AtLA Rewritten: Edition 1

Chapter 78

Meanwhile, outside, Sokka was walking alongside, Dai on his other side. Sokka held his boomerang, glancing around warily. They were surrounded by clean, sparkling, white snow. "I can't believe there's always gotta be an enemy after our asses. We can't just relax," Sokka growled. "Why are we so popular?!" he groaned.

Dai laughed softly. "I guess we're just lucky," she muttered.

Sokka chuckled. "Lucky? I think we're far from lucky."

She frowned as they walked, not seeing any footprints. "Of course she covered her trail," she muttered.

Sokka shook his head. "Annoying bitch,"he muttered.

"Seriously," Dai agreed, glancing around. "Why couldn't she just be a firebender? The snow and ice makes it so easy for her to escape."

The sound of hooves caught her attention and she whipped around, a stream of water ready in her hands. Sokka gripped his boomerang. Dai took a half-step behind Sokka, then recognized the symbol of the Northern Water Tribe on the person's suit and sighed, dropping the water and cursing.

The man dismounted. "A message for Aiyana of the Northern Water Tribe," he announced, handing the woman the message. Dai's brow furrowed.

"A letter for Aiyana?" Sokka asked.

"For me?" Aiyana asked, equally confused, as she took the letter. She glanced down at it for a moment, then opened it.

Dai tilted her head, popping a hip and resting her hand on it. "Well, we might as well go back to the camp. Let's go." She started walking back, bending the water in the snow into a packed trail so they could walk more easily.

When they arrived back, everyone but Athlea was getting the horses ready.

"What's the plan?" Dai asked Zuko.

He looked away. "Uh... well..."

"Good job, Your Majesty. Great plan." Toph rolled her eyes.

"You're a bitch, Toph," Zuko muttered, glaring at her.

"Weren't you the same person who said you have a plan?" Sokka facepalmed. "Gods fucking dammit."

"No, Toph is right," Dai told Zuko sharply. For a moment her gaze followed Athlea as she dragged Aiyana into the cave. She faced Toph, shaking her head. "Though there's no need to mock our titles." Before she could finish what she was saying, a huge ice ball hurled into the wall next to them. Dai gritted her teeth together. "Shit." She spun around, spreading her palms out on either side of her. A shield of ice was flung up in front of them. "Katara, you freeze any water attacks into ice so Zuko can melt them. I'll get in closer. Athlea! We need you!" she shouted.

Athlea burst out of the cave, her eyes sharp, yelling "Stay in there!" to Aiyana.

"Athlea, Aang, you do the same as Zuko. Melt her ice. Fan out and most of all, distract her from me." Dai gave Sokka's hand a squeeze before flipping away.

Zuko shot a large, bright orange flame. She turned toward him, wearing a mask now, which revealed only her mouth and blue eyes. She sprayed water toward Zuko, and Katara froze it. Zuko melted it, prompting the attacker closer. "It's working!"

Athlea glared forward at their attacker. "She's starting to get on my nerves," she stated, her annoyance clear. Both of her arms extended and bright orange flames shot out towards the attacker, melting some of the frozen water. Athlea took a moment to glance over at Dai. "What is she planning?"

"She's trying to trap her," Katara grunted.

Suddenly a shot of water, frozen by Katara, was thrown toward Athlea. She jumped to the side to avoid it, twisting her ankle. "O-ouch. Fuck." She leaned one hand on the outside of the cave, closing an eye at the pain, then dropped.

"Sorry, Athlea!" Katara rushed over.

Zuko turned toward her. "Thea!" He swore, slipping as water sprayed, and pulled himself toward his wife.

"You idiot!" Toph called to Zuko, trying to raise the earth to block the attacks. However, the thick layer of ice and snow stopped her. She let out a frustrated noise, cracking the earth in front of the attacker instead, causing the ice to break. The woman leaped over the crack easily. Aang threw gusts of air at her, and the two started engaging in a more one-on-one combat.

Suddenly their attacker was trapped with water up to her torso, immobilizing her legs and lowered hands. The water rose, turning into ice from the bottom up. Athlea watched, eyes wide, turning to Katara, but it wasn't her. She glanced at the cave entrance and it was Aiyana--no, Irene! The look in her eyes had turned protective. "You're a fool for crossing us," she snarled, her voice cold. One raised arm turned into a fist, the water turning to ice at a faster pace.

"That's not the plan, Katara!" Dai's shout came faintly.

"It's Irene!" Katara yelled back.

Dai, in the distance, narrowed her eyes, a ball of ice forming in her hand. She sent it towards the attacker with all the force she could manage. It smashed through the ice, knocking the attacker to the ground. She fell on her back facing Dai, eyes wide with panic. Dai lifted her hands to freeze her, but the other woman lifted her hands, sending a shower of ice spikes toward Dai.

Dai screamed as a spike brushed her throat. She just barely managed to flip backwards before it hit her, and Irene stepped forward, lifting both hands, keeping the rest of the spikes from reaching her with a thick ice wall. Dai landed crouched in the snow that was now swirling. The attacker was gone again.

"Fucking coward!" Zuko yelled. She'd made a bubble of ice around her before starting the storm, and now she was gone. The snow stilled, showing Dai crouched, her eyes angry but wide with surprise.

Sokka ran over to Dai, reaching her after a short while, given how far she'd run. "Come on." He kneeled down, looping an arm around her waist and hauling her to her feet.

Dai smoothed the wall away with both hands, her jaw clenched. She put an arm on Sokka's shoulder. "I'm okay," she said softly, standing.

Katara and Zuko started pulling Athlea to her feet, but she let out a yelp of pain and dropped back down. "My ankle!" She gritted her teeth, brows furrowed.

Irene glanced back at her daughter and rushed over, kneeling in front of her. "Allow me to help," she said calmly.

"Katara, go check Dai," Aang called. Katara glanced between Irene and Athlea as Irene crouched down, then turned and ran to Dai. Zuko crouched and pulled Athlea into her arms, a hand on her calf to keep her ankle stable.

Irene glanced at Athlea's ankle, her hands moving over it, glaring up at Zuko. "I'm working. You can hug later," she stated. Her attention returned to Athlea's ankle and she began using a bit of water to heal it. Athlea glanced at Irene, eyes wide with shock, then Zuko, and back to Irene.

"I'm her husband and I'll stay right here," Zuko responded sharply, not moving.

Dai ran into the cave, and shortly after Katara returned to Athlea, checking on her and Irene before looking inside the cave. She frowned, turning to Sokka, who had been following closely. "Dai is gone."

***

A/N Dai casually disappears and they're all like meh oh well... Irene and Zuko fighting over protecting Thea lmfao