The Mysterious Traveler

Welcome, to the end of the beginning!

This turned out to be the longest chpter I have ever written for this story. Over 11,000 words!

Once again, I apologize for any grammar errors.

Enjoy chapter 36!

Chapter Thirty-Six:

The Shadow of the North

Zuko sat in his cell, chained up against the wall, unable to move. He was so tired but every time he fell to sleep, he felt his weight against the cold steel of the chains, forcing him awake from the unformattable pressure. He tried to use his firebending, but they made sure to use chains that were fireproof. The kind that would take weeks to weaken with fire.

He wondered about his uncle and his crew if they had abandoned him or were still waiting for him to return.

He felt like a failure, having been bested by a peasant magical girl and Katara, the waterbending girl who had a way of getting under his skin. But not as bad as that Alexander Prince though.

Speaking of which, the two came to see him the night before, including the boomerang brother of hers and the Avatar.

"How far is Zhao from reaching the North Pole?" Sokka asked.

He didn't answer, not even bothering to meet his or theirs.

"You're never getting out!" Katara declared, glaring at him. "You're done following us all over the world."

"He's not going to talk," said Severus. "He came alone."

"How do you know?" Aang asked.

"Because Zhao would have attacked not long after he did if he was close."

Before they could leave, Katara saw something on Zuko's neck and her eyes widened, immediately rushing forward reaching through the bars, managing to grab ahold of it. Yanking back, she tore off the necklace and held it in the palm of her hand.

"Gran-Gran's necklace!" she exclaimed, tears in her eyes. "He had it all along!"

Aang and Sokka smiled while Severus turned around and kept walking.

She turned back to Zuko and her face softening at him, "Why did you keep this?"

He looked away, closing his eyes as he tried to pretend she wasn't there.

Though frustrated, Katara smiled at the necklace and tied it around her neck, touching the symbol on the crest. She took one last thoughtful look at Zuko before leaving the others, leaving the Fire Prince in his solitude as he allowed himself to fall asleep and allowed for the uncomfortableness of the chains against his skin, wishing to get some kind of rest.

"The day we have feared for so long has arrived."

The great hall was filled with so many people that it was hard for anyone to move, only able to stand firm and look toward their chief. Women held their babies and children close to them. Men held onto their clubs, swords, and bows, a fierce determination in their eyes. Young boys and girls were either scared or naively determined. The elderly stood wearily and worriedly.

Aang, Katara, Sokka, Severus, Renee, Kiri, and Kori, along with Momo, were against a pillar, watching from a distance.

Clouds hung over the Northern Water Tribe, blocking out the sun. An inescapable dark shadow.

"The Fire Nation is at our doorstep!" Chief Arnook exclaimed to his people. "It is with great sadness that I call upon everyone who can and are willing to fight. I will not force anyone of you to join the battle. But I call upon you all to stand and fight against our enemy."

Several men nodded.

"Many faces I see here today will vanish from our tribe. But I promise you that they will not vanish from our hearts. The north will remember every single one of you even long after we are gone from this world."

Some felt motivated and inspired by his words.

"All civilians will remain in the palace during the battle. Unless you are willing to fight, your place will be here. 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!"

His voice was loud and powerful, ringing deep into the hall and in his people's minds.

"And I call upon ten of you for a particularly important mission. One that may help us win the day. For those who are willing, please step forward."

Nine men stepped forward from the large crowd, one of which caught Yue's attention, though she quickly looked away. Sokka emerged, despite protests from Katara and Renee. They all knelt before the Chief.

"Rise!"

All ten volunteers rose to their feet.

"Be warned, any of you will not return, even if the mission is successful. Step forward and receive my mark if you truly accept the task."

One at a time, each volunteer stepped forward and knelt before the chief, receiving a mark of three red stripes on their forehead, with Pakku and Yue standing beside Arnook.

Once they all received their mark, they all followed a man to a house far from the palace, filled with weapons and armored suits. As they waited, some began to get to know each other and even pick out their weapon.

After a while, Chief Arnook, Pakku, and the same person who brought them there appeared before them, making them stand firm.

"Gentlemen, thank you for offering your services for our tribe," said Arnook. "Your mission is to infiltrate the leading ship and kill the admiral in charge of the attack. If you can, take out any succeeding officials to create a command crisis that will force them to retreat or set them off balance."

He motioned to the man next to him.

"This here is Commander Po. He'll be in charge of this mission and you'll all answer to him. Is that clear?"

They all nodded, "Yes sir."

"I don't think he heard you!" Commander Po shouted. "Speak up!"

"Yes, sir!" they nearly shouted.

The three men nodded.

Arnook turned to Po, "May the Spirits be with you."

"Same to you, old friend."

They hugged and Arnook took his leave, being followed by Pakku.

"Alright, men!" Po shouted. "You heard the Chief, our mission is to infiltrate the commanding ship, identify the admiral and other officials, and take them out! Only problem is, we have no idea who the admiral is or what he looks like!"

"Ah, sir?" Sokka raised his hand.

"Did I say you could speak?!" Po shouted, his face turning red.

Sokka felt small and terrified, especially with the other nine men looking at him, "The admiral is a man named Zhao."

"I don't care what-" his eyes widened. "Wait, what did you say?"

Sokka swallowed, "Uh, I said the admiral in charge is Zhao."

Everyone blinked at him.

"And how exactly do you know that?!" he demanded.

Pushing back his fears, Sokka stood firm, trying not to shake, "I've met him once at the Northern Air Temple. Middle -aged, big sideburns, good at making sweet deals, and definitely a genocidal maniac."

Po was at a loss of words, "What is your name?"

"Ah… Sokka…"

Po nodded, "I've heard of you. So, tell me, Sokka…" he approached him, making the others back away, "… have you ever been in a real fight before."

"I've fought pirates and Fire Nation soldiers before. Plus the Fire Nation prince too."

"Any training?"

"Been trained in sword fighting and combat training for about a month with a dude named Jet."

"Better than most of the men here. Some have never been a fight before. Though I doubt you've ever truly faced a battle such as this before. Tell me, since you've been up close and personal with the Fire Nation, what can you tell me about their armor and suits?"

"Uh, I'm not entirely sure how to."

Po sighed and walked towards one of the armor hangers, presenting an incredibly old Fire Nation suit, "Do they look anything like this?"

Sokka struggled not to laugh, "When did you get those? A hundred years ago?"

Po frowned, "Eighty-five."

"Well, Fire Navy uniforms don't like that. The newer uniforms don't have shoulder spikes anymore, they're more streamlined and more menacing."

