my hands clasped behind my back, gazing out at the Water Tribe city as the sun's light came to shine on the nearby landscape.
"It's daybreak at last" my father said, sounding utterly relieved that the brief respite was now over. "Let's write history".
Our ship, along with all of those in the front, then sailed right into the defensive wall, shattering sections of it with its sharpened bow.
My father turned to me and said "Make me proud".
I bowed my head before leaping over the platform and onto the deck as the ships in the front lowered their bows, creating ramps that we could use. I ran ahead of the soldiers on my father's flagship, and they cheered as I led the charge against the Northern Water Tribe.
"Forward!" I shouted as our forces poured into the Northern Water Tribe city. I had gathered a formidable land force: Komodo Rhinos, Tundra Tanks, and all of the most modern weaponry for our non-bending troops were brought to bear.
The Waterbenders would fall before the might of the Fire Nation.
Fireballs rained down on the defenders from the ships, while many of the Komodo Rhinos fired smaller projectiles from catapults built into their saddles. The plan was to soften the defending Waterbenders with artillery, then move in and overwhelm them with the armoured and mounted front, which protected the advancing infantry.
Suddenly, the water spouts on the inner wall ceased their flow of water. "Incoming!" I shouted a split second before the Waterbenders fired massive, high-intensity jets of water from the spouts.
Several of our tanks were instantly blown back by the sheer power behind the water jets. Planting my feet firmly on the ground, I thrust my arms forward and sent a mighty stream of blue flames at a jet that was shooting directly at me. The flames crashed into the water, and a cloud of steam was instantly created. I clenched my teeth as I maintained the stream of flame, belatedly noticing that the steam was spreading as the point of contact sizzled.
"Fire…", I struggled to say as I continued to hold the water jet at bay. "Fire the harpoons! Bring that wall down!"
Several of the tanks then rolled up beside me, firing large, hooked harpoons into the ice wall a moment later. The high-intensity water jets stopped, and I allowed myself to relax for the moment. The tanks then pulled back, and several sections of the ice wall were then brought crashing down.
"Advance!" I shouted, and our forces poured into the breaches.
The fighting was fierce, and the Waterbenders made us pay for every inch of ground that we gained. I respected their tenacity; anyone who fought this fiercely to protect their homes and families was someone to be admired.
Suddenly, as I dispatched a pair of non-bending warriors, I noticed that the sky had darkened. Looking up, my eyes widened as I beheld the full moon shining down on the battle.
Then, things took a drastic turn.
Empowered by the full moon, the Waterbenders were at their strongest, and our losses started piling up. Our tanks were buried in snow or sliced into pieces, our Rhinos were blasted back with waves of water, and our non-bending soldiers were forced back by a hailstorm of sharpened ice spears.
As the soldiers around me were systematically wiped out, I took notice of a particular Waterbender amongst the chaos.
He was an old man, but he fought with more strength and power than any men half his age, dispatching countless Firebenders with ease. My attention on him almost cost me, for at the last possible moment, I noticed the wave of water rushing towards me.
Pushing off the ground, I barely managed to leap over the wave, and it passed harmlessly under me. As I landed, I punched my fist on the ground, creating an arc of blue flames to shoot towards the Waterbenders who had just attacked me.
Looking ahead, I saw that they booth drew up a barrier of water which absorbed my flames. Before they could counter-attack, I made quick circular motions with my arms before thrusting them at the two Waterbenders. A bolt of white lightning arced from my fingertips, striking the ground at their feet and blasting them with a small explosion.
With them out of the way, I turned back to the old Waterbender. He was currently high in the air atop a swirling water spout, fending off the assault of whatever Firebenders were still standing in the front lines. Clearly, he was a Master, and thus my prime target.
I made a slicing motion with my arm, sending an arc of blue flames at the old Master. Manipulating his water spout, he ducked below it. He then separated several man-sized balls of water from the spout. I watched as they thinned before freezing into long, sharp ice spears. The old Master thrust his arms out towards me, and the storm of spears shot at me. With my quick reflexes, I started flipping backwards as the spears imbedded themselves into the snow, never more than a few inches away from me.
As the last of them struck the snow, I landed on my feet. Glancing behind me, I saw a mounted soldier on a Komodo Rhino. Once his gaze fell on me, I motioned to the spent catapult on his mount's saddle, and he nodded.
I then ran towards the three-horned Rhino, pushing off the ground. Once my feet touched the catapult, the soldier fired it, and I was propelled into the air.
