The North's Aftermath
1
One moment, everything had been darkness.
Then, the sky had been on fire.
Katara barely could give her eyes credit. She gaped at the sky above them in fear and horror: this wasn't the Fire Nation's weapon, was it? It couldn't be. None of those airships had achieved anything comparable to this so far, the reach of these flames was too great, too powerful…
What on earth was she witnessing? Why, if it was striking the Fire Nation's forces, did a strange, foreboding feeling lay roots upon her heart?
Probably because of the man languishing, flinching, on her lap. He wasn't unconscious yet, but Zuko's injury was serious enough to threaten his life: Katara gritted her teeth, forcing herself to focus on him again, attempting not to look at the streaks of flames, or the sounds of explosions in the bay and beyond it…
"Stay with me, okay? Stay with me, Zuko!" she told him, her hand lit up with the glow of her waterbending healing. Zuko breathed with difficulty, flinching and snarling under her healing.
She had never needed to tend to a wound as severe as this one. The arrow had landed so close to his heart that it might just be rupturing important blood vessels: the aim of the Yu-Yan archers was certainly extraordinary, but in a situation like this one, the last thing Katara wanted to do was admire their prowess.
Blood spilled from his back: the arrow had punctured his body, and now it nestled within him in such a way that Katara dreaded the very thought of removing it: the bleeding would be entirely out of control if she dared do that. How could she help him? What the blazes could she do to heal Zuko fast enough, let alone when her strength was hardly at its best, too?
She shivered as despair began to encroach around her: what to do? What to do? What to…?
A familiar groan, and the gust of wind by her, alerted her to the fact that Appa had approached her. But he hadn't done so alone:
Sitting at his neck, Princess Yue gazed at her with compassion and concern.
"Princess…?" Katara raised her gaze at her, confused.
"Bring him up to the saddle!" she said. "We'll go back to the oasis. You'll be able to do more for him there than here!"
"But… b-but the fight, what about…?" Katara said. Yue frowned as she gazed towards the bay: Katara had mainly focused on Zuko and the sky so far.
"Even if it keeps going… I don't think you can afford to let him die just to keep fighting, can you?" Yue said, earnestly. "We've… we've lost too many people today as it is."
Katara gritted her teeth and nodded: she briefly stopped bending to heal Zuko, and instead used her power to boost an ice pillar that allowed her to climb onto the saddle, carrying the banished prince with her. Yue watched with concern as Katara settled in place, bringing water with her to continue easing Zuko's wound, hoping to at least stabilize him somehow.
Yue glanced forward now: by that crack in the wall, a group of strangers now stood with Kino. He seemed so unsettled, so distraught… but he raised his gaze towards her when he felt her watching him.
He had told her the command for the bison's flight. She could go without him, but surely, he'd want to join in to confirm his friend would be safe and sound…?
Kino nodded from afar, though: he wanted no time wasted. Zuko would be much more likely to be saved if they took off at once.
Yue nodded back at him before giving out the words that saw Appa lifting to the skies once again:
"Yip-yip!"
Kino breathed heavily as he watched them fly away, back in the direction they had come from. Appa was tired, so much so that helping during the fight hadn't been an option for the exhausted bison…
So much had gone wrong where nothing should have. He shuddered, fists tight as he shook his head in frustration. If they'd arrived one day earlier, maybe two… just that much, and they would have been able to help the Water Tribe. They had mistakenly assumed the Fire Nation would only launch an attack when the sun rose above the horizon… just as it was rising right now. Kino glanced in its direction… finding the flames above, burning in the sky, were starting to dwindle.
"What was that?" Fei Li asked, daunted still by what they'd seen. Kino swallowed hard and shook his head.
"I don't know. Whatever it was… it destroyed their fleet," Kino said, gritting his teeth.
He should be relieved by that. He should be rejoicing. Instead, his heart hung heavily: had he made a mistake? Had he been wrong to try to help Zuko and Katara when he had? Was it reckless of him to take advantage of his ability to mix in within the enemy, ever ignored over how inconsequential he usually was? He had wanted to do right by them, to ease their load… and Zuko had taken a deadly wound because of that.
A hand fell upon his shoulder. Kino glanced at Rui Shi, who stared at him meaningfully.
"Did they hurt you?" the former guard asked him. Kino winced, shaking his head.
"N-no, and if they had, it wouldn't matter. Prince Zuko, he… he needs to be taken care of. He's the top priority," Kino said, firmly. "What about you? Your group…?"
"Some minor injuries here and there, but we've survived," Rui Shi said, glancing at his allies: some of their hot-air balloons were safe and sound, others had sustained considerable damage – Kino hadn't even noticed that one of them had been taken down just as the group was landing to help them, and it lay in shambles now amid the wreckage of the city, among the numerous corpses of Fire Nation forces, too… "I'm sure others are in need of assistance far more urgently than us. Nevertheless, Kino, where is Sokka?"
Kino winced: he opened his mouth to answer… then he glanced towards the source of the fire from earlier. He shivered as he wondered now if Aang or Sokka had been responsible for those flames, somehow…
"If… if I were to guess, over there," Kino said. Rui Shi frowned. "We separated by his choice. He told us, Katara, Zuko and me, to take Princess Yue and come to the frontlines while he… while he and Aang dealt with Admiral Zhao."
Rui Shi's eyes widened. Whether he was more concerned for Sokka's fate or outraged by knowing Zhao had been here, Kino couldn't tell.
"We have to find him. Now," Rui Shi said, stepping forward and making to climb off the ice ledges they had been on.
"Not so fast… firebender."
Rui Shi and his allies, whether the pilots or the benders, froze in place: a group of waterbenders, with water whips at the ready, stepped up to them… the leader of which was a balding man with long, white hair.
"Master Pakku, they're safe!" Kino exclaimed, moving towards the man. Pakku scoffed. "They're on our side, they were helping take down the Fire Nation's forces…!"
"Is that so?" Pakku asked, sternly. "Would be much easier to believe if you weren't in a Fire Nation outfit, yourself. Are you the one who was supposed to be guarding Princess Yue?"
"I… yes. It's me," Kino said, shivering. "I'm… a former soldier of the Fire Nation."
"As are all of us," Rui Shi said, firmly. Pakku's eyes narrowed. "We're deserters now. Whatever that may mean to you and yours, however, you have other things to worry about right now. Our group's leader may be in danger. The Avatar should be with him. Whatever you choose to do with the rest of us, please prioritize finding them first."
"Ah, should I go find them and leave you unsupervised, then?" Pakku asked, skeptical. Rui Shi scowled. "It sounds like quite the marvelous idea, doesn't it?"
"Then bring us along with you as you find them," Rui Shi said, frowning heavily. "I understand your distrust, I respect it entirely, but you cannot risk that man's life. Please… help us find him. Please."
Pakku scowled: his distrust of Fire Nation soldiers seemed to urge him to throw this lot in prison, regardless of their role in saving the Water Tribe… but that thought stayed his hand: someone had indeed been attacking the airships and hot-air balloons in the distance. It made sense for them to also be allied with the strange group Yue had brought with her to the wall…
"You'll come with us. Whether to help or to be imprisoned, only time will tell," Pakku said, firmly. Rui Shi breathed deeply and nodded. "Now then…"
The waterbending master split his forces: half of them would stay by the wall, to attack or kill stragglers who attempted to escape from the Fire Nation's massive wreckage. The other half would join him by keeping the untrustworthy Fire Nation deserters in check until it was possible to determine if they were friends or foes.
