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Rises with the Heart	By : AngelaBlythe Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > Het - Male/Female > Katara/Zuko Views: 11670 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-PART I
- 2-PART II
- 3-PART III
- 4-PART IV
- 5-PART V
- 6-PART VI
- 7-PART VII
- 8-PART VIII
- 9-PART IX
- 10-PART X
- 11-PART XI
- 12-PART XII
- 13-PART XIII
- 14-PART XIV
- 15-PART XV
- 10
- 11
- 12
A/N: Wow, this is the longest chapter so far. Hm...I hope you like it. Also, it's not finished...not by a
long-shot.
RISES WITH THE HEART
XI.I
The Fire Council had been in session since dawn. When they came out, they would probably announce an official mourning period for the princess, Azula. In Zuko’s banishment, Azula had been named the heir to the Burning Throne. Despite the fact that he was eldest and had officially been pardoned, she had retained her status. Now, in the event of her death, the Fire Lord had to chose a new successor. Since Azula was too young for children, Iroh was banished and labeled traitor, and there was no clear, direct line to another member of the royal family, Zuko was the only choice.
But could she truly be dead? Azula, dead? It hardly seemed possible. The Royal Navy had received reports of Azula bringing her ship into the dangerous reefs north of the Fire Islands. For a ship to enter that area was folly – the reefs were shallow, and the undertow was stronger than anywhere in the world. Despite all that, Zuko wasn’t completely convinced that Azula wouldn’t have survived something like that. If he knew anything about Azula it was that she never quit. She never relented, never had pity, never gave up, and never backed down. She was a machine. She had the cold, dead, oil and gears heart of a machine, and there wasn’t an ounce of humanity to her. If simple reefs and undertows could have killed Azula, Zuko was sure he would have tried it years ago.
So when the messenger had arrived in his rooms, he was, of course, distrustful. It seemed too much like a ploy. Zuko had been getting everything he wanted. He was earning power and respect from high-ranking military figures and politicians alike. He was positioning himself for his father’s downfall, and had been making huge leaps and strides in his firebending. He could possibly be very close to achieving the blue flame…
He couldn’t trust that Azula was dead. It was TOO perfect, TOO easy… But if it was a ploy, what would it gain his father? If his father wanted proof that Zuko was trying to overthrow him, why GIVE him the throne by faking Azula’s death? It would just give Zuko what he wanted. It was also possible that Azula was working independently. She had been growing more and more uncontrollable, and even loyalty to their father was thin. Was she plotting something? Waiting…? Zuko knew Azula could be quite crafty if she wished, sly. And she could be patient. Very patient. But this seemed…over the top. She had little to gain by faking her own death. She already had the throne, and she could kill him once she took the throne, if she wished. It didn’t make sense.
Zuko spent the day second-guessing his theories about Azula and her death, and what plot could possibly be working against him and his plans for the Burning Throne. Paranoia had eaten a hole in his chest by the time the council was released late that afternoon. When General Shu motioned that Zuko should enter, he was absolutely petrified. Only on the inside, he couldn’t afford to show fear – not any emotion at all. With a deep breath, Zuko entered the room that had sealed his fate all those years ago. The Fire Council’s things had been cleared, and there was a single cushion for Zuko to sit on.
With a bow, Zuko sat formally on the blood-red cushion and waited patiently. His father was engulfed in the flames that surrounded the throne. Those flames were the reason the throne had been named the Burning Throne, because it looked like the whole structure was on fire. Zuko knew that beyond the throne and surrounding it was several feet of burning oil, and a walkway that led from the back of the throne to a private room. It was an impressive scene. And quite terrifying.
Zuko kept his eyes on the floor as he waited.
“Your sister was supposed to rule this nation,” his father said in an angry, dark voice. The flames around the throne flared dangerously. Only his father could make Zuko fear fire…
“I never wanted you to rise to power,” he continued, “and I never imagined Azula would die so young. She would have been a great ruler.” There was a long pause where Zuko thought, perhaps, his father might even be sad. Or at least regretful. Either way, it would be a new emotion for his father.
