Hello, first of all I would like to apologize for the long delay, I really didn't want to, but these last few months have been very hard and I don't have time to write, But I want you to know that I won't be abandoning this fanfic and will do my best to continue with more regular updates.
Without further ado, enjoy the chapter.
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Everyone in the air temple stared in horror at a room filled with blueprints, flags, and weapons bearing the Fire Nation emblem.
"I swear, I did all of this to protect my son and the others. They left me no choice," the Mechanist said heavily, his voice laced with disappointment.
"Dad, please, don't blame yourself," Teo replied sadly, wheeling closer in his chair.
Katara and Aang, who had initially glared at him with fury, finally softened their expressions and empathized with the man. Throughout their journey, they had seen similar situations with Earth Kingdom prisoners: ordinary people forced to collaborate out of fear.
"Don't worry, sir. We'll help you, truly," Aang said gently, placing a hand on the inventor's shoulder.
"That's right, and believe me, I've already done so," Sokka interjected as he tossed a bag full of blueprints and papers to the Mechanist. "But according to your log, they're coming to pick up some orders today, right?" he asked the older man.
"Y-yes, they'll arrive in a few hours. That's why we need to leave."
Aang listened, his face reflecting concern. "Even if I take them on Appa, it'll take me hours to get everyone to a safe place."
"No problem. The soldiers will come on ships. We'll defeat them, and our friends can leave on those," Sokka explained as if it were the simplest thing.
"It's the same as what you did with our people," Katara said with recognition, recalling how her brother had liberated ships in the South Pole.
"Exactly. It's something we've done before, so it'll be easy. And we have the high ground advantage."
"But they have their metal tundra tanks," Teo's father said fearfully, remembering the unstoppable machines of the Fire Nation.
"No problem," Sokka replied with unshakeable confidence.
Everyone looked at Sokka without understanding his reasoning, but as he explained further, they began to grasp it. With renewed confidence, they started filling barrels and any available containers with water, burying them at the base of the temple, where there was only dirt and trees.
For his part, Sokka entered the Mechanist's workshop with him and began packing the essentials.
"Do I have to take everything?" the inventor asked doubtfully.
"Yes, because if you left even a single blueprint or diagram behind, they could build it and use it against the world," Sokka replied, recalling how, in the original series from his past life, the Fire Nation had recreated the hot air balloons and improved them into war dirigibles.
"I understand," the man replied fearfully, nodding gravely.
Sokka nodded as he wrote on a scroll. His handwriting was fluid despite the speed; on it, he provided detailed instructions and blueprints for large hangars and workshops, as well as a long list of materials to acquire: metals, tools, coal, fabrics, and tons of fuel like charcoal.
All with the purpose that, when this Mechanist arrived at the Southern Water Tribe, he would start working on the war balloons and dirigibles. Sokka trusted that, with the Fire Nation ships his tribe now had, they could manage it, along with engineers and blacksmiths.
Once he finished writing on the scroll, he poked his head out a window and saw the hawk with a scroll container on its back. The bird returned his gaze and, with excitement, flew toward the human; it hoped he would finally use it to send a message.
Sokka took it in his arms, placed the scroll in the container, and left the workshop, leaving the Mechanist alone. He walked through the hallways, making sure no one saw him, and finally entered a secluded room.
He held the bird and looked at his boots with a mix of doubt and excitement. Would they really transport him to any place he had been before?
Sokka sighed and clicked his heels together. In a click, he vanished from the spot.
His vision filled with countless colorful lights for a tenth of a second before he felt the icy air of his home.
He gazed nostalgically at the tribe from atop the massive ice walls. With his enhanced vision, he observed Tiga and Gran-Gran walking and working diligently; the earthbenders training and working as miners; likewise, he saw the warrior women training alongside redeemed firebenders.
Not only that, the tribe looked different: more alive, with new constructions, just as he had requested in previous letters. There were more warehouses, large workshops, and small forges being operated by redeemed firebenders.
Sokka smiled and let the hawk fly toward Tiga, then vanished with another click before the tribe's beasts could smell him.
When he reappeared in the room, his senses expanded throughout the place. His chi flowed through the air as an explosion shook the site.
With his chi radar, he visualized the life energy of Katara and the others, and in the distance, about fifty or a hundred firebender energies.
"Alright, it looks like these idiots will climb right where we placed the water traps," he said to himself as he exited.
"Hold on!" He heard the fire soldiers shout as his small group of individuals attacked them in ways they couldn't comprehend.
"Die, you bastards!" a teenager hurled an explosive jelly bomb with fury.
Quickly, the battlefield filled with explosions, wounded lizard rhinos, and chaos everywhere.
"Sokka!" Katara called. "The plan is working!"
Sokka nodded, seeing Katara and Aang smile as they attacked the fire soldiers. The Avatar wasn't smiling because of fighting or hurting these people; his smile came from, for the first time in his life, defending an air temple from the Fire Nation.
"Let them get closer!" Sokka bellowed his order.
The youths and his sister nodded; they knew the plan, and it was the best way to end it as quickly as possible.
