What exactly had I been counting on when I allowed for an outcome like this?
A bit of knowledge about spirits and a few historical parallels.
Back in his day, Wan had been unable to withstand Raava's power for any significant length of time. The Ocean Spirit was certainly not as powerful, but Aang was only twelve years old and had never trained in Chi techniques. Which meant he shouldn't be able to remain merged with the fish for very long.
The only question was what would happen first: would the Avatar reach us in full battle mode, or would the medium run out of steam beforehand?
As it turned out shortly thereafter, I had still underestimated Aang's power. That mistake cost the fleet five cruisers, which failed to retreat in time and were simply crushed by the pressure of the water.
And then IT turned toward the battleship.
From up close, it was even possible to make out the silhouette of a small boy suspended within the THING.
The Ocean Spirit had already begun its swing, preparing to smash the flagship flat, and I realized it was time to go all in.
"I wouldn't recommend doing that, Spirit."
The THING turned toward me.
As expected, the fish could sense one of its own, so attracting its attention wasn't difficult. I could sense the monster standing before me as well, and keeping my legs from buckling beneath me was hard enough, let alone speaking to one of the Elder Spirits in such a manner.
But...
Behind me stood a fleet that needed to be saved, and, let's be honest, if this worked out, it would be my name that entered the history books rather than Zhao's—the very thing he wanted so badly.
And I'd survive.
Which was nice.
As the Ocean Spirit turned its attention to me, the moon brightened once more, and the sensation of an iron band crushing my skull vanished as quickly as it had appeared. One problem down, but the remaining one was... considerable.
"Your companion is alive. As for the one responsible for what was done to her, do whatever you think is necessary, but leave the wars of men to men."
The Spirit loomed over me. I could feel its anger and irritation, and it wasn't hard to guess what it was thinking. Some insignificant insect dared to issue an ultimatum to it—to the very essence of the oceans. The only reason it hadn't crushed me outright was that it wasn't certain the method would be effective. I raised the firework rocket and ignited a flame in my palm.
"My warriors are at the lake. One move, and they'll be having fish soup for dinner. Will She be able to return a second time? You have every right to defend yourself, but I won't allow you to harm my people without consequence."
Another bubbling sound followed, and somehow I understood it... or rather, the intent behind it.
"No, after this nothing will threaten either of you. The Moon and the Ocean are no less necessary to the Fire Nation than they are to the Water Tribe."
Another bubble.
"You don't have to believe me. You can kill me if you wish. But if you do, you'll be left alone, and by then I won't care anymore."
The Spirit was clearly very, very angry, but... when forced to choose between revenge and the life of its companion, it unambiguously chose the latter. The Ocean-possessed Avatar departed, and I finally allowed myself to exhale and slump against the balcony railing.
Whew...
Alive.
Zhao, on the other hand, was about to have a very bad day.
I wasn't particularly worried about any further retaliation from the super-carp. The pair had bound themselves too tightly to the physical world; I doubted they had intended such an effect originally, but that was how things had turned out.
In the end, in the ordinary world and without the Avatar's assistance, they were merely a pair of carp. Within them lay enough power to wipe a medium-sized city from the face of the earth or sink an entire fleet, but without a conduit they couldn't use it.
So I wasn't particularly concerned about accidentally finding myself caught in a storm someday.
The Spirit World was a different matter.
If I ever ended up there, I'd want to stay as far away from the North Pole as possible. There, on their own territory and anchored to the physical plane, the pair were genuinely overwhelming and effectively impossible to kill.
Hmm... that raised some interesting questions about why they had bound themselves to the mortal world in the first place, and what sort of conflicts had once taken place in the Spirit World.
Not wanting to tempt fate, I set the pyrotechnics aside and turned toward the staff officers. They were looking at me with a peculiar mixture of reverence and horror.
"S-sir?"
"Yes?" I raised my eyes to the officer.
"That was... the Ocean Spirit?"
Wasn't it obvious?!
"Yes..."
"And you... threatened it?"
"Yes..."
"And it listened to your threats?"
"I can be very persuasive. And, Commodore..."
"Yes, sir!"
"Organize the rescue of any survivors from our ships and prepare the troops for a landing. The North Pole has not yet been taken. The Fire Lord's orders must be carried out."
"Yes, sir!" The officer snapped to attention.
"Oh... and one more thing."
"Sir?"
"Have someone bring me a drink."
"At once, sir!" Under my exhausted gaze, the staff officers hurried off to carry out their orders.
The drink, incidentally, was delivered by the commodore himself. Judging by the label on the bottle and the layer of dust covering it, the man had clearly given the matter some thought and decided to raid the admiral's private stash.
In addition to the bottle, he brought a glass, but I ignored it. I simply knocked out the cork and took a long pull straight from the neck.
At that moment, I couldn't have cared less what anyone thought of me.
"Gods, how I hate that little shit..."
(End of Chapter)
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