8

 ended up doing quite a bit of Avatar research in the making of this chapter. Turns out that the capital city of the Northern Water Tribe is called Agna Qel'a. Maybe I'm just a numpty, but I don't remember it ever being referred to by name in the show. The more you know.

And can you believe it! We've hit the 1,000 followers mark! Thank you all so, so much for your support so far!

"Wow, I can't believe you do this every day!"

In Sokka's eyes, life seemed just about perfect right now. Up on Appa's back, the troubles of the world below felt so far away. In the sky there was no war, no Fire Nation, and no duty to protect The Avatar. There was just him and Yue: the girl he couldn't stop thinking about since the moment he'd laid eyes upon her.

"Yeah, we pretty much live up here." He boasted, stretching in a way that he hoped seemed cool and casual. There hadn't been any girls in the Southern Water Tribes near to his age besides his sister, and despite his bravado Sokka was finding every moment he spent with Yue a little nerve wracking. What if he put his foot in his mouth and said something stupid, like he so often did, that made Yue hate him? He still wasn't sure what it was that he'd said that'd made Yue cry and run away from him on the bridge a few days after they'd first arrived.

"Is it always this cold in the sky?"

A warmth settled against his side, and Sokka glanced over to see that Yue had scooted closer over towards him. Cold? It felt pretty hot up here to him! "Not when you're with someone." He stammered out.

Yue turned to look at him. It must have been the frosty sky air stinging her face, but Sokka could swear that she was blushing. "It's beautiful up here." She whispered.

"Yeah…" But not as beautiful as you. Spirits, what he wouldn't give to be able to say that out loud. But he knew that if he did, Yue would probably feel uncomfortable again and want to leave. It was painful trying to keep the words he was desperate to say bottled up. Surely Yue deserved to know how incredible she was? Deserved to know that she was so funny, so wise and mature beyond her years, and so captivating when she smiled…

Sokka's eyes widened as he realised that, without thinking, his face had ended up a hair's breadth away from Yue's; his lips a second away from meeting hers.

But if he kissed her now, she'd only become filled with more confusion and doubt. And as much as he longed to kiss her, he also didn't want to give her any more reasons not to smile.

"Woo, yeah!" He all but yelled, jolting backwards and pretending to act cool. "Ahhh, good times, good times." Yue's face was as red as the wine he'd seen people in the Earth Kingdom drink, and he was pretty sure his wasn't much different. Yet to acknowledge that would be to acknowledge this… thing between them, and that would make Yue unhappy.

A flicker of black crossed his vision.

"Hmm?" Sokka looked around, noticing for the first time streaks of black that were beginning to fall around them. "Hey, look."

Snowflakes as black as coal were starting to drift lazily down from above: only a handful at first, but every time he blinked Sokka could swear that they multiplied. Within a span of just a few seconds the sky was stained with dark flecks. Down below them the pristine white snow and rich blue water of the Northern Water Tribe was slowly but surely being dyed a murky grey. Yue raised a hand, catching one of the black flakes in her palm. It melted in a second, leaving behind a sooty grey stain. "What's happening?" She asked.

Sokka knew. It had been years since he'd last seen black snow falling from the sky, but he had never forgotten a single day when they had. Each time the black snow fell, members of his village would be gone the next morning. He flicked the reins, bringing Appa back down to land, and jumped off the saddle to scoop up a handful of the black-stained snow.

"Soot." He muttered, recognising the filth.

"What?" Yue asked.

"I've seen this before, right before my village was attacked." Sokka replied, standing up. "It's soot mixed with snow."

"But why?" Yue was looking back to her home with concern, unsettled by the palpable shadow that was being cast over it.

"It's the Fire Nation." Sokka answered. Just when he'd thought they'd found somewhere safe from those monsters. "They've closed in on the North Pole. And from the looks of this stuff, I'd say there's a lot of them."

Tanya held out a hand, catching a black snowflake in her palm and watching it melt into a murky grey puddle. Who would have guessed that the pollution from her fleet would produce such a dramatic effect in snowy climates? She looked out across the sea, spotting a tiny dot of white in the distance that slowly grew as her ships drew ever closer.

"Zhao loved to imagine this moment. He was always theorising what words historians would use to describe him as he brought his fleet to The Northern Tribe's doorstep." She reminisced, drumming the fingers of her uninjured arm on the railings of her balcony. "I don't think he ever considered that he would not be alive to see his dream become a reality. Yet now that I stand in his place, I find myself pondering those same questions. How will history remember this day?" She looked aside at the companion standing by her shoulder. "What do you think, Prince Zuko?"

Zuko huffed grumpily, glaring at the ocean as if it had personally offended him. "Who cares what they say? All that matters is capturing The Avatar."

Tanya smirked sardonically. "Come now, Zuko. Is capturing The Avatar really all you think about these days? All work and no play makes for boring company, you know. A strong work ethic is an admirable trait, but it's healthy to take breaks for rest and relaxation now and again. Don't tell me you never took a day off during your search for The Avatar?"

Zuko's only answer was an annoyed huff. Tanya rolled her eyes. "Yeesh, no wonder you turned into such a grump. Once we return home victorious, the first thing I'm going to do is take a nice, long holiday somewhere warm and exclusively for rich people. You wouldn't believe how much an admiral makes these days."

"You? Away from the war?" Zuko huffed disbelievingly. "I'll believe it when I see it."

Tanya pouted fiercely. "How rude! How many times have I told you that all I've ever wanted was a quiet, comfortable life somewhere safe and peaceful? You make me sound like some kind of war maniac."

"People who value peace and quiet don't tend to lead invasion forces." Zuko countered.

"Well it's not like I had much choice in the matter, was it?" Tanya shot back. "I was born a firebender, and that means mandatory military service for those not born rich enough to weasel their way out of it. If I must fight in this war anyway, better to do it as a commander than as a common footsoldier."

Zuko shuffled his feet awkwardly, and went quiet for a moment. When he finally spoke up again there was a hesitant note to his voice. "Hey Tanya… if you didn't have to be a soldier, what would you be?"

Tanya looked back at him, narrowing her eyes curiously. "What do you mean?"

"It's just that I can't imagine you being anything else." Zuko continued. "You've always been such a gifted firebender, and a natural strategist. When we were young, you seemed like you were born to be a warrior." He looked out across the ocean. "But if you could have chosen the path your life would take for yourself, what would you have picked?"

Tanya frowned at him. "Iroh's been rubbing off on you."

"Just answer the question."

