Sorry for the delay; from now on, there will be one or two chapters of training per week (only on weekends) because I'll be very busy. But don't worry, I won't abandon this story.
Enjoy the chapter:
Aang, Sokka, and Katara were atop Appa, flying toward their destination. A few days had passed since they parted ways after crossing a canyon with the help of a local guide. They had also mediated between two rival clans, managing to broker peace, and saved the village of the fortune-teller Wu from a volcano.
Not long after, a storm forced them to stop. Sokka, who kept glancing at Katara as she coughed heavily, said:
"Maybe we should find you a doctor," he suggested.
"Don't worry, Sokka, it's just a common cold," Katara replied with a smile.
Sokka nodded and then looked at Aang.
"How long do you think we'll stay here?"
Aang shrugged.
"Maybe a day or two. Until Appa rests; that storm wore him out."
"Alright, I'll be outside scouting the area," Sokka said, standing and heading out.
Aang, with an excited look, was about to ask if he could join, but Sokka stopped him.
"You take care of Katara."
"I told you, I'm fine," Katara protested, pouting, but Sokka ignored her words.
Venturing into the forest, Sokka looked around warily. His plan wasn't to scout but to wait for the real Sokka to recharge him with chi. He was close; he could feel it.
*Fwhosh!*
Arrows flew toward him with pinpoint precision, pinning him to a tree by his clothes before he could react. Sokka glanced at the arrows, relieved they had only caught the fabric.
"Yuyan Archers…" he whispered before dissolving into dry leaves and cloth.
The archers, witnessing the scene, were baffled but their training kept them composed. They were the best in the world, and if something defied their understanding, they had to report to their superiors. They quickly returned to their fortress, where a figure awaited them atop the wall. The archers bowed immediately.
"Princess Azula! We have strange news to report!" they said.
"Oh?" Azula responded, eyeing them with curiosity.
She was a young prodigy, known for her cunning and beauty. The archers, visibly nervous, seemed to have seen something impossible. Their training prevented panic, but their leader spoke with a trembling voice.
"We saw one of the Avatar's companions and tried to capture him, but… we failed. Sokka, one of them, vanished in a strange way."
Azula raised an eyebrow.
"So, an illusionist?" she questioned, offering a logical explanation.
The archers exchanged glances, unsure. They had assumed something supernatural, but the princess seemed to have a point.
"Even so, fleeing from the enemy is treason," Azula continued. "You'll spend a few months in prison. Maybe that'll teach you that running isn't an option."
"Please, Princess! Forgive us!" they pleaded.
"We only did what the commander ordered!" they insisted.
But Azula walked away without listening further. The archers weren't as worried about prison as they were about the possibility of being expelled, as their entire lives had been dedicated to the art of the bow.
Colonel Shinu, a tall man with prominent mustaches and a traditional uniform, approached Azula.
"Princess, punishing the Yuyan Archers will come at a great cost. Training them takes years, and each is worth twenty men on the battlefield."
Azula stopped and stared into his eyes.
"Are you questioning my decision?"
"No, Princess, I'm only informing you that the archers are hard to replace," Shinu replied, nervous.
Azula resumed walking.
"You'd have to be foolish to let those men return to the battlefield. Didn't you see their eyes? They were terrified of something they didn't understand."
"Y-yes, it must have been an illusionist…" Shinu tried.
"Are you brainless?" Azula interrupted. "If an illusionist were that good, they'd be famous worldwide. It's probably something else… but no matter. Humans have faced worse. The next time you question me, you'll face a court-martial."
"Y-yes… Princess…" Shinu muttered, bowing.
---
In a distant forest, Sokka calmly examined the clone's clothes and a notebook. In it were written the adventures and experiences he had shared with Katara and Aang. Smiling, he tucked it into his clothes and ventured deeper into the forest. The last page of the notebook mentioned that Katara was sick and that Sokka had gone to find frozen frogs.
