There was a tense, uneasy sort of energy that permeated the air the morning of the day the Southern Raiders were due to attack. Zuko could feel it in his bones; it was as if the entire village was holding its breath. The crunching of the snow under his boots as he and Aang made their way to Hakoda's war tent sounded louder than ever in the eerie quiet, and he could feel himself becoming more tense with every step.
"Feeling okay, hotman?" the Avatar asked with a small, tired-looking smile. Zuko could tell that he had likely not slept very well last night either.
"...I could be better," Zuko replied honestly. "But I could also be worse, I guess. Are you feeling okay?"
"I'm definitely anxious," Aang replied. "But… I also have a good feeling about today. Something deep down inside me tells me we're going to win this battle."
Zuko sincerely hoped that this "something" was correct.
When they arrived at the training grounds, this time, the entire village had gathered in front of the war tent in addition to the usual group of warriors. The trio made their way through the crowd to the front of the war tent, where Hakoda, Bato, Gilak, and Thod were standing next to one another, all sporting deathly serious expressions, and Iroh separated to join them.
Although Zuko found it difficult to remain completely focused while Hakoda spoke during the meeting, he was able to catch some of the important bits and pieces here and there. Gilak and Bato were going to be in charge of the first line of defense on the water, and Iroh and Hakoda would be the second line of defense on land, while the remaining villagers—Katara included, despite her protestations—would stay inside the village walls at all times with Thod, Katjuk, and Miki serving as protectors of the northern village gate. Both Sokka and Zuko had been assigned to fight on land with the rest of the warriors, and lastly, Aang's primary task would be to keep an eye on things from the air on Appa.
The clear breakdown of plans seemed to somewhat soothe the anxieties of the villagers who were not going to be participating in the battle, which in turn helped Zuko feel slightly less tense. He didn't like that he was going to be separated from Aang, but he knew there wasn't much he could do from the air.
"Today, my siblings, we fight for our nation," Gilak shouted as the meeting came to an end. "For our culture! For our people!"
The crowd slowly began to liven up, several cheers erupting from amongst the villagers.
"We'll show these ash makers what happens when you mess with the Southern Water Tribe!" Gilak continued as he paced back and forth in front of the warriors and villagers. "They have no idea what's coming for them."
The crowd cheered fully in response, while Zuko simply swallowed nervously.
"For the South!" Gilak shouted, thrusting his club into the air with a confident grin.
"For the South!" the crowd echoed in unison.
Zuko glanced at Aang, and the noise around them faded for a moment. He couldn't imagine what the Avatar must be feeling right now
He craned his neck back to look at the sky, which was surprisingly clear and blue, inhaled a deep breath through his nose, and prayed to the spirits that the Southern Water Tribe would come out victorious in the upcoming battle.
Aang opened his mouth into a wide yawn from where he sat on Appa's head, soaring above the village and coast for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. It was already late afternoon, and there had been absolutely no signs of Raider ships yet. He was already exhausted from a poor night's sleep on top of his anxiety about the battle, and hours of scouting was not a helpful addition to that mix.
He squinted his eyes as he looked out into the sea, where he once again spotted the Water Tribe ships stationed in a barricade line, but he did not see the unmistakable plume of smoke that he had come to associate with Fire Nation ships.
What if I interpreted his visions wrong? He began to worry. What if they're not coming at all, and I've just wasted everyone's time?
This possibility somehow felt just as bad, if not worse than the possibility of losing the battle.
He shivered slightly, noticing that the skies had become a light shade of gray and were now producing snowflakes—he'd been so distracted that he had forgotten to keep regulating his breathing to deal with the extreme cold. Momo chirped from where he was perched on Appa's left horn and opened his mouth wide to consume the small flurries.
He sighed and took one last look out at the horizon, noticing that a sort of haze seemed to have fallen over the ocean beyond the barricade, obscuring much of his view. It was then that he decided it would probably be best to land, as there now wasn't much he could see anyway, and he did not want Appa to become fatigued.
He made his descent back towards the collection of dots below where Hakoda's warriors were gathered facing the South Sea, and upon landing, swiftly jumped off of Appa's head and jogged over to where Hakoda and Iroh were standing next to the icy shore.
"You're back," Hakoda said. The chief, like his warriors, was sporting what Sokka had called "wolf armor", complete with black, gray, and white face paint that made the kind-natured man appear surprisingly intimidating. Aang supposed that must be the point.
"Any signs of Raiders?" Iroh asked. The top half of his face was obscured in shadow by the hood he had decided to wear to prevent the Raiders from easily recognizing him. Zuko, meanwhile, had chosen to wear his Blue Spirit mask, as it would cover his very recognizable scar completely when a hood would not.
"Nothing… At least, not that I could see," Aang replied dejectedly. "It's gotten pretty hazy, so I thought I'd check in down here since I'm not of much use being a lookout right now anyway."
Hakoda nodded in understanding. "We still have Bato and Gilak on the lookout in the bay. They'll give us a warning if they see anything."
Aang nodded as well, though this didn't help his anxiety. He stared out into the sea for a few minutes, then began pacing back and forth, unable to sit still. The silence was beginning to unnerve him.
He looked down at the ground as he paced, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. When that didn't work, he decided to sit down in lotus pose, closing his eyes and pressing his fists together as he attempted to meditate.
After what felt like an hour had passed (though he wasn't completely sure it hadn't simply been fifteen minutes), he suddenly heard a small coughing sound on the ground next to him. He opened his eyes and looked to his side to see Momo, hacking and spitting as though he had consumed something of bad taste.
Aang's eyes widened slowly, and he held up his palm, where a soot-covered snowflake landed.
Flashes of the blizzard of black snowflakes from his old dream flashed in his mind, and he immediately sucked in a sharp breath, heart pounding in his chest. He whipped around to look at Hakoda and Iroh, whose alarmed expressions indicated they had noticed the soot snow as well.
Not a moment later, the sound of a horn blared from the bay, followed by several others. Hakoda immediately turned around to face the warriors, many of whom looked to be rather frightened.
"This is it!" Hakoda yelled with urgency. "The Raiders have reached the barricade! We must be ready!"
