On the outskirts of the destroyed palace, the freezing wind barely moved. Everything was in place. Katara had already gathered the healers. Pakku and Kor had gathered the waterbenders. In minutes, the Northern army lined up before their leaders: elders, generals, warriors, and civilians armed with whatever they had.
Sokka stood at the center-right. The white spirit lion cloak fell over his shoulders, and the full moon shone behind him like an omen. Katara and Aang flanked him. On the other side, Arnook, with Yue at his side and Pakku behind him. The Northern chief had done his part: the civilians were safe, the defenses ready. But Sokka could see the fear in their eyes. He could see it in all of them.
So he spoke.
"Tonight," he said, and his voice was not a shout, but a dry blow that spread over the crowd, "we do not fight for pride. We do not fight for revenge. We fight because we have no other choice."
He paused, letting the words settle.
"They came to kill the Avatar. And along the way, they would kill us too. Because to them, we are a nuisance. A tribe that should have died a hundred years ago."
"But we did not die," he raised his voice. "We survived. And we didn't just survive—we grew. We faced them. We pushed them back. And now, they are afraid."
"That's why they came with all their power. That's why they brought their ships and their machines and their numbers. Because they know that if they don't crush us now, they never will."
He paused, and his tone changed. It became graver.
"They trust they can win because they've done it before. Because decades ago, when they attacked the South, they thought they had destroyed us. They thought they had torn away everything we had. They thought we would never rise again."
"And for years, they were right. The South bled. The South suffered. The South was on the verge of disappearing."
His voice hardened.
"But it did not disappear. And it will not disappear tonight. Because tonight, the North and the South are together. Because tonight, water will not be tamed. I will not allow what happened to the South to happen to this city. I will not allow the extermination of waterbenders to be repeated here."
He spun his spear and drove it into the ice. The sound echoed like thunder.
"It doesn't matter how many ships they bring. It doesn't matter how much fire they throw. It doesn't matter how much they trust in their victory. Because they don't know what it means to be right in a fight. They don't know what it means to fight for your home, for your people, for your survival. But we do."
He pointed to the sky.
"Look at the moon. That light has seen us born, grow, and resist. That light has given us strength for generations. And tonight, it returns it to us."
"They have fire. We have water. They have machines. We have the night. They have numbers. We have something they can never buy: the certainty that we are right."
The murmurs began to transform into shouts. Sokka raised his spear, and the ruby at its tip captured the silver glow of the moon.
"Tonight we do not defend stones or ice. We defend our people. Our children. Our elders. Our future. Tonight, the Northern Water Tribe and the Southern Water Tribe fight as one. Not as allies. As brothers."
The shout exploded. Sokka felt the echo in his chest, and he knew that the people were finally motivated.
"I hope the spirits hear you, Aang. Tell them this battle concerns them too, because their own lives are in danger."
"I will, Sokka. Please, take care of yourself tonight," the Avatar said with determination.
Sokka watched his bald friend say goodbye to Katara with a hug, and how Yue said goodbye to her father the same way. Siku, who escorted them, only gave him a nod of greeting before guiding the Avatar and the princess toward the sanctuary.
Sokka held his spiritual weapon—the one capable of changing forms that he had won from the spirit Heian. He could use it for what it was made for, but tonight he would refrain from launching chi attacks at the start of the battle. Perhaps at the end, when he wouldn't have to worry about falling exhausted in front of countless enemies.
"Chief Sokka!" he turned toward the voice.
In front of him stood one of the musicians he had taught songs from his old world, which were now the property of the South Pole.
"Please, allow my men and me to play the songs you've taught us. We may not be useful for fighting, but if music inspires the warriors, we are willing to take that risk."
Sokka let out a laugh. Not out of mockery, but because he hadn't expected such a request.
"Do it! Play good music! Let all the musicians and singers who want to come! Let it be heard throughout the tribe!"
His words caught everyone's attention and made the musician smile, who bowed with respect and ran off with his friends.
"Katara, Pakku, elders... it's time to begin."
Everyone nodded and began to climb the wall with waterbending. Upon reaching the top, a dozen masters formed up with a view of the enemy ships.