"How do we know we can trust this guy?" one of the volunteers spoke up. "Such bold talk coming from a new recruit."

Sokka folded his against his chest and glared at him.

"Quiet, Hahn!" ordered Hahn. "Unlike you, this one knows what he is talking about and has the look of someone who has seen more than you have."

Hahn huffed as Po turned back to Sokka. "So, our uniforms are out of date, can they be updated within a few hours?"

Sokka shook his head, "No, it would take too long, and the coloring they use would be a little hard to match."

"Then what do you suggest?"

Sokka rubbed his chin, deep in thought, his eyes widening a second later, "We multitask."

"Huh?" Po raised is brow.

"We get new ones the same way you got those."

"How are we supposed to do that?!" Hahn demanded.

Po ignored him and smiled, "I like your thinking. Get ready boys, we're taking a little detour!"

Standing on top of the entrance wall, Aang and Katara looked toward the ocean, staring deep into the dark horizon, with black clouds high above. Renee, Arnook, Pakku, and Yue were right beside them, close to the icy railing.

Severus was also there, concentrating on performing his wandless magic as he silently chanted, "Protego Maxima! Fianto Duri! Repello Inimicum!"

"The stillness before battle is unbearable," said Arnook. "Such a quiet dread."

Aang closed his eyes, "I won't let what happened to my people happen to yours. This time, I'm gonna make a difference."

Katara glared into the distance, nodding, "The Fire Nation will not get the pleasure of doing the same to your tribe as they did to mine. For every waterbender taken from our tribes, a hundred will be taken from them."

Arnook and Pakku turned to her, their faces filled with worry.

"Do not honor the fallen with vengeance, my dear," said Arnook. "Honor them by cherishing their memory, with love."

She ignored him, feeling irritated by his words.

Appa growled as he flew in above and landed on the walkway beside them.

"Hey, buddy," Aang rubbed his fur, making the bison groan.

"INCOMING!" a voice cried out from the watchtower closest to them.

They all looked to the horizon and saw something flying towards them, a giant fireball.

As they all braced for cover, it was instead stopped by an invisible wall, sparks flying in every direction except the tribe.

Everyone turned to Severus, who was shaking from the impact, trying to complete the spell before he ran dry and became too tired.

As they then looked back to the horizon, they began to make out three warships, each firing their own fireballs directly at them. They all hit the magical barrier that was protecting them and disintegrated. However, one more came and broke right through, shattering the small barrier and colliding with the symbol carven on the entrance wall, causing the wall itself to crack but remain intact.

Severus nearly collapsed, feeling tired from his attempts to cast such a large charm. Yue ran to his side and held his arms, giving him some support.

"Master!" Kiri ran up to him, looking up at him with worry.

"Kiri! Get back to the palace!" Kori came running, grabbing her daughter, and forcing her to turn around. "You shouldn't be here!"

"But I can hel-"

"ANOTHER ONE!" the watchtower guard shouted again.

They all turned to see another coming their way, with little time to react.

The fireball collided with the wall and this time a large piece, sending ice and snow everywhere. People screamed in the chaos, smoke rising from the smoke of the impact. Thankfully, the water on the other side saved those who were thrown from the wall, though painful.

The rest watched from a distance, shocked by the sight of chaos and destruction one just one hit.

Aang and Katara glared at the ships as they boarded Appa. Severus recovered and immediately joined, with Kiri being held back her body and carried off back to the palace.

"Stop those fireballs!" Pakku ordered to the soldiers.

The soldiers managed to bend some water up and catch some fireballs before they could hit the front wall or any of the frontline positions of the entrance.

Appa immediately took off at Aang's Yip Yip, taking them directly towards the three ships.

Meanwhile, a small group made ran to and up the stairs of the wall, approaching Arnook.

"Permission to commence the mission, sir!" Po shouted, never once flinching at the impact of the fireballs.

Arnook turned to him and nodded, "Permission granted." He offered his hand. "Good luck, old friend."

Po smirked and accepted, pulling him into a hug, "Just like old times, eh?! We'll party like we used to once this is all over! See you on the other side!"

Arnook nodded at him, offering a rare smile before turning back to the battle at hand.

Po led his group to the side of the wall and hopped down to the ice below, using his waterbending to create a small slide to ease his landing. The others followed, with Sokka last as he screamed on the way down.

Bypassing the smaller walls and other soldiers, they approached the end, or rather front, of the frontline and found some canoes.

"Get in!" Po ordered.

Appa flew towards one of the five ships, dodging fireballs. Aang managed to deflect one and send it into the ocean. Appa flew in just close enough to one of the ships, allowing the Aang, Katara and Severus to board the vessel.

Soldiers charged them with spears and swords, some bending fire.

Taking the offense, as well as defense, they blocked and dodged their attacks, and began to fight back.

Aang used his staff to bend the wall and send a wave of it directly at a small group, making them fly backward.

Katara bended the water from the ocean and brought it in onto the deck, freezing it to trap the soldiers on their feet, unable to move.

Severus cast some stunner spells, full body binds, and wand arrows, managing to take down some of the soldiers. But even then he felt himself getting tired and drained. He hadn't used this much magic in such a long time, especially with the protection charm he failed to attempt.

Seeing four large slingshots on the ship, being readied with fireballs, they sprung into action and began to disable them.

Severus shouted, "Confringo!"

The blast from the spell destroyed the lever of the slingshot before the soldier in charge of it could fire the next round, rendering it disabled.

Katara bended some water onto the other slingshot and froze it into pure ice, making her smile.

Aang climbed on top of the third and was followed by two muscular men with large sledgehammers, dodging their attacks as they caved in parts of the metal. Once he was satisfied the metal had been weakened, he brought down some air and torn it to pieces, causing the two men to fall into the smoke.

For the last one, Aang took one of the sledgehammers laying around and pinned it into the hole that held the metal chain. As one of the soldiers attacked him, he blew him away and another soldier behind him, causing him to hit the lever and fir the next fireball. However, the hammer pinned the metal hole from allowing the ball to go high and instead go directly into the ship's deck and down into the engine area.

As Aang celebrated his victory, chains flew from behind and wrapped around him, making him drop his staff and fall to the ground. Struggling against the pressure of the chains against his skin, he turned to see a giant, muscular man approaching him, smiling as he pulled on the chains, dragging him across the ground.

Distracted by his caught prize, Katara ran forward and bended some water at him, forcing him to let go of the chains and crash into the railing of the ship. While down, Appa flew in and grabbed him by the upper body, dropping him into the water.

"Thanks, guys!" shouted Aang as he got free of the chains.

As Appa landed, the three immediately boarded him and they took off to the next ship.

