The Sins of the Past Chapter 1-19: Siege of the North (Part 2): Solemn Victory
I wake up with a splitting headache, and groan in pain. As I open my eyes, my vision clears enough for me to see that I'm in a small cave, and Aang and I are tied up, a fire between us. Aang is still unconscious, likely still wandering the Spirit World, and I hear Zuko speaking.
I turn toward the voice, listening to him as he's facing toward the cave's exit, leaning against a wall as he says, "I finally have you, but I can't get you home because of this blizzard. There's always something. Not that either of you would understand. You're like my sister. Everything always came easy to her. She's a fire bending prodigy, and everyone adores her. My father says she was born lucky. He says I was lucky to be born. I don't need luck, though. I don't want it. I've always had to struggle and fight, and that's made me strong. It's made me who I am."
He doesn't seem to realize I'm awake, jumping a bit as I say quietly, "I didn't know you had a sister."
He turns to look at me, glaring down at me.
I add, "I had a sister, too. And a mother. But I got separated from them after Fire Nation soldiers invaded our village, burning our houses down in retaliation for being against Fire Lord Sozin, my father's killer. At least you know your sister's still out there somewhere. I'll never see mine again."
His eyebrows furrow, and his expression softens slightly before he turns away, watching the growing blizzard outside with his arms crossed. After a long moment of silence, Aang's sleeping form takes a deep breath, Zuko turning to look at the sound.
When Aang still doesn't wake up, Zuko says, "Guess we'll be here a while."
I remain silent. I've already told him too much, and I just want to get out of here. A while later, a bright light fills the cave and Aang wakes up, attempting to get out of his restraints and he glares at Zuko.
The banished prince says, "Welcome back."
Aang narrows his eyes at Zuko, saying with hostility, "It's good to be back."
Aang wiggles over to me before airbending Zuko into a wall, then propelling the two of us out of the cave. Once we're outside, the freezing snow hits me, and I shiver. Aang tries wriggling like a worm in an attempt to get away, only for us both to get caught by Zuko, grabbing both of us by the back collars of our shirts.
He says, "That won't be enough to escape."
I notice a large shadow descending toward us and know it could only be one thing, saying with a smug smile, "Maybe not, but that is."
Appa lands next to us, Aang exclaiming happily, "Appa!"
Katara slides off of the bison, and Zuko throws Aang and I aside, dropping my face into the frigid snow. At least the cold is helping soothe my headache a bit.
Zuko asks, getting into a defensive position, "Here for a rematch?"
I lift my head as Katara responds confidently, "Trust me Zuko, it's not going to be much of a match."
She uses waterbending to launch Zuko into the air with the snow beneath him before plummeting him back down to the ground, knocking him out. Sokka runs toward Aang and I to untie us while Zuko lies unconscious.
He exclaims, "Hey, this is some quality rope!"
I say, "Well, he is a banished prince with lots of money. Money buys quality."
Aang exclaims once he's untied, "We need to get to the oasis; the spirits are in trouble!"
Aang responds, "I don't know, but we need to get to them as soon as possible!"
Sokka, Katara, and I climb into the saddle next to Yue, and Aang airbends himself atop Appa's head. I give Zuko one last look as the blizzard starts burying him in snow. He won't survive long out here if we leave him.
I say, "Wait, we can't just leave him here."
Sokka says, "Sure, we can! Let's go."
I say, "No. If we leave him here, he'll die." Aang turns his head toward me, and I add, "He saved us once. Shouldn't we repay the favor?"
Aang nods, and the two of us hop off the saddle, carrying the unconscious Zuko into the saddle.
Sokka says sarcastically, "Yeah, this makes a lot of sense. Let's bring the guy who's constantly trying to kill us."
I say, "If it would make you feel better, we could tie him up like he tied Aang and I up. You saved the rope, didn't you?"
Sokka smirks, retrieving the rope. He ties it around Zuko's ankles and wrists, and we position Zuko so he's laying on his side. Appa finally takes off, and we make our way back to the Spirit Oasis. On the way back, the moon goes red, making everything red-tinted.
Yue grabs her head in pain, and Sokka asks, "Are you okay?"
She responds weakly, "I feel faint."
Aang holds his head with one hand while steering, saying, "I feel it, too. The Moon Spirit is in trouble."
Yue says, "I owe the Moon Spirit my life."
I ask, "What do you mean?"
Yue explains, "When I was born, I was very sick and weak. Most babies cry when they're born, but I was born as if I was asleep, my eyes closed. Our healers did everything they could. They told my mother and father I was going to die. My father pleaded with the spirits to save me. That night, beneath the full moon, he brought me to the oasis and placed me in the pond. My dark hair turned white. I opened my eyes and began to cry, and they knew I would live. That's why my mother named me Yue, for the moon."
As we fly closer to the oasis, we see Zhao holding a bag, the contents wriggling as he exclaims in a self-aggrandizing way, "I am... a legend now! The Fire Nation will, for generations, tell stories about the great Zhao, who darkened the moon. They will call me Zhao the Conquerer, Zhao the Moon Slayer, Zhao the Invincible!" Momo jumps atop his head as we land, and he exclaims, "Ugh... Get it off! Get it off!"
Momo flies away from him, landing on Aang's outstretched arm and running to his shoulder, with Katara, Sokka, and I behind him.
