Chapter 12: The War of Two Worlds

BlueTiger321: Okay, folks! Here's the climactic battle I'm sure most of you have been waiting to see! What will happen when the powers of two worlds clash together? Read on and find out. Enjoy!

Dawn had now come to usher in a new day. With it came the impending notion for battle. Inside the Earth Kingdom palace, all the soldiers were preparing themselves with the necessary items to get ready for combat. They all knew what they must set out to do for the people they were sworn to protect.

The rest of the warriors who joined their efforts for this battle were also getting ready. The Waterbenders had set off to their designated spot to give themselves the advantage against the approaching army while the Kyoshi Warriors had donned their armour and war paint.

Aang was now helping Appa wear his armour with the help from Earth Kingdom soldiers. The sky bison grunted softly as his owner kept him calm while the soldiers affixed the armour to his body. Appa was now wearing dark red-coloured armour with gold trim that covered his legs, body and head. The helmet was given sufficient space for the mighty creature to see and breathe as well as two holes to allow his horns to stick out without obstruction. Aang smiled while looking at his animal companion, knowing he would be protected well enough through this battle.

Meanwhile, Sokka and the other Water Tribe warriors were all donning the battle gear traditional to their nation. All of them wore clothed shoulder pads that contained a silver moon pattern placed over the front, indicating their nation's power was guided by the moon. Sokka had almost placed his helmet – a silver piece in the shape of a wolf's head – onto his head, but then decided to carry it in his arms as he headed off to check on the rest of his friends.

All over the palace, the Water Tribe boy saw Earth Kingdom soldiers rush off to their ordered locations. The exit was just up ahead so he quickened his pace.

Sokka looked out onto the courtyard to see the rest of his friends preparing themselves in their own fashion. His first stop was to join his sister, and she was busy doing some waterbending techniques with Pakku. The old man waved his hands forward along with Katara while they moved a large portion of water in mid-air.

"Fantastic work," said Pakku. "You're skills are becoming more solid every time you use them."

Katara smiled at the compliment. "Thank you," she said. The session ended when Katara moved the water into her carrier before fastening it shut.

"Hey Katara," said Sokka. "I was just about to check on the others. You wanna come with me?"

As if to ask permission, the girl looked at her step-grandfather who gave a slight nod.

"Go on," said Pakku. "I need to be with my fellow members, anyway."

Katara then bowed in respect to her master, and walked away with her brother. The next stop was to see Toph, and she was busy practicing with Haru and Tyro. The two men were facing the girl on both her sides. Suddenly, the father and son both lifted their arms to each raise a boulder in front of them. The girl waited patiently for the right moment while smiling to herself, not letting the others know about what she planned to do. Haru and Tyro hurled their boulders towards Toph, but the girl responded by grabbing the boulders with her hands. Grunting loudly, the blind girl managed to push the boulders away and sent them back to the ones controlling them. Two walls of earth rose up just in time in front of both men before the boulders got close to crushing their bodies. Both the father and son panted as they had escaped from a near-fatal encounter.

"Here's some advice," said Toph, "you gotta make sure your enemy isn't prepared for your attack or else you'll be in for a big surprise."

"Duly noted," said Haru, wiping some sweat from his brow.

After seeing the training exercise, Sokka walked up to Toph gently and asked, "Hey Toph, if you're not too busy trying to maim someone, why don't we go see how everyone else is doing?"

The blind girl smiled and said, "Sure. I could use a break..."

With that, the group of three walked off to find another of their friends. The next pair they saw were Zuko and Mai. The Fire Lord and his girlfriend were busy talking to each other. Sokka and Katara could tell it was serious as Zuko looked passionately into Mai's eyes.

"Are you sure you want to be out there?" said Zuko.

"Yes," replied Mai. "I'm just as good a fighter as everyone else, and I'll be there with you every step of the way. Why do you worry about me so much?"

"Because out there is dangerous. You could get hurt... and there's the possibility that I won't be there to save you."

"Why can't you understand that I'm able to take care of myself?" Mai was so hurt by Zuko's words that she turned her face away from his.

The Fire Lord gently turned her head back and said, "I do know you can take care of yourself. I'm only saying this because you mean everything to me. Being the leader of an entire kingdom would mean nothing if I didn't have someone special by my side.