“Tomorrow, when Azula’s death is announced, you will again be Crown Prince of the Fire Nation.” Zuko raised his head. “You will be married immediately, and produce an heir. Do not think for a moment that you will be the one to raise it. When the time is right, I will announce your child’s succession to the throne instead of yours. You will never be Fire Lord.” There was a significant pause where the flames around the throne were huge and angry. “Now leave!”
Wordlessly, Zuko bowed and left the Burning Throne and his father. However, when he did so, he did it with a very tight smirk. If his father thought he would go down so easily, he had another thing coming. Another thing, indeed.
XI.II
“And after the general cells?”
Katara wracked her brain. “I have to take the second left and ambush the two guards stationed at the Room of Keys.”
Jeong Jeong grunted. He had been drilling Katara all day about the prison compound structure. He’d drawn her maps, taken her though the building to countless places she might be able to hide or use. Jeong Jeong had been raised in the palace as a son of a high-ranking nobleman. He knew his way around better than royalty. He also knew every trap door, secret entrance, prison cell, and guard station in the whole capitol. He was invaluable.
“Correct,” he replied. “And after that.”
“The high-security prisoners are kept near the very bottom of the complex, and the only entrance by the south wall, across from the Room of Keys. Toph and I have to go beneath ground to find Aang.”
“Correct,” Jeong Jeong nodded. “Now, how do you get to the Burning Throne?”
Katara knew this question. Still, Jeong Jeong drilled her continuously for the next several hours. She knew what she had to do, though it was far more complicated than anyone else’s job.
It had been announced earlier that day that Princess Azula was dead and Zuko was again the Crown Prince. A part of Katara was thrilled, elated that the plan was working so flawlessly. Though she couldn’t help the feeling that it was too good to be true. Could Azula be dead? It didn’t seem…possible… It had also been announced that Iroh had been tried as a traitor and found guilty. His punishment was death, and he would be executed at sundown, just before the comet was scheduled to appear in the sky.
It was then that they would strike. Jeong Jeong would be posing as an elite guard, and be an escort for Iroh. Jeong Jeong thought that the Fire Lord would want a moment to boast in private, and that was when he would strike. He and Iroh would distract the Fire Lord while Katara and Toph rescued Aang. They would have to sneak into the high-security cells, release Aang, and bring him to the Fire Lord – hopefully before the comet returned in the sky. And they would have to do all of this without being seen.
The mission was difficult, nearly impossible. And it hung on the fact that Aang was strong enough to fight Ozai – though hopefully the Fire Lord would be worn down enough for Aang to have a chance…
“I think that’s enough for tonight,” Jeong Jeong said finally. It was dark out, and the only candle in their small room at the inn shone on the map of the prison compound. “Tonight we need sleep. Tomorrow is a big day. We will run over the plan once more, then station ourselves within the palace.”
But sleep came in fits of dreaming and waking…
XI.III
“Open your eyes…”
“I don’t want to!” she whispered fearfully.
“You have to…”
As she opened her eyes, yellow-green light streamed through the trees, down into the shallow water she waded it. It was warm – sweltering, actually – and the light reflected from the break in the trees, up into her eyes.
“Do you see now?”
“No…”
“Do you see now?”
But the light only grew brighter; she couldn’t see anything. She was blinded. Falling on her knees in the water, letting her robes cling damply to thighs, she searched the tree line, searched the water below.
“I can’t see anything…” she whispered, holding her stomach. She was crying, she hadn’t ever felt so helpless. The tears hit the water, but through them she could see.
A ship bathed in blue flames sailed across the horizon, laugher echoing over the sea…
A burned man sat alone in a dark room, surrounded with scrolls and drinking tea. Boxes and boxes of tea lined the room…
A teenager was dying in the desert. Her dark hair was strewn about her face; sand was everywhere…
A man stood on the prow of a ship – a Water Tribe ship – and reached a hand out to the full moon…
A man and a woman clung to each other, fire rained from the sky, and all around them were flaming buildings…
She gasped and closed her eyes. Her breathing was labored, and everything seemed dizzy. Coughing and clutching her eyes closed, she cried and cried. “Why did you show me that?”