"Fine, fine." Tanya closed her eyes and took a breath, savouring the sea breeze. "If you must know, I've always wanted to be a merchant."

"A merchant?!" Zuko parroted, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice.

"That's right." A smile grew across Tanya's face, but unlike the sharp, savage grin he usually attributed to her, this one looked far more gentle. Serene even. "It would be a much more efficient use of human resources to run an organisation that aims to make and sell useful products to the world, rather than throw people against enemy spears. And with all the colonies we've created, the opportunities for a new, golden era of businesses is limitless! If you think my military strategies are good, just wait and see my marketing strategies! I'd be the richest woman in the world within a decade!"

Zuko scoffed, torn between disbelief and a strange sense of sadness. In his head, Tanya always had been the terrifying, ruthless demonette he'd met as a child, and his every interaction with her had only enforced that belief. Yet that Tanya was the product of conscription laws enforced by his family. His imagination could picture a different Tanya, one who'd had the freedom to choose her own life, with startling ease. A Tanya who used her sharp wits to plot cash forecasts rather than battle formations. A Tanya who grinned maniacally as she crushed competing businesses, rather than as she executed enemies. A Tanya who's hands bore the rusty smell of coins, rather than the scent of blood.

Tanya stared at the ocean, a faraway look in her eyes, before suddenly snapping back to reality. "Well, it doesn't matter. It's just a dream." She announced. "What matters is what we make of our reality, and mine is to be the admiral who conquered the north, just as yours is to be the firelord who captured The Avatar. Speaking of which, you'd better go and get ready. We'll be arriving soon, and for the plan to be a success our timing must be perfect."

Zuko nodded and walked away, only shooting a glance back as he reached the door. A part of him couldn't help but feel a stab of guilt at the sight of Tanya, a girl younger than he was, standing alone at the head of an iron fleet. How many other Tanyas in the making were there in his nation? How many of his people had been turned into the warriors they never wanted to be by the commands of his ancestors?

"When I'm Firelord, I'm going to give my people the freedom to choose back. I swear it!" He promised to himself as he stepped forward into the darkness of the ship.

Aang wiped a hand across his head, wincing at the grimy sensation the black snow left against his palm. He pulled his hand back to examine the grey smear across his fingers. This black snow was unnatural; something that should have never existed in this beautiful world, and he could not help but think it an omen of the future the Fire Nation sought to bring. Would they stain the rain black too? Fill the sky with dark clouds all across the world? Did they not understand that they'd be blocking out the very sun they drew their own strength from?

"The stillness before battle is unbearable. Such a quiet dread." Chief Arnook murmured, staring out across the city from beside him. Aang couldn't help but sympathise with him. Minutes ago he'd painted marks across the foreheads of Sokka and other young men as he sent them on a mission he knew very well they may not return from. It must be horrible to have to speak orders that sent his own people into mortal danger.

"I wasn't there when the Fire Nation attacked my people." Aang clenched his fist as a spike of resolve shot through him. "I'm going to make a difference this time."

"The Water Tribes need an Avatar now more than ever. I won't fail them. I swear it!" He promised to himself as he looked up at the black-flecked sky.

"Here at last. Agna Qel'a." Tanya muttered to herself as the city of ice loomed into view in the distance through her spyglass. The capital city of the Northern Water Tribes, and the only settlement that could allow safe entry into the arctic wastes beyond it where the other smaller settlements resided. It was said that the city had first been built as a show of unity between the originally independent water tribes, long before the schism that saw many tribes migrate to the South Pole. Its location made it the one and only economic hub for foreign countries to trade with the North Pole, and as such it had quickly grown to become the biggest of the northern cities and the seat of the Northern Tribe's power.

An inspiring story, but also a glaring weakness for the Northern Tribes. Whoever controlled Agna Qel'a controlled the North Pole. None of the other settlements had bothered constructing major defences of their own, content in the idea that Agne Qel'a would serve as a barrier between them and any foreign threats. Once the Fire Nation captured it however they would immediately control all the trade routes between the other cities, cutting off much of their communication and allowing them passage directly into the other settlements. Without this one city, the north's resistance would crumble.

One of her commanding officers marched up behind her and snapped to attention. "Admiral, all ships are in position. The White Dragon is awaiting permission to advance and test the waters."

"Hmm…" Tanya lowered the spyglass and tapped it against her chin in thought. "The Northern Tribes will be mustering their defences, and if everything Zuko has told us about The Avatar is true he'll likely be eager to do his perceived duty. There's a good chance he'll be deployed to sink our first ship in an attempt to deter us."

"Should we not send it out then?" The commander asked.

"We will. It's important we check for traps before committing our full force." Tanya handed him the spyglass, then stepped up onto the railings of the balcony. "But it would be remiss of us to not give the esteemed Avatar a proper welcome, now wouldn't it?" Fire erupted from her feet as Tanya took to the sky, hovering in place for a moment. "Signal The White Dragon to begin their advance, then take over command of the fleet for me for a few minutes. I'll be joining The White Dragon to make sure we give the north a proper introduction."

"You're going to fight The Avatar! Admiral, I must insist against this!" The commander replied urgently. "Your arm has yet to heal, and we need you to oversee the fleet! There can be no invasion without you."

"I know." Tanya replied, a wild grin spreading across her face. "But you'll have to forgive me for a little showmanship. After all, today marks the beginning of the end of this war."

And with that she rocketed forward towards the ship that was steadily pulling ahead of the rest of the fleet.

"I won't lose to you, Being X. Not to your manipulations, or this puppet Avatar you've placed in my path. I swear it!" She promised to herself as she rocketed through a sky filled with black snow.

The first of the huge siege fireballs crashed into the great gates guarding the city with a heavy crack, sending cascades of snow and fractured ice spilling over the people nearby. Immediately a team of waterbenders rushed over to repair the breach, but before they could finish a second fireball collided with a bridge, melting it in an instant.

It was clear to Aang that they couldn't let the bombardment continue, otherwise there'd be nothing left of the city to save. In a flash he was on Appa's back and flying towards the approaching ship. When the next great fireball was launched Aang blocked its path, readying his staff and building a current of air in his wake. As soon as it was close enough for him to feel its heat on his skin Aang swung forwards, batting the fireball aside with his airbending and sending it hurtling harmlessly into a nearby cliff.

"I'll take it from here, boy." He called to Appa as he leapt from the bison's back and unfurled his glider, soaring down like a diving bird towards the deck of the ship. The moment his feet touched its metal surface he summoned great waves of wind to sweep the nearby soldiers off their feet.

