Hello, I apologize for the delay. I hope you enjoy it. (Warning) This chapter is very long—11,000 words. You might want to take your time to read it clearly and enjoy it. Thank you for your votes and comments (please comment—I love reading your comments and reactions).
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41. Connected Paths, Loyalty, and Sieges
In the Southern Tribe, determination was in the air. It had been over two months since Bato and Gilak had arrived alongside nearly a hundred members rescued by Sokka. The initial impact was brutal: upon setting foot on the snow, they were surrounded by fierce polar bear dogs and leopard-caribou that only calmed down upon recognizing the scent of Sokka's scarf, guiding them peacefully behind the wall.
Gilak couldn't hide his amazement. Within the walls, the tribe was a burgeoning city: warriors training in ice courtyards, warships in an orderly harbor, enormous workshops, and greenhouses unheard of in the South Pole. Tiga, the temporary overseer, and Gran Gran welcomed them with pride as the newcomers melted into embraces with their families. Seeing the respect and loyalty of the people, Bato silently processed his error; no one would ever see Arnook as their legitimate leader after this.
As they toured the village, the warriors' astonishment grew. The firebenders were not enemies; they worked side by side with the waterbenders in a perfect synergy that Sokka called "synergy." Beyond, the earthbenders, led by Tyro and his son Haru, extracted minerals and transported stone blocks following the blueprints the young strategist had left before departing.
Among the workers stood out Daichi, an eighteen-year-old firebender with a scar on his jaw. Tiga explained that he was one of the first defectors after being rescued by Sokka in the Hei Bai Forest, and now, after demonstrating genuine remorse, he was one of their main navigators and supervisor of the workshops.
On the other hand, the uncooperative prisoners worked under strict surveillance in a fenced-off area. Gran Gran showed them the control method designed by Sokka: ice or rock collars controlled by the elemental benders. The system was infallible; after three failed escape attempts that ended in instantaneous executions before even reaching the wall, the rest understood the message and cooperated in exchange for better rations.
A week later, the Mechanist arrived at the tribe alongside his son Teo and the other youths. He immediately got to work in the main workshops with the blueprints Sokka had given him and helped him correct. Bato watched the inventor measure metal pieces with precision while Teo, from his flying chair, supervised the assembly of wood and fabric.
"He's building the hot air balloons," Tiga explained. "The Mechanist told me Sokka urgently asked him to build them as quickly as possible."
Teo proudly explained that his father had improved upon the original designs thanks to the combined effort of the elemental benders, who sped up the smelting and molding process.
Contemplating the synergy of the workshops, Daichi leading the advancements, and the Mechanist optimizing production, alongside the Fire Nation engineers who were either volunteers or prisoners, Bato understood the magnitude of Hakoda's son's work.
For three months they worked hard under the Mechanist's guidance. The clang of metal resonated for days until finally they could breathe freely.
"It's time to prepare things!" Tiga ordered the tribe forcefully.
The female warriors boarded warships while benders of different elements boarded others.
On the decks of still others, there were bundles covered by black cloths, and two of the largest ships were chained to something big—bigger than themselves.
Tyro looked at Daichi with a smile.
"The time has come to pay part of the contract with Sokka. And doing it with you, a firebender, is something I never thought possible."
Daichi listened attentively as a melancholic smile formed on his face.
"I deserted the Fire Army because of their cruelty. I surrendered to Sokka for safety, out of cowardice. I thought I would never feel right about going to war, I thought I would never be at peace with the idea of taking a life."
Tyro watched young Daichi, how his fists clenched. For a moment, he thought he would abandon the idea of going with them.
"But even with the certainty that I could end the lives of people from my own nation, I know it's for a greater good. I'll do it because Sokka showed me the right path, and the cruelty my people are inflicting on the rest of the world."
"That's the spirit, Daichi!" Tiga exclaimed enthusiastically. "It's time to board! The moment has come when we will help our Tribal Chief!"
Tiga's words, though brief, ignited the hearts of the people in the tribe.
The men and warriors said goodbye to their families and friends who would stay behind to protect the tribe in their absence.
And finally, when the last ship was boarded, they were sent off with cheers and tears.
Bato still couldn't believe such loyalty and commitment that people, even from other nations, had toward Sokka, for Hakoda had never achieved anything like this.
Gilak, on the other hand, smiled with excitement. The idea that Sokka could mobilize such military power with just a letter and the Mechanist's warning excited him more than anything, because Sokka was indeed someone worthy of loyalty.
And those thoughts were shared by his men, and especially Lirin, an officer of the Southern Army who had been rescued by Sokka on the same prison ship as Gilak.
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(If you're interested in a song to read this part to, look up "Darkside" by NEONI—I listened to it while writing this part and I liked it.)
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Out on the vast ocean lay an enormous fleet of warships, their number exceeding one hundred, stretching as far as the horizon vanished into the mist.
Aboard the flagship, the largest and most regal in bearing, lay a slender figure who exuded power and respect.
Blue torches illuminated a large table. On it, a map.
The generals surrounded the great table as they warily observed Princess Azula.
She was the only one seated in a royal chair, flanked by Mai and Ty Lee.
General Ryaku, at her right, was still processing the plan she had shared with them with incredible calm.
It was a plan that had taken over two months to reveal.
Since they had left the Fire Nation up until that very moment, they had only been ordered to procure more troops and a strange green jelly.
They had the coordinates, the necessary tunnel, and most importantly, the date.
All provided by the letters from the spies she had sent posing as the Avatar, along with some Southern waterbender prisoners.
Azula ended the meeting with a serene smile as she left the chamber.
This would be her second siege, after Omashu, and that was why she had taken much more time than necessary. There were few variables to account for, and normally she wouldn't even worry about those variables.
But Kuzon had taught her not to trust blindly in her abilities, as well as not to aspire to or depend on perfection, because if she ever failed, that perfection would be her undoing.
And most importantly of all, the most important variable of all, more dangerous than the Avatar himself: Sokka.
All the reports she had meticulously read, all the surviving soldiers she had interrogated, painted him as a monster.
And she wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes when he and that peasant waterbender girl freed the Avatar along with the Blue Spirit from her grasp.
That slash of pure energy, his martial arts, and physical prowess.
She watched Sokka tear through her soldiers, how he ripped lives away with his spear and bare hands. But above all, she realized that after his energy-cutting attack, he weakened.
If she could make him use that attack during the Northern siege, and weaken him, victory would be hers.
Finishing her thoughts, she remembered Kuzon. She remembered the kiss, the farewell, and above all, she missed him.
