Burn My Dread FES

By Iain R. Lewis

Disclaimer: Characters and concepts belong to Nickelodeon, some of the concepts are similarly inspired by Persona 3 and Persona 4, property of ATLUS games.

"I don't care anymore, enough of fake smiles, buckwild I go. Tried it on but it didn't fit me so I found a better pair of shoes to walk. Even in defeat I hold my pride never gonna talk."

- Mass Destruction - Reincarnation-

Lotus Juice

Chapter 11: The Depths of Defeat

And they hit the water with a splash, just as the deluge washed down across the old stone water-ways, the sound of water going through steel pipes that wrapped around the ancient submerged resevoirs around them.

They came up for air.

"That was crazy!" Toph shrieked, "Whose bright idea was that?"

The murky waters about them smelled stagnant and foul, and around them, a heavy mist fell on everything, obscuring the molding, ancient stones that held the water in place. Long, narrow platforms, made of slippery, eroded stone cut a path across the waves.

Azula swam towards it without a word.

"Relax, Toph," Katara said, "We didn't have much of a choice."

Azula wrung out the water from her uniform's jacket, looking distastefully around her. Examining the area for paths and passages, and finding nothing but a mess of pipes and old raised waterways. The water had long since grown still.

She could feel the water in her socks squish as she pressed down on the soaked insoles.

"We shouldn't just sit around," Yue said, "We'll catch a death of cold here."

"Good point," Katara said. The others swam towards the stone passage, climbing up where a rail once guarded. "Azula --"

"What."

"-- relax, Azula," Katara said, forcing a smile as best she could, "Maybe you could help me get us all dry."

Azula cocked her head to the side, trying to figure out whether or not Katara was growing a second head or not. She finally set her lip in a stony frown, and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Katara's smile shook, "Well, you're able to bend water, you can help me get the water out of everyone's clothes. If you just follow my lead --"

"And get myself wet instead, no thanks. I'll take my chances."

"You need to learn how to bend water properly," Katara said. Her smile was still hanging on, but its grip was tenuous at best. "I'm offering to start teaching you, Azula. From the looks of things, we're going to need to work together."

Azula stared at Katara, her brain moving as fast as it could to process this information, and Katara stared back, her smile all but faded from her face and replaced with an angry scowl. And while the two girls proceeded to stare each other down, the others began to look around.

"Massive," Zuko said, "This isn't going to be easy."

"Yeah, no way around. Do we go up, or what?" Sokka asked. He looked down at the stagnant waters around them, "Or do we have to go through that?"

"I hope not," Zuko muttered. "There has to be a way out of here, though."

"All right."

Katara's expression reset itself, turning to shock in place of frustration, "All right?"

"Show me."

"Uh, well, any volunteers?" Katara asked, looking at the assorted and variously sopping wet individuals. "Yue? Toph?"

"I'll do it," Toph said. "Better get me all dry, Spice Girl."

"Oh, yes, of course, we'd hate for you to need to bathe," Azula muttered.

"That's right!"

Azula looked at Katara, and raised her brow, "Well, how do I begin?"

"Push and pull," Katara said, "More pull in this case, but, okay, Watch me." She drew out the water from her uniform, forming it into a murky sphere that floated just between her hands, moving back and forth between them, before she dropped it back into the pool.

She moved smoothly, never changing pace, always slow, but methodical. It was the precise opposite of everything Azula had learned.

She was beginning to get frustrated. It took Aang months to master Earthbending, his natural opposite, but restrains necessitated a more active learning experience from Azula. "Well?"

"I'm going," Azula said, looking over at Katara. Despite her prompting, she didn't seem at all impatient. Aang had always been glowing about Katara's teaching method, the calm, even temperment seemed suited to the element she was learning.

It wasn't rigid enough, though, she wasn't being told her form was wrong, even as she cycled through the stances, shifting her weight about, trying to find it in the strange, alien form. Airbending, she had to admit, had a natural grace to it, smoething akin to Firebending. Waterbending just made her feel uncomfortable.

"Okay, Azula, give it a try," she said. Not rushing, but perhaps trying to hint that she'd finally found the right balance. No matter what, Azula braced herself to be struck by the incoming muck filled water.

"Easy," Katara said, calmly, "You've got a good start, but you need to keep your movements loose. See yourself as part of the water."

"I'm feeling dryer already, keep it up, Power Princess."

"Draw it to yourself, but not too quickly, just hold onto it, at arm's length." Azula tried ot keep her pulling movement close to her body, fighting her natural instinct to seize her arms back with as much force as she could.

