The Return

by tubendo

The ice of the South Pole hides many things, and when Azula and Sokka are confronted by something far greater than themselves, the strength of their relationship is tested, and the Princess has to decide whose path she will follow: the path of her father or the path of freedom. (Sequel to Into The Fire)

34. Chapter 34

Lunch was delicious, but Ty Lee found it bittersweet, because of what it coincided with; Sokka was to leave on the airship once they finished their meal. Though it had taken a few days, the airship was now fully repaired and being refuelled at that very moment. The Water Tribesman wouldn't be going alone, but was to be accompanied by some Imperial Firebenders and a group of delegates representing Shengchang; they were to be there to negotiate a potential trade deal which had been suggested to Azula by Mister Takumi only a day prior.

She was eager about the idea, and clearly wanted to make sure that they could get the most out of the negotiations. Given their lack of space and ability to move large masses of commodities to the North, Azula had decided to instead place aboard a stash of gold bars, which had been supposedly hidden in City Hall by the Governor. When they questioned him about the gold, he only said that he needed security in case things didn't go his way; Ty Lee imagined he would have used it to bribe somebody to smuggle him out of the city. The stash was worth over ten thousand ban, which would be a decent recompense in her eyes, though it paled in comparison to the amount of gold she imagined were held by the national treasury.

She slurped up some more noodles, her bowl nearly empty as she glanced over to Azula and Sokka, who were seated right next to each other, which amused her; the Princess had given up any pretence of trying to play down her relationship with Sokka in front of her, probably because after the months they'd spent together, she'd lost any sense of shame in it. That was certainly a good thing, though the Princess still eyed her suspiciously whenever she would watch her and Sokka have 'a moment', as she would call it.

"So, how well do you think the Chief will take it?" Ty Lee asked the warrior, who narrowed his eyes, dropping the cup of tea he was about to sip.

"Take what? Our arrival?"

"No, I mean the trade negotiations. You haven't given him any warning, I'm guessing." she noted, her attention turning to Azula, who nodded.

"I did not. I know for a fact that the Northern Water Tribe commonly traded with the Earth Kingdom before the war, when both nations were forced to turn their attention towards us." she gestured to her face, as if she were the sole representative of the Fire Nation.

"Did you just call yourself 'us'?" the acrobat asked her friend, who just looked confused.

"What? No, I was talking about our country. Or... well, my grandfather, or his father." she corrected herself, and pointed towards her, "The point is, the war stopped trade, but the Northern Water Tribe is by no means rich. I mean, they're not on the edge of starving... but they certainly have closed themselves off, and are worse because of it."

"Though I've heard that they have decent weapons and technology there." Sokka spoke up, "I mean, they must have people like me there, so they're not completely worthless." he argued, "Maybe there's some things we could exchange."

"Now, did he just refer to himself and the Fire Nation?" Ty Lee asked a similar question, though it had a very different implication.

"Shit... did I?" he asked nervously, before waving off her question, "Eh, whatever, I'm just saying they might have some things you'll find useful. I mean, they built that massive city, and their buildings are all pretty nice. Not just a bunch of igloos, I might add." he argued, before furrowing a brow, "I wonder where they get their wood." he mumbled to himself.

"The north coast is pretty desolate, they could get away with snatching some tree trunks... or just driftwood." Azula suggested, and Sokka nodded.

"Huh, yeah, we actually use driftwood a lot in my tribe." he recalled, before facepalming, "Wait, of course you know that, we dragged some back to the village that one time."

"Another story?" Ty Lee leaned forward, interested to hear what they were doing with the wood, and more discreetly, in another lovey-dovey tale about her best friend.

"We don't need to hear another story." Azula argued, before eyeing her friend, "You're obsessed with learning about every single thing we got up to, aren't you?"

"Hey, you didn't make it sound romantic at all. What's romantic about hauling wood?" she asked her, and the Princess just sighed.

"You have a point there." she mumbled, before shaking her head, "If you really want to hear it, I'll tell you later." she decided, her gaze turning to Sokka, "I'm a little more concerned about what Sokka's going off to do."

"Concerned I'll stuff up?" she asked, and she almost laughed.

"No, I know you'll manhandle the Northerners. If there's anything I can gauge about them, it's that they're more afraid of me than I am of them... and they have good reason to fear you."

"Wait, why would they fear me?" he asked, sounding confused, "I never said I'd try and hurt them, or extort them for stuff for my tribe." he reminded her, and the Princess raised a finger.

"What do you think the people of the North will think when they hear about a dashing young Water Tribesman who wants to rebuild his nation's standing in the world, and has come from a poor village to the side of the most powerful woman in the world?" she asked him, and Sokka furrowed a brow.

"Well, a good lot of them will call me a Fire Nation lover and a traitor." he acknowledged, before his eyes widened, "But the rest... they will see me as- wait, do you really think I could be a leader?"

"For your whole nation, most certainly." she nodded, "You are the smartest person I know, besides myself, and you're fine when it comes to negotiating or dealing with the public. You're a natural leader." she argued, "The world is just lucky you weren't born a bender."

"Why? Bending isn't necessary to be a leader."

"With that mind of yours, you could have made Katara look like a fool... she is great, and she doesn't have your knack for tactics or war." she argued, "What do you think would have happened on my ship?"

He just smirked, telling Ty Lee immediately what he was thinking; he would have smacked Azula's face into the floor, and that was assuming he didn't invent some crazy new waterbending techniques to school her even harder. She hadn't ever fought a waterbender, though in that situation, Sokka would have certainly had experience against firebenders.

"Wow, I guess we are lucky." she mumbled, "Sokka would have beat you hard."

"I'm not just trying to stroke his ego... he's just a very tactical fighter. Even when we first met, I could see that." Azula acknowledged, before pointing at her boyfriend's face, "So, you better get the Northerners in line, and prove you're good enough to be Chief."

"I just wish my dad was there to see me do it."

"And let him take all the glory of finishing the negotiations himself?" she asked, and Sokka sheepishly smiled.

"Uh... I guess not. But, I think he'd enjoy watching it."

"We have a very... very different relationship with our fathers." Azula realised her fault as she turned her eyes away, picking up the last of her noodles.

"Yeah, that's obvious." the Water Tribesman acknowledged, his tone sounding distinctly sad, "But I hope you can, uh, at least resolve one of your parental relationships."

Azula nearly spat out her noodles as she heard that, turning around with a concerned face, "Are- are you saying I should try and find my mother?"

"I mean, she's alive, isn't she?" he asked, and Azula looked off distantly, as if she was questioning the very idea.

"I don't know." she admitted quietly, "Not that she's tried to tell me... or my brother, where she is. I was expecting her to show up once my brother claimed his throne, but it obviously never eventuated."

"You don't know that." Ty Lee argued, "It might have been news, but I doubt Zuko would want the world to know where she was, if he really found out."

"Hmph, my father and her weren't... on the best of terms." she acknowledged, recalling that their last conversations had been arguments about what must have gotten her out of the palace- the threat about killing her brother, "My grandfather died, and she vanished... Father never really did say where she went."

"Probably because he didn't want you making amends with her." Sokka argued, "If you'd done that, you wouldn't have needed my help."

"I was never going to do that of my own accord, and honestly, I don't know if I want to." she admitted her feelings, "But... you're right, I need to resolve it. Whether she's alive or not is the real question. I wonder... I wonder if Uncle knows."

"I mean, wouldn't he have told Zuko then?" Ty Lee asked her, and she grimaced.

"Perhaps he'd keep it from him, to make sure-" she began, before shaking her head, "There are many bad things I could say about Uncle, but he would never be that cruel. Only my father could do something that manipulative."

"I mean, I don't really know the guy that well, so I can't judge." Sokka conceded, "He really wanted Zuko to be Fire Lord... that was clear."

"Yes, so he could resolve his own mistakes." she argued, "It was never for altruistic reasons... I mean, he probably does have some care for the people of the Fire Nation, that was his duty, after all, but he was the one who lost the throne, and lost his son, his heir."

"Y-yeah..." Ty Lee mumbled, recalling that part of Azula's past; she was usually so focused on the part about her grandfather dying and mother disappearing that she'd pass over the other fact, that being that her cousin had died on the frontline, and then, to make things worse, her uncle had his birthright taken while he was away from the capital.

She didn't know all too much about the Dragon of the West, but she understood people; if she was in his shoes, she would have felt angry about that, even if she wouldn't want to act on the anger.

"What, do you feel bad for my uncle?" Azula pressed her, and she couldn't lie.

"I do."

"He lost his throne when he could have fought for it. Whether that makes him the better man is up for history to decide." she argued her own case, making Sokka scoff.

"Yeah, I think the events of the past year have proved him right, even if he did aid Zuko in taking the throne."

"Yes, and in doing so, proved himself a hypocrite." she argued, before shaking her head, "I don't care to argue about the virtues and sins of my uncle. He has spilled his fair share of blood and made his share of mistakes, which... well, they may have ruined my brother's life, but I won't let them ruin mine."

"How is it his fault?" Sokka asked, and Azula pointed a finger on his sternum.

"He could have killed my father years ago, but he's a coward, just like Zuko." she argued, before rising to her feet, "Now, can we get going. I'm sure the delegates aren't going to be happy if they have to wait for you." she warned her boyfriend, who just let out a laugh.

"Ah... yeah, right. I have to be there." he conceded, before glancing to Ty Lee, "Are you going to come along?"

"Of course, I'll see you off. Plus, I wanna see what the finished product looks like."

"It's really not that different from what you saw last time." he replied quietly, as if that were a bad thing.

"Well, that means you did a good job of fixing it."

"Uh... I guess we did." he smiled back at her, before he stood up, "Azula had a point, we should get moving."

"Precisely." the Princess agreed, grasping Sokka by the wrist and turning around, pacing towards the hallway; Ty Lee got up and followed right after them, stepping up beside the pair.

"So, are you just flying straight to the Northern Water Tribe?"

"I don't believe the airship has enough fuel to do that. We'll have to refuel at a port north of here and then fly there." the warrior clarified, tapping his chin in thought, "It won't take that long to get there."

"That's good, because we need to get moving east as soon as possible. We've been delayed enough with those reinforcements attacking Shengchang." Azula voiced her opinion on the journey, which indicated her impatience.

Ty Lee understood her reason for feeling that way, as they were on a time limit, forced to contend with the fact that Ozai would likely consolidate his forces and make a proper push into the colonies, not just against them but all of Zuko's loyalists as well. So, their push to Ba Sing Se, and the unification of any rebel forces they could contact would ensure that the Earth Kingdom could stand against the Fire Nation. Even if the rebels collectively held the advantage due to the Fire Nation's internal discord, they could not reasonably abuse said power without coordination; Ozai's loyalists would be reinforced after being attacked, with only those in the most isolated, poor provinces being left to their own devices.

She'd already heard of those areas being completely overtaken by rebels and bandits, and she certainly hoped the former were the ones in charge; she knew that the rebels would be fighting for their country, just as Azula was for her own, so they could be reasoned with by the angle of supporting the unification of their country, but bandits could only be bought off, and if not, then they had to be destroyed.

"So, uh, what will you be getting up to while I'm gone?" Sokka spoke up as they reached the bottom of the stairs, now heading for the front door.

"There is still a decent amount of reconstruction work to be done, and I need Chui and his men to have the railroad repaired. Once that's done, we can start exporting goods from the city, and importing food and other supplies." the Princess explained her intentions.

"The people aren't going to starve without the railroad, are they?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"There is enough food coming in from the villages around Shengchang to feed the people here, but that doesn't mean that it's cheap. If people aren't able to get food they need, and live in standing houses, then they'll quickly grow tired of my rule." she observed a condition she needed to fulfil; Ty Lee knew that the common people were mostly ambivalent to her rule, with only the Earth Kingdom population on her side, and even then, only because she promised to give them equal rights and end discrimination against earthbenders.

"I can understand why they'd be unhappy with the... well, the state of the place." Ty Lee conceded, her friend just huffing.

"Yes, they have good reason to feel that way, and I want to make sure they don't. It's easy to win a battle, but hard to win the support of the people." Azula acknowledged, sounding frustrated, though she kept a smile on her face.

It was strange for her to see, but she understood that the Princess wanted to at least retain a visage of optimism, even if she wasn't necessarily that confident; she respected that, knowing that Sokka needed her support just as much as she needed his.

"Yeah, well, as long as you show you're trying to help, then they'll trust you... the people that is." Sokka suggested, "I mean, my dad is the chief of our village, but he always puts in as much work as the next person."

"You do have a point there." Azula conceded, "Well, I best try and find some things to work on." she realised as she approached the front doors, which were opened by the guards stationed there; they followed right after them as they entered the courtyard, pacing past the fountain and statue onto the main road.

People looked at them with interest, though they had grown used to seeing Azula around, so most didn't pay them all that much attention; Ty Lee couldn't help but find it amusing that people had grown accustomed to seeing their Fire Lord walk around the streets like one of them, but the her friend might have just found it confusing. Her mind drew back to what she had said about finding something to work on, and recalled the things she had seen around Shengchang since the battle concluded, and the work to clean up the city had begun.

"Maybe we can help at one of those soup kitchens. The ones that were set up after the battle... because people have lost their homes." Ty Lee gave her an idea, and the Princess nodded.

"That will do." she agreed to the proposition, "The reconstruction efforts might be a good place to pitch in though... I doubt I will be of much use building houses. I at least know how to cook."

"Heh, you couldn't say that two years ago, could you?" she prodded Azula, who seemed a bit flustered upon being reminded about that.

"I can cook." she emphasised her ability, "I had to learn to satisfy this idiot's appetite." she gestured to her boyfriend, who just laughed at her.

"You needed to cook for yourself too, you realise that, right?"

"Yes, but I have your Gran-Gran for that." she argued, before sighing, "Without Katara, I have nobody to deflect on cooking. She makes what you like." she realised, knowing that she had to make food for herself and Sokka at times, even if she felt it beneath herself; Ty Lee didn't find the idea that degrading, though she understood that Azula was having to unlearn a lot of the biases she'd built up about how she was meant to live her life as a princess.

"I'm not expecting you to make all my food or anything." Sokka reassured her, "I know how to cook."

"Yeah, it would be a bit weird if you didn't... with the big appetite and all." Ty Lee commented, making him snicker.

"Exactly. I had to learn to make sure I wouldn't ever go hungry."

The Princess seemed amused by his commentary, before sighing, her expression becoming more uneasy, "You really like eating because you have to hunt and catch all your food yourself... you were nearly starving when you were a child." she realised, the Water Tribesman's bemused look hardening.

"Yes, you're right." he conceded, making Ty Lee grimace; though she knew that life had been hard at the South Pole, she hadn't really considered how much effort they would have to put into each meal- fishing, retrieving seaweed, hunting the animals that could survive out in the icy tundra, "But that isn't a bad thing... I know how to survive, and now, you do too."

"The forest actually doesn't seem that bad in comparison." Azula observed, before letting out a laugh, "I was not ready for the cold."

"Yeah, it can be a little jarring." Sokka admitted with a sheepish smile, "I felt a bit embarrassed that I actually felt cold when I came back with you to the South."

"I think you should be more embarrassed that your sister mistook you for a Fire Nation soldier." the Princess retorted, making Ty Lee snort, finding that idea to be hilarious.

"Seriously?" she asked, and Sokka just glanced away, looking flustered.

"I had- uh, I grew a beard."

"You cannot call what you had then a beard." Azula scoffed, "What, some tufts of brown hair hanging from your jaw?"

"I thought it looked rugged." Sokka tried to defend himself, before scratching at the short goatee he had on his chin, "Though I prefer this."

"Yes, as do I. It looks far more refined than what you had before." she commented on the goatee, making him smile; Ty Lee thought about it for a few moments, before she realised the odd similarity between the goatee he had and the one Ozai wore, though it was far longer.

"Doesn't your dad have a beard like that?" she asked her friend, making Sokka cover his mouth, struggling to hold back a laugh.

"Don't you say a word." the Princess warned him, her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment; her anger couldn't disguise her own feelings.

"I am both amused and disgusted at the same time." Ty Lee gave her own opinion, knowing the implication of her liking her boyfriend having any chance resemblance to her father was hilarious, if not concerning.

"Please, shut up." Azula asked, sounding surprisingly dejected, rather than the usual boisterous, commanding tone that she'd put on when she was annoyed with her; Ty Lee heeded her words, and kept her tongue still as they made their way down the street towards the yard where the airship awaited them.

"At least we're here." Sokka added more quietly, straightening his posture as they approached the gates to the yard, which were opened up by the city guards who were stationed there; they bowed to the Princess, though she paid no mind to them as she stepped inside, approaching the delegates, who were standing talking amongst themselves by one of the doors into the airship.

"Ah, your majesty, it is good to see you." Mister Takumi addressed the Princess, bowing to her as she approached; Ty Lee recalled that he had self-selected as a delegate, representing the businesses and industrialists of Shengchang.

"And you, sir." she addressed him in return, before eyeing the other delegates, "Good day."

Before them stood Mister Takumi, Kibo, Cheng, and an Earth Kingdom man whose name she didn't know, but recognised from City Hall; all of them had been in meetings with the Princess at one point, and all had represented their communities. They all bowed to the Princess, though only Kibo was eager to do so; the two Earth Kingdom men did not seem pleased to bow, but partook in the formality nonetheless.

"Um, your- uh, Fire Lord Azula." Cheng spoke up, struggling to find the correct way to address her, "Might I ask why you are not accompanying us to Agna Qe'la?" he asked her, the Princess raising a finger.

"I am expected to defend this city from any and every attack, and though I do not expect another force to arrive so soon, I cannot help but be cautious. There is also work to be done with my brother's loyalists in the other colonies; that requires my attention, more so than the North's grievances with me."

"You- uh, don't think they'll be offended that you're sending us instead?" Cheng asked, "I mean, I am glad that you have given us the honour to represent our city, and make negotiations with the Chief of the Water Tribes, but they would be expecting you, am I correct?"

"Yes, they would, but I did not leave the most favourable impression last time I was there. The threat of being imprisoned still hangs over me, especially without Aang there, so that is why Sokka is going in my stead." she clarified her reasons, which Kibo seemed to approve of.

"We can't risk you getting arrested, your majesty." she acknowledged the danger that she had suggested, "You are the heir to the throne, even if you don't agree your brother should have been Fire Lord."

"That is precisely the reason I must remain. I need to ensure that my brother's loyalists swear themselves to me and my cause." she reiterated her point; Ty Lee knew that the war would effectively be over if Azula was captured by the Northern Water Tribe and her brother was truly dead.

"That is reasonable." Jianhong acknowledged, "I do not know much about politics, your majesty, but it is in your interest to remain a viable leader against your father." he gave his support to her reasoning.

The Princess smiled back at the man briefly, and Cheng nodded, confirming his own support; Mister Takumi nodded when she looked his way, "I understand your rationale, your majesty."