"I'm not saying that I don't want you to take part in this battle because I know you're a great fighter; I'm only saying this because I want you to be sure that you're doing this for the right reasons."

"I am, Zuko. I'm doing this because I want to stop Azula. I'm doing this because I want to save my homeland from her tyranny. But most of all, I'm doing this... because I want to protect you."

Mai then reached up to Zuko and gave him a passionate kiss on his lips. The Fire Lord accepted the kiss and then did the same to the girl. Sokka and Katara looked on with happy expressions when they saw the two share a touching moment.

Zuko broke himself away and said, "Okay. You've convinced me."

The moment was broken when Sokka made himself known to the two of them. "Hey Zuko," he said. "Let's go see how the others are doing."

The Fire Lord nodded and walked off, leaving Mai all by herself. In her heart, she knew this is what she wanted and she was going to prove once and for all to the boy she loved that she was strong.

As the group continued walking through the courtyard, they spotted Aang riding on Appa while Momo flew along with them. The boy Avatar didn't need to be asked to join his friends since he was happy to go anywhere with them. Now that the group was back together, they all headed off to the Condor.

The ship lay by itself with the ramp leading up the middle. Aang jumped off Appa to join with the others into the Storm Hawks' vessel. Once inside, they all walked into the hangar bay since they figured that's where everyone would be. Their guess proved true as the Storm Hawks were there with the Mechanist busily tinkering with their Skimmers. Aerrow, Finn and Junko were already wearing their armour so they would be ready the instant the fighting began.

"Hey everyone," said Aang.

Every member of the Sky Knight squadron turned around when they heard the greeting.

"Hey Aang," said Aerrow. "How are you doing?"

"We're all fine. We're just here to check on how you're all doing."

Aerrow took in a deep breath and said, "We're getting prepared just like everyone else. But to be honest, I was kind of hoping it would never come to this."

"Yeah," said Finn. "The Cyclonians teaming up with some other bad dudes is never a good thing."

"You're not the only ones," added Aang. "I don't like resorting to violence either, but this is for the good of everyone in our world. And as the Avatar, I have to maintain the balance."

At that moment, the Mechanist had stood up after he was finished with his work. Looking at the Sky Knight, he said, "Well... it took a while, but I've managed to understand the mechanisms of your rides. I've made some improvements to them so you all should be able to fly with better precision and manoeuvrability."

"Awesome!" said Finn. "I can't wait to take mine for a spin!"

"It's too bad that you couldn't put in the bigger cup holders I asked for," said Junko.

"Thank you for your help," said Aerrow.

The Mechanist wiped some grime off his protective sheet and said, "I would've made some modifications to your ship as well, but the green fellow wouldn't allow me to do anything."

Stork walked up to the man and pointed one of his fingers in his face. "I've already said it to you," he explained, "the Condor is perfect just the way she is! Anybody who messes with my ship will pay the ultimate price!"

Everyone then looked at Stork oddly, thinking he was mad for what he said.

Shaking off the feeling, Zuko said, "Well then, let's all head out and get ready."

Aerrow was about to say something else when Piper ran in while carrying a book in her arms. "Guys, you've gotta see this!" she shouted in excitement.

"What did you find, Piper?" asked Katara.

The navigator leafed through the book to find the right section, saying, "Okay, I was checking my books for any kind of hint as to why crystals and other things from Atmos are here... and that's when I found this."

Piper showed everyone what she meant, and all her teammates and friends looked to see what was in the book.

"Oh sure," Toph said sarcastically, "rub it in the face of the blind girl."

Piper felt a little embarrassed for forgetting Toph's condition, but still she displayed the contents of the book. There on one page were illustrations of Atmos with terras spread out and people on ancient Skimmers flying through the skies. On the other page was something different: illustrations of buildings that looked more like the ones found in this world as well as people forming the four elements around their hands.

"Dude, is this for real?" said Finn.

"I don't believe this!" said Aerrow.

"What does it mean?" asked Sokka.

Piper closed the book and replied, "Well, some Atmosian philosophers believe that our two worlds are actually parallel to each other. Before our time, the people of Atmos and this world would often travel back and forth between each world as if it was common."

"That's unbelievable," said Zuko.

"But I don't get it," said Aerrow. "Dimension stones are supposed to be rare, so how were they able to do that?"

