A/N; Wow. We're actually here - the siege of the north. One season of three almost complete (maybe four, not sure if I'm gonna do the comics or not). Started out as my first fic, which ig it still is lol, and now it's at almost 13k views and over 500 votes... you guys are honestly insane. Thank you all so much for the support on this, it's really helped me keep going when writing it.
I have more to say after the next chapter about the future of this story blah blah blah, but for now - enjoy :)
(fyi like previous chapter this one's been rewritten slightly since initial release so sorry if some comments don't make much sense)
Katara P.o.V.
Clear skies and a bright morning sun, its rays bouncing off the ice and snow that covered everything in Katara's vision. Along with the bodies of Pakku's students lying around, all groaning in pain, it was the perfect start to the perfect day.
So far, she'd faced all but one of his students, and defeated them within seconds. It was thrilling, knowing how far she had come in the past few weeks alone. These boys who'd been training with Pakku for years didn't even stand a chance. Now, here she stood, facing against pupil Sangok, the last of Pakku's students, and he was shaking like he already knew how this would end.
Of course he knew. Everyone present did.
Katara just had to remind them why.
Sangok decided that the best idea for him was to send a ball of ice flying straight at her. Like that would ever even reach her. She reached out, moving the ice to fly around her body as it melted into water, joining a far larger stream that she pulled from the snow beneath her feet. Whipping the stream around her body, she quickly sent it flying towards the boy, raising him into the air and freezing him in place before he could even react.
Taking a deep breath, she lowered her hands and relaxed, a feeling of pride spreading through her.
"Nice try, pupil Sangok," Pakku's voice echoed from behind her. "A couple more years and you might be ready to fight a sea sponge. Would anyone else care for a rematch with Katara?" He turned to look at the other students, who were all still trying to recover from getting their asses whooped. By a girl, Katara thought smugly.
"Katara, you've advanced more quickly than any student I've ever trained," Pakku praised her. "You have proven that with fierce determination, passion and hard work, you can accomplish anything. Raw talent alone is not enough." The two both glared over at Aang, who was playing with Momo. "Pupil Aang!" Pakku snapped.
Aang looked up surprised, as though he hadn't just gotten caught goofing around. "Yes, Master Pakku?"
"Care to step into the sparring circle?" Pakku smirked. "I figured since you've found time to play with house pets, you must have already mastered waterbending."
The airbender jumped up, laughing nervously. "Well, I wouldn't say mastered, but check this out!" Knocking Momo off of him, he bent a pile of snow around his body, turning himself into a human snowman. Really? Katara thought in irritation. We travel all this way so you can learn from a master, and you're throwing it away?
One thing Azami had told her pretty early on, that she was now really starting to appreciate - Avatar or no, Aang was still a kid.
Sokka P.o.V.
"Appa and I go way back, don't we boy?"
The bison's response? Covering Sokka in slobber from head to toe. Yue just stood to the side and laughed as Sokka had to try and force Appa off. "No!" he cried, trying to get away. "Easy! Down boy! C'mon, get off!"
Eventually Appa let him go, much to Yue's amusement. "Seems like you haven't been giving Appa enough attention," she smirked.
After a rather tedious process of getting Appa's saddle on, the two set off for a flight. There was more than a few reasons - Yue clearly needed to get away from her issues, and Sokka had something he needed to talk about in private. So, when they'd gotten far enough from the tribe, he started readying himself for yet another difficult conversation. It seemed like he couldn't escape them ever since he left home.
"Yue, there's something I need to ask you," he admitted.
She looked over at him, her face lit up with excitement, but it dimmed when she saw his expression. "What's wrong?"
"It's about Azami," he sighed. "Something seems off about her, and I don't-"
He was cut off by the sight of something falling in front of his face. Something he could never forget, and at the same time hoped he would never see again. A few flakes of black snow fell in front of him, landing on his lap as they melted.
"You don't what?" Yue asked, confused, before she noticed the black snow. "Wait, what is that? What's happening?"
"Oh no..." Sokka's voice trailed off as he saw the grey clouds approaching in the distance. He knew them all to well - this was no natural weather. Only one thing could cause this at the poles.
The Fire Nation had come.
Katara P.o.V.
