The ship anchored on the shore, or what Azula assumed could be considered a shore, next to the handful of vessels owned by the men who were meant to attend today's meeting. Azula stood up from her throne-like seat and readied herself to disembark. The barge's crew stood on the deck, and they bowed down as Azula strode past them, glaring at the icy tundra that spread before her. It came as no surprise that there would be no committee to welcome and escort her all the way to the settlement that stood a few yards away. Azula sighed, certain that the men that waited for her within the building were the scumbags she was used to dealing with: if her father was nearby, they would treat her with phony respect. But if he wasn't, they would ignore her and hope she learned she had no place in war meetings, especially in war meetings in the South Pole.
But Azula hardly cared for what they thought of her. She would make her own path in the world through her own means, not through whatever opinion others had of her. With steady footing, she walked down the ramp that led her to the frozen ground, and she flared her inner fire to ensure she wouldn't falter due to the unfavorable conditions to her organism. The two royal guards that followed her weren't as skilled at controlling their own temperature, though. The cold caused them to lag behind, for their firebending potential was nowhere close to that of the Princess they had been tasked to protect, and their very bones seemed to be about to freeze in this weather.
To Azula's disapproval, she found, as she glanced at the settlement, that there weren't enough sentries to provide an adequate protection of the territory they had acquired. For all they knew, there could be savages lurking behind those icy mounds that stood not too far from the building, and, as it was, the settlement lacked a proper defense to fight them off. The carelessness of whoever was in charge of this station could easily cost them their one advantage over the Southern Water Tribe…
Azula frowned as she approached the metallic gates of the structure, which were wide open, for they had been expecting her arrival. The two guards standing next to the gates bowed in her direction and Azula didn't bother acknowledging them, even though their actions pleased her. At least these men knew how to show some respect. She entered the main building of the settlement after walking through the snowy enclosure as quickly as she could, trying to ignore how the inside of the metallic structure seemed to be even colder than it was outside.
Despite her fast strides, Azula hoped she was delaying them. Making a grand entrance after they were all assembled would draw a lot of attention to her, and luckily, if they studied her carefully enough, they would realize she wasn't in the mood to tolerate their sexist attitude, not now, not ever. And with said determination flaring in her eyes, she waited for her royal guards to open the door of the largest room in the building. She entered it with her head held up high, quickly identifying the six men within the room before they could even turn to greet her.
The group of men sat around a table; several files and documents were spread over it. One of them held a smoke to his mouth, the smell of which disgusted Azula, but the stench was familiar enough for her to recognize him as Admiral Chan, the man meant to govern over the South Pole as soon as the region had been conquered. The man carried his cigarettes with him anywhere he went, a trait that some people took as a fitting addiction for a firebender, but Azula thought differently. The best firebenders needed great lung capacity, since breath was essential for the art of bending fire. Smoking was the best way to deteriorate your skills as a firebender, or so Azula believed, and so far, she hadn't been proven wrong. She had known Admiral Chan for years, and she could ascertain his fighting abilities had dulled over time.
To his right sat Commander Tsong, a recently promoted man in his thirties whose arrogance was larger than whatever skill had landed him his boost in the Fire Nation's army. Captain Tao, the man of lowest rank amongst them all, sat on the other side of Chan, looking extremely nervous and even more so now that the Princess had walked inside the room. General Bujing was also there, the man to whom Azula's older brother had spoken out of turn in a war meeting a long time ago, and he seemed close to falling asleep out of boredom. Commander Gon immediately jumped when the door opened, for the man was always on the brink of a nervous breakdown, a mannerism for which Azula disliked him deeply. The last man in the room was General Mak, another recent addition to the highest ranks of the army, but Mak was far more focused on doing his job than bragging about it, unlike Tsong.
Just as she had expected it, Azula wasn't comfortable at all amongst these men. Her stern façade didn't acquire any emotion whatsoever when Tao, Bujing and Mak stood up courteously, to her distaste.
"Princess, we weren't briefed you had arrived," said Bujing, smiling.
"It would seem you weren't," she muttered, each word she uttered coated with disdain towards the men she was facing. "I don't believe my father will be pleased to hear of your impolite behavior. To leave a woman walk down this icy territory by herself speaks very ill of your manners."
"Oh, please do excuse us, Your Majesty," said Bujing, the most charismatic of them all. "As I said, we had no notice of your arrival. We were certain you would come by later…"
"Later? You believe I'm not punctual?" she asked, toying with the man's mind and pulling him out of his comfort zone by questioning his every word.
"Of course not, Princess! I wouldn't dream of…"
"Let's address the matter of your disrespectful attitude after the meeting is through, shall we?" said Azula, walking to the empty chair that waited for her across Admiral Chan. "We should get this over with."
"Indeed," stated Chan, who hadn't bothered acknowledging her presence until now.