Inside the ruins, Appa slept after a long journey. Katara, whose fever had worsened, could barely move. Her biggest worry was Sokka's disappearance, as he hadn't returned since leaving. Aang had also gone to find medicine, leaving her alone with Momo, who helped by bringing her water.
Meanwhile, Aang soared on his glider, searching for signs of civilization. But he found only dark, damp swamps. His face reflected worry: Sokka was missing, Katara was sick, and there was no help nearby.
"How could things get worse?" he muttered.
*Whish!*
An arrow flew toward him, swift and precise. Aang barely dodged it, receiving a small cut on his cheek.
"That was fast," he said, getting into a defensive stance.
*Whish! Whish!*
Twenty more arrows came at him. Aang dodged them narrowly, but noticed his glider had been hit by flaming arrows.
"When did they hit those?!" he said, confused, as he plummeted.
He used an air current to avoid crashing, stirring up swamp water. But hundreds of arrows bombarded him, hidden by the water droplets. These were expert archers, the best Aang had ever faced. He created an ice wall to protect himself, but an arrow struck a weak point, causing cracks. Another arrow split the first, shattering the barrier.
Aang leaped back, leaning against a tree to cover his back. He tried to manipulate the swamp water, but three arrows hit his arm, one piercing his palm. The pain made him scream, interrupting his waterbending.
"Aaghhh!" he cried as more arrows pinned him to the tree by his clothes.
Suddenly, a strange smell filled the air. A knockout gas bomb exploded in front of him, and Aang, trapped, slowly began to lose consciousness.
"No… Katara…" Aang murmured as darkness enveloped him.
From behind a tree in the swamp, Azula emerged with a satisfied smile.
"The Yuyan Archers are truly remarkable. I didn't even have to get involved," she said.
The archers emerged from their hiding spots: some behind trees, others in the treetops, and a few covered in mud in the swamp waters.
"All thanks to your plan, Princess Azula, for things to have gone so well," one said.
"Y-yes, the knockout gas was a brilliant idea," another added.
Azula smiled, impressed by the archers' efficiency in following her orders.
"Good. Now prove your skills once more. Find Sokka and the Avatar's other companion. We don't want them coming to free him."
The archers nodded and vanished into the darkness. Azula smiled with satisfaction. Initially, she planned to imprison them and devise something new, but she recalled Kuzon's words about being better to her soldiers for better results.
She never believed his words until today. She saw how the archers feared her more than before and, at the same time, improved their performance, showing respect by giving them a second chance.
---
When Aang opened his eyes, he was locked in a metal coffin, with only his head exposed, suspended in the air by dozens of chains. There was no water nearby, so even if he could move his head, airbending wouldn't be enough to break the metal.
His greatest concern was Katara. They had left her alone and sick, unable to defend herself. He assumed Sokka had also been captured by the archers. Desperation filled his heart. He tried to clench his fist inside the coffin, but the pain from the arrow that pierced his hand during his capture made him wince.
The situation couldn't be worse. There was no one to help them now.
In the swampy regions, two archers explored and found a cave with tracks at the entrance, partially covered by leaves. Their training allowed them to spot them instantly. They smiled, thinking Princess Azula would reward them generously for their discovery.
A sharp sound, like a whip, cut through the air. As they turned, they felt their bodies fly like rag dolls. On the ground, they saw two headless bodies… their own.
And so, their consciousness faded.
Sokka took the bodies and hid them in the river, freezing them with waterbending. He didn't want Katara to see them; for her, they were different from the Fire Nation and didn't kill indiscriminately, though he knew his sister wouldn't judge him.
Entering the ruins calmly, he saw Katara trembling, struggling to keep a runny nose in check.
Momo lay beside her, placing a tiara of gold and precious gems on her.
Sokka smiled and made a mental note to search for treasures later in that place.
"Sokka? Am I hallucinating again?" Katara asked.
"Do you think your mind could imagine a face this handsome?" I replied, pulling out a frozen frog and placing it near her.