Aang's eyes darted in multiple directions, wondering what he should do. His gaze landed on Zuko, who was standing next to Sokka in the crowd of warriors. He had not yet donned his Blue Spirit mask, which was sitting on top of his head, and Aang could see a mixed look of determination and fear in his features. The Fire Prince softened momentarily when his eyes met Aang's own, nodding once, and while Aang couldn't know for certain, it seemed as though he was saying: We can do this.
That small look restored some of Aang's confidence. He took a deep breath, nodded back in return with a small smile.
"I'm gonna go help them," he said, turning back to Iroh and Hakoda.
"Aang, no," Hakoda argued. "You should stay here, and only fight if necessary."
" No ," Aang replied simply, surprising the chief. "I won't sit here and do nothing while people risk their lives. I know I can help."
Hakoda opened his mouth to argue again, but Iroh placed a hand on the chief's shoulder, causing him to hold his tongue.
"Let him go. He'll be fine." His gaze met Aang's and he smiled. "Just be careful."
"I will," Aang promised as he flicked open his glider.
Zuko's eyes nervously followed Aang as he soared out over Wolf Cove Bay. When the airbender had finally disappeared from sight, he pulled his Blue Spirit mask down to cover his face, unsheathed his broadswords, and steeled himself for the inevitable fight.
It pained him greatly that he could not see what was going on out on the water, and he flinched when he heard unmistakable sounds of crashing and faint yelling in the distance. He looked over to Sokka, who gave him an anxious glance.
The sounds continued for some time, until Zuko noticed with a spike of dread in his stomach that the soot-covered snow was falling more heavily than before, and increasing in volume by the minute.
Suddenly, a metal Fire Navy ship, larger than Zuko's old one, but smaller than Zhao's, burst through the fog. Its flags bore the unmistakable symbol of the Southern Raiders—the sea raven—and it was traveling at an alarming speed directly towards the shore.
"Everyone, move back!" Iroh ordered, and the warriors all did as they were told.
Shortly after Iroh and Hakoda had retreated from their spot next to the shore, the Southern Raider ship crashed into it, lodging itself in the ice with an ear-splitting crunch before coming to a halt.
Zuko scanned the rest of the bay fearfully, waiting for the next ship to come barreling through the fog, but thankfully, for now, this ship seemed to be the only one. He could still hear the sounds of yelling in the distance, meaning that there was at least one other ship, but it had seemingly been deterred by the barricade.
I hope Aang is alright…
With a very familiar loud hissing sound, the hull of the ship in front of them slowly began to lower. Hakoda adjusted his wolf-shaped helmet and brandished his whalebone machete, and Zuko could see that he was shaking, whether with fear, rage, or both, he couldn't tell.
Iroh had brandished a scimitar that had been given to him by Gilak, and he was sporting an expression of unmistakable quiet anger. Zuko briefly wondered where and why Iroh had learned how to use melee weapons, and supposed it was just another one of his uncle's mysterious secrets that he would have to remember to ask him about after the battle.
If we even survive , he thought bleakly as he watched the hull of the ship thud onto the snowy ground.
Inside the opening of the ship stood multiple armored Fire Navy soldiers, all wearing distinct bird-like helmets, indicating their status as a special forces unit separate from the run-of-the-mill Fire Navy soldiers. Similar to the Yuyan Archers, this group was not one to be trifled with, which was why Zuko was currently willing his arms and legs to stop shaking.
He felt a hand pat his arm, and looked over at Sokka in surprise.
"It's gonna be okay, Lee," he whispered. "We've got this."
Zuko blinked in surprise, touched by the usually sarcastic Water Tribe boy's words of comfort. He nodded curtly and steeled himself once more as he watched the Raiders descend the ramp.
The group of soldiers was led by an older man who Zuko assumed to be their commander. The man wore a cruel and arrogant-looking smile on his face that reminded Zuko of Zhao, causing his blood to boil as he gripped his broadswords tightly. This was the type of person who took pleasure in inflicting pain on innocent people.
He suddenly noticed faint vapors of steam rising from his fists, and immediately attempted to calm himself. Thankfully, the vapors quickly disappeared, and everyone around him was too distracted by the Southern Raiders to notice.
The commander came to a stop in front of Hakoda, who had stepped forward defiantly, while Iroh remained standing a few feet behind him.
"I have to admit, your little barricade was mildly impressive for such a primitive tribe," the commander sneered. "But I'm afraid it was no match for my ship."
Zuko and Sokka shared another glance. Please be okay, Aang, Zuko prayed silently.
" Enough ," Hakoda growled. "If you know what's good for you, you'll turn around now and get out of my nation."
The commander actually looked mildly surprised at the ferocity of the chief's reply, but it failed to shake his resolve, and he merely frowned. "Your 'nation' is nothing more than a sad, cobbled-together imitation of the Northern Water Tribe," he stated matter-of-factly.
"What do you want from us?" Hakoda demanded, ignoring the insult, which was obviously an attempt to bait the chief into impulsively attacking. "You killed the last waterbender in the Southern Tribe three years ago. There are no more left."
The sickening smirk reappeared on the commander's face. "Indeed. For a time, I too believed my work here was done. I even retired peacefully last year. But imagine my surprise when the honorable Fire Lord Ozai summoned me to Hari Bulkan and assigned me one last task."
Upon hearing his father's name, Zuko felt a pit of dread begin to take root in his stomach. His eyes moved to Iroh, and he wondered what his uncle was thinking about all of this.
Hakoda, meanwhile, remained silent and merely continued staring at the commander with utter contempt.
"You see… it seems that the Avatar has returned after managing to evade the Fire Nation's detection for nearly a century."
Zuko's breath hitched. Did the Fire Nation somehow know that Aang was here?
"I don't know what you're playing at," Hakoda responded coolly. "Everyone knows the Avatar doesn't exist anymore. Get to the point."
"I'm sure you don't get much news from the rest of the civilized world," the commander continued. "But I can assure you, he has returned. Which is why we are here."
That's it. They know, Zuko thought dreadfully.
"You think the Avatar is here?" Hakoda asked with a laugh. Zuko was extremely impressed with the chief's acting abilities.
"We aren't here for the Avatar ," the commander scoffed. "Commander Zhao is tracking him in the Earth Kingdom. It's only a matter of time until he's found and brought to the Fire Lord."