Once silence fell upon them, Azula decided she ought to ask the delegates if they had had any questions about what was expected of them, "Is there anything you needed to ask me?" she addressed the whole group, who looked among themselves.

"What is the ultimate goal here?" Jianhong asked, "I understand that we need trade ties with the Northern Water Tribe to further secure the economy of the region, but beyond that, can we expect aid from them?"

"Nothing comes free from them." Azula admitted, "The North has not suffered as the rest of the world has from the war... so, they will be less willing to give away aid, especially given I am in charge here. The Fire Nation still stands as their enemy."

"That is why I am trying to make amends with them." Sokka spoke up, "I assure you, that is the ultimate goal. Once we have peace, we will not need to worry about them being a thorn in our side."

"You mean her side." Cheng corrected him, "We here could live without your rule, Fire Lord Azula, even if we appreciate the protection you have afforded the city. The North holds no ill will towards the Earth Kingdom."

"You are right." Azula admitted, even though she sounded annoyed by his attitude, she retained a calm, composed demeanour, "That is why we need to show that I am your ally. I seek to bring peace and unity to your country, so we may stand united against my father. He might lack the advantage at this very moment, but he has the industrial might of the Fire Nation and much of its military force behind him. The Northern Water Tribe is ultimately as threatened by that as the rest of us are."

"I mean... you have a point." the barkeep admitted quietly, obviously not pleased to agree with the Princess; Ty Lee just smirked and raised a finger at him.

"Of course she has a point." she exclaimed, more than confident in her friend's judgement; since the Zhao debacle, she had grown accustomed to more measured approaches, even if she was still just as willing to apply subterfuge and trickery when necessary, "We have to stand together... that's the whole point of, well, everything we've been doing."

"And we should commend you for it." Jianhong acknowledged, "You are far less foolhardy than most of the warlords that have taken over the colonies. Hopefully they will see that reason and cooperation can get them further than senseless violence."

"The North is my primary concern at this very moment, but you raise a good point." Azula agreed with him, "You will all face suspicion from the Northerners, especially the wealthy clans and nobles who seek to guard their positions. They will have to accept ties with the other nations eventually, and it is in all our interests that they accept those ties sooner rather than later."

Mister Takumi gave a nod of approval, mirroring the content expressions on the others' faces before gesturing to the airship, "So, may we board?"

Sokka stepped forward, "Feel free. They're just stocking it with supplies and fuel. We should be off in just a bit." he explained, the delegates nodding before they strode over to the entrance, bringing their bags along with them as they entered the airship via a small retractable staircase.

Kibo was the last to go, turning to face Azula before she did so, "I hope that we can try something like this with the other colonies, like how the blacksmith said." she admitted, "I'm sure Kori would like to get involved in that."

"If she's heard of our victories, perhaps she and Sneers will come to join us. I am in need of connections back in Yu Dao, if I want the city to come to our side."

"I could go there myself, your majesty." she suggested, and the Princess raised a hand.

"I don't want you to risk yourself when there are more peaceful options. Mayor Morishita is Kori's father, and though he isn't the provincial governor, bringing him to our side will quicken their ascension into my new Fire Nation."

"Your new Fire Nation?" Sokka commented with a raised brow, though he didn't get an answer as Kibo paced away, the Princess raising a hand to wave her and the others off as they departed.

"You know what I mean." she spoke to him, though she was looking at the airship, "My Fire Nation, the one you've put in my head. The one where we aren't trying to destroy everything." she joked, making Ty Lee snicker.

"I don't think that's a good way to put it."

"No, it is." Azula argued, turning to face them both, "My father is intent on making an endless war with the Earth Kingdom, and I doubt he'll leave the Water Tribes untouched." she reminded them, "I am going to make sure that never happens."

"Yeah, I know." Sokka nodded, before glancing at the airship, "I've got to go."

"Not yet." Azula warned him, grabbing him by the collar and kissing him on the cheek, making the boy's cheeks flush red; Ty Lee let out a giggle as the two of them hugged, the Princess's glare warning her to stay quiet.

She did, letting them hug it out for a few moments, before Sokka whispered out, "I didn't know you could do this in front of the guards."

"They know. What's the point in hiding my feelings?" she asked him rhetorically, making the warrior snicker, kissing her on the cheek as he broke the hug.

He then stumbled back, before glancing behind them, towards the gate of the yard, where the Imperial Firebenders had been standing after they followed them there, "Uh... yeah, guys, let's get on the airship." he addressed the two guards who were accompanying him.

They strode past them, their gazes avoiding the Princess, who had returned to a more restrained pose; she gestured to the airship, "You heard him, get moving."

"Uh, Sokka." Ty Lee addressed the boy, having noticed that he had a lipstick mark on his cheek, tapping her own to indicate what he should do; instead he looked disgusted.

"Wh- I'm not kissing you too. That's gross." he refused, making Azula facepalm.

"You've got lipstick on your cheek." she said what Ty Lee hadn't, making his cheeks flush red, before he wiped the lipstick off with his arm bands.

"Uh thanks. You almost gave me the oogies." Sokka admitted, making the Princess scrunch her face up, eyeing him with utter confusion.

Ty Lee guessed that was his word for disgust by affection, which sounded hilariously childish, "You're dating a man-child." she joked to Azula with a shove of her elbow.

As he walked away, he waved at them, while Azula waved, keeping her face down as she tried to hide her embarrassment; Ty Lee had no such feeling, and waved eagerly to the boy while she kept hold of her friend, "Knock 'em dead!"

"Don't take that literally." the Princess added, as if it were necessary to clarify.

He just smiled back at them before he climbed up the stairs, and through the doorway, following after the guards; Azula raised a hand to wave at Sokka as he did the same, before the door was pulled shut and the stairs raised. The airship's engines were already humming, and it was only a matter of time before it launched into the air.

"So... about that story." Ty Lee addressed her friend, recalling what she had mentioned on the way to the airship.

"What story?" Azula asked, seeming completely unaware of what she was talking about.

"The driftwood dragging one." she reminded her, the Princess rolling her eyes.

"For spirit's sake." she mumbled under breath, covering her face with her palm, "Fine." she accepted her request, before turning her attention back to the airship, waving towards the gondola as the craft began to rise into the air; Ty Lee could make out Sokka by the window, pulling a stupid face.

She wanted to laugh, but held it back, just waving alongside her friend as the craft rose up above them, slowly turning around as it prepared to fly off north. The Princess crossed her arms as she looked up, her serious glare faltering momentarily as she smiled, before turning around; Ty Lee followed her as she approached the gates of the yard, where two other guards were waiting for her.

"Let's get back. I have more scouting reports to read." she told them, and they moved out of the way, allowing the two of them to get back out onto the street.

Ty Lee paced up beside her friend, and leaned in close, "So... what happened?"

"It's really not that interesting." she deflected, "The driftwood we found when we were out in the ice floes was a pain in the arse to move around, and it got worse when we pushed it to the shore. We had to drag it all the way to Sokka's village."

"And... that's it?" she asked, before the Princess sighed.

"No, it wasn't. A snowstorm fell over us on the way back to the village, so we had to camp in the middle of nowhere. The meal of salted fish and dried seaweed was surprisingly good... I guess that's what hard work does to your taste buds." she explained what had happened, making Ty Lee smirk.

"So, you were able to bond a little more with Sokka?"

"Bond? If you could call tolerating him snoring in that snow-bound tent bonding, then yes, we were bonding." she retorted, making her snicker; she clearly liked to find reasons to get annoyed with Sokka, though she could understand why she'd do that at that very moment.

He was flying off in the airship, leaving her alone, off to do his own thing; she was used to being stuck around him, so the best way to make herself not feel bad about it would be to shit on his behaviour to make it seem like a good thing. Ty Lee didn't think it was the best idea, but she could see it as clear as day.

"You don't have to make him sound like the most annoying person on earth." she bluntly addressed the matter, "I know you're gonna miss him, just like how he missed you when we went off to deal with Zhao." she reminded her, before placing a hand on her shoulder, "He's gonna be fine."

"I know that... I am just..." she mumbled, and then shook her head, "Nevermind. I don't want to spill a sob story about how- whatever... I feel about him."

"Yeah, I know." she smiled back at her, "You're stuck with him for life."

"I wouldn't say that just yet." she snapped back, increasing her pace to get ahead of her, "I am still Princess Azula."

"Aren't you Fire Lord Azula?" she asked her, knowing that she was a bit nitpicky about the title issue.

"You know what I meant. I am still me... I'm not chained to Sokka like some ostrich horse." she argued, before crossing her arms, "And he isn't either. He's got his own ambitions."

"I'm pretty sure they all involve you." Ty Lee reminded her, knowing that the Water Tribesman might have had some political aims concerning his tribe, but he almost certainly wanted Azula's help, and for her to stand by his side when he helped rebuild his tribe.

She had never been there, but the way Katara and Sokka spoke about their home told her that they cared for it deeply; they wanted to make something better for their people, just like how Azula wanted better for the Fire Nation. She guessed that might have been part of the reason that she and Sokka could get along so easily; they both had the same goals, even if they came from completely different nations and backgrounds.

"You're gonna change the world, for the better." she told the Princess, who just scoffed.

"You don't need to remind me. I've got a lot of enemies to destroy and a lot of people to appease."

---

Where the sea met the land lay a sprawling complex of buildings, surrounded by a massive encampment, itself rounded by rammed-earth wall topped with a palisade, and a dyke, which was filled partially by water from recent rains. Katara hadn't been back to the base for nearly two weeks, but it was a somewhat welcome sight, despite what it represented; an outreaching tentacle of the Fire Nation's military control, marking the Earth Kingdom's land like a blight. She would have never imagined herself finding such a place safe, but as allies and friends of Princess Azula, that had become the case; she much preferred it to the North Pole, which seemed like a cold, uncaring imitation of the home she loved.

Something new that Katara immediately spotted was some new structures by the walls, where the Earth Kingdom refugees had encamped themselves after they were freed from internment. These were far nicer looking than tents, reminding her of the houses she'd seen in Earth Kingdom villages and towns on her journey across the country. The structures were a little crude, seeming to be only made out of earth, similar to an igloo, which was the same but only made out of ice, telling her the earthbenders had been hard at work.

She didn't point it out to Aang, guessing they'd go visit it in due course; he was focused on guiding Appa's descent, circling around the compound which lay at the centre of the base. Appa slowed as they approached the ground, a few guards startled by his arrival, though they didn't do much but address the pair with waves as they flew past. When they touched down on the ground, Katara rose up and stretched her arms, glad that she'd finally be able to stand on her own two feet. After spending the whole morning flying north, she was eager to actually do something. Knowing herself, it would probably be bending practice, or preparing some things to cook for their next meal.

Aang leapt from the saddle, followed by Momo, and he waved out to somebody in the distance; Katara had to narrow her eyes, and realised he was looking at some of the earthbenders, who had come around to greet them. They weren't dressed in their fatigues, but rather in what she could only describe as workwear; dirty, tough looking stuff they'd need to wear while digging holes and working on building houses. Jianren was leading them, as expected, and waved back at them.

"I wonder if there's any news." she spoke her mind, Aang tilting his head as he eyed the earthbenders.

"Eh... I think they'd be a lot faster if they had anything to say." he gave his own thoughts, before he turned his eyes toward her, "That's a good thing, right?"

"Well... I hope it is. I'd like good news, but no news is preferable to bad news." she admitted, before she climbed down off of Appa, noticing that Momo was already scurrying off to investigate; she imagined he had stashed some food somewhere before they left and was going off to find it- the flying lemur certainly had a knack for stealing other's food, much to her brother's chagrin.

She stepped up beside Aang as Jianren approached, the leader giving a quick bow to Aang as he arrived, "It is good to see you well, Avatar Aang. I assume your affairs with the spirit were fruitful?" he asked, making Katara snicker as she realised the double entendre he had uttered.

It passed over the boy's head, and he eagerly nodded, "It sure was. Katara was able to heal it with her waterbending and it left the villagers alone after that."

"That's... interesting." he admitted, seeming impressed by the idea, "I wonder if that might come in handy when we journey east."

"If there's people who need our help, we'll give it." she assured him, before glancing behind him, noticing that Toph was clearly absent; she imagined she was off napping or training, given the earthbenders were all standing there in front of them and not out working, "Where's our mutual friend?"

"Ah, the Blind Bandit? She's inside. I already sent Hua to retrieve her as soon as we saw you flying over." he explained, before stepping closer to Aang, "Did you gather any intel while you were out there?"

"You mean did we see any soldiers? Uh... no, not really. There were some soldiers who got trapped by that spirit, but they got taken a long time ago."

"They're not going off to aid Ozai, are they?" he asked, and Aang shook his head.

"No... they seemed- uh, well, nice, I guess."

That made the other fighters scoff and chuckle, not seeming to believe him; the Avatar stepped forward, seeming confident in his feelings.

"I'm not joking. Not every one of them wants the war to continue." he argued, and Jianren just chuckled.

"That's because they've won, Avatar Aang." he warned him, "Look where we're standing. Does this look like an Earth Kingdom base to you?"

"No, but it will be." he reminded him of what was to become of the place once Azula's forces moved completely into the colonies.

"Because of the goodwill of one woman." he retorted, "Not that I hold anything against her... she has proved her intentions to be genuine."

"Yeah... because she's a good person." Katara argued, knowing that after all they'd been through, she ought to back the Princess up when needed, "She knows that the war was wrong, and that all of this will be worth nothing if you can't have a country for yourselves."

"Well, that's because we would have taken it for ourselves." he acknowledged, before sighing, "But I understand the pain that would have caused, to us, our people, and even our enemies. This is... well, the better way."

"I'm glad you can see that." Aang smiled back at him, "I don't know if everyone will agree, but I mean, if enough people do, then you can work together." he explained his own thoughts, before leaning to glance past them, "Uh... so, I should probably go say hello to Toph."

"Uh, of course." Jianren nodded, getting out of the way, the other fighters following suit.

The pair made their way along the exterior wall towards the gates, where a pair of soldiers were standing guard; they both saluted Aang, which amused Katara, knowing that he was getting the kind of respect Azula usually would. He had proved himself a valuable ally to the Princess, but she realised that he hadn't really done many public things to get the world up in arms to support him. One spirit was just one spirit, and though he'd destroyed the hunkering machine back in Shengchang, that was only seen by a few frightened civilians and some earthbenders, the latter of whom would have already held him in high regard.

The gates were opened up, and before them stood Toph, with her hands on her hips, seeming slightly annoyed, "Twinkletoes, Sugar Queen." she addressed the two of them.

"Hey Toph!" Aang grinned back at her, leaping in to try and hug her, though she just weaved out of the way; Katara held back a laugh as Aang stumbled, almost falling over, before he turned around, pouting like somebody had just stolen his glider staff.

"So, you're clearly still in one piece." she observed, her attention turning to Katara, who she punched in the arm; she let out a grunt, though she couldn't complain, as it wasn't a hard hit, "You kept him out of trouble?"

"The whole thing was kind of trouble." Aang conceded, "But Katara fixed the issue."

"What, you're telling me she got the spirit to back off, not you?" she asked, seeming bewildered by the fact, "Huh... I guess love and hope can change anyone's heart." she commented, the words sounding odd on her lips until Katara realised she was mocking her.

"I'll have you know it was healing that got it to calm down." she corrected her, "Though... I guess that is kind of love." she added, unsure if her emotions had anything to do with the effectiveness of her technique.

"What, you love the spirit?" Toph prodded her, before she raised a brow, leaning in closer, "Or are we talking about somebody else?"

Katara leaned away from her face, finding her comment embarrassing, as she immediately understood the implication; she was trying to make it sound like she had a thing for Aang. He was a fair bit younger than her and quite immature, so she really couldn't like him in the way she was suggesting; that didn't mean that she didn't care for the boy, but it was more like how she imagined Sokka felt about her, her big brother looking over her and trying to make sure she succeeded.

"Shut it." she warned her, before stepping past the girl, into the compound, "So, what were you doing?"

"Making uh... well, I guess you could call it a map." she explained herself, gesturing over to the yard where she used to train with Aang before they headed off to Shengchang; instead of the usual yard, a model of dirt and stone lay on the ground, clearly representing the base in its present form, with the hills and sea surrounding it.

"Huh... that's really cool." Aang gave his opinion, approaching it as he eyed the construct, "How accurate is it?"

"Well, as accurate as I could make it. I can sense things from here, it just takes a lot of focus to precisely make out what I sense. I guess it must be like what painting is for seeing people." she explained her process; despite the vagueness, Katara understood her meaning- she could only see through the ground, so naturally, earthbending was the best way for her to replicate her sensations in a tangible form, like how she might sculpt something out of ice with her waterbending.

"What's this for... just for fun?" he asked her, the earthbender letting out a huff.

"No, Jianren suggested it when I explained how I used to make little models of my family estate. The soldiers could use it for planning defences and the earthbenders can figure out the plans for the settlement more easily; it's better when it's right in front of you instead of just in your head."

"Huh, so how long have you spent working on this?" Katara asked, and Toph crossed her arms.

"Just this morning. I have much more pressing stuff to deal... the houses being the most important."

"Are they livable?" she questioned, and Toph raised a finger to her chin.

"If you bent one of those ice-houses into existence, could you just go down and sleep in it?" she asked her in return, making Katara grimace.

"Well, it wouldn't be all that comfortable... you need skins and furs to sleep on, and a way to keep the cold out, and the warm in."

"Does that answer your question?" she prodded her, and Katara rolled her eyes, finding her forwardness a little frustrating, even if she was correct in her assessment of Katara's own knowledge.

"Y-yeah, I guess it does." she added quietly, before clearing her throat, "Uh, so, lunch."

"Great idea!" she exclaimed, grasping each of them by their arms and pulling them closer, "I've been waiting to hear what you two got up to."

"Uh... yeah, not that much." Katara responded, though the story about the spirit would be interesting for Toph, even if she held no care for spirits.

"You just said you healed the spirit. That's enough... stealing Aang's job is news." she argued, making Aang turn away, seeming sheepish as he tried to think of something to say.

"I know what to do next time." he spoke up, "So, you should be thanking her if we run into any more rogue spirits."

"Well, there's none of those here." Toph argued, before glancing around the metal compound that surrounded them, "It feels really far from the spirits... I mean, being surrounded by metal and all."

"Yeah, I imagine the spirits wouldn't like this place very much either." he noted, his face shifting to a grimace as he must have imagined what it would be like if a spirit attacked the base.

"Oh yeah, so... what was causing the issue, anyway?" Toph asked them, approaching the doors, which she pushed open for them, hitting them hard enough that they could step through and walk inside before they closed back.

"The Fire Nation was building a railway to here." Katara recalled, "They were using some chemicals... for exploding stuff, or getting rid of hard stone... or something. Sokka probably could have figured that part out." she explained, feeling a little embarrassed by her lack of understanding.

"Ah, and I guess that stuff, the spirit didn't like it?" she presumed correctly.