I then readied my fist for a punch as I came closer and closer to the Waterbending Master. It became wreathed in blue flame, and as I made my strike, my opponent dodged out of the way, meaning that my fist only struck air. As I began to fall back down, I shot a blue fireball at the foot of the old man's water spout before landing with tiger-like grace.
Not a moment later, a wave of water came rushing towards me. I reacted quickly, raising a wall of flame in front of me, which managed to block the wave.
I was forced to drop the wall when I saw a second wave rushing towards me from the opposite direction. Turning around, I sent a stream of blue flames at the wave, and a cloud of steam sizzled into existence when it struck the water.
Suddenly, a massive weight slammed into my back as the first wave was focused into a stream, knocking the wind out of me and throwing me clear across the square.
I crashed into an ice wall, grunting from the force of the impact as I fell down onto the ground. Getting back on my feet, I heard a voice calling "Shan We".
I turned to see my father on a Komodo Rhino, along with four Firebending soldiers. "Father" I said, taking a moment to glance back at the old Waterbending Master. "The Waterbenders are unstoppable. The full moon is giving them the power to wipe out our troops".
"I'm working on a solution" my father said confidently. "Come, I want you to be witness to my moment of glory".
I nodded before having one of the Firebenders pull me up onto the back of his Rhino. We then made our way into the heart of the city, eventually crawling through a small, wooden door into an oasis. It was warmer here than in the rest of the city, and there was a small, grass-covered island with a small pool in the centre.
My eyes widened at seeing Jin and Li standing near the island's edge, frozen in ice. What were they doing here?
I quickly ran over to where they were, proceeding to place a hand on the ice. Using my Firebending, I melted it, allowing the twin Earthbenders to move. Once they were free, I firmly grabbed their shoulders and asked "What are you doing here? I told you to stay back on the ship!"
The two of them grimaced, and Jin made his way to the other side of the island, where a very familiar woman was laying on the grass.
As Jin woke her up, I turned to take a look at my surroundings. "What is this place?"
"This is the Spirit Oasis" my father said, his voice wistful. "It's the centre of all the spiritual energy in the North Pole".
I nodded. That would explain the unique feeling of this place. I then looked down at the pool, where two Koi fish were swimming in a perpetual circle around one another. One was white with a black spot on its head, while the other was black with a white spot on its head. Their circling reminded me very much of yin and yang.
"The Koi fish?" I asked, looking over at my father.
He nodded, a smile on his face. "Meet the Ocean and Moon spirits, my son. They sacrificed their immortality to become a part of our world, and it is my destiny to kill the Moon".
The full weight of his proclamation slammed into me like a landslide as he reached into the pool and took the white Koi fish, placing it in a sack. The sky then turned blood-red, and I looked up to see the Moon becoming eclipsed.
"I am a legend now" my father said, holding the sack high above his head. "The Fire Nation will, for generations, tell stories about the great Zhao, who darkened the Moon. They will call me Zhao the Conqueror… Zhao the Moon-Slayer… Zhao the Invincible!"
I shuddered. My father had gone insane; all the peoples of the world depended on the balance between us and the spirits. If the Moon died, then there would be no telling what kind of chaos would be sown. As my father listed possible epithets for himself, I stared at him in total shock. For most of my life, I had maintained the hope that once he achieved the power he desired, then he would be sated and return to being the man he once was.
I now saw that I had been living in a fantasy.
Suddenly, a small, furred creature climbed onto my father's head, and he shouted "Get it off! Get it off!" as he flailed about.
The small creature suddenly flew off of my father's head and onto the Avatar's outstretched arm. I instinctively readied myself for battle, as did the Firebending soldiers and the Avatar's group.
"Don't bother" my father growled. He then held his fist threateningly up to the sack, and the Avatar and his companions relaxed their stance.
"Zhao, don't!" the bald-headed boy cried, dropping his staff and holding his hands up.
"It's my destiny…" my father growled, sounding like a deranged animal. "To destroy the Moon and the Water Tribe".
"Destroying the Moon won't just hurt the Water Tribe; it will hurt everyone… including you. Without the Moon, everything would fall out of balance. You have no idea what kind of chaos that would unleash on the world".
"He's right, Zhao" a familiar voice spoke up from nearby. I turned and saw General Iroh standing on one of the wooden bridges.
"General Iroh" my father said contemptuously, "why am I not surprised to discover your treachery?"
"I'm no traitor, Zhao" the General replied. "The Fire Nation needs the Moon, too. We all depend on the balance. Whatever you do to that spirit, I'll unleash on you tenfold! Let it go now!"
I stared at the General in shock; I had never before heard him shouting like this. I agreed with everything he said, but I was still too gripped by shock to do anything.
