Momo flew off Zhao's head, landing on an irritated Aang's arm. When I saw the dark wig come off the girl's head, after she tried unsuccessfully to get the bag from Zhao, I was furious. How dare Zhao hit Amaya like that!? We all took up a fighting posture, and Amaya burst out of the water with a gasp. She crawled over to the side of the pond, and I saw some blood trickle from a split lip.
Zhao held up the bag and growled at us. "Don't bother."
"Zhao!" Aang cried out, dropping his glider and holding up his hands. "Don't!"
"It's my destiny," Zhao said, a sick grin spreading on his face. "To destroy the moon... and the Water Tribe."
"Are you mad!?" I called from next to Katara. "Destroying the moon won't just hurt the Water Tribe!"
"It will hurt everyone – including you. Without the moon, everything would fall out of balance. You have no idea what kind of chaos that would unleash on the world," Aang added calmly, trying to reason with the madman.
"He's right, Zhao," came an angry voice. I turned to see Zuko's uncle standing nearby Amaya, helping her to her feet.
"General Iroh," Zhao said with a nasty sneer. He apparently recognised Amaya, too, judging by the irritated glare he throws her. "Why am I not surprised to discover your treachery?"
"I'm no traitor, Zhao," Iroh snapped, pushing Amaya behind him. "The Fire Nation needs the Moon too. We all depend on the balance."
Zhao continued to glare at Iroh, and right now, it felt like a ping pong match as they threw words back and forth. Iroh pointed directly at Zhao. His face was furious, and his voice terrifying. "Whatever you do to that spirit, I'll unleash on you, tenfold! Let it go, now!"
For a moment, it seemed like Zhao would listen as he lowered his arm, then released the fish. But then he seemed to snap, and at Amaya's screamed, 'no!' I realised he didn't plan to let it go.
He shot fire at it, and suddenly, the sky turned black.
I looked back to see Iroh throwing fire at Zhao, who fled, and Iroh attacked the soldiers around Zhao. The old man was clearly beyond furious. Zhao, realising that he was outmatched, fled. I remembered Amaya and looked around frantically, seeing her kneeling near the water with a blank face. Amaya never made that face. I didn't remember a hell of a lot, but I knew that expression was a new one on her face.
The black fish was swimming frantically around the white one, and I hesitantly stepped towards it, all of us coming around to stand beside the old firebender.
Iroh bent down and picked up the fish, his face solemn. Amaya had finally moved and was standing just in front of me. It wasn't moving, and the burn along its body looked horrible.
"Hey," I said, nudging her.
She looked over her shoulder at me. Her soft, oval face a calm neutral. I placed an arm over her shoulder.
"What happens now? The fight is lost without the waterbenders... I should go and help the fight... I'm the only bender left in the city, on our side... who can still do some damage... Except for Aang."
"Now we wait," she said softly, her voice sounding emotionally drained as she shrugged my arm off her shoulders.
Yue quietly lamented the lack of hope, and something flashed in Amaya's eyes.
Aang's tattoos lit up, and he growled out a word that echoed with thousands of other voices. "No. It's not over."
Aang stepped out, coming out into the water. Katara moved to stop him, but Amaya threw an arm out before she could pass the shorter girl. He stood there, hands folded before him and the black fish circling him. They seemed to stare at each other, fathomlessly ancient stares of a spirit and the Avatar. The white diamond on La's head glowed, its eyes lighting up until it looked just like Aang's glowing tattoos. Aang suddenly seemed to drop into the water, blue energy spreading into the water outside the oasis and lighting up the grey world around us. The water rose into the glowing blue shape of a humanoid fish, Aang at its heart. We all stared in wonder and mild fear as the spirit moved into the city, and the sound of battle became ever more distant.
Iroh gently lay the fish into the water, and Katara reached her hand forward.
"It's too late..." She said sadly.
"Katara," I looked over at Amaya, and there was a thoughtful look in her eyes. "Teach me to heal. At least the basics."
"What?" Katara frowned, confused at the random request.
"Please," she pleaded. "I might not get another chance to ask you."
Katara nodded, and the two of them stepped away, Amaya and Katara throwing one last look over their shoulders before Katara started explaining the basics of healing to Amaya.
I knelt beside Iroh, tempted to ask for my own lessons from the old firebender but more concerned about how to fix the issue of a dead moon.
Iroh seemed to become surprised as he looked at Yue.
"You have been touched by the moon spirit," he said with mild surprise. "Some of its life is in you."
"Yue... The moon spirit healed you... Do you think you could heal it?" I said gently, pointing over to the dead fish.
"Yes," she said softly. "It gave me life."
She seemed to reach a decision and looked up at the two of us with sad eyes. "Maybe I can give it back."
At Sokka's expression of shock, and her words, I was sorely tempted to take back my suggestion.
"No!" Sokka said, jumping to his feet and catching her hand. "You don't have to do that!"
"It's my duty, Sokka."
"Do what you can, but remember that we need you, so don't give it all..."
"No!" Sokka shouted again. "I won't let you! Your father told me to protect you!"
"I have to do this," she said again, more firmly.
Amaya appeared between them, taking Sokka's hand into her own.
"To live in the hearts of the one's we love is not to die," she let his hand go and stepped back, hugging herself. "The consequences here will be much worse if she doesn't do this. I'm sorry."
"It will be okay, Sokka," I said, laying my hand on his shoulder. "Love is stronger than death..."
Yue put her hands onto the fish, and immediately it began to glow with healing light. When the light faded, Yue collapsed into Sokka's arms.
"No!" he cried, checking her pulse. "She's gone..."
He clutched her close to him and repeated, "she's gone," in a much more broken voice.
We sat there in stunned silence, Amaya crouching down next to Iroh, when Yue slowly faded away, disappearing from Sokka's arms. The fish suddenly started glowing again, and Iroh gently placed it in Amaya's hands, who carried it over to the pond, and placed it back into the water. It immediately started swimming. The water glowed brightly, and Yue appeared - a thousand times more beautiful than she was in life.
"Goodbye, Sokka," she said gently, leaning forward as she cupped his face. "I will always be with you."
She kissed him, and when she vanished, he stared after her sadly.
The moon then lit up again, and colour returned to the world.
"Iroh! Before you go, I need to learn..." I turned around.
Iroh and Amaya were gone.
The next day, I stood next to Katara in the aftermath of it all as she listened to Pakku. Sokka was talking to the Chief, and I felt like that was a very private conversation.
"I've decided to go to the South Pole," Pakku announced with his back to us. "Some other benders and warriors want to join me."
He finally turned to face us. "It's time we helped rebuild our sister tribe."
"What about Aang?" Katara asked sadly. "He still needs to learn waterbending."
"Well," Pakku said dramatically. "He better get used to calling you, 'Master' Katara."
Katara's face lit up as she smiled brightly at Pakku.
"And, Mogui? Was it?" Pakku said, turning to me with a raised eyebrow.
"Er, yes?" I said, confused since the guy didn't usually look twice at me.
"An important part of any bending is a good centre," he said. "Try standing a little firmer if you want to put more power behind your fire."
My eyebrows shot up at the unexpected advice, but I bowed respectfully to the waterbending master.
"Thank you, Master Pakku. I will take your advice seriously."
"Good, because it's damn good advice," he sniffed.
I could barely hide my amusement. The guy was such a drama queen.