Rui Shi reassured their group into following the waterbenders – though even he had trouble determining whether that was the correct choice or not. He had personally experienced how deadly the White Lotus leaders could be whenever it suited them, and he certainly had no intentions of giving Pakku excuses to decide they were actually his enemies, regardless of everything they had done to help defeat the Fire Nation's forces. He hoped the best way to earn his trust should be by playing by his rules and following his lead: they approached a stream in the middle of the city, and the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation natives in their group were startled as Pakku's allies urged them to climb the gondolas they pushed back into the water – they had been stored safely within small safehouses on the sides of the river, it seemed.
If their transportation means had been surprising, the fact that the Northern Water Tribe people boosted their boats' speed with their bending, with expert control and notorious urgency, was even more impressive. Each of the boats sailed one after the other, even sailing uphill at times, rushing past broken streets, damaged houses, torn bridges…
Until, at last, they approached the source of the mighty firebending that had changed the tides of war.
Exhaustion had struck Aang powerfully once he stopped bending. His chest heaved as he braced himself on the icy ground, breathing with difficulty: channeling the power of his past lives, on his own terms, had taken so much more out of him than he could have ever predicted it would. He coughed, his head spinning, the world so difficult to discern… the presences that had accompanied him before, those of his numerous past lives, had merged quietly with his soul once more, now that he appeared to not require them anymore…
Sokka was safe. The worst of the battle was over. He had helped, he had ensured their leader, his friend, would survive regardless of his wounds…
His wounds. Aang perked up, still dizzy, still feeling weaker than he had in months, and he turned towards Sokka.
The Blue Wolf lay on the ice, unmoving.
"Sokka…! Sokka!" Aang called him, crawling awkwardly, gracelessly, towards his friend. Sokka winced, eyes shifting to meet his. "Are you okay? Sokka…!"
"Aang…" he said, swallowing hard. "What about you? Are you…?"
"Never mind me…" Aang said, breathing heavily, as he reached a hand towards Sokka's head: a streak of blood underneath him gave away that he had sustained a headwound. "Sokka, you're hurt. I… I'll get you to Katara, I…!"
"Don't… don't know if you have it in you to go anywhere, let alone dragging me along, Aang…" Sokka said, with a compassionate gaze. Aang winced. "What you just did…"
"I… I couldn't let them kill you," Aang said, gritting his teeth. "So I…"
So he had jumped into the fire.
He had taken it into his control.
He had urged the Avatars to join him, and they had done exactly that.
The outcome of that choice, however, hadn't fully dawned on the Avatar until then.
His lips parted as his trembling body threatened to tear him undone. His dark eyes rose to the sky… to the streaks of fire that remained above them.
To the catastrophic, destroyed Fire Nation fleet.
Aang gasped. He stumbled, losing his bearings, his senses… his heart gained speed, so vividly alive, so starkly contrasted with the death and destruction he had weaved with his own hands.
There wasn't enough air for his lungs. In such an open space, there was not enough room to run away… among so much debris of ice, blood and steel, there was nowhere to hide.
What had he done?
He shook his head. He closed his eyes. He brought his hands to his head… his nails digging into skin: what had he done?
"Aang…" Sokka called him, his voice ringing with concern. Aang shuddered, shaking his head as an impulse he couldn't possibly comprehend urged him to hurt himself… to inflict pain, so much of it, because of the pain he had already inflicted upon countless others.
How many people had he hurt?
How many people had he killed?
He shivered violently, still shaking his head: he wanted to deny it. To close his mind and heart … to pretend anything, anyone else had been responsible for the destroyed airship, not that far away from where he and Sokka had wound up at. Half of it had crashed inland, the other half at sea, the ship torn in half after the burning carcass of the vehicle landed heavily on the Tribe's wall.
But try as though he might to deny it… he had been the one to choose not handing the reins fully to the Avatars. He hadn't wanted his past lives to use him, to control him… he had chosen, instead, to remain fully aware of what power he was channeling. He had deliberately done this… he had done it without proper understanding of the magnitude of the destruction he'd weave, but he had done it. Aang had done it.
Sokka gritted his teeth, watching Aang warily: he wanted to sit up, to talk him out of his likely crisis… but it seemed unlikely that he'd be able to do the first thing, and that alone was starting to worry him too much to be in any fit state to do the second one. He couldn't feel his legs… he could barely feel any of his body. How hard had he fallen? Had it been higher, with less opposition than ever before? Was it due to the way in which he had been spinning after the soldiers forced him off the airship's catwalks?
Whatever the reason… he couldn't move. He knew his head was bleeding, he could feel it too… but he couldn't even move a hand to find out how severe the wound had been.
It truly wasn't the best moment for Aang to lose his mind to the conflict between his duty and his soul, to lose sight of reality as he panicked over the gravity of his actions… but Sokka didn't dare call for more attention, even if it might have been a good idea to do so. Would Aang blame him for what he'd been forced to do? Would he hold Sokka's reckless plans responsible for this? The lack of planning, rather… curses, he had never imagined the attack would happen before the sun rose. And it was rising now, Sokka could see his surroundings clearly enough to notice that, but…
A splashing sound interrupted his thoughts. He snarled, trying to glance in the direction of the noise: his clenched heart seemed to loosen up when he heard a familiar voice calling his name.
"Sokka!" Rui Shi roared: footsteps rushed towards him, and Sokka even dared smile as he closed his eyes. His friend was alright… he had survived somehow, and he was even in the Tribe now. He'd have to ask Rui Shi to explain how he'd gone about that eventually, Sokka figured… but for now, that he was there at all sufficed for the Gladiator.
The heavy footsteps reached him, and Rui Shi's face came into view afterwards, once Sokka opened his eyes. The Gladiator offered his friend a frail smile.
"Good to know you're… in better shape than me," he said, wincing as Rui Shi hoisted his head carefully. "How bad is it?"
"I'm sure you've had worse, at least in regards of your head, but…" Rui Shi said, grimacing at the rigidity of Sokka's body, at the way his limbs were splayed. Their position wasn't exactly unnatural… but it certainly didn't appear to be one Sokka had struck by his own volition. "What happened to you? Sokka, can you move?"
"Nope," Sokka admitted. Rui Shi fell silent immediately. "I… I hope it's temporary, heh. Otherwise… guess I'm really fucked, right? Shit, I… I just wanted to kill him. I fucked up, Rui Shi, but I just…"
"Explain later. We'll have time for it, I hope," Rui Shi said, gritting his teeth and turning towards other people. "We have to move him. He needs medical attention at once. Master Pakku, is it possible…?"
"Your lot are terribly demanding when it comes to healing," Pakku said, his voice clearly hostile. "Our people are wounded as well. I'm not saying he won't be tended to, but you cannot dictate what our priorities will be, Fire Nation deserter…"
"If he can't, then maybe someone else can."
Kino's voice was so deep, so unusually serious, that Sokka almost failed to recognize it. He frowned, trying to see him from the corner of his eyes: he had climbed off the boat eh had ridden to reach them, and he wore a Fire Nation army uniform, drenched in blood. Going by how he stood up without flinching over any wounds, the blood was most likely not his…
"What does that mean now, boy?" Pakku hissed. Kino gritted his teeth.
"Appa. We have a letter from one of your friends," Kino said. "We'll take Sokka back to the Palace, to the Oasis if he needs it…!"
"Do you people think the sacred water is to be used indiscriminately, curses…?" Pakku hissed.
"Please…!"
Another voice joined theirs… this time, Aang's.