"Yeah, it was leaking downhill into this spring... where the spirit lived. It got really mad, and started kidnapping soldiers, workers, and then the villagers who lived in Chunxi. They came here and asked for my help, but we had already gone to Omashu then."

"Huh..." Toph mumbled, her expression becoming less upbeat, as did her pace, which slowed, "So... it's our fault that they didn't get help sooner."

"I mean, how could have any of us known?" Katara asked, knowing that she didn't want Toph nor Aang to feel responsible for the spirit's actions; the Fire Nation engineers who were building the railway were the ones actually at fault for the whole situation, though she doubted they could have anticipated what ended up occurring, "We were travelling around, and there were bad stories everywhere. Refugees, bandits, Fire Nation fighting Fire Nation. I hadn't heard about the village until we got back here, and even then, we didn't have the time to go there because of Shengchang."

"Yeah... that's right." she nodded, before humming along quietly, making a tune that she didn't recognise, "And how did you figure all that out?" she asked after a few moments of awkward humming.

"We looked around, and asked the villagers. It was a bit confusing, but I was able to communicate with the spirit when I meditated. It told me what happened." Aang explained his own experience, making the blind girl huff.

"What, it spoke to you?"

"I mean... not with words. It showed me what happened. Like I could see all the things that it could- its memories." he explained, before scrunching his lips, "I guess you couldn't understand that... not really." he mumbled, awkwardly looking away from Toph, who snickered.

"I can imagine things... you know that, right? I mean, yeah, if this spirit put things in my mind that other people could see... I'd be- well, I don't know what I'd do." she admitted, before raising a brow, "And you remained calm, right?"

"I mean, as calm as I could." he added, cringing from the memory of the event; she didn't know exactly what happened, but he could feel the pain that the spirit had from the chemicals.

The whole ordeal seemed to be terrible, especially because it was expected of him to deal with the spirit. She wished that there was somebody who could teach him about spiritual matters, but she knew that people like that were hard to find, and given their priorities, they weren't thinking about Aang's spiritual duties until they were in their faces. Toph seemed to understand his unease with the matter, perhaps because she could sense his heartbeat; he could put on the biggest smile, but she'd still know how it made him feel.

"Yeah, well, hopefully that doesn't happen again." she spoke her thoughts, before gesturing down a hallway, "The canteen's this way."

Katara already knew that, but perhaps she just wanted to change the topic; she followed after her, and she began to speak about food, as she expected.

"So, what do you want to eat? We've got rations, but they're not terrible rations. This is the stuff Azula's been eating." she asked them, and Katara raised a finger to her chin.

"Well, I mean, I wouldn't mind some fish... that'd make me think of home." she admitted her own desires, and Toph stopped in her tracks.

"Oh, dang it." she grumbled, facepalming before she turned to face them, "I forgot to tell you, we got a message."

"A message?" Aang pressed, "What kind?"

"Some scouts in Yi Province ran into a bunch of Earth Kingdom rebels... and Water Tribe warriors. It's your dad." she addressed Katara, who grinned at the thought of seeing him again.

"Dad." she almost whispered, as if she were uttering a secret, "How far away are they?"

"Well, the letter came in this morning by messenger hawk, but the scouts were delayed in the wilds, so... a few days at most. They weren't that far from here, just by the West Lake." she explained, before furrowing a brow, "I mean, that's what Jianren said. The West Lake is close by."

"Ah, yeah... maps." Katara mumbled, recalling that Toph would struggle with reading anything, and even if she had an idea of the Earth Kingdom's geography from her education as a noble, she doubted that she had a good idea of how far away everything was.

Her own view was a little skewed as she'd been travelling around on a sky-bison, rather than sailing or walking, and she had never actually been to the West Lake, but she had a general idea of its location. It lay to the south of the base, and east of it was Ba Sing Se; the colonies were mostly to the west of it, and it was controlled by Azula's ships, at least the last time she heard about it.

"So, you're gonna see your dad again, that's good." Aang observed with a smile, "I'm sure Sokka will be happy to see him."

"Yes, he will be." she nodded, before furrowing a brow, "He must be heading over to the Northern Water Tribe right now. I wish Dad had gotten here a little quicker... I'm sure he could have helped smooth things over with Arnook." she spoke her mind; her brother was more than a little blunt at times, even if he was quite good with people- her father would be more measured with the Chief, and make sure that a settlement could be made.

She could see her brother storming out of the Northern Water Tribe with nothing, all because of his pride and disdain towards the North; she didn't blame him for those feelings, but she couldn't help but feel that Azula had planted them in his head. She was right to acknowledge their relative safety and guilt in not assisting her tribe, but it was not her place to declare them useless at best and opportunistic thieves at worst. She imagined that many in the North might actually feel an obligation to aid their sister tribe out of goodwill, and not just because they could make some money from it.

"Do you think Sokka's gonna screw it up?" Toph asked, her assumptions closer to the truth than she would have liked; her heartbeat must have answered before her words could, because the blind girl just snickered, "Yeah, thought so."

"Sokka's not that bad at making deals... I just don't trust him with the North." Katara admitted her feelings before she looked away, "Does that make me a bad sister?"

"That makes you realistic." Toph gave a reassuring answer, "Just like how you suspect the Fire Nation even when they're doing the right thing."

"But we have every reason to." Katara snapped back, knowing that she had good reason to be concerned about Azula's plans, even if she herself was genuine in her intentions, "Can you trust that they'll just let the Earth Kingdom be... I'm not even talking about Azula, I'm talking about the business people. I know she needs his help, but I can't trust a man like Mister Takumi."

"Yeah, he sounds like an opportunist." Toph commented, before stretching her arms up into the air, "But that's Azula's problem... not ours. At least, not yet."

"We're trying to unify the Earth Kingdom. I think- uh, that's our problem." Aang admitted, though he didn't sound pleased to say it, "They're going to want the Fire Nation out... the Fire Nation wants to stay in."

"Yeah, that's the whole problem with the colonies." she agreed, before she tilted her head, her attention falling on Katara, "What do you think?"

"About what? I think I already made my opinion on the Fire Nation clear."

"No, I mean about how we're going to persuade people to trust Azula." she clarified, and the Water Tribe girl grimaced, imagining what some common people might have thought of Azula and her ambitions.

She was only really known as an agent of her father, putting down a rebellion in Ba Sing Se, and then, her two campaigns in the colonies; first as a vengeful daughter, coming to destroy her traitorous brother, and second as a unifier and true leader. She wondered if she was blamed for the destruction in Yu Dao, which truly was Zhao's mess. The only thing she could see her be fairly blamed for was the battleship ramming into Agna Qe'la, and even then, Zhao might have tried to kill the spirits without her intervention.

The people of the Earth Kingdom would not look upon her favourably either way, putting the responsibility of ameliorating her image in their hands. Katara didn't have a great grasp of politics, but she understood the war; people hated the Fire Nation, and by extension, they would mistrust and fear the Princess turned Fire Lord.

"It will be hard. But... she's giving the Earth Kingdom a reason to trust her. Let's just hope that she can prove herself before they decide to throw their lot in with somebody else."

"Another Chin the Conqueror, you mean?" Aang asked her, and she nodded.

"Uh, yeah... somebody like that." she confirmed, before she strode ahead, pushing the doors into the canteen open; as they stepped inside, a few soldiers were eating, and turned their attention towards them.

They obviously weren't expecting the Avatar, and immediately rose to their feet, and bowed to Aang; he didn't seem to know what to do, and just scratched the back of his scalp, "Uh... thanks?"

They nodded, and sat back down, Katara deciding to divert everyone's attention back to what they were there for: lunch; she gestured towards the buffet that sat on the other side of the canteen, "Let's get some food."

The other two followed her over to the buffet, where a cook stood waiting for them; he had a bandana covering his head, and was looking down at some simmering trays of meat that lay before him. His eyes darted up, and was surprised to see them; he straightened his posture, and gestured to the trays that lay before them.

"Okay, what do you want?" he asked, "I might need to heat some things up."

Aang stepped forward and eyed the trays, "Uh, could I have some grilled vegetables and noodles?" he asked, the cook nodding before he moved into a casual firebending form, shooting some flames under the tray, which made the vegetables sizzle.

He let them cook while he scooped up some noodles and tossed them into a bowl, placing it on a tray in front of him, "What else?"

"Uh... Some flatbread."

He gestured to the stack of flatbread, which was divided in two; one set was plain, while the other appeared to be seasoned, "Which?"

"Seasoned." he decided, and the cook placed the flatbread on the plate, before he put the vegetables into the bowl with the noodles.

Aang grabbed his plate and bowl, and strode off to one of the tables, leaving Toph and Katara to get their food; the Water Tribe girl turned her eyes to her friend, wondering if she wanted to get something before her.

"Go, I need to ask him what's what anyways." she assured her, Katara feeling a tinge of guilt over that extra step she had to take; if she knew what the girl liked, she might have tried to ask for what she could see, but she really didn't know all too much about Toph's tastes, other than that she seemed to be ambivalent about her own cooking.

She stepped forward, and gestured to what looked like grilled fish, "Some grilled fish," before pointing to some egg noodles, "egg noodles," and then to some mixture of vegetables and beans, which seemed to look nice, if only for the gleaming dark sauce that covered it, "and some of that."

The cook got her exactly what she wanted; he heated up the fish in the tray, then the vegetables, before tossing it all together with the noodles. He handed her the bowl, and she gave a slight bow in thanks before she paced over to where Aang was sitting. She sat herself down across from him, and began to eat her meal. She waited for Toph to come over before she'd start talking about anything; the Earth Kingdom girl showed up not long after she did, sitting herself at the head of the table, with a bowl of rice, roast beef, and vegetables.

"Do you know when Azula will come back here?" Katara asked her, knowing she was the last of them to see the Princess.

"She's got some work to do with the other colonies... repairing that railway, and getting some reinforcements, but I think she's wanting to get to Ba Sing Se pretty urgently. I don't blame her... at this rate, Ozai's gonna send a bigger army our way, and how are we going to beat them unless we're all working together?" she asked her rhetorically before sighing, gesturing to both her and Aang, "I mean, I'm powerful, we're all powerful benders, but that doesn't mean much against an army."

"Well, hopefully we can find some people to help us along the way. I remember there was some general in the mountains out east who might want to help us."

"General Hong was his name, I think." Katara recalled, remembering when they had aided some Earth Kingdom soldiers north of Gaochao.

"Yeah, that guy."

"I've heard of him." Toph admitted, before picking up some rice and meat, and chewing it down.

"Really?" Aang raised a brow, before leaning closer, "Do you think he could help us?"

She shrugged, chewing on her food before she swallowed; she obviously was avoiding speaking with her mouth full of food. That was surprisingly polite of her, though Katara guessed that she was in a more serious mood than usual; when they were out travelling around, she probably didn't feel the need to follow protocol and act like she was a soldier. Now that they were in the base, with her serving alongside Jianren and his fighters, it made sense that she'd be a little more self-aware of her behaviour.

"General Hong has been fighting the Fire Nation in the north for over a decade, even before Ba Sing Se was taken... or the first siege. He's pretty famous, I mean... for a soldier." she acknowledged, before scrunching her lips, "He kept fighting after the Council of Five disappeared... and claims to be... well, I think he wants to be a bit more than a general now."

"That makes sense." Katara nodded, "There's no Earth King anymore... so why should he fight for a king, when he could be a king himself."

"Yeah, that's what I was imagining. He's got some made up title, 'Defender of the Northern Provinces' or something, but I heard that he was planning to attack this way, though... I guess he hasn't yet. Maybe he already fought Zhao and lost too many men."

"Or maybe Azula's army fought with him earlier... back when they were trying to get to the colonies." Katara guessed, recalling from the story that most of the Fire Nation forces that swore to her had to travel overland, as they lacked the ships to take all the troops west.

"That would make sense. King Bumi is in contact with him, and he didn't say anything about that... but I think they don't send letters often. There is a whole swathe of Fire Nation territory between them." she explained what she knew, before continuing to chew her food.

Aang seemed deep in thought over the revelations, though he too continued to eat; Katara followed suit, not wanting to wait there awkwardly for one of them to say something interesting. She was there to eat, after all, and not to just converse about anything and everything they could.

She was most of the way through her lunch by the time he had decided upon his response, "So, this guy, he might want to take over the Earth Kingdom."

"Eh, well, I don't know if anyone wants to deal with the whole mess themselves." Toph argued, before shrugging her shoulders, "I'd have to talk to the man himself before I make up my mind on that."

"The point is, I think we should be cautious. I don't want to help the wrong people get in charge of the Earth Kingdom." Katara gave her own thoughts, Aang nodding resolutely.

"Uh... yeah, but I don't want to make any enemies."

"Just be firm and honourable, that'll get you far with those kinds of people." Toph assured him, the boy raising a brow, before she sighed, "Soldiers, I mean. They have duties... and they could have ambitions, but if you treat them fairly, they will fight for you."

"Not just because I'm the Avatar." Aang realised, before furrowing a brow, "I'll prove that they should listen to me."

"That's the spirit." Toph commended him with a punch to the arm.

He winced, but smiled, seeming appreciative of her support; Aang continued eating, and Katara noticed that the other girl had already finished, having dug into her meal eagerly.

She imagined she was starving after the exercise she must have endured building the houses; her attention fell on Katara, who was still waiting to hear what she had to say about their plans.

"I don't have a polemic about Azula's plans, if that's what you were thinking." she warned her, and Katara raised a brow.

"Uh, a polemic?" she mumbled, unsure what she was referring to.

"A rant." she gave a synonym, before chuckling, "I could rant about things, like how our march had to be interrupted by some stupid scouts."

"Scouts?" Aang asked with his mouth full of food, swallowing before he continued, "Were they spying on you?"

"I don't think that was why they were hiding in the woods. They were on a hill looking out over the base. All we found out was that they were reporting to the Eastern Fleet." she explained, and he scrunched his lips.

"Eastern Fleet? Wouldn't they be on the other side of the Earth Kingdom?" he asked, and Toph nodded.

"Precisely." she agreed with the comment, "The officer was being purposefully vague about their plans, so we dragged him back and chucked him in the dungeon." she explained herself, before rolling her eyes, "He still hasn't given a straight answer, but I'm sure after a few weeks he might actually tell somebody something useful." she explained with crossed arms, clearly annoyed by the fact, "Did you have to fight any soldiers on your trip?"

"Uh... no." Katara shook her head, before picking up some more fish, knowing she ought to finish her meal so she could unpack Appa's saddle and settle back into the base.

She didn't know how long she was going to be there for, given Azula's plans for Ba Sing Se, but she wasn't going to leave all their stuff on Appa when they had some perfectly fine rooms to store their things in.

Once Aang had finished his meal, Toph rose up to her feet, "Well, now you're done, do you want to train? I have a feeling you've been slacking off with your earthbending." she argued, and he laughed.

"It's only been two days. I didn't even have a chance to train my waterbending with Katara." he argued, and the Water Tribe girl raised a finger.

"You did use it though." she reminded him, and Toph nodded.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Now, why don't you get off your lazy butt and get out to the yard. I want to train with someone who knows my style."

"What... uh..." he mumbled, seeming unsure, though he rose to his feet, "I do need to train."

"As I just said." she bluntly reminded him, before pointing down at Katara, "What about you?"

"What about me?" she asked, her cheeks full of rice.

"You like training, don't you?"

"I've never trained with you." she reminded her, "And the last time I trained with somebody like you... it didn't end well."

"Wait, you mean her majesty?" she asked, mockingly referring to the Princess's correct form of address, "What training did she do? Burn your feet?"

"No, it was some meditation stuff... I assume you wouldn't have cared for it."

"Oh no, meditation isn't bad, I just can't stand sitting around doing nothing." she corrected her, before pointing down in her general direction, "Well, I'm not going to order you around. I'm not her."

"Eh, it was more her reactions and not her being bossy." she admitted, "She has some... uh, well, attachment issues."

"Huh, yeah, I think it's a little more than an issue." Toph admitted her own thoughts, before she turned her heels, "Come with us if you want."

"I will!" she declared, her voice perhaps a little too loud, as the soldiers who were sitting nearby eyed her, before returning to their meals.

Katara scooped up the last of the rice and vegetables in her bowl, and chewed it down, before she stood up and followed Toph and Aang. They stopped at the door, waiting for her; the earthbender seemed amused by her eagerness, leaning in closer as she approached.

"So, do you think you can beat me?"

"Uh... I wouldn't say that. I've seen the things you're capable of." she admitted honestly, even if it stung her pride to admit it; she had only been properly training with her waterbending for a few months, while Toph had spent many years honing her unique skills.

"I think you should try." Toph pressed her, her words remaining ambiguous as to whether she thought Katara could actually beat her in a fight.

She nodded, and stepped ahead of both her and Aang, "Well, come on, we don't have all day." she prodded her back.

Aang gave an eager smile and followed, though Toph was a little slower to do so; once she did catch up, Katara increased her pace, and headed straight for the training yard, though she realised that they couldn't use it, as Toph's 'map' lay over it. The earthbender instead strode right for the gates, which were opened up at once.

Katara and Aang followed her out, heading out into the open fields that surrounded the compound; the place was once full of tents, but most of them had disappeared as the bulk of Azula's forces had moved to Shengchang. Even the group that had come back after their defeat of the garrison, mostly surrendered soldiers led by loyal officers, didn't count for that much, it seemed. The encampment was still noticeably smaller, she had realised as they flew over it.

Toph raised her hands up, creating some tiles from the dirt, which solidified into squares of stone. They still had the colouration and texture of dirt, just hardened from her bending; she paced on into the middle, and gestured to the two of them.

"Well, show me what you've got!" she demanded, and Katara awkwardly eyed Aang, unsure what she ought to do, "Bend!" she shouted at them, the pair raising their hands before they did just that.

Katara pulled the water from her skin, while Aang raised up two pillars of earth from the ground beside him; he snapped them out of the ground, and compressed them into solid bricks, almost half his height. That didn't make them any harder to bend, it seemed, and he moved into form, the position and hand movements reminding her distinctly of Toph's own style.

She spun her arms around slowly, spinning the water around her body in a coil, ready to bend at the stout girl, who had her hands on her hips, with a toothy grin on her face, "Now... show me." she pressed, her tone sounding more cocky than annoyed.

Both of them threw their hands forward, Katara's water cooling as she moved it, ready to freeze Toph in place where she stood; Aang's blocks of earth split in twain, forming four total, which careened around to try and hit Toph from both sides. When their water and earth met, the girl threw her hands up, creating a wall of earth, which seemed to rise up between the gaps in the tiles she had created. The water splashed off it, but she freezed it anyway, which caused Aang's blocks to shatter the earth with ease.

