Chapter 9

Book One: Water –The Siege of the North: Part 1!

 

Hello peasants!!!

Here's the chapter of the week!

I will only post chapters the other weekend, March 26th, due to a test!

Without further ado, enjoy the chapter!

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- Location: North Sea / Northern Water Tribe / Capital of Agna Qel'a.

Pov. Third-person.

The Northern Water Tribe, unlike its southern sister tribe, has always been a bigger and richer city.

This was primarily due to the location being more advantageous, as the Northern tribe's capital, Agna Qel'a, was more likely to become wealthier due to being closer to Earth Kingdom maritime access points, in addition to this tribe being close to the big city of Ba Sing Se.

Although much of the Northern Tribe's territory encompasses largely inhospitable tundra terrain, the Northern Tribe has always thrived even in isolation.

Some believed it was a favor from the Moon and Ocean spirits, due to the fact that the Northern Tribe was far more spiritualistic than its sister Tribe.

Others claimed it was something else...

Hundreds of waterbenders defended the city from any enemy.

Of these hundreds of benders, some stood out in the art of bending, being graced with the title of prodigy.

These special benders demonstrated the talent that was born for everyone, and when they reached a certain age, with the experience and knowledge acquired over the years, they dedicated themselves to teaching the future generation, so that new prodigies were born.

Pakku, a waterbender from the Northern Water Tribe, was once called a prodigy, he was teaching the future generation of benders, but now he was tasked with teaching someone else...

"Good morning, Master Pakku!" said Aang, with a smile.

... The Avatar.

Pakku, whose concentration was broken by the abrupt shout, stopped his morning waterbending exercise.

The old master just sighed in resignation.

"No, please march right in, I'm not concentrating or anything," said Pakku, with a sarcastic tone.

Aang realized that his greeting might have irritated the old waterbending master a little, so the young air nomad soon decided to quickly start talking, to put the uncomfortable situation behind.

"Ah... This is my friend, Katara, who I told you about," said Aang, quickly.

It was then that Pakku looked at the Avatar and his company, and when the old master laid eyes on Katara, he was silent for just a few seconds, before looking at Aang.

"Sorry, I think there's been a misunderstanding," said Pakku, as he created an ice chair and used it to sit down.

Once Pakku sat down, he continued to speak.

"You didn't tell me it was a girl... In our Tribe, women are forbidden to train in waterbending" said Pakku, seriously, explaining the situation to Aang.

This seemed to have drawn an emotion out of Katara, as if the young girl had been floored the second Pakku finished explaining, letting despair take over for a brief second...

Until despair was quickly replaced by anger.

"What do you mean you won't teach me?! I didn't come across the whole world for you to say no to me!" said Katara, approaching Pakku with long strides, until she stopped in front of him.

Pakku just stared at the girl's face, until he replied calmly...

"No," said Pakku, coldly, as if he was being rhetorical.

What followed was a heated exchange on Katara's part, where she complained about not only master Pakku's attitude but the entire water tribe's attitude towards female waterbenders, with Aang supporting her.

Until Aang reached the breaking point, refusing to learn after witnessing Katara's injustice.

The Northern Water Tribe was extremely conservative, limiting waterbending teachings to women to the healing art only.

Katara, realizing that Aang could miss the opportunity to learn waterbending from a master, soon tried to convince the young air nomad to accept Pakku's teachings, in addition to having an age for her to also learn by methods... unconventional.

After a few hours, it was possible to see Aang and Pakku alone, with the young avatar trying waterbending, but it was noticeable that he was struggling with the training since Aang's posture was not as fluid, which Pakku soon pointed out.

"You're moving the water, but you're not feeling the push and pull..." said Pakku, as he savored his snack.

Aang, who was frowning in concentration, just gritted his teeth.

"I'm trying," Aang said.

Pakku, seeing the force Aang was making, decided that it was pointless advice as it was the advice given to an apprentice waterbender, not an avatar who was already a master of airbending and already had an air nomad's mind, who embraced freedom.

Master Pakku, determined to make Aang understand, soon made a decision.

"Perhaps the move is too advanced for you, why don't you try an easier one?" asked Pakku, looking at Aang.

Although Pakku understood that he should teach Aang the basics, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed...

The reason for Pakku's disappointment was that Aang, in theory, would have learned the waterbending moves, in addition to the teachings, over and over again, so it should, in theory, be something easy for him.