Now, how to disable the trebuchets? They were big and sturdy looking machines, but he'd bet that if he could find a couple of weak points…

The familiar tingling of air rapidly heating sent his instincts screaming at him to move, and Aang threw himself to the side a fraction of a second before a great stream of fire roared through the space he'd just been standing in. As he hit the floor he rolled with his momentum, springing up back onto his feet and crouching into a low stance.

"Were all airbenders this hard to hit, or does being The Avatar give you some kind of hyper awareness? I swear I'd have an easier time trying to hit a fly with an arrow than landing a solid strike on you."

Aang clenched his jaw at the sound of the memorable voice. Standing proudly at the other end of the deck, one hand still smoking from the fire blast she'd just launched, was the golden haired girl who seemed to be becoming more of a threat every time they crossed paths.

"Tanya."

Tanya smirked at the sound of her name, and it struck Aang at that moment that she held herself a little differently. During their previous encounters Tanya had been very formal: always stood at attention like a perfect soldier, and rarely let her expression slip into anything besides calm confidence. Yet now she seemed a little more relaxed, and her confident gaze held a hint of cockiness to it. Perhaps she didn't feel the need to stand on ceremony without Zhao around? The other soldiers parted around her, forming a large, silent circle around the edges of the deck.

"You told me once that you thought war was a senseless waste of human lives." Aang began, resolute eyes meeting her piercing gaze. "Then help me to prevent lives from being wasted now. It's not too late to stop this battle."

"You know, you're absolutely right Avatar." Tanya agreed smugly, slowly striding towards him. "There's no reason for blood to be spilled today. Let's allow cool heads to prevail and try to settle this diplomatically."

Aang relaxed his stance a little, seeing the opportunity he'd been hoping for, when a memory of Jeong Jeong's guilt-hidden expression crossed his face. Immediately he tensed again, and his eyes narrowed in suspicion. He could not afford to let his guard down around Jeong Jeong's murderer. "Do you mean that?"

"But of course!" Tany replied jovially, coming to a stop just a few feet away from him. "Tell the Northern Water Tribe that our demands are simple: put down your weapons, relinquish Agna Qel'a, and surrender The Avatar to our custody. Do that, and not a single person shall be harmed. The Northern Tribes will be seamlessly absorbed into the Fire Nation, and all shall be guaranteed full rights as colonial citizens."

Aang glared back at her. "That's not going to happen!"

"No?" Tanya feigned a look of hurt. "That was a rather blunt response, Avatar. You really need to work on your negotiation skills."

"This isn't a game Tanya!"

"Good, because I'm not joking!" All traces of mirth vanished from Tanya's face, leaving a deadly serious scowl in its place. "We have superior numbers! Superior technology! Superior tactics! Face the facts Avatar, you are completely outclassed! The Fire Nation will win this battle! Resisting will only delay the inevitable and bring pointless suffering!"

"It's not inevitable! None of this is!" Aang shouted back, anger welling up from within him. "The rest of the world doesn't want this war! They only want to protect themselves when the Fire Nation comes to bully them into submission! All it would take to bring this to an end is for you to convince this fleet to turn around and go home!"

Tanya sneered at him. "You are a child trying to find a simple solution to a problem that is so much bigger than you are. This war does not persist just because The Firelord wants it to. It is a messy, complicated mixture of grudges, greed and misplaced pride in all nations, that has been growing even before the death of Avatar Roku." Tanya looked away and began to pace back and forth. "There can never be peace until the noblemen who profit from dealing in death can no longer fill their pockets with blood money. Until the grieving families of those who died for their countries can move past their craving for revenge. Until one side is so thoroughly beaten into the dirt that they have no choice but to accept responsibility for the war, and bear the everlasting shame of its horrors upon their shoulders. The only way to achieve peace now is for one side to emerge victorious: the quicker and more efficiently, the better."

Aang shook his head. "You're wrong. I'm not saying it will be easy, but the nations can resolve their differences without fighting. They just need to be willing to listen to each other again."

Tanya scoffed, looking at him with thinly veiled contempt. "The last time we talked, I believed that perhaps you and I were of a similar mind. I see now that I was wrong. We may both desire peace, but your methods for achieving it are rooted in foolish idealism. Mine follow the path of logic."

"Is that what you told yourself when you murdered Master Jeong Jeong?" Aang shot back tersely, his jaw setting as anger began to well up within. "That it was the logical thing to do?"

The smirk returned to Tanya's face, though this time it seemed more sarcastic than genuine; as if it were a deliberate attempt to rile him up. Aang hated that it was working.

"No. I don't take any pride in killing, but I can't deny that slaying that old bastard brought me some level of satisfaction."

Aang's hands clenched around his glider staff. "You're right. We aren't of a similar mind at all."

Tanya stopped her pacing. "Oh, don't go trying to play the sanctimonious card. Yes, I killed Admiral Jeong, but you're just as bad. After all…"

Her eyes narrowed narrowed on him, like a cat preparing to pounce on a mouse. The edges of her mouth curled up in a humourless smile. "… you killed Admiral Zhao."

Angry muttering and disgusted jeers broke out from the crew surrounding them, and Aang looked around at them with wide, panicked eyes. "What?! No, I didn't kill him! I haven't killed anyone!" He denied desperately.

"Save your breath Avatar. I was the leader of the group that found him after your little one-on-one duel." Tanya fired back. "He was laying on the banks of the river, watching our burning boats crumble and break, with a great hole seared through his back. We know Jeong Jeong was teaching you to firebend, and Zhao confirmed it as he cursed your name." Tanya pressed a clenched fist against her armoured chest, bowing her head in respect of a memory. "It was with his dying breath that he passed onto me the secret to conquering the north. That's why I took on the mantle of admiral in his stead, and why I refused to fail! I will see the north brought to heel in his name!"

Cheers erupted from the soldiers, and as Aang looked around at the spite reflected in their eyes he realised that they truly believed it. People really thought he was a murderer! The injustice of it all sparked a painful, acrid heat in his chest, like bile was building up in his lungs. The airbenders had believed that it was never justified to take a life, and to be falsely accused of such an act was genuinely upsetting, even when it came from an enemy. "I-… I didn't do it…" He stuttered out.

"I said save your breath, Avatar. There's no denying the evidence." Tanya retorted, widening her feet and stepping into a firebending stance. "Now enough talk. Diplomacy has failed, so let's find out how good of a soldier you really are."

