THE PEOPLE OF THE NORTHERN WATERTRIBE GATHER IN THE ROYAL PALACE. The reality of an impending Fire Nation attack brings discomfort and fear to the energy in the room. Kida finds herself buzzing with these emotions. She wishes that she would have the luxury of indulging in so-called normal teenage fantasies (like, maybe the fact that she just kissed Sokka?), but there was a war to fight and lives were at stake, and Kida has a feeling that this battle would somehow change everything. For the worse or for the better, she wasn't sure.

Now, she listens on to the chief as he addresses his people.

"Now, as we approach the battle for our existence, I call upon the great spirits. Spirit of the Ocean! Spirit of the Moon! Be with us! I'm going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission."

"I'm in," Sokka announces, getting up to offer himself as a volunteer just as Kida thinks to herself that she should volunteer as well. She catches Sokka's hand as he walks past her. "Don't try and stop me," he warns.

"I'm not," Kida replies. She gets up. "I'm coming with you."

Sokka looks back at her, his eyebrows furrowed in worry. "It's dangerous."

"And that means you can go?" Kida challenges, crossing her arms. "Look, there are a lot of bad ways to go, but fighting by your side isn't one of them. We've trained for this, remember?"

In spite of himself, Sokka smiles and resists the urge to kiss her again. They walk up to the Chief, where a line of warriors wait for him to mark them for battle. After Sokka receives the mark of the warrior, Kida walks up, but upon realizing it's her, the Chief pauses.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot approve for you to go on this mission."

"Are you serious?" Kida demands, overcome by annoyance.

"I have a special task for you," he explains. "I want you to protect my daughter and make sure she's safe during the battle. She seems very .... fond of you."

Kida's face falls. "Oh." She looks behind the Chief to Sokka and is about to refuse the Chief, but he stops her before she can:

"Please. I can't lose my daughter, and I trust that you can protect her."

"But, sir, I —"

"Please," the Chief pleads once more. He looks genuinely afraid to lose a member of his family, and maybe it's the fact that she knows what that's like that makes her agree.

"Okay," Kida sighs. She shoots Sokka a silent apology before moving to stand next to Princess Yue.

»»---------------------►

WHEN CHIEF ARNOOK SAID THAT THE STILLNESS BEFORE A BATTLE IS UNBEARABLE, he wasn't exaggerating. But, for Kida, it's the stillness of standing by while a battle rages on that really gets to her.

Technically, Kida isn't even in the heart of the battle, but she can still feel the nerves overcome her. Not for herself, but for her friends, who are out on the front lines. Sokka went on some secret mission to infiltrate a Fire Navy ship, Katara is out fighting side-by-side with the other waterbending warriors and Aang flew to take down some ships before they reach the shore. Meanwhile, Kida waits with Yue in the Royal Palace, where the most nerve wracking thing she herself has to deal with is making conversation with her ex-girlfriend. She'd much rather be out with her friends, fighting by their side and risking her life, but she made a promise to the Chief.

An hour passed. Maybe two. Three? Kida isn't even sure. She already restrung her bow twice out of boredom. Between awkward small talk with Yue, all Kida can think about is Aang and Katara and Sokka; how much they mean to her and how weird it is to have people that she's afraid of losing again. But, Kida is tired of being afraid; she decides sometime then to tell them the truth about herself when the battle is done and the time is right. After all this time, they deserve to know. Sokka already knows that something is wrong, anyways, and if Kida wants things to work between them — and she really, really does — she needs to be honest.

Soon enough, night falls and the battle stops temporarily. Kida and Yue go outside to meet Katara on a bridge. They look out across the city, no one saying much, until they notice Aang fly in on his glider. When he reaches them, he almost collapses and Kida has to catch him before he hits the floor.

"Aang, what's wrong?" Kida helps him up and he rests his elbows on the railing of the bridge, his head in his hands.

"I can't...I can't do it," he mumbles, exhausted.

"What happened Aang?" Katara asks.

"I must have taken out a dozen ships! But...but there's too many. I can't fight them all."

"But, you have to," Yue interjects. "You're the Avatar."

"I'm just one kid," Aang sighs.

Kida moves forward and places a reassuring hand on Aang's shoulder. "Aang." The boy lifts his head to look at her. "You might just be a kid, but you have a good heart. You're stronger and braver than most adults. So, yeah, you're a kid, but you're not just a kid. You can do this. I know you can."

"And you're not alone," Katara adds, placing a hand on his other shoulder. Aang smiles back at her.

"Thanks, guys," he whispers. Then, his face suddenly lights up. "And you're right, Katara! I'm not alone. I have the spirits!"

Katara looks at him, confused. "Actually, I meant us, but...yeah, the spirits, too."

Aang turns to Yue. "What's the most spiritual place in the North Pole?"

Yue smiles. "Follow me."

»»---------------------►

YUE BRINGS THEM TO A PLACE CALLED THE SPIRIT OASIS. The area is beautiful: filled with fresh grass and other plants along with a small pond in the centre. It's warmer here, for whatever reason, so everyone takes off their coats as Aang situates himself to start meditating.

"This is centre of all spiritual energy in our land," Yue explains.