The two canoes sat off with the rest of the others towards the three ships, cheering as the first was disabled and the closest canoes managed to trap it with their waterbending once the Avatar and his friends had left.

Sokka sat as the others used their waterbending to get them to the closest ship. As he turned to the ship in question, his eyes widened at the flag that was on it.

Fireballs and fire were sent their way, forcing the bison to dodge. Managing to get in close enough, they jumped onto the deck and immediately began taking out the soldiers there.

Fueled by determination against how tired his body was, Severus pushed through and cried out, attacking with every spell, charm and curse he could think of.

Aang managed to tie two of the slingshots together, tricking the one in front to fire and cause the one from behind to crash into it. Jumping the last two, he summoned up all the wind he could get and blew, sending them and the soldiers over the rail and into the ocean.

As Katara splashed and froze her enemies, she gasped insight of the last ship, immediately frozen in place as two soldiers charged her from behind.

"Katara!" Severus shouted, casting stunning spells to knock them down. Knowing they would get back up, he took out his sword and used the back end to hit the first one on the head, knocking him out. When he tried to do so with the second, he missed as the soldier dodged and got back up.

The two circled each other, getting into a stance. The soldier charged and swung, while Severus dodged and lunged his sword directly at him, thrusting right through his stomach. The soldier stopped and gasped, beginning to cough up blood as his sword fell the ground.

It took Severus a moment to realize what he had done, so fueled by adrenaline to not have realized his actions until it slowly faded. As he stared into the man's eyes, he saw fear, confusion, and pain. The man didn't appear to fully comprehend what was happening. Or maybe he did but was in denial about it.

Realization hit Severus as he stared down and saw his sword inside the man, looking up to see the end sticking out the other side of him, blooding dripping onto the deck of the ship and slowly moving towards his feet.

The man coughed up more blood and fell to his knees, only being supported by the sword that pierced his stomach.

Shaking his head, Severus pulled the sword out of him and the body fell to the bloody ground, the eyes staring at nothing, a void of darkness deep within.

Severus began to breath hard, his body shaking at what he had just done. He tried to process it, but he couldn't. It wasn't like the first time he used the killing curse on the spirit or whatever it was from nearly two months ago. This… this was different.

At least with the killing curse it was fast and clean. It was a split second of life and death.

But this… this felt like a lifetime, an eternity of watching the man's life drain and end. An eternity for the body to hit the floor. Nothing about this was clean or fast. It was slow, painful, and bloody.

It slowly dawned onto him; a realization that made him understand what death truly was.

About ten feet away, Aang stared in shock at the scene, unable to process what his friend had done. He looked at the body and back to Severus again, an uncertainty covering every part of him. He didn't know what to say or do.

Remembering Katara, he turned to the waterbender and walked up to her, "Katara!"

She didn't appear to hear him. Her eyes stared angrily at the last ship, wearing a dark look that made Aang back away.

"K- Katara?" he tried again.

This time, he seemed to get through to her, though barely.

She acknowledged him, but only by nodding to the last ship.

"We need to board it!" she hissed.

Aang frowned, "We were going to anyway, but… why?"

Katara didn't answer as she approached the railing, just in time for Appa to fly down next to her.

"Let's go!" she said, climbing on top of him.

Though confused, Aang remembered Severus and ran up to him, moving around the blood as he shook him by the shoulder.

"Alex, we need to go before more soldiers come onto the deck!"

Shaking his head, he turned to the airbender and acknowledged him, nodded.

The two boarded Appa and took off towards the final ship, while the previous one was being attacked by waterbenders on canoes. Katara handled the reigns of the bison, with Aang watching her with concern.

At the same time, Sokka's group was boarding the very same ship, attacking the crew, and helping to prevent the last of the slingshots from firing.

Before they even landed, Katara was already hopping off of Appa and landing on the deck of the ship with a roll, removing anyone out of her way with waterbending. Aang and Severus could only watch her in confusion and worry, looking at each at the same time before she disappeared inside the ship.

As they dismount from Appa, Sokka ran up to them, his face mixed with different emotions.

"I see your secret mission is underway," Severus teased. "Want to tell me what's up with your sister?"

Sokka shook his head, remembering why he came to them, "Come on! We need to stop her!"

"Why?" Aang asked they followed Sokka inside the ship, while Po and the other waterbenders took care of the Fire Nation soldiers. They ran down the hallway, looking for any stairs nearby.

"Because I think she's going to kill him!"

"Who-"

With just a split of a second to dodge, a sword swung from behind one of the open doors, aiming for Aang's head. It was thanks to the battle cry of the attacker that he was able to lean back just enough for the sword to miss, just an inch away from touching his flesh. The sword hit the steel wall, ringing down the hallway as Aang came to complete stop a few feet away, turning around to get into a battle stance with his staff.

Sokka didn't even notice as he kept running.

Severus barely had time to block the attack that came from his side, blocking the sword that swung from a room he was about to pass, feeling the clash of sword against sword. He put his weight into the block, making sure his opponent could not gain another opportunity to attack. He stared into the eyes of the Fire Nation soldier, keeping his attention as he brought up his knee and struck him in the scrotum.

As the soldier moaned in pain, his sword fell, granting Severus the attack he needed and struck him with the back edge of his sword, knocking him out.

However, in his distraction, another soldier attacked, barely able to block the attack in time.

Aang used his airbending to bash the soldier into the wall and fall, his sword flying out of his hand. Two more soldiers appeared down the hallway in front of Severus, bending fire at him.

Seeing the fire coming, Severus pushed back the soldier and jumped backward into the empty room, managing to escape the fire, while the soldier was caught in the flames, screaming out in agony as he was severely burned, falling to the ground.

Hearing the two soldiers run towards Aang, he got up and immediately charged for the hallway, colliding into the two as his sword double penetrated the two at the same time. As he pushed them into the wall, they moaned and tried to fight back, but were limited with how close they were to each other and how fast they were starting to lose blood. Pulling his sword out, the two fell to the floor, bleeding heavily.

Aang ran up next to him, shocked at what he had done.

"We must do something!" he declared, kneeling next to them. "Hold on, we'll get you h-"

One of the soldiers tried to firebend at him but Severus acted first and shoved his sword into his chest, killing him as he pierced his heart. The other took out a knife and tried to stab Aang, but Severus cast a body-binding spell, trapping him in a series of ropes. Unable to do anything, he stared at them in horror as he bled out, unable to cough up the blood that was leaking from his mouth.

They watched as his eyes went wide and continued to stare at them, no life to be found.