He was the only one who didn't fear her, the only one who cared about her. He had made her see that her obsession with perfection, which she considered an advantage, was slowly destroying her.
That's why she did something she never thought she would do: she meditated. Alone, in her room, she remembered her childhood.
She remembered how her mother seemed to love Zuko more than her. How she learned firebending to surprise her, and when she did, she only saw fear on her face. But her father arrived with genuine excitement. Every training session, every perfect stance, earned her more affection from Ozai.
From there came her obsession with perfection. And also envy, the longing to want everything for herself.
She had power, talent. But she lacked maternal love.
Azula regulated her breathing. This time she didn't repress her emotions; she let them flow. She accepted anger, confusion, and sadness as part of herself. That serene smile she always showed before meeting Kuzon was nothing but an empty mask. At the slightest mistake—a hair out of place, a bad posture, a flawed plan—she would crumble.
But in the destroyed fortress, after the Avatar's rescue, she let everything out for the first time. She screamed, hurled fire, destroyed what remained. There was no perfection in that moment. And when she calmed down, she found a peace she had never felt before. Her firebending grew stronger.
All thanks to Kuzon. Someone who understood her and genuinely wanted to help her.
She opened her eyes and stood up. A genuine smile, not feigned, formed on her face.
When the royal ship stopped, she knew the moment had come. The Northern Tribe was faintly visible on the horizon.
On the deck, Mai, Ty Lee, two soldiers, and a launch boat awaited her.
—The barrels are ready, Princess —said Ryaku.
—Very well. Remember to do it at dusk, when the atmosphere is at its peak.
The soldiers bowed their heads in acknowledgment. Her launch boat touched the sea and advanced with a fixed course toward the shore, carrying the barrels and the princess's instructions.
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On a tundra in the North Pole, outside the ice city, there were two figures.
One of them played a bone flute, from which a beautiful melody emerged, imbued with invisible energy.
And the one playing such a beautiful melody was Sokka, his gaze fixed on a man writhing on the ground while trying to cover his ears.
He was experimenting. After Arnook abolished the tradition that forbade teaching women, everything took a 180-degree turn. Pakku had found Katara's necklace on the ground.
There he told them the story of Gran Gran and how she escaped marriage because of traditions.
Katara grew saddened by the story, and Pakku promised to teach waterbending to her and any woman who wanted to learn, all to redeem his mistakes.
As a result, Sokka's influence in the Northern Tribe had skyrocketed. Women of all ages constantly thanked him; some young men also thanked him.
And those warriors who had seen his strength against Pakku and Talik respected him even more. But with the good came the bad: the vast majority of the elders with political power despised him, all because, in their own words, a dirty peasant had no right to demand anything in the Northern Tribe.
But Sokka paid it no mind and decided to continue with his plan to gain influence. Day after day he went for walks with Yue, and together they watched Pakku teach waterbending to the women.
A month into that routine, Yue and he talked about the color of her hair. She told Sokka that she had been stillborn and that the Moon Spirit had brought her back to life with its own energy, turning her hair white.
In turn, Sokka told her the story of how he defeated the spirit lion and how the spirits had given him temporary waterbending as a reward.
Of course, the story Sokka told was one with many omissions.
Sokka asked her not to tell anyone that he had that ability, and Yue, without fully understanding why, agreed.
That time, Sokka also asked her if she could do waterbending, and she, afraid, confirmed it.
—But well —Sokka interrupted her deliberately—. If the Moon Spirit gave you life with its energy, doesn't that mean you can also use waterbending?
The words he had said resonated within her. Not because she had never thought of it, but because they were true.
Yue lowered her gaze.
—Yes —she admitted in a low voice—. I've known it since I was a child.
—And you never tried to learn?
—I was afraid. I still am. The rules changed, I know. I see Katara and the others training every day. But I didn't change with them. I grew up hearing that women couldn't fight. My marriage, my future... everything was decided before I was born. And now, even though part of those rules disappeared, I'm still the same. With the same fears.
Sokka listened without interrupting.
—You're right about one thing —he said finally—. The rules changed, but you didn't. Fear doesn't disappear just because a law is repealed. Katara was also afraid at first. She refused to train with me, she blamed me... but the truth was she was afraid of failing. And yet she kept trying, because she wanted to learn more than she feared failure. You can do the same. If you want.
—What if I'm not strong enough?
—Then you'll be stronger than yesterday. And less than tomorrow. That's how it works.
Yue smiled, though her eyes still glistened.
—About the other thing —Sokka said, turning more serious—. Your marriage. Your future. You're the princess. Being princess doesn't mean you have to accept what's imposed on you. It means you have a voice others don't. If you don't want to marry Hahn, say it. If you want to learn waterbending, do it. If you want something different for your life... fight for it.
—Fight? —Yue repeated, as if the word were foreign to her.
—Fight. I'm not saying start a revolution. I'm saying don't stay silent waiting for someone else to decide for you. Your father listens to you. Your people respect you. If you speak, things can change.
Yue looked at him for a long moment.
—Do you really believe that?
—I know it.
—Thank you.
Sokka nodded.
Then, she changed her tone.
—Sokka... that feeling you have?
—What feeling?
—When I'm near you —Yue brought a hand to her chest—, I feel something. Like a pulse. A resonance. As if something inside me recognizes you.
Sokka sighed.
—That resonance isn't what you think. The Moon Spirit gave you life. It gave me waterbending. We both have a piece of that spirit inside us. That's why you feel that. That's why I recognize you. That's why you recognize me.
Yue listened in silence.
—I see —she murmured—. That explains why I feel it. But it doesn't change that I do feel it.
Sokka blinked.
—I'm not saying it's romantic —she interrupted him—. I'm just saying that, whatever the reason... you make me feel something. And I can't pretend I don't.
Sokka held her gaze for a moment and smiled warmly at her.
He was using her as a political ally; he knew about the feelings she had, but he still moved forward. He felt a bit guilty for playing with her, but at the same time, he felt relief.
Not because his plan was working, but because his intention to help her was also genuine. He wanted to prevent her from dying, he wanted to prevent her from marrying Hahn.
Not because he liked her, but out of pity.
All because Yue reminded him of his own mother, a woman from a wealthy family who was betrothed to a man of equal standing.
He spent his childhood watching his mother suffer. They had luxuries and had each other, yet they still felt alone.
That man didn't love his mother, and he only saw Sokka as an obligation to fulfill for his parents.
That's why Sokka was willing to help Yue despite his own benefits. He wanted to spare her the pain and loneliness of being used only for her status.
After that, Yue began learning waterbending alongside Katara.
Sokka always went to watch with amusement.