The water moved over towards her hands, before dropping onto the old stones with a large splash. Her feet were soaked, but she wasn't any worse for wear. Still, it was infuriating. "This bending is pointless. What's the use in an element that you can't command? In the time it takes for you to get it to move for you, you'll already be defeated."

"Katara's kicked your butt plenty of times, Azula," Toph said. She grinned while Azula glared through her nose at Toph. Toph could hear the low growl. "Well, it's true."

"You're dry, move out of the way so someone else can get dried off."

Azula and Katara worked together to draw the water out of everyone's clothes, and as she continued to follow the motion, rigidly committing Katara's own movements to memory, copying it as best as she could.

The others could sense her frustration, and once they were finished, they kept a distance, examining the platform they were on and the area about them. The murky waters went on for a while, and there was no telling how deep they were.

The sound of water would sometimes grow louder, and a crashing sound in the distance would signal a spout opening up and letting water down through the overhead waterways, but the mist was too thick to see high up.

Pipes dove deep into the water, emerging in the distance, and climbing over the stone walls of the basin, and down into the abyss that stretched beneath.

Toph paced angrily, grabbing hold of an old bit of railing that somehow stayed latched to the stone. "We can't just keep sitting around here."

"We know," Sokka muttered, "You keep saying that."

Yue drew in a breath, and sighed, "I can't say for certain, but perhaps there's a way further down -- safely, anyway."

"How?" Katara asked, looking over at Azula out of the corner of her eye. The other girl was off on the far edge of the platform, looking down at the gaping darkness. More waterways could be seen, but the mist shot out from below with such thickness that there was no way to be certain as to where they led.

"Perhaps there's a way in the water here?" Yue asked.

"We have to swim? Yuck!" Toph said, voicing her distrust by scrounging a loose pebble and throwing it into the water. "Hate water."

"It's the only idea we've got," Sokka said. "Guess we're going to have to dive right back in."

"Maybe, maybe not," Azula said, walking back over. "There seems to be a lock of some sort."

"So, where do we get a key?"

"Not what I meant," Azula said. She pointed back towards the edge, "I can see a place where we might be able to drain the water, but I don't know what mechanisms there are, or even where they are."

"Hey, Katara," Sokka said, brightening, "Maybe you can use your waterbending skills to find it."

"I don't think I can manage that," Katara said, fussing, "But, I can give it a try."

Azula watched Katara lift her hands up, and pull the water up with them, pulling it up, and then pushing it in, ever so slightly. Azula crossed her arms, taking in how she held herself, how she moved, looking for some hint as to what she missed.

"Huh, that's deep," Sokka said, "I can't see the bottom yet."

The water crashed back down into the basin, sending a wave forward that splashed over the edge, tumbling into the abyss, and leaving Katara looking drained. "I can't do it."

"Perhaps not," Azula said, "Perhaps you should dive right in."

Katara looked over at Azula, and saw the large grin on the Houou girl's face. She turned away quickly to hide it, "It's the only logical way. Perhaps you can feel your way through the murk."

Katara sighed. "Fine, Azula. I'll do it."

With a deep breat, Katara descended into the water, while the others looked down at the ripples she left behind. She was vanished in that black murk, entirely invisible to their eyes, and yet, they stared.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Sokka asked.

Zuko grunted, angrily, "Only one we've got."

"Yeah, true," Sokka said. "That stuff looks ugly."

The drips in the water left cascading ripples that extended and melded with each other, bubbles emerging from somewhere deep. Azula's eyes kept focused on tracking Katara, trying to find some hint of where she was.

It was then that there was an audible sound as cogs began to move. A large floodgate opened, and then the sound from the pool replaced it. "She did it," Azula said.

"That's great, really, so where is she?" Sokka asked. The pool was fast emptying, at least half of it, if they had to guess, and they could see the top of the floodgate, the mechanisms that controlled it were besides it, popping out of the murk.

But Katara wasn't there.

"Yue, where is she?" Azula demanded, snapping furiously.

"She's, oh my, she's getting further away by the second."

"She must have been dragged down," Zuko grunted. "We need to follow --"

"Calm down," Azula snapped again, looking around. The old stone path had a narrow stairwell that was cut into the rock. It was very narrow, and there were no safety rails or anything. "We can climb down here."

The water was beginning to empty, the roar from the unleashed monsoon had died down and was now just a quiet rush, the the uneven surface of the rockbed the pool was built on jutted out at points, leaving a fall looking even more treacherous.