And as the meeting began, trouble stirred outside the settlement. Behind the mounds of snow that had caught Azula's eye as she headed towards her destination, a group of men clad in Water Tribe armors awaited the orders of their commanding officer, who kept glancing at the metallic settlement, analyzing it from afar.
"Okay… Listen up, everyone," said Sokka, turning around and facing his men once again. "We have to take over the settlement itself first. It should prove really easy, there aren't many guards around, and their powers must have already weakened since the dark period began yesterday. The same must have happened to the people inside the settlement, and also to whoever was left taking care of the ships."
"There's a huge one right there," said a teenager, Kattan, pointing at the Royal Barge that stood out over the other four vessels. "Do you really think we can take these guys?"
"If we get our hostages, it won't be as hard as you think," said Sokka, smiling. "Alright, then… the plan is very simple. We have to take out the guards on the walls, which is hardly a matter of concern. We've done that before without a hitch. All we have to do is be very stealthy about it and it'll go perfectly fine. They could ring an alarm if we're spotted, but maybe they haven't installed one yet. So it's possible the hostages won't know their meeting is getting hi-jacked until it's too late for them to do anything about it. I'll be the only one to jump into the meeting room, the rest of you should take out all the firebenders. Two on one should do the trick; they'll hardly know what to do if you attack like this."
"Sokka…" interrupted another of his warriors, Haka. "Are you sure about this? I mean… things might turn out far worse than you think they will. What will we do if the people left in the ships attack us, or if there are more guards inside the settlement than you expect?"
"We'll take them out," stated Sokka, curtly. "They're pretty much powerless at this point, and if they're mostly benders, we'll have the upper hand. Once the guards by the wall are done for, we'll jump inside the enclosure and beat up any other Fire Nation soldiers that might be inside. As I said, I'll be the one heading into the meeting and I'll secure the hostages quickly."
"How?" asked Haka.
Sokka pulled out a small gray sphere from his pocket and he showed it to the group.
"It's a smoke bomb I designed myself," he said, smirking at his creation. "I'll toss it inside the room where the meeting is taking place, and in the turmoil, I'll secure the hostages one by one."
"Will you really do this on your own?" asked a boy that admired him deeply, Yuro. "That's madness, Sokka!"
"Well, I don't really need to go alone, but it'll be dangerous, getting involved with Fire Nation big shots. So I think your leader is the one who should do that." he said, smiling.
"And what if something goes wrong?" asked Kattan, again.
Sokka sighed and folded his arms as he looked at his men with disbelief.
"You guys are worse than my father, you know?" he grunted. "Okay, okay, we'll have a signal just in case we need to break off the operation at some point. If the people from the ships realize there's something wrong and come after us, you guys should…"
"Roar like polar bear-dogs?" suggested Yuro.
"Yeah, that should work," said Sokka. "Do that if things look hopeless, okay? If you think the operation can still carry on, even if the guys from the ships attack us, then it will carry on. Now, if something happens to me… I'll do my best to toss this bomb," he showed them a red sphere this time and tucked it into a different pocket. "It has red smoke in it. So if you see red smoke, you make a run for it. Just leave and make sure you don't turn back, okay?"
"And what if you need help to get out of the settlement?" asked Yuro.
"I don't know if I will, but if worse comes to worse, I'll make a run for it myself and tell you guys to flee as well by using the bomb. It's really not going to be so difficult if we take out the guards, guys, we can do this. Stop doubting yourselves so much. Who do you think will save this land other than ourselves? Pull it together! Let's get this operation going, and let's give those Fire Nation bastards what they deserve for underestimating us!"
His last words managed to encourage the group. The grimaces in the warriors' faces turned to smiles as they began arranging themselves in their respective positions to pull off the attack on the guards, behind the mounds of white snow that worked as their cover. They wouldn't have much time to take out all the sentries, but there were only about ten firebenders and thirty warriors, and considering their opponents were far weaker than they usually were, it seemed the Water Tribe regiment had the upper hand this time.
They lurked in as close as they could without revealing themselves, still using the snow as cover. Kattan, next to Sokka, muttered.
"We really could use a waterbender… we'd take out all those firebenders in a heartbeat and we could move the snow silently and use it as a cover for a little longer…"
"Quit whining," replied Sokka. "The only waterbender in the Tribe is Katara and she won't get involved in these battles if I can avoid it. We can take them anyway."
Kattan sighed and nodded. Sokka looked around and caught the eye of his companions before nodding towards them, letting them know the operation was set to begin now.
Sokka unsheathed the boomerang he carried so proudly on his broad back, and he threw it with brilliant aim straight at a guard's head. The weapon struck its target and the man instantly fell to the ground, knocked out by the blow. Sokka's boomerang soared for a few meters, but it didn't finish the trajectory back to his owner… still, Sokka didn't fret. He would have a chance to pick up his favorite weapon shortly.