"That's what I thought too," said Piper, "so I kept on reading and found out that dimension stones were a lot more common back then. But then the leaders of Atmos decreed that too much interference between the two worlds would result in an unstable balance. All the dimension stones were ordered to be destroyed so our worlds could return to their normal ways... or at least, that's what the book says."

"...Until Cyclonis managed to find a dimension stone," Aerrow said. Radarr looked up at the boy and chirped worriedly.

"So our worlds are joined to each other?" said Aang. "That's amazing!"

"I know," said Piper. "So in theory, if we use the dimension stone, it should take us back to Atmos."

"That's good to know, Piper," said Aerrow. "First, we have to win this battle so this world will be safe from the Cyclonians and Azula."

Everyone in the Condor was about to praise the good news when a loud noise was heard coming from outside the ship. They all saw it was an Earth Kingdom soldier bellowing on a horn. Upon hearing the sound, every troop outside immediately mobilised for knowing what the sound meant.

"Azula's troops are approaching," said Aang. "We have to get ready!"

The Avatar was about to leave with his friends, but he then turned to the Storm Hawks and said, "Before we go, I just want you to know that no matter what happens, it was a real pleasure that we got to know all of you." Aang's friends nodded in response to what he said, letting the Sky Knight squadron know they were agreeing with his statement.

Aerrow smiled along with his team and said, "The same goes for us, too."

The Avatar's group smiled in return, and so they left the Condor with the Storm Hawks onboard. Once outside, the ramp closed up and the Mechanist left to be with his son while Aang and his friends climbed up on Appa's back.

The Avatar sat on his sky bison's neck and took hold of the reins. "Appa, yip yip!" he said.

Appa rose into the air. It proved simple for him even with the armour covering his body.

Aerrow looked out to see his new friends were within a safe distance. Turning to his helmsman, he said, "Stork, take us up!"

The Merb nodded and pulled a lever near the helm; activating the ship's engines and making it rise into the air as well.

Both the ship and the sky bison flew out over the city until they had gotten to the outer wall. Aang had made Appa descend to be with the ground forces while the Storm Hawks' ship hovered over the wall. The sky bison landed, and everyone jumped off him except for Aang. The forces on the ground were mainly the Earth Kingdom soldiers but they also contained everyone Aang had recruited the night before. Sokka and Katara had located their father along with the other Water Tribe warriors so they walked over to them.

Zuko got out in front of everyone, and what he saw in the distance made him feel as though time was standing still. Marching forward were the Fire Nation soldiers all divided into large groups. Each group was being led by a high-ranked soldier riding on a komodo rhino, and they all kept their units in single file. The soldiers were also accompanied by the giant tanks and trebuchets unique to the Fire Nation, which meant the battle was now more serious with the added weaponry.

What had Zuko worried the most was the Fire Nation war balloons that were sailing through the sky along with the Cyclonian battle cruiser. The giant airship was an eyesore for everyone on the ground, and the Talons were all flying out of it on their Switchblades. Joined with the Talons were Master Cyclonis's commanders – the Dark Ace, Ravess and Snipe – and the Raptors.

Aerrow looked out from the Condor and narrowed his eyes in anger at seeing the Dark Ace. He had a personal vendetta against the elite Talon, and he would see to it that it was fulfilled.

"Okay guys," said Aerrow, "just like we planned."

The command was given, and Aerrow headed down to the hangar bay with Piper and Radarr. Finn and Junko stayed on the bridge and headed for the blasters on the side. With the weapons module having been repaired, the Condor could now unleash its fury.

Back on the ground, a lone figure stepped out from the Fire Nation soldiers. Everyone immediately got on their guard upon seeing this. All the allied forces looked with rage in their eyes when they saw Azula coming towards them in dressed in her black armour, but not instigating an attack.

The wicked girl gave everyone a peaceful smile and spoke in a calm manner. "Well," she said, "I see that you've all gathered in a great mass."

"That's right, Azula!" shouted Zuko. "All these people are here to put an end to your reign!"

Azula wasn't offended by the comment. Waving her hand, she said, "Oh, that's so touching. You've all come to try and stop the Fire Lord from bringing the world under her rule... but you know it's only pointless."