“You needed to know.”
“Know what?”
“What will come.”
“Yue?”
“It’s alright,” Princess Yue said, and a soft hand touched her shoulder. All of a sudden it was all right.
XI.IV
Katara shot up and gasped. Seeing the room was still she lay back down. The moon was visible through the window, setting in the light of morning. It would give her little aid tonight – it was three quarters full. Though all the smoke in the Fire Nation, it seemed a little dull, lifeless. Katara couldn’t sleep, so she rolled off her mat and began to braid her hair back. Toph was asleep, but Jeong Jeong was absent. Soon, however, he appeared in the doorway with a frown and some fruit.
When Toph woke, they ate in silence. The small room at the inn was devoid of Toph and Jeong Jeong’s usual early morning banter. In fact, the solemn silence was nearly more annoying. Katara and Toph had acquired Fire Nation clothing to blend in, and they wore that without their blindfolds. They would no longer need them.
“We need to leave. The morning changing of the guard will be within the hour,” Jeong Jeong informed them.
They were going to stay in hiding until sunset. By then, Jeong Jeong and Iroh would have made their move on Ozai, and the slender window to rescue Aang and find the Fire Lord would begin to close. The morning was painfully hot. Katara didn’t see how peoples of the Fire Nation always wore long sleeves and dark colors. Though, she thought, they would be used to it, growing up here. The palace loomed in the distance as their little group walked past vendors and shops.
The palace wasn’t exactly open to anyone, but Jeong Jeong knew his way around the patrolling guards and the numerous corridors. They made their way like servants, keeping their heads low and walking with a burden on their shoulders. A few times, a thrill of fear passed over Katara when she thought about seeing Zuko. There was certainly a chance. Especially as Jeong Jeong led her and Toph past the sparring arena. No one was there, however. Lots of people were planning for the night’s celebrations. A few extra servants walking about wasn’t really something out of the ordinary.
Katara was beginning to get her bearings. Seeing a map of the palace and seeing the palace were two different things indeed. She knew almost exactly where they were, and where they would need to go. Jeong Jeong had a special place for them to hide until sunset, a secret storeroom that he’d discovered as a child. It was above the servant’s quarters, not too far away from the prison cells. There they would wait until the time came to rescue Aang. The rest would be up to the Avatar.
Katara sent out a silent prayer to Yue as Jeong Jeong took his leave of the two girls. He still had to infiltrate the elite royal guard in charge of General Iroh. He had a part to play just as Katara and Toph. Katara shivered despite the heat. It was going to be a long wait.
XI.V
Zuko paced his rooms silently, aggressively, as the afternoon faded. Ever since Jeong Jeong had snuck into his quarters, Zuko had been on edge and a little jumpy. No amount of training or meditation could calm his nerves. He couldn’t really help it, considering his was planning to overthrow his father, instate himself as Fire Lord, and quit this foolish war once and for all. Once he had been blinded by the glory of war. But the glory of war had killed his cousin Lu Ten, and had caused the death of his mother. The glory of war had ruined his life, destroyed civilizations, and generally caused more pain and suffering for people than any natural disaster or plague or famine. Zuko was ashamed to be related to such madness, but all he could do was make it right again.
With a glance he looked out the window. Not quite sunset. Not quite time. Jeong Jeong had told him to stay in his quarters, to stay out of the way. Zuko had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to do that.
“Prince Zuko?”
“What is it?” Zuko snapped irritably at Minister Rakun.
The sycophant minister shrunk a little, his face a grimace. “Your robes for the…execution…are ready.”
Zuko glared the man out of the room, but put the robes on anyway. No matter what Jeong Jeong said, he was going to have to play the prince and attend the execution. Though, if Jeong Jeong’s plan went anywhere near the way it was supposed to, his father and his uncle would never be in the public eye at all.