Soot. All around her, soot was falling from the sky, turning the streams of the North Pole from a brilliant blue to an ashy grey. A sight she remembered all too well.
Laughing, she reached to grab yet another snowball that she'd made with her bending, when the strangest thing happened. Black spots started to appear on it. Katara watched it in shock as the black dots started falling around her.
Before she knew what was happening, all the older people of the tribe started running around in a frenzy. Unsure of what to do, she decided to head back home. Mom will know what to do, she reasoned.
Fireballs started raining down out of nowhere, and she screamed as one landed dangerously close to her. Okay. She definitely had to get back home now.
Pulling aside the tarp that covered their house, she looked inside to see-
Katara shook her head, pulling herself out of the memory. If the Fire Nation was really on its way here, she couldn't lose herself in the past. Glancing around, she saw most of the students, along with Aang, looking more confused than concerned. Only Pakku seemed to understand what this meant.
"Pakku-" she started.
He nodded. "I know. You go find your friends, I'll alert the Chief."
The two raced off, Pakku heading up to the palace while Katara raced back to the house the gaang had been staying at. With an invasion en route, they'd all need to be ready. She didn't even wait for Aang to see if he was following - her only concern right now was letting Sokka and Azami know, if they didn't already.
When she got back, she saw Sokka and Yue both racing over from Appa's stable, their faces hardened. Not wasting time, Katara cut straight to the point. "Get to the palace," she told them. "Pakku's gone to alert the Chief, he'll probably be helping us prepare."
They simply nodded in response before running off. Taking a deep breath, Katara opened the door to their temporary house. For a week now, she'd been giving Azami space - it was clear to her that the firebender needed it. Now, though, they'd need her help more than almost anyone else.
She sighed as she reached the girl's door, which was still shut. Knocking gently got her no response, so she pushed it open and was greeted with the sight of Azami lying curled up on her bed, facing away from the door. She didn't move or say anything to Katara as she walked in, and the waterbender almost mistook her for being asleep - if it wasn't for the way the girl's body had tensed up.
"Look, I'm sorry about this, and I want to give you space," Katara began. "But we need your help. The Fire Nation is here."
Azami's head snapped up as she looked over at Katara in shock. Her mouth opened, as if she were about to reply, but nothing came out. Instead, she only closed her mouth a second later, and nodded.
Katara took that as her cue to leave, and she headed up to the palace. As she left the house, she glanced around in shock at how much worse the soot had gotten. The ground was littered in black now, it's pristine white from only an hour ago nearly gone.
She arrived just in time for the Chief's speech to begin, and she headed over to join Sokka as they listened closely. Both wore a grim expression, already knowing what was coming.
"The day we have feared for so long has arrived," Chief Arnook announced sadly. "The Fire Nation is on our doorstep. It is with great sadness I call my family here before me, knowing well that some of these faces are about to vanish from our tribe, but they will never vanish from our hearts."
As he said this, Katara felt someone else stand next to her, and she looked over in surprise to see Azami standing next to her. Outside of her bloodshot eyes, the girl's demeanor was completely different - her expression a cross between determination and acceptance.
"Now, as we approach the battle for our existence, I call upon the great spirits," Arnook continued as he cast his hands up above him. "Spirit of the Ocean! Spirit of the Moon! Be with us! I'm going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission."
Sokka instantly stood up. "Count me in!"
"Sokka..." Katara's voice trailed off. She wanted to stop him, but knew that he had already made up his mind.
Several other boys and men stood up alongside Sokka, answering Arnook's call. "Be warned," the Chief advised them. "Many of you will not return. Come forward to receive my mark, if you accept the task."
Sokka and the others all headed up to be marked by the Chief, and Katara watched sadly as he glanced back at them - or, more accurately, the girl next to her - before walking off.
An hour later, the gaang all stood on the outer wall of the tribe, waiting for the Fire Nation to arrive. Azami, Arnook and Aang all stood side-by-side at the top, with Sokka and Katara nearby. The air around them was silent, no one saying a word as they patiently awaited the arrival of their foe.
In the distance, a tiny speck appeared, which Katara could barely make out. Only a moment later, a bright light came from the speck, and started heading towards them as it grew in size. Her eyes widened in shock as she realized that it was a fireball, aiming right at the crest of the wall they stood upon.
