The blazing heat of the fire striking my spear filled the corridor.
The prisoners shrank in fear, used to being afraid.
I could see their skin bristle from the heat, but for me and this fire soldier —almost immune to his own heat— it was nothing more than a summer breeze.
He looked at me; his furious, blood-hungry gaze revealed a sinister, exultant smile. It was easy to read: his intention was to kill me, to make me suffer in order to destroy the little hope I had returned to my people.
With a quick movement, he swept his leg across the floor.
A dull thud echoed through the place, followed by a whimper. His leg was slightly fractured; I felt it.
And at the same time, I saw his confident face contract with realization.
"Get away from me, bastard!"
The fire master shouted in desperate fury as he hurled fireballs at me.
I let the flames hit the pale skin hanging over me; the fire burst and died out, leaving my white cloak intact. Was it arrogant? Yes. But this is what they need to see.
A strong leader. I want the tribe's memories of weakness to be extinguished with this show of power, and at the same time, to show Bato what a true leader is.
Tensing the muscles in my legs, I vanished from the soldier's sight. My speed, which grows every day, was enough for someone like him not to see me running next to him.
"He's gone!" the prisoners cried.
"Shut up!" he bellowed.
His face, marked by desperation—like his actions—forced him to unleash a huge blast of fire across the place. The fire spread like a shockwave. Without slowing, I sliced through the flames and, with the gust I raised, they went out in a blink.
I stopped in front of him once more; the prisoners screamed with joy and hope. But he, driven by his fear, attacked again. This time I cut each of his fire attacks as I approached him.
"Back off!"
The desperation in his voice made a smile form on my face. He saw it, or his tearful face gave me that impression.
"You locked up my people! You tortured them!" I shouted at him as I aimed a kick at his extended left arm. It was like breaking a branch — except these were his fingers breaking and bleeding. "And the only way to pay is with your blood!" —Yes... sometimes people in despair need to hear lines like that.
"No!" he screamed in despair as a second kick made his knee buckle the wrong way.
Another blow and a cut landed in a second.
"Sokka!" Hakoda called, coming out of his shock. I ignored him and focused on the locked cells. I could open them with the keys, but it wouldn't be dramatic enough. Instead, I gripped my spear with both hands.
I closed my eyes in concentration. The slicing chi attack that the Skybreaker forced me to do was powerful and, most importantly, a ranged attack. But it consumed a lot of energy.
But you learn from mistakes, and I understood that with similar force I could make an air-slice, and my strength is more than sufficient. Drawing the spear back, I tensed every muscle and cut the air.
A sharp sound rang out through the place, followed by a sharp current of air that cut the padlocks on the bars.
I saw Bato; his face full of surprise and the keys in his hands. "Free the others from their shackles," I told him as I proceeded to cut the bonds of my people.
"Thank you!" they shouted with desperate joy.
Their eyes, full of tears, looked at me with admiration and respect. Perfect.
"Let's go to the deck," I said once everyone was safe.
—POV KATARA—
My hands haven't stopped trembling since it all began. I can feel fear running through my body: fear of losing Sokka, of losing Aang or any of our tribe here. And the fire of these monsters feels hotter to me than any other fire soldier. Those distinctive uniforms terrify me.
I just want to jump into the water or engulf myself in ice.
But the trembling in my hands stops me. I put out the flames on several soldiers, freeze the faces and limbs of others, and I also hit them with all my strength.
Each strike and attack makes my hands tremble, although I'm no longer sure it's from fear.
I can feel a strange current through my body, like a tingling down my back: a weird mix of fear and excitement that makes me keep going.
Sokka once told me about this.
"When you're in real danger, or think you are, and fear takes hold of you, your brain records only two options," he said with a serious expression: "flee or fight. Your brain will convince you that you should run, that it's the best option, the one with the better chance to live, and maybe it's right, because fear invades you and makes you release adrenaline."