Zuko's brow immediately furrowed in confusion. What on earth could the Southern Raiders be doing here if not to kill waterbenders or capture Aang?
"No. You see… Zhao is supposed to capture the Avatar alive ," the commander continued. "But there's always a risk for… accidents to happen. The Fire Nation can't afford to spend all its time looking for the next Avatar, which would of course immediately be born into the Water Tribe."
Zuko felt his blood run cold, and he immediately felt like he was going to be sick. No…
The intensity of Hakoda's enraged features slowly increased, and Zuko could see that his hand was shaking slightly from how hard he was gripping his spear. However, he remained silent.
" Bastard ," Sokka muttered under his breath. He looked very similar to his father at that moment, the wolf-like face paint sharpening the boy's furious features.
"The Fire Nation already has big plans for the Northern Water Tribe at the end of the year," the commander continued, lowering his head as his malicious smile widened. "But the Fire Lord wants me to take care of its sad excuse for a sister tribe first."
Without warning, the commander shot a blast of fire directly towards Hakoda, who just barely managed to dive out of the way in time.
The warriors surrounding Zuko erupted into war cries and immediately began charging towards the group of soldiers. He stumbled when someone bumped into him, gripping the hilts of his broadswords tightly. This was the first true battle he had ever been a part of, and it was already overwhelming. He struggled to keep his mind clear and stay alert for any attacks, whipping his head around as he saw bursts of fire and heard clashes of weapons.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Zuko spotted a soldier carrying a spear running in his direction, and quickly spun to face her. Thanks to his constant training, his muscle memory was sharp, and he immediately ducked to avoid the blow and spun a kick into the side of the soldier, causing her to grunt and fall to the ground.
Another soldier ran up to him shortly after, this one with a two-handed sword. Zuko blocked the sword's blow with both of his own, and felt himself thrown backwards as he parried the attack. He growled and launched himself back at the soldier, who blocked his blows, and the two continued battling until Zuko managed to finally gain the upper hand, right blade slicing into the side of the soldier's leg.
This was the first time that Zuko had ever used a weapon to seriously hurt anyone, and the sight of the soldier's blood as they collapsed to the ground filled him with a strong feeling of horror and disgust.
"Lee, watch out!"
Sokka's yell brought Zuko back to reality, and he turned to see that the soldier with the spear who he had knocked out earlier was running towards him again with a vengeful expression. However, before Zuko even had the chance to prepare to deflect the attack, something struck the soldier's head from behind, and she suddenly fell face forward into the snow, unmoving. Zuko looked up to see Sokka reach his hand into the air and grab hold of a weapon that seemed to have ricocheted from the soldier's head.
"Boomerang, you never let me down," Sokka proclaimed proudly as he came to a stop in front of Zuko.
"Thanks," Zuko exhaled, blinking rapidly.
"Are you okay? I saw you just standing there frozen."
"I'm fine," Zuko snapped, shaking his head.
Sokka's gaze moved to the ground, where the Fire Nation soldier Zuko had been fighting laid groaning on the ground in a patch of blood-soaked snow, and his eyes widened. " Oh. Hey, it's okay," he reassured Zuko. "You were defending yourself. We're in battle."
"Let's just… stop talking about it," Zuko insisted with a slightly shaky voice, scanning the battlefield. Surprisingly, it seemed that the Southern Water Tribe warriors were holding up fairly well. He turned to look at the nearby village gates, and frowned when he saw several Raiders that had managed to slip past the battle approaching. "We should go help! We can't risk them getting into the village!"
Sokka nodded curtly, and the two boys ran towards the village gates. When they arrived, they managed to fight off two more spear-carrying soldiers, while Zuko saw that Thod, Miki, and Katjuk were using their chi-blocking techniques to effectively paralyze their opponents. He immediately looked away in revulsion, however, when he realized that they were also stabbing and shooting arrows into the paralyzed soldiers' bodies after they had fallen to the ground, and tried not to think about how utterly terrifying it must be to not even be able to move when you know you're about to be killed.
Thanks to his and Sokka's intervention, the soldiers were quickly defeated. As he caught his breath, Zuko looked up into the darkening sky, where the full moon was starting to become visible. He hoped that this battle wouldn't last too long into the night; he was already starting to feel exhausted, both emotionally and mentally.
"Thanks for the help, you two!" Miki said with a smile. "The village should be safe and sound for now."
"Don't thank us yet," Sokka replied, holding up his palm and looking into the sky.
"What is it?" Zuko asked concernedly, and recognized what the Water Tribe boy was talking about when he realized that the intensity of the soot snowflakes had increased.
"We need to get back over there," Sokka said, and turned to Thod, Miki, and Katjuk and waved. "Keep up the good work, you guys!"
"Be careful out there!" Katjuk yelled back in response.
As Zuko and Sokka ran back towards the battle, Zuko continued to wonder if Aang was okay. He didn't know how much time had passed since the battle had begun, but the fact that Aang had not yet returned to shore was not a good sign.
When the second raider ship abruptly made a sharp turn to the west, the two boys stopped in their tracks and looked at one another in confusion.
"Why is it…?" Sokka murmured.
With a loud crash, the second Raider ship slammed directly into the side of the first ship that was currently lodged into the ice, damaging both ships considerably.
Sokka and Zuko immediately resumed running until they reached Iroh, who had just knocked down a Raider soldier.
"Uncle, what's going on?"
Iroh sighed and smiled slightly. "I think I have a guess." He pointed to the ship, and Zuko's gaze followed his index finger's trajectory.
To his relief, on the deck of the ship stood Bato and Gilak. Several more Water Tribe ships arrived at the shore shortly afterwards, warriors spilling out as each of them docked.
But where's…?
Suddenly, he spotted an orange shape shoot up from the top of the ship's control tower, and felt a wide smile appear on his face as he recognized Aang's glider flying towards them. Other than his clothes being a bit singed, he looked completely fine.
"Yeah!" Sokka shouted joyfully, pumping his fist into the air. "Nice one!"
"You're okay!" Zuko exclaimed happily. "You came back!"
"Sure did, hotman," Aang replied with a wide grin as he landed next to him. "Turns out, there was only one other ship. And we just crashed it!"