Two guards heard his fallen partner collapse, and when they turned to aid him and discover the source of his unconsciousness, Sokka lifted his club up in the air and led the charge towards the firebenders. The soldiers took notice of their enemies far too late to defend themselves effectively. Following Sokka's orders, four warriors headed to knock out the two sentinels on the very moment more guards spotted the group. To Sokka's pride, his men were very stealthy about their attacks and they managed to break through the feeble defenses of the Fire Nation.
But just as Sokka and his men had dreaded, there was some movement in the ships that were anchored only a few yards away. They had been seen, and Sokka wasn't particularly surprised they had, but he still had enough time to secure his hostages before the reinforcements arrived. He picked up his boomerang and addressed his two most trusted warriors with a yell.
"Kattan, Haka! I need cover!" and, holding steadily their shields and clubs, his two men obeyed him. The three sprinted towards the entrance of the settlement, in plain sight of the firebenders that stood guard on the upper wall of the structure. To Sokka's dismay, one of them was about to ring a bell to alert they were being attacked.
Once again, he tossed his boomerang and its sharp edge struck the man on his neck: blood spilled everywhere and the soldier collapsed a few meters before reaching the alarm bell. Sokka caught his boomerang on its trajectory back to him, and he swallowed hard when he saw the red liquid coating his weapon. He had just killed a man for the first time in his life… he shook his head upon that grim thought. He would have time to think of this deed later, he couldn't lose focus when he was in the middle of such an important operation. He wiped his boomerang clean with the loose snow on the ground, and he turned to his friends once more.
"Take down every guard you see up on that wall! Keep them from reaching the bell! I'm going inside to secure the hostages!" he exclaimed, patting his allies on the shoulder before sprinting off towards the building.
Both Kattan and Haka nodded at his command and used their own boomerangs to knock out two more guards that tried to approach the bell. The two warriors then climbed the settlement's wall to make sure nobody else would touch the bell. If the alarm rang, the hostages might find a way to escape and they couldn't let that happen, not when the whole purpose of the operation was to take those Fire Nation men as prisoners.
Sokka entered the inner building of the settlement, his mind completely set on what he had to do as he put on a mask to help him breathe and see once he unleashed his bomb. If there were firebenders inside, he would break their skulls with his club, he had no other choice but to do so. He was certain it wouldn't prove much of a challenge anyway, since any firebender that waited up ahead would be too weak to defend himself to begin with…
Or so he believed.
A few minutes before the attack commenced, Azula was fighting the urge to yawn as she watched Bujing and Chan arguing like fools, discussing which of the two had been responsible for the conquest of the city of Gaoling. She couldn't believe she had to witness such a pathetic debate.
"… You claim you were so useful, but when you were facing against those earthbending students, your army was thwarted!" yelled Chan.
"It's not like you did any better by hiding amongst your men and waiting for them to do the job for you!" said Buijing.
"Did you expect me to be in the frontlines, you idiot?! I'm an ADMIRAL!" he exclaimed
Azula felt a vein in her temple pulse as her eyebrows twitched. She couldn't take any more of this nonsense.
"Gentlemen…" she muttered, surprising the other four men, who had been close to falling asleep due to such fruitless conversation. "May I ask what exactly do you believe you'll accomplish by discussing your failures in Gaoling?"
Both Chan and Buijing stared at her in disbelief, insulted by her intervention. The remaining men couldn't suppress a smirk, although they also felt ashamed to see Azula was the only one with the guts to interrupt the useless discussion.
"Failures? My dear Princess, we did not fail in Gaoling," grunted Bujing. "It may have taken months to take down the city, but we accomplished our goal eventually."
Azula didn't bother masking a yawn this time, to both the arguing men's annoyance, and afterwards she tapped the edge of the table with her index finger.
"Let's pretend you really did a good job by taking months to burn down a city that any competent leader would have crushed in half a week…" she said, but before the other two replied, she asked: "What does that have to do with our current situation, if I may ask?"
"We are debating to decide which one of us is most capable to lead the destruction of the Water Tribe," said Chan. "And judging by the fact that I'm meant to become the governor of this place, you should leave the job to me."
"And what exactly is the course of action you're envisioning, Admiral Chan?" asked Azula, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. "How will you defeat the Water Tribe savages that defy our nation?"
The Admiral was silenced immediately by Azula's words, and her piercing amber stare seemed to dig deep into his soul as she waited for his answer. Chan gulped, at a loss for words, and Azula sighed.
"I figured as much," she muttered. "How about you, Bujing? Do you have anything useful in mind?"
"I believe we should ensure the safety of the settlement first," he said, with certainty. "And take care of that petty tribe once the next light period begins. It's safer."
