AN: Happy Belated First Anniversary Avatar: The Last Airbender (February 21)! Now, it's already been a year, how time flies. Amazing how most of the first season was taken up by hiatuses, eh? Nickelodeon doesn't even give us a marathon.
The answer to last chapter's challenge was "Sugar, We're Goin' Down" by Fall Out Boy. Congratulations to the two reviewers who got it right and won the virtual action figures. In case you're interested, go to my profile for a link to the photos of the real A:TLA action figures and three Season Two spoiler links. I'm not obsessed...
I'd also like to give special thanks to Hotspur for helping me sketch out part of this chapter and for spoiling me silly with "Downfall" insights. You rock, Hotspur! If you haven't read anything by her yet, I suggest you do so immediately.
Disclaimer: Two words: hiatus, marathon. If I owned it we'd have none of the former and tons of the latter. I obviously don't own A:TLA.
Learning to Play with Fire
Chapter 7: Pwned...
Retired General Iroh took note of the situation.
At the moment all was still on the deck. Each side was presently unsure of their position and were currently assessing their chances at victory. This was to be expected at this point in battle. The tables could easily be turned at the drop of a pin, or at the slightest movement of one of the combatants. That's what comes of divine intervention. When a god walks onto the scene there's bound to be some confusion and uncertainty.
The aforementioned omnipotent entity had yet to stir, making no move defensive or offensive, since his last. But judging by the stiff, somewhat aggravated posture of the young Avatar, Iroh accurately guessed that the boy's hypersensitive Spirit could be provoked into action if anyone so much as batted an eyelash the wrong way.
This situation would call for the utmost delicacy.
True to his form, The Dragon of the West let out a keening, obnoxious war cry worthy of the Water Tribe's most green warrior. Then promptly sent a large, vicious flare hurdling directly at Zhao.
The Admiral blocked the attack masterfully and followed it up with a massive counterattack of his own. Seeing their leader's action, Zhao's crew uniformly shot fireballs at the fugitives.
Zuko and his crew summoned up a large fire shield to deflect the flames. As the firewall lowered, Iroh raised his arm. "Forward!" bellowed the stout man melodramatically to his nephew's crew, even as he subtly signaled for Zuko and their strongest Firbenders to remain in place.
Taking no notice of the lack of his enemies' full fighting force, Zhao lead his men into a charge. The opposing legions clashed on all sides. Fire light flashed everywhere and putrid smoke filled the air.
If the old General didn't know any better he'd have said that the Avatar Spirit had looked taken aback by the sheer stupidity of it all. But only if he didn't know any better. Surprised or no, the Spirit responded beautifully to Iroh's calculated stimuli. The small illuminated figure took to the sky, soaring over the battalions and disappearing amongst the fray to wreak whatever damage he saw fit.
As their fellows joined the fight, the selected Firebenders crowded around Iroh and Zuko. The retired General was only mildly surprised to see that the Water teens had elected to remain with them rather than take off in pursuit of their friend. The pair was far too curious to keep their noses out of any plans concerning them or those they cared for.
"What's the plan, Uncle?" asked Zuko furtively as if Zhao could sneak up on them at any moment.
The Dragon of the West glanced about at the group clustered around him. Zuko stared impatiently back at him, the blue eyes of the Water Tribers peered at him curiously, the other five pairs belonged to the other Firebender's he had selected besides himself and his nephew.
"Directly below us is the hold in which the landing crafts are kept," he stated, tapping the heel of his boot against the metallic floor.
Most of the group looked nonpulsed but Sokka's eyes gleamed, "If we get to them..."
Iroh smiled smugly, inclining his head to the young warrior.
Zuko snorted dismissively. "And this serves us, how? We might as well join the battle then. Zhao's forces are blocking the way to that hold."
The group dodged a stray fireball. All eyes turned to Iroh again.
"Of course, Prince Zuko," sniffed the old General, his smile widening. "But you are thinking inside the box. Zhao merely blocks the conventional way to the boats. A sheet of metal is all that separates us from the landing bay and that's not much of an obstacle at all."
The Prince's expression softened as he comprehended what his uncle was hinting at. "Why couldn't you have told us that outright?" he snapped.
