A few days had sailed past us by now and waterbending was progressing rather smoothly for us, Master Pakku even allowed Katara to join us and suffice it to say, she was doing quite well. Presently, she was duelling one of Master Pakku's students, making light work of him within minutes. By now, she had managed to successfully defeat every single one of Master Pakku's students.
While she was doing that and while Aang was fooling around with his airbending, I was constantly shifting through the stances, practising the techniques I had learnt from Master Pakku on another one of his students as I duelled with him, summoning a wave of water and riding on it, encircling my opponent at a rapid pace and freezing the wave, only leaving my opponent's head out for air as the rest of his body remained frozen in ice.
"Excellent, Suzume. You're progressing very quickly, all you needed to do was remember the basics of waterbending, the rest came to you very naturally." Master Pakku nodded in approval, unfreezing my poor opponent. "Nice try, pupil Pero. Perhaps try practising more, you'll probably only still be able to master the waterbending in another hundred years at that rate."
Redirecting his attention to us, he proceeds with what he was going to say, "Katara, Suzume, you've both advanced more quickly than any student I've ever trained. Katara, you have proven that with fierce determination, passion and hard work, you can accomplish anything. Suzume, you have displayed a combination of hard work and raw talent for waterbending. However, raw talent alone is not enough. If only Aang cared enough for waterbending," Master Pakku stares at Aang irritably. "Pupil Aang!"
"Yes, Master Pakku?" Aang shoots up immediately, Momo landing awkwardly on his head after he releases his grip on the mini air scooter he conjured.
"Care to step into the sparring circle? I figure since you've found time to play with house pets, you must have already mastered waterbending."
"I wouldn't say mastered, but check this out," He bends some snow around himself and turns himself into a snowman, Katara and Master Pakku share the same looks of disappointment and disdain as a result of this.
I call upon a gust of wind, blowing the snow off him. "That's nice and all Aang but it'd also be quite nice to start taking your waterbending a little more seriously."
Aang sighs and we proceed with our training until someone calls us all to the palace abruptly. Judging by the tone of his voice, something serious and urgent had cropped up. By the time we get there, everyone from the Northern Water Tribe was gathered in the palace hall. We manage to find Sokka, navigating our way to him and already finding Akemi next to him. Once take our seats, the Northern Water Tribe chief clears his throat and makes his announcement.
"The day we have feared for so long has arrived. 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. Now, as we approach the battle for our existence, I call upon the great spirits. Spirit of the Ocean! Spirit of the Moon! Be with us! I'm going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission."
"Count me in!" Sokka shouts, rising from his place and making his way over to the chief with several other men from the Northern Water Tribe.
"Sokka..." Katara calls out in protest but Sokka was already too far ahead.
I stared at Aang anxiously, "Aang, we have to help them."
"Yeah and we'll do that by staying here, we'll guard the city while Sokka and the others go out on their mission," Aang reassured.
"Just make sure to stay safe out there," Akemi advised. "I can't afford to lose you.
"I promise you I'll stay safe," I nodded. "You have my word. You'll need to keep yourself safe too."
"Don't worry about me, this is your destiny and Aang's destiny," Akemi declared. "Both of you must help defend our city from the Fire Nation before it crumbles to nothingness."
"We will," Aang nodded reassuringly.
Time Skip
Once we were assigned our respective roles in the battle against the Fire Nation, Aang and I stood perched on an ice mound, on the lookout for any potential Fire Nation ships, both of our airbending staff in hand.
I hear footfalls approaching us and I turn around, spotting the Northern Water Tribe chief. "The stillness before battle is unbearable. Such a quiet dread."
Katara also makes her way to us, standing in between both of us. "I wasn't there when the Fire Nation attacked my people," Aang stands, looking up into the sky in determination. I'm going to make a difference this time."
"We're going to make a difference this time," I amended.
All of us then congregate at the icy walls and fortress of the Northern Water Tribe, preparing and readying ourselves for the incursion that was to come. Eventually, I spot something bright and tiny from the horizon, soaring at a supersonic pace towards our position and growing bigger.
Before anyone of us could react, the fireball lands and crashes into the icy wall, sending a few of the people on the wall flying back and cracks began snaking up the wall, some chunks of it falling apart.
"Get on, Suzume!" Aang shouts and I propel myself up, landing beside Aang at the reins.
"Yip-yip!" With a mighty roar, the flying bison takes to the sky and we immediately spot the source of the fireballs, a lone Fire Nation Ship just at the horizon.
We sail over the incoming fireballs aimed at the city until the soldiers notice us, directing the fireballs in our direction instead.
I leap up, slashing out at the fireballs with my staff and sending an air slash towards the fireballs, deflecting and redirecting all of them into the ocean. I land back down next to Aang just as we were nearing the Fire Nation ship.
"Nice job, Suzume. Ready to go?" Aang questioned, staring at the Fire Nation soldiers from above.
"We'll make this quick," I change my staff into a glider and Aang follows suit, both of us gliding down and landing on the ship. Aang immediately takes out the soldiers that surround us upon landing, airbending them against the ship.
"I'll take down those machines on the left, you go with the ones on the right," Aang directed and we both split up in opposite directions.
With a quick glance at the machine, I decide to make them non-functional instead of destroying them entirely. I summon a gust of wind, knocking the soldiers that were darting at me back. I then focus on the choppy sea, finding its rhythm and calling upon a huge wave of water, I direct them at the soldiers and freeze them entirely, rendering them useless and immobile.
I take a deep breath, focusing my attention now on the heat of the Sun, drawing its heat into the light I was bending. I aim my fingers at the sling of the machine, slashing through and severing it entirely from the machine, doing the same to the sling of the machine beside it. Aang was making light work of the other trebuchets, destroying them entirely while he was at it too. He was about to destroy the last machine, not noticing the burly man that was standing behind him, holding two chained sledgehammers.