With Aang's reappearance, Zuko's confidence grew considerably. Maybe we really can win this battle, he thought, cautiously optimistic.
"Hey, what's that guy doing?"
Sokka's worried tone interrupted his hopeful thoughts, and Zuko looked back over to the second Raider ship, where he saw a very injured-looking Raider soldier limping up from below deck, his left hand pressed to a bloody wound in his side. When he noticed that there was some sort of device in the Raider's right hand, Zuko immediately felt a spike of panic as he realized what the soldier was likely about to do.
"Somebody stop him!" Zuko yelled, taking off towards the shore. He ran fast as he could, deftly weaving through the battling warriors and Raiders.
"What are you doing?" he heard Aang yell from behind him.
"Bato! Gilak!" Zuko yelled again, just barely managing to block a sword attack from a soldier next to him. "Behind you!"
The two men, who had been dismounting the crashed Raider ship to board one of the Southern Water Tribe's, finally heard Zuko's cries. However, they were too late, and right as Bato turned around, the wounded Raider soldier stretched a shaky arm into the sky and pressed the trigger on his flare gun before collapsing onto the deck.
"No!" Zuko shouted, swiping his broadswords broadly and slicing down, knocking the sword out of the hands of the Raider he had been fighting. He continued running towards the shore, though his legs slowly came to a stop as he watched the bright flare launch into the evening sky.
He immediately dropped to his knees into the snow, and remained facing the ocean as he heard Aang's glider snap closed behind him.
"What was that?" the Avatar asked.
"A signal flare," Zuko replied defeatedly. "Reinforcements are coming."
Aang's eyes widened upon hearing Zuko's words, and he tried hard to ignore the growing feeling of dread in his chest.
"Zuko, we can't stay here. It's too dangerous to be out in the open like this," he said.
The Fire Prince turned to face him, pulling the Blue Spirit mask up onto the top of his head for a moment to wipe his sweaty brow with the back of his sleeve, and Aang could see the color had drained from his face. "They're going to kill everyone , Aang. The commander said my father had specifically sent him here to kill every single person in the Southern Water Tribe."
Aang immediately gaped in horror and disbelief. "They're… Why would they do that?"
"Because… they want to make sure the Avatar can't be reborn into the Water Tribe if you…"
Aang's eyes moved to the snowy ground. If I'm killed.
"What are we going to do?" Zuko asked, and Aang could tell that he was beginning to panic by the way his breathing had increased. "I thought we might actually have a chance to win this. But who knows how many reinforcements are coming!"
"We just need to stay calm," Aang replied, squeezing Zuko's shoulder gently. "And you need to breathe ." He demonstrated by inhaling through his nose slowly, then exhaling out through his mouth, and nodded for Zuko to do the same.
Zuko followed Aang's lead, and before long he had calmed down somewhat, though he was still clearly terrified about what was coming.
"Come on," Aang said, flicking his glider open again. "I'll fly us back to Iroh. Maybe he'll have a plan."
Zuko nodded solemnly, pulled his Blue Spirit mask back down, and climbed onto Aang's back. Aang breathed a sigh of relief as he saw that many of the Southern Raider soldiers had been taken down thanks to the addition of the warriors who had previously been on the boats with Bato and Gilak, though he cringed at the amount of blood he saw, and averted his gaze.
At last, he spotted Iroh and Sokka behind a rock formation at the edge of the battlefield, and his eyes widened when he realized that Katara was running towards them from the direction of the village gates.
What's she doing out here? he thought anxiously. I thought Hakoda told her to stay in the village!
As he descended, he finally realized what was going on. Sokka was on the ground, clenching his upper arm with a pained expression, and Iroh was beckoning Katara over.
When Aang finally landed, he and Zuko both ran over to them. "Is Sokka okay?" Aang asked worriedly.
"His arm is injured," Iroh said. "I just sent Miki into the village to get a healer." He looked at Katara, and furrowed his brow in confusion when he realized she removed a single water skin from her bag. "We need to stop the bleeding first. We can worry about hydration later."
"It's okay, Mushi. No offense, but I know what I'm doing," Katara responded, not taking her worried eyes off of her brother for even a second as she crouched down next to him. "Let me see it, Sokka."
Sokka groaned in pain and gave his sister an apprehensive look.
"Come on, Sokka! Do you wanna bleed to death?" she snapped.
Sokka's eyes widened, and he slowly removed his hand from the gash on his arm. Katara opened the lid of the water skin, and with a small motion of her hand, pulled the water out of it. The water enveloped her hand, and she pressed it to the wound. She held it there for several minutes, sweat appearing on her brow as she concentrated. Eventually, the pained expression on Sokka's face softened somewhat, and Katara pulled her hands away and returned the water to the pouch.
"Woah… that must be some good magic water," Sokka said, marveling at his now mostly-healed arm as Katara applied a medicinal herb paste to the wound and began to wrap it in bandages.
"Good job, Katara!" Aang praised, and the Water Tribe girl smiled at him in response.
"You're a waterbender," Iroh breathed in awe. "And a healer, at that."
"Never mind that right now, uncle," Zuko interjected, sounding impatient. "Surely you saw that flare. There are reinforcements coming. What do we do?"
Iroh blinked several times, then shook his head to dispel the shock of learning Katara's secret. "Right. We should return to the battlefield and find Hakoda."
"Right behind you!" Sokka said, standing up, then yelped when Katara yanked him back down by his sleeve.
" You aren't going anywhere," she said as she finished bandaging her brother. "Your shoulder isn't completely healed. You could reopen the wound!"
When she had returned her medicinal supplies to the satchel she had brought with her, she then stood up and turned to Iroh. "I'm ready. Let's go."
"What? No way," Zuko replied irritably before his uncle had the chance to say anything. "It's too dangerous. And your dad will kill us!"
Katara frowned. "I know there are more people who need my help," she replied defiantly, and looked at Aang. "You know how much I've improved! If something happens, I can defend myself!"
Aang blinked several times, then rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah… I'm sorry Katara, but I'm gonna have to agree with Lee on this one. You guys should probably both stay here until the battle is over."
"But I can save lives!" Katara argued.
