Fuel to my Fire - Book One (ATLA Zuko Fanfiction)

Chapter Twenty-One

Zuko's POV

I lowered my canoe down to the water and was about to start rowing towards land, when a loud scream suddenly came from above me, I looked up and was shocked at what I saw.

"Sakari!" I yelled right before she splashed down into the water.

I quickly dove out of my canoe and swam down to her to find that she had stopped moving, I grabbed her and pulled her to the surface. She was still unmoving as I placed her on the canoe, so I rowed as fast as I could to the nearest stable piece of land. I pulled her off the canoe and began pushing on her chest, trying to get the water out of her lungs, I tried for a few minutes but nothing happened. I sat back on the cold ground, defeated, tears threatening to spill over when Sakari suddenly started coughing.

"Sakari!" I yelled, scooping her up in my arms. "Are you ok?"

She hummed in reply before closing her eyes again, she was passed out but at least she was breathing now. I placed her back onto the canoe and continued to make my way towards the Northern Tribe, being careful not to be spotted by the lookouts high up on the wall. Once I reached the outer wall, I picked Sakari up and began to climb a large iceberg that was leaning against it, I placed Sakari on top of the iceberg in hopes that someone would spot her and then I climbed back down and waited. It wasn't long before I heard someone announce that they'd spotted her.

"Hey! There's someone down there!" A man yelled.

"She's Water Tribe!" Another man added.

I watched as two men bended the iceberg Sakari was on in order to lift her up to the wall. She was safe. Now to complete my mission.

*****

Sakari's POV

I woke in an unfamiliar place, I was laying on a bed in a house made of ice, it reminded me of home. But I wasn't home, I couldn't be... The last thing I remember is being thrown off of Zhao's ship.

"Ma'am, are you ok?" I heard a voice from beside me.

I turned my head and saw three women staring at me expectantly.

"Um, yes?" I said. "What happened?"

"You were found unconscious outside the wall." One of the women told me.

"You were freezing, we hurried you in here to warm you up." The second woman told me.

"We thought the man that found you was going insane but now that I see you properly..." The third woman said before turning to the other two. "She really does look like her, doesn't she?"

Before anyone could speak again a man came barging into the home, looking very worried and confused.

"Did you ask her?!" He said, coming closer to me. "Are you my Sakari's daughter?"

"Wait, what?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, I know you wouldn't remember... It's just that you look just like my wife did." The man told me.

"Her name was Sakari?" I asked to which he nodded. "Well, that's my name too."

"You... You're... Oh my." The man stuttered.

"Could she be?" One of the women asked.

"It's possible... She is the spitting image of Sakari." Another woman said.

"Will somebody please tell me what's going on?" I demanded, sitting up on the bed.

The man silently pulled out a small painting of a woman, presumably his wife, and handed it to me.

"This is Sakari." The man said.

The woman looked just like me! We had the same features, same eyes, same everything! Could this woman be my real mother? Everyone must have seen the confused look on my face and looked to the man to explain.

"Are you from the Southern Tribe? Raised by Hakoda and Kya?" The man asked me.

I nodded slowly, understanding where he was going with this.

"Long ago, before we were this well protected by the wall, we were attacked by the Fire Nation, they raided our homes and took some of our women. My wife, Sakari, was one of the women taken, but she escaped and found her way back home to me, only she had terrible news. She had been assaulted by one of the Firebenders and was pregnant... Nine months later she had you." The man explained.

"Where is she now?" I asked.

"She died giving birth... I'm sorry that you could not meet her." One of the women told me.

"How did I end up in the South Pole?" I asked, wanting to know everything about my past.

"After Sakari died, I named you after her... But I could not bear to raise a child that was not mine." The man said, turning away from me. "We sailed down to the South Pole and begged for someone to take you in. Hakoda and Kya had just had their first child, and said that they could raise you as twins."

"So, my father is a Firebender?" I asked, just to confirm what they were saying.

"Yes, I'm sorry, Sakari." One of the women told me.

I was in shock, I already knew that this was a possibility, but it still shocked me to find out the truth. I didn't have long to process all of this, however, because we suddenly began hearing loud thundering crashes throughout the city. I had almost forgotten about the Fire Nation siege! I sprang up from the bed and rushed out of the house, ready to help fight against the oncoming attack.

"Where are you going?" The man asked me.

"To help my friends!" I yelled back.

I ran to the top of one of the inner walls of the Tribe and looked out as the Fire Navy ships began to tear down the outer wall. Rhinos and war machines came charging through, not stopping for anything, even the terrified people running for their lives. I bended large amounts of ice at the machines, cutting them in half with the help of the full moon, thank god for Tui. Firebenders were closing in all around me and a couple of Northern Waterbenders, but we fought them off easily, pushing them back with huge amounts of water. And then I saw him; Zhao. He was riding a rhino with a few of his men following him, I realised that he was trying to find Tui. I knew that Tui and the Ocean Spirit, La, had chosen to become koi fish and therefore could be killed, but I never thought anyone would ever actually try it. I kept quiet and followed Zhao, since he seemed to know where he was going, until he came to a small, round, wooden door and stepped through. I waited for a minute before creeping through the door myself, Zhao was kneeling down beside a small pond and was about to grab Tui when I decided to make myself known.

"Not one more move, Zhao!" I yelled.

Zhao looked shocked to see me alive, but his shock turned into anger in an instant.

"Who's going to stop me? You? You're just a little Water Tribe peasant." Zhao said with a smirk.

I smirked back and summoned all the strength I could, I focused completely on Zhao and could feel the blood flowing through his veins. I raised my arms and watched him tense up, I then lowered them again, making him kneel before me.

"What are you doing to me?" Zhao asked through gritted teeth.

"You will not harm the Moon Spirit." I said in a threatening tone.