"You don't deserve to be called the Fire Lord!" said Aang. "Zuko was trying to re-build the image of the Fire Nation, and you take that away from him! But he's still able to show us all that his kingdom is no longer one that breeds destruction and violence! That makes Zuko a better Fire Lord than you will ever be!"

All of Aang's friends cheered after he gave his speech, making him feel proud for standing up for Zuko.

Taking in a deep breath, Azula said, "I'll not waste any more time, so I'll give you an option: you can surrender and accept my ruling, or I will decimate everyone until I stand as the victor."

Upon being given that choice, Katara stepped forward with Sokka after he placed the helmet on his head.

"We will never bow down to a tyrant like you, Azula!" said Katara.

"Everyone here is fighting for freedom," said Sokka, "and we won't stop until our freedom is secure!"

Azula had gotten her answer, and so she shot out her hands and shouted, "Destroy them!"

All the Fire Nation soldiers then charged into battle while the Avatar's forces all did the same.

High in the sky, the Cyclonians all flew off to forcefully aid the Fire Nation. Once the battle had commenced, Aerrow and Piper flew out of the hangar bay with the Sky Knight taking the lead.

A group of Talons was coming to the Condor and they all fired off firebolt pulses. Aerrow hoped onto his Skimmer's wings while Radarr took the controls. Bringing his blades together, the Sky Knight unleashed a long wave of blue energy to dissipate the pulses and knock the Talons several feet away.

Meanwhile, Finn and Junko had gotten their blasters out and fired away at the other Talons. Both the marksman and the Wallop shouted as they fired the large blue shots, and quickly dispatched many Talons.

Back on the ground, all the Firebenders on Azula's side rushed in and launched a wave of fire. The attack was blocked as the Earthbenders retaliated with a large stone wall. Azula's forces were prepared for this so they launched the giant projectiles from their trebuchets. The fireballs soared through the air over the wall and came back down onto the allied forces. Aang, Toph and King Bumi came through at the last moment by raising stalagmites to counter the incoming attacks.

The stone wall didn't last long as the Fire Nation tanks rolled right through it, causing the allied forces to scatter. Now the Fire Nation soldiers were free to advance and they quickly charged.

The fight for survival had now begun as all warriors on both sides fought against each other. A tank was rolling in, but Toph got up in front of it and grunted as she caught it with her hands. The armoured vehicle tried to move forward but to no avail. The blind girl then moved her hands to her right and caused the tank to flip onto its side, making it useless.

More Fire Nation troops charged in, even though some of them were not Firebenders. Those ones had weapons drawn and were ready to use them. Hakoda let out a battle cry as he led his fellow warriors, along with his son, to fight the enemy. The sound of steel clanging could be heard as the weapons clashed. Sokka held his own with the help of his sword training from Piandao. Every time a sword came for him, he countered it with his own. As he fought, the boy saw his master using the same sword fighting against other soldiers, making him feel proud of what he had learned.

Katara brought water out from her carrier, forming a large vortex high above her head. She then made it swirl around her body just as Firebenders were about to attack her. The flames were all extinguished as they hit the water. In the confusion, Ty Lee leapt behind the soldiers and used her chi blocking moves on each of them. The soldiers all cried out in pain as their limbs were rendered useless. More soldiers came to their assistance, but the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors had come in to even the odds. In a brilliant display, Suki and her teammates had taken down the soldiers with a flurry of punches and kicks.

Iroh and Jeong Jeong had created their own wave of fire, and it blazed its way into the oncoming soldiers. The Firebenders shouted as they nearly escaped a fiery doom. When the blaze subsided, the soldiers got back on their feet and sent off their own flames. The two master Firebenders easily evaded the attacks since they knew everything about their art. Jumping up into the air, Jeong Jeong unleashed multiple shots from his fists and feet while Iroh remarkably released his fire from his mouth, which made him seem like a raging dragon. The soldiers had taken the blows and straggled to avoid further torture.

Zuko only had one person he wanted to fight – his sister. The Fire Lord cried out in fury as he sent off flames from his fists in an attempt to strike Azula. The girl took advantage of Zuko's blind rage by dodging each attack. Changing his strategy, Zuko swept his leg down while shooting a flame, but Azula jumped up and came down with her leg to shoot a line of fire. Zuko dodged in time but was left defenceless on the ground and watched as his sister came in closer. Thinking she would have the final blow, Azula raised her palm to release her flame but it was knocked aside when a stiletto hit her arm. There she saw the blade embedded in her pad and knew exactly who was responsible. Mai came rushing in while throwing more blades into Azula who countered them with a fire blast.

