Chapter 21: Frontal Assault
BlueTiger321: All right, so welcome to the next chapter. Here we'll once again get to see the forces of good from both worlds work together in order to stop the coming evil. Which side will emerge victorious? Read on and find out for yourselves.
The setting sun turned the sky orange near Terra Bogaton. The terra was the only thing visible for miles and was a beautiful complement with its green forests set against the scenery. No one would ever expect it to become a place filled with misery based on its image. But it was in that area where the greatest evil on Atmos was making its hideout.
Every airship and sky ride belonging to all the Sky Knight squadrons was now en route to Terra Bogaton. After gathering the information from the Terradons, the forces of both Atmos and the Avatar's world were headed to the terra to do battle against the Dark Ace and his followers. It was all because of the efforts of the Storm Hawks and the Avatar's group that every fighter from both worlds were joined together to stop the threat of the former elite Talon from causing despair and destruction.
It took some time before everyone set out to the terra to fight. Before anyone left, the Mechanist had used his previous knowledge of Skimmers based on the Storm Hawks' previous appearance in the other world to make every other sky ride perform more efficiently in battle. Aang had also come up with an idea that he thought would be useful, and every Atmosian fighter could not wait until they would show the Dark Ace the new tactic.
All along the skies the airships and sky rides flew peacefully in synchronization. The larger carriers were all carrying people from the Avatar's world as passengers. When the time would come for the ships to dock on Terra Bogaton, they would all come out as one large army and march on the Dark Ace's forces. They all would work like a well-oiled machine when it would come to fighting.
Onboard the Condor, the Storm Hawks, Starling and the Avatar's group were all in the bridge getting ready for the upcoming battle: Aerrow and his team got their weapons ready while donning their armour with Starling doing the same, Aang and the others each struck Bending stances to make sure their bodies were in top condition, and Sokka was busily sharpening his weapons with a whetstone.
Outside on the runway, Appa was also ready for battle with his armour placed over his large body. A loud growl came from his mouth as he rode on the ship to show it as his own way of his willingness to fight.
Aerrow thought that it was at that time he should talk to his friends before the fighting started. "This is it, guys," he said. "After a lot of hard work, we're finally facing off against the Dark Ace in one big showdown."
"Tell us something we don't know," said Finn.
"Oh, I know plenty of things you don't know," said Stork. "But you don't ever want to find out about them, because they would leave you in fear for the rest of your life."
The blonde sharpshooter looked at the Merb and blinked, thinking that Stork was just being the paranoid lunatic he always was.
"To be honest," said Katara, "I've kind of been dreading that this battle would come. I know that it's for the good of Atmos, but all we've been through has made me wonder if we're really up for this. Sometimes I just wish that I wouldn't ever have to fight."
The red-haired teen walked up to the girl. "Listen, Katara," he said, "I don't think any of us were ever prepared for what was to happen. Two days ago I was hoping that I would get the chance to show you, Aang and the others a peaceful time on Atmos. This whole thing with the Dark Ace coming back was beyond our control, but sometimes I just gotta take whatever life gives me because that's all part of the Sky Knight's job: to expect the unexpected."
"Aerrow's right," said Piper. "Not one of us would choose to go down the path of violence but it's our duty to protect Atmos in any way. I'm sure that you've felt like this back in your world, so you've just got to assure yourself that it's for the right reasons. Besides, you've helped us stop the Dark Ace before, so it would only make sense that we could do it again."
Aang felt like he could relate to Piper's words. Being raised an Air Nomad had taught him to respect all life no matter what form it took or however it aligned itself. But as the Avatar, he was sworn to maintain balance even if he was forced to resort to extreme measures. It was truly evident for him when he fought against Ozai for the fate of his world. "Well," he said, "one thing's for sure: I certainly had a great time exploring Atmos, even though it wasn't as I had pictured it."
"Me too," said Sokka. "And I was kind of hoping that we would get to see it a little better once this is all over."
"We can dream, Sokka," said Zuko. "But right now we've got a promise to keep to the people of Atmos, or else there might not be a world left to visit."
Aerrow nodded in agreement to the Fire Lord's statement. "Is everything ready?"