Aang panted, unable to process what had just happened. He turned to the man Severus had stabbed in the heart and the one who was burned by soldiers he served with, slowly crawling to him. Pushing him onto his body, he found him dead from the severe burns, his cooked flesh recking.

Severus heard noise from above and immediately grabbed the monk, pulling him to his feet as he led him to the stairs Sokka used and went up, eventually finding themselves in the command room, where unconscious bodies laid all over the floor, machinery damaged and fire marks all over the walls and ceiling, and shattered windows.

Sokka was standing a couple of feet from Katara, arms raised as he tried to calm his sister, who was currently holding a knife against the throat of the nearly frozen captain of the ship, with only his head and neck exposed.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" the captain cried. "We haven't raided the Southern Water Tribe in years!"

"It happened six years ago!" Katara hissed. "Don't you remember?! I was there, you saw me!"

"Katara!"

"I've never seen you before in my life! And I wasn't the captain the last time we invaded the Southern Water Tribe!"

"Katara!" Sokka grabbed her shoulder, making her turn to him. "It isn't him! If he wasn't the captain six years ago, then it must have been someone else!"

Realization settled in as she lowered the knife from the captain's throat, allowing him to sigh in relief.

She turned back to him and glared, bringing the knife close to his throat again, "But you know who was the captain back then, don't you!"

The captain nodded quickly, his eyes full of fear, "Yon Rha! He's the one you're looking for! Please… let me go!"

"Where is he now?!" Katara demanded, pressing the knife against his throat.

The captain swallowed, "He retired to a village in the Fire Nation two years ago. Ren, I think it's called."

Katara lowered the knife and walked away, just as Po and the other volunteer entered the control room.

Po was surprised but impressed, "Gotta hand it to you, Sokka." He patted him on the back. "You did a real good number on these firebenders."

"Actually, my sister did half of this-"

She glared at him.

"Uh, I mean seventy-five percent of it. I just arrived at the end."

Po acknowledged her and bowed, "My apologies. You did exceptionally good work here. Too bad the rest of my tribe won't see it that way."

Hanh scoffed.

Turning to the captain, Po smiled and approached him, "Ah, the leader of the Southern Raiders. What in the Great Spirits are you doing so far up north?"

The captain began to shiver and lose consciousness.

Rolling his eyes, Po melted the water and immediately caught him from hitting the ground, tying up his hands as he put him in a chair, making sure he couldn't move or firebend.

"Now, since we have some time," he took a seat opposite of him. "Tell us where this Admiral Zhao is going to be during the siege."

The captain scoffed, "As if I would know."

"Oh, don't sell yourself so short, I bet you're an intelligent person."

"I'll never betray my nation."

"Nor will I."

"Then you might as well kill me."

"Oh, nothing would give me more pleasure. But unlucky for you, I need you alive."

"Your tribe will fall, just as your sister tribe did. Nothing can stop it. Zhao amassed the biggest fleet the world has ever seen… and it's more than enough to destroy you-" he began to scream as the water on his skin froze and began to sink into his flesh.

Po shook his head, "So dramatic. Also, if you intend to ever use your fingers or toes ever again, I highly recommend spilling the beans."

Aang watched in shock, paralyzed by what he was seeing.

Realizing this, Severus immediately led him out of the control room and outside to the deck, where other waterbenders were boarding the ship to handle the incapacitated soldiers.

"This is wrong!" Aang declared.

Severus shook his head, "Let him do what he needs to do."

"And what happens when he finds out where Zhao is going to be?" he demanded. "Are they going to kill him?"

Severus took a moment to think before he nodded, "It makes sense to do so. Killing him takes away the Navy's leader."

"But it's wrong!"

Severus moaned, "I'm not having another one of these right and wrong arguments with you."

"Why? Because you don't want to face the fact that you killed three people today?!"

"Four."

"What?"

"I killed four people today."

In truth, I've killed far more than that in the last two months.

"But- wait, who was the fourth?"

"The soldier I pushed in the direction of the fire, so it didn't hit you."

Aang moaned as he put his hands on his hand, pacing around, "None of this is right. It isn't right to take a life."

"Nothing about this is right. Until this war is over, nothing will ever be right. Or if it ever will be."

Aang looked at him with confusion, "What do you mean?"

Severus rolled his eyes, "It doesn't matter. The last thing you need is more pressure than there already is."

Sokka walked out, followed by Katara.

"Zhao's going to be on the biggest warship, fairly easy to spot," he announced to them. "Po wants everyone off this ship before they arrive, we need it to appear that the Southern Raiders haven't been compromised."

Severus nodded, "You're going to use the ship and their armor as distractions to infiltrate and kill Zhao."

Sokka nodded back.

"How will you escape?" Katara asked.

"If we do it quick and quietly, we should be able to escape without anyone knowing."

"Assuming the plan works," said Severus. "When will the invasion fleet arrive?"

Before he could answer, some of the men began to yell, looking over the side of the ship to see behind it.

Startled, they all rushed to the railing and looked to see what they were pointing at, while Aang jumped on Appa and flew into the air, high enough to see what was going on and was met with shock to see that there were hundreds, if not a thousand of warships in the distance, stretching on for miles as they all sailed directly for the Northern Water Tribe.

And at the head of the fleet was the most massive warship Aang had ever seen and knew who exactly was on that ship.

"Great Spirits!"

Zhao studied the three warships in the distance with his spyglass, noticing that only one had managed to evade capture and was sailing away from the waterbenders in their canoes, as well as the Avatar and his flying bison. As well as the Traveler, who he had no doubt was probably involved with the attack.

"Cowards!" he hissed, lowering his spyglass. "I'll deal with their captain once this is all over. Prepare for First Strike Protocols!"

"Yes, sir!" one of the officials bowed and began to give orders around the command room.

As Zhao's goal, his prize, was coming more visible, more within reach, he smiled and looked out towards the frozen wasteland of the North Pole, admiring its beauty and its cold nature.

"Seems we have reached our destination, Admiral."

Zhao cringed and turned to see Princess Azula right beside him. How he didn't hear her approach him so easily, he wished he knew. The last thing he wanted was to be made a fool of by a spoiled princess who never fought a single battle in her entire life.

"This will truly be one for the history books, Princess Azula," he forced himself to smile. "Just think… centuries from now, people will study the Great Admiral Zhao, who destroyed the last of the Water Tribe Civilization. You are lucky you're here to see it."

Azula laughed, catching everyone's' attention, and earning a glare from the admiral.

"It was not by luck that I am here, admiral," her smile hid what she truly felt. "I maybe an observer but my father has granted me authority to take command if I see fit. So, I highly recommend you make do with your promises for once."