The robes were stiff as Zuko tightened the sash and placed the royal flame in what hair he could pull into a topknot. It looked ridiculous…but it would grow out eventually. With a huff, he exited his chambers, the sky red behind him. Minister Rakun was on his heels the whole way to the public pavilion. It was the pavilion that royal members usually addressed the public on. It was where marriages were done, Fire Lords were crowned, funerals were held, and, now, traitors were killed.
Zuko waited at his place on the pavilion, looking out on the faces of the people who would be his. Were they all really itching for the blood of Uncle Iroh? Not five years ago he had been hailed as a great hero – the Dragon of the West and heir to the Burning Throne. And now…now he was to be a dead traitor. To some he would be a martyr. But either way he would not ever have another sip of tea. He would never laugh or joke or mourn or cry again. And the thought was almost unbearable for Zuko.
With a frown, Zuko turned to the row of ministers and politicians behind him. They all had puzzled expressions on their faces – much for the same reason as Zuko did. Where was Uncle Iroh? Where was the Fire Lord? General Shu motioned for Zuko to follow him, along with several Elite Guards. The entrance to the public address dais was only accessible from the inside – in case a riot ensued the citizens could not infiltrate the building. They were forced to go around and enter from the other side, and they were met with a sight they would not soon forget.
“Toph…” Zuko breathed vaguely.
Toph – blind, annoying, vicious, little Toph – was engaging about twenty of the strongest firebenders the Fire Nation had produced in the last thirty years. Zuko had never seen such a display of raw, unadulterated power – except with his sister and perhaps Katara. Toph wielded four, moderately large Earth Kingdom coin discs, crushing and bashing firebenders like flies. When two or three firebenders managed to join together and block on of the discs, Toph unearthed another, or attacked their feet, or brought pillars of earth down on them.
It was amazing and horrifying to see the blind girl do battle. Her pale, lifeless eyes and unchanging expression lent to the illusion of a doll – cold and calculating. The sharp movements of her bending and the precision and strength of her attacks impressed the hell out of Zuko, so he could only imagine what General Shu thought.
It was plain to see that Toph was not just fighting for the hell of it. In fact, it was obvious she was protecting whatever was happening within the room to her back. The double doors led to the room that opened into the public address dais – the room Zuko’s father and uncle (and presumably Jeong Jeong) were in. Whenever a firebender would even come close to the doors he was brutally forced away. Whatever was happening in that room Toph was making sure it continued happening – without any uninvited, firebending guests.
When Zuko turned to the old general he saw a look of sheer dismay. The Elite Guard that had accompanied them joined the attack. Now Zuko knew why Jeong Jeong had warned him to stay away. Zuko couldn’t help Toph, but he couldn’t stand around and do nothing, either. He had to make a decision in front of General Shu, and be known as a loyal man of the Fire Nation, or an usurper and a traitor.
Zuko did the only thing he could think of, and rushed blindly and stupidly towards the doors. He hoped his ridiculous gambit would pay off. He hoped Toph would recognize his footfalls. He hoped she could see his plan – as distracted as she was. And he hoped General Shu would buy his ploy.
A hard pillar of stone crushed Zuko – pinned him between the wall and the rock. He felt ribs crunch and his breath leave – painfully and quickly. He cried out, gasping for breath, stars in his eyes, and trying to hold onto consciousness. In the chaos he opened his eyes to the fallen firebenders. The doors were opening…
…And the Avatar was entering the inferno…
XI.VI
Toph didn’t know how so much could go so wrong. Sure they had found Aang easily enough – that hadn’t been the problem. As with any act of thievery (was stealing a prisoner the same as stealing anything else?) getting in was proving far easier than getting out. Aang was virtually unharmed. Apparently the Fire Lord had wanted Aang to live a long, healthy, imprisoned life – probably so he wouldn’t have to worry about further reincarnations of the Avatar. They had been using pressure point experts to cut off Aang’s bending abilities – Aang said it was two or three men every hour that hit him with sharp jabs and made his whole body numb. Katara managed to release his chi with waterbending healing, but that was about all that went simply for the trio.