He saw Aang learning with innate naturalness, and above all, he saw Katara learning everything like a true prodigy. It took her no more than three tries to master a technique perfectly.
During the afternoons, after training, she would go with Sokka to continue training. Under her brother's instructions, she learned that stances and techniques could be optimized with the same or even more power. She shortened movements, stances, optimized everything without losing power.
All of this was also for himself. Every time Sokka went to observe Pakku's training sessions, it wasn't just for entertainment. He memorized every movement, every chi flow that controlled the water. It was his way of learning real waterbending. And with Katara, he practiced the movements without using waterbending.
When he had nothing more to learn, Sokka decided to train a chi-based ability.
With his teleportation boots, he managed to infiltrate the prison holding the spies who had posed as the Avatar, and he took one out to the tundra outside the tribe. The guards didn't even notice, as they didn't check on the prisoners daily.
And for over a month, he practiced with his flute made from the Southern spirit lion. He imbued his breath with chi, and the melody that emerged from the combination of that spiritual flute and his own energy created waves.
Sokka learned to cause pain, learned to cause fatigue and induce sleep.
Week after week, experiment after experiment, he managed to influence that prisoner's behavior.
Until a month later, he created the melody that would allow him to hypnotize someone. That person would stay still, susceptible to orders and brainwashing without many complications.
All thanks to the fact that the sound and Sokka's energy, along with the flute, altered the person's chi flow, while also altering their thinking.
But Sokka wasn't naive. He knew the prisoner he had experimented on was exhausted in every possible way. So with a different song, Sokka erased his memories of the past month and induced sleep.
With a click of his boots, Sokka and the prisoner disappeared and appeared in an empty cell.
Sokka observed the spy prisoners until he saw one as young as himself. His height was similar, and above all, he looked healthy and completely sane.
With two more clicks, Sokka disappeared and reappeared on the tundra with that young spy.
Confusion filled the young man until a beautiful melody reached his ears. At first it was calm, but soon immense pain filled his head and ears. The melody remained just as beautiful and melodious; the problem was him.
Little by little, his vision blurred and he lost all sense of self.
The young spy resisted until his body stopped writhing and he stood up. His gaze was empty, his body completely straight.
Sokka smiled with satisfaction, confirming that his hypnosis had worked on someone healthy and with strong will.
—Good, tell me. What was your mission in coming to the North and posing as the Avatar? —asked Sokka.
—Princess Azula ordered us to infiltrate and learn about the tribe —the young man replied instantly, without hesitation and with his voice completely normal.
—What else? Did you write to the princess?
—Yes. I informed her about the little infrastructure I managed to gather before they found out I was a spy. I told her how many guards were on the wall.
—What is Azula's attack plan?
—I don't know. The princess only ordered us to observe and report. She told no one her plan.
Sokka cursed in annoyance. The other spy had told him the same thing: they didn't know Azula's plan beyond their own mission.
Sokka deduced that the number of guards and the infrastructure was to know which specific places to attack once they managed to get inside.
—Did you see or hear anything else?
—The princess ordered that more troops join the siege along the way here. She gathered materials.
—Is Azula here yet? What materials?
—No. I don't know when she'll arrive. We came first by taking the direct route. Before departing, I saw many barrels with a green jelly.
Sokka frowned. Green jelly? He only knew of one type that fit that description: explosive jelly. He himself had stolen large quantities from the Omashu warehouse when he went as Kuzon with Azula.
"Maybe Azula's plan is to blow the wall to pieces with that jelly?" Sokka thought.
He observed the young man before him and played the flute again, imbuing his breath with chi. This time the melody was heavy and melancholic.
This time the young man's gaze dimmed even further.
—Who are you? —he asked.
—I... —The spy tried to answer without success—. I don't know.
Sokka smiled.
—Your name is Kuzon, you're a spy born in the colonies, you're a friend of Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee.
—Yes, I am Kuzon, born in the colonies... —The spy repeated with confidence.
Through experimentation with the previous prisoner, Sokka realized that implanting memories into a hypnotized person required two things to work properly: that the memory be erased to avoid resistance, and that the new identity be suggested, even slightly, all so that the final step would succeed.
Sokka closed his eyes as he gathered chi in his hand. But this was not ordinary pure energy. No, he gathered his memories as Kuzon and made them flow into his chi.
He had already managed to see the memories of a spirit and implant a part of his own into a clone of spiritual vines that Naenia had created for him. Implanting them into a human without consciousness or memories should be similar.
Once the memories were gathered in the chi, Sokka placed his energy-charged hand on the young spy's forehead and let the memories flow into his brain.
Soon the spy's mind began to fill with vivid memories. His identity as Kuzon was gradually forming. But not only that: a very faint consciousness, as well as superficial thoughts, began to form.
"I am Kuzon, not the real one, but I am him. Obey Sokka, act as Kuzon."
Soon, a set of ideas and skills were implanted in him. Combat abilities that came from the memories and a way of speaking took root in his being.
"Who are you?" Sokka asked again.
This time the young spy smiled as his eyes faintly gleamed with gold.
"I am Kuzon, a spy, friend of Ty Lee, and in love with Azula."
"What will you do?" Sokka asked with amusement.
"Whatever you tell me. Help Azula, manipulate her, all for the plan."
Sokka smiled broadly. It had worked. He had implanted the personality and memories into a foreign body—a superficial consciousness that was not his own, born from the memories, with a specific objective.
"Fight, show me everything you know about combat," Sokka said as he handed him an old spear.
The false Kuzon took it, and fast, precise movements began to be thrown. Thrusts, sweeps, strikes, jumps.
Suddenly, the spy began to recreate the sparring match that Sokka (as Kuzon) had had with Azula.
Sokka watched everything with fascination. The movements were ninety percent perfect; the strength and agility were very similar.
The false Kuzon stood still doing nothing, his breathing labored while his body trembled unconsciously.
Sokka observed and lifted his clothes to see the young man's body. On it were bruises in specific areas: wrists, hips, knees, ankles. He deduced that recreating such movements must have caused him tears and sprains.
"You are perfect," he said as he controlled water that began to glow, "but very weak. You don't have the physical capabilities to imitate me perfectly."
What followed were several attempts until the false Kuzon could imitate the voice Sokka used for Kuzon. And he changed his face with his ability to change fabric textures with chi.
In the end, Sokka let out a sigh and returned the prisoner to the cell with instructions to sleep and not show his new face.
With another teleport, Sokka appeared on an empty terrace.
His boots had 17 uses left; if his experiment hadn't borne fruit, he would have regretted wasting more than 8 uses. But since that wasn't the case, he was happy.