Azula put a foot on the step, the water made it slick. She moved slowly.

"Toph's never going to make it down those in one piece," Sokka murmured. "Hey, Toph, I'll carry you down, okay?"

"Like fun you will!" Toph protested. "I can do it."

"No,' Zuko grunted.

"No -- what?"

"You can't," he said, looking at her steadily. "You can't see where you're stepping."

"Oh, so this is because I'm blind, huh?" Toph growled, "Suddenly, I can't do anything by myself!"

"We're not saying that," Yue protested, "It's just, they're very dangerous looking."

"Would you all just shut up and carry her down here?" Azula said, steadying herself. She never suffered from vertigo before, but these stairs carried on for a good twenty feet, and the water below was now just high enough to get her ankles wet.

"I can do it!" Toph said, pushing her way to the front. "Look, I --" she started, but her foot slipped and she found herself with nothing to stop her. She almost shrieked. The sensation of absolute emptiness, not feeling anything but the moist air, overtook her for a second, and then two sets of hands grabbed her.

"We've got you," Sokka said. "Don't worry."

She was dangling off the side, Zuko and Sokka held onto her tightly, and pulled her back up. "You're welcome," Zuko said.

"Whatever, let go of me," Toph saId, "So I missed my step --"

"You didn't miss your step," Sokka said, "You kind of missed the step, and all of the ones after it."

Toph stared at the direction of his voice. Even that was hard to tell. The place had an echo so severe she couldn't exactly place where anyone was coming from. She felt, for the first time in her life, as though she were completely in a bubble.

She hated that.

Azula reached the bottom in the meantime, her breathing still rigid and practiced, and her stomach finally settling. She'd still scrape her knees if she fell, but that was nothing. She hopped off the stairs and landed with a small splash. The waterways made ample passage, its decline slight enough that they wouldn't be tripping over themselves in the trail of water left behind.

The air was thick with moisture, it made it hard to breathe.

The others were proceeding carefully down. Yue lifted the hem of her dress up so that she didn't have to fear tripping over herself on the way down, her other hand held against the stone the stairs were cut into, while Sokka carried and protesting Toph piggy-back.

Zuko, at the rear, looking around, constantly scanning the surroundings for something. He was getting paranoid, Azula decided.

"You know," Azula said, "Perhaps Katara had the right idea."

"Not funny!" Sokka said.

"It's unlikely that a waterbender would drown," Azula said, rolling her eyes. "She'd just bend the water out of her way."

"Like it's that easy," Sokka commented. "Toph, you okay?"

"No."

"Super."

"Shut up, Snoozles."

"Okay," Sokka said, and without missing a beat, said, "So, where do you think that kid went?"

Aang, Azula corrected, internally. "Who knows," she said, "He must be trying to lead us somewhere, though."

"Yeah, I was thinking that," Sokka said, "But the thing is, usually it leads us to more of those monsters. That last one was the worst yet."

"I know," Azula said, "But that doesn't explain why he helped me before."

"When was this?" Yue asked.

"When Katara's other-self pulled me under, he helped me find a way out of there," she said, simply, "No matter. We'll find him and simply ask him what he's doing."

"Like it's ever that easy," Toph grumbled. "Are we down yet?"

"Almost," Sokka said.

"Hurry it up."

"Look, those rocks look like they'd hurt, Toph."

"Oh, because I can totally see that --"

"--Didn't mean that --"

"-- I know what you're up to," Toph said,

Toph was getting agitated, Azula noted. This was making things worse. A thought popped into her head, another theory for her to extrapolate on. If she was right, then it would become clear soon. "Let's hurry. Put Toph down, Sokka, and let's go."

"You heard the lady!" Toph shouted.

"Careful, it's slippery," Sokka said, kneeling down to let her dismount. Toph scoffed, and slid down off his back, only to find her footing lost on the uneven floor. She fell with a splash into the remaining water.

Yue stifled back a giggle, before losing it entirely.

"What's so funny!" Toph demanded.

"I'm sorry, Toph, it was just -- he did warn you!'

"She's having way too much fun," Zuko muttered, taking the lead, and looking down the waterway, "We should probably be ready for anything. There may be another drop at the end."

"Possible," Azula agreed. "Let's go."


Katara was being poked.

Yes, that was it. Someone was poking her. "Oh, you're awake!" the person said, with childlike glee, "That's good!"

Katara eyes were too bleary to make out who said that.

