Chapter 20: Siege of the North, part 3

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The world seems quiet without her. All noise is drowned out like murky memory of a dream, a deathly stillness in the air. There's a battle going on outside the walls of the oasis, but it's nothing compared to the shattered world of the Avatar.

He can feel hands trying to pull him away, prying him off of his Cytherea. He clutches to her tighter, like if he lets her go she's really gone.
It's cruel.

Most of his life he's felt alone- isolated from his peers, no knowledge of who or where his parents are, the only family he's known killed by the Fire Nation, his entire culture decimated in a single night.

The pain he felt from that is nothing in comparison to what he feels now.

He's half convinced he feels nothing now, if it weren't for the pain. Aang thought he knew pain before but nothing compares to this- this burning, this fear, the disconnection of two souls- he hadn't realized it before, but he could always feel her presence in the world, a draw towards warmth and home. But now she's not there anymore and he can feel that absence, like the whole world has been sucked clean of everything good, of all the love and warmth and anything worth living for is just gone.

His eyes open, looking at the blackened sky where the moon once shone. He stands, tightening his hold on his Cytherea's body, holding her the same way those princesses in the fairytale stories he once read were always held by their princes. It's unconscious in the way he moves, carrying his Cytherea as he joins the others by the pool of water. It's quiet now, not just because he cannot hear but because no one can bring themselves to speak, voices broken from grief.

It's Yue who breaks the silence, voice wavering, hands clutched to her chest as though to stop herself from reaching out to her best friend. "There's no hope now. It's over."

"No. It's not over." The voices of thousands of Avatars combined speak, walking to the middle of the pool of water, Cytherea clutched softly to Aang's chest, face set in determination. The glowing eyes of the Avatar meet the eyes of La, an understanding passing between the two. Connection fueled by grief and love, Aang melts into one with La, pool of water glowing white. A blue glow spreads across all the water in the tribe, a great form of water and pure power combined, a giant being made purely of water and a glowing form controlling it in the middle, where the heart would be.

A girl rests gently on the surface of the pool of water, floating in the middle, worlds broken by her death, the light of many lives taken.

~~

Iroh places Tui gently in the water. "It's too late. They're dead." Katara speaks, voice broken and eyes shedding with more tears as she glances at her sisters body from her place on the grass.

Iroh looks up from his gaze on the Cytherea, contemplation set clear on his face. "You have been touched by the moon spirit. Some of its life is in you."

"Yes, you're right. It gave me life." Yue glances at (Y/N). "Maybe I can give it back." She stands, approaching the Koi fish.

Sokka grabs her hand. "No! You don't have to do that."

Yue looks away. "It's my duty, Sokka."

"I won't let you! Your father told me to protect you." Sokka's voice cracks, face wet from his grief. "I can't lose anyone else."

Yue's voice is soft as she speaks, "I have to do this. If there is even a chance it could bring (Y/N) back, then I need to do it." She takes her and from his, approaching the koi in Iroh's hands, ignoring the confusion on the siblings faces. She places her hands gently upon the koi. It's glows white, Yue's body falls, caught by Sokka who lurches forward.

"She's gone. She's gone." He hugs her to his body for a moment, but she fades away. Iroh places the glowing koi into the water gently and it swims towards the floating girl, who wakes with a gasp, surrounded by a glowing white light that encapsulated the entire pool of water. The light lifts off the water to reveal the glowing spirit of Yue, looking ethereal as her dress and hair dances in the air.

(Y/N) sits up, drenched in water and the light emulating from her best friend, eyes wide as she takes in the glowing form before her. Yue's form lowers to sit next to her friend, smiling. "Yue?" (Y/N) blinks blearily.

Yue's glowing hands take (Y/N)'s, a warmth spreading between them. "(Y/N)," Yue smiles, tears catching in the corners of her eyes. "You have shown me true friendship and love in the time I have known you." Her eyes crease with a smile. "You are my greatest friend, and my best decision." Her voice cracks, the glowing form embraces the girl, one hand encircling her waist and the other coming up to press a warm thumb against the middle of the back of (Y/N)'s neck, a warm light surrounding the two girls as they share goodbyes, watery smiles and promises of seeing each other again.

The spirit moves toward the three shocked people sitting at the foot of the pool, voice distant despite being right in front of them, as though speaking from another world entirely. "Goodbye Sokka, I will always be with you." The glowing Princess presses a sweet kiss to his lips, fading away to darkness.

As Yue fades, a shaking girl stands from the middle of the pond, confused. She looks at her siblings, who immediately race and tackle her back into the water, voices of joy, relief, and confusion cracking in the air as an old man smiles.

~~

The creature created of water and power looks into the sky, at the moon, and melts back into the ocean, placing Aang on a ledge of ice as he clutches his head, tattoos no longer glowing.

As the ocean grabs a man with particularly irritating side-burns, trapping him beneath the water for the harm he has caused, the Avatar runs back to the Oasis, back to his Cytherea.

Iroh has left by the time Aang arrives, legs carrying him to the siblings, who have now made their way onto the grass, all soaked to the bone, exhausted yet happy. When (Y/N) sees the young Avatar she stands, racing to him. They meet on the bridge, joyous smiles and exhausted bodies melting into one another as they embrace.

Aang pulls back, one hand pressed to the small of the girls back and the other gently cradling her jaw. He looks at her for a moment, their eyes connecting and they can feel the warmth and the call of their souls to one another so Aang does the one thing he can think of in that moment and presses his lips to hers, soft and unsure but full of love and adoration, made only more confident as girl wraps her arms around his shoulders, pressing herself closer to her avatar as they savor the moment, broken by the sound of an irritated cough. They two break away, faces flushed pink in the moonlight, looking over at the girls siblings. Katara, who has a cocky grin on her lips and Sokka, a scowl gracing his.

The two shyly smile, blush reaching their ears as they connect eyes once more.

~~

"I've decided to go to the South Pole, some other benders and healers want to join me. It's time we help rebuild our sister tribe." Paku speaks, turning to face Katara.

"What about Aang? He still needs to learn Waterbending." The two look to the side, observing the young boy and young girl who look out over the horizon, smiling softly at each other.

"Then he better get used to calling you girls Master Katara and Master (Y/N)."

~~

"The spirits gave me a vision when Yue was born. I saw a beautiful, brave young woman become the moon spirit. I knew this day would come."

"You must be very proud," Sokka says, voice soft.

Her fathers voice sounds broken as he says, "So very proud. And sad."

~~

The four kids, with arms wrapped around each other, overlooking the northern water tribe after winning against the Fire Navy, knew this wouldn't be the end. There will always be more to come when travelling with the Avatar, but there is nowhere else they would rather be than with each other.

You've reached the end of published parts.

⏰ Last updated: Jul 20, 2023 ⏰

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