But Pakku saw that his suggestion only made Aang angrier, to the point where he dropped everything and growled in frustration.

It was then that Aang stopped growling in frustration as he thought of something, as soon as a question arose in the young nomad's mind, he looked at Pakku.

"What do you mean by feeling the pull and push?" asked Aang.

The Pakku Master only raised an eyebrow in response.

"I meant what I meant... Tell me Avatar, who is the first waterbender?" asked Pakku.

Aang thought for a few seconds before he answered.

"The… Whales?" said Aang uncertainly.

This time it was Pakku who held back a frustrated grunt, but still heaved a defeated sigh.

"... I'll be brief, so pay attention," said Pakku, getting up from the ground and walking towards Aang.

It was then that Pakku left the surrounding ice and created a symbol that Aang knew well...

"Fire Nation?" said Aang.

Pakku waved.

"It'll be easier that way, I think you've already met a firebender along your journey too here, correct?" asked Pakku.

Aang nodded.

"Yes! We've met several," said Aang.

Pakku then clasped his hands behind his back and asked a question that took Aang by surprise.

"Have you found them at night yet?" asked Pakku.

Aang stopped and thought.

"...No, never... But I never thought about it because we were in the sky most of the time" said Aang.

Pakku nodded, understanding the point.

"Even if you were making the journey on foot, you wouldn't find many firebenders at night either, after all, their flame would be weak," said Pakku.

Aang looked confused.

"Weak flames? I don't understand," said Aang.

Pakku just stared at Aang until he calmly explained.

"The firebenders' internal chi is like a flame of a bonfire, it needs to be fed, otherwise it will die... Now answer me, Avatar, who feeds this fire inside the body of each firebender?" asked Pakku.

Aang stopped for a few seconds and thought until he realized something simple while receiving some training from Master Jeong...

'It is the greatest source of fire, yet it is in complete balance with nature...'

"It's the sun!" said Aang.

Pakku let out a sigh of relief.

"That's correct, now, tell me... Who is the first waterbender?" Pakku asked, hoping Aang understood.

The young Avatar replied excitedly.

"It's the ocean!" said Aang, with absolute certainty...

Though Aang was sure, the Pakku master sighed in defeat...

"Incorrect, the source allowed the first bender the art of bending, but it was close enough. When you know the answer, you will understand the pull and push of waterbending, and only then you'll be able to advance in bending, until you reach the heights of waterbending, and learn the advanced forms which are the domination of the other states of water, the ice and steam," said Pakku.

Aang grunted in disappointment but understood that he should be more patient, although the end of Pakku's explanation raised a question in Aang's mind.

"Master Pakku, could you explain more about the more advanced forms of the elements?" asked Aang.

Pakku went back to eating as he graced Aang with answers.

"The most advanced forms currently known of each element are the derived forms, for the water are ice and steam, which is taught here in the tribe to all students; for the earth is sand, though only desert folk use this bending style; for the fire is lightning, although only the royal family knows the secret of this bending style; for the air…" said Pakku, until he stopped and looked at Aang.

Aang understood the last part of the statement...

"... Anyway, the advanced forms can have derivatives, what can be called sub-bending... Although..." Pakku said, stopping to answer and grimacing in disgust.

Aang was soon interested again.

"... What?" asked Aang.

Pakku stopped eating and looked at Aang.

"All elements, without exception, have sub-bending that is considered out of the question for teaching; they are usually called forbidden techniques. Avatar Yangchen, although hailed as one of the most respected avatars for her wisdom, the determination was her strong point; she was known for 'doing whatever it takes' to maintain the balance of the world... She used a forbidden technique to do that," said Pakku.

Aang was silently horrified by the story, after all, Yangchen, besides one of Aang's past lives...

She was an air nomad.

"No! Yangchen was an air nomad, our culture is peaceful, we never use violence for an end," said Aang, in denial.

Pakku just raised an eyebrow.

"... And? Culture doesn't define character, avatar... Choices do, and when those choices require strong determination, you better be prepared for the consequences" said Pakku.

The waterbending master then went back to eating as he walked away from Aang.

"Today you won't learn anything else, not when frustration is teaching you more than me... We see tomorrow at the same time, I still want my answer tomorrow morning, Avatar, with no help from your friends" said Pakku, without the turn to Aang.

