A/N: Here's the new chappy, as promised, in another person's p.o.v. Enjoy and tell me whatchu think! ;)
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/////Katara's P.O.V.\\\\
I am so done with boys. Really.
I've decided that boys are the most ungrateful, annoying, immature and irresponsible species in the whole world.
Here we are, floating in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of treacherous ice berg, looking for the Northern Water Tribe, and there they are, both Aang and Sokka squabbling over whose fault it was that caused Luna to be captured.
Almost makes me wish I hadn't healed Aang with my newfound healing skills after he got knocked by that traitor. Almost.
Oh, Luna. I stare miserably at my reflection in the calm sea. If I only I had helped, you would still be here, ganging up on Sokka with me.
It has been a week - a week! - since Luna got captured. We left the Fire Nation town, devastated, and flew straight to the North. Even though we know that there's an Air Temple in the Northern region, we didn't feel like detouring as Luna had promised to meet us at the Northern Water Tribe. Flying for a few days straight has taken a toll on Appa, so he is currently stroking through in the arctic waters, with us on top looking for my sister tribe.
I still remember the fiery determination in Luna's eyes when she promised to meet us up here. My heart aches for her. I don't know how to explain this, but I feel like some part of me is... missing. Literally. It's like that time when I lost the necklace my mother gave me - I'd suddenly feel so afraid, distraught, and vulnerable. The necklace was the only present my mother gave me, before I lost her to the Fire Nation. It was the beacon of hope and home; without it, I felt lost.
Luna's absence makes me feel that way, only ten times worse.
I had become so used to her laughter, her lame jokes and her attempts to keep our spirits up that I hadn't notice how important she is to us until she's gone. Oh sure, she's beyond weird, like the way she keeps losing her memories, and how she always accidentally blurt out some personal information about us, not to mention that time when she used a word I didn't understand and laughed so hard she nearly passed out...
Even thinking about her is causing me a lot of pain.
Finally, I can't bear to hear the boys' bickering anymore. "Shut UP!" I explode in anger, standing up with my hands fisted by my side. I'm quivering slightly. Sokka and Aang immediately stop throwing insults at each other and look at me with an expression of fear. Momo - who had been dozing peacefully - wakes with a startled cry.
"Look, it's everyone's fault, okay?! I couldn't help her, because I had my hands full. Aang was knocked-out cold, and Sokka... l- let Luna's hand slip a- away." Without warning, my throat closes up and tears suddenly flow down my face uncontrollably. I sit back down and put my head between my knees. My shoulders shake as I try to control my sobs. Guilt and anger is tearing me apart. The Fire Nation killed my mother when I was a kid, and now they've taken away someone I care deeply about. Is this suffering ever going to stop?
Luna is like a sister to me, so fun to be with, yet at the same time, protective. Her loyalty to us reminds me of... well, me. I have noticed that Luna's attitude bears an uncanny resemblance to mine. During our short time together, we almost always have the same thought, and always speak the same thing. It's weird, but nice at the same time. It feels like I'm talking to someone who completely understands me, and I'm glad for the feeling of sanctuary it provides. But now it's gone. She's gone.
Sokka exchange wary looks with Aang and comes to my side, then kneels and hugs me. "Katara..." he hesitates, like he's thinking of the right word to say. Releasing me from his arms, he keeps his hands on my shoulders. "I'm sorry for fighting with Aang at such a moment. If it's anyone's fault, it's Chey's. He was the one who betrayed us to the Fire Nation soldiers." As he says it, a disturbed look crosses his face. His blue eyes flash with anger. "He was a lying coward."
I sniff, then nod slowly, my waterworks coming to an end. It'll be much easier to bear the lost of our new friend if we put the blame on someone else. So much easier.
"I– I guess you're right," I say, my voice thick. He looks at me for a long time, nods and gives me another hug. I can see the pain in his eyes; the lost of Luna affects him as well. I glance quickly at Aang - who is looking at me in concern - then turn my head away in embarrassment. I don't usually break down in front of people.
Waterbending some water from my pouch, I quickly wash my face and take a deep breath.
"Let's look for our sister tribe, we've had enough delay as it is," Sokka sighs. "Luna's instruction for us is to meet us there... Though I don't know how she'll-" he looks at me quickly, as if afraid I would eat him alive if he says anything about Luna not surviving. But she will. She must. I am about to say something when Aang says it for me.