"It is, yet I don't see the purpose of waiting so long," said Azula. "My father wants the Water Tribe obliterated, and he wants it to happen as soon as possible. There are no pending threats of waterbenders in the Southern Water Tribe, so attacking with firebenders would be an advantage if the sun was up. But since it's not, the obvious course of action is to assemble non-bender warriors and use them to pummel the savages into surrender as quickly as possible. There isn't much left of their Tribe, according to the reports, so we could achieve victory in a matter of a few weeks. You'd have your region to govern, Admiral Chan, and you can go home to fight a war worthy of your titles, General Bujing. Is everyone happy with this course of action?"
The six men in the room were astounded and stared at her in something reminiscent of awe… but they returned to their usual attitudes once they recalled the ideas had come from a female, which apparently diminished the impact of Azula's words.
"And how, exactly, would you have the non-benders attack the Water Tribe?" asked Commander Tsong. "Did you think so far already, Princess?"
"Do I have to?" she asked, disdaining him with her glare. "I believed I had cleared the pathway so whichever one of you could come up with the rest of the plans, but if you're not competent enough to do so, then I truly might have to…"
"We aren't incompetent!" yelled Captain Tao, as emotional as ever, his outburst masking the sound of the creaking door behind him. Azula frowned, wondering if the door had been ajar all along… she guessed it must have been, and even if it hadn't been, she was too busy trashing an insolent captain to waste her attention on the door.
"Then prove it," grunted Azula. "Or are you, by any chance, so intimidated by the Water Tribe savages' prowess that you can't develop a decent strategy to annihilate them for good?"
"None of that!" replied Tao, apparently forgetting who he was dealing with. "I'm more than capable of defeating anything the Water Tribe has to offer!"
But his words proved to be completely hollow. Because at that very moment, his statement was tested, and the squeal that came out of him when the smoke started to spread through the room showed he was unworthy of his position as Captain.
Azula berated herself briefly for ignoring her instincts. Of course the door hadn't been ajar before.
The smoke came out with a loud bang from the bomb, and the six men jumped immediately. They were panicking, searching for the source of the gas and crashing against each other in the process. Azula dropped to the ground instantly, discovering the bomb responsible for the smoke was only a few inches away from her. And, on the room's threshold, amongst the dark gas that was befogging the room, she saw boots made of some sort of animal skin she couldn't recognize. She didn't need to see more to understand the Water Tribe hadn't wasted their time and had already orchestrated an attack upon them on the first days of the dark period…
Oh, how foolish of them. Had they only been a little more patient, she would have been back home and they would have only dealt with six useless soldiers… but they had chosen their own demise. And Azula had no qualms with being the one to deliver their doom.
The boots moved, stepping inside the room. Azula was certain the owner of said shoes was about to slay them all or to usher an announcement about the group being his prisoners…
"Don't move!" yelled a man's voice. "If you cooperate, this will be a lot easier on you all! You're all becoming hostages of the Water Tribe!"
So kidnapping it was. Azula wasn't so bothered by the smoke that she couldn't let out a small chuckle of disbelief. This man had to be kidding…
"How dare you?! You shall pay for what you're…!" said General Mak, but the warrior interrupted him.
"Be quiet and do as I say or else…!" yelled the kidnapper, and he was also interrupted, but not by words this time.
An unforeseen array of blue fire struck his boots, forcing him back into the hallway, and he collapsed as he tried to shake off the flames dancing on his feet.
Sokka saw a shadow move towards him while he smacked his smoking boots, the feeling of fire still clinging to them even when he had smothered the flames already. He frowned as the person who had attacked him stood up, and he caught sight of another blue flame in his attacker's hand.
"Or else, what?" said a feminine voice, to his dismay. He stood up again and held his club high, hoping his enemy could see he was armed and willing to attack, no matter who he was dealing with.
"Stay back or I'll break your head!" he said, and his opponent laughed at him.
"I would love to see you try," muttered the woman. Because it sounded like a woman… or was it a very girly man? He wished for the latter, since beating a girl up wasn't part of his plans…
But it became an essential part of them when he found she had no reserves about attacking him by throwing an amazing fire ball straight to his face. Could she see him despite not having a mask like his? He didn't know, and he didn't wish to know either. He saw the fire coming, ducked and made a run for it, absolutely aghast. How could this person firebend without any difficulty even though the sun was gone? Was she so powerful that this was only half of her skill? It seemed unlikely, but it was the only plausible explanation he could come up with as he ran, chased away by blue fire.
Azula walked into the hallway and took deep breaths once she found clean air. She had been able to withstand the smoke, but it still had damaged her system slightly. She continued rinsing her lungs as she saw her two Royal Guards, the ones that had been standing by the door, passed out on the floor, probably due to overwhelming blows to the head. She saw the Water Tribe warrior sprint away and toss another smoke bomb in her direction, probably trying to lure her outside so he could take her on with his warrior friends… oh, he would regret that deeply. No plain Water Tribe warrior could cross blows with her and come out of the strife unharmed. She took a deep breath when the smoke began spreading from the new bomb and she chased after the warrior, who had already exited the building and was yelling something at his allies.