"And I can still fight!" Sokka interjected.
Suddenly, the sound of a horn blared in the distance, interrupting their argument.
The reinforcements had arrived.
Aang grunted as he whipped a heavy blast of airbending towards yet another Southern Raider with his staff, knocking the soldier several feet back. He sighed heavily, slumping his shoulders for a moment while he attempted to catch his breath.
They just keep coming!
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted three firebenders aiming a simultaneous fire blast directly at a group of warriors being led by Lirin. Speeding over on his air scooter, he landed in front of them, using air to blast the attackers with a large sheet of snow before swirling them into a cyclone and throwing the Raiders back.
"Thanks, Aang!" Lirin exhaled in relief.
"No problem!" Aang replied, taking back off towards another group of firebenders that were preparing to send a blast towards several other Water Tribe warriors.
At last, there seemed to be a momentary lull between waves of attackers, and Aang took the time to survey his surroundings. There was so much bloodshed around him, and he hung his head and squeezed his eyes closed as he struggled to not let it affect his mental clarity.
So many people hurt…
"Are you okay?" Zuko asked as he jogged over to where Aang was standing, sounding quite exhausted himself.
Aang simply nodded slowly, forcing the bile that was rising in his throat to go back down.
"There! It has to be him!" one of the soldiers shouted.
"It's him!" another yelled. "An airbender, just like the reports said! Someone get word to the commander!"
Suddenly, Aang found himself ducking to avoid several more blasts of flames.
"Aang, you should get out of here!" Zuko yelled, voice growing frantic. "If the commander finds out who you are–"
" No! I'm not running away!" Aang snapped in response, creating a cyclone from the ground up, lifting several of their attackers into the air and throwing them back, where they crashed into several other Raiders behind them.
Zuko simply grunted frustratedly in response and continued to deflect Raider attacks.
"The Avatar is your number one priority now!" another one of the Raiders barked. "Don't bother with the Water Tribe peasants unless they get in your way!"
"Don't let them get to the Avatar!" he heard Gilak shout. "Protect him with your lives!"
People are going to get hurt trying to protect me! Aang thought frantically. I have to do something!
Aang took a step forward, intending to rush directly towards the incoming wave of Raiders, when he felt someone grab his wrist.
"What are you doing?" Zuko demanded.
"I can't let everyone risk their lives for me."
"If you rush in by yourself like that, you'll just get killed!" Zuko replied angrily.
"I'm not going to try to fight them!" Aang said. "If I can make a deal with them, then maybe they'll leave the Southern Water Tribe alone."
"A deal?" Zuko repeated, and was silent for a moment. " No! Absolutely not. I won't let you give yourself up. Besides, you can't make a deal with the Southern Raiders! They'll just kill everyone anyway!"
Aang blinked several times in surprise, not having considered this.
Suddenly, a blast of fire struck the ground in front of them, causing both boys to jump back. When the flames dwindled, Aang saw that the blast had been sent by an older, cruel-looking man. Several other firebending Raiders stood behind him, and one of them pointed in their direction.
"Isn't this my lucky day," the man said, a twisted grin appearing on his face that reminded Aang very much of Zhao. He snapped his fingers, and several firebending Raiders darted towards them. The Raiders were quickly intercepted by Water Tribe warriors, several of whom managed to somewhat successfully chi-block their opponents, to Aang's relief.
He saw the commander frown from where he stood, and felt a chill when his gaze met Aang's own. Suddenly, fury blazed in the commander's eyes, and he deftly wove his way through the battle directly towards him.
Aang's eyes widened in shock when the commander's path was abruptly interrupted by Hakoda, who had come barreling at the commander from the side. The commander seemed to have seen him coming, however, and turned to shoot a powerful blast of fire directly at the chief. Aang watched in horror as the heat of the flames burnt directly through Hakoda's clothes and leather armor, causing him to scream in pain and fall to the ground.
" DAD! " Aang heard Katara shriek the moment Hakoda had fallen.
"Katara, no!" Sokka yelled from behind him as well, and Aang turned to see both siblings running in his direction.
When the commander looked up at Katara, a shocked expression passed over the Water Tribe girl's face, and she stopped in her tracks.
"It's you…" Katara said, and Aang watched as her features shifted from recognition, to fear, to grief, then finally to rage. " You killed her."
The commander continued to calmly hold her livid gaze, and chuckled. "You're going to have to be more specific, child. I've killed a lot of people."
Tears began to stream down Katara's face, and suddenly, she ran forward, bending the water from her pouch again, seemingly with the intention of attacking the man.
"Katara, stop! " Sokka yelled, bolting after his sister. He jumped forward, grabbing Katara from behind and pinning her arms to her sides. "You'll get yourself killed!"
"Let me go!" Katara demanded as she struggled. "He killed mom, and he's about to kill dad too!"
Aang suddenly found himself paralyzed as flashes of the memory of the corpse of Gyatso and the dozens of Fire Nation soldier skeletons from the Southern Air Temple appeared in his mind. He remembered how devastated he had felt when he had found his long-dead mentor. Had Katara actually witnessed her mother's murder at the hands of this man? He couldn't imagine how he would feel if that had happened to him, or what he would do to the person who had committed the act.
The commander's eyebrows rose in seemingly genuine surprise. "Interesting," he said, looking over his shoulder at Hakoda, who had managed to roll over onto his uninjured side, wincing in pain but also seething with rage. "It seems you weren't being very truthful earlier when you said there were no more waterbenders in the Southern Tribe." He then turned back to Katara, and slowly began to walk towards her.
Aang shook his head to dispel the memory of Gyatso, and immediately made a move to run to help the siblings. However, he was quickly intercepted by several firebending attacks, which he used his staff to deflect. Crouching down, he did a spinning kick, creating a small vortex surrounding him that pushed several of the firebenders back and knocked several others over.
However, when he turned back around to dash towards the commander, he saw that Zuko had gotten there first, his broadswords raised together in front of him in a blocking motion as he stood between the Water Tribe siblings and the commander.
The commander eyed Zuko with a slightly amused expression. "And so a masked savior appears," he observed with a chuckle. "You think that your weapons will protect you from fire?"
Zuko said nothing, and with a swift motion, sheathed his broadswords.