"Adrenaline?" I asked, confused. "Yes, it gives you extra strength, speed, and endurance. You'll feel invincible, but before that your body will tremble, you'll feel your legs folding on their own, you'll feel an electric current in your back and you can come to feel fear and fun at the same time," he explained calmly.
"But if you choose to fight, to face your fear, you'll feel the same, and it will propel you, give you strength. The fear will remain, but you'll face it. You'll want to run because you feel fear, you feel it when your hands shake. But that's an illusion: it's not fear, it's excitement, adrenaline.
"You'll still be afraid and that's okay, because it'll keep you alert."
"Have you felt that?" my little self asked with genuine doubt. I used to see my brother as someone brave, without fear. But his words taught me how wrong I was.
"Yes, since I'm in this world I've been afraid: afraid when I fish, when I hunt and look for resources, I fear the beasts..." For a moment he paused and I was incredulous. "But that's what keeps me alive, it allows me to keep going and fight, because fear keeps us alert, gives us strength, and above all, drives us to keep living."
Those words I didn't understand years ago finally make sense now that more prison ships of the southern invaders draw near.
He had already told me: my emotions are what drive my water control. He knows I repressed myself and let my fear control me because I believed they, these soldiers, were invincible. But no more.
I close my eyes now that the ship's deck is free of soldiers. I extend my arms as Sokka once taught me.
I let my chi flow and raise my arms, making huge waves of water rise with my movements.
"Katara..."
I open my eyes at the sound of Aang's voice; his gaze puzzled toward the ships. I follow his line of sight.
"They put the prisoners on the decks, they're using them as shields," I think angrily.
When the water takes the shape of giant tentacles, I send it toward the five ships.
Tons of liquid strike the soldiers as I exercise control over it so as not to hurt members of the tribe.
I feel the water enter the ships, I feel people go into it and, finally, I pull the liquid out of the vessels; the soldiers remain on the decks.
They are still conscious; I know they'll get up. But my body finally gives in to exhaustion.
I feel myself about to fall onto the metal, but an arm holds me. It's Sokka; he looks at me with a proud smile.
"You did well, Katara. Now let your big brother take care of it."
His voice comes out proud and confident as he hands me into Aang's arms.
I see how the prisoners, now freed from this ship, look at me with astonishment and respect.
But when the ship rocks violently, I realize Sokka is in the air: he jumped to the next ship.
My voice is too weak to shout to him.
And when he lands gently, he disappears in a blur. The sound of the sea fills with the soldiers' groans of pain and metal breaking.
One after another, all the soldiers on the ships fall unconscious to Sokka's invisible blows.
The situation is so confusing for Bato and Aang that they don't notice the ships slowly coming toward us under Sokka's water control.
Finally everyone boards the same ship as us and Sokka grabs my hand.
And as he does, I can feel my energy recover; I feel the energy surge from my hand through my whole body.
I don't know how it's possible, or maybe it's simply because I already recovered.
—POV OF SOKKA—
My sight focuses on all the newly freed prisoners, after Katara gave some chi back to them.
All these people —men and women of all ages, thin from lack of food and with nearly lifeless eyes— look at us with hope.
"Everything will be okay now!" I say, raising my voice. "These men will never touch you again, they will never again feel the fear of the southern invaders attacking you!"
"Because now you are free. Free to go to our tribe at the South Pole and live in peace."
I pause as my eyes scan each of them. I notice several men and women, young and old, frown. Perfect.
"You will go to the tribe, where there is no longer danger."
"We thank you for saving us, but… who are you?" asks a woman I don't recognize.
I don't recognize her, but she could be from the small settlements outside the main tribe that I managed to unite under me.
"I am Sokka, chief of the Southern Water Tribe." My words come out full of authority and I see how their faces fill with understanding, while several others —like Bato— look confused.
"I earned my place by protecting the tribe and rebuilding it from the ashes: stronger, bigger. Where all our people are finally united. Everyone, from the small settlements in the tundra, the mountains and the caves, joined me in the main tribe." I emphasized the outskirts.