Zuko got up and looked at Mai, thinking he was now glad to let her join the battle. His thoughts came back to the task at hand when Azula came charging in again.

Back in the air, more Talons were flying about over Ba Sing Se to try and get away from the Storm Hawks. What they didn't know was that the Waterbenders had formed together in a group led by Pakku at Lake Laogai. On his command, the Waterbending Master raised his hand and his followers had made the water from the lake rise into the air. The Talons were unaware of this, so they all screamed as the water had sent them higher into the sky.

The Raptors were not too far from the attack and they all looked with panicked expressions. Lugey then screamed in fright as a blue and white mask mysteriously landed in front of his face. The portly Raptor took it off before he could crash.

"Lugey," shouted Repton, "this is no time to play Dress-Up!"

"Yes, boss," replied Lugey.

All the Raptors turned to see the Condor advancing on them so they scattered on Repton's command.

Aerrow and Piper fought gallantly against the group of Talons, and everything seemed to be going well for them. It all changed the instant Aerrow saw Dark Ace, Ravess and Snipe flying up to them.

Laughing maniacally, Dark Ace said, "I'm afraid you won't be saving the day this time, Storm Hawks!"

"Oh yeah?" said Aerrow. "What makes you so sure?"

"Because unlike you, we don't have to worry about our safety!"

At that moment, the Cyclonian battle cruiser came in and fired off the giant firebolt pulses from its blasters. Aerrow and Piper could only watch as the pulses headed straight towards the ground.

Hakoda looked up and saw the incoming aerial attacks. "Scramble!" he shouted in desperation.

All the allied forces then saw the large projectiles crash into the ground, causing everyone to scream in fright. The attacks had created large craters in the ground and knocked away various Earth Kingdom soldiers. Sokka and Katara were unlucky enough to be near two of the shots, and they were thrown back by the shockwaves.

The aerial bombardment didn't stop as the Fire Nation war balloons came in after the attack. Fire Nation soldiers all looked down and unleashed their flames on the ground forces, forcing them to fall back. Now Azula's forces were free to advance.

Aerrow looked down and his face was sent into anguish. His friends were in trouble and he had to help them, but he and Piper both had their own troubles in the air. The Sky Knight then saw the Talon commanders flying towards them with their weapons drawn. Aerrow would have to deal with them and hope his friends could manage on their own.

The Dark Ace leapt onto the front of his Switchblade with his sword in hand. Aerrow did the same, letting Radarr take the controls. The elite Talon was now covered in a red aura while the boy was covered in blue. They both leapt into the air as they unleashed their special moves. Both Aerrow's Lightning Claw and Dark Ace's Lightning Rage soared into each other and created an explosion of light and crystal energy.

Piper flew her Heliscooter away while her eyes were open with fear. Behind her, she saw Ravess and Snipe chasing her. Both Talon commanders had the strength in numbers against the navigator. Ravess sent off three of her arrows while Snipe fired a pulse from his mace. Piper had managed to evade both attacks, but she knew her luck would change. Her suspicion proved true as the Raptors were now blocking her escape. The girl could only stop her Heliscooter from crashing into the Bone Wings, and it stayed there until her pursuers had blocked off her other escape. Piper was now facing off against six attackers, and they all circled around her on their rides.

"Too bad for you, girlie!" said Spitz.

"Aw, what's wrong?" Snipe taunted. "...The brave Sky Knight not here to help you?"

"No more games!" said Ravess as she taut her bow with an arrow. "It's time we finish this!"

Piper could only wait for the attack to approach. Ravess narrowed her eyes in delight as she thought she would finally be able to take down a Storm Hawk. That all changed when she felt her Switchblade rock, forcing her to miss her target. Piper looked to see one of the thrusters on Ravess's ride bellow smoke like it had been hit with something. Everyone then heard a cry of joy coming above them and saw Finn and Junko flying in on their Skimmers. The sharpshooter held his crossbow in his arms, which meant he fired the shot at Ravess.