"We will find them, and Luna will, too. Or we'll find her if she doesn't appear," Aang says with fierce determination, looking at me with promise in his eyes. A feeling of courage flows through me from the look he gives. I can also feel my tanned skin reddening under his steady gaze. "She sacrificed herself so that we can find waterbending masters. And we will find them, so that she didn't sacrifice for nothing."
I swear, sometimes Aang acts like a fifty-year-old man from the way he thinks. Luna has told me that before, too. I smile wistfully at the memory. Then I nod at Aang. He's right. Despair won't get us anywhere.
"Right. Let's find 'em waterbenders, then!" Sokka says, cheering up for my sake. Suddenly, Appa slows down and growls, causing huge bubbles to foam in the ice-cold seawater. After a second, I realize he's trying to grab our attention.
"Um... Is it just me, or is the sky suddenly getting darker?" Aang asks us, pointing his glider at the dark clouds in the far North. I squint at the clouds, noticing that it looks different from normal storm clouds. It looks almost... unnatural. Like it's made up of black smoke. Then I notice the columns of smoke rising to the sky.
Moving my vision downwards, I finally spot the city of the Northern Water Tribe. It's so huge, it's a wonder we didn't see it sooner.
Nestled snugly in the centre of two looming ice-cliffs measuring about ten stories, the city is a sight to behold. Almost entirely made up of ice, the multi-tiered city shimmers and gleams in the setting sun. A man-made ice wall the height of two stories rises from the sea, so that the Northern Water Tribe city is protected in the shape of a semicircle, effectively blocking off outsiders.
But apparently it wasn't enough to block out the Fire Nation army.
Surrounding the ice wall is a fleet of battleships with the Fire Nation insignia on it. There must be a hundred of them, I thought with dismay. Now that the wind has shifted and the smoke is scattering, I can finally see the scene clearly: on the empire-class battleships the Fire Nation have, there are giant sling-shot like machines throwing giant fireballs at the city; huge chunks of ice are missing from the ice walls protecting the Northern Water Tribe, no doubt caused by the Fire Nation; smoke rises from the buildings within the walls, curling and twisting its way skywards. I can see and hear waterbenders standing on the walls trying to defend their beloved home from the Fire Nation soldiers. Shouts of encouragement and sounds of explosions cross path with each other, along with sounds of armour clashing against armour. The sounds are deafening, and I can feel myself tremble from the explosions.
While we're observing from a safe distance, the Fire Nation troops suddenly cease their attacks and start retreating back to their battleships as the sun goes down. I take in eveything in confusion as the Firebending soldiers run aboard and start lifting the anchors. Have the Water Tribe won this fight? The Fire Nation navy hasn't even breached the outer gates.
"Holy cow-" I start to say, using Luna's favourite phrase. Then I stop, because even using those words pains me. I'm at a lost for words. For years Gran Gran have told Sokka and I that the Northern Water Tribe and the Ba Sing Se are the sole beacons of hope left for anyone who is surviving this war and isn't Fire Nation folks.
But now, even the Northern Water Tribe is under attack.
"Yeah," Sokka agrees to my unspoken horror. His eyes are focusing on something floating in the distance: a block of ice covered in soot. The ice looks like it has been blasted off, with its jagged edge and melting sides. On it was black and grey snow. Snow mixed with soot - I've only seen it once, but it was enough to change my whole life for the worse. That day, I had sworn to myself that I don't ever want to see that sight again, not if I can help it. But now it's reappeared in front of me, an unpleasant blast from the past.
Still floating in the ocean, Aang cautiously guides Appa to a huge iceberg on our left which is shaped like a cave. We get off Appa and stand behind the thick wall of ice while Appa moves into the cave and start drying off.
"I can't believe we're too late," Aang says bleakly, walking over to peek at the ice walls that used to serve as a guardian for the Northern Tribe. "The Fire Nation has already started their attack. And I wasn't even here to stop it."
"But we've won, right? I mean look, the army is retreating!" I gesture at the retreating ships. Each of them has lift their anchor and are moving further into sea - and closer to us, I realise. But before I can say anything else, the ships stop their retreat and drop their anchor.
Sokka scratches his head, looking puzzled. "No, no. I think the army is just retreating temporarily. I don't think they want to fight waterbenders at night." I continue staring at the ships. Huh, I wonder why they're afraid of fighting after dark.