His face was red as a cherry, his patience running thin, "And do you intend to take command from me?"

He could have her killed and thrown out to sea, blame it on the Avatar or someone else. No one would know.

Azula turned to him, smiling at his facial reaction before laughing, "Of course not. I'm far too invested to just spoil the fun now. Why do all the work when I have you to do it for me?"

He studied her, trying to see what her game was. He couldn't kill her, not without infuriating the Fire Lord. Even if he covered up his part there would still be a price to pay.

"After all," she continued, "we all remember the promises my uncle made. I would hate to see the same happen to you."

If he didn't have such control over himself unlike in his youth, he probably would have strangled or burnt her alive.

"Ah," he matched her smile, "you mean your uncle's spectacular defeat. But rest assured, this will be nothing like General Iroh's legendary failure at Ba Seng Se."

"Ah, the failure that won my father his throne. Good thing grandfather saw fit to outcast my uncle for someone far greater before his death."

For once he agreed with her on something, "Indeed."

Aang, Katara and Severus flew back on Appa, trying to deflect as many fireballs from reaching the tribe until all the waterbenders got back in their canoes. It took a great deal of effort to protect them and the tribe, but even they couldn't stop them all.

Once the last canoe made it back, they rushed back and landed on the large platform in front of the palace, deflecting more fireballs.

Severus jumped off and got into a stance, reaching out with his hands as he began to chant, "Protego Maxima! Fianto Duri! Repello Inimicum!"

Focusing on the charm and ignoring the raging battle, Severus brought forth all he could summon of his magic and began to recreate his shield to go over all of the Northern Water Tribe, slowly managing to cover everything there was. As it got lower to the surface, fireballs were disintegrated upon hitting it, shielding them from the large fleet as it got closer. Even after it hit the surface of the ground or the water, he focused more on the charm to make sure it didn't break anytime soon.

With a cry of motivation, he cast the last of his magical energy and collapsed onto the ground, nearly completing the shield as it became the only think standing between them and the Fire Nation.

"Alex!" Katara cried out, rushing to his side.

Yue appeared from the stairs, having come from the entrance wall, along with Kiri, Kori, Renee and Momo. She ran to his side, kneeling as Kiri did the same.

"We need to get him to Yagoda!" Katara exclaimed.

"No!" Yue shook her head. "We need to get him to the Spirit Oasis!"

"But he could be injured!"

"If he is, it most likely is because of energy inside of him, not external."

Katara stared at for a moment before sighing, "Okay."

Yue ordered two guards to approach and help carry Severus, leading them to the Spirit Oasis, where they laid Severus down next to the pool. After relieving them of their services, Yue got to her knees beside him and began to pray to the Great Spirits of her tribe, with Aang, Katara, Renee, Kiri, Kori, Momo and Appa there, watching with worry.

"Sir, our attacks are doing nothing," one of the officials announced. "It's like there is a… shield protecting the tribe."

Admiral Zhao nodded, smiling at the impressive power the Mysterious Traveler held. He began to wonder why he never used it at the Northern Air Temple, considering that it would have bought them more time. Another question to push aside for the moment.

"As much as I would love for you to miss the obvious, it's almost twilight, Admiral," Azula spoke. "If you were me, I would wait until daybreak to continue the attack. Waterbenders are immensely powerful at night, especially on a full moon such as this. Then again, I am curious to see how well your men do against an enemy at their most powerful."

Zhao felt irritated by her voice but otherwise agreed, "I am aware of the moon problem and I am working on a solution."

She raised her brow at him.

"But for now, daybreaker it is. Halt all first attack protocols and lower the ankers!"

The officials nodded and began signaling the other ships to do the same.

All warships halted their attacks, stopped the engines, and dropped their ankers into the water, coming to a stop all at once.

"They stopped firing!" one of the soldiers cried out, making everyone cheer as they looked on towards the fleet ahead.

Arnook and Pakku frowned upon this development.

"Don't let your guard down!" Pakku cried out. "We're in for the fight of our lives, and at daybreak tomorrow… the real fight begins."

As Yue continued to pray over Severus, the rest began to talk about what to do next or what they should do.

"We need help to defeat the Fire Nation," said Aang.

"How?" asked Katara. "The defenses are ready and there is the mission Sokka is a part of, plus we have you and Alex."

"But Alex is unconscious, and I have no idea how to deal with this many ships," he put his back against the tree and slid down. "I can't do it all, Katara. There is just far too many of them."

"But… you're the Avatar…" said Kiri.

"I'm just one kid. One untrained, unprepared kid who must learn all of the other three elements before summer's end and that's less than six months away. If only I had the spirit of Avatar Roku with me."

Katara's eyes lit up, "That's it!"

Aang frowned, "What is?"

Yue sighed in frustration, "I'm trying to concrete!"

Aang smiled, sheepishly, "Sorry."

Getting up from the ground, she approached them, "Oh, it's alright, I've done my part. Anyway, Katara is right."

"About what? She didn't even explain."

Yue rolled her eyes, "She was meaning what you said about having a spirit to talk to, like this Roku you mentioned. There should be a way for you to communicate with the Great Spirits of my tribe. Maybe they can grant you the wisdom needed to win this battle."

"Or maybe they'll unleash a crazy-amazing spirit attack on the Fire Nation!" Aang exclaimed, hopping to his feet with a wide smile.

Everyone stared at him.

"Or just good old fashion wisdom, that works too."

"In order to communicate with the Great Spirits, you must meditate and let yourself into their world, with the spirit of the Avatar within you that should be easy enough."

"Eh, not really. I accidentally entered the Spirit World the first time and haven't been able to do so since."

"How did it happen the first time?"

Aang rubbed his head, "Well, it involved a panda spirit, though he was monstrous in his other form, and he accidentally brought my spirit with him because I won't let go of him."

Everyone was staring at him again.

"What?"

Katara blinked and turned to Yue, "Do you know what the Great Spirits of the Ocean and the Moon look like?"

Yue shook her head, "My father and certain others do, but I was never entrusted with it. But if Aang goes to the Spirit World, they may be able to find him."

"Why not just ask your father?" Renee asked.

"I can go and ask him myself, with the battle at a standstill, but I don't think he'll tell me. It'd be best for Aang to travel to the Spirit World."

Aang nodded, "I'll do it."

He sat down, next to Severus' body and meditated, closing his eyes as he relaxed and concentrated.

Meanwhile, Yue left to go find her father, being accompanied by Renee. Katara, Kiri and Kori remained behind to watch over the two.