Aang could only grow more and more frustrated as he watched the Pakku master walk away...

That same night, Aang tried to teach Katara about what he learned from Pakku, only to be caught and kicked out of Pakku's class; however, Katara still had the audacity to challenge Pakku.

Needless to say, Katara got her ass kicked; after all, she wasn't even an apprentice student who had challenged a master. But with a twist of fate and a past revealed, Pakku has not only accepted Aang back as an apprentice but Katara as well.

During all of this, Sokka's feelings for the Water Tribe princess, Yue, were put to the test when the princess was revealed to be already engaged to someone, which seemed to disappoint Sokka's growing crush.

Although love is a feeling that everyone desires, some people can have the privilege of choosing who to love...

Other people can't.

So days later, here was Sokka, still spending time with the girl who had captured his eyes as well as his heart.

Princess Yue.

"Then… The Southern Tribe doesn't have palaces?" asked Yue.

"Are you kidding? I was raised on a block of ice, not exactly a cultural axis..." said Sokka, making a depressing joke about his home.

Sokka's attempt at a joke seemed to amuse Yue, who soon burst out laughing and walked over to Sokka to comfort him about his house.

As soon as Yue realized the situation they were in, she quickly walked away with a troubled look.

"Sokka... This is wrong," said Yue.

Sokka, not wanting to miss the moment with Yue, soon started talking, in an attempt to ease the previous situation.

"What is wrong? We are just walking!" Sokka said quickly.

Sokka knew that if Yue decided what they were doing was wrong; he would never see her again...

"I'm committed, but it seems..." said Yue, until she stopped.

Although Yue valued her duty as a princess, she would admit that the times she spent with Sokka were the best she ever had.

But everything that's good tends to last less...

It was then that Sokka, seeing the change in Yue's mood, had an idea.

Moments later, Sokka and Yue were flying with Appa in the sky.

"Wow… I can't believe you do this every day!" said Yue, marveling at the view of the frozen tundra and the ocean below.

Sokka, happy that his idea had worked, was soon filled with confidence.

"Yeah, we live up here," Sokka said, with a dismissive tone, like it was no big deal.

It was then that a rush of cold wind greeted the face of the Northern Tribe princess, who soon shivered and grabbed the fur coat she was wearing closer, in an attempt to soften the cold of the northern sky.

It was then that Yue had an idea to solve the cold problem and get closer to the boy she was starting to develop feelings for.

"Is it always this cold up here?" asked Yue, with a shy smile.

Yue then approached Sokka and stood right next to him.

Sokka, surprised by the princess's action, couldn't help but be mesmerized by Yue and soon responded confidently.

"... No when you're with someone," said Sokka, looking at Yue.

Yue blushed a bit at the answer, plus a small smile could be seen on her face as if she appreciated the compliment.

"... It's so beautiful up here," said Yue, looking at Sokka.

Sokka didn't look away from Yue, not paying attention to the singular change of scenery...

"...Yeah," Sokka said.

When the two were about to approach their faces something happened...

It started to snow a kind of black snow, which surprised both Sokka and Yue.

Furthermore...

*BOOM*

A beam of energy exploded next to Appa, which caused the flying bison to roar in surprise and turn violently, due to appearing to be afraid of fire.

For Sokka, who already had a bit of experience, Appa's abrupt movement only slightly bothered him...

But for someone who was on the first trip, it was much more than a mere nuisance.

"SOKKA!!!" shouted Yue, as she slipped out of Appa's cell.

"YUE!!!" shouted Sokka, trying to grab the princess's hand.

Only to fail...

Yue fell off Appa with a scream, which caused Sokka to grab Appa's reins tightly and maneuver Appa towards the ocean with the intention to catch Yue during the fall.

As Sokka went down to look at Yue's falling body, he caught something in his peripheral vision.

20 large ships, made of metal.

Fire Nation ships.

Frowning in determination, Sokka turned to Yue, as Appa closed the distance, and reached out to grab Yue's arm.

"Come on, Appa! You can do it!" shouted Sokka, desperately to Appa.

It seemed that Appa understood the command and tried harder and harder, until Sokka closed the distance enough to grab Yue and pull her close, as well as pulling Appa's reins again, but gently, to stop the descent and level the fall to not such an abrupt movement.

Just in time, as Appa was very close to sea level...