"Haka! Kattan!" yelled Sokka, taking his gas mask off and dropping it on the ground. He waved at his men, who were currently standing on the walls. The Fire Nation guards that had still been on the wall before Sokka entered the building had been knocked into unconsciousness by the pair of warriors. Through his shouts and movements, Sokka caught Haka and Kattan's attention quickly.
"What's the matter?" asked Haka. "Please tell me you already caught all the hostages…!"
"I didn't!" admitted Sokka. "There's a weird firebender here that doesn't seem affected even if there's no sun! She even ushers out blue flames! I lured her out here, help me take her out or else we won't get any hostages at all!"
"W-wait… did you say 'she'?" asked Kattan, shocked.
"Indeed, that's what he said."
Sokka turned towards the entrance of the building, from where poured some smoke from his second bomb. The blurred shape he hadn't been able to discern earlier was walking towards him again, and now he could see the curves on the body, helping him confirm that his enemy really was a woman. Kattan and Haka frowned and lifted their boomerangs as they saw the silhouette exiting the building, unwilling to waver in their intentions even if they were to face a female warrior.
And Azula wouldn't have wanted it any other way. A smirk played in her face as she finally walked outside the cloud of smoke, standing in plain sight now.
Sokka couldn't believe he found the firebending woman to be a striking beauty. But he blinked a few times to break the spell she seemed to unleash on his senses by reminding himself of all the damage the Fire Nation had done. Who cared if there was a beautiful woman among them? Surely she was as cruel as the rest of them…
Well, he was wrong about that. She was far crueler than any of them, of course.
"Stay back and we won't hurt you," grunted Sokka, his angry, blazing eyes proving he wouldn't hold back against her.
Azula smirked at the ferocious glare of the savage, feeling actual joy upon facing off against a man who seemed to hate her just as he would hate any man from the Fire Nation. How wrong was it for her to feel glad to see he made no distinction among them? She didn't know, but the pride she felt to see she would finally be fighting against a man as equals was immeasurable.
"I'm afraid I'm not the type to fall back against such pointless threats, savage," she said, the smirk still growing on her face. "You believed you could hold us all as hostages inside the settlement, and you almost achieved your goal, but your luck was against you today. Because if I hadn't been inside, you probably would have caught those useless minions of my father's… but I happened to be there too. And I will not hesitate to bring you down if you're stupid enough to defy me."
"Oh, I'm stupid alright," said Sokka, gripping his boomerang in one hand and his club on another. "But I think I have the upper hand here. You're completely outnumbered. Surrender and you won't get hurt."
"I'm outnumbered?" she repeated, with disbelief. "Do you truly believe that? There's an entire battalion of Royal Guards aboard my Barge, and I'm certain they've already caught wind of what you petty savages are attempting to pull here. They'll come tear your group apart in a matter of minutes; that is, if I'm not done killing you all before they get here."
Sokka would have laughed at the idea and thrown another threat right back at the girl, but her words started to piece together in his mind slowly. Her father's minions… the Royal Guards… no way. He wasn't dealing with the Fire Lord's daughter… or was he?
"Well? Are you going to withdraw quietly into your huts again, or would you rather have me kill you and all your friends right now?" asked Azula.
"You're… you can't be…" said Sokka, taking a few steps back. "You're… who the hell are you?"
Azula sighed dramatically, but she smiled once again as she took up a fighting stance.
"I don't see why you need such knowledge, since I couldn't care less about who you are… but I do understand that I've impressed you enough for your dying wish to be to discover my identity" she said, her arrogance irritating Sokka beyond belief.
"Stop jumping to conclusions, you…" he growled, but she ignored his mumbling completely as she answered his question.
"I am Princess Azula, heir to the throne of the Fire Nation."
Sokka didn't react in any other way than by snarling at her, while Kattan and Haka stepped back, terrified. The plan might have been to capture hostages at first… but capturing the Fire Princess? If they managed to accomplish something like that, which seemed unlikely, all the armed forces of the Fire Nation would come tear apart their tribe until there was nothing left but blocks of ice…
"S-Sokka…" said Haka. "We have to…"
"I know," growled Sokka, who had come to the same conclusion himself. "I know…"
"Oh, so now you're willing to stand back? I thought you were far more resilient than that, savage," she said, teasing his ego cruelly. Sokka's expression didn't change.
"You wish I were about to step back, just like every moron you've ever met that has backed down to let you get your way…" he muttered. His defiant attitude came as no surprise for her.
"They don't back down as easily as you imagine, actually," she said.