She punctuated her point by unleashing a quick, straightforward blast of fire directly at his chest, which Aang spun out of the way from. Two more blasts quickly followed, but like a leaf in the wind Aang slipped between them with almost casual ease. Tanya readied a third blast, and it was just as Aang changed his footwork to avoid it that he heard a grunt of exertion behind him. He bent at the waist just in the nick of time to avoid the fireball that wizzed over his head, fired by the soldier directly behind him.

"You didn't expect this to be a fair fight, did you?" Tanya chuckled, snapping her fingers. Other soldiers began launching fireballs as well, forcing Aang to leap and spin like a ballet dancer in order to keep evading them.

He swerved, spun and weaved as fireball after fireball sped towards him from every side, forcing him into a relentless pace of dodging and weaving. Or at least it felt relentless at first, until after about a minute of continuous evasion Aang began sensing a rhythm to the attacks. As soon as he dodged one attack, another soldier behind him would launch a fireball of equal speed and intensity at him: an attack powerful enough to hurt, but slow enough for the soldiers on the other side of the encirclement to avoid getting hit by after he'd evaded them. The only one who wasn't attacking anymore was Tanya, who instead opted to simply watch with a look of intense concentration.

"She planned this!" Aang realised with a start. They weren't seriously trying to defeat him! They wanted to keep him pinned down, and make him use up all his energy on evading so that he'd be too tired to combat the rest of the invasion force! He needed to get out of here!

As he backflipped over the next fireball Aang looked around, his eyes landing on one of the surrounding soldiers; a big man with a prideful sneer on his face. The next time it was that soldier's turn to attack Aang not only ducked under it, but made sure to point his posterior directly at the soldier and wiggle it at him mockingly. "Nah nah, you can't hit me." He taunted childishly.

The big soldier's sneer dropped, and was quickly replaced by a furious scowl. He hurled another fireball, which Aang gracefully sidestepped.

"Officer…" Tanya muttered warningly.

"Guess I shouldn't be worried after all." Aang chimed in. "If everyone in the Fire Nation aims as poorly as him, this fleet will have set itself on fire before it reaches the city wall."

The big soldier snarled like a beast and threw yet another fireball, this one notably bigger and more forceful than the last. But again Aang simply slid aside with mocking ease, smirking cheekily at him.

"Stay in formation, officer!" Tanya snapped.

The veins on the big soldier's temples were a prominent, swollen red, and the way he was grinding his teeth was all the indication Aang needed that he was one step away from going berserk. Zhao was far from the only Fire Nation soldier with temper issues. It seemed that, in their haste to churn out combat-ready firebenders for the frontlines, their military was failing to teach new recruits how to control the aggression they were fostering within them. All it would take was one more push…

As another fireball shot towards him Aang swung his staff like a cricket bat, conjuring a gust of wind that swept the fireball off trajectory. It weakened the fire to little better than a candle flame, but it was still enough to bop the large soldier right on the nose.

The soldier's eye twitched, and with an animalistic roar he went berserk.

"NO!" Tanya screeched, but it was too late. Two meaty hands swept down, conjuring a wave of fire that roared towards Aang. Aang simply jumped, a current of air enhancing his leap so that he sailed clear over the attack.

The soldiers on the other side of the encirclement however weren't so skilled. The fire wave careered towards two of them, showing no signs of stopping. Their courage broke, and the soldiers dived out of the way to let the reckless attack sail past them and off the side of the ship. The encirclement was broken, and Aang wasted no time zipping forward with wind-enhanced speed through to freedom.

"Idiots!" Tanya scowled, fire blasting from her feet to carry her into the sky, at the same time Aang unfurled his glider and took off. The two raced to gain height; Aang skillfully flowing with the fickle changes in air currents, while Tanya forcefully rocketed up along her own path. Before long thin layers of low-hanging clouds began to wreathe the two of them, and on an unspoken agreement the two of them ceased their ascent and began to circle one another.

"Give it up Tanya!" Aang shouted, his voice struggling to carry against the harsh winds. "The Northern Water Tribes will never fall to you."

Tanya only grinned wolfishly back at him. "That's what people said about The Southern Water Tribes too. Ask your companions how well that worked out for them. Or better yet, look down."

Despite the danger Tanya presented, Aang allowed his eyes to flicker down to see what she meant. They widened with horror at the sight below.

Hundreds of Fire Nation ships sailed in formation towards the North Pole. Their numbers dirtied the rich blue glow of the ocean with stains of iron-black, and the smog pouring from their chimneys left a tangible black haze. Even if he could take out a ship every hour it would take days to get rid of them all! There were simply too many for him to take down alone!

"Do you see what I mean? This war is so much bigger than you." Tanya shouted. "Even you, with all your power, cannot stop The Fire Nation. Nobody can. Set down your weapons, cease this petty resistance, and embrace the dawning of a new era."

Aang did not reply, but a deep growl from behind did. Tanya swerved out of the way just in time as Appa came hurtling past towards his master, scooping the young nomad onto his back and rushing away back to Agna Qel'a. Aang looked back to see if Tanya would pursue him, and was surprised to find that she wasn't. The golden haired girl was just watching him go with a hostile glare.

It wouldn't have mattered if she had. Even if they didn't succeed, The Fire Nation fleet was going to wreck the city. Aang could not see a way to keep them at bay when there were just too many of them. Before this siege ended people would be dead.

And he was powerless to stop it.

Even when darkness had fallen, the bombardment continued.

The night was nearly deathly silent. In Agna Qel'a the citizens cowered in their homes, while the soldiers waited in grim patience for the first sign of movement from the enemy fleet. Out at the ocean the huge iron ships bobbed lazily up and down in the waves, quiet as graveyards, save that every minute one of them would launch a blazing coal-ball at the city walls.

Some would have said that such a lacklustre salvo was a waste of time. Whatever the coal-balls hit, it was but the work of a few hand motions from the water tribe guards to reforge again from fresh ice. However Tanya vehemently disagreed. One of the most important factors in any form of warfare was the morale of the troops, and nothing affected that more than exhaustion. Her ships only had to spare half a dozen troops each to load and fire the trebuchets, while the rest of the crew could get a full night's sleep before the big push tomorrow morning. Meanwhile the water tribe didn't share that luxury. They had to keep a much larger force of soldiers awake and spread out across key points around the city on the off-chance that area was targeted for bombardment. As easy as it was for them to repair their own fortifications that didn't mean they could afford to ignore any damage, else they'd risk allowing them to become larger gaps in their defences by the time morning came. Plus, who could sleep easily when you feared that a giant fireball might crash through the ceiling of your barracks at any minute? By the time morning came the Fire Nation were well rested and refreshed, while the Water Tribe were cranky and impatient.

