Safe & Sound | Book 1

20: Turning Tides

Art: Moon Spirit by Nymre

We worked all night repairing the city. My limbs felt heavy. A few times I nearly let my exhaustion win and sat down with some of the other resting benders but every time my eyes fluttered shut, even for a few seconds, Zuko's face would appear behind my eyelids and my guilt began to eat at my ribs. I would wobble back to my feet and continue moving. I had to keep moving. I couldn't wallow.

The other benders and I had managed to reinforce most of the main wall but there were still plenty of weak points that could be broken into with time. However, before long, the sky began to lighten once more. Every waterbender in the city could feel the sun's rays begin to shine down on us like we were being stripped of our armor.

Another crew of boats was being sent out but I and several others from the day before were told to stay in the city – our fatigue evident on her faces. It wasn't too much of a loss. I was still useful in the city.

I found Master Pakku who didn't look at all surprised to hear that I was being sidelined upon seeing me. I wasn't sure how I looked. If it was anything how I felt then I likely looked like I was barely hanging onto a thread. Pakku didn't ask me any questions and didn't try to make me rest like everyone else, instead, he allowed me to join him and some of the other elders.

It wasn't long after that the fireballs began to hale down again. They fell almost as frequently as the snow. There were too many to keep up with. We were moving as fast as we could to block as many as possible. Eventually, we were only able to soften their blow, keeping them off of buildings and people before letting them drop and moving to the next one.

It appeared that the Fire Nation felt bolder this day. The hale of molten projectiles soon wasn't their only attack. The ground shook as ships breached the walls.

Every Water Tribe person who could see the bows cut through the thick walls froze in place for a moment. We watched in horror as more ships broke through, each splitting open to allow hundreds of soldiers to pour out like ants from a destroyed ant pile.

This wasn't a fair battle. It wasn't just man on man. Many of the soldiers were atop komodo-rhinos as tanks wheeled out behind them. I watched as many of the Water Tribe people staggered into still shock, almost none recognizing the beasts or machines.

Not all would let their fear hold them for long. They resumed their attack as the fire was blasted at us. My body worked almost completely without my mind's control. It wasn't until I stood along Pakku and the others, faced against one of the tanks that I remembered our time at the Northern Air temple just before we arrived at the North Pole.

The others didn't know these machines but I did. There was water in the tanks.

"I've seen these before," I told the men around me who were desperately trying to flip the machine over. "There's water inside. It's what keeps them upright."

"Water?" Pakku repeated. He didn't waste time keeping this information to himself. He hurried to freeze the axles of the tank's wheels, causing them to fall off. He looked back at me and nodded in a gesture of thanks.