With his legs crossed and eyes closed, Aang tries to cross over to the Spirit World. Before long, his arrows start to glow.

"Is he alright?" Yue asks.

"Yes," Katara replies. "He'll be fine as long as we don't move his body."

"I wouldn't be so sure," a voice for the sidelines taunts. The girls turn and see Prince Zuko. Instinctively, Kida draws her bow, an arrow at the ready. "Shoot and I'll blast the watertribe peasant," Zuko threatens.

Katara places a hand on Kida's arm. "Take Yue to safety. I'll handle this." Kida lowers her bow and hesitates.

"No," she replies. On one hand, Kida knows full well that Katara can protect herself and Aang, but on the other...she doesn't want to leave Aang.

Katara insists that Kida leaves with Yue, and, against her better judgement, Kida follows her orders. She tries not to look back as she's leading Yue away, but when the sun starts rising and she hears Katara scream, she has no choice, and the scene makes her heart freeze: Katara on the ground, unconscious, while Zuko is inches away from taking Aang.

"Yue, run. Go find Sokka," she instructs, not wasting a second and running back to the Oasis before Yue can even respond.

By the time she reaches Zuko, he's already climbing the cliff that encloses the oasis. Kida follows shortly behind until she reaches the top, only moments after Zuko.

"Where are you even taking him?" Kida shouts. There was nothing around here but barren, frozen land engulfed in a blizzard; essentially the opposite of the safe haven the Spirit Oasis was.

Zuko turns around, surprised. She wasn't even sure that he noticed her following them until now. He eyes her skeptically, then smirks. He drops Aang, still in the Avatar state, in the snow and takes a fighting stance. "How are you even going to fight me?"

It's then that Kida realizes that she's completely unarmed: her sword left in the living space she and the team are staying at, and her bow, discarded somewhere carelessly so she could climb faster. Adrenaline does weird things to a person's brain, but that was sloppy on Kida's part, and she knows it. Leaving her bow, back at the oasis, and then following an experienced firebender to the top of a frozen cliff while Aang hangs unconscious and his safety is at risk was arguably the worst move she could have made in this battle.

What now? she wonders, scolding herself internally. Her mind flashes through fragments of memories: the warm hues of an open flame, Hiro's laughter during a sunset; her parents on the ground; the smell of ashes; the screams of Hiro crying out for help; the feeling of burning flesh and the sound of him being dragged away. The metal of her ring feels so cold on her finger, it's almost burning. There was something Kida could do to stop Zuko. It was the only option now, really. I'm not losing another brother.

Kida mirrors Zuko's stance, trying to appear confident. He sends a strong blast of fire her way. She barely dodges it before sending one back, although much weaker than his. Once again, Zuko smirks. He steps closer to Kida and starts circling her, like a vulture waiting to attack it's prey. Kida follows him and holds his gaze.

"So, you're a firebender," he declares. "Not a skilled one, clearly, but I wouldn't expect anything more from a traitor to our nation."

"It was never my nation," Kida snaps. "You don't know my story, but know this: if you lay a hand on the Avatar one more time, I will personally end you." It takes everything in Kida to sound strong, because with every passing second, her heart beats faster with the reality that she's about to lose, not only this fight, but someone she loves.

Zuko laughs bitterly and, without another word, sends one last powerful blast to Kida, knocking her out.

»»---------------------►

WHEN KIDA IS WOKEN UP, SHE'S OUT OF BREATH. Her body is frozen, except with her hands, which are still warm from whatever pathetic display of firebending she used earlier. It takes her only a second to realize that Aang is gone; there's nothing around but ice and snow. She starts to look around frantically, taking short breaths as she attempts to calm herself, but only managing to the opposite. Tears start brimming her eyes and she hugs her knees and covers her face with her hands, rocking back and forth in the snow like a child.

Aang is gone. I failed. I couldn't protect him. Again. I deserve to freeze here to death.

"Hey," a voice whispers next to her, bringing her back to reality. Beside her, Sokka kneels down and wraps his arm around her. "You're okay. We're here. I'm here."

"I..." she starts, but can't find the words to say except: "Aang," she chokes. As she breaks down crying, Sokka brings her into a hug.

"Shh, it's okay," he consoles, running his hand through her hair gently. "We're going to find him. I promise."

Kida nods slowly and pulls away, wiping her eyes. "Okay. Okay," she breathes, trying to pull herself together.

Be strong, she tells herself.

Sokka helps her up and leads her to Appa, where Yue and Katara are waiting for them. Katara looks worried, as well, but manages a smile for Kida's sake. In the middle of them rests Kida's bow and quiver.

"I thought you might need them," Sokka explains as he takes the reins.

"You know me so well," Kida says sarcastically to lighten the mood, although they both know it's the truth. Sokka turns back and smirks at her, before instructing Appa to take off.

As the group navigates the air looking for Aang, Kida clutches onto the bow like her life depends on it.

»»---------------------►

author's note ! sorry i took so long with this chapter, im planning a few more fics (a pjo one, a marvel one, maybe a hunger games one too) so that's taking sometime....

well, thanks for reading (and commenting!) !