It was literally when the first hint of the sun peaked out from over the horizon that the Fire Nation fleet suddenly burst into action. All at once every siege engine they had burst to life, raining an endless stream of coal-balls directly at the front gates, while boarding ships began to swarm out towards the coast. The sudden shift in intensity caught the groggy waterbenders by surprise, and the guards at the main gates fell back as the unrelenting onslaught of siege fire smashed a hole in their gates and buried everything around it in piles of blazing coal.

Rather than fight to hold an already comprised position the water tribe followed its preferred tactic: retreating from the front walls, and falling back to the next set of defensive points. Behind the gates lay a long, flat courtyard of sheet ice broken into four strips by thin waterways, and at their end the inner walls that protected the actual city. The Fire Nation would have no cover along the courtyard to protect them from the ranged troops stationed on the inner wall, and it was a simple matter to sink any tanks or other mobile siege weapons into the ground. Previous invasions had broken down the outer gates gates before, but it was on this courtyard that they'd all been held at bay from the actual city until the moon rose.

With the outer gates now cleared the boarding vessels began to dock, and a swarm of red and black armour soldiers began to spill out of the broken gates and spread along the abandoned wall, claiming what might well be their one and only staging point as they assembled into battle formations. The Water Tribe had all the time they needed to settle into their new positions before the Fire Nation advanced.

The armoured tanks being rolled out to the vanguard was no surprise: using heavy machinery to spearhead their attacks was a common tactic in the Fire Nation playbook. What was somewhat more unusual was the speed of their advance. Long lines of metal carriages were hooked onto the back of the tanks, slowing them down to a sluggish plod. Along their sides, thin lines of Fire Nation troops spread out with rows of pavise shields formed a shield wall that marched steadily forward.

The slow, defensive movements better resembled the strategies employed by the Earth Kingdom, and it would have been a lie to say that it was effective. The moment they'd stepped into the perfect range, a barrage of ice and arrows hailed down upon them with such intensity that it was impossible for the inexperienced firebenders to push forwards so much as a step. The slow-moving tanks were sitting ducks for gigantic snowballs that simply buried them and their crew with a single hit, and without them to lead the charge the Fire Nation army were sitting ducks in an unrelenting blizzard of icicle fire.

Watching from atop the inner walls of Agna Qel'a, Chief Arnook frowned.

"I don't understand." He muttered to Master Pakku. "I've never seen the Fire Nation employ such a strategy before. And so clumsily at that. Do they think that they can weather our attacks until we're exhausted? It's not like we're going to run out of water around here."

"It is unusual." Pakku agreed. "They are clearly not used to such tactics, and I can think of no logical reason why they'd believe such a strategy would enable them to defeat us. Their casualties are piling up, while we have barely lost a single warrior."

Arnook frowned. "What do you make of The Avatar's report? That Admiral Tanya leads their forces? Her reputation claims she has ruthless cunning, but I see no sign of it here."

"Indeed, but then again she's only led smaller forces in the past. Perhaps she didn't realise the difference in logistics needed to command a larger army? It would explain their sloppy co-ordination."

Sloppy indeed. While the walls of pavise shields prevented their troops from being outright decimated, they were barely wide enough to provide cover for more than a single soldier. Whenever the troops behind them tried to move along their battle lines in any sizable number they were forced to break out of cover, and immediately took an icicle to the face for their trouble. They were only a few minutes into the attack, and already piles of corpses were beginning to pile up with alarming speed among the Fire Nation ranks.

Chief Arnook's frown thickened. "Is it really incompetence? The Fire Nation has never hesitated to use dishonourable tactics before. Could they be feigning weakness in order to lure us into a trap?"

Master Pakku stroked his beard. "Perhaps… but what trap could be worth sacrificing so many soldiers for? If they keep going at this rate they'll all be dead before moonrise."

That was true. Though the Devil of the South Sea was infamous for her disregard for human life, surely even she couldn't be so heartless as to sacrifice the entirety of her own army for victory?

Then why did his instincts scream that something wasn't right about this?

Far away from the noise of the frontlines, a colony of turtle seals lazed around their cave. It was still too early in the morning for all but the young pups to be up and about, and so the ice cavern was quiet, save for the snorting of heavy breathing and a couple of playful yaps.

Suddenly a frenzy of noise burst from one of the ice holes, gasping for air and splashing around so loudly that the nearby seals jumped awake and fled. The figure that had burst from the freezing cold water ignored their alarmed barking as he pulled himself out, shivering violently, and huddled into a ball. Rhythmic pulses of orange light flashed about the cave as the figure exhaled snorts of fire to warm himself up over and over again, until the violent shivering began to fade to a manageable level.

Uncle, Zuko decided, really did give him the best advice sometimes. He didn't know how his uncle had known that a simple fire-breathing technique would be so useful in such a cold climate, but he was suddenly glad he'd spent so much time under his uncle's tuition practising his breathing.

Once the shivvers had stopped entirely, Zuko pushed himself up to his feet and staggered over to the mouth of the cave. The sun had risen, and Zuko greedily lapped up the warmth of its rays after his punishing experience. When Tanya had tasked him with sneaking into Agna Qel'a he didn't think she'd had such a risky method in mind, but it had worked out in the end. He was far behind enemy lines, and the Water Tribe's full attention was turned away from him as they focused on the invading armada. He couldn't ask for better conditions for sneaking around.

From what he could see he was somewhere towards the back of the city. Recalling the map of the city Tanya had drilled into his head, that meant he couldn't be more than an hour or so away from the destination. Tanya had been very clear about how important the timing was for her strategy. Tonight would be a full moon, the zenith of the waterbender's powers, and he had to complete his mission at just the right moment.

"It's so warm here! How is that possible?"

Aang was curious about that himself. It was warm here: a pleasant bubble of tropical heat amidst the cold tundra that seemed to defy the laws of nature. Yet there was more to it than that. Something about this place felt strong and calming, like going to sleep curled up against Appa. It almost felt like this place was alive.

Yue smiled proudly. "It's the centre of all spiritual energy in our land." She replied, leading them over to a perfectly round pond.

After being chased away by Tanya, a disheartened Aang had returned to inform Chief Arnook who the leader of the Fire Nation forces really was, and how badly they were outnumbered. The chief had reassured him that, even against such numbers, Agna Qel'a would repel the invasion, but there was a tightness around his eyes that couldn't be disguised. Unsaid was that many, many soldiers on both sides would die before that happened. Lives that could have been spared if a peaceful resolution had been found.