The Avatar had risen to his feet, trembling violently: Pakku was taken aback at the very sight of him, his outfit notoriously that of an Air Nomad… his arrow tattoos the sign of an airbending master. But where such people had been known for their peaceful living and their tempered emotions, the young man before him appeared moments away from collapsing under a heavy weight he carried on his shoulders, heavier than the airship beyond them…
"If… if there's anything to be done to make up for the water used on Sokka, I'll do it. I… I'll reach out to the spirits," Aang said, trembling violently. "I'll do whatever they ask of me! But please…! Please save him! Please…!"
He fell to his knees again, this time in a reverence so much deeper than it had needed to be. Pakku stared at him in utmost confusion… Kino, though, seemed to finally break the spell of his rage and concern for Zuko's fate as he turned towards Aang. He had noticed both him and Sokka at once, but Sokka's rigid position on the ice had seemed to be much more worrisome than Aang's awkward crouching… even so, Kino had stepped up close to him as Sokka spoke to Rui Shi, and now he knelt beside the Avatar, a hand on his back, a pained grimace on his face.
"Aang…" Kino called him. Aang flinched: he couldn't even meet his gaze. "Aang, was it…? Did you do it? Aang, that fire, was it…?"
"I-I didn't know what I…! I wasn't trying to…! I…!" Aang winced, tears spilling down his face as he shuddered, shrinking in place.
Kino gritted his teeth, wrapping an arm around his friend… dreading that he might have made things worse in doing so: would Kino worsen his guilt? Would he think that the countless people he had killed had been Fire Nation soldiers, much like Kino himself had been, once…?
"The… Avatar?" Pakku asked: while he certainly didn't share the young man's grief over the loss of life, he had made immediate note of the fact that he hadn't denied being the source of the burst of flames that turned the battle in their favor.
It made enough sense, though. If someone had the power to turn the tides of a battle in a single move, it was certainly the Avatar.
He snarled, shaking his head and glancing at his waterbenders and the Fire Nation deserters.
"Fine, I'll see that this man is tended to," he said. "See to transporting him carefully, then. But you…"
Pakku pointed at Kino, who raised his head with a scowl.
"You are going to give me that letter you talked about. Whatever you may need to do for the Avatar's peace of mind will have to wait until later."
Kino breathed deeply and nodded: the letter would be in their luggage, on Appa's saddle. If that was the one way to ensure Pakku wouldn't put up further hurdles and protests over their group, he'd make certain to hand it over as soon as possible.
The firebenders began working to hoist the immobile Sokka, creating a manner of stretcher by piling their cloaks together to carry him on them. All the while, Aang didn't move. The Avatar remained in place, and while he might have been relieved to know that Sokka would be tended to, he seemed unwilling to join them in the journey back to the Palace.
"Aang, Appa is up in the Palace already," Kino said, clasping his friend's shoulder. "Katara… she took Zuko to the oasis. He… he's wounded."
"Wounded?" Aang repeated, glancing at Kino in disbelief. "W-what…?"
"An arrow. I… I was hoping to help, I feel like I only made things worse. A Yu-Yan archer found a clear shot at him," Kino gritted his teeth. "Princess Yue is with them. I… I hope she can find their healers. Aren't Northern Water Tribe healers supposed to be the best ones?"
"I… I think so," Aang nodded.
"Come on, then," Kino said, clasping his shoulder. "Even if you're not wounded…"
"No… no, Kino, no," Aang shook his head, pushing himself up to his full height. Kino frowned, following suit as Aang stepped away from him.
"What do you mean, 'no'?" Kino frowned. "Aang…"
"I… I will find survivors. I'll help bring them to the Palace," Aang said, swallowing hard. Kino's eyes widened. "I… I'll just get in the way otherwise. I can help. I can… I can make myself useful. Go with them… g-get the letter, make sure Sokka will be treated, check on Zuko and Katara, I… I'll see you guys later."
"Are you sure? Aang…" Kino eyed him warily. The Avatar shook his head again: he stepped away, leaning down to pick up his staff, immediately spreading it open into its glider form.
Kino stood in place, watching as Aang took off, his flight unsteady: he was off to torture himself, it seemed, by looking at the destruction he had wrought. Kino snarled, fists tightened as his heart churned with anger. That Aang had been forced to go this far… that the Fire Lord had pushed for this act of war, attempting to annihilate the Water Tribe, killing so many of the North Pole's natives while also losing as good as his entire navy and Air Force…
Who the hell could win when this was the true face of war? How could either side claim victory when the battlefield was littered with corpses? When the great hero of the day, the Avatar, appeared to be stricken with grief and sorrow over his own actions, to the point where he might just lose his willingness to fight, all be it out of fear of how destructive his choices could be?
"Who'd have thought… you have your own palanquin, for once," Rui Shi told Sokka: there wasn't much humor to the situation, but his attempt to make light of it caught Kino by surprise as he turned towards them now: Sokka was safely hoisted on the cloaks now, suspended by the former guards.
"Well, that's one I didn't expect… you're my palanquin bearers now?" Sokka asked, smiling a little. Rui Shi nodded.
"Weirder things have happened, I'd say," he replied. "Alright, let's get going. Kino… you're coming too, right?"
Kino gritted his teeth and nodded: their group climbed aboard the gondolas anew, with Sokka safely laid down on the one Pakku was leading. Once more, they progressed upriver through the many streets of the Water Tribe… many of which had been damaged during the battle. It was clear, even now, that the city had once been magnificent… but numerous grandiose buildings of pristine ice had been torn to ruins. The higher they went, the less damage they found… and yet the Palace's stairs bore signs of damage and violence as well, undoubtedly wrought by Zhao's group.
It was something Katara hadn't noticed, for she had simply rushed back to the oasis with Zuko and Yue, on Appa's back. After tearing apart the temporary barrier she and Aang had prepared, so Appa could fly in, the desperate waterbender had returned to healing her friend. Yue, however, leapt off Appa's back and raced out of the oasis, marching at haste towards the Palace. Katara hadn't asked what she was doing, focusing only on hoisting Zuko down on the grass with some waterbending to aid her, unconcerned by the bodies of injured or dead Fire Nation soldiers around her…
He was unconscious by then. He had lost much blood, she had been unable to keep all of it in place. She gritted her teeth as she dared reach carefully for the central pond's water, taking just enough of it, she hoped, to keep Zuko alive…
"Come on. Work with me here…" she said: she pressed the water to his wound and it lit up brightly once again, just as when she had used it to heal Sokka.
She kept the water in place, swirling it over and over… hoping for the best. Hoping he'd survive. Hoping she wouldn't fail him…
Yue raced through the hallways of the Palace corridors, wincing and resisting the tears at the sight of the fallen warriors and fighters she had seen – many of them had been meant to secure the Palace, but upon realizing Zhao's forces had invaded the depths of the city, near the Palace, they had raced outside to fight them only to find death at their hands. As distraught as she was, though, she couldn't stop here. She dashed forward as fast as her legs could carry her, moving to the entrance of the safe tunnels where other guards stood, faces pale as they awaited any news… and they were visibly relieved, if surprised, to see her again.
"Princess Yue…!"
"Get Yagoda and the healers! Please! Tell them they're needed in the oasis, at once!"
Confused as they were, the guards still obeyed promptly. As urgent as her request was, though, Yagoda and the best waterbending healers weren't the first to leave the safe caverns…
"Yue…? Yue, child! You're… you're alright?! You're alright!"
Arnook's emotional voice caught his daughter by surprise as the man rushed out of the ice cavern, wrapping his arms around her at haste. She gasped, hugging him back and burying her face in his shoulder: she had thought she'd never see him again. He had thought the same thing, too. She set out on that day to meet her fate, the one she believed awaited her, regardless of her wishes to live her life to the fullest… and somehow, she had survived.