Toph stumbled back, dusting herself off, before she slammed her right foot down, creating two pillars, which shot up right in front of them. Katara knew she'd do something like that, and leapt out of the way before the pillar shot up. Aang grabbed onto the one that appeared in front of him, using it as leverage to spin himself around and throw himself towards Toph, ready to kick her. She must have anticipated his move, as she threw a tile up, smacking him out of the way and back to the ground.

He let out a groan as he slid over the tiles, but he quickly spun himself around, and threw a pair of tiles at Toph in return. She shattered them with her own bending, before her attention turned to Katara, who had just been observing the fight, waiting for an opportunity to strike. The frozen stone still lay by her feet, and she could bend the water out of it at any moment.

"Waiting for something?" she asked, before throwing a tile her way.
Katara ducked under it, before reaching her hand forward, ready to bend the water back out right underneath her.

Toph just grinned, and shot up a small pillar, which smacked her right in the wrist; Katara almost cried out from the jolt of pain she received, and she grasped her wrist, shaking her hand as she tried to figure out her next move. She decided to try another path, spinning her foot around, using it to bend the water out of the stone, which massed beneath Toph in a ring of water.

The blind girl could clearly sense it, but she had Aang to worry about, who had created a number of pillars around her, and was ready to start firing them at her. She weaved out of the way of each of the pillars, or blocked them with walls, before she threw the walls and pillars outward, forcing Katara and Aang to both move and dodge. When she did so, her feet were caught by something. Turning her eyes down, she pouted as she saw Toph had snared her feet into the ground, forcing to stand there as one of the walls careened towards her.

"No fair."

---

Sokka didn't really enjoy navy rations, but he wouldn't complain about having easy access to food; that was something they certainly lacked back in his village, so he would take what he got. His lunch was shared with the delegates, who he had been stuck with for two days so far. Their journey hadn't been too long, but they had been forced to wait around in a Fire Navy base while the airship was stocked up with more fuel and supplies for a round journey to the North Pole.

The craft was barely big enough, in terms of space for fuel and supplies, to manage such a journey, and he expected that the pilots might choose to have the craft taken out north on the deck of a battleship, before flying the rest of the way to their destination. The wind was already cold enough outside that he could barely tolerate going out onto the gangway, which had been an enjoyable experience back when they were flying over land.

The craft was tight, and clearly, due to its military-focused design, it was not well suited for a bunch of civilians who had nothing to do but sit around. The good thing was that the craft had a lot of ventilation and sources of heat, so that they would not get too cold, nor too hot, at least when they were away from the engines. But the space was the real problem; Sokka was used to being able to walk around, and even when on Appa, they would usually stop every few hours to relieve themselves and make food. By contrast, the aircraft was self-contained, where they could eat, sleep, wash, and relieve themselves without having to go out and camp, meaning they had no need to land until they reached the North Pole.

His travelling companions were at the very least interesting; Kibo he already knew well, given her vital role in helping organise their plot to seize Shengchang and then in their organising of public relief efforts in the aftermath of the two battles that had rocked the city. She was a keen, like-minded individual, and even if she was a bit too jingoistic and pro-Fire Nation for his taste, her loyalties were clear. She had supported Azula back in Yu Dao, though he'd never met her before they first came to Shengchang.

Mister Takumi he was less familiar with. From the few meetings he'd had with him, he came to the conclusion that the man himself was a bit of an enigma, having his own ambitions for wealth and power, aside from his support for Azula and her plans to claim the throne. He was under no impression that he'd sided with Azula out of the goodness of his heart. Even if he was rich, he was living in the colonies, with no clear association with the homeland, telling Sokka that he belonged to the lower rungs of the Fire Nation's elite.

The other two weren't as well known to him, but he had seen them in meetings. There was Jianhong, a master blacksmith, who was a man of few words, but seemed to be well-educated and versed in Fire Nation political affairs, despite being of Earth Kingdom heritage. The other man was Cheng, who Toph and Aang had met with before their seizure of power in Shengchang, and had since established himself as one of the leading figures of the Earth Kingdom community within Azula's ad hoc council, and was far more public in his opinions about the Fire Nation and their crimes against his people.

He was sitting in his own little corner of the hull, in the meagre quarters afforded to them; the airship was still a prototype, not big enough to house groups of soldiers or large amounts of supplies, so none of them had much space to themselves. There were some sleeping quarters underneath the bridge, which were a bit claustrophobic; he was sitting in one of the better lit areas in the common area, where they ate, rested, and spent the vast majority of their time. When he could muster the wind and cold, he would go out onto the exterior platforms, which were nice because of the isolation it afforded him.

So, when somebody came to speak to him, he couldn't help but sigh, knowing that he'd prefer to just continue reading through the reports that he'd brought along with him; they detailed the various details of Major Chui's plan to construct more airships, in partnership with Mister Takumi and the various shipyards they had seized in the outer colonies. The documents were long, discussing a large number of locations, parts, and suppliers that would be required for an efficient production line. The airships were massive, but with enough of them being produced at once, they would have a fleet in a matter of months.

"Sokka." Cheng addressed him, his expression intrigued, "What are you reading?"

"The plans for airship production... or a copy of them." he explained, the bartender huffing before he sat himself down beside him.

"And what will her majesty do with them?" he asked Sokka, the unnecessary emphasis on 'her majesty' telling him that his respect for Azula was only out of necessity; he must not have liked or trusted her very much, though he could not blame the man for thinking so.

"Defeat her father." he told him the blunt fact of the matter, though he knew that Cheng was referring to what would come after that, "She is not going to force the Earth Kingdom to comply to any demands with these new weapons." he tried to reassure him, not knowing if Cheng would even believe his words; he was, after all, 'her puppet', in the eyes of a few, perhaps many in the Earth Kingdom.

Cheng's stare was cold and uncaring, but he let out a smile after a few good moments of silence, "You don't seem to be lying. Good. Well... it's either that, or you're a fool."

"I've been called that before." he conceded, before raising a finger, "Not that I agree with you."

"Being able to read and make a plan doesn't make you wise." he warned him, though his expression softened, "I've heard about your plans, and your achievements. You're not too bad for a kid."

"I'm nearly a man." he retorted, though not sharply; he was just stating a fact- he was already seventeen, "And I never said I was wise. I'm just not a fool... maybe once, but never again."

"Jaded already?" he jabbed with a humoured look, before his face hardened, "I don't mean to assume, but you've been in battle before... and I don't mean being the sideshow for that Jianren guy and the Princess. I mean a real fight."

"Oh yeah... a few times."

He recalled the battles he had fought in before he came into Azula's service; they were hard, vicious, but usually short. That was the way asymmetrical warfare worked; one side had to take every advantage they could, because numbers and supplies weren't on their side. He had never killed anyone before that deserter, however; he had fought hard, but treated his enemies with mercy; most of them were soldiers and sailors, not much older than himself. He had anger, because of what happened to his mother, but that grudge wasn't enough to make him kill a man.

"And you've killed?"

"Yes." he confirmed, before grimacing, realising that the man he killed back in the forest all those months ago was like Cheng himself; through no fault of his own, he had deserted, and been left for dead.

He had to pick up the pieces, and rebuild his life, beyond that as a soldier fighting for his nation; the difference was that the deserter met his hands fighting over nothing, and Cheng sat before him comfortable, safe, and seemingly hopeful. Not as hopeful as he might have liked, but pessimism could come easy to somebody who'd seen their life torn apart.

"The first time is always the worst." he warned him calmly, "I can tell from your eyes... it was something you regret."

"The man probably didn't deserve it." he admitted, "But he was trying to kill us."

"Us?" Cheng raised a brow, "You and your warriors?"

"No, me and Azula." he clarified, making the barkeep huff.

"So, you already loved her then?" he asked, making Sokka reel; he hadn't expected him to jump to that conclusion- he wasn't surprised that he'd figured out about their relationship, but he was assuming too much of it.

"N-no... that was the day after I met her. It... it wasn't personal. I did what I had to to survive." he tried to explain himself, "I... I feel that might have been the reason she even trusted me. I killed somebody to protect her."

"Well... I guess we're all lucky that happened then."

Sokka pulled his knees up and turned his eyes toward the metal hull, unwilling to look at Cheng as he thought about his guilt, "Luck had nothing to do with it... we built respect for each other, and it saved both our butts in the end."

"Not the world, though." he mumbled, and the Water Tribesman's eyes darted back toward him.

"What?"

"Her little march from Ba Sing Se... to 'liberate' the colonies or whatever, that was what started this war. She did; not the old Fire Lord, or the dead Fire Lord... her." he gave his view; Sokka was unsure if he was just making the argument for the sake of trying to test him, or if he genuinely blamed Azula for the circumstances they found themselves in.

"Are... are you serious?" he pressed Cheng, "I mean, do you really believe that?"

"It's not about what I believe, it's about the facts." he retorted, which frustrated Sokka, as it was clear he was talking about what he believed in.

"The fact was Zuko overthrew his father... and everyone thought he was dead." Sokka stressed, not trying to show too much emotion; he was trying to be cordial with the man, and wanted to make him see his own side, "If your brother killed your father, what would you do?"

"Make sure he will be punished." Cheng gave his view, and his eyes darted about, considering what he had just implied, "I mean... I understand her actions, but after speaking to her highness, I thought she would have been smarter about it." he clarified, and Sokka let out a sigh.

"Yeah, I hoped the same."

"And you still helped her?"

"She made a promise... I had to make sure she saw it through." he argued, though his words weren't wholly truthful; he could have just left Ba Sing Se with Bato, and he would have been fine- the Princess would have probably let him leave after saving her skin all those times, "No... I just wanted to try and help her see the truth."

Cheng snickered, and offered him a hand, "Well then, Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, you seemed to have succeeded."

"Seemed to succeed at what?" he heard Kibo address them, both of them turning to face her; she was crouched over, dodging a pipe that hung over the roof, but her eyes were dead on them.

"Persuading the Princess to actually consider us as human beings... I believe that's what you meant, Sokka?" Cheng questioned, and Sokka nodded.

"Yeah, that's right."

"Many people in the Fire Nation still think we're superior to the Earth Kingdom... inherently, that is." Kibo noted, and Cheng grimaced.

"You're... you're not one of them, are you?"

"My family was dirt poor. They came from the outer islands... our old village was supposedly demolished to make way for a massive iron mine." she described her background, which he hadn't actually heard much about; the girl mostly talked about her political aspirations, and the sense of injustice she felt about the position of those poor colonists that lived in cities like Yu Dao and Shengchang.

"And?" he pressed her, the girl just chuckling.

"Well... I was under no assumption that I was superior. My family might have made something for themselves, but that was by working with the local people." Kibo clarified, "That helped me figure out that we could only build our lives up together, not to just divide ourselves up again. That would just cause another war."

"So, you want Shengchang to remain in the Fire Nation?" he asked her, and she shrugged.

"No, I just want everyone there to be able to live and work freely. I don't want a corrupt Governor, immoral businessmen, a military dictatorship, or some Earth Kingdom nobles ruling it." she argued her view, making Sokka smile; she had aspirations that he could agree with wholeheartedly- he couldn't say the same for a lot of other people he'd met on his journeys across the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes.

Cheng furrowed his brow, before sighing, "Well, I think that's admirable." he gave his opinion, "I just don't think the scars of the war can be easily ignored."

"Nobody does." Sokka assured him, "I have every reason to hate the Fire Nation, but I can't blame every single person in it for what's happened to me."

The barkeep seemed interested about what he failed to mention, but he didn't press the matter; he didn't need to know about Sokka's mother. It was a matter he preferred to avoid discussing, especially with people he didn't know well.

"Blame can go around the world forever." Kibo spoke up, "But that won't solve anything... will it?"

"Only action will. Justice." Cheng acknowledged, and all of them smiled, seeming to be in agreement.

"What were you talking about before you were talking about the Princess?"

"That's just what we were talking about." the barkeep clarified, before cringing, "I meant to ask about the airships, and what the Fire Nation will do with them?"

"Stop Ozai." Kibo said what Sokka already had, "I don't think she'll turn them against your people, if that's what you're thinking. Plus... the Earth Kingdom is pretty good at holing themselves up to defend. Airships are actually pretty useless against them... you fought in the mines, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did." he nodded, before scrunching his lips, "Well, that wasn't the assurance I was looking for, but I appreciate it."

"Don't be overconfident about your strengths." Sokka warned him, "The Northern Water Tribe has that in droves, and they nearly lost their greatest strength with a half-arsed plan co-opted by a crazy Admiral."

"Zhao." Kibo mumbled, before grimacing, "Lots of people I know were crippled... or worse, because of what he did that night."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that." Sokka grimaced, knowing that if he had been more frank with Azula about her plans, she might have been able to force the Admiral to remain away, letting them handle the situation in Yu Dao without all the destruction he wrought.

He knew Zhao acted on his own, but the man ought to have known his place; he had learnt it, only after being beaten so hard that even Sokka felt a little sorry for him. Jianhong cleared his throat, getting their attention.

"Yes?" Cheng addressed him, the blacksmith crossing his arms.

"I'm wondering what we can actually offer the Northern Water Tribe." he admitted, "They have their own industries, and are clearly surviving well enough on their own."

"I can't say how prosperous they actually are." Sokka conceded, "I come from the south, and we're barely surviving as is. So, in comparison, the Northern Water Tribe seems nice, but I didn't see any massive factories, or a well trained army, barring their waterbenders."

"They've never seen an actual battle." Cheng realised, "I mean, other than whatever Azula and her forces gave them when they rammed that battleship into the city walls." he recalled the story; he let out a chuckle at the thought of it, before his expression hardened, "I can't say we can offer much in Shengchang, unless they're in dire need of steel."

"They could definitely use some steel if they want to build factories like the ones we have." Jianhong acknowledged, before clearing his throat, "I mean, like those the guy upstairs has." he spoke more quietly.

"Is it really a good idea to aid somebody who mightn't actually help us in return?" Kibo posed her own question, making Sokka sigh.

"Yeah, well that's part of the reason we're going. We can't force them to help, so we've got to ease them into it."

"Your people came to help the Earth Kingdom, didn't they?" Cheng asked, "Why can't they intervene in this war?"

"Because they've lost nothing to the Fire Nation. The only interest they'd have in coming south would be to make some money off the rest of us once the dust settles."

"That's a pretty cold way of looking at things." Jianhong acknowledged, before cringing, "It also happens to be exactly what I was imagining."

"Everybody is self interested. That's why you're on this airship. To represent yourselves and your communities, so you can benefit from the Northern Water Tribe not... just sitting around, holed up behind walls of ice."

"Sokka." he heard a voice address him, and the Water Tribesman turned his head to see Mister Takumi by the ladder, leading back up towards the bridge, "There's a smoke signal."

"A smoke signal?" he raised a brow, and clambored back over to the ladder, climbing up it after Takumi.

When the two of them reached the bridge, the pilots were quietly chatting amongst themselves, clearly nervous. Sokka stepped ahead of Mister Takumi, and cleared his throat, "What's the signal telling us?"

"Hostile ships are approaching." one of the pilots explained, before gesturing to their left, which indicated to the west, "From the west."

"I thought that area was secured when the fleet went to Yingang." he recalled the most recent operation Azula's fleet had made in the area.

"The ocean is a big place, sir." the other pilot commented, "Without a proper blockade, they can slip through... and with the icefields to the north, a proper blockade is infeasible."

"Great." he commented, making sure he sounded sufficiently sarcastic so the pilots would understand his frustration, "You'd think that you guys would have figured out how to deal with icebergs by now." he argued, and the pilots looked at each other with confusion.

"Well... we're not really that familiar with them, sir." the same pilot conceded, "In any case... the enemy is coming this way."

"They're going to the base... or maybe all of our naval bases." he guessed, knowing that the ships would be aiming to either stop them from being supplied by sea, or aimed to directly attack their bases, and leave them without any access to their ships, nor their supply hubs.

Sokka was not a master of logistics, but he was well aware of the vital link the sea was in all of their operations. It was the only way they could move supplies about with haste, barring railroads, which were underdeveloped in the province their forces were concentrated in. That was presumably the reason why the forces decided to base themselves there, as it would be harder for either Zuko or Ozai's loyalists to attack.

"What is your command, sir?" the second pilot asked, and Sokka crossed his arms.

"Protecting our ships... and by extension, our bases, is of higher priority than this mission." he admitted, "We will divert, but only for as long as is necessary. Am I understood?" he asked the pilots, who nodded, turning their wheels to reorient the craft towards the west.

Mister Takumi was thrown off balance, grabbing a pipe above his head to keep himself steady; Sokka remained still with his crossed arms, familiar enough with kayaks and smaller Water Tribe boats to not be fazed by a little hiccup.

He turned to face the industrialist, "You should go tell the others that we'll be heading off course, and into a combat zone."

"Uh..." he mumbled, seeming unsure of himself, "We are?"

"Well, I could drop you all off on a battleship along the way, but we might have to fly back towards the North Pole... or the mainland, and urgently. So, I'd prefer if we all remained on board."

"Couldn't we be attacked?" he asked, and Sokka chuckled.

"Of course... but I know the capabilities of this craft. As long as we remain high, fast, or both, no flimsy artillery pieces will dare to throw anything at us." he reassured him, "There is nothing like this craft... not yet, at least. This is the demonstration that I think you'd like to see."

"I... I would prefer to avoid a battle." he admitted, and the Water Tribesman shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, so would I. My responsibilities say otherwise." he reminded him of his role; he was Azula's second, and even if he was not from the Fire Nation, he was now invested in the conflict because of his relationship with the Princess.

He stepped past Mister Takumi, and saw that the blacksmith, Jianhong, was standing by the ladder leading into their quarters, with an unsure look on his face, "We're going into battle?" he asked, and Soka narrowed his eyes.

"You heard what the pilots said, didn't you?" he asked, and Jianhong nodded, "Then I don't need to say anything else... other than that you should prepare to remain in place. The craft will be doing more than just a little turn." he gave him what he believed was a sufficient warning.

The blacksmith nodded anxiously, and quickly scaled back down the ladder, where he repeated what he had heard to Cheng and Kibo; Sokka strode past the ladder and made his way through the engine room. He turned his gaze down to the engineers who were heaving coal into the engines.

"We're moving towards enemy ships. Get ready." he ordered them, and they saluted him before picking up their tools.

Sokka continued along to the door at the end of the gangway; he opened it up, and saw his 'guards', as they now were, sitting by the railing. They both turned to face him, seeming confused; their faces were revealed, so he couldn't make the excuse that he didn't know who they were. Ken and Geng were their names, and though he wasn't all too familiar with them, he recognised their faces from all the time he'd spent with the guards, sharing quarters, training together, and when they had fought together on the field of battle. They were both not well humoured, not enjoying his jokes, but they seemed to be friendly and competent enough, the latter expected given they were elite guards expected to protect the Fire Lord with their lives.

"What happened? Is her majesty in danger?" Ken asked, and Sokka shook his head.

"No, the pilots have spotted a signal to the west... you might have seen it sitting here. Enemy ships are approaching."

"Of course they are." Geng grumbled under his breath, "So, we're diverting to go deal with them?"