The skin of those swamp frogs had healing properties, but only when frozen. Thanks to my knowledge of the terrain, finding one was easy, as was finding the herbalist who kindly sold me several of her books.
The medicine worked quickly. Katara stood and spat out the now-living frog, looking at me before sighing.
"We have to go find Aang! He hasn't been back in a while."
I smiled. How silly, worrying about him for no reason.
"Relax," I said with amusement. "I know where he is. I saw the Fire Nation take him to a fortress. It's going to be dangerous."
Katara looked at me with concern and nodded with determination.
"Let's do it."
Her determination brought a smile to my face. According to the clone's notes, Katara had greatly improved her waterbending and hand-to-hand combat skills.
We both climbed onto Appa and set off toward the fortress.
The journey was calm. I held Appa's reins while Katara practiced her bending, shaping a ball of water, freezing it, and reshaping it.
"Do you think Aang will be okay?" Katara asked, breaking the silence.
"Without a doubt," I replied without hesitation. "The Fire Nation has been after him for a hundred years; they're obviously not going to kill him."
My blunt words reassured Katara, who nodded with determination.
Appa snorted, signaling we had arrived.
I took two spyglasses and handed one to Katara to observe the place.
In the center of the fortress's courtyard was Aang, hanging and trapped in a metal coffin, surrounded by an entire army. It reminded me of Bumi; this was definitely Azula's signature.
*End of POV.*
However, their attention shifted to some Yuyan Archers who had fired arrows at them. Katara flinched and manipulated water, ready to block, but Sokka acted first, firing six arrows in rapid succession.
The first three shattered upon colliding with the enemy arrows, and the remaining three pierced the archers' shoulders, going through bone.
"We're under attack!" shouted a Yuyan Archer before collapsing from the pain.
The soldiers looked skyward, annoyed, as they saw the massive flying bison approaching at great speed.
Everyone's attention, including an irritated Azula and her friends, focused on Appa, believing the enemy was outside, completely unaware of a shadow moving swiftly along Aang's chains.
"Attack!" Azula ordered with authority, and her soldiers obeyed without hesitation.
Sokka and Katara watched the fire and arrows heading toward them.
"Katara, protect Appa from the attacks I can't deflect," the young warrior said calmly while nocking his bow.
The weapon creaked under his immense strength, and one by one, arrows shot toward the fire. As the arrows pierced through, the fire attacks were extinguished by the air currents they carried.
One after another, the attacks were suppressed by Sokka's arrows, and one by one, the projectiles struck the soldiers.
Aang watched with joy as his friends came to rescue him, but a glint interrupted his focus.
Above him was a black silhouette with a different face.
"A Blue Spirit?" he said, observing it closely.
The Blue Spirit unsheathed twin swords and, with several strikes, freed Aang from the metal coffin.
The noise echoed through the area like a thunderclap, and Azula, along with her friends, turned their gaze toward him.
They saw the Avatar fall to the ground accompanied by what seemed to be a spirit.
"You dare interfere?!" Azula's voice roared as she attacked with her powerful blue fire.
The situation turned into brutal chaos in mere seconds. Fire, spears, and arrows filled the sky and the fortress. The spirit blocked Azula's attacks with its swords, Aang fled and pushed soldiers with his airbending, and Katara protected Appa.
Sokka unsheathed his Skybreaker spear and infused it with chi. The weapon vibrated in his hand, roaring to be used for its original purpose.
Sokka had ignored the weapon's impulses, claiming it was all in his imagination, but seeing the wave of attacks before him, he decided to trust it.
Gripping his halberd with both hands, he aimed the blade backward, as if to slash someone at the waist.
The legendary weapon vibrated, roaring with power, and Sokka sliced through the air with force.
The chi enveloping the spear shot out, following the trajectory of Sokka's slash. The sky filled with a golden streak in the shape of a slash that destroyed the projectiles threatening his life.
Everyone in the base froze at the display of such power, oblivious to their current situation.
All except Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee.