"A-Admiral Zhao meant to kill me… me, and the Moon Spirit, b-but…" Yue explained as her father sobbed in relief, holding her tightly. "A group of… of allies arrived, Father. They saved my life… and now we need to save them too."
"You… what? Saved? By a group of…? Who do you mean?" Arnook asked, pulling back and cupping her face. Yue swallowed hard.
"It's… it's difficult to explain. Even now I don't understand most of it, but…"
A rush of footsteps in the cavern gave away that Yagoda and her healers were finally on their way. Yue breathed out in relief as they reached the exit.
"Please! The oasis, they're there! Save his life, please!" Yue explained. Yagoda nodded promptly.
"We're on our way, Princess, on our way…!"
Without knowing who she would be saving, Yagoda made haste indeed, rushing to the oasis with a retinue of experienced healers beside her. As Yue attempted to explain the confusing final developments of the battle to her father, the healers reached the oasis, melting away what was left of the temporary barrier before glimpsing the waterbending healer sitting by that pond, among Fire Nation corpses, it seemed…
"What on earth happened here…?" Yagoda frowned, immediately disturbed at the sight of so many armored, dead men inside the most sacred location of their Tribe.
"Who is that?" one of Yagoda's best students asked, gesturing at the healer kneeling by the pond. The woman shook her head, failing to recognize the healer in question, but giving the matter no importance as she rushed to the pond.
"Princess Yue told us to help and help we… shall."
The woman's determination to fulfill her princess's orders faltered once she realized the man she was expected to heal was visibly Fire Nation.
"What…?" Yagoda frowned. Katara gasped, raising her gaze towards her.
"Y-you… who are you? C-can you help…?" she asked.
"Who are you? And why… why would you heal a Fire Nation man?" Yagoda asked.
"Because he's not with them!" Katara exclaimed, desperate. "Look, I can explain all day if you want, but I'm not…! I'm not strong enough anymore, I don't know what to do, I…!"
"Oh, still yourself, child. We will help, we will help…" Yagoda said, stepping closer and kneeling by Katara's side.
"But…" said one of her helpers. Yagoda shook her head.
"Princess Yue was desperate. So is this girl. He must be someone important," Yagoda said, reaching for the water in the pond herself. "Get ready: we must act quickly once we pull out the arrow."
The fact that all the healers responded positively startled Katara: someone even wrestled the water she had been bending out of her control… and another one placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"You were out in the battle? Were you fighting?" a middle-aged woman asked. Katara shivered and nodded. "My goodness… please, sit back, dear. We'll take care of your friend now."
"Y-you… please. Please, I… i-if there's anything I can do…" Katara said.
"You kept him alive this far. That's all you needed to do," Yagoda responded. Katara's eyes widened.
It dawned on her then that these were the northern waterbending healers she had occasionally heard of. Unlike Katara, who had come across that healing power by sheer chance, these women had trained in healing arts all their lives… hopefully, their experience and deeper knowledge of their techniques would be far more effective at saving Zuko, stabilizing him and bringing him back from the brink of death than Katara had been.
But could they succeed? Would they? Watching Zuko's pale face, Katara's heart sank as the darkest, worst possibility continued to daunt her, encroaching around her very soul with a deeper, more harrowing fear than any she had experienced since their journey had begun…
By then, the Palace saw the arrival of Pakku's group: the unconscious or dead warriors and waterbenders near the building chilled the very hearts of the newly arriving fighters. Pakku tensed up at the sight of them, but he marched ahead regardless.
"Boy," he called, shooting a glare at Kino. "Get that letter at once. I'll find the Chief."
"Right. On it," Kino said, nodding and marching towards Appa: his large frame could be seen by the oasis's area, crowded as it was…
Against his better judgment, Kino rushed towards the oasis's shattered door, climbing over the debris first to glance at the pond: around ten women crowded by the area, surrounding what could only be Zuko's limp body. Lights gleamed by his torso… Kino swallowed hard as fear clawed away at him. He had sworn to Suki that he'd protect Zuko and ensure he could go home safely…
So had Katara, and Kino glanced in her direction to find her sitting helpless, hands stained with Zuko's blood. She appeared not to know what to do. The women taking care of Zuko said something Kino failed to understand from afar, and she crouched closer, whether to assist them or to witness whatever they were doing to heal him.
Whatever it was, it had to work. Kino needed it to work. He shivered and breathed deeply, turning towards Appa and jumping on the saddle: Momo greeted him with an apprehensive chirp – the lemur was terribly cold, but there wasn't much Kino could do to help him personally…
"I'll… I'll hand you over to one of the others, someone should be able to warm you up," Kino said, gathering Momo in his arms before beginning to search their rucksacks, desperate to find that damn letter…
By the time he finally found it, stashed among Sokka's personal belongings, the group by the oasis started to move. Kino frowned, glancing in their direction: they exited the oasis with Zuko's limp body suspended on an ice block, which they moved towards the Palace with their bending.
"Katara… Katara!" Kino called, jumping off Appa's saddle right away upon glimpsing her: Momo chirped, jumping towards the distraught woman.
The leader among the healers cast him a wary glance: some looked ready to flee on sight… he really should get rid of the blood-soaked Fire Nation uniform as soon as possible. Even so, Katara's reaction to him gave away that he wasn't a foe either.
"They've done their best, Kino…" Katara said, stepping closer to him: she was trembling. Kino clasped her hand firmly, as though afraid that she might crumble before him. "The arrow hit a dangerous place, but… that water, they knew how to use it better than I could. Better than Zhao, I'm sure, too…"
"Then… is he going to be okay?" Kino asked: the waterbending healers had moved past them, ferrying Zuko towards the Palace…
The Prince had never seemed so pale in Kino's eyes. The healers continued to wield their water over his chest, applying pressure on the wound, attempting to mend it even as they moved him indoors.
Kino's heart sank, an unpleasant, cold worming sensation digging its way through his insides… Zuko might be saved, but that didn't change that he had leapt forward to save him when he shouldn't have.
The Prince had joined this journey with his sights set on going home to his family. He had so much to fight for, so much to live for… and even so, he had chosen to join this journey, to risk his life and set the world free from his father's tyranny. If Kino had done better, if he had made the right choices… would it be Zuko lying on that block of ice, transported inside the Palace, or could it be someone as inconsequential as Kino himself, instead?
The guilt that permeated him almost stopped him from following the waterbenders, but he did as much once Katara, with Momo now wrapped around her neck, made her way into the Palace too. Trembling even more violently than Katara had been, Kino marched after her… hand firmly gripping the letter Pakku needed to see.
Much seemed to be happening within the Palace, as Yagoda promptly told the shocked Arnook, still attempting to process his daughter's explanations, that she would need a full floor of the Palace to begin tending to so many wounded. Arnook agreed to it at once, Pakku even volunteered to help… but none of that seemed to register with Katara as her eyes fell upon the cluster of firebenders gathered around a languishing form, resting rigidly over the spread cloaks of the hot-air balloon's warriors.
"Sokka…? Sokka!"
She called for her brother impulsively, careless about disturbing the tense ambience any further. Momo leapt off her shoulders, flying hastily and landing on Fei Li's, instead, as though to look at Sokka from this new vantage point. The Gladiator winced as his sister approached, and Rui Shi made some room to allow Katara to reach her brother, eyes tearful as she confirmed, with no end of relief, that her brother was alive and conscious.
"Uh… hey. Sorry… I messed up a bit," Sokka said, giving her a pained smile. Katara breathed deeply, shaking her head as she touched his face carefully.
"What happened to you? Sokka, did you catch up to him? Did you…?"