"Anyway, let's get down to business. We will need to get inside the city to help them fight." Sokka turns back to face us. "This means we need a plan." He starts marching back and forth in our small hiding place. "We need to help the Tribe win this battle-"
"- we need to find Luna -" I interjected, thinking about whether we can find her here, in this mess.
"- and we need to find a waterbending master, too," Aang continues.
"But first, we got to get inside the city without any of the Fire Nation noticing us," Sokka reasons.
And that, we did quite easily, since it was a cloudy night and most of the enemy are under deck.
We get into the city effortlessly and land at the base of the building built on the highest tier. I stare in awe at the magnificent block of ice, shaped into a great multi-tiered blue building, much like a giant blue cake. Next to the entrance of the building are ponds tinkling with the sound of trickling water, artificial fountains and gurgling waterfalls. I had to stop myself from swooning at the beauty of the well-designed structure. My heart swells with pride at the thought of how well our sister tribe has managed themselves for the past century. Yet, I can feel a bit of resentment in me— if they were doing so well for so many years, why didn't they think of helping us, their own sister tribe?
We land at the entrance of the building, observing the flurry of activities around us.
There are many people running about, some yelling about treating wounds, others about sharpening weapons. The wounded are gathered inside the hall, with Healers surrounding them, while others run about looking for people and things. The whole place is in chaos, but our arrival manages to stun them into silence nonetheless. The Northern citizens immediately stop what they're doing to stare at us. Together, the people stare at Appa the giant flying bison, then slowly lift their eyes to assess us. It's almost comical, the way everyone does that at the same time, except there's nothing funny about being in the middle of a war.
Since the other two are having trouble finding their tongues, I decide to speak for them. "Hello there, uh, fellow Water Tribe. We're from the South, and we're with the... Avatar. We've come to help fight the Fire army."
At first, stunned looks and silence are all we receive. Then someone in the crowd regains control and asks in disbelief, "The... Avatar???"
The question acts as a wakening spell, and excited whispers immediately explode across the space, the volume of voices rising steadily. People are suddenly trying to squeeze their way onto Appa to meet Aang. The three of us quickly back away in alarm while Appa growls menancingly, but they don't stop their pushing and squeezing. I'm looking around for some help when another voice from the back of the crowd speaks up loud and clear:
"That is enough."
The powerful voice echoes through the space, commanding attention and respect. To my surprise, the Northern citizens immediately calm down and turn to look at the speaker. We do the same.
A man who looks about in his late-forties walk forward to us. So he was the one who spoke. His prematurely aged face shows evidence of strain and stress. Whose wouldn't, in this time of war when the Fire Nation seems to be winning?
"I'm Chief Arnook of the Northern Tribe. I'm afraid to say that we haven't much accommodation for the Avatar and our fellow tribesmen," he addresses us and the crowd with a look of regret. I grumble lightly in my head - tribesmen? "As you can see, we're in the middle of defending our homeland. However, it is our greatest honour and pleasure that you choose to come visit us."
"Thank you for the welcome, Mr. Chief, sir. I'm Aang." Aang airbends himself to the ice ground and bows respectfully before the chief. Sokka and I have to use the traditional way of getting down instead - sliding off Appa's tail. We bow to the chief, too.
"I'm Katara, a waterbender, but I have not received any training from a master before," I inform Chief Arnook. He does a double-take when I mention 'waterbender', but otherwise says nothing.
"I'm Sokka, warrior of the Northern Tribe," Sokka introduces. "As my sister said, we are here to help you fight the Fire Nation."
The previously silent crowd immediately goes into uproar at Sokka's word.
"Help?"
"The Avatar is here to help!"
"Those Fire Nation idiots won't know what hit them!"
Chief Arnook raises his hand, and the excited crowd falls silent once again. "Please," he speaks to the crowd, "There are warriors to be treated; weapons to be prepared. I'll show our heroes around. Now please go attend to your duties."
I shuffle uncomfortably when the Chief calls us 'heroes', while thinking to myself, Perhaps he's assuming too much. I feel uncomfortable at the thought that so many people are counting on the three of us to defeat a whole fleet of Fire Nation army.
Wow, I wonder how Aang handles the stress, being the Avatar himself.
At his words, everyone immediately goes back to work, resuming whatever they had started. Chief Arnook gestures for us to follow him while walking into the building.