Sokka closed his eyes and expanded his chi, letting it mix with the environment. In his mind, energy points began to appear: the chi of the soldiers on the ships. They were agitated and scattered.
"It's time," he said, opening his eyes.
And so, the sound of instruments began to play. A rustic version of Skyfall, but still pleasing to the ears, with the beautiful sound of violins accompanying the tension of the moment.
Sokka and the waterbenders—Pakku, Katara, and the others—began to move their arms with fluidity, almost to the rhythm of the music. The water, obeying their wills, rose from the enormous sea in great liquid masses.
Pakku, Kor, and Katara lifted the largest masses and froze them effortlessly—one each. Sokka and the other masters needed help from another to do the same.
"Throw them!" Sokka ordered.
Everyone obeyed. The small icebergs shot with incredible force and speed toward the enemy ships.
The Fire Nation soldiers were busy with their own chaos. Azula had been wounded two hours ago, and her chain of command had destabilized. They tried to reorganize until Admiral Ryaku took command and began to organize the troops.
But what was their greatest advantage—their large number of ships—quickly became the factor that was slowing them down and putting them in danger.
A soldier on the bow of a front-line ship looked up at the sky with exhaustion. That was when he saw it: an iceberg heading toward him. He couldn't scream, couldn't alert anyone. The mass of ice struck the command tower with such power that it shattered it instantly, and an explosion destroyed it completely.
Six explosions lit up the enemy side. When they realized what was happening, it was already too late. One after another, the warships began to explode and sink as they were struck in their hulls.
"We need to retreat!"
"We need to get out of enemy range!"
Shouts like these began to be heard on every naval ship, provoked by the fear and anguish of dying.
"Counterattack! Masters, vaporize that damn ice!"
The most experienced commanders and captains began to order their soldiers. Ignoring the fear, the masters launched continuous flames toward the ice heading toward them, but it was useless. The projectile didn't slow down or shrink, since it was compressed water.
"Begin the catapult bombardment! Annihilate the waterbenders on the wall!" Admiral Ryaku ordered with fury as he saw that, within minutes, a dozen warships had been destroyed.
"Waterbenders!" Sokka called upon noticing that the enemy catapults were being prepared. "Prepare for defense! Intercept and destroy the projectiles!"
His order was quick and direct as he threw another iceberg at the enemies. With a new explosion, the sky lit up, this time with a large number of flaming rocks. But the water tribe was prepared. They had been taught and trained for days to counter the bombardment. The waterbenders scattered along the wall extended large, powerful torrents of water that intercepted and destroyed the fiery projectiles before they even got close to the tribe.
"Damn it! Keep attacking!"
For twenty minutes, the bombardment continued without respite. The enemy masters managed to destroy the icebergs, but the energy cost was high.
"I can't keep going. At this rate, I'll run out of energy to waterbend," said a master, gasping.
"If you had revealed your secret earlier, I could have taught you..." said Pakku with effort before firing another iceberg.
"If I had, I would have lost it sooner. My waterbending is temporary, Pakku. It runs out faster the more I use it."
Sokka sat down to let his chi rest and listened, with fleeting joy, to the background music.
"Sokka, the ships are moving strangely," Katara called him with concern.
Sokka looked up and saw how five ships were moving in formation toward them at full speed.
"What are they planning? Did Azula really leave someone incompetent in command?" he thought as he analyzed the situation. Were they planning to sacrifice themselves to bring down the ice wall?
He considered several possibilities until he noticed that the first four ships seemed to be protecting the last one. He closed his eyes and expanded his chi radar toward them. Upon entering his range, he realized that those ships were completely empty.
"They must have explosives," he said to himself. "Destroy those ships! Don't let them get here!" he shouted as he saw them approaching with speed.
Katara, Pakku, and Kor began to form icebergs and torrents of water to sink them, but little by little they approached. Behind them, much of the fleet followed.
When four of the five ships were destroyed, only the last one remained. But it was too close, too fast to try to destroy it.
"Everyone get out of here! Get away from the wall!" Sokka shouted as he made a huge leap carrying Katara.
All the waterbenders moved away quickly, frightened by the imminent impact. When the warship crashed into the wall, countless barrels of jelly exploded at the first spark, and the entire ice wall was destroyed in a massive explosion.
