*。☆。
★。＼｜／。★
˚ ₊ ♡ ❰ MIRACULUM ❱
*✧ ─── ❝ ❪ THE AWAKENING ❫ ❞

⋆ 🌪. CHAPTER THIRTY THREE ✧･ﾟ:
˚ ₊ ♡ 112 a.a ─── book three: fire

A GASP TORE FROM UKI'S THROAT AS SHE JOLTED UPRIGHT IN HER BED. SWEAT STILL COATING HER BROW and her breathing heavy. Phantom pain flared up through her left arm and her fingers twitch uncontrollably. Dragging a trembling hand through the tangles of her hair, she tried to slow down her breathing.

Lately she had only ever dreamed of the fight, the flames that burned so hot against her skin it felt like it had been happening all over again.

Her eyes flicker toward her arm, the discolorations that crept up her skin like an intricate spiderweb. They crawl all the way from between her fingers to her shoulder. Faint pink lines and harsher red ones that still pulsed with pain that was no longer there.

With a grunt, Uki kicked off the tangled blanket and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. The metal floor was cold beneath her bare feet, the chill climbing up her legs and scattering goosebumps along her skin.

She sat there for a moment, elbows resting on her knees. The scars would never truly fade, she knew that now. But it wasn't just the pain that haunted her.

It was his face.

Shaking the thought of him away, Uki stood up, stretching her limbs and slowly started dressing herself. At last she reached for the cloak beside the door, but she paused before her fingers could touch the fabric.

Red, the Fire Nation emblem.

She clenched her jaw, before grabbing it and fastening it around her shoulders.

She stepped into the corridor and padded silently up the narrow metal stairs, her steps echoing in the hush of early morning. The ship rocked gently underfoot, the ocean calm beneath them, but the sky was dark, heavy with storm clouds.

Outside, the cold sea air hit her instantly, salty and sharp, rousing her fully from the remnants of her dream. She pulled the cloak tighter around herself and squinted into the low light.

Katara stood at the railing, her back to Uki, hair loose and waving slightly in the breeze. Toph was next to her.

Uki smiled faintly at the sight. There was something comforting about it. Familiar. For a moment, it was like the past few weeks had been nothing more than a bad dream, and they were just... together again.

But then the wind shifted, and with it came the sharp pull of guilt deep in her chest.

Aang would have died if not for Katara's healing and the water from the Spirit Oasis. Uki had vouched for Zuko and in turn he had betrayed them all. Sometimes she wondered if they hated her, but they didn't.

Still, Uki couldn't escape the weight of it. Guilt had a way of lodging itself deep inside, like a splinter that festered no matter how many times it was washed clean.

She made her way to the railing beside the others. Neither Katara nor Toph turned to her, but their silence felt welcoming in its own way.

"Couldn't sleep?" Katara finally asked, her voice soft, lost in the wind.

Uki leaned on the railing, letting the breeze push her hair back from her face. "Nightmares," she admitted. "The usual."

Katara glanced at Uki's arm again, the scars that littered her skin and frowned. Normal healing could not do anything to them, they had tried multiple times.

Sensing Katara's gaze, Uki gave her a small assuring smile, but it did not quite reach her eyes. No—it held more sadness than she dared to admit.

Uki swallowed hard. "I wanted to believe it meant something. That it mattered—that he mattered." She admitted softly, pulling the cloak tighter to hide the scars from view. "but I was wrong to think he'd actually change."

"I'm sorry Uki."

"It's alright I—" The were interrupted by shouting and then a loud clang echoed behind them. Uki whirled around, wide eyes locking onto Aang as he laid sprawled across the deck, his staff in front of him.

"Momo?"

They watched as the lemur, chittered before flying toward the airbender. He circled they sky once before landing on his shoulder.

"Twinkle-toes!" Toph shouted, "that's got to be you!"

They all ran up to the avatar with bright smiles on their faces. "Aang, you're awake!" Katara exclaimed happily.

"Are you sure?" Aang mumbled, grey eyes disoriented, "I feel like I'm dreaming." He rubbed his eyes.