The only thing that worried him now was Azula's appearance. Almost 3 months had passed since they were in the South Pole, and she hadn't shown up.
According to the words of the two spies, she had gathered resources like the jelly, and to blow up the wall, she needed to get close.
That served him well. If she made her appearance like Zhao did in the original, he could take advantage of the confusion people would have upon seeing the "black snow" and clarify that they were the Fire Nation, thus gaining more reputation.
But of course, this would only be possible if the ships arrived during the day.
Either way, Sokka was confident that Azula would make her majestic appearance, displaying her naval power.
At dusk, Sokka arrived at his inn and looked at Katara and Aang. His sister was elegantly dressed in a warm blue dress with white fur on the collar, while the young Monk wore his typical airbender attire.
Sokka frowned upon seeing him but decided to ignore it; he had given up trying to make the Avatar dress more elegantly.
"Let's go, Sokka, we have to be ready to get to the banquet."
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Sokka said lazily.
It took him no more than five minutes to dress in his most elegant tribal chief attire, and again, he omitted wearing his spirit lion cloak. He only saved it for after something truly important.
"Alright, I'm ready, let's go."
Katara and Aang smiled as they entered the events tower.
It was, as the name implies, a four-story tower built of solid ice used for banquets and events—specifically, this banquet was held every first night of the full moon.
Upon reaching the top floor, they were greeted by a delicious aroma of food and music provided by Sokka to the musicians.
The three young people greeted Chief Arnook and Princess Yue with respect.
When the hall was finally full at nightfall, Pakku spoke.
"As is custom, we gather again under the light of the full moon, here at the royal banquet, to thank the Moon Spirit for our safety and the life of our beloved Princess Yue."
The old man's words were filled with a joy that Sokka still found strange.
"And also to thank Katara and Sokka from our sister tribe, because some traditions cannot last forever."
Those words brought smiles of joy to most of the banquet members, especially Yue and Katara, but among the elders and military generals, they only generated annoyance.
"If that tradition had continued, we would have missed out on a powerful waterbender, Katara, and we would still not know that our beloved princess is also one. That is why this banquet is being held."
The applause was immediate, and the music started again.
Yue cast some looks and cheerful, flirtatious smiles at Sokka, who only responded with amused smiles.
Meanwhile, Aang and Katara ate and spoke with various people.
The atmosphere was lively.
When she finished her meal, Katara spoke to him.
"Sokka, thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to fulfill my dream of having a waterbending master and learning my art correctly."
Sokka returned a warm smile. "You also deserve credit, Katara. You showed them your abilities yourself; you taught them they were wrong. That's why this banquet is largely because of you."
Katara smiled with teary eyes and hugged him while still seated.
He returned the hug while patting her head. He hadn't had sisters in his past life, but now, he had learned to appreciate Katara as if she were a true sister, even when he annoyed or ignored her for fun.
Hours passed, and people began to dance. Sokka danced with Yue and several women with fun and joy, while Katara did the same.
The elders and military generals looked at him with annoyance but didn't let it ruin their night.
When Sokka paused to sit down and drink some water, he overheard Aang and Katara talking.
"It's incredible that all the important people were able to come."
"Yes, the elders and generals are here. I hope that someday we can do something like this in our tribe, don't you think, Sokka?"
"Yes, that would be great."
Sokka's response came with a calm smile, but something made him uneasy.
The spies' words: documenting infrastructure, green jelly.
Although those spies had documented very little information because they were the first ones, others might have documented more.
Maybe they knew about this banquet every full moon.
Sokka looked around cautiously—musicians, waterbenders, and warriors with good social status, military leaders and elders, the Avatar, Katara, and himself.
"Maybe the spies noted the infrastructure so that a spy could enter unseen and... carry out an assassination at the banquet?" he said to himself, unheard by anyone due to the music.
Sokka began to carefully observe the waiters, cooks, and guards of the place. They all looked fine, normal, and calm; their skin and eye color didn't give them away as firebenders.
Tapping his finger thoughtfully on the table, he spoke. "Stay here, Katara, rest a little longer," he told her with apparent calm.
He didn't want his sister to be a target for any infiltrator.
Sokka closed his eyes and expanded his Chi; quickly, his Chi perception emerged.
Making a mental map, he probed the energy of all those present in the tower and the outskirts.
All the energy traces matched those of Water Tribe people; none belonged to any firebender.
Katara looked at her brother with concern; she felt that something bad had happened, and that's why he hadn't let her leave a moment ago. "What's wrong, Sokka?" she asked worriedly.
"It's nothing, just my imagination," he said with a smile.
Katara believed him, but still decided to remain seated beside him.
"There are no spies. If I were Azula, this would be the perfect place to carry out an assassination of someone important and cause instability... But there's no one. Maybe Azula hasn't arrived yet because she's preparing something bigger.
Blow up the wall... Explosive jelly, infrastructure..."
Sokka looked again at all those present at the banquet—politicians, elders, warriors, Hakoda, Yue, the Avatar, Katara, himself.
All gathered in one place, in the tallest tower.
Suddenly, an explosion sound and a slight tremor interrupted his thoughts, while at the same time his danger sense resonated throughout his body.
Sokka looked around; the danger was coming from all directions.
"Sokka," Katara said with concern.
"We are all gathered in one place, in the tallest tower, in plain sight. That's what the damn explosive jelly was for."
The next second, more explosions filled the place as the tower began to collapse.
Sokka didn't waste any time; he grabbed Katara in a princess carry and leaped through a window just as the last explosion made the tower fall.
Katara screamed in fear as Sokka bent his knees and landed on the ground, creating a spiderweb pattern in the ice beneath his feet.
And immediately, he pushed off to move several meters away from the site.
"Sokka, Aang is in danger!" Katara shouted desperately, watching the imposing ice structure finish collapsing completely.
"Go find him quickly and use your waterbending to remove the debris. I'll go for the guards," Sokka ordered urgently. Both siblings separated without losing a single second.
Fortunately for the young Southern leader, he soon ran into a squad of twenty soldiers surrounding a huge hole in the ice.
"Get out of the way!" he roared, charging at them just as a new detonation emerged from the pit. The soldiers fell to the ground from the impact. "Go immediately to the destroyed tower! Help with the rescue! All the damn high command of the tribe was in there!" Sokka bellowed, unleashing his fury in direct orders.
He didn't care about the fate of the generals or the council elders; what truly ate at him was his own naivety. He felt completely incompetent. He knew about the explosive jelly, he knew the banquet coincided with the full moon, and yet he had failed to connect the dots. Even worse: like a stupid novice, he had assumed Azula would attack head-on, displaying her naval power in broad daylight.