The shockwave sent several flying as they protected themselves with water domes. Sokka cursed himself as he fell to the ground for not having foreseen something like this. He let go of Katara, who had no visible injuries, but like him and anyone nearby, her head was spinning and her ears could only hear a continuous ringing.
"Put out the flames and prepare for the siege!" he shouted as he carried the dazed Katara to a healer.
They were treated quickly, as were Pakku and Kor, who arrived shortly after. When the Southern chief began to hear the music again, he stood up and looked at Katara, who was already recovered.
"Go with the squid squadron and take position," he ordered hastily. "And please, take care of yourself, Katara."
"You take care too, Sokka," she replied with a tight hug full of warmth and fear. She clung to him tightly for a few seconds before leaving.
Sokka took his spear and headed to the front. The wall had fallen, and the thick smoke made it impossible to see beyond.
"Everyone be ready!"
The soldiers gripped their weapons and controlled the water in preparation to attack. For several minutes there was no movement. Nothing was seen or heard. Just as Sokka was about to scan the area with his chi tracking, torrents of flames shot through the smoke screen and struck unsuspecting waterbenders.
"Attack!"
Sokka's order echoed, accompanied by a swift movement of his spear. He had charged a small amount of chi into it, enough to send a current of air that dissipated the smoke.
That was when the scene was revealed. The soldiers began to emerge from their ships and entered through the destroyed wall. The cries of war and death were not long in coming, mixing with the music that served as inspiration for the water warriors.
Sokka took his spear and, in a swift movement, appeared in front of a squad of soldiers. Their surprise lasted only a moment before, with a horizontal slash, he split them in half. He ran through the countless sea of soldiers, carving his way with brutal efficiency.
But except for him, the water warriors were retreating. It wasn't just the first war they were experiencing; it was the first time they faced Fire Nation benders, and that element intimidated them. The fear of being burned and the tide of soldiers that seemed endless made them tremble.
"React!" Katara shouted, her voice brittle. "If you don't, everything will be in vain! If you don't fight, your families will die at the hands of these monsters!"
She was also afraid. Her hands trembled as she remembered the Southern invaders attacking her tribe when she was a child. But upon remembering her brother and his words, she found strength.
"Fight for your families! For your freedom!" she roared as she threw herself at the enemies with eight water tentacles, without mercy.
Katara moved as an extension of the water itself. Her tentacles held her more than two meters above the ground, giving her mobility that her enemies could not anticipate. She didn't touch the ground. She moved with the grace of a marine predator, her tentacles propelling her in all directions as she attacked and defended with overwhelming versatility.
A group of soldiers tried to surround her, but she had already moved. Two tentacles propelled her upward, dodging a rain of flames, while three others extended downward, striking the attackers with the force of a battering ram. Around her, five other waterbenders used the same technique. Some, like her, moved with elevated tentacles. Others remained in the center of their own formations, with tentacles anchored to the ground, spinning like mills that tore apart everything that approached.
"Hold the formation!" Katara shouted. "Don't let them surround you!"
The enemy soldiers began to retreat before the squadron's advance. They couldn't get close without being hit, couldn't attack without being intercepted. Every time they tried to launch a flame, a water tentacle absorbed or deflected it.
"The time to fight is now!" this time Arnook spoke before running through two enemies with his spear.
The Northerners finally came to their senses and charged into the attack. Solu's archers and waterbenders covered their compatriots from attacks they couldn't see coming. Pakku moved with the elegance of a master who had perfected his art over decades. His control was so precise that every drop of water obeyed his will effortlessly. Around him, the elder waterbenders followed, forming a compact front that advanced like an unstoppable wave.
"Don't scatter!" Pakku ordered, his voice firm despite the exhaustion. "Hold the line!"
An enemy soldier managed to break through the barrier and charged at him with a flaming sword. Pakku didn't move. He waited until the last second, and when the attack was about to reach him, a water whip emerged from his hand, wrapped around the sword, and tore it from the soldier's hands. An ice spike pierced the attacker's chest before he could react.
Sokka, meanwhile, kept advancing. A soldier approached him with his hand heated by chi and aimed for the back of his neck, but his danger sense alerted him. Spinning on his heel, he tore off the enemy's jaw with a spinning punch. The soldier fell to the ground in desperation, his hands reaching for the missing part as tears fell from the agonizing pain he was experiencing.