She was also being sniffed. She hoped it wasn't by the same person.

"Ming Ming, get away from her. Naughty baby, mama spank," the girl said again. Her footsteps started away, after someone else. Katara rubbed her eyes, looking at the retreating form of a girl. There was a long platform.

Katara shuffled to her feet. "Stupid," she murmured, "Should have known that was going to happen. I was so stupid!"

Not that she could see that the gate was right next to her, admittedly. Acting without sight was harder than it looked. She wondered how Toph did it. She bended out the water that soaked her clothes and looked at the long pool that it had settled in. Not as deep as the first, but it ran a long way. Many waterways connected itno it, some leading in, some out. The pipes seemed thicker here, making it difficult to follow the girl as she grew more distant.

She wished she got a better look at her --

There were voices calling her name. Familiar and welcome voices. "I'm down here! I'm okay!" she shouted back. The voices drew closer much more quickly, now.

"Katara!" Sokka called out, "Wait a second, we'll be right down."

"Oh no you don't!" Toph shouted,

"Like you can swim."

"Oh be quiet, Power Princess."

"I'm just stating the obvious," Azula muttered. "Sokka, carry her."

"Hey, don't just order Sokka to do it!"

"Fine, Zuko, then."

"That's not what I meant."

"Fine, Yue. Stop being picky."

"I hate you so much right now."

In the end, Sokka was the one to pick her up, as he was the first down, with the small girl holding on tight as they landed in the water below. It was a good distance away from the platform. That girl must have pulled her out.

"What took you?" she laughed.

"Problems with the stairs," Sokka said. "Azula's on a power trip, too. Not a good combination."

"She's smirking, I just know it."

Azula landed with the barest of splashes. And she pulled herself out with ease. Yue followed after, a splash large enough to hit Katara. Zuko was last. They pulled themselves up, and looked around.

"So," Sokka said, "Looks like we've got another maze to solve, Gang."

"Fantastic," Azula observed. "At least this one actually has paths we can see. Katara."

"Don't blame me!" Katara said. "I couldn't help it! I bet your maze is going to be worse."

"You assume I'd make one."

"Everyone's got something to hide," Katara said, dangerously.

"Except for Sokka and his lemur, yes, yes," Azula said, waving her hand dismissively.

"There they go again." Yue giggled under her hand, "They're like sisters."

The two of them simultaneously turned to glower at Yue. Their eyes glimmered with a murderous sheen. "Don't compare me with her!"

"You know what," Toph said, after the two of them had turned back at each other, "I think you're right, Yue."

"Guys, seriously don't joke about that," Sokka said. Zuko grunted in solidarity. The pathways were long enough and narrow enough with the pipes running across them that once the two had finished their argument -- and both looking bitterly back at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking -- that the group proceeded single file.

The distant sound of rolling water and the heavy echo of the old stone waterways

"At least there isn't any sand," Azula said, suddenly from the front.

"Are you still going on about that? What do I have to say, that I'm sorry my subconscious is sandy?"

"It's a start, Katara."

"Oh, funny."

"Would you two quit it?" Toph shouted, "It's like ten of you are speaking at once." Azula and Katara stopped, and looked over at Toph. "This place stinks. It's dank, it's moist, the echoes are driving me crazy, and everyone keeps picking me up and carrying me. Is it because I'm small, do you think it's funny that I'm short, anyway?"

"We just want you to be safe, Toph," Katara said.

"Who asked you to look out for me. You're not my mom, Katara."

"I'm sorry," Katara said, quietly. She saw Toph bury her hands in her pockets.

"If I could see, you wouldn't treat me like this."

"Boo!" someone shouted, interupting Toph's rant.

"Hey, Azula, I didn't ask your opinion!" Toph said, pointing accusatorily in a completely random direction, from all appearances. Sokka gently nudged her around.

"Me? Ridiculous," Azula said. "I'd never just jeer."

"Yue?" Toph said, sounding shocked, even a little betrayed.

"It wasn't me, either, I'd never say something so hurtful!"

"I want the two dollies to go back to fighting. That was funny!" the voice said again. "Fight, dollies, fight!"

"Don't look now," Sokka whispered conspiratorially, "But I think we're being watched."

"What gave you that idea, genius?" Azula muttered.

The voice giggled in glee, "Yes! Like that! You're the bestest dolly. I think I'll call you, uh, Mimi!"

"Mimi?" Azula shouted. "Is this some sick idea of a joke. My name is Azula Houou!"