"Here comes the cavalry!" Finn shouted confidently.

Junko then brought out two missiles from underneath one of the wings on his Skimmer. After pressing a button, the projectiles soared and struck Snipe and Ravess. Both Talon commanders then fled as their rides shed smoke and sparks.

Repton snarled at the approaching Storm Hawks and soon got out his boomerang. His plan for attack was halted when he felt his ride rock back and forth. He looked to see Piper smirking while holding out a crystal in each hand. The navigator held up a wind stone to blow away the Raptors in a powerful gust, making them scream. Piper was grateful that she found these crystals underneath Ba Sing Se as they had become useful for this battle.

Aang flew around on Appa and watched as his friends were not faring well against Azula's army. The war balloons had proven to be an effective tactic and there was nothing they could do while fire continued to rain down on them. The Avatar then jumped into the air while forming his staff into the glider. Using his airbending, Aang soared into a nearby cloud to gather up its water. As Aang glided through the air, water swirled around him as he headed for the war balloons.

The Firebenders in the balloons kept unleashing their attacks unaware that someone was getting closer to them. One soldier looked up to see Aang coming in and he tried to warn his fellow soldiers, but it was too late. Aang fired the water surrounding him and it applied enough force to one of the balloons that it knocked into another one. Aang continued his strategy by bending the water to slice through the balloons, causing them to crash to the ground. Eventually, all the balloons had been destroyed and it gave the allied forces the upper hand. Now they could press forward on the Fire Nation soldiers.

Sokka and Katara looked up to see Aang smile down upon them as he had given them the chance to keep up with their efforts.

Meanwhile, Aerrow continued his fight with the Dark Ace. As he flew on his Skimmer, the elite Talon kept sending firebolt pulses from his sword. Much to his chagrin, Dark Ace could see Aerrow was easily avoiding the shots and it made him more frustrated.

Aerrow knew the reason why none of Dark Ace's attacks were hitting: it was because his Skimmer had been modified before the battle by the Mechanist. The Sky Knight was now truly thankful for the upgrade. Swinging his ride around, Aerrow grabbed one of his daggers and flew straight for Dark Ace who clashed at it with his sword.

Zuko and Azula were still locked in mortal combat. As they fought, Azula could see her forces were now receding. She contemplated her strategies and realised the Cyclonians had their own airship. A smile crept onto her lips as she now had another plan forming in her head.

Azula pushed away Zuko with a big jet of flame, causing the Fire Lord to block with his own flame at the last second. Zuko was left on the ground once more and recovered quickly to fight again. He expected another assault from his sister but it never came as he saw Azula propel herself into the air using her firebending. Large flames shot out from her palms and she landed in the seat of a passing Talon. The Cyclonian soldier looked back to see Azula sitting there with a flame forming in her hand.

"Fly!" Azula demanded.

The Talon gasped and nodded his head nervously as he was forced to obey. They both took off into the sky and headed for the Cyclonian battle cruiser.

The Talon commanders and the Raptors saw what Azula was doing. Dark Ace had the suspicion she was up to no good.

"Quickly, back to the ship!" shouted Dark Ace. The others had all complied with him as they all flew back to the airship.

Piper got up front of her fellow Storm Hawks. Looking past all the action, she could see Zuko's sister flying up to the battle cruiser. "Aerrow," she said, "Azula's getting away!"

"What do ya think she could be planning?" Junko wondered.

"I don't know," replied Aerrow, "but it can't be good. We have to stop her!"

With that, the Storm Hawks all flew off to go after Azula. Their friends on the ground could take care of themselves, so now the Sky Knight squadron would deal with both the Cyclonians and Azula in their stronghold.

* * *

BlueTiger321: Holy moly! Now was that an intense battle or what?!

Aang: It was amazing!

Katara: I was on the edge of my seat!

Aerrow: I almost thought I was gonna have a heart attack!

Junko: I'm so scared! Somebody hold me! *grabs onto Aang, Katara and Aerrow*

Aang, Katara and Aerrow: Junko, you're... crushing... us!

Junko: Oh, sorry!

BlueTiger321: Well folks, another gripping chapter is coming next so stay tuned! Until next time...

Junko: Read and review!

Aang, Katara and Aerrow: *gasping for air*