When Yue had suggested consulting the spirits for help, Aang had nearly kicked himself for not thinking of it himself! Of course! If anyone could help the Northern Water Tribe it was the spirits! They could do anything! And even better, Yue thought that this pool they stood before now could be the gateway he needed to cross over into the spirit world.

Following his instincts, Aang walked over to the edge of the pool and sat cross-legged in front of it, assuming the meditative pose Gyatso had taught him.

His eyes settled upon two fish within the pond; one black, one white, swimming in circles around each other. As he watched them, Aang felt something starting to pull at him from within. The steady spiralling of the fish was hypnotic, pulling him further and further towards the water…

Blue light began to glow from Aang's eyes and tattoos as his body went still, and the spirit of the Avatar crossed between worlds.

The sun hung directly in the middle of the sky, signalling that it was midday, and yet in the hours that had passed since the start of their attack the Fire Nation had barely made it halfway along the courtyard.

The only reason the Fire Nation had been able to move forward at all under the barrage of ice being thrown at them was because their dead had stacked up in such numbers that they formed makeshift barriers, providing enough cover for reinforcements to be sent to the front. Not that they did much good, as the fresh influx of troops only allowed the front lines to push forward another dozen or so feet before being forced to halt under the pressure of the incoming attacks. Six hours and thousands of lives had bought Tanya about enough ground to build a row of houses on. The amount of red-and-black armoured corpses littering the ground was frankly ridiculous, yet still more kept popping their heads up from behind the shield wall each second. Even with so many ships, Tanya must have been packing her soldiers in like sardines to fit so many.

"It says something about the discipline used by the Fire Nation military that after a morning spent watching their comrades' lives being thrown away, their soldiers still aren't showing any signs of deserting." Master Pakku mused grimmly. "They're like docile cattle allowing themselves to be led to the slaughterhouse."

"Indeed. That's what unnerves me about this whole invasion." Chief Arnook replied. "It's like they all don't care if they die."

Pakku let out a heavy sigh. "In all my years I have never seen a sight like this. We should be celebrating: we must be taking close to a hundred lives of their lives for every one that we lose. I don't believe there's ever been a battle that has been so decisively in our favour before. Something about it feels… unnerving."

"I agree. But in the end it matters little." Arnook countered. "Begin assembling the warriors behind the gates. If they're happy to sit there bleeding troops in front of us then so be it. The moment the moon rises we'll sweep what remains of them away in one big push, and that will be the end of it."

With the civilians staying sheltered at home and the soldiers focusing their attention on the invading army, Zuko found sneaking through the streets of Agna Qel'a no challenge at all. Despite how often he'd been told growing up that a prince did not skulk around in the shadows like a common thief, Zuko couldn't deny that it felt somewhat liberating whenever he got to put his stealth skills to use. It was one of the few things he could honestly say that he was as talented as Azula at.

Figures that the only thing I can do right is something that father disapproves of.

His white winter gear blended in perfectly as he darted amidst buildings made of packed snow, crouching in the shadows whenever a patrol came close. He made swift, steady progress navigating his way through the backstreets and alleys, until eventually he found himself standing outside his destination. He pressed his fingers against the ice wall, melting handholds he could use to pull himself up, then repeated the process to steadily scramble his way up.

The moment he was over the wall Zuko could feel a change in the very atmosphere. It was pleasantly warm here: not in a dry or humid sense, but like the pools of water that formed on top of the geysers in the volcanic regions of the Fire Nation. Yet even that description felt like it was missing something. There was a palpable energy to this place; an almost magical spark to the air that called to mind the stories Uncle had told him about the spirit world.

Zuko stalked forward, silently crossing the small field of grass towards a bridge that led deeper into the sanctuary. He could hear voices up ahead, but they didn't have the deep timbre of fully grown adults that guards would have had. As he drew close enough to make them out more clearly one of the voices caught his attention, and his face hardened into a dark scowl. He knew that voice! For the love of the spirits, please let it not be them!

But of course, like always, the spirits were not with him.

Two girls stood at the heart of the sanctuary: one with white hair that he didn't recognise, and one with black hair that he did. It was the southern water tribe peasant who trailed after The Avatar, and who he had to grudgingly admit had helped the last airbender outfox him a couple of times now. Katara. And if she was here…

Every muscle in Zuko's body tensed, like a bloodhound spotting a rabbit, as his eyes settled upon his destined prey. Sitting cross-legged beside the pool was The Avatar, eyes and tattoos glowing, but body relaxed as if asleep. Typical! Just typical! He'd spent years of sleepless nights trying to find The Avatar, and the one time that he would have actually liked to avoid him for just a few minutes the universe dropped him right in front of him!

His eyes flickered to the sky. The sun was beginning its final descent, bathing the world in an orange glow at it prepared to dip beneath the horizon. His time was drawing inevitably closer. There was no time left for hesitation.

Fists clenched, he strode out across the bridge, ready for a fight.

The moment the sun touched the horizon and the moon began to rise in its place, the warriors of the north could feel the tides of spiritual power around them changing. Strength welled up inside them: the light of the full moon charging them with celestial might. With it came an itch to use that power, to smite the invaders who dared trespass upon their homes. A collective shudder rippled across the army assembled behind the gates of Agna Qel'a as each and every waterbender felt the strength of two men flow through their veins. Now they were invincible. On a night like this they could slay dragons, split oceans, and challenge the very spirits themselves.

So then why couldn't he shake this feeling of doom?

Pakku was not a young man. The great wealth of age was the wisdom born from experience, and he was among the wisest men in the world. Yet one lesson he'd never fully learned was when to trust his head, and when to follow his gut.

His head told him that this was the moment of victory. The Fire Nation had been foolish: so assured in their own superiority that they'd attacked during the zenith of their enemy's strength. Every history book ever written supported the theory that on the night of a full moon the water tribes could never lose. The very laws of nature favoured them at this moment.

Yet his gut counselled him otherwise. Life was hard and unforgiving, and it was often the solutions that seemed the easiest that reaped the heaviest toll. Even the most optimistic warrior could not have hoped this invasion would have gone so well for the water tribes, and yet it had. The Fire Nation had brought an army nearly five times their size and yet had failed to even touch their city. At this rate the siege of the north would be known as the greatest military blunder in history, despite being devised by the most ruthless strategic mind the Fire Nation had this generation.

"Master Pakku, the full moon has risen." A warrior standing beside him stated. Idiot. He was old, not blind. "Shouldn't we attack?"