Sokka didn't stop. He kept advancing, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. The enemy soldiers began to retreat before his advance. They no longer fought with confidence; they fought to survive.
"Fight!" Sokka shouted at the Northern warriors, who still hesitated. "Don't give up now! For your home!"
His shout broke the spell of fear that had trapped them. The water warriors charged behind him, and the battle became a whirlwind of violence and blood. Sokka, at the front of them all, kept advancing, his spear cutting through flames and bodies with equal indifference.
"Katara!" he called his sister. "Get into those ships and neutralize everyone still inside!"
The young waterbender nodded from above and, along with three waterbenders using the squid technique, entered one ship each.
For her, attacking the ships from within was much easier than the external siege. The only soldiers and mechanics inside were normal warriors, not elemental benders, except for a few.
Her squid technique was reduced in small spaces like the hallways, but she still had her water whips and her hand-to-hand combat training. She struck heads and abdomens with precision, immobilizing every soldier that crossed her path without needing to kill. The mechanics, upon seeing a waterbender moving so quickly, offered no resistance.
When the last soldier was neutralized, she left the ship and helped the other two teams finish the job.
From the citadel, the enemy soldiers still fighting on land began to notice that their ships had been captured. They tried to retreat to the open sea, but the gap in the destroyed wall was blocked. Katara and the other three waterbenders had positioned themselves in the opening, their tentacles extended and controlled water ready to attack anyone who tried to pass.
There was no escape. Morale collapsed. One by one, the enemy soldiers began to surrender or throw their weapons to the ground.
"Move these bastards before reinforcements arrive!" Sokka ordered.
"Katara, Pakku, and Kor! Move those ships with waterbending to the snowy shore!"
The three masters nodded and, with coordinated movements, began to push the captured ships toward the coast, where the cold would take care of securing them.
But tranquility never lasts.
The ships that minutes before were approaching at full speed began to bombard with their catapults.
"Destroy the projectiles and extinguish any fires! We must not give them any advantage!" Arnook ordered his soldiers.
Quickly, pillars of water began to shatter the fiery rocks.
Sokka, who had discreetly charged his elemental chi with the vital energy of the enemies, moved over the wall alongside Katara.
"I really wish I could keep as many ships intact as possible, but not everything is possible."
"I know you want them, but if those ships get here, we're finished. And I still don't think Aang has convinced the spirits..."
"Well, it seems the tide is a bit wilder, so I think he's doing it, even if very slowly."
As he finished speaking, they began to move their arms with fluidity while two great torrents of water rose and spun above them. Both siblings, as if they were a reflection of each other, made the final movements, and the water began to gather and compress between their hands, forming a sphere of water.
When their control over the super-compressed ball of water began to falter, they finally decided to fire. A thin stream of water shot out with unimaginable speed and force. The power was so great that they were being pushed backward.
In an instant, one ship exploded, followed by another and another. At least two dozen ships were destroyed or sunk without mercy.
Sokka and Katara fell to the ground with a dull thud. Compressing such an overwhelming amount of water without being the Avatar was unimaginably exhausting. They didn't have enough strength to stand on their own. That's why they were dragged by other soldiers and taken to the healing masters.
Sokka, who discreetly touched the foot of a wounded soldier, began to absorb his chi without anyone noticing and managed to recover enough to stand up and face the second wave of approaching enemies.
The following two hours were a hell of water and steel.
The three subsequent waves were infernal. The enemy soldiers, knowing they couldn't retreat, fought with a desperation that made them dangerous. The flames lit up the night like a false dawn, and the smoke mixed with the snow, making the air unbreathable.
Sokka moved from one side to the other, his spear cutting and piercing without rest. But even he was beginning to feel the weight of the battle. Each blow, each thrust, each dodge cost him more effort than the last. His chi was running out, and although he had absorbed some energy from the enemy soldiers, it wasn't enough to keep up the pace.
The Northern warriors fell one after another. Some lost arms, others legs. Many never got up again. The healing masters worked tirelessly, moving among the wounded with speed, but they couldn't be everywhere. Blood stained the snow red, and the smell of burning flesh became so common that it almost stopped being noticeable.