Katara jumped forward and threw her arms around the younger boy's shoulders, "You're not dreaming. You're finally awake."

"Aang!" Someone in full Fire Nation soldier gear strolled up, but even behind the mask his voice was familiar; Sokka. "Good to see you back with the living, buddy."

"Sokka?"

Uki moved forward next, a part of her reluctant to face him. The others had forgiven her, but Aang had been a direct victim of her poor judgement. She bowed low and reverent, eyes squeezed shut. "I'm sorry Aang."

Before he could say anything, Aang began to sway, eyes faraway and unfocused. "Uh-oh, somebody catch him—" Toph called out, "He's gonna..."

Uki reached out just in time to catch him before he hit the ground.

Gently she lowered them both to the ground, Aang resting against her as she slowly blinked again. He groaned, rubbing his face. "Why are we on a Fire Nation ship? Why is everyone dressed this way?"

Sokka moved closer and draped a red cloak over the boy's shoulders.

"And why am I the only one who is completely out of it?"

Katara held up a hand, her expression soft but firm. "You need to take it easy, okay? You were hurt... badly."

Aang's smile faltered, his fingers brushing against the fresh bandages wrapped over his chest. The movement slowed, and a shadow crossed his face. Katara caught it and offered a small, encouraging smile. "I like your hair."

His gray eyes widened as if she'd just told him the world was upside down. "I have hair?!" His hands shot to his head, fingers tangling in the short, uneven fuzz. "How long was I out?!"

"A few weeks," Katara said gently.

Footsteps approached on the deck, steady and sure. Another warrior in Fire Nation armor appeared, the red catching the low light. His smile was warm as he stopped before them. "Everything all right here?"

Katara's expression shifted, a faint frown tugging at her brow. She didn't look at him when she answered. "We're fine, Dad."

The man's gaze softened. "I'm Hakoda," he said to Aang, offering a hand. "Katara and Sokka's father."

Before Aang could take it, Katara's hand pressed against his shoulder. "He knows who you are. I just called you 'Dad,' didn't I?"

Hakoda's smile dimmed into something wry. "I suppose you did."

Aang moved her hand aside with care, pushing himself upright despite the wince it cost him. "Nice to officially meet you, Chief Hakoda."

Hakoda clasped his arm in return, the grip firm and respectful. "The honor's mine."

Katara glanced between them, impatience flickering in her tone. "Great. Now you've met. So, would you mind giving us a little privacy?"

Hakoda hesitated, but nodded once. "...Of course." He turned away, crossing the deck toward Appa, the faint sound of his boots fading into the wind.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Aang leaned toward her. "Are you mad at your dad or something?"

Katara blinked. "What? No, of course not. Why would you say that?"

Aang shrugged, gaze drifting upward toward the open sky and he winched again, a low groan escaping him as he clutched his abdomen.

"Maybe we should go upstairs." Uki reached out hesitantly, cloak falling away from her arm as she placed it on his shoulder.

Aang's breath caught. "Your arm..." His gray eyes widened, scanning the mottled scars that climbed from the base of her fingers, winding up to her shoulder like pale, knotted vines.

Uki's fingers twitched but didn't pull away. Her gaze was steady, though there was a flicker of something—shame, maybe, or simply exhaustion behind her eyes. "It's just skin now," she said quietly. "It's the rest of it that doesn't heal as easy."

Katara's eyes softened, but she didn't speak

"It was Zuko, wasn't it?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

Uki's jaw tensed. "It doesn't matter. What's done is done."

"Come, you need a healing session." Katara spoke up softly, helping Aang stand.

Uki watched as they went, arms around herself.

THE MORNING SKY STRETCHED IN A CLOUDLESS SWEEP OF BLUE, SUNLIGHT SHIMMER ACROSS THE OCEAN'S rippling surface as their stolen ship cut steadily through the waves. Salt air whipped against Uki's face, but she barely noticed. She sat cross-legged beside Sokka, gaze fixed ahead, quiet—quieter than usual. But the others had realized early on that what had happened in Ba Sing Se still weighed heavy on her.