The pressure point experts walked in on their routine duty, and one managed to alert some of the guards of the rescue operation going on right under their noses. Katara and Aang stayed behind to silence the guards, but told Toph to move ahead and make sure Jeong Jeong’s side of the plan went on uninterrupted. And it was a damn good thing, too, because Jeong Jeong needed all the help he could get. He just didn’t know it.
Toph arrived just in time to prevent a group of firebenders from entering the antechamber to the public dais. She severely doubted that Jeong Jeong could battle the Fire Lord and take care of twenty-odd firebenders – even with the assistance of Iroh. So Toph did what she had to do (something she was only happy to do) – Toph fought. It was not like fighting earthbenders. Toph fought primarily earthbenders. She did not have experience in fighting other benders – she and Katara rarely sparred, and Zuko would rather punch himself in the face than help her. Aang hadn’t been in control of his firebending for long enough for her to learn from him.
Despite the disadvantage of experience and being severely outnumbered, Toph was holding her own. Hell, she was more than holding her own! She was dominating the battle – the skirmish, really. What had turned the tide was the earth – the Fire Nation palace was not made of metal like their ships. The Fire Nation palace was made of marble. Marble was one of Toph’s favorite rocks to work with. It cut cleanly, sharply, and had excellent reception for vibrations. Plus, it was smooth and very expensive.
The arrival of Zuko had thrown her at first – he came with five other people, four of which joined the attack immediately. Then he came rushing for the door in a way that genuinely confused her until she was able to put two and two together: Zuko had to keep cover by attacking. She was happy to oblige him. What else were friends for?
But the second man that had stayed behind was what was really spoiling her plans. This man was not like the others she fought. He was experienced and powerful, and he was taking Toph for all she was worth. With the increasing number of firebenders and commotion, Toph didn’t have much hope for their mission.
Not until things began to go right once more. She felt them before she heard them – despite their loudness. Aang and Katara met her in the hallway, and after dispatching with the firebender Toph was having a hard time with, Aang swung open the doors. Toph didn’t need sight to know there was a fire in the antechamber to the public address dais. She could FEEL the heat radiating out of the doors.
“Just hold them off.”
“Aang…”
“No, Katara. I have to do this. I’m the Avatar.”
The two were silent.
“Let him go, Katara,” Toph said softly, feeling the vibrations of soldiers approaching.
Aang slammed the doors behind him, and it was not an encouraging sign when a loud explosion shook the floor and rattled the doors.
“Oh, no! Zuko!” Katara cried, as if just noticing what Toph had done to him.
“He’s fine,” Toph, hissed, releasing Zuko from his pinned position against the wall.
“He’s got several bruised ribs,” Katara said after a moment of kneeling above him. “Otherwise, he’s fine.”
“Well, heal him fast, because there are more coming, Sweetness!” Toph barked urgently.
XI.VII
Katara almost cried when Zuko coughed into consciousness. She threw herself onto him without a care for his newly healed ribs. Wasn’t this how they first met? Zuko in need of healing and her in need of a rescue? She shook the tears away and kissed his cheeks, confused and hurt by the stony look on his face. Wasn’t he at all glad to see her again?
“You two have to get out of here, now,” Zuko growled, the first thing he said since regaining consciousness.
“I don’t think so, Z,” Toph said curtly, her hand on the ground and a rare show of concern on her face. “We need to hold off this group of firebenders first. No one can distract Aang.”
Katara looked to Zuko, who frowned. “I can’t be seen fighting my own people. I can get you out of here, but only if we move fast. The Avatar can take care of himself.”
Toph growled viciously. “You selfish, conceited, little, scar-faced bastard! We risk our lives and all you want to do is save your own skin! Why, I –”
“Toph!” Katara whispered harshly. “If he’s seen here all we’ve done will be for nothing. He’s right. Aang can take care of himself. He has Jeong Jeong in there with him. And General Iroh.”
Katara and Zuko shared a look, and Katara couldn’t remember him ever looking so grateful in all the time she’d known him. “Katara,” he said softly.