"I did. I… I guess I should explain later, but… I did," Sokka said, swallowing hard. Katara's breath caught. "I couldn't kill him. I tried… a bunch of times, too. He would've died without the water, I guess, but… I tried…"
"Well, whatever you did still worked," Katara said, breathing deeply. "The Fire Nation fleet and the navy, well…"
"It wasn't me."
Katara frowned. She knew, deep down, that it was unlikely for her non-bending brother to be responsible for the unnatural phenomenon of streaking fire she had witnessed in the sky, but the other possibility was scarier still.
For he wasn't here. Zuko was wounded, Kino was behind her, Sokka was lying down on that improvised stretcher before her… but Aang wasn't here.
"What… what happened to him?" Katara asked, fear striking deep inside her heart. Sokka gritted his teeth.
"I… I don't know. I don't know what he did, I… I'd fallen off the airship when he showed up, Zhao was going to escape but… but he tried to kill me with the airship's weapon. That's when Aang showed up and… I think he entered the Avatar State."
There wasn't much need to elaborate further. Katara covered her mouth with a hand just as the waterbending healers stepped up to the group of firebenders warily.
"That man requires aid as well, or so Pakku says…" Yagoda told them. The group nodded promptly. "Then we have no time to waste. Pick him up and follow me."
Katara hesitated. She wanted to ask Sokka where Aang was, if he was alright… to go find him, if she could do so. But Sokka's very own rigid state stopped her from doing so.
She didn't know if she could do anything to help anymore, but she had to try. She'd find Aang afterwards.
Pakku watched warily as the firebenders marched inside the Palace, carrying the helpless man who, as strong and large as he appeared, hardly seemed to be all that extraordinary right now… as reverent as the newcomers appeared to be around him, Pakku couldn't bring himself to trust any of them yet. He gestured with his head, and a group of waterbending guards followed the waterbending healers upstairs, ensuring that the firebenders would not be able to commit any sudden betrayals, if that were their intent…
"Far too much happened in too little time," Pakku concluded, turning towards Arnook and Yue, who stood side by side, watching the waterbenders carry Sokka away. "Even the Avatar has come back from the dead, or from nothingness, and taken part in this battle. Were the circumstances any different, I would call it a good omen… but after so many lives have been lost, I'm afraid this boon arrived far too late."
"If it hadn't arrived at all, our civilization wouldn't have survived," Arnook countered, frowning heavily. "What Yue is explaining to me is… it's blood-curdling, Pakku. But I still don't understand who they are, though, or where they came from…"
"If you want to… then maybe you should start here."
Pakku frowned: the bloodstained man in the Fire Nation uniform held a scroll in his hands, sealed shut with the symbol of the Order of the White Lotus.
"You're… a Fire Nation soldier?" Arnook said, eyeing Kino warily. Yue clasped her father's shoulder and nodded.
"He's the one who helped protect me. He saved me from Fire Nation troops… I know he's dressed like them now, but he only did that by the end, to help defeat them too," Yue said. "I… I trust him. I trust them. I wouldn't be here anymore if they hadn't arrived when they did."
"So it would seem," Pakku said, his voice still derisive.
Even so, he reached out to take the letter in his hand. Kino nodded as he took it… then turned around, marching towards the door.
"Wait!" Yue gasped, stepping past her father and his right-hand man. Kino slowed down, glancing at her remorsefully over his shoulder. "Where are you going? Your friends are…"
"One of my friends is still out there," Kino said. Yue gritted her teeth. "I… I don't know if I can do anything for him… I probably can't. But I… I'll only be in the way here. I'll come back once… once I'm sure I've done enough. Thank you for all you've done so far, though… Princess Yue."
He nodded in her direction before taking off without another word. Yue watched him remorsefully, unsure of why she felt quite so guilty over seeing off the man in such a state of misery. Something about him, perhaps the willingness to discard his life, was not entirely unfamiliar. She, too, had been ready to die on that very day if it meant saving her Tribe… she hadn't done it, and she certainly appreciated being alive, but she would have gladly sacrificed herself a thousand times over if it meant the hundreds, if not thousands of Water Tribe casualties could be brought back from the dead…
Whatever could be done, whoever could still be saved, Kino would do his best to find them. As tired as Appa might be, the Fire Nation soldier who had turned against his people climbed on the bison's saddle, calling out the command that saw the creature jumping into the sky, in order to help him search for more survivors from the air.
Yue sighed, watching the tormented young man leave with uncertainty. He had been so much brighter before his friends had been hurt… so idealistic, surely, believing there was nothing his allies couldn't overcome. He had been right to believe so, for a hopeless battle had turned its tides when they had arrived… but the cost had been greater than he had surely imagined possible. Hopefully, he would find peace with the outcome sooner than later, though that would be a challenging feat for every survivor of this devastating battle.
"This is…!"
Yue froze, turning towards the unusually emotional Pakku. The man gaped at the letter in his hands in disbelief, compelling both Arnook and Yue to step closer to him in hopes of reading its contents, to discern the source of his confusion and alarm…
Master Pakku.
I reach out to you through this missive to beseech you to aid General Sokka, of the Southern Water Tribe. The leader of the group that has arrived at your doorstep with this letter is a man of invaluable worth in the waging of the Hundred Year War: his leadership saw to the liberation of the cities of Omashu and Ba Sing Se over the course of the past six months. Half the Earth Kingdom has successfully broken the chains of oppression that Fire Lord Ozai fully crafted upon it ten years ago, an achievement only possible due to General Sokka.
This man is known as the Gladiator, as well as the Blue Wolf. His importance in the grand scheme of the war has shifted in more ways than I could recount in this letter. Once, I believed him my enemy: now, he has proven to be Fire Lord Ozai's greatest threat and foe instead. I find myself indebted profoundly to him, for only he has devised and executed plans that succeeded, recruiting valuable allies to his cause, including none other than the Avatar, as well as the Exiled Prince of the Fire Nation, Zuko. He has saved his people from Fire Lord Ozai's wrath, and now he intends to put an end to the war by ending his rule entirely.
He will assist you in defeating the forces Fire Lord Ozai has sent to assail the Northern Water Tribe for what we hope shall be his final stand against your people. Once you have triumphed over the Fire Nation's troops, I'm certain General Sokka shall explain his next plans and request for assistance in the form of warriors and waterbenders to join our ranks. Our army numbers near ten thousand at the moment, Master Pakku: never before have we been in a position as favorable as this one to stop the Fire Lord's forces. I request that you provide us with what ships and troops you may be able to spare: we shall make proper use of them, and they will be invaluable resources that will allow us to break the Fire Nation's armies for once and for all.
Optimism has never been my strongest suit, but for once, I find myself believing that we shall meet again in a free world. I shall see to it that your people's aid in our cause will not go to waste.
Jeong Jeong
"Ba Sing Se and Omashu?" Pakku said, his eyes still fixed upon those words. "The Fire Nation's hold on the greatest cities of the Earth Kingdom is gone?"
"And it was… because of this man?" Arnook said, puzzled. "The one who was wounded…?"
"He did appear to be their leader… he knew Admiral Zhao, personally," Yue said. Both Pakku and Arnook gazed at her in perplexity. "I don't know… I didn't get to understand much of what was happening either, I'm afraid. But… he certainly commanded respect from the others. They looked to him… they were set on protecting him and keeping him safe."
"How…? A man from the Southern Water Tribe?" Pakku said, frowning and rubbing his forehead. "Not that I'm frowning upon their potential, nothing further from that…"
"Chief Hakoda was a good, strong man," said Arnook. "He proved as much when he visited us, before Sozin's Comet's arrival…"
"Indeed, and yet this is not Chief Hakoda but a new man. An unknown one for us, at that," Pakku said. "Granted, we have been isolated for a long time… but if this man was quite so important, and Jeong Jeong believed he was his own enemy at some point, even, it stands to reason that in our few attempts to communicate with the White Lotus, he should have shared information about him."
