I'd been following the army for almost a week as they drilled their way through the countryside. I had no idea what they were after, but they were after something, and I wanted to make sure whatever it was wasn't of any value to me before they took it. I'd caused them a little strife on the journey, poisoned food, rocky beds, broken siege engines and loosed mounts. I could imagine they were rather sick of the journey by now, but they kept on. And now it appeared they'd found what they wanted, an air bender. I actually had no idea if that's what they were after or not, but it seemed the logical conclusion considering who they were fighting now.

I hung back, watching the battle, the only casualties coming when a rhino or siege engine fell onto a soldier. It didn't seem like the air bender had it in him to go on a full on offensive, instead batting away the soldiers with his six legged flying cow. I figured it might be in my interest to help the air bender and his fluffy companion, and if not, I'd just kill him myself. Standing from where I was crouched on a rocky ridge, I lifted my hands into the air, getting into a fighting stance, several chunks of rock rising around me, floating gently in a circle, orbiting my still form. And then I lurched forward, flinging myself off of the cliff-like outcropping. I dropped at least sixty feet, slamming into the ground like a fleshy meteor, sinking immediately over my head into the rock and dirt, parting it to soften my fall.

With a roar, I burst from the ground, bringing massive chunks of rock with me, hurling them through the army as if they were made of cotton. The attack caught them entirely off guard, the men didn't know how to react to the sudden carnage, shards of stone flying forth from the stones still orbiting me, skewering them through whatever body part happened to get in the way, tearing through armour, flesh, and bone. I lifted my hands into the air, slamming them down a moment later, sharpened spears of stone erupting from the ground all around me, spreading outward like a shockwave, blood, bodies, armour, and weapons were thrown and tossed like rag dolls on a stormy sea. By the time the troops realized where the bloodshed originated I was already moving, cutting through the ranks as I ran, trying to get to the air bender, around which the army seemed to be converged.

The ground erupted like a pool of water had been disturbed. Rock, stones and the grass and men attached to them were sent flying, followed by blood and body parts as I charged through the Fire nation ranks, straight to the air-bender.

The air-bender raised his staff and took a defensive stance, preparing for an attack I had no intend on giving him. I emerged from the Fire Nation army, rocks spinning around me. I punched the air and spread my hand, one of the rocks shattered into pieces in response, piercing Fire Nation and their rhino's alike. Blood and bodies continued to pile up as I ran towards the air-bender, closing the gap quickly; the idiot stood their dumbstruck as I approached.

I slid to a stop in front of him. Grabbing him by the shirt I threw the air-bender to the ground while raising a large rock with my other hand. A fireball passed between us, right where his head had been just seconds ago; I hurled the rock into the Fire Nation army as the air-bender followed the fireball, mouthing 'woah.'

I let the boy go and bent the ground between us and the army, lifting it up into a wall. A fire bender came around the side, fire daggers in hand. I raised my hand to deal with when a gust of air shot out from behind me, collecting the soldier and carrying him into three of his friends.

"I'm Xiang!" the air-bender shouted as he jumped to my side, staff raised.

"Shut up and fight," I spat, slowly building a wall out of bloodied dirt and whatever carnage was stuck in it, hardening it as it grew while continuing the offensive against those around us, forming a protective barrier to shield from the long range attacks that rained down from time to time. I noticed more and more people joining the fight, other earth benders for the most part and a pair of fire benders fighting back against the tide of fire nation, confusing the oncoming hordes, leading them to falter in their advance. I noticed one man in particular, built like a mountain and bending far more ferociously than any of his colleagues. Seeing this as a challenge, I upped my game, striking out harder and faster from the cover of what had become a stone wall two yards thick, five high and stretching at least twenty long as I had moved to more populated battle locations. I could see blood and steel and body parts in the stone but paid it no mind as I continued on, taking chunks from it as I went to pelt the endless army with gravely shrapnel.

It was only after a solid hour of battle that the ranks thinned, fire nation soldiers retreating in panic as a horn was sounded. I dared not follow, the battle having taken too much of my energy to pursue, even my bloodlust had let up a bit and I didn't even bother shooting stones after the retreating troops. I looked about to find the wounded taken cover behind my wall, which stretched in a zigzagging pattern across the battlefield, dividing it in two, several holes along its length made by fellow earth benders who needed a pass through.

"Come on! They're on the run!" the air bender yelled from atop the wall, pointing with his staff to the backs of the enemy.

"No they're not," the mountain man growled, stomping hard enough to cause the air bender to lose his balance and fall from his perch, landing easily with the aid of his air.

"They're going back to resupply and get more troops, that was only one unit of their army," I added in, crossing my arms and leaning against a dead rhino.

"How would you know?" The air bender asked, "That looked like an army to me, and a beaten one at that!"

"Because I've been following them for the last two weeks," I responded, causing the boy to glance to the large earth bender man.

"She's not one of mine," He responded to the implied question.

"I don't see you trying to execute her," The air bender replied snidely, a reference I didn't get.

"Watch your tongue," Said a muscular young man, he was covered in blood and carried a spear at his side. I could tell immediately that he shared some characteristics with the large man who seemed to be in charge by everyone's body language.

"Fine fine, but an apology would be nice," The air bender said, motioning in a 'settle down' fashion with his hands.

"For what and why?" The large man laughed, his voice booming out like a boulder rolling down a mountain.

"I kind of just saved your village, a little appreciation would be nice," He said with a shrug.

"You'd have died before we got here if it wasn't for this young lady," The man continued laughing. I just snorted as the air bender looked over to me, obviously a little annoyed to have the spotlight stolen.

"They'll be back soon, what's the plan now?" The man with the spear interrupted the back and forth.