Pakku was still standing, but his face was pale and his breathing was labored. Around him, the elder waterbenders who accompanied him had been reduced by half. Some lay on the ground, others had been dragged away by enemy soldiers.
Katara didn't stop. Her water tentacles moved without rest, but no longer with the same speed. Fatigue was catching up with her, and although she could create new tentacles, her energy didn't allow her to maintain them all. She had lost two in previous confrontations and couldn't replace them. Her forehead gleamed with sweat under the moonlight. Even so, she kept fighting, her hoarse voice giving orders to her squadron.
"Hold the line!" she shouted over and over. "Don't let them advance!"
The squid squadron, which had started the battle with seven masters, now only had three. The others were wounded or dead. Those who remained fought with a ferocity born of desperation.
Arnook had briefly withdrawn to bandage a wound on his arm, but he was already back at the front. His spear moved with less force than at the beginning, but his presence still inspired his men. However, as he fought, an idea began to swirl in his head. He couldn't fall behind Sokka. He couldn't allow his own people to fall under the charms and military achievements of that young man again. And although he knew Sokka had fulfilled his part of the treaty, a part of him feared that someday, if he married Yue, Sokka might kill him to take control of the North. He didn't know that Sokka had already rejected her.
Solu, from his elevated position, had lost half of his archers. Those who remained kept shooting, but their arrows no longer flew with the same precision. Fatigue was catching up with them.
And Sokka remained at the center of everything. His spear had become heavy, his arms burned, and his breathing was a constant gasp. But he couldn't stop. Every time an enemy soldier advanced, he was there to stop him. His spirit lion cloak absorbed most of the blows, and his bone mask protected his face. But the accumulated fatigue and the number of enemies made him vulnerable.
In one of those charges, a group of soldiers surrounded him. Sokka saw them coming, but he couldn't dodge them all. A spear grazed his side, opening a superficial cut. Another soldier struck him on the shoulder with the shaft of his weapon, pushing him back a step. Sokka responded with violence, cutting down two of them before they could attack again.
"Sokka!" he heard Katara's voice in the distance.
He ignored her and continued his battle. He needed to reduce the casualties on his own side.
Admiral Ryaku had decided to initiate the plan.
"They're weakened now! Begin the bombardment!"
"But sir, our men!" said the captain with concern.
"Their sacrifice will not be in vain. They knew the plan," Ryaku tried to justify himself. "Give the order!"
With regret in his heart, the order was given. The messengers moved their flags, and the other ships, upon seeing the signal, began to fire the boiling rocks.
The waterbenders no longer enjoyed the advantage of terrain or personnel to warn or contain the attack.
---
At the koi fish temple, Aang had begged the Moon and Ocean Spirits to help them. He begged them to protect the home of the waterbenders who cared for and venerated them.
But they only responded with a disconcerting indifference. They claimed confidence in the Northern inhabitants and, in turn, an ancestral pride to do something themselves.
Yue also tried to make them reason, but after so much insistence, the Ocean Spirit decided to stir the surrounding sea of the tribe.
Hours later, when the tremors from the bombardment impacts resonated in the place, Aang couldn't take it anymore.
"Please! My friends and everyone here will die if you don't help us!" he begged desperately. "They're coming to kill you, and you have to do something!"
---
On the battlefield, explosions took over the place. The little coordination that remained in the North was diminished by such events.
A flaming rock fell near a group of Northern soldiers. There was no time to scream. Sokka watched three of them disappear in the explosion. Those who remained retreated, eyes wide with horror.
"Don't stop!" Arnook shouted, but his voice was lost in the roar.
Sokka felt the impact before he saw it. A nearby explosion threw him to the ground, and for a moment, the world turned white and silent. He spat bloody saliva as he stood up, staggering.
Above him, the sky had become a hell of fire and stone.
"Pakku!" Sokka shouted, looking for the old man through the smoke. "The dome!"
Pakku raised his arms, but his waterbending barely managed to form a thin layer that shattered at the first impact. The old master fell to his knees, his face pale and his breathing labored.
"I can't..." he gasped. "I don't have enough energy."