Zuko could hear the fireballs from his cell, feeling the walls and tunnels shake from the impact. He expected the one to collide with the spot above him and collapse the room on top of him, but nothing happened. In fact, it all stopped after a short while, letting him sigh with relief.

He figured it was most likely twilight by now, when the waterbenders were at their strongest.

Maybe he was a fool for not sneaking in during the siege like his uncle suggested. Maybe he did act too soon. But he couldn't focus on that now. This was no time for dwelling on mistakes.

Zuko sighed.

"Looks like I was right to attempt a rescue mission."

His eyes widened and looked up, seeing three men outside of his cell. They wore Water Tribe uniforms, convincing ones at that. But the one in the middle was unmistakable to him.

He couldn't help but smile, "Uncle."

"Prince Zuko," Iroh pushed back the hood of his large coat and smiled, taking out some keys and unlocking the door. After freeing him from the chains, he helped him onto the floor. "Let your legs and muscles get used to being on their feet again. It'll take some time to heal."

Zuko couldn't argue with him. His legs felt numb, like as if they were on fire and weak like a noodle. He rested against the wall, letting his uncle move his legs around and rub his muscles, helping them adjust.

"What happened?" Iroh asked.

Zuko sighed, "Doesn't matter. But... for what it's worth…"

Iroh looked at him and smiled, "Don't mention it."

After a few minutes, Zuko was back on his feet and ready to move, reclaiming his broad swords from the room on the surface.

"Where are all the guards?"

"Don't know. Must have been sent to fight in the battle. There were only the two guarding the tunnel to your cell that we had to worry about. We should go and get back to the ship. We can escape back to the colonies without interference."

"No!" Zuko cried. "I'm not leaving until I have the Avatar and Alexander!"

Iroh sighed, "Prince Zuko, don't let this opportunity pass you by. Let this go and try again later."

The Fire Prince ignored him, "I heard something of the Spirit Oasis behind the palace. Apparently, the Avatar and the water tribe girl have been training there for some time. If he isn't on the battlefield, he'll be there."

The two soldiers with Iroh stood firm, nodding.

"We're with you, sir!" declared one.

Iroh lowered his head, knowing that the decision had been made, "Very well."

Zuko changed into a different set of clothes he managed to find, sheathing his swords as he lead the way out of the building, looking towards the palace above.

Zhao drank his evening tea, waiting for daybreak to soon begin. Everyone else, safe for a short few, retired for the evening. Under his orders, of course. He needed them at their best and strongest, something that sleep could provide. But for him, he had no use for sleep. Not when he was so close to making history.

"Sir, the captain of the Southern Raiders wishes to speak with you in person. He requests permission to come aboard and talk to you in private."

Zhao raised a brow, 'Does he intend to make excuses for his cowardice?'

"Very well. Permission has been granted and send him to me immediately."

"Yes, sir!"

"I tell you, I've courted a lot of girls before, but this Princess Yue is the finest!" Hahn bragged to the other men. "And she comes with the best perks I could ever ask for."

"Oh, I'm sure her perks are best," teased one of the men.

Sokka struggled to contain himself, deciding to sharpen his boomerang to take his mind off things after trying on a Fire Nation uniform. But he couldn't block out their conversation. He was shocked to learn that Hahn was the man that Yue was engaged to. In his opinion, she was being wasted on a self-absorbed weasel like him.

Though, even he could not deny that she was extremely beautiful and kind. If he hadn't met Renee, maybe there could have been a chance for him to have become attracted to her. Only problem was that he wasn't into her as he was with Renee. Renee had caught his attention and he didn't seem to be looking anywhere else but her.

Still, he hated how they were talking about Yue like as if she was some kind of prize. Not that he was against talking about women, he just didn't like how Hahn didn't seem interested in who she was, just the perks she could offer him, especially with how he saw her as a connection to the Chief. This was the girl that his friend was into, though he knew Alex would never admit it.

"Wait, weren't you friends with Taruaka?" one of the men asked. "The one who was thought to be the killer of his betrothed?"

Hahn glared at the man, "Taruaka is a good man and he did no such thing! Kenna was a stupid girl who didn't know what she had until she lost it!"

Sokka's face turned red as he threw his boomerang at Hahn, aiming just above his head. Hahn dodged, believing he intended to hit him. Once his boomerang was back in his hand, Hahn was on his feet and marching towards him.

"What's your problem?!"

Sokka got into his face, "My problem with you is that you're an arrogant, spoiled, rich kid who thinks that he can have whatever he wants! Kenna was an amazing girl who fell in love with someone else and couldn't have him, while your amazing friend was having his fun with servant girls like as if it were no problem!"

"So what?! All of the men I know had their fun with multiple women before marriage."

"And what about Yue, hm?"

"What about her?"

"Did you ever consider her feelings when you were sleeping around with Spirits know how many girls, not once taking an interest in getting to know her? To maybe make things better for her?"

"Why would I do that? And why do you care? You're just a simple rube from the Southern Water Tribe. What would you know of the political complexities of our life? No offense."

Sokka's vision turned red and he found himself tackling the noble to the ground, the two rolling onto the ground to try and get the upper hand.

"And you're just a sexist, jerk without a soul. No offense!"

"Hey! What's going on in here?!"

The two felt a hand grabbing each of them and forcing them onto their feet, turning them around to face a very angry, disappointed Commander Po.

"What's going on here?!" he demanded.

Sokka opened his mouth but immediately closed it, knowing no excuse could get him out of this one.

"This peasant attacked me with no good reason!" Hahn complained.

"Is this true?" Po turned to him.

Sighing, he nodded, "I was provoked, but lost my temper. The fault is mine."

Po was taken back by his honesty but otherwise kept his angry face, "In that case, you're officially off the mission. Remain here until we return to the Northern Water Tribe."

Sokka sat down and put his head between his knees, pulling his legs up against his chest as he swallowed his shame and calmed himself down.

"Gentlemen!" Po announced. "Our dear captain has helped arrange for a visit to Admiral Zhao. He has given us key details as to how to get to him without suspicion. Only three of you will be able to company me."

Hahn smiled, "I'm ready and able!"

Po frowned at him, "Not you! The last thing I need is an arrogant brat. You'll remain here and guard the ship."

Hahn stared at him with shock and anger, trying to process what the commander w said to him.

"I need three volunteers to be my guards."

Six hands rose.

Po smiled and selected three of them, "Get ready. We will be boarding Zhao's warship in a little bit. I do not want to keep him waiting."

The three men nodded and began to change into their uniforms.

Po walked up to Sokka, "If you're going to feel sorry for yourself, do it in private, not where everyone can see you."

Though irritated with the man, he nodded and stood up.