Logically speaking yes, they should. Yet Pakku found his gut just wouldn't let him. He couldn't quite put his finger on why exactly, but neither could he dismiss the lingering spectre of doom that prevented him from giving the order. What harm was there in staying safe and secure behind their fortifications after all? At the rate they were going the Fire Nation was bound to run out of troops any minute now and would be forced to surrender. "No, we won't." He sighed, waiving a hand dismissively. "Send the warriors back to their posts. We can-..."

"It's her! The devil!"

It was one of the lookouts who'd cried out, and all eyes snapped in the direction of his outstretched arm to see the light that was rising up above the outer gate like a malevolent star. Despite her short stature and the distance between them, her golden hair stood out like a torch among shadows.

The Devil of the South Sea was looking down on them.

Pakku was an old man. His blood no longer ran hot and fierce as it did with the youths of this generation. Yet that did not make him immune to the call of anger. A temper as cold as the fiercest blizzard broiled within his stomach, clouding out the warnings of his instincts in a haze of red mist. The girl who has slain one of his oldest and dearest friends waited beyond the wall, sneering down upon him and the people that he had dedicated his life to protecting. She had murdered Jeong Jeong, and now sacrificed her own countrymen in her own vain quest for glory.

"Open the gates!" He barked, his eyes narrowing like a hawk focusing upon its prey. Behind him the warriors of the north snarled, hands gripping tightly around spears as they embraced the vigour of the moon. Forget instincts! Forget caution! A devil stood at the precipice of their city, and there was only one wise thing to do when you met a devil.

Slaughter it!

With a heavy thud the icy gates of Agna Qel'a opened, and the warriors of the north roared forwards like a flood released from a dam. They had suffered the indignity of the Fire Nation trespassing upon their homeland while the sun shined, but with the rising of the moon it was time for the tide to rush back in a sweep the filth away from their shores. The mere sight of their frenzied charge shattered the Fire Nation's morale, and with panicked cries their soldiers turned tail and fled back to the safety of their ships. Yet the sight of fleeing prey only egged the water tribe warriors on even more. They swept across the icy courtyards, racing across the piles of fallen Fire Nation soldiers as they chased down their quarry.

Not for a moment did Pakku eye's leave the golden-haired demon that hovered in the distance, even as the ice and water beneath his feet twisted and churned at his passing. That brat deserved everything coming to her and more! What hubris she had, to think that after everything she'd done, all the pain she'd caused, she could so casually show her face before them! It was almost like she was-... she was-...

… provoking us?

The errant thought cut through the red mist that'd clouded Pakku's vision like a butcher's knife, stopping him dead in his tracks even as the unstoppable tide of warriors at his back parted around him. Why would she attack on the night of a full moon? Why would she so stubbornly stick to a defensive tactic even as her soldiers bled out in front of her? Why would she present herself like bait right at the moment her army was at its weakest? The only way it made sense was if she'd wanted them to attack her! If she'd wanted them to abandon their own walls for a decisive charge!

The smell of decay wafted into Pakku's nose, setting off alarm bells within his mind. He'd become familiar with the scent of rotting corpses, an unfortunate cost to a youth spent fighting on the battlefield, yet now that he stopped to think about it he'd never smelt it so keenly on the first day of a battle. The masked body of a fallen Fire Nation soldier lay lifelessly at his feet, and in a moment of introspection Pakku knelt down and carefully removed its helmet.

The face that stared back at him was pale and sallow, its skin gaunt and clinging tightly to the bone. Sunken eyes stared in an empty daze up at the sky. Yet what caught Pakku's attention was the blow that had taken this poor soul's life: a large, bloody gash across the neck.

A gash that was flecked with shards of rock.

"This man didn't die today." Pakku whispered to himself, the revelation dawning in his mind as fragments of Tanya's confusing puzzle started coming together into one clear picture. This soldier must have died weeks ago, fighting against earth benders somewhere in the contested regions of the Earth Kingdom. The elderly waterbender looked out across the courtyard littered with dead Fire Nation soldiers that the warriors of his tribe stepped over without a second glance. What if all these fallen soldiers were the same? What if Tanya had packed the cargo holds of her ships full to burst with casualties stolen from battlefields across the Earth Kingdom, only to place them outsider Agna Qel'a as a decoy?

If that was the case, then where was her real army?

"Stop! It's a trap!" He cried desperately, but his voice was drowned out amidst the frenzied howls of his moonlight-drunk kinsmen. They were so assured of their invincibility beneath the night sky that all care for caution and strategy had completely departed them. They were like a pack of wolves, howling to the silver moon as they prepared to sink their fangs into their enemies.

Yet the howling cut off abruptly, and their berserk charge ground to a sudden halt as the silver rays of the moon bled into a deep, bloody red.

She's found herself a master.

Zuko had approximately half a second for that thought to process before a torrent of water slapped him directly in the face, throwing him back as if a komodo rhino had run straight into him. Who knew that water could pack such a wallop?

The fight had been going so well at the beginning. He'd been fast and fierce, a relentless torrent of flames that had forced the water peasant onto the defensive. Yet the lower the sun dipped the weaker he became, whereas the peasant's strength grew with the rising moon. Slowly but inevitably her defences became more assured, and the counter attacks she was throwing came in faster and more regularly, until Zuko realised he was the one on the defensive.

The longer this went on, the smaller his chance of victory would become. And he only had a few seconds left before the window of opportunity for his part of the plan closed. He had to finish this, and fast!

Two waves writhed along the ground towards him, and Zuko waited until they had almost reached him before pushing himself up and to the side with both arms and legs, vaulting himself to the side and evading them by a hair's breadth. He snapped out a kick, unleashing a quick bolt of fire that forced Katara to reshape her follow-up attack into a shield to guard against. With the moment's breathing room he had Zuko squared his feet and deepened his stance, punching forward to unleash an unending stream of flames.

More water flowed to Katara to maintain her shield, and a serpentine hiss filled the air as fire met water. Zuko settled deeper into his stance, redoubling the strength of his flames in an effort to power through Katara's barrier. But there was no overpowering her under a full moon. It would be foolish to waste any more energy trying.

As the torrent of fire ceased Katara's form shifted, preparing to turn her barrier into a sweeping wave that would knock Zuko back to the ground. It was thrilling to finally be able to put her training to good use. In the past Zuko had been a fearsome threat: an unstable firebender that she had no choice to run from if she didn't want to get burned. But now she could fight back! Now she could finally repay all the fear he'd caused her and her brother! Her wave lashed out, whipping through the cloud of steam kicked up from Zuko's previous attack.