My shock was then broken when my father turned to me and said "Shan We, I command you to kill these traitors!"
I looked at him, seeing the pure, unadulterated fury in his eyes. I then glanced to everyone else present: General Iroh, the Avatar and his companions, and finally the twins and Takara. She gripped her head in pain as Jin helped her to stand, and our eyes met. As I gazed into her green and blue eyes, her words to me from before the battle came to mind.
"I know you love your father, but don't let him dictate your destiny. Choose one for yourself".
My father then shouted "I am your father and your Admiral! You will obey me!"
His words then reminded me of my dream, where the blue Dragon, with my father's voice, wanted me to kill the Avatar. In that same dream, the red Dragon, with Takara's voice, had urged me to choose my own destiny, and to not let others dictate it for me.
I tightly closed my eyes as I clenched my fists, feeling a tear running down my cheek.
"No".
"What?!" my father demanded.
I opened my eyes and looked up at him. He was glaring at me with a crazed look in his eyes, and I returned it with a steely gaze. "No!" I repeated more forcefully, seeing the shock start to spread across his face. "Everything, EVERYTHING I have ever done was to please you! To gain your love and acceptance! But now I see: you don't understand love. You only understand greed and selfishness".
"Why you disrespectful…" he started to say.
"Father, all I ever wanted was your love" I said, cutting him off. "Ever since mother died, you've become this completely different person. For twenty years now, I've wanted my father back; I wanted you to be the man you once were, the man I thought you'd always been. I was a fool. I won't allow you to kill the Moon spirit. LET. IT. GO!"
I then entered into a fighting stance, and my father, looking completely flabbergasted, turned to look at everyone around us.
He then slumped in defeat before turning to look at me. The look on his face bore such bile and hatred that I took an involuntary step back; even though I had completely lost faith in my father becoming a better man, that look still drove a dagger through my heart. "So", he said, his voice dripping with venom, "my own son is a traitor".
He then crouched down in front of the pool, letting the white Koi fish back into the pool. As it resumed its circular swim with the other one, the blood-red sky gave way to the normal one. I eased my tense muscles, inwardly relieved that he had seen reason.
I relaxed far too soon.
With a furious roar, my father sliced his arm down, casting a line of crimson flames that struck the surface of the pool. As everyone looked down in horror, the sky blackened as the Moon became dark.
Suddenly, I heard a roar from General Iroh as he easily dispatched my father's Firebending guards.
Turning to my right, I watched as my father fled the Oasis. Clenching my fists, I ran after him, feeling all of my anger and frustration boiling as I abandoned my stoic demeanor. Ever since I was a boy, I had promised myself that I wouldn't let my emotions dictate my actions, like my father, but at this exact moment, I didn't care.
All I felt was anger and betrayal, and there was only one way I could vent those feelings.
I caught up with my father after rounding a corner, and I proceeded to fire a bolt of white lightning at a wall right next to him. The wall exploded, and my father stopped in his tracks.
He turned to face me, his lips formed into a snarl. We both stared at each other for what felt like an eternity as we unclasped our black cloaks. He then attacked first, sending a crimson fireball towards me.
I reached out with my hand and caught the fireball. In the same fluid motion, I spun around and hurled it back at him. It was almost poetic that I used that move in the Northern Water Tribe city, as I had developed it from studying the Waterbenders' tendency to turn their opponent's offense into an attack of their own.
My father dodged the redirected flame, and I proceeded to aim two kicks at him, throwing two blue fire blasts his way.
As he blocked my attacks, I charged him, shouting in anger. When I came close, we fought in close quarters, each trying to burn the other. I sliced my hand at his face, casting a light arc of blue flame, but he ducked, proceeding to aim a fiery kick at my head. I ducked under his attack, sweeping his foot out from under him at the same time.
He grunted as he fell onto the ground. I attempted to strike him with a fiery punch, but he kicked his leg upwards, sending a gust of flames at me and forcing me to take a step back.
He then got back up on his feet, but before he could press his advantage, I aimed a spinning kick at his head. My boot struck the side of his face, sending him tumbling down onto an icy walkway in between two pools. I leaped down in front of him, but before I could do anything else, a crimson flame shot from behind me and struck a frozen sculpture at the edge of the pool, instantly melting it.
I turned around to face the person who dared to interfere, and my eyes beheld none other than Prince Zuko standing where I was not a minute ago.
"You're alive?" my father asked incredulously.
"You tried to have me killed!" the scarred Prince shouted as he fired several fire blasts at my father. He then leaped down, and as I prepared a strike, a fiery attack sent me sprawling on the walkway. As I stood back up, I saw Prince Zuko and my father fighting one another, appearing to be equal in skill.