"They're retreating, advance!" a general roared with enthusiasm, seeing that they seemed to be achieving victory.
"Katara, Aang, get ready!"
Both waterbenders nodded and assumed relaxed stances as they let their chi flow through the water buried in the barrels.
Step by step, the fire soldiers advanced confidently, the tundra tanks serving as shields against possible attacks.
Sokka watched them from above. "Now!" he ordered upon seeing the last man enter the zone.
Katara and Aang grunted with effort as they raised their arms forcefully.
The soldiers looked at the ground, feeling a slight tremor before noticing the blue liquid beneath their feet beginning to envelop them slowly.
"That's slow..." Sokka said with impassive annoyance.
Katara and Aang, struggling to envelop their enemies, didn't notice that the tribe chief behind them performed fluid and firm movements, almost with an inexplicable mastery.
In an instant, synchronized with Katara raising her arms forcefully, the water from the buried barrels exploded, covering all the enemies on the field: tundra tanks and lizard rhinos included.
"Wow, Katara, that was impressive!" Aang said excitedly.
"Yeah..." She replied confusedly while looking at her brother.
He returned her gaze with a smile.
"Good. Aang, Katara, wait about five minutes and then thaw them," Sokka ordered calmly. "The rest of you! When that happens, I want you to handcuff them and lock them in the ships' dungeons." He pointed to the now-empty Fire Nation vessels.
Everyone nodded without hesitation, following his orders with discipline.
"This is awesome!" Teo exclaimed excitedly. "I never thought this could happen, Dad! For the first time, we've won."
His father looked at him with a soft expression, filled with melancholic hope.
"That's right..."
"Sokka, that was impressive!" Katara said enthusiastically, making sure no one overheard.
The older one snorted amusedly.
"Of course it was! Am I not the genius at these things?"
Katara looked at him with a small smile. Seeing him act like this again filled her heart with relief. Since the journey began, she had noticed how much he had changed: his strength, his violence, that shadow that sometimes enveloped him.
But despite everything, she loved him. He was her brother... practically her father. More than Hakoda had ever been.
Sokka stopped his laughter serenely and stroked his sister's head before heading toward the ships to coordinate the new allies.
"Everyone's locked up," the Mechanist reported nervously.
"Very well," the young leader replied calmly.
The older man observed him with some uncertainty. Sokka had suddenly fallen silent, as if meditating on something important. The situation grew tense until he finally spoke:
"I need those dirigibles ready as soon as possible. A big battle is coming in the North Pole, and without those machines, it'll be hard to pull it off."
The Mechanist listened attentively. Sokka's words were calm, but his voice carried urgency.
"In my tribe, there are Fire Nation prisoners," Sokka continued. "Some are mechanics and engineers. The women I left in charge will provide them to you as workers. Use them. We have the necessary materials in the tribe, but buy more on your way."
"I'll do it. I'll try to have the dirigibles ready as soon as possible," the man replied with determination.
Sokka nodded, satisfied with the Mechanist's response.
In the temple, the youths were moving cargo, tools, and provisions toward the conquered ships. The torches cast reddish glimmers on the metal hulls, while the cold evening air cut through the silence amid orders, footsteps, and creaking wood.
Aang and Katara watched everything from a nearby elevation. The pace of the work surprised them; in a matter of minutes, the chaos had turned into an organized retreat. It was still hard for them to get used to these kinds of scenes.
"They're moving fast," Katara said, impressed by the efficiency.
"As they should," Sokka replied, not taking his eyes off the horizon. "We can't waste time."
The two siblings observed everyone in the place; dusk was beginning to fall, and the wind blew from the east.
Sokka heard a metallic, heavy, distant sound.
"Stop." he ordered in a low voice.
The work noises ceased.
Katara looked at him confused and alert, her arms positioning near her leather waterskins—a reflex honed during this journey, for in her entire life, her brother's alerts had never been wrong.
"Everyone down!" Sokka shouted, at the same time his neck hairs stood on end.
Everyone obeyed, jumping onto the ships and taking cover.
Then, a deep roar echoed in the distance, followed by a sharp whistle. A shadow crossed the sky.
A rock enveloped in fire fell a few meters from the ships, raising a wave of heat and smoke. Another followed, and then another. The attack had begun.
"Enemy attack!" one of the youths shouted from the dock.
"To the ships, now!" Sokka ordered, already drawing his bow.
The explosions continued. Katara raised a wave to extinguish the spreading flames, while Aang, with a swing of his staff, deflected the flaming rocks falling from the sky.
Sokka aimed calmly and fired an arrow with explosive jelly; the projectile pierced the air and exploded against the hull of the nearest enemy ship, sending burning fragments into the sea. He fired another and another, buying valuable seconds.
"Katara, freeze the path!" he shouted without stopping his movement.
She nodded and, with a fluid motion, raised a mass of water that solidified immediately, forming an ice wall that blocked the enemy ships' advance. Aang reinforced the barrier with a gust of air, propelling the allies to move faster.
The Mechanist, panting, helped the last youths board. His satchel, stuffed with blueprints and tools, hung crooked over his shoulder. In the rush, one of the scrolls slipped out and fell to the ground without him noticing.