"Damn cunning lunatic," he cursed under his breath, aware that, ironically, it was because of him that she had become so dangerous.
"You two, stay with me! The rest, go right now and use your waterbending to lift the debris!"
The soldiers snapped to attention and obeyed automatically, running toward the disaster zone.
"You guard the entrance. I'll go down through this damn hole to hunt the bastards who caused this."
Without waiting for a reply, Sokka threw himself into the void, braking his free fall by driving two knives into the ice walls. As he descended, guilt assailed him again. At first, his plan with Azula was to humanize her; he wanted her to see the damage she was doing to herself by obsessing over perfection and to open her eyes to how her father was using her. He had even considered seducing her to bring her to his side. He never imagined that giving her a clearer, more strategic mind would turn her into a monster capable of devising such a perfect plan.
A murmur of voices interrupted his thoughts below.
"Hurry, prepare another charge. If we manage to take out all the leaders as Princess Azula ordered, we'll have our lives made."
"I know, I know. Pass the next barrel."
The Fire Nation soldiers talked among themselves with laughter, unaware of the shadow looming over them. With a feline movement, Sokka dropped onto the back of one. Two quick, precise blows to pressure points were enough to knock them unconscious on the spot.
"Damn sons of bitches," he muttered upon seeing the launch boat and the six remaining barrels.
Those men had managed to infiltrate through an underground tunnel that connected directly to the tower's foundations. Surely, the precise location had been leaked by one of the last spies.
Sokka summoned a rope from his storage spirit and, at the same time, mentally ordered the little being to devour the cargo. The yellow spirit nodded enthusiastically, swallowing the barrels and the launch boat with its enormous mouth before shrinking back down to the form of a modest cloth sack. After securely tying up the saboteurs, Sokka climbed back to the surface with a series of superhuman leaps that cracked the walls.
"These guys came in through an underground conduit. I suppose the spy who posed as the Avatar leaked it in some correspondence," Sokka reported gravely to the guards.
Looking up, he noticed the first wisps of black snow floating in the air. It was ash. Azula's fleet was already close.
"Lock them up for interrogation later. And kill the other spies we have in the cells. Now."
The soldiers nodded firmly, intimidated by his tone.
"I'll go for the healers; I'm the fastest here. The enemy has already arrived, but I doubt they'll launch the main assault tonight because of the full moon," Sokka concluded, pointing to the shining satellite in the sky.
The guards looked up instinctively, and when they looked back, Sokka had already vanished.
"Let's go, take these two and execute the other infiltrators," one of the guards stated with conviction. Although Sokka held no formal political position in the North, he projected such overwhelming authority that it was impossible not to obey him.
A blurry silhouette crossed the settlement at breakneck speed: Sokka was heading to the healers' hut. Bursting into the place, he found the women huddled in a corner, panic-stricken by the detonations from minutes before.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Sokka's firm shout cut through the air. "The Events Tower collapsed and there are dozens of injured. You are healers. Leave your fear behind and go save the lives of your leaders!"
His words struck deep. The highest-ranking healer reacted immediately, regaining her composure.
"He's right. We must set out for our people. Move!"
One by one, the women hurried out of the hut. Sokka did not accompany them. He spotted the military prison about fifty meters away and ran toward it.
The entrance was guarded by a young soldier, a student of Thalic. Like his teacher, the boy harbored a deep resentment toward Sokka. Upon seeing him approach, he raised his spear immediately.
"Get out of here, Southerner. Visiting hours are over."
Sokka didn't care about his attitude. With an icy smile, he vanished from his field of vision. The last thing the young guard registered was a dry crack in his vertebrae before the light went out in his eyes.
With glacial indifference, Sokka moved the corpse aside, took out his spiritual bone flute, and began to play a mystical melody that plunged all the prison inmates into a deep sleep. He walked with a firm step to the false Kuzon's cell and roughly woke him up.
"Change clothes with him," he ordered, pointing at the dead guard. "Then, burn him. Make it look like your own suicide."
The false Kuzon nodded mechanically. Within three minutes, the exchange was done, and a charred body lay in the cell. Sokka placed his hand on the modified spy's shoulder and, with a blink of teleportation, they reappeared in a shelter for the destitute within the city. The refugees were so shaken by the explosions that no one noticed their arrival.
Leaving his new asset there, Sokka went out into the street and returned to the disaster zone.
As he ran, a pragmatic and dark thought crossed his mind: if Arnook and the rest of the elders died in the attack, he could take control of the North using Yue's figure and unify the tribes much faster. However, he shook his head to push aside those political calculations and joined the rescue efforts, lifting ice blocks and massive beams with the sheer strength of his hands.
"Sokka!" his sister's voice echoed through the chaos. "Aang is safe! He managed to protect himself and rescue several civilians using waterbending," Katara announced with relief.
"Do they know anything about Arnook or Yue?"
"They still haven't found them."
"Alright. Keep helping."
After several minutes of clearing debris, Sokka located the princess. She had survived thanks to the sacrifice of her personal guards, whose bodies had covered her. Sokka chided himself for not having used his chi perception from the start, but in a crisis of such magnitude, he couldn't afford the luxury of closing his eyes and staying still for the time needed to track everyone.
When Yue opened her eyes and recognized him, she threw herself into his arms, bursting into inconsolable sobs against his shoulder.
"Easy, Yue. It's over. Everything's fine," he whispered to calm her. He avoided making promises about her father's life; if Arnook was dead and he gave her false hope, he would only earn her contempt.
Nevertheless, when a group of waterbenders removed a colossal block a few meters away, Sokka's heart experienced a strange mix of relief and annoyance: Arnook emerged practically unharmed, guarded by his best men.
Soon, the contingent of healers arrived at the site and began treating the wounded en masse, although many perished before receiving aid. That night represented a devastating blow to the Northern Water Tribe. However, the number of casualties was drastically reduced thanks to the actions of a single person. All the survivors knew that if Sokka hadn't mobilized the guard instantly, if he hadn't intercepted the tunnel saboteurs, and if he hadn't snapped the healers out of their stupor, the massacre would have been absolute.
Meanwhile, on the deck of an imposing warship waiting on the periphery, a sleek and majestic silhouette gazed at the horizon with a furrowed brow.
"It seems your strategy was a complete success, Princess," Ryaku praised with sincere admiration.
Azula stepped away from the long-range spyglass that allowed her to observe the destruction in the citadel and spoke with undisguised irritation:
"There were supposed to be six more explosions to guarantee the total eradication of the high command. Someone clever enough was able to dismantle my offensive in record time."
Ryaku tensed upon sensing the dangerous vibration in the princess's voice.