A second rock fell near him, and the impact threw him against a snow mound. Pakku rolled on the ground, his bloodied arm hanging limp. He tried to get up, but his legs wouldn't respond. He fell again, and this time, he stayed on the ground, staring at the sky with empty eyes.
A few meters away, Kor was trying to protect a group of young waterbenders. His waterbending barely formed a barrier that shattered at the first impact. Kor fell, and Sokka heard his scream when a flaming rock crushed his leg. The young masters were thrown back, and one of the girls' screams was cut short.
"Kor!" Pakku shouted from the ground, but his voice was weak, almost inaudible. The old master tried to drag himself toward his friend, but he had no strength left.
Everywhere, the Northern warriors were falling. A soldier who had fought bravely since the start of the battle was crushed by a flaming rock. His body fell beside the musicians. A waterbender who had been part of the squid squadron was struck by a stray spear. Her body fell on the snow, and no one could reach her in time.
The musicians kept playing. Some had died, and others sang with tears in their eyes as the explosions drowned out their voices. The distorted music accompanied the chaos like an open wound.
Sokka needed to do something. Quickly, he gathered the metal spears left by the fallen. He imbued them with his chi as the weapons began to vibrate in his hands. One by one, he threw them into the sky, and each one exploded on contact, destroying a flaming rock.
But it wasn't enough. Every time he destroyed one, he saw two more approaching.
"Katara!" he called, without taking his eyes off the sky. "Get with Pakku! Form a dome!"
She stood up slowly, staggering. Her water tentacles had been reduced to two, and her face was pale, covered in ash and blood that wasn't hers. She looked at Sokka, and for a moment, Sokka saw in her eyes what he felt himself: fear. Fear that this might be the last time they saw each other.
"Go with Pakku. Build a dome. I'll cover you."
Katara opened her mouth to protest, but a nearby explosion forced her to take cover. When she looked up, her eyes were filled with tears.
"Sokka, I can't... I can't leave you here."
"You have to!" Sokka shouted, his voice breaking. "If you stay, you'll die!"
"I don't care!" she replied, her voice broken. "I don't want to lose you!"
Sokka felt something break inside him. It wasn't exhaustion or pain. It was fear. Fear of seeing his sister give up.
"No, Katara!" he shouted. "Go to Aang! It's the only way to save everyone!"
Katara looked at him, and for a moment, Sokka saw fear transform into determination. But he also saw how her hands trembled, how her legs barely held her.
"No!" she screamed, clinging to him desperately. "I won't leave you!"
Sokka hugged her tightly, feeling her body tremble against his.
"I love you, Katara," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "That's why you have to go."
It was then that he saw Pakku emerge from a curtain of smoke. The old master was crawling, his arm bloodied and his face covered in ash. He had managed to get up, but could barely stand.
"Pakku!" Sokka shouted. "Take her! Take her to Aang!"
The old master looked up, and for a moment, Sokka saw the grief in his eyes. He knew he was asking him to do something terrible. But he also knew there was no other choice.
Pakku nodded slowly and approached Katara, taking her arm with his good hand.
"We have to go, Katara," he said, his voice hoarse. "Your brother is right."
"No!" Katara screamed, struggling. "Don't let go of me!"
But Pakku held her tighter. Kor appeared limping—a healer had managed to treat his leg—and with difficulty helped his friend. Katara fought to break free, but her strength abandoned her.
"Sokka!" she screamed as they dragged her away.
Sokka watched her disappear into the smoke, and for a moment, the world went silent. Then he looked up at the sky, full of points of light.
He gripped his spiritual spear with both hands and began to imbue it with the rest of his chi. The spear vibrated with excitement at being used once more.
Sokka screamed with effort and launched the slash toward the sky.
The golden energy shot from his spear, growing in size and power. It struck the flaming rocks, pulverizing them in a blinding flash. Sokka felt the chi escaping from his hands, and he knew he couldn't do it again.
He fell to his knees. The world became blurry.
Around him, the musicians kept playing. The singers, with voices broken by exhaustion, still hummed Skyfall. Sokka smiled weakly and, for a moment, allowed himself to enjoy the song.
He raised his gaze to the sky. And he knew he had only bought two minutes.
He was alone. Surrounded by corpses and distorted music.