"Yes I did" my father spat as he fought the teenager. "You're the Blue Spirit! An enemy of the Fire Nation! You freed the Avatar!"
"I had no choice!" Prince Zuko countered, firing several blasts at my father.
At this point, I rejoined the battle, attacking both of them with potent blue flames that brightly illuminated the darkened air around us. Prince Zuko leaped over me, landing in between me and my father.
"You should have chosen to accept your failure" my father said as he and the Prince fought. "You're a disgrace. Then, at least, you could have lived!"
The three of us then engaged in a fierce duel, showing no quarter to either of our opponents. Prince Zuko and my father growled and shouted as they attacked, reflecting their more primal Firebending, while I unleashed my full fury against both of them, having good reason to kill them both.
I sliced my arm at Prince Zuko, sending an arc of blue flame towards him before unleashing my fiery breath on my father.
I held my flaming breath on him for several moments, unrelenting in my assault as he staggered back. Noticing a crimson glow out of the corner of my eye, I turned to face Prince Zuko as he kicked a fiery blast at me.
I waved my hand in front of me, calling forth blue flames that blocked and dissipated the teenager's attack. Suddenly, a hand roughly gripped my shoulder and turned me back the other way. My father stood directly in front of me, and he stared daggers at me as he punched me in the face, knocking me on my back. My nose radiated with pain, and after touching fingers to my nostril, I saw blood on them.
My father was suddenly on top of me, wrapping his strong hands around my throat.
He squeezed with all of his might, and I struggled in order to pry his grip free. He stared down at me, his amber eyes crazed with madness. "It's a good thing your mother's not alive" he spat. "She would be ashamed at seeing the disgrace you've become!"
That proved to be the wrong thing to say.
With what breath I had, I blew flaming hot air at my father's face. He released his grip and snarled in pain as his eyes closed reflexively. I then shouted as I tackled him off the edge of the pools. We fell for several feet, eventually crashing onto an icy bridge. Sitting up, I gripped my father by the shoulder and punched him in the face. I struck him once, twice, three times, venting all of my anger out on him. As I was about to deliver my next punch, he managed to grab my wrist before head-butting me.
My head flashed with pain as I fell onto my back. My father then pushed off, leaping into the air and bringing his fiery fist down.
I rolled out of the way in time, avoiding his strike. I then tripped him before getting back on my feet. I sent a blue fireball at him just as Prince Zuko joined us. With my father temporarily beaten back, I turned to look at the scarred teenager, shouting as I leaped into the air and kicked him in the face. He was sent sprawling onto the other side of the bridge, and I hammered him with a relentless series of staccato fire blasts.
He lunged for me with his outstretched hands, but I quickly spun around and struck him on the side of the head with my elbow, knocking him to the ground.
Then, miraculously, the darkness that had been left in the wake of the Moon spirit's demise was lifted, and I looked up to see the moon returned to its normal state. My father exclaimed "It can't be!"
I looked down at him, panting heavily as my head throbbed with pain. "You've failed, father" I said, wiping some of the blood from my upper lip with the back of my hand. "Give up; it's over".
Just then, glowing blue water rose above the bridge from the waterway below us, forming into a large hand. I fell onto my posterior upon seeing the haunting appendage, but it wasn't here for me. The fingers wrapped around my father, and he flailed about in useless resistance as it slowly brought him over the edge of the ice bridge.
Prince Zuko then ran up to the edge, reaching out to him. In that moment, everything else drifted away: all the anger, all the feelings of betrayal, everything except for the hope I had carried with me since I was a boy.
In that moment, I decided to give my father one chance, one last chance to redeem himself and become the man I once knew. Standing up, I knocked Prince Zuko to the ground before reaching out to him. "Father, take my hand!" I cried, hoping beyond hope that he would accept. He started to reach his hand back to me, and it seemed like my hopes were becoming true.
But he had already made his choice.
He then withdrew his hand, staring down at me with a look of utter contempt and hatred that was permanently burned into my memory.
My father was then dragged into the watery depths.
I stood there, my mouth open and my hand still outstretched. I made no sounds, and time seemed to have completely stopped. A noise drew my attention, and I turned around in order to see it. It was a glowing blue wave that rushed at me with a speed and intensity that not even the old Waterbending Master had been able to do. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Prince Zuko climb to safety moments before the wave struck me. Then, everything became black.
Wow, that was a wild ride! There you have it, folks: the end of Book 1!
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Up next: The Avatar State!