The commander's eyebrows furrowed slightly, indicating his confusion at the action. "Killing yourself won't do your friends any good."
Again, Zuko remained silent, and Aang's eyes slowly widened as he realized what the Fire Prince was about to do.
"So be it," the commander said with a shrug, and punched forward, a large blast of flames bursting forth.
"Zuko!" Aang yelled as he scrambled forward, barely catching himself from tripping.
Despite using airbending to increase his speed, everything felt like it was happening in slow motion. He watched as Zuko took a deep breath, facing the flames head on, before whipping his palms up and swiping his arms downward, dispersing the blast.
This seemed to have taken the haughty commander truly off guard.
"You– how?! " he snarled, and shot another blast at Zuko, who performed the same action again.
The commander's eyes narrowed, then slowly widened in recognition. "You're a firebender? "
Aang stopped in his tracks and stared nervously at Zuko, wondering what the Fire Prince would do next. His gaze moved to Katara and Sokka, who were both staring at Zuko with wide eyes and gaping jaws, then to Hakoda, whose expression matched his childrens' almost perfectly.
Zuko remained still for a moment, then performed a kick that produced a blast of fire directly at the commander, who blocked the flames with a grimace.
Suddenly, another burst of flames shot towards the commander from his right, which he just barely managed to block, staggering backwards.
It was Iroh!
This move genuinely seemed to take the commander off guard, and he whipped his head back and forth wildly between uncle and nephew.
"You will not touch him," Iroh said, all usual warmth completely gone from his voice. In fact, he genuinely sounded quite terrifying.
The commander's features shifted from astonishment, to fear, then to anger. "It can't be…"
Iroh then removed his hood, confirming the commander's likely suspicions.
"General Iroh."
Zuko stared in astonishment as he watched his uncle reveal his identity to the Raider commander.
"You have caused enough destruction, Yon Rha," Iroh ordered. "You've lost half your soldiers. It's time to give up and leave these people alone."
Zuko shuddered at the sound of his uncle's chilling voice. He had almost forgotten how terrifying the Iroh could be when he wanted to; he was Ozai's older brother, after all.
A brief flicker of fear appeared in Commander Yon Rha's eyes, but he quickly composed himself. "You seem to think you have the authority to order me to do such a thing," he replied with a smirk. "To think that the reports were actually true … How the great hero of our nation has fallen. Have you such little honor?"
"I'm warning you," Iroh replied, unwavering. "I will not hold back if you choose to continue this futile mission my brother has sent you on."
Yon Rha's eyes narrowed, and his lips curled into a sneer. "You are delusional if you think that you alone can defeat all of us. Even the Dragon of the West isn't that powerful."
"While that may be true," Iroh replied. "I am not alone."
Yon Rha frowned, then glanced to his right and left at the rest of the Raiders, many of whom were sporting bewildered expressions. "What are you all doing standing around? Kill these traitors! "
With this order, the Raiders finally launched back into battle, and the chaos resumed once more. For a moment, Zuko watched in awe as his uncle seemed to effortlessly deflect the firebending attacks of Yon Rha and his soldiers, shooting their powerful blasts back at them and lighting up the evening sky.
"Zuko!" Iroh called out. "Remember your training!"
His uncle's words snapped him out of his momentary daze, and he shook his head rapidly. Seeing as there was no longer any point to wearing his mask, he decided to remove it, shoving it into his robes, and ran over to Iroh's side. He helped him deflect another blast of firebending, and as a counterattack, the two performed one of the techniques that Iroh had been teaching him the past month. The strength of this double fire blast was enough to knock several Raiders down, though Yon Rha somehow managed to evade it, darting behind Zuko.
"Coward!" Zuko snarled, whipping around to see where the commander had gone. His eyes widened in fear when he realized the man was making yet another beeline for Aang, who was currently evading attacks and blasting soldiers away from him.
"Aang!" Zuko cried out, rushing after the commander, but he quickly realized that he was not going to be fast enough to catch up to him.
Thankfully, Aang had looked in his direction when he'd heard Zuko's cry, and as Yon Rha shot a large, rage-induced fire blast towards the Avatar, he just barely managed to deflect it with a hastily bent blast of air. The impact of the clash of elements resulted in both Aang and the surrounding Raiders to be knocked backwards, and Aang hit the ground hard, tumbling several feet away.
" No! " Zuko screamed, and continued running towards the unmoving form of Aang in the snow.
He slid over to Aang on his knees and gently pulled the airbender up from the ground, pressing an ear to his chest. Zuko breathed a sigh of extreme relief when he realized that he could still hear a heartbeat, and hugged the airbender close.
"What a disgusting display of affection," a venomous voice spoke from in front of him. "Really, Prince Zuko. If your father could see you now–"
" Shut up! " Zuko growled, glaring up at Yon Rha with a burning hatred that was usually reserved for Zhao, hot tears stinging his eyes. "I don't care what my father thinks of me anymore."
"I'd absolutely love to see his reaction when you tell him that to his face," Yon Rha replied with a dark smile, folding his arms as more Raiders began to surround them.
As Zuko wracked his brain in an attempt to figure out how to get both Aang and himself out of this situation, he slowly began to notice that the ground below them was vibrating. His eyebrows rose in realization as he looked down at Aang, recognizing the faint glow of the Avatar state in his tattoos, and he whipped his head back up to face Yon Rha with a defiant grin.
The haughty commander's resolve was shaken once again as the tremors began to increase in their intensity, and he took a step back. "Restrain them!" he ordered, though the other Raiders appeared reluctant to step forward. " Do it now! "
Zuko looked back down to see that Aang's eyes were open, and as the wind picked up around him, he knew that he needed to move back. Reluctantly, he stood to his feet, pulling Aang up with him, and let go. Thankfully, the airbender remained standing upright, and Zuko slowly backed away.
"Stay back!" Yon Rha ordered, eyes darting around frantically as the wind continued to grow stronger, creating what looked like a small blizzard around them. "I'm warning you!"
Aang said nothing, though his hands were curled into tight fists.
Yon Rha, now clearly in a state of panic, hastily punched forward and shot a blast of fire at Aang. The Avatar immediately raised his arms into the air, and a large chunk of earth shot up from beneath the snow, blocking the attack.