A second before it hit, everyone on the wall cringing as they braced for the explosion, the fireball stopped dead in its tracks, the fire changing from orange to blue. Everyone looked over at Azami in shock, the girl's forehead already gleaming with sweat as she held the fireball in place.
The reason she held it instead of just dropping it into the ocean became clear only moments later as another fireball came hurtling towards them. Azami raised the one she caught, lining it up with the arc of the other as the two collided in mid-air, raining ash down upon them. Katara looked over in shock at the firebender, who seemed completely unfazed.
Even though she'd seen Azami do this before on the solstice, it still remained one of the most astonishing displays of power Katara had ever seen.
One bender alone couldn't win a war, though, as Katara was soon reminded. Within minutes, they started being assaulted by a seemingly endless barrage of fireballs, some aimed at the wall, others trailing over into the city. Azami did her best to catch as many of them as she could, but as Katara was learning, powerful bending required a lot of strength, and no one could do this forever.
Sokka P.o.V.
To say that Sokka felt useless would be an understatement. He'd basically stood there like an idiot with a spear for most of the day, while he watched the benders do all the hard work. And by benders, he really meant Azami and Aang - the two were putting in more work than most of the others combined.
Aang had spent most of the day out on Appa, destroying ship after ship while Azami did everything in her power to keep the fireballs from reaching the tribe. By the time night had fallen, the two were both exhausted - it was clear to anyone with eyes - yet somehow they found the strength to stay up and keep going into the night.
Thankfully, the Fire Nation had retreated once the moon rose - clearly, Zhao wasn't quite as stupid as he looked, since the moon made waterbenders far stronger. So, with the brief respite, Chief Arnook had called all of his volunteers back to the palace armory, along with Azami, to discuss his mission.
"Men, you'll be infiltrating the Fire Nation Navy," he explained to them as a young warrior walked in, wearing the most ridiculous getup Sokka had ever seen. "That means you'll all need one of these uniforms."
It was certainly a uniform, but a useful one? Maybe... probably... definitely not. Compared to the modern Fire Nation uniforms, this thing looked like a costume someone would wear for a play. Naturally, he started laughing, not caring as the other warriors turned to stare at him.
"What's your problem?" the boy demanded, which helped Sokka calm down a little.
"Fire Navy uniforms don't look like that," he pointed out.
The boy huffed irritably. "Of course they do," he insisted. "These are real uniforms captured from actual Fire Navy soldiers. Ain't that right, Princess?" He leered over at Azami, who Sokka was only now noticing had turned considerably more pale than normal, and was glaring back at him with an anger Sokka had only seen directed towards himself before.
He frowned, not sure what to make of that - he'd have to ask her later. Returning his attention to the boy in front of him, he crossed his arms, smirking slightly. "And when did you get them, hm? Like a hundred years ago?"
Arnook shifted uncomfortably. "Eighty-five," he muttered.
"The Fire Nation doesn't wear shoulder spikes anymore," Sokka explained as he bent one of the shoulder spikes, watching in amusement as it wiggled back and forth into place when he released it. "The newer uniforms are more streamlined." He turned to Azami for confirmation, and barely noticing him at all, she nodded her head in agreement.
"How do we know we can trust these two?" the boy scoffed, glaring at Sokka. "Such bold talk for a new recruit, and may I add, a firebender?"
"Sokka is from our sister tribe, Hahn," the Chief scolded him. "He's a capable warrior and I value his input. Same with Princess Azami - she has demonstrated beyond doubt today that she has sided with us, against the Firelord." Sokka sent Hahn a smug look, and received another glare in response. Ha. Someone's sensitive. "Now, our first objective is to determine the identity of their commanding officer."
"His name is Zhao," Sokka deadpanned. "Middle-aged, big sideburns, bigger temper. Bit of a creep."
Arnook turned to him and Azami, seeming pleased. "Sokka, I want you to tell everything you know to Hahn," he instructed. "He's leading the mission. Princess Azami, it would be a great help if you would do the same. Hahn, show them both your respect. I expect nothing less from my future son-in-law."
Chief Arnook then headed out as Sokka's jaw dropped, and he openly stared at Hahn, incredulous. "Princess Yue's marrying you?" he screeched.