"They don't? I guess they were probably too busy looking at your… a-at… y-your blue fire to remember they're supposed to let you get away with stuff," he finished, trying to save face, but Azula raised an inquisitive and indignant eyebrow at him.
"Excuse me? Looking at my what, exactly?"
"I… I just said it, didn't I?! Your blue fire!" he said, flustered despite the lethal circumstances he was in.
Azula was a leaning slightly towards letting the rebellious savage live, for having displayed enough courage to defy her without crumbling, but his last comment set her off completely. Her smirk was replaced by a grimace as she set her hands on her hips.
"Oh, my blue fire," she repeated, infuriated. "You really are nothing but an uncivilized buffoon, aren't you? And you're a pervert to boot…"
"I'm not a pervert!" yelled Sokka. "Stop twisting my words to your liking, woman!"
"To my liking?! Do you think I want a wildling such as yourself to go around taking a look at my…?"
"At your WHAT, exactly?" asked Sokka, defiant.
"At… my blue fire," she muttered, enraged, and Sokka took another step back. The temperature was probably the same it had been all along, but somehow Sokka felt his body heat rise as he exchanged verbal blows with the Princess, blows that had slowly developed into something utterly unexpected… was Azula controlling the temperature with her firebending skills, or was the heat truly being produced by his embarrassment? Could firebenders control the weather in any way? He rather doubted it, but it would make reality much more bearable if he believed that…
"O-okay… let's focus on the issue at hand," he said. "You don't seem to be willing to cooperate by becoming a hostage, but I'm not walking out of here empty-handed. So… it's kill-or-die, I guess."
"It's only 'die' for you, savage," she growled, and he lifted both his weapons.
"The name's Sokka, by the way."
"As if I wanted to know your name in the first place," she grunted, and seeing how he was getting ready to attack, she decided to strike first.
She lifted her leg and kicked a blue fire blast straight at Sokka. After the strange innuendo from just now, Sokka jumped out the way of the fire but stared at it, feeling like a fool. What the hell had he been trying to say when he had said something so ridiculous?
Azula forced him to return to reality when she lifted two fire-coated fists and aimed the blazes at his head. Sokka was surprised to see her fire wasn't as strong as he feared, since he managed to swipe both blows away with his club, which only heated up a little after the contact with the fire. Azula frowned at that and figured she would need to use more strength on this battle than what she had originally planned to. She struck another fire kick, a very potent one, and Sokka was forced to roll on the floor to avoid getting hurt. He tossed his boomerang at her, but she knocked it off course with her fist, and the weapon collapsed on the floor. Still, he took the chance to lunge at her with his club, determined to strike her and knock her unconscious. He knew what the consequences of kidnapping the Fire Lord's daughter would be, but if he took charge of the situation properly, his tribe might be favored, despite the circumstances...
But he had been wrong to assume Azula would be so easy to knock down. She spun around when he swung the club at her and she used her feet to trip him. Sokka performed a barrel-roll and jumped on his feet again, picking up his boomerang and attempting to strike Azula's shoulder with it. The Princess avoided the blow, and she delivered an uppercut straight at Sokka's jaw, making him bite his tongue in the process. He stumbled forward as Azula smirked cruelly. Sokka spat, and his blood stained the formerly pure white snow. The pain he felt in his mouth was beyond anything he'd experienced so far… and to think she hadn't even used fire in that blow. If she caught him again, he was probably a goner…
"Sokka!" yelled Kattan, as he and Haka climbed down the wall, racing towards their leader, but Sokka lifted an arm signaling for them to stop on their tracks.
He couldn't believe it had come to this. All his plans thwarted by this accursed Princess… He knew his plans weren't all that brilliant, but they could have worked. They had the upper hand on everything before, but now, even if he managed to outsmart Azula, he probably would end up on the losing end when the time came for bargains over her rescue. Indeed, the Fire Lord might even present himself in the South Pole to melt it down unless his daughter was returned safe and sound… that is, if Azula didn't sneak off on her own first. She looked like the feisty type to him.
She was more than he could handle, no matter how much he hated to admit it to himself. How was he supposed to face his father when he told him how badly the mission had gone? Would the Chief of the Tribe be ashamed to call him his son for such failure? Nevertheless, there was still something he could do for his friends, even for himself. If they couldn't win, then at least they could return home and come back some day when that Royal Barge wasn't docked in the shore anymore. He would live to fight another day, and so would his men…
Azula frowned in confusion when she saw Sokka pick up another smoke bomb, but she soon smirked at him.
"Another one of those? Is it, by any chance, filled with a volatile gas? It'd better be. It's the sole way you might defeat me," she said, proudly.
"That's interesting," he mumbled, though his jaw begged him not to say another word. "So the best way to beat a firebender is to drive their fire out of their control…?"