"Hakoda is the tribe chief!" I hear a man I recognize as Gilak, from the North and South comics, say.
"Yes, he was the chief of the Water Tribe. But when he left with the other men to war, and we didn't hear from them for years, I protected the tribe. I fed it and built it up to a glory it never had."
"You made yourself chief?" Bato asked uncertainly.
"No. I earned the position. The tribe chose me when they saw the men didn't return. I earned my place when I killed the spirit lion that, centuries ago, took our sacred place."
"Wasn't that a myth?" I heard someone in the crowd say.
"No. I killed it, and this cloak is the proof." I showed it and tried to cut it with a knife, but seeing it didn't harm me, they believed me.
"Go to the tribe and see it for yourselves."
"I believe you. I saw your strength and your power." Gilak replied, loyalty palpable in his voice. "But I won't stand idly by in this war."
"Yes!" men and women alike shouted.
"You won't, I promise. But first you must go to the tribe and recover your strength. My warriors, earthbenders, and possibly firebenders will be waiting there. They are all our allies in this war. They await my orders."
Their faces, along with Hakoda's, filled with surprise.
"Firebenders?" Bato and Gilak asked.
"Yes. They are people who were deceived into killing, people who were under the command of true monsters," I explained calmly, then grew serious. "But that doesn't mean I trust them. I have them watched. And still, I will not allow you to attack them."
I could see Gilak's face show a wide, amused smile.
"HAHAHA! You have taken our enemy! There's nobody more worthy to follow than you. Hakoda begot two incredible children! I am with you… and with the Avatar, tribal chief."
His words, full of confidence and playful devotion, were the push the others needed to stop wavering.
They saw my power and Katara's. They longed to be protected and to fight alongside that kind of strength. Used to mediocrity, they couldn't help but cling to this new hope.
—POV BATO—
I can't believe what I saw today. This kind of power, this kind of natural leadership —I never thought I'd see it in him. He was always a clumsy kid, unable to hold a spear and fearful.
The last time I saw him, wounded and dying, I thought it was the end. We all did, including Hakoda. His urgency to leave the tribe, to not deal with the beasts so he wouldn't see his son die —almost at the same time as his wife— still weighs on me.
I begged him to send letters to the tribe, but he didn't. He convinced himself and us that the tribe was safe, even when we all thought there was no tribe to return to.
But this… this Sokka standing in front of me, self-proclaiming himself chief of the Southern Water Tribe and showing a powerful presence…
I can't help but doubt him. Was he really chosen? He's furious with Hakoda for abandoning them. Did he lead a coup? Is he lying?
But all my thoughts and doubts vanish when each prisoner here lays his forehead against his chest: an old form of greeting the tribal chief, a gesture of respect.
"We will follow you, chief."
—POV SOKKA—
A huge smile spread across my face. I was euphoric about this. Was there anything more perfect? Hungry people willing to follow a leader… willing to follow me.
Oh, I will mold them to their maximum potential. Together we will be the best nation. I'll have the resources, I have the people, and I'll gain enough influence to finish this.
But there's always a crack in the best armor: Bato. I can feel his piercing gaze in the back of my neck; I sense his doubt, his fear and, above all, his slight hostility toward me.
I turn my body toward him. His eyes open slightly when he sees my small smile and serious eyes.
"Bato," I tell him calmly, "I want you to guide and navigate these ships to the tribe." I hand him a paper.
"What is that?" he asks, curious.
"They are the tribe's coordinates."
"I know where the tribe is."
"No," I answer calmly. "You knew where the old tribe was. These" —I say pointing at the paper— "are the new coordinates. I moved the tribe to a safer place."
"Sokka..."
"Bato," I interrupt, putting my hand on his shoulder, not worrying about controlling my strength, "everyone in the tribe is my people. Everyone, without exception. By the way, Tiga and Gran-Gran are in charge while I'm away."
He looks at me, he seems not to fully understand what I say… but he does.