"That's an ugly name. Mimi is cuter!"

"I don't like your tone," Azula scowled. "Show yourself."

"I'm not hiding. I'm right in front of you!"

The mist and steam in front of them made it hard to see, but there was a figure, deep and obscured. She stepped forward, "You've been so much fun, that I just wanted to play with you!"

The girl in front of them was short, with her hair held out of her face by a jade hairband. Everything she wore looked delicate, precious, as if just staring at it could break it. She carried a small stuffed pig, and its floppy wings fell over her thin, pale arms.

"Toph --"

"Yeah?" Toph said.

"Not you," Azula said, waving her hand. "Her."

"Mimi, you're so funny," the other Toph said, her blind eyes closed in a bright, carefree smile. "Will you argue with the nice dolly again? It was so funny! She was all, 'Don't you blame me,' and you were all, 'Yes I will blame you,' and she was all, 'I'm not as bad as you,' and you went, 'No way, I'm ten times better than you,' and she was all, 'Nuh-uh! Nuh-uh!' It was funny!"

"Wait, you're saying that's -- it doesn't even sound like me at all. Except that it does. But that's not important! I don't talk like that."

"And Katara's all like and junk," Yue pointed out.

"Hey, you're only supposed to use logic and reason against Snoozles, Yue!"

"Sorry!"

The other Toph laughed in delight, "You're funny, too! And so pretty! I hope my voice is just as pretty when I grow up!"

"Look, Toph," Katara said, quietly, trying to be reasonable, "Maybe you could just let us out of here."

"You want to leave me?" the other Toph said, scandalized. "But, you're my newest and bestest toys!"

"Oh be quiet!" Toph shouted, "I don't care if you're meant to be me or not, there's no way, no way in the Spirit World or this world, that that came out of me. I'm not a baby!"

The other Toph suddenly squealed into a tantrum, large rivers of tears flowing from her eyes, "You're mean! Meanie dolly! Mama's going to spank you if you don't behave!"

"I'd like to see you try, Prissy-pants."

"Ming-Ming! Ming-Ming!"

The water began to bubble.

"Oh, great, Toph," Sokka said, "Now she's summoning her monsters!"

"Ming-Ming will beat you all!"

She broke off into a run, squealing and shrieking all the way. However, everyone was more focused on the rising bubbles in the basin. "Wonder what it is," Zuko said.

"Don't know," Sokka answered. "Better be prepared for the worst."

Azula and Katara both slid into their stances, and Yue looked perplexed, "It's coming, but --"

Toph frowned, "What is this Ming-Ming anyway? Some cutesy-named octopus-squid?"

"No, I think I see it," Katara said. "It's-- it's --"

It popped its head above the water and turned to look in their direction.

"It's a baby badger-mole," Katara breathed, absolutely stunned. "A badger-mole wearing scuba gear, no less!"

The goggles on its head were ill-fitted for the small creature's head, and they looked more like large bubbles over its face. The breather in its mouth was dropped as soon as it started swimming with its strange flipper-mits. The oxygen tank on its back was fastened with a complex looking harness, which whirred to life as soon as it climbed out of the water.

"Oh, this is too rich," Azula said, smirking, "She called out a little badger-mole to beat us." She laughed, haughtily covering her mouth as she did so.

The harness popped open.

Sokka's jaw dropped, "Correction, Azula, she called out a little badger-mole to beat us, and it's packing heat!" His mind immediately leaped to one course of action, "Someone, protect Zuko!" The large gattling gun positioned itself to the Ming Ming's side, on the other, a rather large cannon extended outwards, weighing the tiny thing to tilt slightly to the right.

Along the bottom, several small rockets were hung, all feeding into a miniaturized launcher.

"Why don't you do it?" Katara asked, still not sure what they were dealing with.

"Because my luck with badgermoles is about the same," Sokka pointed out with calm and educated reason.

"Oh come on, those are just toys," Azula said, taking to the front. "There's no way this little thing can actually do any damage with them."

The gatling gun began to spin up, the whirring sound becoming drowned out by the cascade of bullets firing, The stones around them were peforated with bullet holes that seemed to hit everywhere but their persons.

Then the cannon fired a large concussive shot, blasting the badgermole backwards and knocking the six of them backwards. Sprawled out on the ground, moaning in pain, Sokka turned his head to look at Azula. "Just toys, huh?"

"It missed with its gun, at least," Azula snapped.

"Who gives a badgermole a gun, anyway?" Toph asked. She snarled, "Don't all look at me. I can feel you staring at me!"