"They're not very forthright when it comes to such things, are they?" Arnook said. Pakku scoffed.
"Blathering old fools, the lot of them," he said, shaking his head. "And this only makes matters more complicated. Despite what he said in this letter, I still… I still don't feel like I have the slightest clue of who that man is."
"Well… we shall try to learn more once he has healed. Once he's in proper shape to explain matters more thoroughly," Arnook said, gritting his teeth as he glanced at the last paragraphs of the missive. "Nonetheless… I fear for what this push to end the war will shape into, now that the battle took such a toll on our people. I… I don't know how many forces we may be able to spare for his purposes. How many ships, either…"
"We can discuss that later. Once he has healed, indeed," Pakku said, with a frown and a shake of his head. "For now… we'll do best to join the rescue efforts. Yagoda will have much work to do to ensure all our injured survive…"
Arnook nodded, and he and Pakku began discussing how to go about the rescue operations next. Yue, however breathed deeply as she glanced at those stairs… as she let herself think about the contents of that letter.
The group she had met earlier were no ordinary people, she had realized it from the start. The hatred between Admiral Zhao and this Sokka, the Gladiator… what little Yue had heard regarding the Fire Nation's gladiators made it all the more difficult to understand the moniker. Why would he have taken up such a name? Was he one of them? Was he mocking their gladiators somehow? The Fire Nation was such a distant world for her, Yue could barely fathom what their lives were like, what their society looked like…
But this man knew them. He had known Zhao… he had met Hahn, too. Now, Pakku's White Lotus associate, Jeong Jeong, claimed he was the Fire Lord's greatest enemy and threat…
There were so many things they had said in the oasis that Yue couldn't possibly begin to unravel, for she doubted she even remembered half of it correctly, deeply frightened as she had been. Even so, considering the condition their new allies were in right now, the likelihood was that they'd need to take a long time to heal from their wounds. Perhaps she would have plenty of time to find answers while they recovered from the strain they had forced themselves into in order to save the Northern Water Tribe.
But before finding any answers, she'd see to her people: she and Arnook made their way to the caverns, to organize the return of the civilians to the city, ensuring that everyone would help with the distribution of food and necessities for all the survivors, while Pakku led his waterbenders to thoroughly search the city. He would notice the sky bison, flying by the shores, as well as the Avatar, gliding further in the distance, searching through the shipwrecks, whether of warships or airships, for any sign of life.
The firebenders who carried Sokka assisted the waterbending healers with one final task after setting him down, on his stomach, on one of the beds in the hastily prepared medical wing in the Palace: Sokka winced at the strange sensations of his body as his allies removed his armor, but before long, he was left to lie down in silence, his back exposed as the healers worked on him steadily.
Katara watched from the threshold of the room, uncertain about joining them – a few others were working on Zuko still, but it appeared that his life was no longer at great risk, going by the focus of the healers on her brother instead. She breathed deeply at the sight of them, her heart clenched as the reality of the situation threatened to run away with her…
Rui Shi's firm hand fell upon her shoulder, startling her. Katara glanced up at him, finding deep concern in his amber gaze as well.
"They know what they're doing. Your brother will be alright," he said. Katara swallowed hard and nodded.
"I know, I… I know. You're all unhurt?" Katara asked.
"No noteworthy wounds for us," Rui Shi said. "They're better off focusing on them… and on their people, too. You need to regain your strength, though. I suspect you spent much of it in the battle, whether while you fought or while you healed Prince Zuko…"
"I… I guess so," Katara admitted, even if her mind wasn't quite as tired as her body – or maybe it was, and she simply didn't know how to process the exhaustion when there was so much to worry about… "What will you do, though? Just… wait out here?"
"Wait for the chief's verdict, if anything," Rui Shi said, brow drawing together heavily. Katara blinked blankly. "We… we don't really know what's going to happen with us. For now, we're best off staying out of the Tribespeople's way, while also remaining in sight in case they worry that we might be up to anything treacherous. The way they're looking at us… there's no blaming them for their hatred of the Fire Nation, more so after a battle like this one, but I'm afraid we're not safe right now. Any steps out of line, any breaches of boundaries, and they might react against us."
"But…" Katara's chest heaved as she breathed rapidly, shaking her head. Rui Shi squeezed her shoulder gently.
"It's not the first time this happens. We'll be patient," he said. "The letter Jeong Jeong sent might have helped already. Don't worry about us anymore than you already have. Just… keep an eye on your brother, I would say. He's bound to jump off the bed once he starts feeling his legs again, so…"
Katara gritted her teeth – that was actually quite likely to be Sokka's behavior, she couldn't pretend otherwise.
"Okay. I… I'll stay here. Be careful," she said, gazing at him compassionately.
Rui Shi nodded in her direction before joining his fellow firebenders by the stairs. They returned to the Palace's foyer, taking their seat, by Rui Shi's suggestion, against the wall. None of them would get in the way of the Water Tribe's initial work to repair the massive damage done to their city – they were unlikely to be able to help them with such repairs, too, therefore, they were better off out of everyone else's way.
Katara finally dared enter the room where the healers were working, stepping close to watch as the waterbenders seemed to mend Sokka's back through their water: the effect wasn't apparent in plain sight besides the slow easing of the bruises upon her brother's already scarred back.
"This one's seen his fair share of strife, from the looks of it," Yagoda said, eyeing the long scar across his back, all the way to his hip.
"Can you… can you help him, though?" Katara asked. Sokka, still conscious even if he kept his eyes shut, grunted softly upon realizing she was nearby.
"He's fortunate his armor protected him," Yagoda said. "The damage was extensive, but it could have been far worse. It might not be the smoothest recovery, but I do believe we've tended to him on time to prevent permanent damage. Though, I suppose that if anything permanent had been bound to happen, we could have used the oasis water anyway."
"Should we keep using it so freely?" asked one of the healers. Yagoda sighed.
"We only resort to it in urgent circumstances. I don't mean for the Moon and Ocean Spirits to wind up lacking water… but after a battle like this one, it's possible we'll need to use much more of it than we already have."
"One of our enemies… he drank some of it," Katara said. Yagoda scowled, glancing at her in confusion. "I know it probably sounds crazy, but… he filled a waterskin with it and drank it to heal his wounds in the middle of combat."
"Hah. Well, that sounds like the decision of a madman. Good for him," Yagoda said, rolling her eyes. "Did he fully consume himself by the end, or do you not know what happened to him?"
"Con… consumed himself?" Sokka asked, frowning and struggling to glance at Yagoda, his head turned. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean that the oasis water is not intended to be drank that way," Yagoda said, shaking her head. "Without the refinement of a waterbender's healing abilities, the pond's water will accelerate healing simply by repurposing and channeling a person's chi in the direction of a wound…"
"But it… doesn't regenerate chi?" Sokka asked. "If a person's own chi is spent healing the wound…"
"The person begins to tire, and then they spend their energies entirely," Yagoda said. "Fools should not tamper with what they do not understand."
"He thought it would make him immortal," Sokka whispered.
"Well, reality should pack quite the unpleasant blow for him once he learns otherwise," she replied.
"He's dead."
Katara winced at the words: Sokka didn't speak them triumphantly. His tone was neutered… as though he found no actual relief in knowing Zhao was gone. Dead, though… how? Had he finally managed to stop the healing water's effects? Or had he died through other means…?
