Snowflakes drifted lazily through the frigid Northern air, each one glittering like a tiny diamond as it fell onto the ice-crusted rooftops of the Northern Water Tribe. The city's glacial towers gleamed under the soft light of the rising moon, casting long blue shadows across frozen canals. The sounds of rushing water echoed faintly in the distance—always present, always alive in this city born of ice and motion.
Aric stood at the edge of the training courtyard, arms crossed, his breath rising in visible clouds. A steaming mug of sea prune tea sat untouched beside him. His eyes weren't on the warriors training before him or the palace's magnificent ice spires. They were locked onto one person: Katara. 'It has been a couple of days since my arrival, and I already sensed the tension in the air. I knew it was a matter of time before she exploded,' He thought as he looked at the scene unfolding in front of his eyes.
"I don't understand," Katara said, her voice rising with frustration. "Why won't you teach me?"
Pakku didn't look at her. "It is tradition. In the Northern Tribe, women heal, and men fight. That is the way of our ancestors."
Aric scoffed from the sidelines. "And here I thought firebenders were backwards."
The old master gave him a sideways glare. "Your opinion is not required, firebender."
Aric stepped forward, his voice low but sharp. "Neither is your outdated sexism, but here we are."
Katara's fists clenched, water trembling in her skin. "I can fight. I have fought! I've helped Aang defeat enemies. I won't be pushed aside." Aang, sensing the tension, placed a hand on her shoulder. Seeing this was going nowhere, Aric spoke.
"You know," he said, casually spinning a coin of flame on his finger, "in the Fire Nation, they at least let women fight. They might be insane but they're equal opportunity insane." The jab earned him a smirk from Sokka.
Pakku turned slowly, looking him up and down with the cool judgment of a glacier. "This is a matter of tradition. She was not invited to my lessons. This city has rules."
Aric cocked an eyebrow, his tone sharpening. "You mean your rules."
The tension between them was thick, like the frozen air before a storm. Aric stepped beside Katara, arms still crossed. "She's more talented than half the boys you're training," he said, nodding toward the sparring students. "But you'd rather waste time clinging to outdated dogma than actually preparing your tribe for what's coming."
Pakku's eyes narrowed. "And what exactly is coming?"
As if summoned by fate itself, a low boom rumbled in the distance—followed by the unmistakable sound of something massive crashing into the water. "Great, speak of the devil and she appears" Aric said with a sigh, 'I already know it Azula' He thought.
Suddenly, the sky cracked with light. An explosion echoed across the bay. Aang appeared above them on his glider, shouting, "They're here! The Fire Nation is attacking!"
{Time skip}
The night sky was ablaze. Dozens of ships pushed through the icy waters, steam rising where fire met sea. And at the front—blue lightning dancing around her fingers—stood Azula. "She's here," Aric said.
"Who is here?" Aang asked
"The fire princess, Azula. She followed me here because I broke a scared pact." Aric said with a sigh at the end. The people around looked at me, their minds already speculating what the sacred pact was. Of course, Aang was not one of them since he is too innocent for those kinds of things.
"Um…just saying I ain't participating in a couple argument," Sokka said. Aric glared at him, and he just raised his hands in mock surrender.
"I will deal with her," Aric said as he flew using his firebending from his feat as jet repulsion. The city erupted into chaos. Warriors leapt to the defenses. Waterbenders lined the walls. Aang launched into the air with Momo on his shoulder while Sokka rushed to help organize the troops. They fought together across the icy bridges and platforms, fending off waves of firebenders. Katara bent spirals of water and shards of ice with fury, no longer asking for permission—only demanding justice.
Then came the duel. Azula descended like a storm, flames spiraling around her as she landed. Her eyes flicked to Aric, cold and calculating. "Really? Chasing me across the world. If I didn't know better, I would assume I cheated you off marriage or something," Aric said.
"I did have thoughts of marrying you after I thoroughly gave you Lessons on fire nation," She said with a crazy grin.
"I didn't know I was pretty enough to attract your attention. I am honored," Aric said, touched that he was called handsome; he rarely received such attention, but before he could say anything.
"Don't flatter yourself; you are just average. I just find your fire quite an asset to further create better children." Azula said
"Here I thought that you gained at least a semblance of sanity but it seems you gotten even more crazy in the head," Aric said, with a self-pity grin. "Plus, I already have plenty of admirers in the Fire Nation alone." He did not forget about Ty lee; in fact, he was about to reject Azula before she destroyed his confidence.
They clashed, and Blue and rainbow fire danced across the battlefield as they battled. It looked more like a sophisticated dance than an actual battle, albeit deadly, as anyone close enough to catch the strays were immediately burned into ashes. Aric's fire was overpowering Azula's by a long shot but the sheer skill with her firebending allowed her to survive this long.
'She is a monster…Holy fuck, next time someone says I am a genius I will kick their ass. She is the genius, here I am with a cheat power, and there she is barely given a week before our last fight and she can already match me with her skill alone,' Aric thought. Honestly he was impressed by her talent and, more importantly, hard work. "Conserdired me impressed" He said, as the dule continuously got more and more dangerous for the both of them.
"You didn't see anything, yet," She said, with that crazy grin on her face. Aric looked around the battlefield to see the chaos, he had to end this here even if it meant that he may not save her.
"I am sorry. I want to save you, but the world is my priority now," Aric said as he flew up, disengaging from her. She tried to follow him, but he was faster than her. "Everyone," he said, voice booming across the battlefield, "get down."
A massive ring of light formed above him—a burning sphere of Rainbow flame, hundreds of meters wide. It pulsed like a second sun, casting shadows across the entire city. The temperature rose. Ice began to melt. The ocean steamed.
Azula's face twisted into disbelief. "You," before she smiled as her eyes glamed with even more desire than before, "monster." she finished as the minituar sun descended to earth. It struck the ocean just short of the ships, erupting into an inferno of blinding light and fire. The sea split open in a geyser of steam and flame, vaporizing half the fleet in one catastrophic blast. The rest turned and fled. Smoke rose from the waters. The battle was over. And Azula—burnt, bruised, but still alive—vanished into the shadows, slipping away amidst the chaos.
Aric dropped to one knee, exhausted. His vision blurred. Katara caught him.
"You okay?" she asked.
He smirked, weakly. "I just dropped a sun… so, yeah, a little tired."
Aang landed beside them, stunned. "That was… insane."
"Yeah," Sokka muttered, staring out at the scorched bay. "Cool, but insane." And above them, the moon returned to its rightful place in the sky, casting gentle light on a war that was over.