She bit her lip. “Let’s go. We have to be fast.”
But neither one moved. “It’s now or never,” Toph growled, pushing past the two, star-crossed lovers.
Zuko took them through side passages and deserted hallways to the center of the palace – the royal family’s housing. “There’s an underground passageway known only to the royal family,” he had explained. “It won’t be guarded, and it leads to the shore.” They dashed like mad, the sun setting slowly behind them. In a few hours it would be night, and Sozin’s Comet would paint the sky red.
“The palace is on fire!” Katara exclaimed, pausing a moment to look at the carnage.
Zuko wheeled around as well. “Great Agni…” she heard him whisper.
They began running again when Toph grabbed Katara’s arm. “Do you hear that?” she said sharply.
Zuko growled. “We have to keep –”
“Shut up!” Toph replied. “Listen!”
But Katara saw the sky bison before she heard its roar. “Appa!” she cried out. “Sokka!”
Appa thumped to the ground, and Katara shouted with glee when Sokka leapt from the beast’s giant head. “Hurry!” he shouted. “We’ve got to get out of here.” He helped Toph onto Appa, holding his hand out to Katara.
Katara, however, was looking at Zuko. “Come with us,” she said desperately.
“Katara! Let’s go!” Sokka shouted urgently.
Katara studied Zuko’s face, saw the lines of worry and anxiousness etched into his brow. “Zuko,” she whispered. “You…you can come with us…you can come back when it’s over.”
He took a jilted step towards her, and she swallowed hard. “Please…” she said softly.
For a moment there was no burning palace, no urgent brother, no waiting sky bison. There was only Katara and Zuko, and what transpired silently between them. Katara’s lips were split with shallow breaths. Zuko’s hand itched to take Katara’s, to jump on the flying bison and soar away with her.
But red painted the sky, and it was not the sunset. A blood kind of red, a murder kind of red, a powerful kind of red. There were no other colors in the world. Zuko stepped close to Katara, and Katara could no longer hear the shouts of her brother, or the screams or the fires.
“The comet is early,” Zuko said quietly, taking her in his arms.
“No,” she replied, burying her face in his chest.
The red could not lie, and the golden hued comet had appeared on the horizon.
“Go,” he said, and Katara felt salty water stinging in her eyes.
“I don’t want to leave you again!” she sobbed. “I said I wouldn’t! I need you!” She pulled away just enough to look into his gold-flecked eyes. They were the same remarkable color as the comet, but without all the cruelty for once. “I love you,” she said.
You could not say the kiss was full of love, nor could you say it was full of kindness. It was a different kiss, a savage kiss that seared and scorched with passion and longing. Katara could never be sure how long the kiss lasted, nor how she even survived it – as savage as it was. But Zuko’s lips met hers in a moment of passion that would shock the common man into speechlessness. It certainly shocked her brother.
And then they were apart, as if there was no kiss and no passion and no savagery. Katara had only her bruised arms (from the tightness of his hands holding her close) and trembling lips, and the memory of the crazed goodbye. Zuko pushed her onto Appa and rapped the animal sharply on his hind parts, sending him roaring into the air.
Katara looked down, tears stale on her cheeks and her fingers brushing her lips. Vision failed her as they rose into the air.
XI.VIII
It was Zuko’s last line of defense – to push everything that had happened to the far back of his mind. He could not think of her now – he had not expected to see her. But he could not resist taking that one kiss, especially since it was probably the last he would ever get. But now he could not think of Katara. He couldn’t think of that kiss. He could only think of what lay ahead, and what he was going to have to do.
Help Aang kill his father, of course.
Zuko ran faster than he thought he could, pushing people out of the way as he sprinted. The chamber was open when he arrived, and Master Jeong Jeong was engaged with perhaps thirty firebenders, attempting to keep a fair fight between the Avatar and the Fire Lord.