The fire that flashed across the sky returned to mind. Katara gritted her teeth.
"Oh… well, if so, all the better. No man whose nature urges him to disrespect the spirits as he did should get away with his actions," Yagoda said, firmly. "How are you feeling?"
Sokka breathed deeply… and he raised a hand. He even allowed himself a weak smile at the seemingly simple achievement, and he also attempted to flex and stretch his legs. The movement wasn't too noticeable, but it paid off regardless.
"Well… feels like I have a body again. So, it's working," Sokka said. Yagoda nodded.
"Then I'll go back to your friend now. Relax, the others will continue to heal you for the time being," Yagoda said, patting his head carelessly and walking off to Zuko, lying on the next bed.
Katara breathed deeply, reaching forward to brush Sokka's hair out of his face. He offered her a pained smile – as much as regaining the feeling in his body was an important achievement, he also grew far more aware of the damage he had sustained, and how difficult it was for his body to resist it.
"Take it easy. You made it this far, so… just breathe in and out, and let the healers help you," Katara said. Sokka nodded weakly.
"I'll do my best…"
He was exhausted. It didn't surprise Katara that his eyes would close after only a few minutes, eased by the relaxing waterbending, drained by all the activity, the difficult emotions he had navigated that day. Unlike their previous battles, this time Katara felt they had scarcely been victorious, if they even had been…
The Water Tribe still stood, and that was no small feat. But the number of people who had been lost… the damage the city had sustained was difficult to fathom. The magnificence of the Northern Water Tribe was easy to see, even now in all that destruction. Could the surviving waterbenders do enough to repair it? It might take years to amend so much of what had been broken…
"You're not from around here, are you?"
Yagoda's voice startled Katara out of her thoughts. She glanced at the woman warily, nodding slowly as their eyes met.
"Southern Water Tribe?" Yagoda asked. Katara nodded again, approaching her, hoping Sokka would rest better if they talked away from him. "Well, goodness. As I understand, you were fighting today?"
"I was," Katara confirmed. "Seemed to bother that waterbending master, but I had no time to argue with him about whether I have a place on a battlefield or not. I had to do my best to save him and his waterbenders when I had the chance…"
"Well, serves him right," Yagoda said, with a cheeky grin. Katara raised her eyebrows. "Don't mind me, dear, it's only… Pakku has always been a terribly stubborn fool when it comes to who learns which kind of waterbending. A young woman of our tribe even abandoned the city years ago after a terrible argument with him. She learned to heal with me, but she was stubbornly hellbent on learning combat… she even beat up several of Pakku's students to prove her might. Of course, when he intervened, he outdid her… but anyone could tell she had plenty of potential in combat, and Pakku still refused to teach her."
"He doesn't seem very nice," Katara reasoned, scowling.
"He's not so unpleasant provided you don't challenge his concept of the world, I suppose," Yagoda said, with a shrug. "Thus why so many of us clash with him as often as we do. I can't say I want to fight, personally… I'm quite old by now, too. I can do some basic combat techniques, so I would be better off protecting those who cannot protect themselves, if need be… as well as, of course, tending to the wounded. I did train extensively in that field, after all…"
"I can see that," Katara said, watching with interest as Yagoda used regular water now to continue tending to Zuko's wound. "I… I learned to heal by instinct. I don't think I know much about healing, in the end. I…"
"You kept him alive for as long as you did. That's no small achievement," Yagoda pointed out. Katara swallowed hard and nodded. "I'm still surprised that you could learn any waterbending, though. The last news we received from the waterbenders in the south weren't all that promising…"
"Oh, well… I learned a lot of combat from Aang, the Avatar," Katara said. Yagoda smiled.
"Certainly an impressive teacher to take any lessons from," she said. "I don't know how many people could claim they learned anything from the Avatar personally, across history…"
"Well… I was very lucky to find him when I did," Katara said, breathing deeply.
"But then, were there no other waterbenders in the south?" Yagoda asked. "I remember all too well that when Chief Hakoda arrived, the subject of sending some waterbenders to aid the South was brought up, but well, Pakku…"
"Did he refuse to let it happen?" Katara asked, scowling.
"Namely because he had already sent a number of his better students to the White Lotus, at that time," Yagoda said. "He claimed it would be better to strengthen his grand allies so that, after they inevitably set the world free, all proper cooperation with the south would be much more effective… then, of course, the Fire Nation attacked us, and we had no choice but to focus all our forces into protecting our home."
"I suppose I can understand that last part, but… he's still a jerk," Katara huffed. Yagoda smiled.
"That he is," she said. "But then… Chief Hakoda mentioned there was only one waterbender in the tribe at the time. Unless there was a miracle of some sort… perhaps this waterbender he talked about was you?"
"Yeah," Katara said, breathing deeply. "I'm his daughter."
"Oh? Oh, my!" Yagoda said, with a wider grin. "Goodness, I… I see it now. You do resemble him…"
"I do?" Katara asked, puzzled. Yagoda nodded.
"As does… your brother, I understand?" she asked. "Well, well. That's not too surprising now that I think about it… he always seemed to be a very respectable, strong man. He would have raised children strong enough to fight back against the Fire Nation as you have. Has he been well?"
"He… well, yeah. We had to fight off a Fire Nation invasion of our own, before we left to join the war…" Katara said, frowning. "He took a bad wound back then, but I… I healed him as soon as I was able. Though, well, I wasn't as good as all of you, but…"
"I'm sure you were better than you think you are," Yagoda said, with a compassionate smile.
"He had healed, mostly, by the time we left, but…" Katara said, hugging herself and frowning.
"He was a strong man all along. I'm sure he has continued to be one," Yagoda said. Katara smiled a little and nodded. "He was quite impressive when he arrived. That whole host of strong warriors, ready to defy the Fire Nation… it was a pity that our leaders didn't choose to offer further aid beyond providing ships and supplies to them. I always did wonder whether he had done well for himself in the war or not…"
"He didn't achieve much of what he hoped to," Katara admitted. "But he came home anyway. He… he protects our people while we're out here now, rather than the other way around."
"I'm sure he's doing a great job of it," Yagoda said. "The people of the south might just be stronger than those of the north. That you've learned all you did, both in combat and healing, suggests as much…"
"Well, it's more like we didn't have much of a choice," Katara admitted. "I'm the only waterbender, but most our women weren't warriors either. Though… well, Zuko's wife, Suki, she's from Kyoshi Island? She trained the women of the South Pole in basic combat once we knew the Fire Nation would attack us. No one really had any problem with it, save for the occasional whiny husband, I guess…"
"Oh, entirely ignorable complaints, I'm sure," Yagoda smirked. Katara chuckled.
"Yeah, the women thought so too," she said. "But I guess the Tribe was stronger than it had been in years once we left."
"Once the war ends, I'm sure our tribes will be able to cooperate much more," Yagoda said. "That is your intent, I assume? You intend to end it with these unusual allies you and your brother have arrived with…"
"They're good people. Zuko and Kino are both part of the Southern Water Tribe too," Katara said. "I know it's easy to think they're Fire Nation and that they could never outgrow their roots… but they really have. Doesn't matter if Zuko is the Fire Lord's son, he wants him defeated every bit as much as anyone else in the White Lotus does."
"The Fire Lord's son… well, that's something. I'm glad to hear that he's turned on his father. All the more reason to heal him as best I can," Yagoda said, with a smile. "The south truly must be different from the north, though, to welcome Fire Nation people in such a way… your people are extraordinary, young lady."
"W-well… thank you," Katara said, with a weak smile. "I guess, in the end, I… I'm really proud to be from the Southern Water Tribe."