"After what happened in Ba Sing Se, we had to get you to safety," Sokka was saying to Aang, who sat cross-legged on the deck with a steaming bowl of broth and noodles in his hands. "We flew back to Chameleon Bay, where we found my father and the other Water Tribe men. The Earth King decided he wanted to travel the world in disguise, so he set off alone—well, not completely alone."

"Soon, the bay was overrun with Fire Nation ships. Rather than fight them all, we captured a single ship and made it our disguise." Sokka pulled a weathered map from his satchel, its edges curling and soft from use, and pointed at a jagged path drawn in ink. "Since then, we've been traveling west. We crossed through the Serpent's Pass a few days ago. We've seen a few Fire Nation ships, but none have bothered us."

Aang slurped a noodle and looked up. "So, what now?"

"We've been working on a modified version of the invasion plan," Hakoda replied, his steady voice cutting in from nearby.

Katara glanced up from her bowl. "It's Sokka's invasion plan."

Uki's chopsticks paused mid-air, her gaze flicking up toward Katara. "Katara..."

"Yes," Hakoda continued, a small hitch in his tone, "Sokka's plan. We won't be able to mount a massive invasion without the Earth King's armies, but the solar eclipse will still leave the Fire Nation vulnerable."

"So, we're planning a smaller invasion," Sokka went on eagerly. "Just a ragtag team of our friends and allies from around the Earth Kingdom. We already ran into Pipsqueak and The Duke."

Heads turned toward the duo—The Duke perched high on Pipsqueak's broad shoulders, happily chewing on dumplings as though this were just another lazy afternoon.

"Good to see you again, Aang," Pipsqueak greeted warmly.

"And the best part is, the eclipse isn't even our biggest advantage." Sokka leaned in close to Aang and dropped his voice into a conspiratorial whisper. "We have a secret: you."

Aang blinked. "Me?"

"Yup! The whole world thinks you're dead!" Sokka shot his fists into the air, grinning in triumph. "Isn't that great?!"

Uki winced inwardly. Oh, that was not going to go over well.

Aang's expression morphed into horror. He slowly set his bowl down and got to his feet, walking toward the side of the boat as if the words themselves had shoved him there. He stared out over the sparkling waves, wide-eyed.

"The whole world thinks I'm dead?" He turned back to them, disbelief thick in his voice, Uki even notice the slight tremor in his hands. "How is that good news?! That's terrible!"

Sokka followed, waving off the protest in a laid-back way that made Uki winch. "No, it's great! It means the Fire Nation won't be hunting us anymore! And, even better, they won't be expecting you on the Day of Black Sun!"

"No, no, no, no, no. You have no idea." Aang gripped his head in both hands. "This is so messed up!"

Before anyone could respond, a deep, blaring horn rolled across the water. All eyes shifted toward the source; another Fire Nation ship cutting toward them.

Aang grabbed his staff. "I'll handle this. The Avatar is back."

When he opened the glider and held it above his head, he grunted and gripped at his chest. But even so, he still fought to grab onto the handles and prepare to take off.

Uki grabbed his arm, pushing it down and shaking her head. "You can't Aang. The don't know were not Fire Nation."

With beads of sweat dripping from his forehead, Aang reluctantly turned his glider back into the staff.

Hakoda and Bato picked up their helmets. "Everyone just stay calm. Bato and I will take care of this."

As they pulled on the helmets, Pipsqueak and the Duke worked to conceal Appa with a long blanket. Momo was quick to join him underneath before he was out of sight. Katara, Toph, Sokka, and Uki made their way down one of the stairways, poking their heads out just enough to watch without being seen.

Following them, Aang grumbled. "I hate not being able to do anything."

Uki gave him a sympathetic smile and rubbed his shoulder gently.

"Hopefully you won't need to." Toph replied.

Their ship came to a stop as the other one sailed up next to them. The other ship lowered a bridge, connecting it to their stolen boat. Three men: two soldiers and one officer crossed the bridge and approached Hakoda and Bato, who stood waiting for them.

"Commander, why are you off course?" The officer demanded. "All Western Fleet ships are supposed to be moving toward Ba Sing Se to support the occupation."