Hahn raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Yeah, what of it?"
"Nothing," Sokka muttered, regaining his composure. "Congratulations." Jeez, no wonder she was so unhappy. No one in their right mind would ever willingly marry this guy.
Azami P.o.V.
"...you'll definitely want to go through the armory. Change uniforms as quickly as you can, or you'll be thrown overboard at best before you ever reach the bridge."
Azami raised herself away from the map she'd been leaning over, showing the Water Tribe warriors the path they would need to take. "Getting in is going to be hard enough as it is in those things," she continued. "The sooner you can change into modern uniforms, the better."
"You sure about that, Princess?" a drawling voice came out, and Azami had to do everything in her power not to burn Hahn's face off. "Seems like the long way around."
"Of course I'm sure," she snapped. "Your best chance is taking that path, unless you fancy visiting an early funeral."
Hahn sighed as he rose from the table, but she didn't miss the smirk he sent over to her. "Well, in that case, I guess we have no choice," he whined. "Looks like we're going the long way around, boys."
She could feel the stares of a lot of the other warriors on her after Hahn's remark, and crossed her arms as she looked down, feeling immensely uncomfortable. The arrogance of that prick - just standing there like he didn't do anything, acting as if they hadn't already crossed paths before... it was disgusting.
Much to her surprise, Sokka seemed to have picked up on her discomfort, turning to stand in front of her and blocking the others' view. "Hey," he said softly. "You've already done everything you can here, why don't you go help Katara? I'll stay here with them for the mission."
She wanted to make another snappy retort, but her voice caught as she tried to form a reply, so she simply nodded in response before quickly leaving the room, eager to leave it and everyone there behind. As she headed out, she didn't even pay attention to where she was headed - all she knew was that she had to get away from that place.
Zuko P.o.V.
Trying to enter the Northern Water Tribe had been pretty challenging. In fact, Zuko nearly drowned in the process.
So it naturally came as a surprise to him how easy it was to move around once inside without being noticed. Finally, after years of nothing but disappointment and failure, things were going his way. His task remained quite difficult, however. Using nothing but his firebending and some rope, he had to catch two of the strongest benders he had ever met.
Oh yes. Not just one - two. His father may not have explicitly stated that he had to catch Princess Azami, but he wanted to do anything and everything to regain his father's favor. Since she was now as wanted as the Avatar himself, that made her another target. If possible.
To his surprise, though, they weren't hard to find. At all.
From a distance, he'd already made out the forms of two water tribe girls and - more importantly - the Avatar. They headed around the back side of the palace, where he could see a waterfall hidden in behind. He carefully approached the palace, he keeping to the shadows, when to his surprise - and delight - the princess came out of the palace, heading out into the lower levels of the city.
For a moment, he was torn. Going after one could mean sacrificing the other. If he didn't do this right.
A moment of consideration later, though, and he found himself trailing the princess. With any luck, the Avatar was going to remain in that hidden space behind the palace, where he'd be locked in with only one way out. If he lost track of her, though, he may not get the chance again.
Clearly, something or someone decided that he was deserving of a chance at redeeming himself, because the princess seemed both distracted and exhausted, given her movements. At one point, he thought she noticed him, but apparently not.
That is, until she turned down a seperate alley, where Zuko's shadow became visible from the moon behind him. She paused, her body tensing as his shadow crept into her line of sight. He was out of time.
Quickly jumping down from the rooftops he'd been following her across, he managed to duck under her blue flame just in time to race ahead and blast her against the nearby wall with a vicious blast of his own. Her body slumped to the ground, unconscious, and Zuko grinned at his luck. If that had been a fair fight, he would've absolutely lost.
As it was though, he was one step closer to home. To finally winning his honor back.
One down, one to go.
Sokka P.o.V.
As he watched Azami leave, Sokka couldn't help the same gut feeling that something was wrong. A feeling soon exacerbated when he was sharpening his boomerang and Hahn moved to stand next to him, his expression smug.
"Let me tell you, Sokka, I've courted a lot of girls, but damn is Azami something else. I mean Yue is the finer of the two," Hahn bragged. "And she comes with the most perks, but if it wasn't for that - and, you know, the fact she's a firebender - I might've gone for that other girl."