Zuko laughed triumphantly from where he stood behind Aang as he watched his friend punch a fist into the ground, causing a rippling effect with earthbending that knocked all of the Raiders, Yon Rha included, several feet back.
While this amazed Zuko, he suddenly realized that he might need to warn the Water Tribe warriors to vacate the surrounding area. He hoped that none of them had just been caught in Aang's earthbending attack.
His eyes lingered on the back of Aang's head for a moment, reluctant to leave him, but when the Avatar began to rise into the air lifted by a cyclone of air and snow, he reminded himself that his friend did not need his help, and took off back in the direction towards where he had last seen Iroh, Sokka, Katara, and Hakoda.
As he ran, he looked around him and saw that several of the Raiders had ceased fighting Water Tribe warriors and were now instead diverting their attention to fighting the Avatar. The Water Tribe warriors, meanwhile, were watching Aang—who was now using waterbending to pick up Raiders and toss them into the sea—with awed expressions.
"Prince Zuko!"
Zuko stopped in his tracks and turned in the direction of his uncle's voice, spotting him quickly, and the two ran to one another.
"Uncle, where's Hakoda? Is he okay?"
"Sokka and Katara took him back towards the village," Iroh responded, gesturing behind Zuko.
Zuko turned around to see Katara crouched down next to her father, who was sitting with his back against the walls of the village gates. She was currently healing Hakoda's burns, while Sokka was standing guard in front of them holding his machete. His gaze met Zuko's, and it hurt him to see that there was fear and distrust in the Water Tribe boy's eyes.
"Good. They're alright," Zuko said, tearing his eyes away. "We need to make sure the Raiders are defeated before Aang comes out of the Avatar State. That's when he'll be at his most vulnerable."
Iroh nodded curtly.
"Come on, everyone!" Zuko yelled to the Water Tribe warriors. He didn't know if they would listen to him, seeing as many of them probably knew he was a firebender now, but it was worth a shot. "We need to help the Avatar drive the Raiders out of the South Pole!"
He didn't stick around to see what the reactions to his declaration were, and simply began running back towards Aang. To his relief, he noticed that several Raiders had already begun retreating to their one remaining undamaged ship. Hopefully, a head-on attack from the Water Tribe would be the final nail in the coffin.
He glanced behind him as he ran, and was surprised but grateful to see what looked to be the entirety of the Southern Water Tribe's warriors following him. Even if none of them would speak to him again after this, he was glad to see them following him into battle to help Aang, and to fight for their homeland.
Thankfully, his prediction seemed to have been mostly accurate. While a handful of Raiders did see them coming, most did not, and none of them were as prepared for a full-on attack as they would have been had they not been distracted by Aang.
As Zuko fought, the flames that burst forth from his fingertips were probably the most powerful he had ever produced. He did as Iroh had taught him, and thought about who and what he was fighting for.
He was fighting for freedom. He was fighting for balance. He was fighting for peace.
"Enough!" Yon Rha eventually shrieked. The disheveled-looking old man, who had lost his helmet at some point, was pointing at the docked ship that the reinforcements had come in on. "Back to the ship! Retreat!"
"That's right!" Gilak shouted with a triumphant laugh, thrusting his sword into the air. "Run away, and tell your Fire Lord how you were defeated by the lowly peasants of the Southern Water Tribe! I'm sure he'll take it well!"
Yon Rha glowered back at the Water Tribe man for a moment before running up the platform back onto the overcrowded ship, which backed itself out of the ice and quickly sped away and out of sight.
Sokka was the first to cheer, pumping his fist into the air with a whoop , and the rest of the Water Tribe warriors quickly erupted into cheers of their own.
Zuko smiled as he watched the celebrating warriors, then frowned as his gaze shot back over to Aang, the glow of the Avatar State fading as he descended back to the ground.
"Aang!" Zuko cried out, knowing that he needed to be there to catch the airbender when he landed.
He just barely managed to make it to his friend in time, letting his friend fall into his arms as he caught him from behind, and the two fell to their knees.
A groggy-looking Aang turned his head around to look at Zuko, and he smiled slightly. "Hey, Zuko. Did we win?"
"Yeah," Zuko replied, unable to hide the relieved grin on his face. "It turns out the Avatar State is a pretty good distraction. While the Raiders were focused on fighting you, we launched a head-on attack. They just left."
"You both did well today," Iroh said warmly as he approached the boys, crouching down next to them and pulling them into a hug. "I'm very proud."
"Step away from the Avatar. Now. "
Iroh and Zuko immediately turned to see a murderous-looking Gilak pointing his scimitar directly at them. They were quickly surrounded by several other Penguin's Landing warriors, who had their weapons pointed at them as well. Zuko could see Lirin amongst them, her features completely devoid of their usual friendliness.
"Did you not hear me?" Gilak snapped. "Step away from the Avatar, or we will attack."
"Wait!" Aang replied. "Everyone, put your weapons down, I can explain everything!"
Gilak frowned. "These two are firebenders , Aang. They've been lying to us all!"
"Gilak, stop!" Sokka interjected, pushing his way through the warriors. Zuko's eyebrows rose in surprise when the Water Tribe boy eventually moved to stand in front of Gilak's sword, to the man's bewilderment.
"What do you think you're doing , boy?" Gilak demanded.
"They may be firebenders, but they just helped us defeat the Southern Raiders for the first time in nearly a century!"
"Sokka, please," Lirin said. "Get away from them. Just do as Gilak asks."
"Get out of the way, boy, or I will make you," Gilak growled.
"What's going on here?"
Recognizing the intimidating voice of Hakoda, the group of warriors parted, and the chief walked forward. His shoulder and arm had been heavily bandaged, but he seemed to be alright otherwise, to Zuko's relief. His heart rate suddenly spiked, however, when he saw that not only had he been followed by Katara and Bato, but Thod, Miki, and Katjuk as well. He was even more concerned about their reactions than he was about Gilak's.
Gilak quickly dropped his scimitar to his side, looking guilty for having been aiming it directly at Hakoda's son. Hakoda had not missed this, and narrowed his eyes at the gray-haired man.