"Well, I think we have to aid the fleet. If the enemy reaches our ports, then it'll be a lot harder for us to do much about anything."

"I enjoy having supplies. If the rations get any worse than they've already been, I'll go back to that bloody village and work for food there." Ken gave his opinion on the matter, indicating that he hadn't enjoyed his time in Hungu.

"What, you didn't like it there?" Sokka pressed him, and the guard just sighed before putting his helmet back on.

"The whole ordeal was mind-numbing. We're guards, not peasants."

"I mean, you are literally a peasant, Ken." Geng clarified, and the other guard punched his comrade in the thigh, which clearly couldn't have hurt him at all; he let out a little grunt and snickered, "Yeah, well, I'm sure your parents wouldn't appreciate you saying that."

"They have nothing but praise for me. I'm honouring my family by being here, serving the Fire Lord." he argued, before he turned his head, "I mean... I'm not protecting her at this very moment, but we're still doing our jobs. That's much better than what we were doing before."

"What, it didn't make you nostalgic for home?" Geng pressed him, and Ken just pointed at his comrade as he stood up.

"That's the exact bloody problem. I can't help but think about all the time I've missed away from my family because of this war." he raised his voice, which was already quite loud to compensate for the sound of the whirring wind around them.

"Yeah, I understand." Sokka assured him with a hand on his shoulder, and Ken scoffed.

"Weren't you spending all that time hiding away with her in your village?"

"I'm not talking about then. My father... he was in a situation similar to yours right now. Him and all the other men were away for years." he explained what had happened all those years ago; he'd almost forgotten about it, given the time he spent fighting with the warriors, and then the time stuck with Azula.

Those restless summer days and winter nights, spent fishing, hunting, and training the young boys of the village, even when they'd refuse to listen to him. He was always anxious, wishing that his father would just come home, hoping that he was safe. He only felt like that once more, and that was after Azula left him paralysed in Hungu when she went off to trick Zhao; he knew that she was getting herself into trouble, but he couldn't do anything about it, not in any way that would have made things better and stopped the Admiral from doing the same stupid moves he already did.

"Sorry." Ken apologised quietly, before he leaned over the railing, glancing up the length of the airship, towards their target; Sokka had already noticed the flotilla of ships out the window, which were sailing west towards their enemies.

Of those ships, he couldn't make out much other than the smokestacks that were just grey smudges on the horizon. He turned his attention back to Ken, and offered a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry about it. You won't have to worry about being stuck away from your family much longer."

"How quick can you end a war like this?" Geng asked him, sounding sceptical of his optimism.

"With weapons like this... it's only a matter of getting them where they need to be." he explained his reasoning, holding a hand on one of the pipes that hung over their heads, feeling the heat and vibrations coming from it.

He stepped over to the railing on the port side of the airship, watching as the ships in the distance grew larger, and the airship itself began to turn as it prepared to anchor itself to the ship. The engineers were already getting out, with thick ropes in hand, which they tossed down from the railing to the battleship below. The sailors grabbed them, and tied the ropes to the ship's deck; Sokka nodded in approval, and gave a thumbs up to the men down below, though he was unsure if they could even see him with the glare of the midday sun and the shadow of the airship encompassing them.

He turned around and pulled the lever beside the door, which unfurled the rope and wood ladder that rolled out from a compartment above them, hanging down through a narrow gap down which they could climb. They didn't have the time to land the airship properly, as he would need to speak with the commanding officer and immediately leave, though to where would be determined by what they told him. Their mission to the North Pole was second to any military tasks required of them, though those tasks could involve simply reporting on the movements of enemy ships, to as far as bombing them, or circling back towards their main base to provide protection.

He then made his way down the ladder with haste, noticing that a sailor had grabbed it for him to help steady the rungs as he scaled down to the deck; once he arrived, he pat the sailor on the shoulder and offered a smile, appreciative of his help. Sokka glanced about, hoping the commanding officer would show up soon; he did, accompanied by a junior officer and a few guards, telling him that he was a ranking commander.

"Good day, Sir." the officer addressed him, amusing him with the formality, but he kept a straight face.

"And to you, Commander." he addressed him back, giving a curt bow as a sign of respect before gesturing towards the smokestacks to their west, "I assume you have a report to give."

"We do." he confirmed, stepping closer, "Earlier this morning, we spotted the ships to the west while undergoing routine patrols of the coastal waters. We've identified them as ships flagged under the banner of Ozai. They presumably came here all the way of the Fire Nation homeland... or one of the colonial ports they have control of." he explained what he knew, clenching the fist he had pointed towards the ships, "We cannot let them approach our base of operations."

"I know." he agreed, "Do you have any ideas about where exactly they are headed?"

"Given their northeasterly trajectory, I would say they intend to either reach the Northern Water Tribe, or swing back around to the base, away from the coast where they'd be more easily detected." he gave his theory, and Sokka sighed.

"They already got found... so, the North Pole makes more sense." he admitted, "Zhao?"

"No... he's of little use by himself. War Minister Qin, and whatever designs for the airships he had... they will be far more useful. I guess they were taken when he fell into Water Tribe custody."

"I wouldn't know." he conceded, "We left as soon as we could... Azula, well, she overstayed any welcome she may have been offered." he clarified, before crossing his arms, knowing that the Commander would have a battleplan, "Where to from here?"

"I have ordered every ship in the vicinity to converge on the enemy group and surround them."

"Then what?" Sokka asked, guessing that they planned to sink or capture the enemy ships.

"Take any ship that surrenders, and sink the rest. Make it a lesson for any who might oppose the might of her majesty's fleet." he declared his intentions, and Sokka smirked.

"I have a better idea, Commander... uh, what is your name?" he asked the officer, placing a hand on his chestplate.

"Commander Junho." he identified himself, and the warrior gestured to the airship above him.

"Give me seventeen of your best firebenders, and I will bring the commander of the flotilla to you in chains... or as ashes. Whichever he prefers."

"That is a bold claim to make." Junho conceded though the smile on his face told him that he had his confidence, "Your airship can outmanoeuvre their catapults?"

"We won't need to. We have chains to lower ourselves down onto the deck. There's twenty chains ready... so, who will come?" he asked, and Junho's eyes narrowed upon him; the silence didn't last long, as a masked firebender stepped forward to volunteer.

"I will do my duty to my country sir, if you'll allow it." he declared, and Junho turned before sighing.

"Gather sixteen others, and fast. I doubt his highness will wait for long." he ordered the firebender, who nodded.

Sokka took a few moments to realise who 'his highness' was, but by the time he had, Ken had already stepped up to his side, "So, are you our Prince Consort?" he asked him in jest, making Sokka cringe as he saw the officers eye him with a mixture of confusion and distaste.

That told him all he needed to know about their opinions of him, and he turned around, straightened his posture and said what needed to be.

"I am your commanding officer." he declared with as serious a tone he could muster, "Sir is more than sufficient."

"Uh... yes, sir." Ken acknowledged his words with a salute, Geng following, before all the officers did the same.

"Did you have any directions for engagement with the enemy, sir?" one of the officers questioned him, Junho eyeing his subordinate with frustration, given he was the one he ought to be questioning.

"Commander Junho put it nicely. Seize every ship you can... but do not let them get away. Destroy their engines and let them go adrift if you can't seize them. Either way, they won't be returning to your homeland, or taking any of our bases." he gave his views, not wanting to annoy or upstage the commanding officer present; he didn't know the man, but he certainly didn't want to get on his bad side.

"Thank you, sir." Junho addressed him with a smile of gratitude, before stiffening his lip, "You heard him, send out the messenger hawks. Warn our comrades landside, and get the ships in formation. I will not have these fiends getting any closer to our base than they already are!" he ordered his officers, who saluted him and strode off to go send out the messages required, and prepare the ship for battle.

The Commander turned his attention back towards Sokka, "Are you in need of any supplies or armaments for your craft?"

"Not at the moment." he answered, knowing that they were already stocked up on fuel and explosives, "After we handle these ships... then certainly we will need a resupply."

"My deck is yours, Sokka." he assured him with a salute, and the Water Tribesman saluted back, feeling the need to acknowledge the man as a peer; he was certainly far older and more experienced in battle than Sokka was, but his willingness to show respect to his technical superior was admirable.

"By the time you reach the battleship, we'll have it ready for you." he assured him, Junho smirking as Sokka turned and began to climb up the rungs of the ladder.

The guards followed suit, and glancing back down, he saw some firebenders filing out, putting their helmets on and fastening their armour as they approached the ladder; he realised that it might be a little clunky for them to get up in such heavy attire. His guards were far more used to it, having taken the airship around and trained using it, scaling up and down the ladder before they even attacked Shengchang.

He was a little slower, but with light armour, he was advantaged over the firebenders; once he reached the top, he stood by the railing and helped each firebender up into the airship, directing them inside. They nodded and shook his hand, their attitude as deferential as Junho's had been; once the last firebender scaled the ladder, he pulled the lever and forced the ladder to be rolled back up into the airship, quickly ascending until it was wound up entirely. The pilots must have seen that, and began to rotate the airship; the anchoring ropes were untied, and with that, the airship began to speed up, flying westward.

The wind flickered through his hair, making Sokka shake his head as his warrior's wolf tail came undone; he stepped inside to tie his hair up, eyeing the firebenders as they leaned against the railing, silent as the engines hummed loudly below. He tied his hair up, and cleared his throat.

"You'll need to go out and put on the harnesses so you can drop down onto the ship." he explained, "If you follow me, I'll show you how it's done."

The firebenders nodded cautiously, and filed back outside onto the railing. Below them, he could see the sea rushing past beneath them, not very far down, as the airship had remained low, presumably to make landing quicker; he trusted the pilots with his life, but that didn't make him any less nervous as he stepped out to a harness, and hung it over his torso.

"Watch carefully." he warned the men as he grabbed each leather band and began fastening them around his torso, shoulders, and hips, leaving him snuggly tied to the chain that would drop him down to the ship.

The firebenders saw and repeated in suit, quickly fanning out to each drop point, putting on their own harnesses, and checking each other to make sure they were ready. The wind began to die down, and that told him what was about to happen. The airship then turned sharply, his eyes darting down to the water, which was replaced with a dark metal deck, lying closer to him than the bridge of the airship was at that very moment.

Then, he kicked himself off, and let the chain do its work, unfurling as he drew out his boomerang, tossing it through the air as he descended, smacking a firebender in his head, throwing him down onto the deck; some more were running out onto the deck, but by the time they had got to him, he'd already unlocked the chain, and had his hands up, ready to show them some new tricks. Ty Lee was a much better teacher when it came to chi-blocking, and even if he was slower, he had the strength to back up each and every blow.

"It's him!" one of the firebenders called him out, "It's the Water Tribesman!"

He rolled his eyes and lunged at the man, kicking him square in the shin before jabbing his gut, disabling his bending; when he tried to firebend at Sokka's uncovered face, he was sorely disappointed. He swung his hand around, chopping him in the back of the neck, before kicking him over.

"You better learn my name, or I won't just be chi-blocking you."

---

Toph had done construction work before in New Omashu, but it was underground, digging tunnels that were mostly just for defensive purposes. It was a change of pace to be building homes, walls, and roads; a whole new town was being built on the edge of what was a Fire Nation base. She imagined, given the strategic location at the end of a bay, near a river's mouth, there must have been an Earth Kingdom village there before the Fire Nation invaded. If it had been there, she couldn't find any remnants of it, barring a few old stone fences that stood no taller than her knees.

The work wasn't that hard, given her skill and finesse when it came to earthbending, but it was boring; the only thing she had to lighten the mood was Aang, who had tagged along to help build some more houses with her. She knew he needed the earthbending practice, so she couldn't refuse him; she didn't want to admit that she'd come to appreciate his company. He was lighthearted and easy-going, unlike a lot of the fighters she'd dealt with, either there with Jianren and the others, or back in New Omashu; she was surprised he'd kept up such an attitude after what she'd heard about his life.

He was born to some nameless Air Nomads he never knew, given to be raised by the monks. He was raised without any parents, and lived what sounded like an easy-going childhood, though lacking in that familial connection. She would be jealous if it weren't disturbing and unnerving to think a whole people lived like that; she disdained her parents, but couldn't fathom nobody having any at all.

He found out he was the Avatar at the age of twelve; she didn't know much about the Avatars but she was aware that was an unusually young age for him to be informed of his nature. The Air Nomads must have been aware of the coming war, but Aang certainly wasn't; he was separated from his master, and fled to the South Pole. He was frozen in the ice for over a century, and had to come to grips with the fact everyone he knew was gone, barring King Bumi, who was surprisingly his childhood friend. Though, as she came to know the boy, it made a lot of sense; the two of them had similar attitudes, and though the Avatar was nowhere near as whimsical and chaotic as the old king, he wasn't a hardarse.

That's why she preferred hanging around him to Katara, though Toph could at least admit she had a better outlook than most of the other people she knew. All of them, even the Princess of the Fire Nation, renowned for her ruthlessness and political acumen, were surprisingly optimistic. It seemed that nothing fazed them, and she admired that; she was never much afraid of things herself, having shed that once she left home and all the expectations her parents laid upon her.

Aang was humming some tune as he earthbent up some interior walls of the house they were making, as hardened the surfaces and made sure it was as clean and flat as she could make it. She imagined that wooden floors would be laid down, and the walls plastered or lined with wood once people actually moved in; she liked a home of stone, for its obvious benefits to her seismic sense, but she doubted most people could tolerate such a dull place.

"Hey Toph." the boy spoke up, stopping his tune, "What's the biggest animal you've eaten?" he asked her, making her snort.

"Aren't you a vegetarian?" she retorted, knowing that he would likely be disturbed by any answer she gave.

"Yeah, that's why I'm asking. I was just thinking about lunch, and how people like to eat things like pig-chicken. They aren't very big... I've seen a lot of big animals out in the world."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." she murmured, before thinking back to her time in the wilds, between her time in New Omashu and Gaoling.

"A platypus bear." she recalled her biggest hunt; it was less of a hunt and more the creature frightening her, attacking her, and then getting its body crushed by a boulder.

She decided to use the implements she had to butcher the creature and cook some of its meat; she'd taken some of its fur, and later got it tanned, making it into the leather bag she used to carry most of her things. She couldn't take much, and was forced to let the local wildlife eat the rest of the carcass; some scavengers showed up later, shooed them away, and took it for themselves. Toph had to hide herself in a cave nearby, and they didn't find her; she was glad for that, not wanting to fight and unintentionally cripple some strangers because they thought she was trying to take 'their' food.

"Uh-huh." Aang mumbled as he pulled up another wall, "That's pretty big."

"I couldn't eat all of it... obviously." she assured him, "I didn't go out of my way to make it dinner or anything like that. It attacked me."

He nodded, before nodding along, "Some animals are afraid of people. Well, a lot of them are." he acknowledged, "You should try and see it from their eyes... I mean, you get what I mean." he explained, cringing at his own statement.

She laughed at his unintentional blind joke, and patted him on the back, "Ah, don't be so hard on yourself... you're right, though. I wasn't thinking about what the platypus bear wanted; it probably just wanted me out of its territory."

"I think we're done here." Aang noted with his hands on his hips, "Wanna start on another?"

"Not yet." she warned him, pointing above them, "There's no roof."

"Oh." he mumbled, his head turning towards the sky, "How are you gonna do that?" he asked, and she smirked.

"It's simple really." she assured him, "I mean, you could make something with wood, thatch, or shingles, but there's a much more straightforward thing to do when you're an earthbender." she explained, stepping outside into the open field; it was mostly dirt with some tufts of grass, the ground having been torn apart a few times from all the 'mining' they were doing for the parts of the houses they were building.

She reached her hands out, Aang stepping out beside her, watching her as she bent out a whole square of earth, cutting it out from the earth before sweeping one hand over to rip out the top layer, getting rid of any grass and their roots. She then clenched her hands, hardening the square layer of dirt, its height slowly shrinking as it compressed. Once it was narrow and hardened, she then lifted the slab of earth higher, and hoisted it up on top of the walls they had already built, letting it snuggly fit in between the four exterior walls of the house.

Toph slapped her hands together, as if to clean them, and smirked, "So, you want to make another?"

"How many are we going to make today?"

"As many as we can be bothered making. There are going to be a lot of people living here."

"Couldn't we make taller, bigger houses, for multiple families?" he asked her, and she sighed.

"Well, yes... but that's harder. Stone and earth don't work as well as wood when you're trying to make something tall and complicated." she conceded, "I'd have to get some directions on how to make something like that... you know, because I can't read." she explained her limitations in terms of learning anything about construction.

"Ah... yeah. I guess nobody's teaching you how to build fancy houses." he mumbled, scratching the back of his scalp before he stepped over to the next open space where some slabs of earth had already been prepared, ready to be bent into walls for another house.

"Nobody here has seen a manor before in their lives, and I doubt any of them have seen the kind of complexes you're talking about... unless they saw them in Shengchang, when we attacked the place." she acknowledged the general lack of knowledge of the fighters; some of them were quite skilled when it came to building, but they were peasants, coming from small villages where they weren't expected to build anything bigger than a single-storeyed house.

"Well... it's not bad." he reassured her, "That house looks nice... I mean, there's no furniture, but other than that, I could easily stay in there."

"You're easy to please, Air Nomad." Toph warned him, "I'd be better off asking somebody who doesn't spend most of their time on the back of a giant beast."

"Hey, don't call Appa a beast. He's a giant friend." he corrected her; that made her smile, amused by his attitude.

"And would your friend bite a person?"

"If they annoyed him." he acknowledged, "But he's a vegetarian, like me. He'd never eat somebody."

"Yeah, I guessed that... but biting, that's pretty beastly." she argued her point, before she picked up one of the walls with her bending, shoving it over to where she wanted it to be.

Aang scrunched his lips, seeming unhappy with her assessment of his sky-bison, but he didn't complain; he instead followed her lead, and bent one of the slabs of stone up, moving it to stand as a wall. Once it was next to the one she had put up, Toph reached her hand towards the edges of each, and bent the stone together, moulding both walls into one solid piece. She stepped over and picked up another piece, lining it up against the wall she'd put down, while Aang did the same with his wall; he struggled to pick up the walls and handle them, but was able to keep one edge stuck on the ground, allowing him to slide the wall on the ground like a miner might when taking a piece of stone from a quarry.

He looked her way, and copied what she had done, moulding the walls to each other, leaving a single exterior wall that was twice as long. She did that with her wall as well, before they both stepped over to the pile of slabs. They picked up one more each, and put them perpendicular to the ends of each wall, starting to curl the walls back towards each other in a square shape. Those walls were then moulded to the rest on the edges, and they grabbed the last two walls, placing them so they would form a whole square, with no gaps. She stood on the inside, while Aang was outside, and they moulded the walls to the rest of the structure, before moulding each of them to each other at the corner.