Sokka's head whipped around as he glared over at Hahn. "What's that supposed to mean?" he spat. "And what do you mean by perks?"
Hahn shrugged. "Oh, I'm just saying that I would've gladly courted Azami instead of Yue, but she doesn't have the political benefits," he smirked. "It's just a shame she's a disgusting firebender, really. I mean, Yue's nice and everything, but the points I'll gain with the Chief are what really matters to me."
Sokka's eyes narrowed, and he was barely able to restrain himself from attacking the other boy as his body trembled with anger. "I can't believe Princess Yue is being forced to marry you."
"Why do you care?" Hahn scoffed. "You're just a simple rube from the Southern Tribe. What would you know of the political complexities of our lives? No offense."
His rage boiled over at the way this arrogant prick was talking about both princesses, and letting out a cry he tackled Hahn. "You're just a jerk without a soul!" he spat. "No offense!"
They continued to fight for a moment, before being interrupted by Chief Arnook, who decided that now was a good time to return as he pulled them apart. "That's enough!" he yelled. "Sokka, you're off the mission!"
Sokka looked up at him in shock for a moment, then crossed his arms in anger as the situation set in. Hahn sent him a quick smirk, before turning to the other warriors. "All right, fall in, men! Everybody listen to what I say and we'll take out this Admiral Cho in no time!"
The warriors all started to file out, and Sokka just waved his arms at them as they left. "It's Admiral Zhao!" he exclaimed.
He proceeded to spend almost the next hour waiting around in the armory, sharpening his boomerang. To say that he was frustrated would be an understatement - he still couldn't get out of his head the way that Hahn was talking about Yue and Azami... and then the firebenders weird actions earlier.
"Sokka," Arnook's voice called over to him. "Is something wrong?"
He just rolled his eyes in response. "Oh no," Sokka replied sarcastically. "Hahn's on a top-secret mission while I'm here sharpening my boomerang. Everything's fine."
"Listen to me," the Chief pleaded with him. "I took you off the mission for selfish reasons. I have a special task in mind for you."
Sokka turned to face him, unimpressed. "What, you want me to scrub the barracks?"
"I want you to protect my daughter," he asked. "Princess Yue.
Blinking in surprise, he quickly got up, his dark mood vanishing on the spot. "Oh, uh, sure," he stammered out. "That shouldn't be too hard."
Katara P.o.V.
"Why is he sitting like that?" Yue whispered.
"He's meditating, trying to cross over into the spirit world," Katara explained. "It takes all his concentration."
Yue seemed unsatisfied by the answer - which was understandable, considering the urgency of their situation. "Is there anything we can do to help?"
"How about some quiet?" Aang snapped over at them, and the two girls both jumped in shock. "Come on guys, I can hear every word you're saying!"
That got them both to shut up rather quickly. After a moment, Aang returned his attention to the pool before him, and his arrows soon lit up a brilliant white.
"Is he okay?" Yue asked nervously.
Katara just nodded. "He's crossing into the spirit world. He'll be fine as long as we don't move his body. That's his way back to the physical world."
Yue shifted uncomfortably. "Maybe we should get some help."
Smiling over at her, Katara just shook her head. "No, he's my friend. I'm perfectly capable of protecting him."
A voice rang out around them, filled with derision. "Well, aren't you a big girl now."
"No!" Katara breathed out as she turned to face the prince who had pursued them around the world. His face was more than a little worse for wear, and in his grip was - was that Azami?
"Yes," Zuko hissed as he dropped the other firebender, her arms and legs bound with rope. He got into a bending stance, and Katara knew she'd have to put her studies with Pakku to the test sooner than she hoped. "Hand him over and I won't have to hurt you."
Out of the corner of her eye, Katara saw Yue race off to go get help, while the waterbender prepared to fight. Firing a few quick blasts at her, Zuko attacked first, his orange flame blinding in darkness around them. Katara quickly pulled a stream of water to defend herself, blocking all of his attacks and even managing to knock him backwards.
"I see you've learned a new trick," the prince growled as he pulled himself back up. "But I didn't come this far to lose to you."