"Indeed, but I think I just proved I need no fire to defeat you," she muttered, smirking. "You should feel ashamed a woman can beat you so easily…"
"Ashamed?" he repeated. "The sole shame I could feel… is not being able to protect my people from the likes of you and your nation. You could be a platypus bear for all I care… being a woman has nothing to do with it."
Azula's eyes widened upon those words. He didn't diminish her for being a woman… not even in the slightest. It hardly mattered to her that he had claimed he hated her nation altogether: his shame for losing this fight had nothing to do with his opponent being a woman.
And as she allowed the words to sink in, Sokka took a last glance at his allies and flashed them his trademark crooked and confident smile. Both teenagers stared at the bomb in his hands in disbelief, understanding the meaning of Sokka's actions. They had dreaded it would come to this as soon as the woman had identified herself, and they couldn't do anything but watch as their leader threw the bomb to the ground, signaling all his allies to surrender when the red smoke spread quickly through the air.
Azula returned to reality when she was swallowed by the red cloud. Why was it red this time…? It took her an instant to realize it was probably a signal of some sort: of retreat, most likely. And if that was the case, she had to catch at least just Sokka before he could flee, since he probably had realized his warriors couldn't triumph in these conditions.
Haka and Kattan raced down the wall and ran outside the settlement, yelling at all their allies to retreat. The warriors outside had been witnesses to the red smoke that had spread upwards, and they did nothing but stare at it in disbelief, not understanding what circumstances could have forced Sokka to suspend the operation.
"Move, you morons!" yelled Haka, pushing the others towards their village. "Retreat! Retreat now!"
"Where's Sokka?!" yelled Yuro, who had been about to sprint for his life until he realized their leader was nowhere in sight.
"He'll be with us later, but we have to run!" screamed Kattan. "Believe in him!"
"I won't leave him behind!" said Yuro, in denial. "We have to stay and wait for him!"
"NO!" said Haka, his blue eyes blazing ferociously. "We can't stay! Nobody can stay, or else we'll all get killed!"
Kattan turned towards the ships and, with dismay, saw a group of men in red robes heading towards the settlement. They surely had seen the turmoil and the smoke… and they were going to capture them all if they didn't run now.
"We have to… guys, we really have to run!" he said, pointing at their enemies.
Yuro's despair only grew when he saw what his friend was pointing at.
"B-but Sokka…"
"He's strong, he's our leader," said Haka, determined. "He'll make it through, I'm sure! But for now, we have to run! He'll be back with us soon, you'll see!"
Yuro was forced to obey his superior officer despite not wanting to, and Kattan took it upon himself to guide the rest of the warriors back into the snowy terrains they knew so well. He chanced one last glance at the settlement once there were several yards between them and the Fire Nation base, and he hoped to see a figure sprinting through the snow towards them…
Sokka struggled within the red smoke, not entirely certain of where he was going. He hoped, though, that he would manage to break out of the cloud soon enough, past the settlement's wall, chasing after his friends…
But all hope vanished when the strong grip of a hand with long nails wrapped around the his neck. The nails clawed at his skin, blood dripping from these new injuries, and he was forced to the ground by the owner of said hand, whom he had no difficulty placing. The cold snow underneath him did nothing to appease his despair as he struggled to escape Azula's grip, but the woman had impressive strength, and she held him down with her knee pressed against his back.
Sokka swung his club in hopes strike her arm, forcing her to withdraw her hand or end up with a broken bone, and when she pulled her hand away he used the opportunity to get her off him by twirling on the ground. He made another run for it after that, but he could hear her footsteps behind him, and it didn't take too long for Azula to catch up to him again.
This time she lit up her feet with fire and kicked him on the back, scorching his clothes, to her satisfaction. The red smoke was fading slowly and she could see him crawl on the ground as he tried to regain his stance somehow. The flames that still danced on his back forced him to turn around and choke the fire with the snow; as he did, his eyes found the dark sky above him. It was the dark period… and yet he had failed to accomplish the mission. The thought kept repeating itself on his mind as everything in front of him grew clearer while the smoke dissipated. And once again, the hands with those fearsome claws gripped the front of his shirt, lifting him upwards.
He could see Azula's features clearly, and despite how beautiful she was, all he wanted to do was bend her skull inwards with the club he still held in his hand…
"So… Sokka is your name, right?" she said, smirking. "Make sure you remember the day you underestimated Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, Sokka."
Sokka lifted his club, enraged, but she threw him upwards and struck his abdomen after coating her right hand with fire, delivering a blow with the sufficient strength to break through his armor and burn directly his skin, marking his body with both her knuckles and her fire. Sokka's breath left him instantly, his club collapsed on the ground and he followed shortly, panting and cringing at the unbearable pain.