*BOOM*

But then another beam of energy appeared and exploded the iceberg closest to Appa, destabilizing the flying bison and making it fall into the sea and dive, while Sokka and Yue let out a surprised scream.

Once Appa fell into the sea, it seemed like nothing would happen and it was all over.

Until the flying bison appeared again, flying swiftly into the sky and back to the Northern Water Tribe; In Appa's cell, Sokka was lying down and trying to get up...

Just Sokka.

When Sokka looked around and noticed that Yue wasn't in the cell, his eyes widened and then he ran to Appa's head and looked out to sea, desperately looking for Yue, all the while tugging on Appa's reins fiercely.

"No! No, Appa! Come back! Yue is still there!" said Sokka, as he tried and failed to get Appa to obey him.

It was then that, looking at a group of small ice shelves, made from the iceberg that was previously exploded near Appa, Sokka saw her...

Yue, clinging to an ice platform, with half her body in the water, as she tried to pull herself up to stand on the platform, but she seemed to have no strength.

Something else caught Sokka's vision and made him widen his eyes in despair...

One of the Fire Nation warships, the one at the head of the formation, and it seemed to be the ship that led the rest, had broken away from the formation and sailed close to Yue.

It was then that Sokka saw someone jumping from the ship and landing on the ice platform that Yue was trying to grab, breaking the fall with jets of fire at their feet.

While far away as it was, Sokka only knew one person who had this explosive beam ability that knocked them out of the sky...

"... Zuko," said Sokka, whispering, as he watched the figure that jumped from the ship, grabbed Yue, and pulled her into his arms.

The figure in red then leaped off the ice shelf, propelling himself with jets of fire from his feet and grabbed a ladder, which was laid down on the side of the ship as approached the ice shelf, and then proceeded to be pulled onto the ship's deck again with Yue still being held by him though she still tried to resist.

As much as Sokka wanted to go rescue Yue, he knew he couldn't handle twenty warships full of Fire Nation soldiers. Sokka knew he should head to the Northern Water Tribe quickly and seek help, whether from Aang or others, to come up with a plan to rescue Yue from Zuko's grasp.

Although...

Amidst despair, Sokka pleaded with Tui and La that Aang was right and that Zuko was someone trustworthy.

"Please... Stay safe Yue, I promise I'll rescue you" said Sokka.

Meanwhile, the banished prince of the Fire Nation dropped the princess of the Northern Water Tribe onto the ship's deck, as Yue tried to get up she was quickly grabbed by two soldiers and was forced to her feet.

Yue then faced the raptors and ran into Zuko, who frowned.

"... Take her to my room," said Zuko.

The soldiers looked at one another in confusion, before turning to Zuko.

"Wouldn't that be 'prison', sir?" asked a soldier, just to be sure.

Zuko denied.

"No, she's staying in my room, just make sure you have a guard at the entrance while I'm not there," said Zuko.

It was then that other soldiers approached.

It was Azula's royal guards.

"Prince Zuko, at this moment you have a prisoner who was with the Avatar's animal, demonstrating a clear connection between this girl and the avatar. She must be arrested immediately and we must await the next orders from Princess Azula, responsible for the siege and capture of the avatar" said one of the royal guards.

Yue shuddered to hear what could happen to her and closed her eyes as the royal guard reached out to her.

However, the guard never managed to touch Yue, which confused the princess a bit.

As soon as Yue opened her eyes in search of answers, she was taken aback by the scene in front of her...

Zuko was holding the guard's hand and staring at him.

"While you're on my ship, I hope you have the sense to heed my orders, or else... My sister doesn't need so many guards, I believe she won't miss one" said Zuko.

The prince then let go of the royal guard's arm, which was frozen in place until he gave up and walked away from Zuko.

The banished prince turned back to face the soldiers who were holding Yue.

"As I was saying... Take her to my room" said Zuko.

The soldiers, also not wanting to hear a threat from Zuko, soon obeyed and escorted Yue into the ship with Zuko following close behind, but soon gave the last orders to the crew on deck.

"Continue with the course for the Northern Tribe, be aware of any abnormalities in the water and sky," said Zuko.

The soldiers just waved in response, but as soon as Zuko left and they went back to their tasks, some soldiers soon started talking.

"What do you think he will do with the girl?" asked a soldier.

"I have no idea... But prince Zuko is a teenager, so..." said another soldier.