"Hakoda, these two men are firebenders. They've been deceiving us this entire time! I won't allow this act of treachery to go unpunished."
Just as Zuko had feared, Thod's gaze immediately locked onto his, and he could practically feel the dark, murderous intent stabbing him directly in the chest. He tore his gaze away, and was somewhat relieved but also disheartened to see that while neither Miki nor Katjuk were looking at him with the same intense desire to kill that Thod was, they were both still regarding him with contempt.
"I'll handle this, Hakoda," Thod said, stepping forward, but stopped when Hakoda blocked him with his arm.
"Let them speak first," the chief said. His eyes then moved to Iroh, Zuko, and Aang. "I want the truth."
Aang pushed himself to his feet and walked in front of Iroh and Zuko. "I can explain, Hakoda. You see–"
"No, Aang," Zuko said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, and the airbender looked back at him in surprise. "This is my responsibility."
Aang nodded and stepped back.
Zuko met Hakoda's intimidating gaze and took a deep breath. "Well… for starters… my name isn't Lee," he began.
"We've guessed that much," Bato said, folding his arms.
Zuko nodded sheepishly. "My real name is Zuko. "I'm… the former Crown Prince of the Fire Nation."
While many of the warriors had witnessed Iroh and Yon Rha's confrontation on the battlefield earlier and had thus already guessed that the two firebenders had been of high status, this statement elicited multiple gasps and looks of astonishment.
"Former? " Hakoda asked, brow furrowed.
Zuko nodded again. "Last summer, my father, Fire Lord Ozai, banished me for… a mistake I made." He didn't like to think about the events surrounding his banishment; he could lose himself in a flashback of the Agni Kai if he wasn't careful. He quickly gestured to Iroh. "My uncle–"
"General Iroh," Hakoda interrupted. "That's what the Raider commander called him."
"Former general," Iroh corrected.
"Yes, we know, uncle," Zuko replied through gritted teeth, then sighed before continuing. "My father told me the only way I could return home and restore my honor was by capturing the Avatar, so my uncle joined me to help track him down."
"You see? He admits it!" Gilak interjected.
"Let him speak, Gilak," Hakoda ordered, and Gilak frowned, but remained silent.
"What Aang told you when we first met you was true," Zuko continued. "Nine months ago, my ship crashed into an iceberg just north of here, and I found him inside." He sighed, and looked at the ground, feeling ashamed for what he was about to say next. "At first, I had fully intended to bring Aang to my father... But when one of our admirals found out that we had him in our custody, he tried to take him from us."
"Aang risked his life to help my nephew and I escape. He could have left us to face the admiral's wrath, but he didn't." Iroh turned to Aang and smiled warmly. "I knew he was a good kid from the moment I met him."
Zuko looked back up at Hakoda, whose expression was difficult to read, resulting in him looking very much like Kanna. "Growing up, I was taught that war was our way of sharing our prosperity with the world, and that the Avatar was the greatest threat to our nation…" Zuko said, feeling another pang of shame as he thought about just how ignorant he had been not even a year ago. "Aang helped me to see what an incredible lie all of that was."
Iroh nodded. "We have since both denounced the Fire Nation and the Royal Family. We no longer have any association with them; they know we are traitors."
"I told myself that keeping our identities secret was for the best," Zuko continued, trying his best to keep his voice steady. "I wanted you to trust Aang, and it was so important that you were properly prepared for the Raider attack… But more than anything, I was—I still am —ashamed of who I am and where I'm from, and I didn't want you to see me as one of them . I know how much you hate the Fire Nation, and you're right to."
Hakoda's eyebrows rose upon hearing this.
"I don't expect or deserve your forgiveness, but please allow me to express my sincerest apologies," Zuko finished, squeezing his eyes closed. "I was a coward."
"As was I," Iroh added solemnly. "I had many opportunities to tell the truth myself, but I did not take them, and for that I am truly sorry."
Both Iroh and Zuko bowed deeply. When they rose from the bow, Zuko could see that the reactions to their explanation and apology were quite mixed, and an uncomfortable silence permeated the air for several moments.
"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Thod asked, breaking the silence at last and narrowing his eyes. "Who's to say you're not still deceiving the Avatar? He's just a child."
"Hey!" Aang interjected, sounding offended. "I'm almost thirteen!"
"I can assure you we are not deceiving anyone," Iroh said. "At least, not anymore…" he added quickly with an awkward chuckle.
Zuko cringed at his uncle's poor choice of words, and nervously looked back to Hakoda, who was studying both him and his uncle with a furrowed brow. "While I don't agree completely with Thod," the chief said. "He does have a point. You've been lying to us for three months. That makes it difficult for me to want to believe anything you tell me from now on."
"I believe him," Katara said, stepping forward, taking the chief by surprise. "It was wrong of Lee—I mean, Zuko—to lie, but… I know him. He's not a bad person. And he even risked his life to protect Sokka and me from the Raider commander."
"I'm with Katara," Sokka said, stepping over to stand next to his sister and folding his arms. "He may be a hothead and a liar, but he's not a bad person."
"Besides," Katara added, looking pointedly at Hakoda and folding her arms. "It's not like they've been the only ones keeping secrets around here. Right, dad?"
Hakoda blinked in surprise at both of his children, and eventually sighed. He then looked at Bato, who shrugged.
"The Avatar trusts them. And they are a large part of the reason today was a victory instead of a tragedy," Bato said.
"Indeed..." Hakoda nodded thoughtfully. "Gilak, stand down."
"Hakoda," an irritated Gilak attempted to argue. "They could be spies! This could all be an ash maker plot to infiltrate our tribe and discover our weaknesses!"
"I must say that I agree," Thod added, attempting to step forward again. "We cannot simply let them go free. We can keep them as prisoners, maybe spend some more time on interrogation–"
"This is my village," Hakoda interrupted firmly. "And as long as they are here, I will not allow either of you to harm them. Is that understood?"
Gilak glowered at Hakoda for a few more moments, then reluctantly sheathed his sword, and the other warriors lowered their weapons, while Thod slowly retreated, the dark look still lingering in his eyes.
"Come on, everyone," Hakoda called out, now addressing the rest of the warriors in the surrounding area, and gestured to the village behind them. "I think we all deserve some rest."