Yet there was no satisfying crack of water slapping flesh. The wave passed through empty air.

"Wha-" Katara had no chance to finish her sentence as a figure burst out of the steam to her left. Zuko dropped low and slid-tackled her, swiping her feet out from under her before she could change stances again. Katara hit the floor hard, her head hitting the ground with a loud thud, while Zuko executed the same spin he'd used in his duel against Zhao to quickly flip back onto his feet.

The smack to the head must have concussed Katara, who seemed to be fighting to stay awake. It was almost impressive how she refused to succumb to the urge while her friend was in danger. Dismissing her, Zuko turned away and strode towards the pool.

A weak slosh of water splashed his back.

"I won't… let you… take Aang!" Katara gasped, hunched over and with wobbling knees. She'd pushed herself to her feet through sheer force of will?

Zuko ignored her and resumed his walk to the pool. The Avatar sat silent and unmoving by the poolside, taunting him with how easy he'd be to capture in this state. All he had to do was reach out his hand and grab him…

"Why is it that you, Zhao and I have been unable to capture The Avatar?"

Zuko scowled: a reflex action by now whenever someone brought up his failures. "He keeps getting lucky."

"Wrong!" Tanya replied, pacing back and forth around the command tent. "You blame luck because the truth embarasses you. The Avatar has not evaded capture for this long on luck alone. Nor is it because he has relied on his Avatar powers, barring a few exceptional cases. No, it is because he is more skilled than us."

"What!" Zuko shouted, shooting to his feet with a scornful glare. "That's ridiculous! I have trained for years to defeat the Avatar-…"

"Exactly!" Tanya cut him off, stepping forward into his comfort zone suddenly enough to make Zuko flinch back. "You have been training to defeat the Avatar! Everyone expected that, once the Avatar returned, the only way to capture him would be through some epic duel. That he would want to fight us, as his predecessors have." She shook her head. "But that was a miscalculation. We overlooked that this Avatar was raised as an Air Nomad: a strictly pacifist culture. His entire style of bending is designed not for fighting, but for escaping. And he's probably been trained in that style even since he could walk. You, me, Zhao and every other firebender has been trained how to fight our enemies: but he's not fighting us, he's just been blowing us back long enough to run away! It's like telling a professional wrestler to try and catch a professional sprinter! We can't catch him because he refuses to let himself be drawn into a proper fight! Every confrontation with him turns into a glorified game of tag, and he's specialised in that more than we are."

Zuko looked at her with bewilderment. "Then you're saying it's impossible to ever catch him?"

"Not impossible, no. We just have to stop playing his games, and start playing ours." Tanya stepped back, a cattish smile growing on her lips. "You know as much as you beat yourself up for not catching The Avatar, you forget that you have actually succeeded once already, albeit not for long. Remember what you told me about your first encounter with him at the South Pole?"

Zuko nodded. "Yes. I had him captive on my ship."

"And how did you manage that? By fighting him?"

"No. He surrendered to me willingly in order to spare a village."

"Precisely!" Tanya hissed, eyes alighting wickedly. "You succeeded back then because you didn't try to chase him down; you forced him to come to you. If your ship had been better equipped to contain a rampaging Avatar we would have won by now! And as it so happens I have a whole fleet at my disposal, and more than enough resources to keep an Avatar locked up for good this time."

Zuko looked down at the map of Agne Qel'a with a frown. "But that only worked last time because I threatened the village. You're already planning to besiege the North Pole anyway. What could we use as bait?"

"We just need something that he places above his own wellbeing. Something he feels is worth sacrificing his own freedom for."

"His companions? I've tried that before."

Tanya chuckled. "Shrewd thinking, but no. I'm talking about something bigger than personal attachment. Something grand. Something that appeals to his unshakable duty as The Avatar…"

Zuko's hands speared through the water, snapping up the two targets with the speed and precision of a diving bird. They wriggled and thrashed wildly into his hands as he pulled them out into the warm night air, but Zuko refused to relinquish his grip. Instead each one was stuffed unceremoniously into a waterproof bag, which Zuko then drew tight and dipped into the pond long enough to fill with water.

The spirit of the moon struggled against the bag, trying to push through the leathery material to reach its eternal partner, the spirit of the ocean, that it could feel mere inches away. Yet they were part of the mortal world now, and their bodies did not have the strength for the task. The eternal push and pull that the two spirits had maintained for thousands of years had been broken.

And up in the sky above, the moon began to bleed a crimson red.

The warriors of the water tribe stood stunned, unsure what to think of the strange phenomenon up above.

The moon was more than just a celestial body in the night's sky. More than just the source of their powers. More than the object of their worship. It was an immutable fact of the world: a law of nature that could never be broken. Civilisations rose and fell, wars were waged and forgotten, yet through it all the moon had always been there in the sky at night, illuminating the chaos below it with its silver light.

Yet tonight the moon bled. And without it the waterbenders found themselves absolutely powerless.

Yet while the Water Tribe was paralysed with shock, the Fire Nation was not. High up in the sky Tanya made a hand signal, and war horns bellowed out from behind the ruins of the broken gate. Cries of panic erupted out amidst the Water Tribe ranks as legions of fresh Fire Nation soldiers began to march out from behind the walls.

Yet while those at the front of the water tribe's charge cried out in shock, those at the back cried out in terror.

Armoured hands burst up like flowers from the piles of Fire Nation corpses they'd ran over, clawing for purchase as the bodies attached to them pulled themselves up. Spirit-fearing warriors prayed for salvation as the Fire Nation dead rose up behind them, surrounding them on all sides.

In the sky above Tanya grinned with malice, and barked a single command to her soldiers below.

"Kill them all!"

Here we go ladies and gentlemen. Part one of the Siege of the North.

I'm sure a few people are going to write comments about this if I don't, so I'm going to make it clear right now that no, Tanya isn't actually raising the dead. As much as I reckon she'd make a great necromancer, I'm only going to stick to the four forms of bending and other canon supernatural powers. What she's done is gather an army's worth of corpses from other battle grounds and brought them to the invasion with her, stored within the carriages attached to her tanks. Behind the cover of the shield walls her troops have been unloading these corpses and piling them up on top of the living. Thus she creates the illusion that her army is sitting there letting itself be massacred, while in reality setting up for an ambush.

I'm planning to finish the siege of the north with an equally sized part two next chapter, and then tidy up the loose threads that aren't so important to this battle with an interlude chapter before we get into the Earth book. I'm busy with work as always, but hopefully part two will be ready in a couple of months or so.

See you then.