The soldier who asked the question was soon shocked by the fellow guard's insinuation.

"He wouldn't do it… would he?" said the soldier uncertainly.

The other guard just shrugged.

"We are at war, I wouldn't particularly be surprised, there are cases throughout the Earth Kingdom. Have you forgotten that the previous Fire Lord, Azulon, brought his concubines, Lo and Li, into the royal family palace? Prince Zuko must have been fascinated with the girl, after all, she has an exotic appearance" said the other guard.

The other soldier was silent, mulling over the possibilities.

Meanwhile, after a few minutes, Zuko was face to face with Princess Yue, alone and in a soundproof room, with both sitting on opposite sides of a small table, which had a game of Paisho and a teapot.

Although Yue looked nervous with the banished prince's gaze staring at her, Zuko remained as calm as ever.

"... Tea?" asked Zuko, gesturing to the teapot and glasses.

Yue was a little afraid and remained silent, which Zuko understood as not.

"...Very well, more for me, I suppose... Although, if I were in your situation, I wouldn't accept it either" said Zuko, holding out his hand and pouring himself some tea.

Yue was silent, silently watching Zuko's actions, as well as the scar on the prince's face; a few minutes passed in silence until Zuko chose to speak when he went to refill his cup with tea.

"… Do you want tea now that I've tasted it first?" Zuko asked.

Incredibly, Yue, this time gave a small wave, which made Zuko smile slightly.

"You're cautious... But then again, it's to be expected of someone of royalty," said Zuko, placing the cup of tea in front of Yue.

Zuko's statement froze Yue, although the princess soon got a little scared, but decided to speak for the first time since she boarded Zuko's ship.

"You know who I am... But your men don't seem to," said Yue.

Zuko waved.

"Battlefront soldiers usually don't bother to memorize faces and names... It doesn't make sense if they end up killing or dying afterward" said Zuko listlessly.

Yue then took a sip of tea, while Zuko continued with his dialogue.

"I suppose we didn't start on good terms... First, I must apologize for nearly blowing you and Appa up," said Zuko, with an apologetic smile.

But Zuko's declaration only served to surprise and enrage Yue.

"Did you make those explosions?" asked Yue, frowning.

If Zuko managed to build some trust before, and after the statement that had caused the explosions everything had returned to square one.

"In my defense, as prince of my Nation, it was my duty... Besides, I hoped you weren't the only one to be captured" said Zuko, with a tone of disappointment.

In fact, the targets Zuko hoped to capture were Appa and Sokka, who Zuko would relay a message to Aang, and then the two would 'coincidentally' escape the ship by 'luck' during the start of the invasion melee, along with Yue.

It was too risky, so Zuko held back on the explosive power, although it increased the combustion bending range. The prince wanted to warn Aang about Azula's invasion plan, for one simple reason...

Unlike Zhao, Princess Azula planned to split the invasion force into two battlefronts; the first, and the one with the greatest numbers, would be warships; but the second...

Azula would use battle tanks to break through the frozen tundra and attack the back of the Northern Water Tribe, where the palace was located.

What Azula had no idea was that the Spiritual Oasis was in that location, and that's why Zuko wouldn't risk the safety of the spirits and took a risk in capturing Sokka.

Unfortunately, Sokka slipped and the one who fell into Zuko's hands was Yue. Therefore, the banished prince had to work with what he had.

Yue had been confused by Zuko's statement, but soon grew fearful when she asked the question that had been on her mind for some time and now she had the courage to speak up...

"What… what are you going to do with me?" Yue asked fearfully.

Zuko stopped drinking tea and looked at Yue.

"At the moment, absolutely nothing. However, we are at war and you are a princess and heiress of the Nation I am facing that, coincidentally, has the avatar... So, soon, you will be a bargaining chip" said Zuko, shrugging his shoulders.

Yue froze.

"… You want the avatar," said Yue.

Zuko snorted in response.

"Correction, the Fire Nation wants to have the avatar arrested... or killed," said Zuko.

Yue was a little confused by the answer, so she asked another question and hoped that Zuko would grace her with a more concise answer.

"… What exactly do you want?" asked Yue.

Zuko was silent looking at the cup of tea.

"I only want two things... Ultimate peace, so I can fulfill my greatest ambition..." said Zuko.

It was then that Zuko looked up from the glass and locked eyes with the princess of the Water Tribe.