"Do you think it was...?"
"I'm sure it was Sokka," Azula stated immediately, breaking into a slight smile. "I'm absolutely sure it was him. After all, if it weren't, this wouldn't be so much fun."
Ryaku exchanged a look of astonishment with Ty Lee and Mai. In the past, a setback of this caliber would have triggered a frustration crisis in the princess. But this new Azula was different; she seemed to savor the challenge that rival presented.
"I want you to organize rotating shifts for tonight," the princess ordered, regaining her cool. "Attack the city with the catapults for twenty minutes every hour. Don't let them have any rest tonight."
"Yes, Princess!"
Azula walked away, followed by her two trusted friends. She looked at the full moon and smiled.
"In a week, when the new moon appears and they are weaker, we will attack."
"That's a very good plan, Azula," Ty Lee said excitedly as she hugged her, something she wouldn't have been able to do so often with the old Azula—or at least, not with such ease.
"Yes, I just hope Kuzon can come."
Meanwhile, in the Northern citadel, Sokka had already helped evacuate the survivors of the attack and was waiting for Katara and Aang to recover.
"Luckily, the tower is in a clear area and there are no houses nearby," Sokka said calmly.
"Yes, it's a relief that there are no civilians in the..."
Aang's words were cut off when Sokka violently turned his head toward the sky. Katara and Aang followed his gaze and saw with horror how four rocks covered in fire were heading toward the city.
Sokka didn't waste any time and snatched four spears from the nearby soldiers. He quickly concentrated chi into the weapons until they began to vibrate and hurled them with all his might at the projectiles. Upon impact, they released a golden shockwave that completely destroyed them.
"Damn it!" Sokka shouted. One part of him was pretending to be calm in front of the Northerners, but the other was genuinely upset.
"Evacuate the civilians to the back of the city!" he ordered the soldiers without hesitation.
Quickly, the square filled with citizens. Men, women, and children of all ages ran to take shelter.
"What are the sentinel waterbenders on the walls doing?!" he asked as he saw more projectiles approaching. From their speed and trajectory, Sokka calculated they would impact in 40 seconds.
"I don't know," a soldier replied nervously.
Sokka ignored him and looked at his sister and the Avatar.
"Use waterbending and destroy those projectiles now!"
Both teenagers reacted and synchronized their movements in a second. Sokka had taught them those moves some time ago for a situation like this. They spread their legs and positioned themselves as if they were mirror images of each other. With fluid and firm arm movements, they gathered water and ice from the ground and launched large amounts at the fire projectiles, extinguishing them in seconds.
"Tell all the sentinels who are waterbenders to look at the damn sky and destroy the projectiles with waterbending like Katara did!"
This time, Sokka's fury was real. These people believed themselves superior to him and his tribe; they thought their bending and military techniques were incomparable, but at this moment they looked completely pathetic and useless.
"I-I don't think two of us can do the same as Miss Katara and the Avatar," said a waterbender, frightened by the situation.
"Then use more benders! It doesn't matter if there are four or six, but stop the projectiles from impacting!" Sokka yelled at him as he grabbed him by the collar of his coat and then let him go.
Once again, his danger sense roared at the back of his neck, and he saw five more projectiles approaching. This time, without waiting for orders, Katara and Aang moved. Sokka picked up a spear from the ground, charged it with chi, threw it, and destroyed one of the projectiles. His sister and the Avatar destroyed two more, but the last one was about to impact right where they were standing.
"Raise a barrier! Aang, slow it down with air!"
Three waterbenders alongside Katara covered the projectile's path with ice barriers, and Aang hurled an air vortex at it to reduce its speed. Even so, due to gravity, the impact was brutal, and the crash caused panic.
Sokka began shouting orders to direct the waterbenders: stop the projectiles, put out fires, and shelter the civilians. One after another, they followed his orders without protest, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Minute after minute, more and more projectiles rained down on the citadel.
"Evacuate them fast!" Sokka bellowed as he threw two more spears.
"Sir!" a warrior called him urgently. "The civilians have already been evacuated. There are some injured, but the rest are fine."
"Good, tell the healers to send a group to take care of them!" Sokka couldn't stop shouting, as soldiers everywhere were asking for help or repeating his orders to others. "Also send warriors to protect them and order competent waterbenders to form a thick ice barrier to shield them from possible impacts!"
The soldier nodded and ran to carry out the orders. Sokka knew the catapults wouldn't reach where the civilians were, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
On the royal ship, Azula watched with amusement as the first projectiles were repelled time and again.
"Princess, it seems they managed to repel the attacks!" Ryaku reported hurriedly.
Azula frowned and brought her hand to her chin.
"It seems several competent generals survived the explosions, because I doubt this is the work of a single teenager," she said with disdain, ignoring the fact that she herself was a teenager younger than Sokka. "Launch more projectiles. Attack without stopping for the next hour and a half. If they still have the strength to defend themselves, then we must break their spirit."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Ryaku couldn't stop being amazed by Azula's cunning. He knew she was a prodigy, but he never imagined her to be at this level.
While they were loading the catapults once more, Azula spotted, far in the distance, a figure on the great wall of the Northern Tribe. She insistently asked for a spyglass and was able to make out the silhouette a little more clearly. It looked like a man—a teenager by his build—standing completely upright, holding an enormous bow. But the strangest thing was that he seemed to glow with a faint light.
"An archer?" Azula's words came out on their own, laced with some confusion.
General Ryaku was startled and quickly took a longer-range spyglass. For a moment his hands trembled, but when he saw the figure on the wall, he couldn't help but laugh in disbelief.
"What does that idiot think he's aiming at?" he asked, amused, seeing how the bow pointed upward and toward the south, completely out of range of their ships. And even if he were aiming directly at them, they were terribly far from the wall.
Azula watched him, analyzing everything in an almost cold manner, and at the same time, her excitement and amusement grew. When a current of air came from the south, the young man released the arrow from his bow, which had been drawn tremendously tight.
(Before the shot)
Sokka measured the distance, calculated the wind, the drop, the speed, and the force with which he drew the bowstring. That bow and that string were not normal; he had carved the bow himself from the largest rib of the possessed lion he had killed in the South, and the string was the thickest and longest hair from its mane, so its resilience and range were immense—even more so when charged with chi.
When everything was ready, he fired the arrow with explosive jelly toward a ship that was loading its catapults. The arrow flew high and far from the direction of the ships, but the air current corrected its course perfectly, carrying it straight to the target.
Ryaku followed the arrow with his spyglass, perplexed by such skill with the bow. He doubted that even a Yuyan archer could make such an impossible shot. Azula, on the other hand, followed the arrow without a spyglass, an excited smile on her face.