"Uh... so, the door." Aang reminded her of the next step, and she stepped forward, remembering where the street would be, relative to the house, and grasped at the wall closest to it.

All it took was a thrust of her hands to dislodge a door shaped hole from the wall, before shooting said piece of the wall out on the ground, where it fell over, making a loud thud; that got the attention of the other earthbenders, who laughed at her carefree way of building.

"Careful there, Toph!" Hua warned her, "Don't want to hit an oldie. They see worse than you."

She got cussed out by a few of the older fighters, and the younger ones laughed at her jab; Aang even seemed a little amused, and paced around to where she was standing, by the new doorway.

"Do we do the windows now?" he asked, and she pointed to the wall beside her.

"Carve them out. We can reuse the leftover bits of earth." she directed him; he did just as expected, placing his hands on the wall to carve out windows, following the size and shape they'd already set out when they started working on the houses.

They were narrow, small windows, big enough that somebody could stick their head or an arm through, but not much else. She didn't have to look out of them, so it certainly wasn't her problem. She found windows as a whole quite redundant, but she didn't want to rant about that to Aang, who wouldn't get it with his reliance on sight. Perhaps after a bit more training with seismic sense, he would understand how she saw things.

She began to do the same, carving out three windows on each wall, except the one that had the door; it didn't take them that long at all to carve them out, though Toph made sure to check each and flatten the edges, making sure the shapes were correct. She may have been blind, but that made her no less aware of the human desire for symmetry and ordered shape. Once they were done with the windows, then came time for another roof, though she had to first clear out the floor beneath them; Aang realised what she was going to do, and dashed out of the house, allowing her to pull up tiles from the earth, and cleared off the grass and topsoil from the ground. It was left around, forming a mess, but Aang was already prepared for that, bending some water from a waterskin he was carrying around, and using that to sweep up the grass and soil, dumping it outside.

"Nice." he acknowledged their achievement, before he raised a finger, "Can I try?"

"If you break the house, you're fixing it." she warned him, crossing her arms; her implicit permission was understood, and he stepped out into the nearby field, raising his hands up.

She stepped up beside him, noticing that he was being quite rigid and stiff in his motions; though earthbending was more straightforward and less flowy than the other bending styles, one still needed to be fluid and constant in their motions. Otherwise, they could get stuck; her mind was stuck on combat, instead of construction, but she thought the principle still applied.

"Stop being so rigid." she offered some criticism, tapping on his left arm.

Aang seemed a little surprised, but he nodded, moving his hands more smoothly, allowing him to cut the slab of earth out of the ground. He then followed what she had done, sweeping topsoil and grass off the top, before clenching his hands, hardening the earth into a solid slab. He was quick at it too, given his relative lack of practice and skill compared to the other earthbenders around.

She couldn't sense everything, given he had lifted the slab off the ground, and had to infer what he was doing from his hand movements and the debris falling to the ground. However, she could sense the slab as it slotted it on the roof, slightly ajar, as he'd made it too big. Toph snickered, and flicked her right hand up, shaving off the excess and tossing it into the air, before she threw it down, like a giant spear, into the ground. It struck right by Aang, who yelped out in fear, and his heartbeat hastened in tandem.

He seemed poised to try and smack her for doing that, but held himself back, "Th-that... that wasn't funny."

"Yeah, it was." she disagreed, before stretching her arms up into the air, "Another one done."

"Can we take a break?" he asked, and Toph shrugged.

"Eh, I guess I could go for some lunch." she admitted, patting her stomach before she sensed around, wanting an idea of what the others were doing; everyone was still working, though unsurprisingly, a few were slacking off.

Given they were earthbenders, it was very easy for them to get the job done quickly, so they spent a lot of time fluffing around. At the end of the day, they got somewhere to sleep, and some free food, so they couldn't complain. It was much better than being out in the woods, fighting for their lives; she could tell that the fighters had come to relax over time, as they were quite easy-going in comparison to when she first met them upon her arrival at the base.

Aang gestured to the bag he had slung over his shoulder, and pulled out something; Toph reached her hand out, and he gave her what she discerned to be a rice cracker. She pouted, feeling it was the most underwhelming possible lunch for them to eat.

"Rice crackers, really?"

"Well, do you want to walk back to the base and get a proper lunch?" he asked her, and she sighed, knowing she'd prefer to get more work done before they went back; though Toph wasn't that tired, she knew she could excuse herself from working any more after lunch by saying she had to train Aang, and she wanted to avoid giving herself the option.

Hard work was something Toph valued, but given how she was raised, she was inclined to relax and find the easiest solution to her problems. Even if she applied that to building the houses, she didn't want to apply that to everything, as it would involve her delegating the work to her 'lessers', that being the fighters. Part of her that hated everything her father and their family stood for told her to never stoop to that level. Another part of her yearned to relax and spend some time as she did back in her family estate.

She took a bite of the rice cracker and raised her left hand, creating a seat for herself, sitting herself down on the block of earth. Aang did the same, and sat himself down across from her as he ate his own cracker. He didn't seem too entertained by the meagre food, as he quickly began to press her with random questions.

"So, what are you gonna do after this?"

"Probably test your skills, Twinkletoes." she warned him, "Your earthbending's getting better, but you need to get a handle on seismic sense. It's... well, if you can see and use it, how could anyone beat you in a fight?" she asked him rhetorically, the boy humming along.

"I would like to get better." he assured her, "But I wanna relax. You know, you, me, Katara. Maybe we can tell some funny stories. That's always a good one."

"Funny stories?" she raised a brow, before smirking, "I know a few, but they mightn't interest you that much."

"Why not?"

"Well, they're all from when I used to be a wrestler. I was the champion back in Earth Rumble." she explained, knowing that Aang wouldn't be all too familiar with how it all worked, and how she was able to make a fool out of her opponents, without making them her enemies.

It was all fun and games, making a good show for the crowd, which ensured more people came along, and then, when she ultimately won, she got that sweet prize money to spend on whatever she liked. New gear, mostly, as that was the one thing her parents wouldn't buy for her; they never saw her earthbending potential, and unless they had learned about her feats in New Omashu and now fighting beside the Avatar, they probably never would. She had learned without any stupid tutors, or the funny forms that other earthbenders used; all she needed was the badgermoles and her wits- it had gotten her that far already.

"You're smiling." he noted, and she turned her face away, slightly embarrassed.

"I'm just- uh, remembering good times."

"I like to do that too." he agreed with the sentiment, though that made her feel sick.

Though Toph hadn't gotten the best lot with being blind and oppressed by her parents, all before she lost the job and lifestyle she had as an underground earthbending wrestler, that was nothing to compare to a boy who had lost literally everything and everyone he cared about, spare his furry oversized companion. The fact he was still cheery, optimistic, and hadn't gone into a rageful spate of violence towards the Fire Nation for their crimes, that impressed her more than any bending feat he showed her. Perhaps that was because he was still a child, but even then, he was only two years younger than her, or a hundred years older, depending on one's perspective.

"Can I ask you something?" she decided to give into the nagging question that had formed; Aang's heartbeat didn't change pace, and he turned to face her.

"Of course, what is it?"

"How do you stay so... happy?" she asked, "You seem like- well, an ordinary kid."

"Well, that's what I want to be." he explained himself, "I always wanted to just live my life and have fun. I mean, I still do have fun, but I have to be the Avatar."

"Do you want to be the Avatar?" she pressed him further, and his heartbeat did change.

"No... not really." he admitted quietly, sounding embarrassed, or even ashamed, to admit it, "I mean, maybe if I was older, I might have liked it."

"Yeah, I hate the idea of being forced into some big responsibility like that." she acknowledged, thinking back to how she had chosen her own path in life, beyond being the daughter of House Beifong, "I chose to fight for the Earth Kingdom... it's what I wanted to do."

"Y-yeah, that's good." he agreed with the sentiment, "I don't want being the Avatar to change me. I don't want to pretend to be somebody else."

"So, I don't see you eating meat... or being overly violent, or attaching yourself to some place. You're still an Air Nomad, I mean, from what I understand of your people." she acknowledged how he embodied what she had always imagined an Air Nomad to be; she admired their way of thinking, so free and unbound from the ordinary worries of life, even if she didn't like their flighty, cowardly way of bending.

"I meant I want to be me. I'm not just an Air Nomad." he acknowledged, reaching his hand to his head; he must have been touching his tattoo, and he drooped down, his head facing the ground, "I'm the last one." he added more pensively.

"I-I'm sorry for asking you that." she apologised, realising how the boy was suffering from the thought of his people, and his lack of anyone or anything that he could call home.

"No, it's okay, Toph." he assured her, before clearing his throat, "Uh, but after the war, you won't be a soldier anymore, right?"

"No, I guess not." she agreed with his observation, "There's no need for me to stand and guard a place from an invasion that's never coming... I mean, bandits and deserters will surely still be a pain, but there won't be as many people needed to fight."

"You like fighting, though." he noted, before chuckling, "So, do you want to become a bounty hunter or something? They take down bad guys."

"You know, that's not even a bad idea." she commended his point with a smile, "I've got to look into that. I can't read bounty papers, but I'm sure I can catch whoever's on them."

"I mean, you're a pretty good teacher too. Maybe you could go and open a dojo or something?" he suggested, and she chuckled.

"Ah, I mean, I could, but I really prefer fighting over teaching whelps." she argued, before cringing, "No offence."

"Eh, I like learning about bending. Earthbending... well, it's not natural for me, but I'm getting the hang of it." he acknowledged, and she scoffed.

"It is natural for you. You are the Avatar, remember?" she pointed at the boy, who made a sheepish laugh before rising to his feet, having finished his cracker.

"So..." he mumbled, "We've got to make some more houses."

"Not too many. I can't be bothered spending much more time out here. I need to have a proper rest every once in a while." she gave her thoughts bluntly, knowing that the quicker that they got the work done, the quicker she could actually relax.

"Alright." Aang agreed with her sentiment, and paced over to another pile of slabs, and raised his hands up, getting ready to bend the parts of the house into position.

She strode over slowly, sensing as he moved into an earthbending form, his right hand lurched forward, as if he was ready to snatch a fruit out of somebody's hand and steal it; then, he threw his arm upward, flipping one of the slabs upright, before he shoved it along towards where the next house would be built. When it slid across the ground, her attention was grabbed by a boom in the distance; it sounded like thunder, and she felt the ground shake, the vibrations coming from out in the water, which she couldn't sense through.

"Th-that wasn't me, right?" he asked her, and she shook her head, turning to face the closest fighters, whose postures had quickly changed; they were afraid, and ready for danger.

"That wasn't lightning, was it?" she asked them, and Hua paced over to them.

"That sounded like a cannon going off... or blasting jelly." she gave her observations, though Toph realised her attention wasn't on Toph, but Aang, "You have your glider. Could you check what's going on?"

"Uh... yeah, I will." he nodded with haste, before rushing over to the staff that was leaning up against the wall of one the recently finished houses, "I'll be back as quick as I can." he assured them, and Toph cringed.

"Please don't fall for the same trick you did with me. Stay in the air, stupid." she warned him; the boy just chuckled, before he hammered his staff down into the ground beside him, unfurling its wings.

He then jumped into the air, out of her senses, though she could sense Hua and the others looking up, watching him fly away. Toph couldn't do much of anything without knowing what was going on, and it just happened to be some place she couldn't sense. That didn't seem to matter all that much, as that first thunderous boom was followed by half a dozen more, all in quick succession, the sounds not just distinct, but getting closer; the shaking became more violent, though it was only barely noticeable, at least by the standards of those who could see. For her, it was like somebody was throttling her by the head.

"What in the name of the spirits is going on?" she heard Jianren complain as he approached her, "Toph... we need to prepare for whatever's going on out there."

"Sir!" she heard one of the fighters shout out, "You better have a look at this!" he exclaimed, and all of the fighters converged on where the fighter was; he was standing by the edge of the little village they were building, in clear view of the shoreline and sea beyond it.

Toph followed, still unable to understand anything; she was just lucky she had the earthbenders there to check things out for her. She had heard that the fleet was attending to reports of an enemy force in the west, far off from the base, but still close enough to pose a danger to their operations. She couldn't believe the whole fleet could have already been beaten; she knew for certain they would have received a warning if that were the case- messenger hawks seemed to travel even faster than Appa, who could easily beat a measly ship.

When they arrived, she heard gasps and groans; the fighters weren't happy, and Jianren turned to face them all, "Everyone get back to the sea-facing walls. We have to prepare for the worst." he ordered the fighters, who immediately ran for said walls; Toph frowned, still unsure what exactly had happened.

"Hey there, still blind as shit here." she waved at Jianren, who stopped in his tracks before leaving the spot.

"There's fighting in the bay. The ships in port are being attacked, and they're moving to engage enemy ships."

"From the west?" she asked, and Jianren shook his head.

"No, they look like they're coming from the east... the mountains were blocking their approach from our view here." he explained, gesturing in the direction of the mountains which she could faintly sense, unlike the ships on the water.

"That... that makes no sense." she mumbled, unsure how they'd even gotten there; she followed after the rebel leader, winding past the houses and slabs of stone that lay in between them and the base's defensive walls.

Her mind was focused on rationalising the enemy's movements; it made no sense that Ozai's ships would come around to attack them from the east, when they had bases so much closer in the colonies. That was until she recalled their battle not far from the base; scouts hiding the hills, who reported to the Eastern Fleet. That made little sense at the time, but now, it all made sense; they were trying to gauge the defences at the base, because the Eastern Fleet was going to attack them.

They might have travelled all the way from near Ba Sing Se to even get to the base, but that made more sense than somebody travelling around to the north, which was controlled by the Northern Water Tribe. She didn't know much about them, other than that they were the most formidable nation on the seas barring the Fire Nation.

"The scouts." she told Jianren as she followed after him, "That's why they were here."

He stopped in his tracks, and turned to face her, "The prisoner never gave up his reasons for the scouting operations." he recalled, before clenching his fists, "I knew we should have broken his fucking legs." he declared with frustration, realising that their interrogation techniques were nowhere near brutal enough to actually get the truth out of the scout, at least before it was no longer helpful, "Remind me to do so after we win this battle, Toph."

"Yeah, you got it." she reassured him with a snicker, amused by his violent intent; it was rather justified, given the danger they were now all in, and not just them, but the refugees who had taken up living in a shanty town beside their 'new town'.

The refugees who were helping in the construction efforts were with them at that very moment, all of them earthbenders, and clearly, ready to fight; she could tell they were more afraid, as their hearts raced, following the fighters as they moved to assemble by the seaward walls. She noticed Jianren shooting himself up on a pillar, and realised he was going to command from the top of the walls. She followed suit, along with a number of other fighters, who took up behind the makeshift walls earthen battlements.

She kept herself low, not having to use her eyes to spot their enemies; she was still blind to their movements, given they were coming in from the sea, but as soon as their boats crested upon the sand, she would batter them with all her strength. She sensed around to check the other fighters, whose hearts were racing as they prepared discs of earth, creating them from the soil below. They wouldn't be the most effective weapons against armoured ships, but against the men aboard, she knew they'd be enough.

Toph noticed Jianren was looking above battlements, facing the sea, his head turning with quick motions; she had to ask him, "Can you see them?"

"The ships are keeping away from shore... the water's probably too shallow." he observed, "There's some steamers dropping!" he warned the group a few moments later, and pulled up a few discs in his hands.

"What good are those gonna be?" she asked, before smirking as she reached back; she quickly carved out a circular disc of earth, much bigger than any of the ones Jianren had, hardening it with a clench, before she raised it into the air, "Point exactly where the closest one is, and give me a distance."

"Shit, alright." he mumbled, surprised by her gung-ho attitude; he raised a hand forward, pointing slightly to the left, before scrunching his lips, "How can I give you a distance?"

"Throw something at it, I can figure it out." she suggested, and he picked up a disc, and pulled it back; when he tossed it, she listened out, waiting for it to strike something.

All around her, she could hear the sound of artillery being fired, and ships being struck in the distance, but the sound of the steamers approached was distinct; they were hitting the water loudly as they came closer, and she could hear the humming of their engines in the distance. It was hard to make out, but Toph had always had well attuned hearing. The sound of the disc shattering was quiet, but she could count how long it took to reach the steamer from Jianren's hand. She then raised her disk up, and grit her teeth, trying to follow Jianren's own motion and throw it with just as much force, despite the size difference.

"Ah!" she cried out and tossed it through the air; she was unsure if it was going to hit the steamer, but the distant screams she heard, followed by a crash and splash told her that she got her target.

"You got it!" she heard Hua shout out along the wall, and she smirked.

"Good." she simply declared, before turning around, "What about the traps?"

"They're ready... if the wall falls, they're in for a surprise." Jianren assured her; ever since they came to the base, she had noticed the traps beside the walls, which were not apparent on the surface, but formed deep cavities under the ground, filled with spikes or water, which would cause a lot of issues for men in full sets of armour.

Suddenly he spoke up again, "Oh, shit!" he gasped; she heard some whirring above her, and instinctively ducked, before she heard a boom behind her.

Toph could feel it too, a crater forming in the ground, and a spray of dirt and gravel flying into the air, covering her in dirt. The boulder must have been aimed at the wall, but missed, hitting a pile of stone slabs, part of their construction effort. She groaned, frustrated that they'd have to remake them, and realised that all of the fighting would just make their construction effort even longer when the houses they were building were now under fire.

"That was bloody close." Jianren mumbled under his breath, "I'll warn you next time." he assured her, and Toph nodded, before she reached back to make another disc out of the ground.

Toph ripped the disc out of the ground, raising it up before she turned to face the leader; he understood what she wanted, and shot out another disc, this time crossing a shorter distance and striking another steamer, off to the left. She grit her teeth and tossed the massive disc as hard as she could. It careened off, no longer able to be sensed, and audibly struck a steamer, which was followed by a spurt, then a small blast, presumably from its engine being struck.

She smirked, and sensed down to the discs below her; assuming that the craft was still coming in towards the shore, she began to fire the discs off in their direction, hoping she could get a few of the men on board. She followed as the other earthbenders were doing beside her, quickly firing off a few discs in quick succession, before forming or grabbing more to launch.

Once she sensed a steamer running onto the shallow sands, she clenched her fist, reaching for the ground that lay ahead, and pulled it up, flinging the steamer into the air, if only momentarily. She couldn't discern how much damage she had made, but she did hear some screams, bellowing out as men were thrown into the air, followed by some quieter but still noticeable splashes.

She soon realised, however, that there were far more steamers than just the three she had attacked; two more came upon the sands, and though they were battered with discs and struck from below by their pillars, that did not stop those onboard from fighting back. Their flames coursed out, not very loud, but the heat was immediately upon her. It quickly came and went a few times, before she realised the temperature around her was rising; nothing was burning, but the flames were persisting.

She cursed the fact that Katara wasn't there to waterbend the flames out, and decided to do as best she could, by reaching out to the sand, which lay under a shallow stretch of water, the mass of liquid light enough for her to ignore when bending, but still present, and useful for her ends. She knelt down and placed her palms on the wall beneath her, earning some attention from her comrades, who were confused by her focus.