"Going back home," said Zuko, in determination.

It was then that someone knocked on the bedroom door and Zuko soon turned his gaze to the source of the noise and just grumbled as he put his glass of tea on the table, the prince then got up from his seat and walked towards the door.

When Zuko opened the door, he narrowed his eyes at the guards.

"... What? I'm in the middle of something important," said Zuko.

The guards looked at each other and then looked at Zuko again... It was then that a guard, the one on the right, deliberately elbowed the other guard.

"Ouch! Erm...Sorry to interrupt your 'activities', sir, but we've received a messenger hawk from Captain Kai," said the guard, holding out a scroll.

Zuko frowned and grabbed the parchment and closed the door after giving a nod of thanks. As Zuko opened the parchment and read the message, the frown on the prince's face deepened and he soon burned the parchment in his hands.

The message was that Aang had managed to stop four warships, and it would only take a few hours to fix, but due to the plan and available time that Zuko had at the moment, it was an unforeseen delay.

With the attack delayed, Zuko only had a few hours until Azula arrived and set her plan in motion.

"... I advise you to stay here for some time," said Zuko.

It was then that the prince left the room, placing two guards at the door, and leaving Yue alone...

Zuko went towards the command cabin and as soon as he arrived, he saw that one of the ships was immobilized by ice, which seemed to have emerged from the sea and lifted the heavy warship ahead; the banished prince then looked and saw something in the sky and couldn't help but frown.

"Sir, Princess Azula has relayed the orders to the rest of the fleet... The order is to stop the bombardment and wait for dawn, it is time for the tanks to be left and prepared for the tundra" said the helmsman.

Zuko seemed resigned, for although the Fire Nation stopped the attack, Aang and the Water Tribe would continue...

"… Fine, you can anchor and start having guard rotations for the night shift, keep the ballistes ready for use. Also, prepare the incendiary resin and blasting jelly to be dumped into the sea at my command" said Zuko

The soldiers soon waved and passed the orders to the other ships, it was then that Zuko left the command cabin, but not before speaking.

"I'll have a few hours off... Don't disturb me, I'll be busy, be sure to pass it on to the other soldiers, only go to my room if Azula is on the deck of my ship" said Zuko, looking at the other soldiers.

The soldiers quickly waved as Zuko left, then began to relay orders.

Meanwhile, a couple of soldiers started talking to each other again.

"Some hours? With a princess in his room?... Sometimes I miss my youth, the time when I was full of energy," said an older-looking soldier with a graying beard.

The soldier closest to him raised an eyebrow.

"Remembering some lost love, Shang?" asked the soldier.

"Oh yes... She worked wonders at night, Kai... Wonders indeed, blessed by Agni that is Ember Island" said Shang.

It was then that a soldier who heard the conversation soon approached.

"Enough talk, Shang, you take the first watch on deck; Kai, you are responsible for the aisles around the stockroom," said the soldier.

A few minutes later, Zuko was back in his room, before entering the room he transmitted the same message to the guards in the hallway so that they would not enter even if they heard complaints from Princess Yue, only then did he close the door.

Zuko then raised his hand and grabbed an arm outstretched in the dark holding a knife, the prince then looked at the owner of the arm and saw Yue frowning.

"… Predictable, but a foolish move… If luckily you managed to stab me and slit my throat, then what? Would you stay here until you die or endure the imprisonment and torture the guards would inflict on you?" asked Zuko, rhetorically.

Yue soon gave a determined look as she answered.

"I would resist… I will never stop resisting," said Yue.

Zuko raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Congratulations you would resist until you die when your captors lose their patience," said Zuko.

Yue froze and then Zuko seized the chance and grabbed the knife and took it from the princess of the Northern Tribe's hands.

Zuko then let go of Yue and went towards a small piece of furniture in the room, from where he took black clothes, some bags, another change of clothes, a rope tied to a hook, and daggers...

In addition to a blue and white color mask.

The prince then went towards the wall and took one of the pairs of Daos he had, and placed them inside a simple large cloth bag.

Zuko then glanced briefly at Yue and was briefly silent, as if considering his next words.

"As stupid as it sounds... I'm going to the bathroom, don't disturb me" said Zuko.

Yue raised an eyebrow and saw Zuko go towards the bathroom door and close it from the inside.