Zhao and his soldiers ready themselves for battle, as do we until Zhao says, "Don't bother."
He lifts the sack up, and I realize as I glance at the pond that the wriggling contents of the bag is one of the koi fish, the Moon Spirit.
Aang and I lower our stances, Aang exclaiming, "Zhao, don't!"
Zhao says, "It's my destiny to destroy the moon and the Water Tribe."
Aang says, "Destroying the moon won't hurt just the Water Tribe. It will hurt everyone, including you. Without the moon, everything would fall out of balance. You have no idea what kind of chaos that would unleash on the world."
I add, "Even the Fire Nation needs the moon. We need it's light to guide us in the dark, and without it, flooding will happen everywhere, and the Fire Islands will be uninhabitable. You'd be an idiot to destroy the moon, Zhao!"
Zuko's uncle reveals himself, saying, "They are right, Zhao."
Zhao turns to the newcomer, saying calmly, "General Iroh. Why am I not surprised to discover your treachery?"
Zuko's uncle, Iroh, says, "I'm not traitor, Zhao. The Fire Nation needs the moon, too; we all depend on the balance." His expression turns furious, and he exclaims, "Whatever you do to that spirit, I'll unleash on you ten-fold! Let it go, now!"
Zhao reluctantly releases the koi fish into the oasis. He hesitates as it start swimming again, but strikes the koi fish with a fire slice out of anger. Iroh recoils from the flames, and Aang looks up at the moon as it fades out, the world turning grey and dark. Zhao stands up, and Iroh begins fire bending at him. Zhao dodges and counters his fire bending while retreating toward his soldiers, but they are swiftly defeated as Zhao escapes. The Ocean Spirit circles the now dead Moon Spirit, and Aang and the others and I watch it in disbelief, moving toward the water. Iroh returns to us after chasing away Zhao's soldiers, sitting next to Yue as he gently picks up the dead koi fish.
Yue says, "There's no hope now. It's over."
Aang says in a voice that sounds like a mixture of all his previous incarnations, "No. It's not over."
He enters the pond, standing in the center in a meditative stance as the Ocean Spirit circles him, and both their eyes and Aang's tattoos light up. Aang descends into the water, the whole oasis starts glowing as blue lightning-like energy expands from the oasis island into the water. The energy moves to the edge of the oasis, rising up to form a giant amphibious-like creature, facing out toward the sea, with Aang in the center, controlling it. The creature leaves the oasis, moving toward the city outside to defend them.
Iroh turns to me, saying, "You are Roku's daughter, correct?" I nod with a skeptical expression as he continues, "You and my nephew have more alike than you may think."
I roll my eyes, and Katara says solemnly, "It's too late. It's dead."
Iroh turns to Yue, saying, "You have been touched by the Moon Spirit. Some of its life is in you."
Yue says, "Yes, you're right. It gave me life. Maybe I can give it back."
Sokka exclaims, "No! You don't have to do that."
He reached sto stop her, but she says, "It's my duty, Sokka."
He exclaims, "I won't let you!" He grabs her hand, saying, "Your father told me to protect you."
Yue says, "I have to do this."
Yue slipped her hand out of Sokka's, and she places her hands on the dead koi fish in Iroh's hands. The koi begins to glow, and Yue closes her eyes, falling.
Sokka catches her, exclaiming, "No!"
I check her pulse, but I get nothing, saying softly, "She's gone. I'm sorry, Sokka."
Yue's body fades and disappears as the koi begins to light up and glow. Iroh places the koi back into the oasis water, and the entire lake begins to light u until energy floats up into the air, forming an image of Yue.
She says, "Goodbye, Sokka." She moves close to him, adding, "I'll always be with you."
They kiss, and Sokka places his hand on her cheek as she disappears, leaving him reaching at nothing as the Moon reappears in the sky, bringing the color back. After the Fire Nation retreats for good this time, Iroh parts ways with us, and the four of us meet on a balcony with Pakku and Arnook.
Pakku says, "I've decided to go to the South Pole. Some other benders and healers want to join me. It's time we helped rebuild our sister tribe."
Katara asks, "What about Aang? He still needs to learn waterbending."
Pakku smiles, saying, "Well, then he better get used to calling you Master Katara."
I sit down on the balcony's ledge, dangling my feet between the bars of the railing, staring up at the moon.
I say to Arnook, "Yue is gone. I'm sorry, Chief Arnook. She gave her life to bring the moon back."
Arnook already seems to know as he says, "The spirits gave me a vision when Yue was born. I saw a beautiful, brave young woman become the Moon Spirit." He sighs, adding, "I knew this day would come."
Sokka says, "You must be proud."
Arnook weakly smiles, saying, "So proud..." His smile falls as looks up at the moon, saying, "And sad."
Pakku and Arnook move on after a while, leaving just Aang, Sokka, Katara, and I on the balcony. Sokka gives me a hand, helping me stand back up, and Katara gives Aang a hug.
Momo chitters and Katara says, "You too, Momo."
Aang says to the lemur, "Come here."
Momo leaps onto his shoulder as Sokka places a hand on Aang's other shoulder. The four of us look out to the ocean and the moon as Appa rises up in front of us. I guess we'll be moving onto the Earth Kingdom soon. Aang needs to find a new teacher.