"Well, this is all yours," Yue pointed out.

The badgermole cooed as it finally straightened itself out, and detached the large cannon from its side. The harness popped open, and a targetting laser started to scan the group. "Suggestion," Zuko grunted, "Move."

"Duly noted," Azula said, rolling to her feet, "Everyone scatter."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Toph muttered, moving off to the side. The laser hung on her for a second, before moving to another target, scanning Katara and seeming to be pleased with its choice, the badgermole squealed as a large bevy of missiles shot out of the harness.

"Move it, Katara!" Sokka said.

"I'm trying!" Katara said, stumbling away from the missiles, "They're not leaving me alone!"

The badgermole clapped its flippers together, seemingly pleased.

"Someone beat that thing up!" Azula barked. With a gust of wind, she threw the missiles off course. They crashed itno a stone arch, rubble breaking off with the explosion and landing with a loud splash in the basin.

Ming Ming squealed in delight at the sound of the explosion and more guns emerged from its harness. The gatling gun fired off more bullets in a random stream, more went flying across the misty expanse wildly. Ming Ming again fell off balance, tipping over and stopping the whirring of the gun.

Zuko struck fast, severing the magazine belt from the gun with one slice, and the gun with the next. The pieces went tumbling to the ground, and Ming Ming squeaked. "Nice one, Zuko!" Yue cheered. "You really showed him!"

Zuko grinned, feeling confident. "Now, for you," he said. Ming Ming's squeaked. From the harness, a series of bright red flares shot out. Zuko, stunned, stumbled backwards, blinded. Ming Ming did not waste any time. Leaping back under the water and emerging again swimming just above the surface.

"I've never seen a badgermole swim before," Azula muttered. "You're crazy, Toph, I'm convinced."

"Shut up! This totally isn't my fault!"

The badgermole squeaked out something in a jovial tune, and rockets fired off out of the water. They collided with the arches above the group, sending rubble and debris down on top of them. "Move it!" Azula said, "Get Toph, Katara."

Katara wasted no time dragging Toph out of the way while she protested loudly.

Ming Ming seemed to laugh at the sound of destruction. "I'm so glad that thing's blind," Sokka said. "I don't think I'd want to deal with someone who could aim."

Zuko wasn't so convinced, "It's trying to force us down the passage."

"That's bad?" Sokka asked.

"We've been going single-file the whole way," Azula pointed out, "Makes it so he doesn't need to aim."

"Oh, that's bad."

Another cannon emerged from the harness, centering itself atop Ming Ming's back, and the badgermole climbed out to follow the group, climbing over the rubble and tumbling down from them with clumsy grace. "If it weren't trying to kill us, I'd think it was very cute," Yue commented.

"Thanks for the feedback," Toph said.

"You're welcome, Toph. If it's any consolation, I am personally enjoying this place much more than Katara's."

"Well, duh."

"Would everyone please stop complaining about that! It's not my fault!" Katara shouted.

"Everyone focus," Azula said. "And get behind me."

"What are you going to do?" Yue wondered.

She reached for her gun's harness. "If it wants a showdown, I'm more than happy to oblige it."

"And they say I'm macho," Sokka commented.

The cannon began to glow with a red heat from deep within. Azula grabbed her gun and drew it, aiming carefully. "What are you waiting for? Do something!" Toph shouted.

Azula narrowed her eyes. The light was growing more intense. She began to count down from five, slowly.

"Azula, it's going to blast us if you don't hurry," Sokka added.

Three to go, she said, she could feel the heat through the muggy air. Azula's finger trembled against the trigger. She had to be patient.

"Azula? Please?" Katara added, starting to feel nervous as the light was now bright enough to cut through the mist.

One, and -- "Bang." She fired the gun. The bullet flying straight into the cannon as it started to fire. It took a second for Ming Ming to register what had just happened and it desperately squealed as it did, trying to throw off its harness.

But the overload was already too far blast from the cannon as it backfired knocked all of them to the floor, and when they looked, Ming Ming was no longer standing, with just a heat mark at the center of the blast with a shape like a badgermole cut out of it.

"That was, uh, unexpected," Katara said, helpfully.

"Hm," Azula said, "Let's continue."

As they continued, Toph smirked, "Even if this is mine," she said, aloud, "At least everyone likes it better than Katara's."

Katara's shriek of frustration echoed deep into the abyss.

To be continued.

Author's Note: Ming Ming is the greatest thing I have ever created. Ever. Ever.