He sent another desperate blast at her, but she blocked it with ease before shoving Zuko back yet again. This time, she froze his feet to the ground, and feeling the power of the full moon rushing through her, she soon trapped him entirely in a ball of ice. She smirked - it felt good to put her training to good use.
Zuko glared at her through the ice. "You little peasant," he spat. "You've found a master, haven't you?"
More like became one, Katara thought smugly.
Her enthusiasm was a little short-lived, though, as the ice prison started to glow orange. Within seconds, it shattered, and Zuko leaped out, throwing blast after blast towards her as he closed the gap between them. She was able to defend everything just fine, but she couldn't do that and keep him away from her at the same time.
It got to the point where the two were literally touching hands as they bended their elements against one another. The heat of the flames licked against Katara's skin, and she knew that this wasn't a fight she wanted to have. She reached out, looking to push Zuko away, but he took that opening to race around her, grabbing the collar of Aang's robes.
No you don't, Katara growled as she sent Zuko flying with a large stream of water, forcing him to release Aang in the process. He groaned, trying to get up, but before he had the chance, Katara created a massive stream and thrust him over twenty feet in the air before freezing the water, effectively trapping him.
Satisfied, she turned back to check on Aang and go free Azami, who was laying nearby, as she felt the rush of power leaving her. It was always a disappointment when the moon went away and the sun came out, especially on the night of a full moon. Even before she became a strong bender, she could always feel the power of the moon flowing through her.
Wait a minute, she thought to herself as she paused. The moon's gone.
The realization hit her at the same time the blast of fire did, and Katara only had a moment of clarity where she recognized her mistake before her head hit the nearby arch at the center of the Oasis, knocking her out.
Sokka P.o.V.
Turns out, finding one person in an entire tribe was harder than Sokka thought.
While being tasked to protect Yue was definitely better than doing nothing at all, he hadn't realized that part of that job entailed actually tracking her down. He spent nearly two hours searching for her, and still her white hair hadn't crossed his vision once. By now, the sun had come up, and the Fire Nation's resumed attack could be heard near the outer wall.
"Sokka!" a female voice called out, and he turned around in relief to see Yue racing towards him. "I've been looking everywhere for you!" she exclaimed as she came to a stop in front of him, panting.
"Me too," he admitted as he smiled. "Your dad asked me to-"
Yue put her hand up, cutting him off. "You don't understand!" she cried. "There's a firebender here! Some boy with a scar!"
Sokka's face immediately hardened. He didn't have a clue how Zuko got in, and right now, he didn't care. "Where is he?"
"Behind the palace," Yue explained. "It'll be quicker if we take Appa."
The two immediately set off to find the bison, who fortunately wasn't far, and they quickly got on, going as fast as they could to stop the prince. "I left Aang with Katara when the firebender showed up," Yue exclaimed as the wind raced past them. "And the firebender wasn't alone, either. He was carrying someone else with him, though they seemed unconscious."
"You didn't see who it was?" Sokka asked nervously. He knew Zuko wasn't just after Aang.
Yue shook her head. "No, only that it was a girl."
His heart clenched. She's fine, he tried to assure himself. Azami was the strongest bender he knew besides Aang - she could definitely defend herself. Then again, she had been clearly distracted earlier...
"Come on Appa," Sokka encouraged the bison. "As fast as you can go. Aang needs you."
The bison roared in response, and spurred ahead even faster. Less than a minute later, they arrived at some secret oasis behind the palace, and to his dismay he saw only one person, who seemed to be in the process of waking up. They landed as quickly as they could, and Sokka raced over to see Katara glancing over at him miserably.
"What happened?" Sokka demanded. "Where's Zuko?"
"He took Aang and Azami," the waterbender replied sadly, and Sokka felt his heart sink. "He took them both right out from under me."
Sokka stared into the small pool before him, watching the two fish circle each other. "Where did they go?"
Zuko P.o.V.
High above the falls, behind the oasis, Zuko panted as he dragged the two unconscious bodies behind him. This task was proving far more difficult than it appeared at first glance, but he'd finally done it - he had the Avatar, and as a special gift for his father, he had the exiled princess as well.
The storm he faced was intense, the wind battering at him, trying to wear down his strength. He only had one path, though - forward.
If that meant trudging through this snowstorm, then so be it.