Zuko did not have time to analyze who was winning or losing. He did not have time to notice the swirling blue that was beginning to engulf the Avatar, nor did he have time to notice the red that possessed his father. Jeong Jeong battled white-masked firebenders, the Avatar battled the Fire Lord, and Zuko cried out in agony as he saw the charred, unmoving body of Uncle Iroh, laying in the corner of the room.
XI.IX
“I’m not even going to ask what that was all about!” Sokka shouted at her as they flew higher and higher above the Fire Nation capitol.
Katara did her best to ignore him.
“Besides, there’s more important things to discuss,” he said sharply. “Father’s here.”
That got Katara’s attention. “Here? Father?”
“Yah. Here. Father,” Sokka said dryly. “He’s in command of the attack.” He gave himself a congratulatory smile. “The largest attack on the Fire Nation in over a hundred years.”
Katara and Toph listened as he explained.
“I went north first, as fast as I could. Appa has probably never been so tired. It was all I could do to find the Omashu rebels. Things were pretty grim when I arrived. Captain Yung was barely able to contain himself when he heard the Avatar was truly captured, until I let him know about the plan. We were able to free King Bumi and retake the city, but there were a lot of casualties. King Bumi was brilliant, though, and as soon as we told him what was going on he left Omash WITH ME to take me to the Earth Kingdom capitol – Ba Sing Se.
“King Bumi told me he’d take care of things from this end – coordinating with the Earth King, and readying the Earth Kingdom for the Fire Nation’s attack. He sent me to the North Pole, and told me to give a message to Chief Arnook. Now I know what Aang means when he says Bumi is a mad genius. This whole attack was his idea.”
“Attack?” Katara asked in wonder.
“I’m getting there,” Sokka said quickly. “I was able to find Chief Arnook and convince him rather quickly of the comet, and he was a lot of help from there. He promised that if the Earth Kingdom set a light regiment of ships and soldiers to protect the North Pole, then he would send his whole fleet – all 600 ships – to attack the Fire Nation on the day of Sozin’s Comet. King Bumi figured it would be the day when the least amount of ships would be guarding the Fire Nation, since they’d have to take advantage of Sozin’s Comet to defeat the Earth Kingdom.
“Our father was in the North Pole at the time, supplying the Southern Water Tribe Fleet. Apparently, Chief Arnook was so impressed with dad that he decided dad should be the one to spearhead the sneak attack on the Fire Nation. Just beyond the farthest island – and coming closer – are 600 Water Tribe ships waiting to sack the coast and destroy the Fire Nation’s Western Armada. Sure it’s the smaller of the two because of the Sozin’s Comet attack, but if we take out the supply lines and immobilize the island, separating the Eastern Armada from the Fire Lord, then we’ve practically won.”
Katara swallowed. “That’s amazing…”
“Yah, well, it’s about to get even more amazing,” Sokka said harshly.
They were flying over the Eastern Islands of the Fire Nation. Katara had never seen a really sea battle before. The sheers size of Fire Nation ships in comparison to Water Tribe ships was intimidating. But there were about two Water Tribe ships to every Fire Nation ship, and they seemed to work in tandem to take down the iron behemoths. Each Water Tribe ship seemed to have two benders and then a small crew of five or six men. They worked together to steer and navigate while the waterbenders attacked the ships, freezing water to slow the Fire Nation ships or impale them with spears of ice. Some Water Tribe ships had more powerful benders than others. Katara noticed Master Pakku almost immediately from the air, just based on the huge power and control her former master had.
“Get me on a ship,” Katara said urgently, pulling at her brother’s sleeve.
“What?” he cried. “No! You’ll be killed! This is WAR, Katara!”
“And I’m a waterbending master!” Katara replied harshly. “I belong down there. Find me a ship!” When Sokka was staring blank-faced at her, his jaw moving silently, Katara snorted. “Fine.”
She had done such a foolish thing before – jumping off Appa and into the fray. Months ago Aang had tried to attack Azula and her deadly counterparts, and Katara had followed. The air rushed by her face, her ponytail whipping violently behind her. She heard the faint cry of her brother, but as she plummeted to the surface she summoned a smooth, ice ramp.
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Rises with the Heart