"Princess, what do we do?" Ryaku asked hastily, realizing the arrow was heading toward them.
Azula stepped back a few paces and said with complete calm:
"Step away from the catapult."
All the soldiers ran to take cover just as the arrow exploded upon touching the catapult. Surprise washed over them, and only increased when they saw explosions appear on the catapults of six other ships.
"Impressive," Azula said. "Stop the attack for now. Let them celebrate their victory and destroy them in an hour when we resume the assault."
"Yes, Princess."
Meanwhile, in the Northern citadel, everyone celebrated the explosions in the enemy fleet with excitement.
"It's likely they'll stop their attack for an hour, so rest in shifts and stay alert to enemy movements!" Sokka shouted as he slung the bow across his back. "Avoid at all costs letting them damage the walls, and minimize damage to the houses! Those who aren't waterbenders, search for stray civilians and take them to the shelters!"
The warriors quickly carried out the orders, and some waterbenders began dividing into shifts to rest.
"I want four waterbenders per projectile to take it down—have water or ice ready and protect the wall!"
"Sokka, I want to help!" Katara called out as she saw him walking toward an inn near the shelters.
"No, you and Aang rest and sleep. You'll be needed more later."
"But...!"
"But nothing!" Sokka snapped in desperation.
Seeing his sister flinch from the shock and fear, Sokka pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and let out a heavy sigh.
"I'm not going to risk you getting worn out or hurt because of these damn incompetents. If you want to help, you can reinforce the ice barriers of the shelters and help the healers, but after that, I want you to sleep."
"That's not fair, Sokka. You took risks firing those arrows and giving orders."
"Yes, I did it so that you and everyone else wouldn't get hurt. Or would you have preferred me to stand still and watch these people die?"
"No, I..."
Sokka looked at her, and his expression softened.
"It's okay, Katara, for now just go and rest," he told her, giving her a warm hug.
She walked away dejectedly alongside Aang, escorted by a soldier who guided them to an inn further from the danger.
Finally, Sokka went to the old inn, grabbed the luggage of the three of them, and took it to the new temporary residence of Team Avatar. On the way, he decided to shut off his mind and ignore everything else. He was physically, spiritually, and mentally exhausted; he had disastrously miscalculated Azula's plan, even though he had ended up controlling and taking advantage of the situation. His body felt heavy from constantly charging his arms, torso, and back with chi, and much of his energy had vanished from imbuing the spears to strengthen his attacks.
His thoughts were interrupted when a royal guard called him:
"Sokka, sir. Chief Arnook requests your presence in the war room."
"What?" Sokka asked purely out of instinct. Not because he was surprised, but because of the sheer audacity they had to call him. Most likely, all the "great" elders and generals had been hiding in that bunker while he handled saving their skins.
As he walked, he began to think about how many important people had survived and what exactly the meeting would be about. Upon entering the royal palace, he noticed it was partially destroyed; being built right in the center of the citadel, it had taken several direct hits from the catapults.
Sokka entered the war room with a confident and imposing bearing, even though his clothes were dirty, splattered with ash, and torn from the defense half an hour ago.
"Please, have a seat, Sokka," Arnook said, clearly exhausted.
Sokka nodded and immediately noticed that half the seats were empty. The remaining men looked at him sideways, with contempt, as if they were doing him a favor out of pure honor by allowing him to be there. Especially one of them: Talik, an elderly man with a stiff demeanor, wiping an imperceptible stain from his expensive blue coat.
"Chief, we must wait and analyze the situation. This enemy seems intelligent, but it's clear they are cautious, seeing that our people repelled their attack," said an elder with the rank of general, trying to sound analytical.
"Indeed, Chief. I agree with Elder Hak. Doing anything now would be too rash on our part; our tribe is strong enough to hold out for now."
Sokka frowned, completely annoyed. "Damn bastards, they hide their cowardice with words that pretend to make sense while stealing my credit."
Most of the elders agreed, except for Pakku, who seemed to be the only one noticing that it was the stupidest thing they could do.
"During the initial attack, a large part of the elders and war generals perished, so I consider it reasonable to wait and assess the current situation," added another councilor.
Sokka decided to ignore the murmurs and focused on the large table. There was a giant map of the North Pole and the surrounding seas, with Pai Sho pieces arranged to show the position of Azula's great fleet. Without a doubt, that map would be very useful to him at some point.
But his thoughts were cut short when Talik's voice resonated in the room, laced with unbearable condescension:
"I agree with the others. We must wait, analyze, and plan a better defense. We already managed to repel the projectiles, so doing it again won't be a problem. I say we wait at least two weeks to prepare. We can't take risks on the impulse of savages who don't understand strategy."
Sokka fixed his eyes on him, an icy smile on his face.
"What do you mean by 'we already managed to repel the projectiles'?" Sokka repeated, imitating Talik's aristocratic, drawling tone with obvious hostility. "Because I didn't see your luxurious furs out there while I was busy protecting the city and destroying those rocks. Or were you too busy 'analyzing' the floor of your hiding spot?"
Talik shot up from his chair violently, trembling with rage, pointing a trembling finger at Sokka.
"Shut up once and for all, you impertinent brat! You're nothing but a lucky savage! You're just the product of a miserable tribe of cannibals and illiterates who know nothing of war or its tactics. What do you know of military discipline? In the South, you live like animals in mud huts, ignorant of true culture. Your people are nothing more than scum dragging their feet through the snow—weaklings who let themselves be wiped out by the Fire Nation because they don't have the blood or the honor to defend themselves! Don't speak here as if you were a general when you come from a cesspool of failures!"
Two other elders beside Talik stood up immediately, infected by the venom and resentment they held against the boy.
"That's right! It's a disgrace that this vagrant yells at us!" seconded Elder Hak, pounding his seat. "Two months ago, we allowed you and your sister to disrupt the natural order of our society with your savagery, defying our sacred traditions. Abolishing the laws of waterbending teaching was a mistake we never should have conceded to lineage-less foreigners!"
"It's a shame for the North!" added the third elder, pointing with rage. "They humiliated our best masters in that plaza with dirty combat tricks, and now you presume to direct our army. You and your entire damn Southern Tribe are an insolent plague that only brings misfortune!"
Sokka stepped forward, stopping mere inches from the table. As he unconsciously concentrated his chi from sheer rage, the air around him seemed to grow dense and heavy—an invisible, suffocating pressure that forced Talik and the other two old men to hold their breath, planting sudden doubt in their eyes.