"This is the Royal Palace," Chief Arnook tells us, a hint of pride in his voice. If this palace were mine, I would be gloating, too, I thought as I trail my fingers along the intricately designed ice wall. The swirls and pattern on the walls and pillars are simple yet elegant. Pictures of waterbenders dating back to a hundred years ago decorate the high ceiling, and there are mini waterfalls built into the four corners of the main hall we're crossing. The gentle and constant sound of flowing water relaxes all of us, and I feel energized all of a sudden.
While Chief Arnook leads us from one corridor to another, heading - we're informed - to the war room to plan, he fills us in with the North's condition in this battle. I haven't been paying much attention to what the chief said, but from what I can gather, today is only the first day of the battle, and we are losing.
Hard.
Which won't do for all of us, much less the rest of the world. Except maybe the Fire Nation.
And the reason we haven't been defeated is only because the Fire Nation don't dare attack at night, when the powers of waterbenders are at their peak.
While we're talking, the chief reaches the war room. He gives us a tired smile as he knocks on the plain-looking door and gives his name. "I'm with the Avatar and friends."
The door opens almost immediately. I look into the room curiously, and see a bunch of weapons, maps and men. Six of them, to be precise.
Sokka and Aang steps into the room, and the guy behind the door gives them a nod. However, when I move to step in, he shakes his head with a grunt. "No girls allowed."
I look at him in disbelief. Have I heard wrongly?
"Sorry?" I ask again, just to confirm.
The burly man shakes his head impatiently and frowns at me. "Don't understand, girlie? I said, no girls allowed in the war room."
Girls are not allowed in the war room?
"Why?" I ask.
Aang and Sokka look at me and turn to stare at the chief. Chief Arnook turns to me and scratches his face in awkwardness. "Uh... Yeah, I forgot. Sorry Katara, fighting is only suitable for men. The women waterbenders are in charge of Healing. Maybe you can go help the healers?" He looks at me hopefully.
"Wait wait wait. So you're basically saying women waterbenders are not allowed to use waterbending to fight, here?"
"Er, yes."
I cross my arms in irritation. "But I want to help fight! Don't you think it's only fair that women here get to choose what they want to do with their waterbending?"
Chief Arnook appears to be considering my words when a man from inside the room speaks up, "This is a culture of the Northern Tribe that has been here since the beginning of our existence. Our Elders have decided, and we shall respect their decisions. We will not make an exception just for a little girl."
I give the speaker a hard glare. The man looks about in his fifties, with his greying hair and beard. He returns my glare without a flinch. I curl my hands into fists. "Little girl?"
"Please, let's not fight about this now. We have war to discuss, Master Pakku," the chief says soothingly. Then he turns to face me. "My daughter, Princess Yue, is alone in the throne room. Perhaps you can help me keep her company?"
Master Pakku? Oh, so he's a waterbending master now? Sending Master Pakku another hard glare, I nod slowly to Chief Arnook's suggestion. This isn't over.
After Chief Arnook tells me the direction to the throne room, I stalk away from the war room, fuming to myself. How can they allow this so-called 'culture' to continue? It's not only sexist, they're also limiting their number of warriors! Women can fight just as well as men!
But apparently Master Pakku thinks not. So do other men who stay here. I harrumph angrily and cross my arms, staring indignantly at the floor as I walk.
Then I immediately stop as a thought strikes me. I don't have to do the Chief's bidding. I came here with some goals. One of them is to look for Luna. And look for her I shall. The only problem is: how do I find her when I've basically zero clues as to where she could be?
So, without looking for the princess Yue, I head back to the main hall, where the hustle and bustle is. I need to go outside to think.
While I head outside into the arctic cool night, my mind races. Luna has been captured because she was travelling with the Avatar. If it were so, the only guy other than Zuko interested in this piece of news would be... Admiral Zhao. Oh, just thinking about both of them at the same time makes my blood boil! I fume as I walk down a long stairway that leads to the city centre. Why are they so annoying?
Zhao would want Luna so that he can learn the whereabouts of Aang, I reason, touching my forehead to think. But that doesn't seem right. It was rather obvious, from the start, that Aang needs a waterbending master. So if Zhao already knew that, what other information could he get from Luna? Unless he's using her as a bait?