"It had to be done, Sokka. I will not approve of such behavior, even if Hahn provoked you."

He nodded again.

"However, I must admit that I took you off the mission for personal reasons."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I need you to deliver a message to Chief Arnook. When I was interrogating the captain, he mentioned that Zhao has spoken openly about taking the moon out of the equation."

Sokka raised a brow, "How would he be able to do that? Why would he want to?"

"Because we draw our power through the inner workings of the moon, including the ocean. I fear that he may have discovered a long-kept secret in our society. Regardless if I succeed or fail, you need to inform Arnook that "the fish are not safe".

Though confused, Sokka nodded, "I will. But why not tell him yourself?"

"Because the moment we board Zhao's ship, I've ordered for the rest of you to return to the tribe."

Sokka's mouth dropped, "But… you'll be trapped. And what about the others? Do they know?"

Po laughed, "We'll find a way off that ship, but only after Zhao is dead. One way or another, I'm not returning to the tribe until my mission is a success. Those boys are not like you or Hahn, I trained most of them since they were boys and they knew the risks coming along on this mission. They will live and die for the tribe, just as I."

Sokka opened his mouth to protest but closed it again, knowing that he had made his choice, and a logical one at that.

Po began to laugh, "You remind me of myself when I was your age. Though a lot more arrogant, prideful, and inexperienced. It was not until Arnook and I found ourselves captured by Fire Nation soldiers that reality sunk in for us. For three whole days they held us captive, trying to torture any information out of us. And for the first time in my life, I broke."

Goosebumps covered Sokka's arms.

"I couldn't stand the pain, nor watching my friend suffer the same. So… I gave them everything I knew. The first and only time I ever betrayed my tribe. My nation." He paused, his mind somewhere else, far away. "On the third day after I broke, I managed to free us from our cell and before we made our escape, I rigged the ship to explode by messing with the engines, knowing it would kill everyone. We managed to get far enough away before the ship exploded and took everyone with it, including the people I exposed my secrets to."

Sokka was mesmerized.

"After that, Arnook and I vowed never to betray our tribe again, to never allow ourselves to be taken alive. But I knew that one day… one day I would have pay for that mistake. For my sin. Maybe that day is now or maybe not. But one way or another, I am not going to make that mistake again."

Sokka nodded, "Good luck, sir."

"As to you, Sokka. It's a shame our paths never crossed earlier. Hopefully, after all of this, we will see more of each other. But for now, I wish you good fortune."

Sokka watched as he left the room, feeling a heavy weight on his heart with the knowledge that the mission may not be as successful as they hoped. And he had a feeling that Po knew that. He just couldn't figure out why he was going through with it when the odds were against them.

The moment they docked at the large warship, Po and his three volunteers exited and boarded the ship. Before they set sail, the two looked at each other, a small silent moment passing between them before the doors were closed and the engines resumed, setting course for the tribe.

Sokka sighed and turned to the water tribe in the distance, knowing that when morning came, the true siege of the north would begin.

Aang struggled to allow himself to go into the Spirit World, growing frustrated with how little time he had.

Eventually, he opened his eyes and he looked at Severus' body, worried for his friend after the effort he put into the magic to protect the tribe. Then he looked towards the fish and became mesmerized by the way how they moved in a perfect circle, like as if they were purposely working together.

Suddenly, his eyes began to glow and he felt himself being transported to another realm.

Yue found her father ordering soldiers and officers around, trying to prepare for the coming battle. She rushed towards him, followed by Renee.

"Father!" she cried out.

Chief Arnook turned around, surprised, "What are you doing here? I want you back at the palace with the rest of the people."

"Father, I need you to tell me how to find the Ocean and Moon Spirits."

Arnook was taken back, surprised by her tone, "That is not for you to know."

"It may be our best chance of saving the tribe. Please, father!"

Arnook stared at her, conflicted.

Yue held his gaze, daring not to look away.

He sighed and nodded, "Very well. The Ocean and Moon Spirits… are here."

"In the Water Tribe?" Yue asked.

He nodded again, "It's been said that after the dawn of time, the Ocean and Moon Spirits came to our world and became part of it, sacrificing their immortality in the Spirit World."

"But where?" she pleaded.

Before he could respond, a soldier ran up to him, "Sir, a fire nation ship is approaching the frontline."

"Just one?" he asked.

The soldier nodded.

"Be ready to board it. If they attack, sink it."

"Yes sir!"

Arnook looked out towards the frontline of the entrance wall and watched as waterbenders boarded it, immediately beginning to take it over. However, they gave the all clear and a few moments later, a soldier informed Arnook that it was one of theirs.

Renee immediately saw Sokka in the distance, "Oh, thank the spirits! It's Sokka!"

"It is?" Yue looked in the direction she did, smiling to see that he was still alive.

A few minutes later, Sokka came to them and Renee embraced him. After that, he walked up to Arnook and bowed, "Sir, Po and three of the volunteers infiltrated Zhao's ship. They're probably attempting to assassinate him right now."

Arnook closed his eyes and shook his head, "That damn bastard! Why didn't any of you go with him or wait for his return?"

"He ordered us all back. He wanted me to give you a message."

Arnook nodded, "Go on."

Sokka swallowed, "He said that… 'The fish are not safe'."

Arnook's eyes widened.

"Is he okay?" Kori asked.

"He's crossing over into the Spirit World," Katara explained. "He'll be fine as long as we don't move his body. That's his way back to the physical world."

"Are you sure we shouldn't go get help?"

"No, it's okay. There's nothing else we can do for him except guard his body."

Kiri walked over to Severus and knelt next to him, playing with his hair, "Will Master be alright?"

Katara smiled at her, "He's been through this before. He'll be fine."

"What do you mean by before?" Kori asked.

"There have been a lot of times when Alex passed out or became tired from using his… magic too much. I'm not sure what is causing it, but it seems to take a toll on him."

"What about me?" Kiri asked. "I've used magic accidentally before and I've never gotten tired. Even when I did magic against that firebender prince, I felt perfectly normal."

Katara thought about it, "Maybe it's because you don't use it as much as he does. Or maybe it's because it's different for him than it is for you."

Kiri nodded, turning back to Severus as she played with his hair, "I'm glad he came to our world from his own. If he hadn't… I don't know what I'd do with my… magical powers."

Kori smiled at her daughter and picked her up, "So am I honey. So am I."

Katara smiled at the two of them, "When I was a girl like you, Kiri, I always heard stories of the old days. A time of peace and prosperity. But it was taken away from us all. And like you, I've waited for someone special to come along and save us."

She turned to Aang.