"Jump!" shouted the princess as she saw the massive chi slash heading toward them.
As they leaped out of the way, a thunderous crash filled the fortress. Walls and towers collapsed from the impact, and countless soldiers were flung into the air, wounded.
Sokka fell to his knees on Appa, his labored breathing betraying his exhausted state.
That attack had consumed nearly all his boundless energy. The spear had taken more chi than he had given it for that attack, and he wasn't pleased. If Sokka hated people he couldn't control, it was no different with his weapons.
He gripped his halberd tightly, as if trying to inflict pain on it, but this time there was no response. Perhaps it was already satisfied.
"Sokka!" Katara said with concern. "Are you okay? What was that?"
"Nothing, I'm fine. We need to get Aang," he replied, his voice weary, as he watched Aang and the Blue Spirit fighting soldiers who had recovered from the shock.
Sokka clenched his fists and leaped off Appa. His body creaked and trembled upon hitting the ground. Even with only 30% of his strength and energy, it was enough to get through this.
"Kill him!" shouted a soldier as he unleashed fire.
Sokka dodged a soldier's attack with difficulty, spinning his Skybreaker spear to block a flaming lance. Without his full strength and energy, he relied on his sharp reflexes and the cunning honed in countless battles. He drove the shaft of his weapon into an enemy's stomach, knocking them down with a groan. Other soldiers advanced, fists ablaze, and Sokka spun on his heels, sweeping two attackers with a fluid motion of Skybreaker. Each strike required absolute focus; fatigue threatened to slow him down.
Katara landed beside him from Appa, who roared in the sky, deflecting arrows with a powerful tail swipe. She raised her hands and channeled water from the fortress's ornamental fountains, making crystal jets erupt, knocking back advancing soldiers. It wasn't a perfect torrent, but enough to disarm several enemies.
"Sokka, cover me!" she shouted, shaping a water whip that lashed out like lightning, knocking down another group of attackers.
Sokka nodded, blocking a fiery punch with his spear's handle and retaliating with a sharp knee to the soldier's chest, leaving them breathless. Every move was calculated; he didn't want to overwhelm Katara with more deaths.
Together, they were a lethal team: Katara used water columns and ice discs to counter fireballs, while Sokka advanced with precise martial strikes—spinning kicks to disarm, sharp punches to knock out, and exact thrusts with Skybreaker to neutralize without killing.
A soldier tried to flank them, but Katara trapped him with a water column that froze his ankles, and Sokka knocked him out with a swift strike of his weapon's shaft.
"Don't let them get that close, Katara!" Sokka gasped, breathing heavily. She responded with a determined smile, launching an ice disc that sliced through the air and felled another enemy. Each of Katara's attacks complemented Sokka's movements, turning the battle into a synchronized dance.
From the half-ruined tower, Azula watched with lethal coldness, her golden eyes gleaming with calculation and contained fury. Every attack from Sokka and Katara had unraveled her original plan; Mai and Ty Lee sought cover among the rubble. Azula frowned, calculating every possible move of the duo.
"Damn it," she muttered, her voice icy and certain. It wasn't fear she felt, but a spark of challenge that disrupted her instinct for control. "Mai, Ty Lee! Neutralize the water girl! Archers, aim for the bison!"
Bursts of blue fire streaked across the sky, forcing Appa to swerve sharply, while Azula observed every movement with surgical precision.
Amid the chaos, Aang and the mysterious Blue Spirit fought back-to-back against a squad of soldiers beginning to regroup. Aang spun his glider staff, sending gusts of air that threw enemies back, but his wounded hand limited more complex movements.
"Thanks for getting me out! Who are you?" he gasped, dodging a spear by inches.
The Blue Spirit remained silent, its twin swords slicing through the air with deadly precision, disarming enemies and blocking fire blasts with elegant movements. Its cloak billowed like mist, each action showing absolute control and silent discipline.