"Everyone, please, wear the uniforms of these people. That way you'll go unnoticed. Store fuel in small bases, lock the firebenders in cells and march south." I toss a big bag of money to Bato. "Buy supplies, wood, iron, seeds and food. Don't let them discover you. Waterbenders, attack only if necessary."
"Yes!" they all shouted in unison.
I saw Katara smiling as a small tear rolled from her eyes; Aang, for his part, watched the scene with warm eyes, as if he finally set aside his stupid thoughts.
All while we watched from Appa as the ships sailed south.
I felt tired, I just wanted to rest despite being almost completely loaded.
"Sokka, I want to apologize again for—"
"Leave it, if I don't care what the living say, why would I care about a dead man." My words came out indifferent.
Aang looked at me with eyes full of a sad joy.
The rest of the night I guided Appa across the endless sea, until at dawn Katara and Aang woke and saw a huge temple.
It was the Northern Air Temple. Aang looked at it excitedly and then at me; he expected me to do it for him. But actually I did it for myself: having that man who is an excellent inventor, plus his hot-air balloons, would give me an impressive advantage.
So when we landed Appa and entered the temple while Aang played around the place, I hurried inside.
The mechanic, that bald man with a huge beard, was on top of a demolishing machine; the enormous metal ball was about to destroy a wall when I stopped it dead with my hands.
"Stop!" I said hurriedly.
He looked at me, surprised. "Who are you?"
"I'm Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, and you are about to destroy an ancient wall of the Air Nomads; I suggest you don't, or the last of them will become furious."
He looked at me, he didn't seem to understand my words until Aang appeared.
After that the situation became so simple that I decided to ignore it. Aang was excited and playing with Teo who flew with his flying chair while I walked through the temple with the mechanic.
"Are you an inventor?" I asked him.
"Yes, I made my son Teo's flying chair and many of these machines, some amazing things," he said excitedly.
"Like the tundra tanks of the Fire Nation?" I asked calmly while looking at different invention plans and the hot-air balloon in his workshop.
"What?" he asked completely incredulous and nervous, scared. "N-no, I, I didn't—"
"Don't worry, I know they force you somehow, but I don't care about that for now. I want to hire you, I want to save you from them," I replied with a reassuring smile.
"How?"
"I am with the Avatar, and I am chief of the Southern Water Tribe. I can give you protection, resources and I can provide you with the best ideas for inventions."
"You want me? Can you protect me?" His voice was full of longing and hope.
"Of course. Give me your hand and trust me, I offer you a free life, free from those monsters' weapons."
"Will I build weapons for you?"
"Yes," I said without lying. "But the difference between them and me is that I don't want them to conquer; I want them to liberate. I want those tanks, those hot-air balloons, but better; I want you to create transport for the South Pole."
I saw understanding in his eyes.
"I will trust you. Please, save me."
That was all I needed to hear. "Sure." I replied with a smile. "But you must tell your son and the others, and you must do it before they find out. I'll prepare some plans for you."
I saw him hesitate, saw his fear, but in the end he understood it was the best option.
I saw his plans, the hot-air balloon that worked with hot air; it was the simplest and most rudimentary. Seeing it I understood its flaws and that thrilled me.
This brain was excellent for construction and mechanical inventions; it was intuitive for these things. In my past life, in my countless travels and adventures, I built and learned everything I could. But arriving here, with this brain, all that knowledge expanded, was refined, and I could do things better.
Taking a pencil I began the plans to make dirigibles; I had seen them in my past life on one of my travels, I obsessed over them when I saw a documentary about a terrible accident that happened with them many decades ago.
Fortunately, I remember what caused their failure and knew how to fix it.
Minutes passed and then hours; I heard the mechanic talking to everyone outside, and finally I was able
to finish another of the many plans, the submarines. They were simple and rudimentary, but functional, their engine derived from the old engine of the destroyed South Pole ship combined with a modern engine from my world.
And best of all, with oxygen tanks, which I also had to explain how to make.