"It would seem that both of us needed someone to help us on our journey. Someone to give us hope."

"I agree."

Katara's eyes widened.

Before she had the chance to turn around, she felt the flames from behind and immediately spun into action, using her waterbending to block it. She put herself between the two behind her and the enemy in front.

"Zuko!"

Standing at the opposite bridge was Zuko and three other companions.

"Well, aren't you a big girl now," Zuko glared at her. "You've gotten yourself a teacher."

The two got into a stance.

"Hand him over and I won't have to hurt you."

"Leave and I won't have to hurt you."

The two stared each other down, looking for the moment to strike.

"Run!" Katara cried out to Kiri and Kori.

Zuko immediately took his chance and bended fire at her, taking his steps forward as he did. Katara blocked then, protecting Aand and Severus, as well as Kori as she carried her daughter away, while Momo flew off to hide.

"Zuko," Iroh tried to reason with his nephew. "This is unnecessary."

Zuko ignored him as he pressed forward, dodging Katara's attacks. His men stood back, waiting for their moment like planned, while Iroh turned away in shame. Though she tried to keep her stance, Katara found herself being forced backward by Zuko's attacks, trying to dodge and deflect the fire from both herself and her two friends on the ground.

Bending water at him, she struck his chest and sent him flying backward, only to land on his feet in a fast recovery.

"I see you've learned some new tricks," he said. "But I didn't come this far just to lose to you."

She struck first, hoping to catch him off guard, but he evaporated the water and send a send attack at her, which managed to deflect and retaliate, managing to hit him and force him back into the water.

Smirking, she froze his feet and created a wave, trying to wrap it around him and freeze it to trap him in. But he melted the ice around his feet and jumped through the small opening there was. Doing a roll, he wasted no time charging her, getting up close and personal in hand-to-hand combat, mixed with bending.

During this, Zuko's men immediately began to collect Aang and Severus, picking them up and putting them on their backs as Iroh led them up a pathway through the small cove that led up to the surface, where the frozen wasteland awaited.

Katara saw this and screamed, "No!"

This however provided the opportunity needed for Zuko to strike and blasted her with a fireball, burning the surface of her clothes a little bit and sending her flying against the wall, landing in the water. When she didn't get up, Zuko dropped his guard and was about to leave, until he stopped, realizing that she could drown. He stood there for a moment, conflicted with himself until he let out a cry and walked over to her, grabbing her by the collar of her robes and pulling her out of the water, making sure she was solid ground.

"Consider it a professional courtesy, from one bender to another," he said as he began to follow after his men and his uncle, a weight being lifted off his shoulder as he finally captured his prize.

Arnook, Yue, Sokka, and Renee were on their way back to the Oasis when they ran into Kori and Kiri.

"What's wrong?" Yue asked.

"It's… Katara…" Kori could barely speak. "The fire prince… he escaped… and…"

Immediately they began running to the Oasis, moving as fast as they could to stop what was happening. But when they arrived, they found Katara on the ground, with Momo trying to wake her up, and both Aang and Severus gone.

Arnook rushed to the pond and sighed with relief at seeing the two fish safe, while the others ran to Katara's side, with Yue shaking her awake.

"Katara! Wake up!"

Katara gasped and quickly leaned up, nearly head-butting the princess.

"Aang! Alex!" she got to feet, searching her surroundings.

"Katara, what happened?" Sokka approached her.

"Zuko happened! He took them! He took them right out from under me!"

"How did he escape?"

"It was that bald man and two of his soldiers. They must have snuck in and freed him during the attack."

"Where did they go?"

"Up the secret passageway to the frozen wasteland," Arnook pointed up towards the pathway before them. "They're probably already gone into the blizzard."

"Where does he even expect to go?" Sokka began to pace around. "We can't lose them, not after all we've been through."

"Sokka…" Katara began to cry. "I… I don't know what to do…"

He sighed, breathing into his hands, "Me neither."

Yue, Renee, Kiri and Kori watched them with sadness, never having seen them like this before.

Arnook looked up towards the horizon and began to see light in the distance, "Daybreak is almost upon us."

They all turned and saw the light in the distance, fearing sinking in.

Zhao smiled as he watched the tribe in the distance, noticing light beginning shine through the darkness.

"Ah, it's daybreak at least!" he said to himself.

"Sir," one of his officers spoke up. "The captain of the Southern R-" He gasped and began to cough up blood.i

Zhao spun around as he watched the officer fall to the ground with a knife in the back of his neck. He barely had time to dodge the water as Commander Po and his three agents attacked everyone else in the control room, taking everyone out, except for Zhao, who hid behind one of the machines.

"Took a lot of effort to get to you, Zhao!" Po yelled. "Been waiting a lot time to get a chance to take out someone like you!"

Seeing his chance, Zhao quickly jumped up and bended fire at the three waterbenders behind Po, hitting them with a wave of fire as they began to cry out in agony.

"You bastard!" Po splashed the admiral in retaliation at seeing his men burn alive. Zhao hit the wall and fell to the floor, but he quickly recovered and rolled behind a machine again, granting him cover he kept on the move.

Po appeared from the corner and bended some water at him, doshing him completely and then immediately freezing it, pinning him to the floor. Zhao struggled to free himself and melt the ice but was paralyzed with fear as he watched Po take out another knife and prepared to stab him. He closed his eyes and prepared for the end, not entirely accepting his fate but not daring to grant his enemy the benefit of hearing him plead for his life.

Po cried out as he was struck by lighting and sent flying over the machines and against the windows of the room, cracking it but not breaking it as he fell to the floor.

Zhao looked towards his savior and frowned at seeing Azula.

Bringing her fingers to her lips, she blew the smoke away and smiled at him, "As entertaining as this was, I still intend to see how your invasion plays out."

Fire Nation soldiers entered the room and surrounded Po, ready to execute him.

"No!" Zhao cried out as some of his men melted the ice away and helped him up. "I'll do it."

The men nodded and backed away, allowing him to approach the waterbender commander, who was still moaning from the lighting.

Zhao smiled as he bent down next to him, "I am impressed with your skills to pull off such an assassination attempt. You nearly had me."

Po reached for another knife and tried to stab him, only for the admiral knock it out of his hand and pick him up by the throat.

"But, like destiny, there is no stopping the inevitable. You rise with the moon. I rise with the sun!"

He looked towards the tribe in the distance and smiled as the sunlight completely covered it, squeezing the man's throat and hearing a crack a second later. Letting go, he didn't even look at the body as it fell to the ground.

"Begin the invasion!"

Up Next:

Chapter Thirty-Seven:

The Siege of the North