Deep in thoughts, I don't notice the huge commotion happening at the bottom of the steps until I'm blocked by a huge crowd. People are swarming into the scene, forming a circle around whatever is in the middle. Curious, I try tiptoeing to see through the crowd.
"What's happening?" I ask a lady beside me, who's hopping up and down to catch a glimpse.
"I heard some of them saying two Fire Nation soldiers came in to surrender."
"What?!" I pull back in shock. "B-but, that's impossible! Fire Nation will never give up without a fight. Right?" The lady gives a shrug and moves away. Impatiently, I push myself forward, giving a gentle nudge once or twice so that I can get through. I have to know who those people are. I have this weird feeling inside of me that keeps pushing me forward - call it a strong sense of curiosity, but it feels more than that. It's like a gravitational pull, and I'm the metal.
Halfway through the crowd, I jerk to a stop - earning a few glares and grumbles - when I hear a highly familiar voice call out, "Give us some space! There'll b-be time for pictures later!" from the middle of the onlookers.
It is a sound of a girl. A female voice that's slightly deeper than other girls her age. Her tone is light and humorous, a sound so warm - it can all only mean one person:
"LUNA!"
With a final shove, I finally break through the crowd to find a bizarre sight in front of me: two Fire Nation soldiers, one standing, the other lying on the ground. The one standing seems to be waterbending a stream of water to keep people away, including me. But when the soldier spots me, she stops her waterbending and pulls off her Firebender helmet. Then she runs straight towards me, giving me a bone-crushing, ribs-breaking, breath-taking and much needed hug, leaving the other soldier to lie on the cold ground, alone.
"KATARA!" Luna screams beside my ear in excitement.
"LUNA!" I yell back, voice muffled by her shoulder. We're both jumping up and down in elation. I don't mind that my ribs feel like bruising, I don't care that my toes are getting crushed by the bigger girl's feet, I don't give two arctic hens that people are staring - all I care is that Luna is safe, and she's finally, finally back with us!
Luna is back! I suddenly feel like bawling my eyes out.
Suddenly Luna stops jumping and pulls out from the hug, but keeps both arms on my shoulders so she can examine me. "How are y-you? Oh my lord, I missed you g-guys soo much!"
I examine her face too, noting how she's trembling, how her eyes look sunken, with dark circles lining them and how her cheeks look hollow, like she was starved. And is that a... burn mark on her cheek? Horrified, I keep my tone in check while answering, "Oh my goodness, I've missed you so much too! We missed you. But, never mind about me, how are you?"
How did she escape? How did she get here? There are a million questions that I want to ask, but I know Luna is in no state to answer all of them. She's shivering and shaking, which looks a bit odd from a girl her size. Her teeth is chattering. I can see the little puffs of breath forming in front of her mouth in quick, short gasps. She needs some help, I realise. The questions can wait.
But despite her condition, Luna gives me a bright smile and puts on a brave face, saying, "Never b-been better– thanks to you! The past week h-has been hell." She shudders. My heart goes out to her, this weird girl, my friend, my sister. I give her another crushing hug, just to assure myself that Luna really is here with me.
"Come on, we need to get you somewhere warm to rest. You need food," I tell her, putting her arm around my shoulder so I can support her. "Who's your other friend? I'll ask some people to help." Already, people are losing interest as they realize these two 'soldiers' are actually not from the Fire Nation. A few stay back to watch while others slowly trump back to work, whispering among themselves.
Luna chuckles, "He's not my friend... yet. He's-"
"-looking for the Avatar," another familiar voice continues. This time though, this is a voice of a male. An angry male, to be precise. An angry male who travelled all over the world following us, just for said reason.
Are the surprises ever going to stop? I grit my teeth and push Luna aside so I can shield her from him. Then I turn around with my arms bent, ready to attack at any moment. The person that appeared with Luna stands up slowly, removing his helmet so his scarred face is visible.
"You," I spit with ferocity when I see his face. Why is he here? More importantly, why was he with Luna?
Zuko returns the glare - made a hundred times scarier because of his mauled face - then moves into a firebending stance, ready to attack.
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A/N: MMHHMM? So whaddayya think? Please don't forget to vote and comment if you likey! Even if you don't likey, you can tell me what's wrong! I'm thinking about what should happen in the next chappy, and I would be honoured if you guys wanna give me any suggestions! (That's within reason! :D)
Alright, love you guys, but I'm signing out! Stay cool B)