She was bending the sands off in the distance, just beyond where the steamers had run aground; the water made it harder to bend, but once she had a hold of it, she stood up and raised her hands, feeling the weight of the sand and water in her hands, tossing it up into the air. She couldn't tell how effective it had been, as the sand quickly returned back to its place, but as she heard screams, and then felt a drizzle of salt water fall over her face, she smirked.

"Eh, see, even I can waterbend." she declared triumphantly, before throwing a fist forward, using it to create a pillar just below the wall in front of them, shooting it into a few soldiers who had gotten off a steamer and were trying to reach their defences.

The water had gotten rid of the heat, and the enemy was in disarray, even if only for a minute. That was all they needed, as their discs and boulders fell upon the enemy, splashing up more water, battering and breaking parts of the steamers, and throwing the firebenders and non-benders alike into the shallows. However, it wasn't enough, as another few steamers rolled ashore before they could even finish cleaning up the first wave of steamers. She struck a few of them with her earthbending, but now that they were ashore, damaging the crafts was less useful than it might have been when there was still a good chance of those onboard drowning before they could reach their target.

Toph was getting tired quickly, realising that all the building they had been doing was straining; her bending was up to speed, but she was finding it harder and harder to make bigger attacks, like the one she had with the sand. She could harden some sand, smack a few soldiers, but more replaced them. The other earthbenders weren't in much better shape, though their numbers at least gave them a fighting chance.

That was until Jianren grabbed her by the arm and tossed her off the wall; she would have cussed out the rebel for his stupidity if it hadn't saved her life. A moment later, another artillery shell hit, this time getting its target. Her ears rang from the sound of the boom, and her face was covered in dirt, half her body covered by a thick layering of earth that had been ripped into dust by the explosion.

She could sense some fighters around her, who had jumped off the wall to save themselves, and they were frantically moving around, bending up walls to defend themselves. Many were injured, limping or slumped as they tried to prepare their defences. Toph dusted herself off as quickly as she could, and paced over to Jianren, who had jumped off after her, and was still on the ground, seemingly in a daze.

"Are you alright?" she asked him, offering him her right hand as she pulled up a wall with her left; she didn't want any firebenders taking cheapshots while she was trying to regain her bearings.

"Eh, I've faced worse." he admitted quietly, grasping a hand at his head, before he rose up with her help, "Everyone! Get behind the pits!" he told them, knowing they had to activate the traps sooner rather than later.

Toph pulled up a pillar of earth beside her, and chopped off slices with her hand, creating crude but solid discs of earth to use; she heard the shouts of the soldiers on the other side of the walls, and the clanks of their armour as they climbed over the ruins of the section destroyed by the shell. She realised that she could use her usual strategy, making her opponents unable to see, while she abused her seismic sense to defeat them before they could regain their bearings. She knew that might endanger her comrades, who would be equally disadvantaged, but decided to go with it anyway; she knew every moment she wasted was another chance for the enemy to kill one of them.

"Close your eyes!" she told her comrades with a shout, before she stomped her foot down onto the ground, ripping the soil from the ground and tossing it up into the air; she could hear people cough as she stepped out of cover and began to unleash her discs on the disoriented soldiers.

One by one, they were knocked out by the discs, colliding with their heads or their chests, and once the gap in the wall was clear, she ran up over it, clearing her path with a push of her hands; she sensed about and realised that was only a small part of the attacking force, as she sensed a dozen to either side of her, climbing from their steamers to attack.

"Shit." she murmured, before she heard a whistle above her; if the noise wasn't something that already annoyed her, she wouldn't have recognised it as Aang.

She pointed to the shoreline ahead of her, and he got the message; she could hear the water rumbling, the sand beneath it spurting up with the wave that crashed into one of the steamers, before it suddenly stopped, with some of the soldiers stuck as well, unable to leave the positions they were in when it struck. She realised then and there that he must have frozen the water, though the slow movements she felt told her that they were already breaking free.

A moment later, his twinkling toes touched the ground, his airy strides dashing to her, before he halted only a foot from her face, "I got one of them!" he proclaimed proudly, before he swung his staff down, a gust of wind blowing to her side, striking a few soldiers who were running towards her.

She had the idea of ignoring them to the last moment, just to intimidate them and impress her comrades, but Aang had ruined that; his giddy attitude stopped her from chiding him, knowing that he was doing exactly what he needed to.

"What's going on?" she asked him, and he pointed out towards the water.

"Most of the ships left earlier because of some reports they heard about a fleet out west... the rest of them were attacked just now." he clarified, "They don't know where they came from, but everyone's preparing to defend the base."

"Even the defectors from Shengchang?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Yeah, Colonel Zhengyi said something about proving their loyalty... but uh, I think they'd have to fight anyway. These guys don't seem like they're going to take any prisoners." he added forebodingly, before clenching his open hand, "We'll stop them, and then we can go find Katara."

"I'm sure she can handle herself." she reassured him, before she waved her hand back, pulling up a wall which a few soldiers ran into; they groaned and fell over, making Aang snicker.

"We better get behind the wall." he suggested, and she flicked her hand out, creating a clear path to do so.

"You don't need to say it twice."

---

The sounds of explosions in the distance never boded well; Hakoda had been in enough battles to know that. As their little group of boats made their way downriver, heading towards the coast, he had hoped to be greeted by some men guarding the river banks, but there was nobody to be found; the explosions explained why, though he did not know yet why they were sounding off. Drawing closer and closer, his fellow warriors became nervous, as did their guests onboard; those fighters who had escaped imprisonment from the Fire Nation seemed more afraid than his own men, and he could guess why.

"It's the Fire Navy, isn't it?" he asked one of them, an older fighter by the name of Di, who had accompanied him on his own ship.

He and the other fighters they had liberated along the way were all too familiar with the navy, either being transported by them to their prisons, or caught by one of the Fire Navy's infamous amphibious assaults. The Southern Raiders were perhaps the most infamous of the lot, and the commonalities gave him and their new allies something to talk about: a common enemy, even if they were working with the Fire Nation.

"That sounds just like it. They're throwing boulders onto the shore... either that or there's some earthbenders training really hard."

"They were being gathered by the Princess." Hakoda recalled what they had learned from some Fire Nation scouts; Azula had plans to form an army to retake the Earth Kingdom, though he doubted she had the intent to rule over it herself.

"I seriously doubt that was them, Chief." one of his warriors, Qillaq, argued against the more appealing possibility, "The Fire Navy is everywhere... we've had to avoid them more than once on this journey."

"In any case, let's land before we reach the end of the river... I doubt we'll be safe out in the bay if they're fighting." he decided, knowing that the boats that were trailing behind him would follow his command, "Somebody, get the anchors ready!" he called on his warriors, two of which retrieved the stone anchors they had fastened to some ropes at the bow of the boat on either flank.

He pulled the spyglass from his belt which he had stolen from a Fire Nation soldier a few years back, and opened it up, scanning the treeline ahead of them. The woods obscured where he knew the base must lay, and as he eyed the treetops, he spotted a pair of flaming boulders coursing along, before they dropped out of view. Not a moment later, he heard the nearly synchronous explosions as they struck the ground, and some distant shouts that followed.

"Spirits save us." Di mumbled, "How can we fight whole ships?"

"We're not intending to." he assured him, "The garrison will need more help getting rid of whoever's come to actually take the base... the ships will have to be left to our friends in Azula's fleet."

"Friends is stretching it, Chief." Qillaq warned him, before he gestured over to their left, "You there!" he pointed out a man, who was wearing a green cloak to camouflage himself, "This is the base of Princess Azula, is it not?" he asked out, and the man rose up, pulling the cloak from his head.

"Don't go any further downriver!" he warned them, "The enemy has blockaded the bay... they've got us pinned!" he shouted with an exasperated tone, Hakoda giving the man a salute, before he snapped his fingers.

"You heard the man, better drop those anchors." he commanded his warriors, who did just that, the left anchor dropping, causing the boat to rotate as it was carried along by the river's flow.

Then the right anchor dropped, leaving them fastened to the riverbank, and able to climb out right onto the silty shore. There was a small cliff beside them, but Hakoda could see a path up it down the river, and once he jumped out of the boat, he pulled his spear from his back.

"Stay alert!" he warned his men and their allies, "They'll be trying to pin the base from every possible angle. For all we know they're already in the woods."

The warriors followed his lead, crouching and drawing out their weapons, or their hands, in the case of the earthbenders, and they made their way up a gap in the cliff, stepping into the dimly lit woods. The tall conifers had thick trunks, making it a challenge to see to the other side, but Hakoda could already get glimpses of a wooden palisade that lay on top of a rammed-earth wall. He could even make out pillars of smoke off towards the horizon, though he couldn't gauge how far away the fire was; all he knew was that things were burning, and soon enough, they would be facing the flames.

"Chief Hakoda!" he heard a voice shout out to him, and he realised it was Tyro, one of the leaders of an earthbender group they had liberated; he had just climbed out of another boat, and paced over towards him, creating a path up the cliff with his earthbending.

"What is it?" he asked the man, who pointed over towards the walls that lay through the forest.

"Why should we bother going now?" he asked him, "My fighters and I have discussed the issue of the battle, and we think we would be better off letting the Fire Nation kill each other, and we can go in and clean up what remains... take this place back for the Earth Kingdom."

"The Princess will not... I repeat, will not, be happy with that." he warned him, and Tyro raised his fist.

"We know that you have earned her favour, but we have no reason to help her lackeys defend this place. The land is Earth Kingdom... through and through." he argued, and Hakoda sighed.

"I mean, what do you expect her to do once this war is over, just keep all the little Fire Navy bases across your country?" he asked him, and Tyro sighed.

"Well... that doesn't give us a reason to put our necks on the line. And I don't want you doing that either... you're a good man, more than we can say for any of your so-called allies here." he suggested, and the Chief narrowed his eyes.

"What have you been doing, speaking to that Jet kid?" he asked him, leaning closer so he could keep it between them, "You realise there's something wrong in his head, don't you? These are still human beings... we're meant to be allies."

"I mean, he has a point." Di acknowledged, stepping up beside him, "The Fire Nation have done nothing but bring destruction to the other nations... Why should we stop them from killing each other?"

"Because one of those sides doesn't want to kill us." he snapped back at the man, before sighing, "Nevermind the fact that there are other rebels like yourselves being assembled by the Princess. They're probably right there!" he gestured towards the base, "Protecting ash-makers, as I'm sure you call them."

"About right." Di confirmed, before sighing, "If you're wrong, then we're leaving as soon as we have the chance."

Tyro raised a hand at him, "Are you dense?" before narrowing his eyes at the Water Tribesman, "We can't abandon you, Chief Hakoda. That's why we're asking you to hold back."

"I'm sorry... but even if I agreed with every single thing you just said... my children could be in there for all I know." he told him what he knew could be true; the chance that Katara or Sokka was in danger was enough to motivate him to run in there, even if he didn't hold any high opinions of Fire Nation soldiers, no matter their loyalty to Azula.

"That's... that's fair enough." Tyro nodded, "Let's go!" he called on his men, and Di raised his fist.

"For the Earth Kingdom!" he called on his own fighters, and the warriors eyed their superior.

"I won't say anything but this... stick with me, and keep your heads down. We're not losing today." he gave his best advice to his men, hoping that they'd keep it in mind when they were faced with barrages of fireballs; some of them were lucky enough to have been trained by Azula back in the village, when she got bored with beating up his son, so they were more than ready to deal with a few lacklustre firebenders.

He readied his spear as he walked through the woods, keeping himself low and his eyes poised towards the water, hoping that he could spot out if the enemy had come ashore yet. He couldn't see any soldiers yet, though as they came to the edge of the woods, he could see down the length of the wall towards the bay, where the a long pier lay; he could see it was heavily damaged, and that there were a number of ships still in port by it, covered in smoke and holes left from earlier attacks, though none of them had sunk yet. He imagined the Fire Navy was used to firing their weapons on ships far less sturdy than their own.

He couldn't see any soldiers moving around the gap between the wall and the shoreline, to his relief, but that didn't mean there weren't already men inside the walls before him, trying to seize the facilities inside. He hadn't been told about what was inside; his daughter had briefly mentioned that the base covered a large swathe of land, and only had a small central fortress that was lined with tall metal walls, the rest of the space used up by training yards and a large encampment. He realised some of the smokestacks might have come from campfires, but there were too many of them, and they were getting bigger by the minute.

He looked the other way, remaining by the edge of the woods; the bushes and trees provided good enough cover that anyone who might want to attack him likely wouldn't see him coming. Hakoda spotted what he was looking for, an area where the rammed-earth peeled away, and a small brick and steel gate lay awaiting. He knew that was where they would be able to get inside, but he kept low, knowing that garrison would be justifiably skittish.

"Okay, stay low, with me." he called on the others as he followed the treeline towards the gates; there was a decent gap between the treeline and the walls, obviously cleared whenever they had built the base, and he couldn't see any signs of combat there, telling him that the enemy hadn't reached that side yet.

All the signs were good, until he saw a squad of soldiers rushing down a road that cut through the woods, some of them on foot, with a few riding komodo rhinos. All of them looked ready for a fight, though none of them seemed injured, a good sign. He stopped to let them move past, and hail at the gate.

"Open up!" one of the mounted soldiers raised a hand, "We saw the ships coming... we came as fast as we could."

He couldn't hear a response, but heard the gates being unlocked. Suddenly he heard a whistle, and turned his head to see a few soldiers rushing into the woods with their pikes in hand.

"Saboteurs!" they decried them, and Hakoda rolled his eyes as he got up and moved into a defensive posture.

"Do we look like saboteurs?!" he retorted, and turned his head, seeing a few men rise up to the palisade with bows in hand, "We're Water Tribe."

"Water Tribe?" one of the soldiers raised a brow, and lowered his pike as he scanned his face, not having realised that there were other men only a few paces behind him, cowering behind the trees, "How can we believe you? You could be agents of the child-killer Fire Lord!" he pressed Hakoda, who let out a sigh, preferring to avoid a very pointless fight with some scared soldiers.

"Wait up!" he heard a voice down the road, and the soldiers turned around.

"I- uh, came as fast as I could." he heard a man speaking with a pant, and when he came into view, Hakoda recognised him instantly as the scout who had hailed them as they were sailing down the river, "That's who just arrived. They're our allies... they had the ships and all."

"Huh." one of the soldiers murmured, and the man who was mounted on the komodo rhino climbed off, stepped over and smacked the two leading pikemen over the backs of their helmets.

"Idiots! This is clearly their leader. Don't you see the resemblance?" he asked the soldiers, who looked at him with confusion.

"I mean... he's Water Tribe."

"And so are we." he heard Qalliq speak up behind him, he and a few other warriors revealing themselves, "That was a close one, Chief."

"Your men need to be a little more cautious." Hakoda addressed the officer as he stepped out of the woods, the man still looking at his men with contempt.

"Seriously?" he asked his soldiers, referring to their inability to recognise Hakoda, "He's literally Sokka with a beard." he gestured to the warrior, who could hear his men snickering behind him.

"I mean... my son and I do resemble each other." he acknowledged, "I wouldn't go as far to say I'm him with a beard... he has far more to learn before he becomes Chief." he warned the officer, who scanned up and down his frame.

"Hmph, well, I hope you're just as quick to make up plans." he spoke his mind, before pointing to the gates, "We'll be needing all the help we can get."

"Don't worry, it wasn't just us." Hakoda acknowledged, before whistling into the woods, "Come on, we need to get inside!" he called on the others.

A few earthbenders strode out of the woods, while Hakoda spotted Smellerbee in the corner of his eye; the girl and her friends had a knack for staying out of sight.

"I was looking forward to clobbering some of 'em." he heard Pipsqueak grumble, following the other Freedom Fighters out of the woods, moving after Hakoda and his trusted warriors.

The gates were opened up a few moments later, letting the squad of Fire Nation troops in, before the rest of them followed; inside, he was greeted by a messy encampment, where there were a number of injured soldiers sitting about, though none of them were bloodied, telling him they were resting after some earlier fight. Most of the tents were empty, however, and he realised why as he looked ahead through the camp; dust was being kicked up, and he could see the tips of helmets and pikes in the distance, and further beyond, the smokestacks that he had noticed. Some tents and buildings were burning over by the bay-side part of the base, though the part he was in seemed safe enough.

As they moved through the encampment, they came up to another wall, this time a dyke that was lined with stakes alongside a short wooden fence lined with metal sheets; there wasn't a gate to get through where they were, and instead, they made their way along the exterior of the fence, right by the dyke. Instead of tents, to their left were soldiers, who were mustering together, being handed weapons and armour, preparing for the fight to come. Hakoda even spotted some of the Fire Nation's so-called 'tundra tanks', which he had only seen propaganda art of when visiting some colonial settlements; they were being prepared for battle, with engineers checking their wheels and turrets.

They saw Hakoda and the others pacing by, and seemed confused, but continued their work; the Chief was unsure exactly where they were heading, though he could see smokestacks ahead of them, by the northern edge of the base, where there were even more tents and what looked like an village of earthen huts, though they were clearly new and unadorned, telling him that the earthbenders Azula recruited must have just built them. To his right, across the dyke and fence, lay what looked like a training yard, a few sheds, and then, the central fortress, which he could clearly see the damage on, and noticed that the gates were barred shut, and there were no guards standing duty by its gates.

"You'll want to speak with the Colonel. He runs things around here." the officer who had been leading them along spoke up.

"Colonel?" he raised a brow, imagining that Azula might have put a general in charge of the base; he didn't have a strong grasp on the Fire Nation's chain of command, but he was confident that Azula would only have Generals and Admirals under her direct command, if she really was claiming to be the Fire Lord.

"Ah, there was some insubordination a few weeks back... so, the ranks are a bit out of whack. Not to fear, the chain of command is still in order. We just have to worry about all these bloody transfers from Shengchang defecting." he explained himself, gesturing to a group of firebenders and non-benders who were led by officers wearing blue sashes, "Only true loyalists get to wear her colour." he explained, gesturing to the sash he himself was wearing.

Hakoda felt a little self-conscious, grasping at his blue and white tunic, "Huh." he murmured, wondering if she had chosen such a colour out of respect for the Water Tribes, or simply because it aligned with the colour of her flames.

He followed the officer towards what looked like some kind of command tent, sitting right by the gates through the smaller fence, instead of the fortress in the centre of the base, which itself was smoking, and clearly damaged; perhaps they had had to retreat out for safety reasons. The commanding officer there wore a more fancy sash, gold, red, and blue, and his expression shifted as he noticed their arrival.

"Excuse me." he addressed his subordinates, who were looking over some kind of set of orders with him, before he strode out of the tent, "You must be Chief Hakoda, Sokka's father." he recognised him, with a name as well; obviously Azula had made her men aware that he was coming to the base.