"Actually...we're from the Eastern Fleet." Hakoda replied. "We have orders to deliver some cargo."

"Ah, Eastern Fleet. Well, nice of Admiral Chan to let us know he was sending one of his ships our way." He tugged on his beard thoughtfully.

"I'm sure Admiral Chan meant no disrespect, sir." Bato said.

The officer rolled his eyes. "I mean, how hard is it to write a quick note and send a hawk our way?"

"Next time, we'll send two hawks to be sure you get the message."

They bowed, the officer turning away, and Uki felt the tension in her shoulders ease little by little. She shared a quick, relieved glance with Katara and breathed out, only to notice Aang still brooding beside her. She nudged him lightly, but before she could speak, Toph suddenly sprang onto the deck.

"They know!" she shouted, slamming her fist into the metal flooring, a surge ran through the floor and the bridge groaned, then snapped away from their ship, dropping the soldiers into the sea below.

Uki jumped up, ignoring the pain that surged through her left arm like lightning as she raised her hands in sync with Katara to send a large surge of water between the two ships. The strong current shoved the enemy ship away, slamming against the hull.

Uki fell forward when the ship lurched from another impact. She barely braced herself against the railing, eyes wide and worried at the sight of a large rock slick with flames came soaring closer. "Well, that can't be good!"

Toph called for ammunition, Pipsqueak complied, and chunks of stone flew back toward the enemy ship, smashing siege weapons into splinters.

Uki's eyes snapped to the starboard side as a shadow cut through the waves. A massive metal grappling arrow broke the surface and slammed into their hull with a dull, resonant clang, disappearing beneath the churning water. The whole ship jolted violently, the deck tilting beneath her feet.

No time to think.

She was already moving—boots pounding against metal, then gone in a blur of motion as she vaulted over the railing.

The water was cold and wild but, with la in her heart, the ocean was her safe haven. She twisted her body in a tight spiral, arms sweeping in wide arcs. The sea obeyed, carrying her downward in a rush of bubbles until she found the arrow lodged in the ship's side. The metal rope attached to it stretched upward, taut and vibrating with the pull of the enemy ship.

Drawing a breath from the last air in her lungs, Uki swept her hands forward. The water around the arrow thickened, hardened, until a casing of glistening ice locked it in place. With a sharp downward motion, she sent a concentrated stream slicing along the frozen base. The ice shattered—and with it, the arrow's tip broke clean away from the rope, sending it whipping back into the depths.

Kicking away from the hull, she pulled the ocean with her. Tendrils of water curling up around her body. With one strong push, she launched herself upward, the sea spiraling beneath her like a springboard. She broke the surface in an arc of spray, landing back on deck in a crouch, dripping and breathless.

"Arrow's gone," she called over the din, brushing wet hair from her face.

Katara joined her side. "I'm gonna give us some cover!"

A whirlpool spun beneath the enemy ship, cloaking them both in a dense mist. But fireballs still tore through the fog, one of them striking Toph's stash of rock slabs and scattering molten fragments across the deck.

They burst out of the mist just as another flaming shot smashed into their engine. Katara quenched the flames, and Uki threw herself back into bending the current to speed them up.

"How we doing?" Toph asked over the roar of water.

"Things couldn't get much worse," Sokka answered grimly, just before a massive serpent rose from the sea behind him with a bone-rattling screech.

"Sokka! Why are you always vouching for bad luck!" Uki shouted, exasperated.

The serpent reared, then a fireball from the enemy ship smacked into its head. It turned its rage on them instead, wrapping its coils around the Fire Nation vessel and dragging it under.

Sokka jogged to Uki's side, grinning like a madman. Smug and a little bit scared as she still glared at him.

Throwing an arm over her shoulders, Sokka lifted his voice toward the heavens. "Thank you, The Universe!"

⋆⋅ ━━━━ ‧ ༻✩༺ ‧ ━━━━ ⋅⋆
wordcount: 3033

not totally in love with this chapter. It is a bit boring and not much happens, the fun bits are later in the season, but oh well.