The "Greatest" Warrior in the South
Word Count: ~1,100
Silver was currently watching Sokka "train" the local toddlers in the art of war. It involved a lot of shouting and even more snotty noses.
"Now, remember!" Sokka yelled, pointing a wooden spear at a five-year-old. "The Fire Nation is ruthless! They don't care if you haven't finished your nap!"
Silver leaned against a snowbank, tossing an apple (shipped in from a distant Earth Kingdom trader and kept fresh by his Vitality aura) into the air. "Sokka, I think the kid just needs a diaper change, not a lecture on flanking maneuvers."
"Military discipline starts in the cradle, Silver!" Sokka snapped, though his war paint was slightly smudged.
Silver chuckled and looked over at Aang, who was showing Katara how to ride a penguin-seal. The kid was a natural, but Silver could see the sadness behind his eyes. Using his Chi-Vision, Silver saw Aang's internal energy—it was massive, swirling like a hurricane, but jagged with grief.
I'll cheer him up later, Silver thought. But first, I have a brother to tease.
"Hey, Sokka," Silver called out, spinning his Aero-Bo staff (currently in its walking-stick form). "If you're such a master tactician, why didn't you see the giant metal ship coming toward us?"
Sokka froze. "The what?"
Silver pointed toward the horizon. A black plume of smoke was cutting through the white sky. The Fire Nation had arrived.
The village panicked. Women grabbed children, and Sokka scrambled for his club. Silver, however, didn't move. He felt the cold metal of his staff and the Fire and Water energy humming in his veins. He looked at Katara and Aang.
"Go to the center of the village," Silver said, his voice dropping the playful tone. It was the "Eldest Brother" voice—the one that even Sokka obeyed. "I'll handle the greeting party."
"Silver, you can't!" Katara cried. "They'll see you're a—"
"They'll see a guy with a stick," Silver winked at her. "Now move."
As the massive bow of the Fire Nation ship crashed onto the ice, a ramp lowered with a heavy thud. Out walked a boy with a scarred eye and a look of pure, unadulterated angst. Prince Zuko.
"Where is he?" Zuko demanded, his voice cracking slightly. "Where is the Avatar?"
Silver stepped forward, picking his teeth with a splinter of wood. "Wow. Nice hair. Did you let a badger-mole style it, or is the 'angry porcupine' look back in fashion in the Fire Nation?"
The soldiers behind Zuko gasped. Zuko's face turned a shade of red that almost matched his armor. "Who are you?"
"I'm Silver. Local welcoming committee. We're fresh out of cookies, but we have plenty of 'get off our porch' to go around."
Zuko didn't wait. He threw a dual blast of fire straight at Silver's chest.
Sokka screamed, and Katara covered her eyes. But Silver didn't flinch. Using Osmosis, he absorbed the heat into his own body, and with a subtle flick of his foot, he shifted the Earth beneath the snow to slide himself two inches to the left. The fire sailed harmlessly past.
"Missed," Silver sang out. "You're a bit tense, Sparky. Want to talk about your feelings? I'm a great listener. I can even give you a massage—first five minutes are free."
"I will burn this village to the ground!" Zuko roared, charging forward.
Silver's staff clicked, extending to its full six-foot length. Time to show them that the South Pole still has teeth, he thought. He didn't use fire—not yet. He used the Aero-Bo to sweep Zuko's legs, spinning the prince like a top.
"Whoops! Gravity is a hater, isn't it?" Silver laughed, even as he kept a sharp eye on Aang.
The war had officially started. And Silver was going to make sure it was the funniest, most frustrating experience of Zuko's life.
The air on the deck of the Fire Nation cruiser was thick with the smell of coal smoke and the metallic tang of fear. Zuko stood at the center of the ramp, his hands wreathed in flame, glaring at the "peasant" who had just tripped him.
"You think this is a joke?" Zuko hissed, his voice trembling with a mix of shame and rage. "I am Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation! I have spent years hunting for the Avatar, and I will not be mocked by a backwater savage with a stick!"