Azula stared at the man with slight contempt, basking in her pride and superiority. She hadn't even broken a sweat while he was twitching against the snow, still coughing blood as he covered his burn with his hands, his face contorted with pain. She could deliver the finishing blow and spare him from his suffering, but she didn't want to… she enjoyed watching him writhing in this way. But then she recalled how he hadn't undermined her for being a woman… and her pleasure upon witnessing his pain vanished immediately.
He was the only man so far who hadn't diminished her… the only one proud and brave enough to stand up to her even when he knew he couldn't win. She had to acknowledge he was worthy of praise for that, at least… and worthy to fight her another day, perhaps, if he was ever up to the challenge.
Her Royal Guards finally arrived to find her looking down on the shivering man on the ground. Three firebenders took a stance to strike him, but she raised her eyes towards them and said:
"Wait."
The man in the middle seemed puzzled, even though his face was covered with a mask.
"Princess, he is a threat to your safety…"
"If he truly were, he wouldn't be squirming on the ground as he is," she stated, silencing her own guards. "I want this man to live."
The statement took everyone aback, even Sokka, who had already discarded his life by now, breathing with difficulty under the world of pain the Princess had inflicted upon him. Was she going to let him get away with everything? Why would she, though? Was there some sort of compassionate person beneath those layers of arrogance and power…?
"What will we do with him, then?" asked one of the guards, surprised.
"He will be taken to the mainland," decided Azula. "He's bound to be a good slave."
Sokka wanted to slap himself for being so naïve. How could he have believed the woman would be merciful? She was her father's daughter, after all. She must have known he would rather be dead than serve the Fire Nation… and thus she decided to force the second option upon him. He truly would have preferred to drop dead than become their servant…
"It will be done," said the guards at unison, and without any kindness whatsoever, they lifted Sokka and carried him away.
Azula watched their figures shrink in the distance, and she took one last glance at the man who had dared defy her. She hoped he had learned the lesson, and she hoped said lesson would be relayed through all the Fire Nation, so that even the military figures that used to think lowly of her would realize she had saved the settlement and caught the leader of the Southern Water Tribe's resistance… so that they would understand, for once and for all, that she was not to be underestimated.
Because she was Princess Azula, heir to the throne of the Fire Nation.
Katara stared at the horizon once more, waiting… just waiting. On this occasion, though, she wasn't alone. Her father stood next to her, wondering when his son would come home… if he was to return at all.
Shapes began materializing afar, and the two of them stared in hopes to identify the Water Tribe's outfits… and to their relief, the people approaching were clad in gray armors and blue cloth. But Katara frowned when she didn't see a tall, enthusiastic man outshining the rest of them.
Hakoda's heart sank when he saw the expressions on the faces of the warriors. Just by looking at them, he understood what had happened… and he could only think he should have been harsher on his son. He shouldn't have let him undertake such perilous mission.
"S-Sokka… Where is…?" mumbled Katara, walking towards Haka.
The teenager didn't even bother looking her in the eye, tilting his head down in shame.
"I'm sorry," was all he could say, and indeed, it was the worst he could have said.
Katara's eyes widened in horror as she shook her head, her entire body shivering and not because of the cold.
"N-no… n-no… i-it can't be…" she said, tears escaping her eyes before she was even aware of it. "NO! W-where is he?! SOKKA! NO!"
She was about to break in a sprint towards the Fire Nation settlement where she had lost her brother, but Hakoda grasped her by the wrist and held her back. Katara's tears kept trailing down her cheeks as she continued to yell.
"LET GO OF ME! LET GO OF ME!"
"I'm not going to let go," said Hakoda, tears dripping from his eyes as well as he embraced his daughter despite how she struggled to set herself free from his grasp. "You're the only thing I have left now… I won't ever let go of you, Katara."
Katara was beyond reasoning, though. Eventually she would come to the same conclusion her father had reached, but right now, grief had overcome her entire being and she couldn't do anything but cry, wondering if she would at least get to see her brother's dead body, or if the Fire Nation would be merciful and let him live, by chance… oh, she was fooling herself. There was no way that could happen. Her brother was gone, and all she could do was mourn him, promising him she would never forget about him. Promising she wouldn't give up to the Fire Nation, just as he had refused to surrender to them. Promising she would fight with her waterbending skills, in order to cast those monsters out of their territory.
The sole rational thought in her head, amongst all the pain and sadness, was that she would honor her brother's memory, no matter what.
A/N:
So… a pretty long chapter, huh? The next ones aren't bound to be this big, but hopefully you guys won't be bothered by the length seeing how things developed after this chapter ^^ I'm starting to feel like I should change the rating to M right away since Sokka killed a guy and all… what do you think? Should I, or shouldn't I? Sorry for taking a little more time to update this in comparison to my lightning updates in The Reason and The Origins of Pro-Bending, seems like I'm supposed to have a life outside writing 24/7… I don't want to, but I'm forced to TTwTT so sorry if I make you guys wait too much! I'll do my best to update often! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!