"As you should be," Yagoda smiled back at her.
The conversation was meant to lift her spirits, Katara knew that… but it seemed to be stabbing her in places she didn't realize were inside her, too. As well-meaning as Yagoda might be… her words would uncover wounds, break scabs that hadn't truly healed at all.
"I, uh… I think I'll step outside for a bit. Unless you need my help…?" Katara said, glancing between her brother, still being tended to by other healers, and Zuko, in Yagoda's care. The older woman shook her head.
"You look exhausted, dear. We'll reach out if we need you, but for now… feel free to take a break."
"I… I guess I could come back later? Maybe learn more about healing?" Katara asked.
"Anytime, dear. My door's always open."
Katara nodded and smiled before turning on her heels, making for the door. She stepped into the long hallway that led to the stairs… and she closed the door behind herself.
For a moment, she felt unsettled, unbalanced. She reached for a wall as she fisted her hand over her heart… as she snarled, tears spilling down her cheeks as she shook her head violently.
Over all this time, she had focused so much on their mission, on its success, that thoughts of the Southern Water Tribe had been fleeting, momentary, leisurely matters. She could reminisce on her father and grandmother, on the friends she had left behind, without this spiraling dread wrapping around her heart, threatening to drive her into utter despair as she considered, with far more awareness than ever before… that she might not live long enough to go back home.
She could have died on that day. She would have likely fallen to the arrows of those Yu-Yan archers, the way Zuko almost did, if Kino hadn't intervened. They were overwhelmed. They were outmatched. The enemy had been closing in, and she had been exhausted, she still was…
She dropped against a wall, trembling as her breathing became agitated, as her eyesight blurred, blackening, her vision failing her as her heart raced: she wanted to go home. She was scared. She was terrified of losing her friends, of losing the war, of losing everyone she had ever loved… of losing her own life.
She was terrified.
She had too much to lose.
The war had to be won… but at what cost? At the cost of hundreds of waterbenders, maybe? Of thousands of warriors and soldiers recruited to the White Lotus's cause?
What if they failed? What if they lost? They nearly had today. If they had arrived only a few hours later… the Northern Water Tribe would have been annihilated.
Her voice broke out of her throat with a sob she failed to stifle. Her hands gripped her hair as she remembered Kino's decision to step away, his eyes darker, his demeanor more serious and intense than it ever had been. As she thought of Zuko, nearly dying in her arms, unable to utter a single word as the sky caught fire… by Aang's hand.
How many had he killed? How heartbroken would he be over his own actions, his own choices? He had never wanted to kill anyone… in every battle he had fought, he had constantly ensured not to be lethal. Today, the death toll had been unthinkable. The Fire Nation would never mourn the Water Tribe's casualties… but Aang's heart was not ready, it never would be, to be the cause of the deaths of thousands who had paid for this invasion with their lives. What he had done was a bending feat without compare, it had saved everyone who still drew breath in the capital city of the Northern Water Tribe… but she knew him. He wouldn't be able to see it that way, disregarding the numerous lives he had taken with his actions.
And Sokka… her own brother, completely blind by rage, by hatred, by his need to fight back against one of the men who had contributed to his downfall, to that of the woman he loved, had wound up in the worst shape he had been in since Zuko had carried him to the Southern Water Tribe's village. He was their leader… he was the one who knew what to do. His determination was clear, his charisma unmatched, his strength of heart unlike anyone else's…
And he had nearly died on that day, too.
She could have lost them. She could have died, too. The thousands of deaths that day had resulted in proved as much.
She was still alive now, though. She was… but her heart's one true desire right now was to pick up Appa's reins and fly back to the South Pole. Suddenly, she cherished her grandmother's warmth, her father's embrace, more deeply than ever before.
Was this why Hakoda had chosen to return home? He had failed to save Bato… he hadn't managed to bring him back from the brink of death as Katara had saved Zuko. If she had failed… if she had failed any of them…
That was what her father had contended with for so long. The death of his best friend, the death of his wife… the tragic, unforgiving reality of war.
To think she only truly understood it now… to think she finally knew why he had chosen to go home, why he had constantly told her not to jump recklessly into danger…
She didn't know for how long she sat there, right by the healing ward's door, unable to contain the heavy, wild breathing that accompanied the tears that couldn't seem to stop flowing. She was tired… she felt weaker than she ever had been. Her whole body appeared to fail her, the world seemed to close in around her…
"Hey… hey."
The voice that called for her was almost entirely unfamiliar… but she had heard it on that day. She had never heard it before then, but on that day…
She raised her gaze to find the concerned blue eyes of the Northern Water Tribe's Princess.
Yue gazed at her with uncertainty. Katara trembled, tears spilling down her cheeks as the woman raised a trembling hand to clasp one of hers.
"What happened?" she asked. "A-are they…?"
"N-no, no, I… I'm sorry. T-they're fine, don't mind me, I…" Katara said, shaking her head. Yue frowned.
"Fine? Then… are they going to heal safely?" she asked. "They're out of danger?"
"Y-yes, yes, they're… they'll heal. Your healer says they'll be okay, I just… I-I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry, don't mind me…"
"No…" Yue said… raising her hand to Katara's shoulder. "Don't be sorry. I… I think I understand."
Katara winced, meeting the Princess's gaze again: compassion and empathy greeted her. Something about the white-haired woman before her was soothing in ways Katara couldn't explain. This was her city, those had been her people… she had faced pain unlike anything Katara had experienced before, she knew that had to be the case…
And after losing so much on that day, Yue knelt here, a hand upon her shoulder, showing Katara that she was not alone.
Katara gritted her teeth. Her attempt to shake off the misery that had overwhelmed her failed entirely… but if she could be selfish for just a little while, just for long enough to find comfort, even if through the support of a total stranger…
"I… I'm sorry…" Katara said again. Yue shook her head.
"We owe you and your friends more than you know. I… I owe you my life," she said, her voice charged with emotion. "Don't hide your pain. Don't try to swallow it… or else it will consume you. I know we barely know each other, but… I'm here for you. Whatever you may need, even if it's a meal, or a hearth to warm yourself at, even a shoulder to hold onto…"
Her last words were the ones that did it: a whimper turned into a sob as Katara jumped forward, clutching at Yue's pristine, royal garb as she pressed her face to her shoulder. She was a total stranger… and even so, she was offering kindness and comfort as selflessly as she was. Even after so much she had to grieve over, so much strife she had faced on that day, Princess Yue had hoped to help her… simply because Katara had needed someone. None of her friends could do much, no one else could have stood with her now, just when loneliness and homesickness, when the longing for an easier life, had overwhelmed her. So much about her life, about her father, about the war had started to make sense…
She always wanted to be there for others, but right now, Katara needed help. And the selfless, kind princess from the Northern Water Tribe hadn't been beyond offering it, no matter if she had to hold her on the floor, no matter if the blood upon Katara's clothes might stain her own. It almost felt like returning to years long past, when her mother had held her in this way, when her life had been so much easier, her world so much smaller…
Maybe she hadn't been ready to face this. Maybe she never would have been. Maybe her father had been right when he hadn't allowed her to leave her home, so long ago…
Maybe she would feel differently later. Hopefully, she would.
For now, though, her tears spilled upon Yue's shoulder as the Princess's hand rubbed her back reassuringly. The road ahead was murky, hard to glimpse through foggy eyes… but perhaps, after the storm, the skies would clear once more. Perhaps, by then, Katara would be able to glimpse a promising horizon and regain her determination to see this war to its long-awaited and necessary end.
But for now, she shrank in her frame, clinging to Princess Yue, and she wept.