"Come on, everyone aboard!" Sokka shouted while securing the ramp of the last ship.
Once the vessels began to pull away from the dock, Sokka ran toward Appa, where Aang and Katara were already waiting.
"Appa, Yip-Yip!" Aang exclaimed, making the bison lift off with a powerful leap.
The cold air whipped their faces as they ascended. From above, Sokka watched as the allied ships sailed south, while the flames died out without touching the temple and the enemies remained trapped amid the ice.
Katara turned to look at her brother. "Do you think they'll make it to the tribe without issues?"
"They will," Sokka replied firmly. "They have to."
Appa roared and sped north, leaving behind the smoke and fire.
Hours later, when the fire had died out, the enemy ships finally reached the temple. The ice had melted, and the air smelled of ash. Among the rubble, a soldier walked cautiously, pushing aside remnants of burned stone and wood. That's when he saw something half-buried under the snow: a blackened scroll.
He picked it up carefully and unrolled it. On the paper, technical lines were visible, sketches of an oval structure, and handwritten notes.
"Sir..." the soldier said, handing the find to his captain.
The man examined it closely. He smiled slowly, understanding the value of what he held.
"It seems the Mechanist left us one last work for the Fire Nation," he said gravely, tucking the scroll under his coat.
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On the coasts of the Fire Nation, a sea of warships stretched as far as the eye could see. The air vibrated with the roar of boilers and the hum of steam escaping from metal ducts. On the bow of the flagship, a slender figure stood with the grace of a blue flame: cold, lethal, perfect.
Azula gazed at the horizon with a barely perceptible smile. Her voice, clear and sharp as a dagger's edge, resonated over the roar of the sea.
"Today we march toward the cradle of the waterbenders! A fortress that has remained untouched for centuries, as arrogant as Ba Sing Se, believing itself safe behind its ice walls..." she paused for an instant, letting her soldiers hold their breath. "But I will show them otherwise!"
For a second, her mind clouded. Kuzon's words flashed briefly through her memory: "Perfection will only lead you to failure."
Her smile tightened.
"No," she whispered to herself, and resumed with even greater intensity. "Together, we will show them that neither ice walls nor false legends can withstand the fire! We will conquer that tribe of peasants and show them what true power means!"
The torch flames danced with the soldiers' roar, as Azula raised a hand and the sky lit up with the reflection of fire. In her eyes, ambition burned with the precision of a spark destined to devour everything.
"That was great, Azula," Ty Lee said with a wide smile, clapping enthusiastically.
"Speaking in plural seems to work well," Mai commented in her dull tone, with an arched eyebrow.
Azula interlaced her hands behind her back and replied serenely, watching the waves crash against the ships' hulls.
"If I want to be the best, my army must be too. And for that... they need to believe they already are."
Ty Lee let out a giggle, while Mai simply averted her gaze to the horizon. The three watched in silence the burning sea reflecting the orange tones of the fire. The surface trembled with each flare, as if the ocean itself breathed alongside the army.
The three girls remained silent for a moment, with the salty ocean breeze whipping their faces. The sea stretched infinitely before them, a vast tapestry of waves rocking under the setting sun. In Azula's eyes, the water's reflection danced like liquid fire, a mirror of her unyielding ambition, where each wave seemed like a pending conquest.
The reflection faded gradually, melting into the darkness of a similar pupil, but marked by an irregular scar. Now it was Zuko's eyes capturing the sea, tinged with deep melancholy. He leaned on the ship's railing, lost in thought, the wind tousling his hair as the horizon swallowed the sun. The reflection in his pupils was identical: endless waves, a reminder of the vastness separating his exile from his destiny.
Suddenly, a heavy hand rested on his shoulder, breaking the stillness. Zuko turned abruptly, only to find his uncle Iroh smiling at him with that eternal warmth, a steaming cup of tea in the other hand.
"Prince Zuko," Iroh said softly but firmly, "the sea can be a great teacher of patience. But if you keep staring only at the horizon, you'll miss the tea cooling right here and now."
Zuko looked at the cup with disdain, not for the tea—that was the least of his problems.
"I have nothing left, Uncle..." he said with a broken voice. "Azula took my crew, I helped the Avatar escape from her, and Father won't let me return, not to mention that boy, Sokka—his strength is more than I thought..."
"Prince Zuko," Iroh said warmly, suppressing his sadness.
"And that guy, Kuzon—they say he's so close to Azula and that he managed to land a hit on her in training." His voice showed his fury, exhaustion, and self-loathing.
"Prince Zuko, there's no point in self-loathing, because if I know anything about hitting rock bottom, it's that now you can only go up."
The wise man's words seemed to reach the scarred youth's ears; for the first time, he seemed to understand his uncle, and a small, tired smile appeared on his haggard face.
"We'll go to Ba Sing Se; there we'll be safe from Azula and can start over," Iroh said with cheerful excitement.
"Thank you, Uncle. But I think before that, I need to go on alone."
The prince's uncle opened his eyes in surprise; he never expected to hear those words, but deep down, he was happy to hear them. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I need to find my own path, Uncle."