Inside the bathroom, Zuko began to take off his heavy clothes and put on his black clothes, which were made from a semi-permeable fabric.

Zuko, after having dressed appropriately, then approached a small hatch in the bathroom and opened it, then poked his head out to see the outside environment. When he saw that no one was around, Zuko began to try to get through the open hatch silently. As soon as Zuko managed to pass most of his body, with only his legs on the inside of the ship, he looked down and began to measure the distance from the bathroom window in his cabin to the seawater.

"Approximately 30 meter jump, plus about a possible 3 to 5 kilometers of distance to the Northern Tribe ice wall, not to mention the freezing water. I suppose energybending has never been more essential, after all a normal human being would not be able to swim for a long time in the temperature of these waters, I would guess at least 15 minutes, 20 for firebenders" said Zuko, grumbling.

The prince then fastened the blue mask around his waist and covered the rest of his head with a hood, in addition to squeezing the bag firmly on his back and then he let himself fall into the sea, with his feet facing the water.

Zuko didn't go to the surface, he actually started to swim quickly to the front of the ship to get air, because he knew that the place he jumped made noise in the water and he couldn't surface there. The banished prince then began to swim, while using energybending to warm himself with the internal flame that every firebender had, heading towards the wall of the Northern Water Tribe.

After an hour of non-stop swimming, Zuko got close to the wall and looked for the passage of the Turtle seals to enter the city of the Northern Tribe, the search only took a few minutes for Zuko to find it when he heard the noises that the Turtle seals were making.

Zuko then dove and swam again, this time faster, because he had timed himself not to be out of the ship for more than four hours, which was the time it would probably take Azula to organize the tanks and logistics of the second line of battle to the dawn.

Once Zuko finished swimming and climbing tunnels flooded with freezing water that continually pushed him, Zuko found himself in the spot he wanted, just below a thin ice shelf.

Using a simple firebending move, the prince soon melted the platform and climbed out of the water. Taking a deep breath, the young prince quickly warmed up with concentrated small puffs of fire, trying to dry mainly his clothes.

Zuko soon got up and looked around and saw that he was close to the Spirit Oasis, at the same time he was putting on the blue spirit mask, but he soon noticed that he was alone.

"Without Yue to show Aang this place, no one has come here yet... No one knows this place is in danger" said Zuko, frowning.

The prince then started walking towards the small pond of the Oasis and stared at the Ocean and Moon spirits, who were in the physical forms of Koi fish, and could not help but sigh.

"I just hope I don't need to be a waterbender to get the same effects," said Zuko.

The prince then took a small leather bag from the large cloth bag tied to his back. Upon opening this small leather pouch, Zuko revealed the contents he was carrying...

8 glass vials.

It was then that the banished prince of the Fire Nation began to fill every vial with spirit water in the Oasis.

While that wasn't Zuko's primary goal, it was a secondary goal. After all, it has been proven that having reserves of this water can be quite useful, considering that Aang only survived a lightning strike with the help of these special waters.

Basically a miracle cure.

The amount that Zuko was collecting was quite a lot, considering that each vial carried twice the volume of water that Katara was supposed to carry in the necklace given by Master Pakku after the siege.

After Zuko filled the flasks, he stored them properly in the special leather bag, which was reinforced to protect the internal contents more efficiently, to only then store it inside the large cloth bag on his back.

Zuko then looked at the two spirits one last time and then walked away from the Oasis and headed towards the exit silently, before whispering firmly to himself.

"I need to hurry up... I must find Aang or Sokka because they're the only ones who heard me at the moment considering Sokka knows I'm with Yue and Aang is... Aang" said Zuko.

What Zuko didn't notice was that one of the Koi fish, specifically the predominantly white color fish, had stopped swimming...

And was looking at him.

____________________________________________________________

Well, that's all, peasants!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

In fact, I hope you're enjoying this fanfic, after all, I just started writing it spontaneously, so thanks for any feedback!

The next chapter will be the last of 'Book 1: Water'.

Until the next update!

There will be no extra chapters this weekend for my active fanfics 'Son of Agni' and 'Reborn as Thor (DxD)'; the reason for this is simple:

I will do a test.

 

For Brazilians/Para os brasileiros:

Para aqueles que também farão a prova da Receita Federal com a intenção de assumir este cargo público, seja para Analista ou Auditor, desejo uma excelente prova.