"Insult my tribe and my people again, you decrepit old men, and I swear by the spirits that you'll leave this room carried out in bags," Sokka said in a voice so low and cold it seemed to freeze the room. "My people survived the true horror of the Fire Nation right at their own front door. We didn't have giant walls or thousands of soldiers to hide behind like you. Every man, woman, and child of the South has more courage in a single finger than all of you combined in your mediocre lives of banquets and silk."
Talik, feeling cold sweat trickle down his neck but desperate not to look ridiculous after recalling the humiliation of his defeat in combat two months ago, clenched his teeth.
"Surviving like cockroaches doesn't make you warriors!" Talik bellowed, dripping with hatred. "You had a spear in your hand and played hero today, but true war is won with patience, not the brute strength of a Southern peasant. Your presence here is an insult. You should be cleaning the stables, not opining on the fate of the capital of the world. You're a nobody!"
Sokka let out a dry, raw laugh that echoed off the stone walls and silenced the three elders.
"Patience? Is that what you call pissing your pants under the table while the city crumbles around you?" Sokka shot back, fixing Talik with a look full of disgust. "You say my presence is an insult, but tell me, Talik... where was your glorious lineage half an hour ago? I'll tell you: crammed into the darkest corner of the palace, shaking like a leaf alongside your friends, praying that a 'Southern savage' would stop the projectiles before they shattered your precious, clean furs. Two months ago, eating dirt against me and Katara taught you nothing about humility. You're still the same arrogant idiots. And yet you still have the damn nerve to question my strategic judgment?! Look at yourselves—your hands tremble just from seeing me close. Are the only people with true military knowledge the ones who died in the first attack, leaving only the rats to rule over the ashes?"
Talik slammed the table, his face completely red with humiliation, seeking support from the leader.
"He's a damn animal! Chief Arnook, I demand that this savage be arrested and chained for high treason and insolence toward the tribal leaders! We cannot allow him to spit on us in our own home!"
"That's enough, Sokka! Everyone, sit the hell down, for once!" Pakku interrupted. His voice resonated with an overwhelming authority that echoed through the room.
Sokka turned to look at Pakku with his fists ready, but when he locked eyes with the old master, he noticed something different. Pakku wasn't looking at him with Talik's contempt or that of the other councilors; deep in his eyes there was a spark of approval and absolute respect. Pakku perfectly remembered the battle two months ago; he knew what Sokka was capable of and that the boy had the fire of a true warrior. The old man was only trying to calm the waters before Sokka jumped over the table and killed someone.
"Your deeds tonight are evident," Pakku continued, keeping his gaze fixed on Sokka to convey the message for him to keep his composure, "but you are still an inexperienced youth in high strategy. We must keep cool heads if we want to win this."
Talik and the other two elders crossed their arms, adjusting their coats with self-importance, nodding toward Pakku, naively believing the master was backing them out of past wounded pride.
"Exactly. We will not take orders from you, outsider. Remember your place and shut up."
"Enough! We need to discuss real plans to deal with the enemy!" Arnook finally interjected, slamming the table in frustration. The tribal chief looked at Talik and his allies with evident displeasure; he was fed up with their aristocratic arrogance while bombs were falling outside. "The boy defended the walls while we were under protection. Temper your tongues."
"We must wait, Chief! They won't be able to maintain their resources and troops in foreign territory for much longer!" insisted another general from Talik's faction, trying to regain control. "If we hold out behind the main wall, the Northern winter will destroy them without us lifting a finger."
It seemed these elders preferred to plan what to do when they were already invaded and surrounded, rather than fight to prevent it.
"You are all cowards!" Sokka claimed again, locking his eyes one last time on the trio of elders. "You want to wait for the full moon to disappear? That's exactly what the enemy wants us to do. By then, we'll be exhausted from the incessant catapult bombardment of those bastards, we'll be sleep-deprived, and we'll have lost the will to fight. Especially you, who will be the first to beg for mercy and lick the enemy's boots just so they don't take away your luxuries."
Talik opened his mouth to shout another insult, but Arnook silenced him with a heavy, authoritative look.
"So what do you propose, Sokka?" Arnook finally asked.
"We must attack now. With a small group of waterbenders, we need to take advantage of the night and the full moon to infiltrate and hunt down the general giving the orders. If we take off their head, the fleet will lose its balance and panic."
There was a tense silence in the room. Then, another voice, heavy with years, spoke from the back:
"Yes... Although he's young, he's right."
"It's true; his plan makes sense and seems the most viable," supported another elder.
Little by little, eight more men—less than half of the room—leaned in favor of Sokka, leaving Talik and his group with expressions of absolute indignation and political defeat.
"You are young, Sokka, and I know you must feel invincible right now," said Pakku, being incredibly the most moderate at the table. "But you must not forget the risks. This plan is extremely dangerous."
Sokka let out a dry, bitter laugh, looking up at the ceiling. Talik smirked, thinking Pakku had finally put him in his place.
"Really... I apologize," Sokka said in a tone of feigned regret. "I apologize to any idiot in this room I haven't insulted yet! You cowardly shits!"
Talik and the other two turned red with rage, slamming the table again, but Sokka had already turned his back on the council. The generals were furious, especially because deep down they knew the boy was right. They only wanted to delay the attack out of fear, because they knew that, due to their ranks, going to the front meant certain death.
Sokka read it in their eyes before turning around. He knew they were panicking because it was the first time war was knocking on their door. Their convictions were broken. Sokka thought in frustration that Azula really was going to wait for the new moon to launch the final attack, and if that happened, old men like Talik would be capable of handing over the tribe on a silver platter just to save their own skins.
"I'm going to evaluate the plans proposed today, and tomorrow I'll give you my answer," Arnook declared with absolute weariness. That meeting seemed to have aged him five years in one go.
Sokka didn't wait to be dismissed. He turned around and left the place, slamming the heavy wooden doors as if they were made of paper.
As soon as the doors closed and Sokka advanced a few meters down the deserted, frozen hallway of the palace, the imposing facade crumbled. His knees buckled violently, and he had to suddenly brace himself against an ice column to keep from falling to the floor.
His breathing became erratic and heavy. His hands—the same ones that had broken the wooden table—trembled uncontrollably; the pain from the chi overexertion in his muscles finally took its toll, demanding back every gram of energy he had used to destroy the projectiles and draw the spirit lion's bow. He squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his teeth as the palace's cold tried to soothe the burning in his arms. He was at his limit, but he couldn't afford to show weakness. Not in front of them.
In the distance, inside the room, Talik's murmurs and insults toward him soon erupted alongside the rest of the elders; who, like the good cowardly rats they were, only dared to raise their voices once Sokka was completely out of their reach.