Sokka watched from the rear. Zuko, he thought. The exiled prince, hiding behind the Blue Spirit's mask, operating in the shadows against the Fire Nation to free the Avatar and then capture him himself.
To Aang, he was a supernatural ally; to Katara, a protective spirit. Zuko fought with contained intensity, his swords tracing patterns reminiscent of firebending, but without revealing his identity.
He blocked an attack aimed at Aang and countered with a slash that knocked a soldier out. Aang complemented with airbending: gusts that unbalanced enemies for Zuko to neutralize, or whirlwinds that grouped them for a joint strike.
The Blue Spirit turned to Aang and pointed toward Appa with a sword, as if saying, "Go." Aang nodded, summoning air currents that propelled them forward, knocking down more soldiers.
"Come on, guys! We need to regroup and get out of here!" Aang shouted, his voice filled with renewed determination.
Azula, seeing her forces beginning to falter, launched a final attack: she concentrated chi in her fingers, and small bolts of lightning began to crackle, aiming for Sokka, but Katara shielded him from her sight.
Sokka felt danger prickling at the back of his neck and turned, meeting Azula's eyes. A ruthless smile spread across the princess's face, and a massive bolt of lightning shot from her fingers.
"Katara!" Sokka yelled, pushing his sister aside.
Everyone watched in shock as Sokka raised a massive chunk of earth to block the attack.
*BOOM!*
An explosion of dust and debris erupted as the lightning struck the rock. Sokka was flung backward by the impact, while Katara raised a dome of water from the fortress's fountains, absorbing the fire that dissipated into a cloud of hot steam. Zuko took advantage of the mist to cut the remaining chains and clear the escape route. Aang created a whirlwind of air, stirring up dust and debris that blinded the soldiers.
Katara and Aang saw the Blue Spirit run toward Sokka and carry him, saving him from the flames. He quickly hoisted him onto Appa, and when everyone was aboard the bison, a second explosion echoed through the area: Azula fired several lightning bolts into the smoke cloud, hoping to harm her enemies.
From the ruined tower, Azula watched as the Avatar and his friends escaped. With one final lightning bolt, she struck a tower and let out a scream of fury, shattering her mask of control and perfection.
Aang ordered Appa to take off. Katara sighed in relief as she saw Sokka awaken, though a piece of debris had struck the Blue Spirit's head.
"Ahg!" he said before falling unconscious.
Katara approached with concern. Her hands froze as she saw cracks on the Blue Spirit's face, like broken wood. Aang approached and saw the same. With trembling hands, Katara lifted the mask, revealing golden eyes and a large scar.
Sokka stood with difficulty, weaker than before.
"Heal him," he said, his voice weary.
"But he's our enemy," Katara replied, stunned.
"He helped us, freed Aang... and saved me."
The realization hit them: they had forgotten how Zuko had run through fire and debris to save them. Katara decided to repay that debt. The water glowed in her hands as she began to heal the wound on Zuko's forehead.
Aang landed in the forest, far from the enemy fortress. The three watched the young prince, frustrated but unconscious. Sokka wondered if Azula had lost her crew.
"You know... if you'd been born a hundred years ago, we could've been friends," Aang said sadly.
Katara looked away and climbed onto Appa, not wanting to be there when Zuko woke. Sokka and Aang followed.
Zuko slowly opened his eyes and saw the bison fading into the horizon.
"Friends..." he murmured with bitterness and longing, recalling Aang's words.
He no longer had a crew or a ship to follow them. He began walking back to the inn where his dear uncle was.
---
Azula lay in the same ruined tower as the sun began to rise.
Her screams and fire attacks had finally ceased, calming her heart. She had never felt anything like this: the tranquility of shouting in fury, of expressing her discontent.
She recalled the words of her dear Kuzon: "Bottling up your emotions will hurt you; if you seek perfection, the slightest mistake will wound you."
Those words were true. By letting her anger flow, her heart filled with peace.
"Mai, Ty Lee, we'll gather more soldiers and head to the North Pole," she said with determination.