"That I am." he confirmed, "And you are?"

"Colonel Zhengyi, military governor of this base." he clarified his identity, "Her majesty has entrusted the protection of this base and surrounding territories to me."

"Well, I assume you'd like our help with that." he guessed, and Zhengyi made an awkward laugh.

"That we would." he nodded, before cringing from the sound of a shell hitting the walls to their right; Hakoda glanced over, noticing hole that had been left, and wondered if the enemy might attack through it, "Somebody go get an earthbender to patch that up!" he commanded his men, and one of the earthbenders, whose name he couldn't recall, stepped forth.

"Don't worry, Colonel, we can cover that." he assured him, and he paced over towards the wall with a pair of fighters; they weren't going to take long, or much energy to fix a hole, but it needed to be done.

"Ah, so you've brought more earthbenders. Her majesty will be most pleased." he observed, before crossing his arms, "Our earthbenders and best firebenders are protecting the northern flank of the wall, where the enemy has concentrated its attacks." he explained, gesturing towards the bay, where he could just make out some superstructures of the ships that lay out that way, "However, they have also attacked the pier where we access our own ships... the area is inaccessible without our earthbenders assistance."

"We could get over there." Hakoda suggested, and the Colonel nodded.

"I would appreciate that, but there's something far more pressing to deal with. The enemy has breached the central keep of the base. That is where we were before we had to flee from the shelling. I believe they have taken control of parts of the structure, though there are still a dozen guards and servants holed up inside." he clarified what had happened, "I was just about to request the Avatar go and deal with it for us, but you and the earthbenders should be able to handle it, if you're anything like your son."

"He takes after me." he took the opportunity to brag, knowing that if they were going to keep talking up Sokka, he had to take advantage of it.

"I hope that's the case." Zhengyi nodded, "I'll have some men accompany you to the tunnels."

"Tunnels?" he raised a brow, and the Colonel chuckled.

"Oh, did you think those gates were the only way in?" he asked him, "There's a pretty big sewer that diverted a stream that used to flow through here, running right under that yard. We open one of the entrances, and you'll have a straight path to the dungeons."

"What about the other end?" Hakoda asked, guessing it went right into the bay, "Couldn't the enemy get through?"

"Through metal bars as wide as a man's thigh... underwater? I doubt it, unless they've found somebody who can bend metal." Zhengyi dismissed his concerns, before whistling, "Guards! Escort the Chief and his allies to the tunnels."

"Wait... how about a diversion?" he suggested, "We have a lot of earthbenders... they could be better suited to get the attention of whoever's taken over the base... so we can enter without arousing their attention."

"Brilliant idea." Zhengyi smirked, "Well, select amongst yourselves who'll get to prove if your element can truly match Fire Nation engineering. A foot of layered metal sheets... or some very big boulders."

"We can do more than that." Di declared with a smirk, "Come on, I don't want these ash-makers getting too full of themselves."

The Colonel didn't seem offended by the slur, and just crossed his arms as the earthbenders approached the gates, which were opened up for them. He turned back to face his guards, and gestured towards the rear of the tent.

"Take them in... and if the enemy were any stupid to go down there, burn out the air. I don't want any of these bastards surviving." he ordered his guards, who pulled their skull face plates over their helmets, which made them seem all the more intimidating, given what they were just told to do, "They should see the futility of their war. We have the Avatar... they have half our navy and less soldiers, spread over an entire continent." Zhengyi spoke his mind, telling Hakoda he was confident that Azula's side would win the civil war.

The Chief did not know for certain if they would be victorious, at least in the short term, though with his tribe, a reconstituted Earth Kingdom, and Azula's own supporters within the Fire Nation, they could not truly lose. There was no Sozin's Comet for Ozai to use against them, nor could he abuse the technological edge the Fire Nation had had over the other nations for the past century; the Southern Water Tribe had been winning fights for years, with only their own wits, despite all the weapons, ships, and men the Fire Nation had to throw at them.

"I hope you're right." he spoke his mind, following the Colonel's guards through the flaps at the back of the tent, and was followed by his warriors and the earthbenders who weren't going with Di.

The guards led him past a few more tents, and then to a metal covering over what looked like a circle of concrete; one of the guards had a crowbar in hand, and used it to hoist the metal plate up, before the others removed it, giving them a path inside.

One of the guards turned to Hakoda and the others, raising a hand to where his nose must have been behind the face plate, "Be warned, it will smell like shit down there. We send all our bodily wastes from camp into this drain." he gave an understandable warning, before he and the guards dropped down one by one.

Once they had all filed down, he followed suit, and pulled a cloth out of his bag, before tying it around his face, to hold off the smell, which was as bad as he imagined. His only luck was that the tunnel was quite wide, with a lower portion in the middle for water to flow down, leaving the edges clean, and easy for him and the others to walk down. The only downside was that the roof was low, telling him people weren't meant to be walking through it, other than in emergencies- he thought the present situation qualified well enough.

The tunnel was dark, without any external light other than some dim ambient light coming from the landward end of the tunnel, which he assumed came out at the exterior walls; he was sure there were bars blocking the way, as the Fire Nation didn't strike him stupid enough to leave it open one way but not the other. He guessed earthbenders would find it easy to break into the place, given their ability to tunnel under any of the walls the Fire Nation had in place, though whether they could overwhelm the troops inside was another thing entirely.

He could hear the earthbenders pounding the walls of the central fortress, and then, the sounds of muffled shouts above him. The guards paid no mind, keeping pace as they drew closer to their target; the tunnel was slowly getting lower and lower, and the water level began to rise, as the flow of the drain became a cesspool, greatly increasing the stench that he was already barely tolerating.

"Fuck." he mumbled under his breath, "Why would anyone ever try this?" he asked out, and one of the guards laughed.

"Yeah, that's why we're trying it... nobody in their right mind would expect it." he argued, before they came to a halt, "Ah, here's the gate."

"Gate?" he raised a brow, before leaning the left, over the water so he could look further down.

The lead guard had a flame in his hand, and was unlocking a gate that lay ahead of them, with the tunnel otherwise barred off, preventing anyone from getting any further without earthbending a path around, or melting the bars, which he had heard from a story was possible with concentrated firebending. Azula told said story, so he had reason to believe she might have been embellishing the facts, given her propensity to lie in service of intimidation.

They had a key, so it really wasn't a worry; he watched as the guards stepped through, before moving off to the right, presumably down another tunnel. He followed, making his way around the corner, realising they had reached another door, though that one didn't seem to be locked. The guards stepped through, and seemed to fan out, lighting flames in their hands, leaving Hakoda and the others outside wondering what could be inside. His curiosity got the better of him, and he leaned through the doorway, realising that they were in what looked to be a dungeon.

"Stay back!" he heard one of the guards demand, "You heard her majesty's orders... you don't leave these cells until she has her victory."

"I was right!" he heard a man retort, "They're here, and they'll kill you all."

"Not if we hold them off. You've been fighting for so long, but you seemed to forget our enemies' greatest strength, never faltering." the guard declared, referring to the stalwart attitudes of the Earth Kingdom, which Hakoda agreed, would certainly come in handy if they were to be facing a siege.

He stepped out of the doorway, followed by Bato and Qillaq, who glanced at the prisoners with interest, "Who are these prisoners, traitors?" the latter asked him, though Hakoda actually had no idea who they were specifically- captured officers, from the looks of their attire.

"Traitors, the lot of them." a guard confirmed, "We're not here for them, we're here for the real enemy." he clarified, before pointing down a hallway, "Just up the stairs that way... they must be trying to force the rest of the guards in here to surrender... they won't find it easy."

"Fear is a powerful thing, boy." the prisoner warned them, and the first guard laughed, before shooting a fireball at his face, making him cry out in pain before falling flat on his arse.

"Yeah, it is." he agreed with him, dismissive of the prisoner's comments; Hakoda approached the door out of the dungeon, and pushed it ajar, glancing outside.

He noticed that there was a man sitting in a corner, behind a structural pillar; he turned his head around in fear, and raised his hands up, seeming ready to firebend, before he realised he wasn't coming for him.

"Shit..." he gasped, "You're here to help, right?"

"Yeah, we are." he confirmed, noticing that the man was clenching his hand over his right arm, which Hakoda realised was covered in raw, burnt skin.

One of the guards paced over to him, and knelt over, giving him a bandage and a small jar of what must have been burn ointment, "Treat yourself. Once we've cleared the building, get to the medical camp on the south end of the base." he advised the injured man, who offered him his unburnt hand.

"Get them, Brother." he requested, and the guard nodded, before gesturing towards a nearby stairwell.

"How many of them are inside?"

"At least two dozen. The others boarded themselves up on the second floor, blocked the whole stairwell off." he explained, before cringing, "There are hostages... I don't know where they're being held."

"We'll find them." Hakoda reassured him, "Come on, we need to figure out where the enemy is." he told his fellow warriors, and slowly approached the stairwells; as he stepped onto the first step, he heard the metal creak beneath him, and cringed, hoping that the enemy was too preoccupied with the earthbenders to realise that they were inside.

Tyro stepped up beside him, and gestured up the stairwell, "You take the interior, we'll go out and flank the men by the walls." he explained, the Chief smirking.

"This attack's prongs know no end." he acknowledged the growing complexity of their plan, and the earthbender chuckled.

"Don't worry, we'll meet at the end and send the fools packing." he assured him; they led the rest of the fighters up the stairwell, reaching what must have been the ground floor; there was a long hallway bifurcating the entire compound, with doors on either end, both of them closed.

Hakoda could see that the floors and walls showed signs of damage, though it was mostly in the form of dents and surface-level scratches, as it was all metal, from floor to roof. That disadvantaged the earthbenders with him, telling him that Tyro's plan to go outside would be a better use of their strength. Above them, he could hear distant, muffled shouting, and guessed that it had to be the enemy forces attacking the boarded up guards and servants that remained inside.

He made his way further up the stairwell, followed by his own men and the firebender guards who had led them inside; they all moved into form, Hakoda readying a steel machete, his best weapon, at least in terms of physical strength. The other warriors took out whatever metal weapons they had, or if lacking, their bone blades. They might not be that useful against armour, but human flesh was another thing entirely. When they came around the stairwell, he could hear some voices more clearly, and noticed that there was a lot of furniture strewn about around the hallway in front of him, much of it burnt and tarred.

"Fuck, there's somebody outside! Earthbenders!" he heard somebody shout, and then, a few moments later, a closer voice sounded off.

"Go to the balcony, fire on the bastards. We can't let them retake the compound. We're still waiting on reinforcements to secure the walls." the voice demanded, clearly the commanding officer of the group inside the compound.

"Yes, Captain!" he heard a few voices sound off, and he crouched down, watching as some men rushed past, having just come down the stairs; they were so engrossed in their goal that they failed to notice Hakoda or his warriors.

"Well... they're just disgracing their nation by being so careless." Hakoda mumbled, finding himself offended on the behalf of the guards who had accompanied him; they were probably expecting the enemy to be ready for them, but instead, they were frantic, and didn't consider checking the stairwell.

He got up, and gestured to the stairwell, "Get the commanding officer... alive. I think he'll have something interesting to say." he ordered his warriors, who nodded, while his attention turned down the hallway, towards the balcony they must have run to, "Those fools, they aren't going to be as lucky."

He paced his way down the hallway, approaching another set of doors, which were ajar, a cabinet having fallen down in the way, forcing him to step around in and crouch, making sure to not get the enemy's attention before he wanted it. When he got through, he spotted a pikeman standing by the open doors to the balcony, watching as the firebenders attacked Tyro and his comrades. They were clearly getting frustrated, and Hakoda took his chance when a boulder flew through a doorway and struck the wall right behind the pikeman, forcing him to duck. As he cowered, he didn't see the Water Tribesman rush at him, stabbing him in the lower back as he smothered him with his left hand.

"The fuck?!" one of the firebenders cried out, having heard the groan of his comrade, but found himself kicked right off the balcony by Qalliq, who had rushed right after Hakoda.

A pair of the guards followed suit, blasting the remaining firebenders with a flurry of fireballs, before they were smacked to the ground by some boulders from the outside. He could hear the earthbenders cheering outside, and Hakoda smiled, before turning to face his comrades, who were fighting the remaining soldiers on the floor, who had come their way, having heard the commotion. Hakoda switched from using his machete to his club, and used it to block a pike that was thrust his way, before bashing the man in the head. He fell to the side, and didn't have a chance to get away as he found his face set alight by one of the guards, making him scream out in pain and terror.

"Where the fuck did these bastards come from?!" he heard one of the soldiers shout out in frustration, and by the time he'd identified him, he just watched as Bato slashed the man in the leg with his jian, before knocking him unconscious with the butt of his blade.

"Where are your little buddies, anyway?" he asked his friend, who chuckled.

"Ah, they decided to follow Tyro." he clarified, and he could make out the hearty laugh of Pipsqueak below them as he must have beaten back some unsuspecting soldiers; a few moments later, an arrow shot up, striking one of the last remaining firebenders in the back, and he groaned and slumped over.

Hakoda slapped his hands together, pleased that they were done with them, and made his way back to the stairwell, impressed with the sight of a dozen downed enemy soldiers. Their leader was on his knees, with his hands bound by a chain.

"We got him, Chief." Gilak declared, the burly warrior standing over him with his blood-stained club, "Now, what do we do with him?"

"What were you here for?" he asked the officer, "Because, it wasn't just to take this place. This was one of the best defended parts of the base. There has to be an ulterior motive."

"Like I'd tell you." he scoffed, and Hakoda gestured to Gilak's club.

Gilak broke the man's right arm without a second thought, and he screamed out in pain, looking terrified at where his radius bone stuck out of his sleeve.

"Yeah, since my son's involved in all this, I'm especially concerned." he stressed, "So, tell us, or your other arm will go next." he demanded, and the officer's head drooped down.

"Th-the Princess's schematics. She has some wonder weapon... that flying machine. We need it." he explained, and Hakoda laughed.

"Yeah, I doubt you'll find them... given she and that weapon aren't here." he derided his efforts, believing that the man was being truthful; he hadn't heard anything about a flying machine other than from Katara, who said that Azula had used something of the sort to try and get to the North Pole when she was plotting against Admiral Zhao.

"Some of them tried to make a break for it!" he heard one of the guards shout out, and Hakoda's eyes turned to the stairwell.

"Somebody toss this guy in the dungeon. We've got a battle to win." he declared, his orders understood, and he entrusted the officer's fate to his allies.

He raced down the staircase, and when he reached the bottom, he could see a few soldiers dashing down the hallway towards the sea-ward side of the compound. He ran after them, keeping his club in hand, ready to take down the soldiers if they tried to mount another defence against them. They burst out the doors, where Hakoda could now see how they had gotten inside; the gates were busted open by a now shattered boulder, presumably fired from one of the many ships in the bay. Beyond the gates lay what remained of the pier, which was shattered and crumbling into the sea.

The soldiers turned around once they realised they didn't have anywhere to go, and got into a line, ready to defend only themselves, losing all the ground they had gained thus far. Joining Hakoda were his fellow warriors, and then, he heard footsteps behind him; some of the Earth Kingdom fighters had come to join him, including the Freedom Fighters, who brandished bloodied weapons.

"Nowhere to run, ash-makers!" Jet, their leader, called out the enemy soldiers, whose forms only tensed, and flames burst from the palms of the firebenders.

"We will never surrender to the likes of you." the leading soldier declared, wiping blood from his lips, "Kill every last one of them!" he ordered his comrades, who shot out fire streams, which were blocked off by a wall of earth that one of the earthbenders raised up.

Hakoda nodded at him, feeling bad for not remembering his name, but he was sure he would eventually return the favour. Once the wall was dropped, Hakoda lunged forwards with his club, striking one of the firebenders across his knees, forcing him to the ground, where it was rather easy to kick him in the side of the head, and keep him down. He swung his club around, striking a pike that was being thrust at him, before pushing the wielder back. A boulder was shot out, striking the non-bender in the chest, before the Chief moved back into form, weaving out of the way of a flurry of fireballs shot his way.

However, he wasn't as fast as he thought he was, and got smacked across the face by a fireball, which singed his beard, making him cringe as he stumbled back. He grit his teeth, and swung the club underarm at the firebender who was ready to shoot another attack at him; the sound of the man's wrist breaking was surprisingly relieving, and Hakoda didn't waste a moment. He whacked the man's helmet, breaking the skull face plate and throwing him down to the ground. By that point, there was only a few enemy soldiers standing in front of them, and they were forced to step out of the gates, leaving them by the ruined pier.

Luck never lasted forever, and Hakoda knew that when a fresh group of soldiers came into view, presumably having followed the exterior wall around to the gates; they were uninjured and enthused to fight, throwing a barrage of fireballs before the non-benders rushed in and forced them back with their pikes. One of the firebenders must have realised he was the leader, as he rushed forward and punched him in the chest with a flame-covered fist, throwing the Chief onto his back.

"Hakoda!" he heard Bato shout out behind him, and he heard the sound of steel striking steel; even with his armour on, hitting the ground made his back ache, and he struggled to get back to his feet as his fellow warriors fought around him, trying their best to protect him.

A fire stream coursed above his head, forcing him back down to the ground, and he pulled his dagger from his belt, through with waiting around to get his face burnt off; he pulled his knees up and with a single leap, threw himself up and slashed one of the firebenders across his arms, slashing right through the leather of his armguards. He cried out in pain, and Hakoda grabbed him by the shoulder, turning him around as a human shield against any more firebenders who wanted to try and hit him.

"Get back!" he heard somebody shout, and the Chief tensed his legs, holding up the machete against the firebender's throat.

That was until he was thrown off his feet again, but not by flames; he was splashed by water, as if a wave had just come right off the bay and inundated the whole area. He fell down, finding himself in a puddle of water, and once he pushed the firebender off him, his jaw dropped in awe as he saw most of the firebenders thrown around by coils of water, and then frozen to the ground. Lifting his head, he realised who had just saved them: his own daughter.

She had a cold, hard look in her eyes as she gracefully moved her hands around, throwing the soldiers around like she was playing with them, rather than actually trying to seriously injure them. A few of the firebenders tried to get back up, but his allies took the chance to knock them out, the earthbenders not wasting the distraction Katara provided. Within a few moments, all of them were either restrained or unconscious, leaving Hakoda in awe of the achievement.

"Katara." he spoke her name, allowing himself to smile, "It's good to see you."

She looked close to tears, and rushed over to him, hugging her father tightly; it hurt a little, after the beating he'd received earlier, but he didn't complain, holding her with all his might.

"Where's your brother?" he asked her, and she scrunched her lips.

"Probably at the North Pole." she clarified, making Hakoda scrunch his lips.

"Sorry, the North Pole? I thought you were done with all that."

"We need their help." she acknowledged, before glancing around, at the variety of fighters that surrounded them, men and women from three nations, all working as one.

"But... maybe you've already got all the help we'll need."