LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 6: Chapter 6
"Put on more firepower." Kao, the captain of one of the Fire Nation ships, bit his bottom lip.
He stood in front of the anchor, while his men shot streams of fire at it endlessly. They had used coal to heat up the ship, but the defrosting process was taking too long.
"Sorry, sir. At this rate, it will take the whole day to defrost it," reported a soldier.
"Why don't you go under the water and heat up the chains?" suggested another soldier.
"We can't ignite fire underwater," a third one said frustratedly, removing his helmet.
"That damn waterbender. He dares to trap us."
"Should we use the coal? It would save us a lot of time."
"And how do you expect us to get back to the Earth Kingdom or any nearby port?" Kao snapped at his soldier. Coal was a valuable resource for their machines. As for physical labor, his men could always replenish their energy with food.
Even if they exhausted all the food they had, they could force the Water Tribe to hand over their rations or gather more food.
Maybe Kao would do that, as a form of revenge against that boy from the Water Tribe.
'But something's suspicious. That boy didn't seem stressed. Yet, when the old woman was about to point him out as the bender, he killed her. It was almost like he was trying to protect something. Kao thought. Wait. That girl kissed him and cried... Could she be a waterbender too? I don't know. But it's worth capturing her. She could make a nice hostage.'
-x-X-x-
"So, you're telling us that we should wait here for a bald young man, who's supposed to be the Avatar, but he's hiding under one of the many icebergs around here?" Sokka asked, wanting to confirm what he had just heard.
"Yes. That's what the spirits told me in my dream," I said.
To explain how I knew things, I made up a story about a spirit giving me knowledge in a dream. To make it more believable, I claimed that the spirit had also given me the power of waterbending. The fact that I suddenly had waterbending abilities after 17 years of not having them was proof enough for Katara and Sokka.
"That makes sense," Katara nodded.
"Can you tell that spirit to visit me next time?" Sokka grinned, pointing to himself with his thumb. He didn't hide his desire to gain waterbending powers. Well, I didn't blame him. The power to bend elements was awesome. The feeling of having power over others was also pretty addictive.
I shook my head. "Ever since that day, the spirit hasn't visited me."
"But it wasn't that long ago. Maybe you should wait a bit longer," Sokka said, holding onto my arm with both hands.
"It's not up to me whether you get powers or not. Let me go," I grumbled.
"Fine." Sokka snorted and released my arm.
"Anyway," Katara said, "What are you going to do now? You're not leaving, but you're not staying. What's next?"
I smiled smugly. "You know, when you use your Chi for too long, you end up feeling exhausted, right?"
"Chi? You mean the energy that flows inside the body when you bend?" Katara asked. "I feel it sometimes."
"When it's night, the Fire Soldiers will take a break, eat, and replenish their energy to continue working on the anchor. How do you think they'll feel in the morning when they face a bigger problem?"
I looked at Katara. She could be the one to help me.
"Katara."
"Yes?" She looked up at me with her big blue eyes.
"Can you freeze and defrost the water?" I asked.
"I know how to do that," Katara replied. "Just imagining the water moving slowly and getting solid should do the trick. But I can't control or bend the ice yet."
"Perfect," I replied. "Your role is crucial."
"What's my role?" Sokka asked.
"Bringing good luck," I said, shrugging. I didn't know how to answer without hurting his feelings, so I tried to cheer him up.
"I get it. I'm not much help." Sokka crossed his arms, turned his head, and snorted.
"You may turn into a big help with your boomerang skills, but they're not needed yet." I patted him on the shoulder. "For now, let's eat. I'm starving."
-x-X-x-
After the meeting with Katara, we had a delicious lunch. Sokka had grabbed his secret stash of sea fruits and dry wood to cook a nice meal for me to say goodbye. Well, the good news for him was that I'd be sticking around for a few more days.
As the Fire Nation soldiers struggled, I asked Katara to accompany me to help. Sokka refused to let her go alone with me, not after that kiss, and insisted on coming with us. So, the three of us got into the boat.
'Why is Sokka so focused on me? It's not like I initiated the kiss. And I'm here to take down the enemy, not to mess with his sister. Though I've considered the idea for years... Well, I guess he's got a point.'
While I stood in the boat, Katara was behind me, pushing and providing the boat with momentum. After a half hour of fast travel, we spotted a huge Fire Nation ship.
As we got closer, I noticed black smoke covering the sky.
Man. They had used a lot of coal to melt the ice.
When I jumped off the boat, I submerged under the water and swam toward the anchor. I saw that a large chunk of ice had melted, and only a thin layer of ice remained on the anchor. I popped my head above the water and waved at Katara. Since it was getting dark and we hadn't lit any torches, the people on the ship would have a hard time noticing us.
Katara, who had been briefed on the plan, jumped into the water and followed my movements.
I signaled to her to start freezing the water. To avoid freezing each other, we stayed close and pointed our hands forward. I created the first layer of ice around the anchor and chains, and Katara reinforced it. We tried to make the ice as large as possible.
[Freeze up to level 5]
After holding our breath for over a minute, we surfaced and swam back to the boat.
"Are you done?" Sokka asked.
Katara, who was breathing heavily, replied, "No."
My breath, on the other hand, was calm. It seemed I'd gotten used to those icy cold morning showers.
"We still have a couple more rounds to go. Once they start feeling desperate, they'll either move on foot or cut the chains. But I'm not sure how a ship without an anchor would move."
"I don't think they'll do it. The risk is too high," Sokka shook his head.
"I'm not sure. They may leave someone to steer the ship, and they could always send soldiers to land. I don't want to know what they'd do for revenge." I replied, "But they'll be exhausted by then, and we might have a chance to win. We could do something else." I smirked.
"So, what's the best course of action?" Katara asked.
I glanced at the ship. It didn't have a sail, but it did have a motor. My South Pole friends didn't seem to know how such a machine operated.
I smiled and nodded as I folded my arms. "This is going to be great. This is why I like ice."