Silver stood his ground, his Aero-Bo staff held loosely in one hand. Behind him, he could hear the gasps of the village elders and Sokka's frantic whispering.
"Savage? Ouch. That hurts, Sparky," Silver said, shaking his head. "I'll have you know my grandmother makes the best sea-slug stew in the hemisphere. That's high culture right there."
Zuko didn't respond with words. He lunged, a massive arc of fire tearing through the frigid air.
Silver didn't jump. He didn't run. Instead, he took a deep breath, drawing in the cold energy of the surrounding ocean through his Osmosis ability. The air around him seemed to drop twenty degrees instantly.
"Katara, watch closely," Silver murmured.
He slammed the butt of his staff into the snow.
Crack.
The fire blast hit an invisible wall—not of air, but of solid, crystalline ice that erupted from the ground in a jagged spire. The flames splashed harmlessly against it, hissing as they turned into steam.
Zuko froze. His soldiers faltered. "A Waterbender? In the South?"
"Not just a Waterbender," Silver said, his voice losing its playful edge for a moment. "A brother who's tired of you bullying his family."
Silver moved with a fluidity that looked like dancing. He didn't just throw water; he commanded it. With a sweeping motion of his arm, he drew a massive spiral of seawater from the gap in the ice. As it circled him, he clenched his fist.
The water didn't just freeze—it shattered into thousands of tiny, razor-sharp needles of ice, suspended in the air like a deadly cloud.
"I've had twelve years to practice in secret while you lot were busy burning down the world," Silver said, his eyes glowing with a faint, icy blue light. "You want the Avatar? You have to go through me. And trust me, I'm much more annoying than he is."
Zuko roared, sending a barrage of fire daggers at Silver. Silver spun his staff, the metal acting as a conductor for his bending. He caught the fire daggers on the tip of his staff, spun them around, and encased them in globes of water, snuffing them out instantly.
Then, he went on the offensive.
He didn't hit the soldiers. He hit the deck. He sent a wave of water under the feet of the Fire Nation guards and flash-froze it. Within seconds, half the boarding party was doing the "accidental ice-skating" routine, sliding off the ramp and back into the ship's hull.
"Silver! That was amazing!" Sokka cheered from the sidelines, though he still looked confused. "Wait—since when can you do that? And why am I the only one in this family without cool glowing powers?!"
"Practice, Sokka! And maybe less time talking to your boomerang!" Silver shouted back, ducking under a kick from Zuko.
But then, Silver saw it. Aang was standing by the village entrance, his staff held tight. The boy looked at the frightened faces of the children and the burning huts. He saw the Fire Nation soldiers regrouping.
"Stop!" Aang's voice carried over the wind.
Silver paused, a massive fist of ice hovering over a soldier's head. He looked at the young Avatar.
"If I go with you," Aang said, looking directly at Zuko, "will you leave these people alone?"
Zuko straightened his armor, panting heavily. "You have my word."
"Aang, no!" Katara cried out, but Silver put a hand on her shoulder.
Silver's Chi-Vision was working overtime. He saw the resolve in Aang, but he also saw the trap Zuko was setting. He leaned down and whispered to Katara.
"Don't worry, Kat. I'm not letting him go alone. Get the big fluffy cow ready."
"It's a bison!" Katara hissed through her tears.
"Bison, cow, whatever. Just get him ready. I'm going to go play 'prisoner' for a while."
Silver stepped forward, his ice structures melting back into slush as he willed his bending to subside. He held up his hands, a cheeky grin returning to his face.
"Two for the price of one, Sparky! You get the Avatar and the guy who just embarrassed you in front of your crew. Think of the stories you can tell your dad."
Zuko looked at Silver with pure hatred. "Chain them both. And someone get me a towel."
As the Fire Nation soldiers moved in with heavy metal shackles, Silver winked at Sokka. He tapped his wrist, signaling his Vitality Manipulation. He wasn't just going as a prisoner; he was going as a Trojan Horse.
"See you in an hour, little brother," Silver mouthed.
The ramp of the ship pulled up, and the heavy metal door slammed shut, leaving the village in a stunned silence.
End of chapter
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