I release my grip on the sunlight and quickly airbend the man away from Aang, directing a wave of water towards him and freezing him.
"Thanks, Suzume," Aang strikes the machine with a sledgehammer, making the projectile in the sling catapult into the machine, destroying it entirely in the process.
"Let's get out of here," I urged and just as I said that, Appa comes swooping down towards us, both of us leaping on him and flying away from the now-destroyed Fire Nation as Northern Water Tribe soldiers surrounded it, uprooting the ship with spikes and suspending it.
"Thankfully that's o-" I caught my tongue, staring at what lay ahead in absolute shock and disbelief, rows upon rows of Fire Nation ships that dotted the sea ahead of us, almost as uncountable as stars in the night sky.
"I spoke too soon," I shook my head, looking at Aang, his eyes widened in disbelief.
"You've got to be kidding me..."
Time Skip
By now, the sky was painted a light orange hue from the evening Sun. Shattered, exhausted and enervated from all the ships we had taken down, Appa bring us back to an equally shattered Northern Water Tribe, smoke billowing from the city in multiple places.
"Aang, Suzume!" Katara called just as Appa lands in front of the palace, Princess Yue standing right beside her.
I just about manage to summon a gust of wind to leap off of Appa, landing next to Aang who had already slumped down in exhaustion and exasperation. I sit next to him, leaning back against Appa's fur and sharing the same look of defeat as Aang.
"We can't do it...We can't do it," Aang complained, placing his hands on his head.
"What happened?" Katara inquired.
"We must have taken out dozens of Fire Navy ships, but there's just too many of them. We can't fight them all," Aang explained dimly, the joyful spirit in him vanishing from battling all those ships.
"But, both of you have to. Both of you are the Avatars," Princess Yue pleads.
"Look, Your Majesty, with all due respect, I think you've seen the almost infinite number of Fire Nation ships out there. As much as we'd like to take down all of them, we have our limits and we're just kids, we're barely even Avatars," I sigh, exchanging sad looks with Aang.
I feel Katara coming in between the both of us, wrapping both her arms around us comfortingly. Eventually, the sky changed into a darker complexion, signalling the arrival of night. We manage to pull ourselves together and follow Princess Yue to the palace balcony, staring at the moon that hung in the sky.
"The legends say the moon was the first waterbender," Princess Yue abruptly said. "Our ancestors saw how it pushed and pulled the tides and learned how to do it themselves."
"I've always noticed my waterbending is stronger at night," Katara noted.
"Our strength comes from the spirit of the moon. Our life comes from the spirit of the ocean," Princess Yue explained. "They work together to keep balance."
My ears perk up at this and I look at Aang, whose face suddenly brightened as he turned to face me. "The spirits! Maybe we can find them and get their help!"
"I suppose that could work," I rub my chin in thought.
"How can you do that?" Princess Yue questioned in confusion.
"The Avatars are the bridge between our world and the Spirit World! Aang and Suzume can talk to them!" Katara exclaimed in excitement.
"Maybe they'll give you both the wisdom to win this battle!" Princess Yue grinned.
"Or maybe they'll unleash a crazy amazing spirit attack on the Fire Nation!" Aang waves his arms out in enthusiasm, stopping when he notices Katara and Princess Yue's confused looks. "Or wisdom. That's good, too."
"No no, Aang has a point," I return Aang's smile at me. "I think a spirit attack would be good too, we'll need a miracle if we want to beat the Fire Nation."
"The only problem is, last time Aang got to the Spirit World by accident. How are both of you going to get there this time together?" Katara inquired.
"I mean, I meditated to get into the spirit world last time," I pointed out. "and since we are bonded by the same spirit, I think if I'm able to get into the spirit world, he should be able to do the same."
"Then I think I have an idea. Follow me," Princess Yue leads the way forward and we follow her along to the courtyard of the palace until she comes to a halt by a small, round wooden door.
"So, is this the way to the Spirit World?" Aang asked in excitement.
"No. Both of you'll have to get there on your own. But I can take you to the most spiritual place in the entire North Pole." She leans forward, opening the door to reveal a stunning view, a small verdant oasis with a waterfall flowing directly behind it.
I race across to the oasis with Aang, plopping down on the grass and peering into the pond in the middle of it all. While Aang rolled in the grass, I notice the two fish that swam in circles around it, already feeling the spiritual pull of the place, my spirit seemed lighter and more peaceful all of a sudden.
"It's so warm here! How is that possible?" Katara questioned in wonderment.
"It's the centre of all spiritual energy in our land," Princess Yue answered.
I ease myself into my meditating position, clearing my throat loud enough so that Aang noticed what I was doing, quickly rushing over to me while flashing a sheepish grin. He quickly sits down beside me, getting into his meditative position.
"You were right, Yue. I can feel...something. It's so tranquil," Aang commented, closing his eyes as do I, focusing on the spiritual energy that flowed freely in here but my concentration was disrupted by the faint chatter in the background.
I roughly hear Princess Yue's question, "Is there any way we can help?"
"You could both help by keeping quiet!" I snapped, both of them turning silently immediately. "Both of us are trying to meditate here if you two haven't already noticed."
"Thanks, Suzume," Aang whispers and I nod slightly, refocusing my attention solely on the spiritual energy, blocking out everything and breathing slowly, breathing in sync with Aang and feeling both our spiritual energies entwining together, combining with the immense spiritual energy around us.
A familiar burst of energy grips me again and I feel myself transitioning slowly into the spirit realm.