Blood Boils Without Fire

The Attack

CHAPTER 4- The Attack

Author's Note: Before I begin I want to say thank you to faiebae on Instagram for allowing me to use her awesome artwork for the cover. As always I don't own AtLA and please leave some feedback. Thanks for reading this far and enjoy Chapter 4.

Fire Nation

In the blink of an eye, the defenses were overrun. Two dozen Water Tribe warriors armed to the teeth charged forward. Zuko jabbed a spear into one of the invader's guts. Around him he saw his compatriots fighting valiantly, but to no avail. To his right, Zuko saw Mak slay another faceless warrior before an ice spike was driven through his heart. The highly skilled insurgents quickly surrounded the resistance.

All around him Zuko saw carnage. Bodies from both sides lay strewn along the barricade covered in blood, viscera, and burns. Zuko turned back to look ahead where he saw a towering man swinging a club in a downward arc at his sister.

Reacting quickly, he shoved her out of the way, the club instead striking his arm causing him to fall to his knees. A crack resounded across the battlefield. Again the man began to swing his club in a devastating arc. Zuko braced himself for the impact, yet none came. Instead, he saw the Water Tribe leader signalling for the brute to stop.

The mysterious man again spoke, "We know this is where the Avatar is hiding. This is the last village on the coast. I will offer you one more deal. Lead me to him, or I will kill every last man, woman, and child in this pathetic excuse for a village. I will burn every hovel to the ground and I will salt the earth. Nothing of note ever came from this land and nothing ever will. Your friends and family's lives are in my hands, so I suggest you start to talk because if you don't you will watch as everyone you know and love is taken from you."

Zuko raised his head and met the steely gaze of the man across from him. His resolve did not waver. Zuko instead spit on the man's boots saying, "I will never bow to you."

A fury appeared in the man's eyes that drove fear into Zuko's soul. He quickly unsheathed an ornate knife before lifting Zuko's head and pressing the blade to his neck. "Then you will be the first to be cleansed." Suddenly, Zuko heard a loud whooshing sound as he was flung backwards.

Central Hut - 5 minutes earlier

Aang could hear the muffled voice of a man coming from the beach. While the distance and the walls made most of the content of his speech incomprehensible he was able to make out certain words. The source of the voice was looking for the Avatar. Then, he heard Zuko's, now familiar, voice followed by a battlecry.

As the sounds of fighting broke out across the beach, the women and children huddled closer together. Some openly wept, others hid their faces, but all were terrified. Aang realised the invaders had come for him. He had put these people in danger. If not for him, they would still be living in relative peace, instead men were sacrificing themselves for him on the beach. He had spent three years running from the Water Tribe and countless friends had laid down their lives to protect him. Aang would not let any more die for him. Standing up, he left the shelter to face the hunters.

On exiting the shelter he saw a man pressing a knife to Zuko's neck. Aang lept into action. Using his staff, he airbent a gust of wind blowing the man back while removing Zuko from the situation. Aang then summoned an air scooter and rushed forward to aid his friends. He lept off of it before bending another blast of wind at the man who had Azula pinned.

The siblings then regrouped before joining Aang and striking defensive stances.

The man who had been holding the knife stood up before turning his gaze to Aang. An evil grin was plastered across his face. "How nice of you to finally join us," he joked, "We've been waiting for you."

Aang addressed his opponent, "I know you are here for me. I am willing to give myself up if you promise not to kill anyone else here."

The man paused considering his options. "Okay," he replied, "I will not kill anyone in this village if you give yourself up."

Aang bowed his head as he was bound in chains and forced onto the boat. The leader then turned to Zuko and Azula saying, "Do not mistake this for kindness. I am allowing you to leave, but do so before I change my mind." He then spun on his heel and boarded the boat Aang had been forced onto.

As the boats left the shore Azula turned towards Zuko. "How could you let them take him? He was the world's only hope and you let them take him, why?"

Zuko responded, "Azula stop. My first priority is protecting the village. WhenUncle left with the men to fight in the war he told me it was my duty to protect our village. Aang sacrificed himself to protect us. Stopping him would only have brought more pain and suffering to our people."

"You can't just leave him to die though. We need to go save him."

"Azula, listen if we try to stop them all we will do is bring their wrath upon our village."

"But Zuko, Aang is the world's only hope, without him the Water Tribe will crush all resistance to their empire. You may not think we need him, but we do. I'm going to get him back whether you help me or not."

Azula mounted Appa, grabbing his reins. Just as she was about to take flight she heard Zuko yell to her, "Wait. I can't let you do this alone."

Invasion Fleet

Docking in a nearby cove, Sokka began giving orders to his men, "We need to return to the Palace as soon as possible. My ship will take the Avatar with us."

He then turned to the captain of the second ship, "I believe they will try to pursue us. At the first glimpse of them I want you to take your boat back to the coast and raze their village. Leave no survivors." The captain bowed and boarded his ship again.

Finally he turned to the third ship's captain, "Go ahead of us and notify General Bato that we will be temporarily docking at his base. In the meantime, I need to have a conversation with our guest."

Aang sat quietly in the darkened area below deck. Still in chains he was flanked by guards waiting for the leader to come and interrogate him. Suddenly the men on either side of him pulled him to his feet and marched him above deck.

Standing in front of him was the leader of the force. Without his lupine helmet and face paint, he looked like an entirely different person, yet, the cold, calculating expression in his eyes confirmed they were one and the same. What shocked Aang however was how young he looked. In full battle attire he had looked to be in his mid-20's and yet now he seemed no older than 18.

He gazed at Aang, studying him. He frowned as if disappointed by what he found. Then he began, "For as elusive as you've been I expected something more. At the very least I predicted you would be older. When I was young we learned all about you. The last true bastion of resistance against our reign. The Avatar who fought against our unification of the world for three years before disappearing, never to be seen. We thought the spirits had blessed us, supporting our reign by removing the resistance, but now I see the truth. You lived on, so that we may send a message to all who oppose us. No one, not even the Avatar can resist."

Aang just glared back at him. The silence he held spoke volumes.

The man simply laughed, "Oh how rude of me. I know all about you Avatar, but you know nothing of me. My name is Prince Sokka, Most Honored Son of Chief Hakoda and heir to the Southern Throne. You will soon learn to respect me, and if not we can always make a different example." He turned away and marched to the helm before ordering the two remaining boats to begin their journey.

Author's Note: Again, I want to say thank you to faiebae on Instagram for allowing me to use her awesome artwork for the cover. Below I have included some specific clarification about the AU. Please drop a review, any feedback is appreciated. And as always thanks for reading.

Clarifications about the AU:

All characters are 3 years older.

The Day of Black Sun and Sozin's Comet have not happened.

Aang was running from the Water Tribe for three years before he disappeared.