Iroh shrugged, his lips twitching in amusement.
"We'll need a distraction though. Zhao's not going to miss the fact that we're burning a hole through his ship," commented Lt. Jee.
"Well, we already have that," Katara put in excitedly. She gestured at the havoc of the battle all around.
"Wait a second," said the Water boy. "I thought you guys couldn't melt metal."
Zuko looked affronted but his uncle simply smiled indulgently at the young man.
"From a distance, no," he stated gravely. "Fire relies on the air for fuel. So the farther away the fire moves from the bender, the more it expands, making it hard to aim well enough to hit a small target without burning the surrounding area," he explained. "Contact allows a strong Firebender to properly focus the intense heat required to melt a solid metal to its liquid state."
Sokka nodded in understanding.
"Alright, now that the Water peasant has learned some Firebending logic, we can get started," commented Zuko sarcastically, conjuring up a fire shield as a jet of water whistled past them.
Katara waved her arm and the stream deflected from them. She then wrestled with her brother for a few moments, desperately restraining him from lunging at the Fire Heir. The Fire soldiers exchanged humored glances.
Smirking victoriously, Zuko turned to his men. "I want you stationed at intervals in a circle. Uncle and I will stand here and here," he indicated two points. "Fill in!"
As Zuko arranged his men, the Water Tribe siblings turned to the Fire General for guidance.
"What should we do?" inquired Katara earnestly.
Iroh smiled pleasantly at the anxious pair. "I think you two would do best providing assistance to those of our party who are fighting." His eyes flickered to a nearby three to one battle. His crow's feet deepening as he spotted the possessed child weaving fluidly through the combatants. "Am I right in suspecting that you two have had some up close experience with the Avatar State before? The North Pole excepted." They nodded. "Then I believe it would be beneficial for you to stay close to the Avatar. Be prepared to draw the Spirit away when we retreat."
With complementary determined looks the Water Tribe children turned to the battle. Katara paused as Iroh caught her elbow gently, suddenly. "Steam cover would be much appreciated at this point, as would healing powers."
The Waterbender grinned up at him before dashing after her brother.
The Fire Nation General watched them intently for a few more moments before turning to face his comrades. He was surprised to see Zuko watching him carefully, his expression unreadable. Iroh gazed back placidly until the young Prince looked away, refocusing on the present task.
Zhao's Flagship
The Deck
The distinguished Admiral Zhao was not pleased. Sure, his day had started off wonderfully. He had captured the much sought after Avatar and the meddlesome Prince, he had even sentenced an entire crew of men to death. Satisfied and confident, he had then settled down in his quarters for a refreshing lunch. It had been one of the most successful days of his life. A certain promotion had loomed over the horizon but then... then that stupid, pathetic, undeserving Prince who had been a thorn in his side for years had decided to escape. Stupid, stupid... how in the conquered world could I have forgotten the damn Waterbenders?
He had luckily been able to corner the escapees on the deck before they made it to the boats but his good fortune had ended there. They had brought the Avatar along. True, he had not expected Zuko to leave without his prize. But hehad expected the boy to remain unconscious... well, he actually did. It was the Spirit that resided inside the child that had awoken. Zhao was not one who held much faith in the spiritual aspect of things, he mainly focused on power and there was no doubt in his mind that whether the Spirit was demon or deity, it wielded a massive amount of that. He had seen such up north. And once again the Spirit had activated to fight him rather than serve him as he had planned on having it do in the future. Damn it all!
And now the Admiral was fighting side by side with his soldiers against Zuko's staunch crewmen.
He brought his hand forward, a blast of white hot fire spouting from his palm and careening towards a group of Firebenders. Zhao wasn't sure if all of them were his enemies, but at this time he couldn't be bothered to care.
The Fire Nation man wasn't given time to watch the blow hit (to his great disappointment) as a movement to his right grabbed his attention. Whirling to face the new threat, he unleashed a high velocity fireball.
He watched with some amount of shock as his attack was simply brushed aside by a gust of wind. The Avatar faced him, poised to block another blow. Zhao observed the boy's illuminated tattoos and glowing eyes through narrowed eyes. The pupilless orbs seemed to watch him in their turn and Zhao found himself unnerved by the merciless stare.
Slowly, so as not to draw the Spirit's attention, the Admiral pulled his fist back, igniting it with small red flames. Keeping his amber eyes on the bright ones of the Avatar, Zhao minutely shifted his feet into a stance.
With a shout, the man thrust his fist forward, an intense spurt of fire hurled at the Airbender, who smoothly dodged the wrathful flames. Believing the Spirit significantly occupied, Zhao made to flee. He assumed too soon. A small wave of water washed over the deck, sweeping Zhao's feet out from under him and dashing him against the side of the helm tower.
The child Avatar studied the groaning man nonchalantly for a moment before leaping lightly away in search of other game. His Airbending speeding his stride.
Zhao's Flagship
The Deck
Sokka wove through Fire Nation soldiers, most of whom took no notice of the Water Tibesman. He would slow occasionally to whack a man with his club or duck a fire blast, but he dedicated most of his concentration to seeking his friend.
The warrior had yet to get near Aang. He had spotted the 12 year old from across the deck plenty of times, but the boy was in constant motion. Before Sokka could draw near the Airbender would soar away on his winds in pursuit of some unfortunate sailor. It was starting to wear on the Water boy's already frayed nerves.
Sokka raised his head, scanning the deck for the bald head of his friend. There!
Several yards away, the child glided lithely about a clan of Zhao's soldiers. The Firebender's in the group shot flames at the Avatar but panic made their aim shaky and all missed by at least a foot. Sokka's grip tightened on his weaponry and he picked up his pace, desperate to help Aang even if he didn't need any assistance.
Thundering footfalls redirected the warrior's attention to his left before he had ran more than a few inches. Sokka glanced to his side and barely dodged a spear wielded by one of Zhao's men. Backpedaling frantically, Sokka put a more comfortable distance between himself and the sharp point of the spear. The boy threw his boomerang at the man, whom he recognized was ranked as Corporal. The soldier ducked the projectile and smirked down at Sokka.
"Ha, you missed, kid."
Sokka scowled at being addressed as 'kid' and swung his club at the Corporal's helmeted head. The man raised his spear in defense and the bat snapped it cleanly in two.
It was the boy's turn to smile in triumph and the soldier's time to glare.
The Corporal recovered quickly, tossing the broken spear aside and sank into a martial arts stance. Sokka mirrored him.
It was then that the young Tribesman's trusty boomerang chose to return, connecting with the man's helmet with a hollow clang. The helmet spun about on the soldier's head, blocking his unsteady vision. The warrior caught his weapon as it whirled back to him and spun around on his toes, delivering a roundhouse kick to the dazed Corporal's armored chest. The soldier fell over the ship's rail, his girlish scream silenced when he hit the water.
Sokka looked back to the place where he had spied Aang. He swore vehemently upon seeing that the Avatar had disappeared again, leaving a pile of moaning soldiers in his wake.
Zhao's Flagship
The Deck
Katara ran about the deck, her ice blue eyes alert for the glowing tattoos of her best friend.
She frowned upon realizing that her own ploy had put her search effort at a disadvantage. The fine mist she had created hid Iroh and the others perfectly... as it did everything else. Only the luminous flashes originating from the multiple fire fights were visible through the unnatural fog. The Waterbender's surly look deepened as she ran blindly through the steam.
She started as a dark shape rapidly materialized through the vapor.
Spying the telltale red and black armor of a Fire Nation trooper, Katara concentrated on the moisture around her. A fine flow of water condensed at her side and she crossed her arm over her chest, bringing the stream before her body defensively.
As the Naval officer stumbled into her range, she pushed the water forward, knocking the man to the ground. With a flick of her wrist she froze him to the deck. A deft hand motion smacked him upside the head with a another sheet of ice, he fell back, knocked out.
Katara reveled in the fact that he hadn't had time to deliver a blow of his own before sprinting away, the mists swirling around her.
AN: Sorry 'bout that. I planned to post a larger chapter but I really wanted to get this up. I should have the rest up soon.