"As ready as they're ever going to be," said Starling. "The Kyoshi Warriors are all waiting in the hangar bay along with Mai. And I think it's time we get ready ourselves."
Junko looked out the window and spotted something that made him gasp in surprise. "Uh, guys?" he said. "When was the last time you remember seeing a huge barrier around Terra Bogaton?"
"What?" Aerrow said confusedly.
The Wallop pointed out the windshield, and everyone walked up to see if he was telling the truth. Everyone soon let out a gasp in disbelief as they couldn't believe their eyes: Terra Bogaton was indeed covered in a large red barrier. The glow from the barrier had now turned the sky a deep red much like where Cyclonia once stood. It was both amazing and horrifying to the group.
"I don't believe it," said Aang. "The Dark Ace actually managed to protect his hideout from us."
"It figures that he would hide away like the big chicken he is," said Toph.
"Now what do we do?" said Piper. "That barrier will prevent us from landing on the terra."
"It looks like we have no other option," said Aerrow. "We'll have to take this battle to the skies and see if we can knock out that barrier. Let's get to our rides while Aang and his crew board Appa."
Everyone nodded and began to walk to the hangar bay, but Sokka stood behind and stopped Toph with his hand. The others all stood there perplexed by their friend's unwillingness to join them.
"What are you doing?" asked the blind girl.
"I don't think we'll be much help out there," replied the boy. "All I've got is my sword skills, which are pretty much useless in an air battle, and you've got no earth to Bend. I think our best bet is to stay here until we'll be able to go down to that terra."
"You're not the boss of me!" shouted Toph.
"No," said Katara, "I think he's right. You two will be defenceless out in the sky, and I don't want either of you to get hurt. Please, stay here until the real battle comes."
Toph huffed when she realized that the two siblings made valid points. But she still wanted to be part of it, and staying on the ship was just going to make her feel like deadweight. "Fine," she said. "You guys go out there and do your things while we stay here and twiddle out thumbs."
The others truly felt bad for their friends for staying behind but knew they had no choice if they were to keep them safe. So without glancing back, they walked out of the bridge and headed for the hangar bay.
Stork, meanwhile, looked momentarily at the two and sighed in exasperation, hoping that Sokka and Toph weren't going to start complaining while they remained in the Condor.
The Storm Hawks, Starling and the Avatar's group had flown off the ship after getting on their preferred methods of travel. Aerrow narrowed his eyes as he stared at Bogaton. He knew that the Dark Ace was in there and already formulating his plan for attack from behind the barrier. The suspense was soon getting to the Sky Knight and he couldn't wait to personally go down there and finish off his most hated adversary of all time.
Everyone flying soon came to a stop before the barrier. The energy started to pulse right before them like heat radiating from an open flame.
"I don't know how we're gonna get through that," said Piper. "It feels like it could withstand just about anything we throw at it."
"I'm sure there's a way," said Aerrow. "Everything has a weakness, so it'll just take some time until we find it."
Just then, everybody paused when sinister laughter filled their ears. From what they could hear, it was coming right above them, and there they saw an image forming of the Dark Ace that spanned high above the barrier. All over the sky, every Sky Knight squadron narrowed their eyes in hatred at the man who revealed himself to them, and all they wanted was to show the former Talon the strength of their combined forces.
The Dark Ace stopped his laughter and looked down at the resistance like they were ants compared to his size. "Well," he said, "your time is up. Are you going to give me your answer?"
Aerrow was the one who replied. "Yes, we will!" he shouted. "Our answer is that we will never bow down to a black-hearted fiend like you!"
The man looked down to stare at the Storm Hawks' Sky Knight. "Oh, Aerrow, how naïve can you truly be? Even if you combined everybody on Atmos here, there is still no way you could ever stop me."
"You're right," said the red-haired teen. "That's why we've got people from the other world to back us up! We're all here to show you that we're not gonna put up with your malevolent ideals, and we will make Atmos safe once again!"
All over the skies, everyone shouted in cheers to back up the words of the teenage boy who spoke for them. It was like a giant choir had joined in with its follower.
Once again, the Dark Ace emitted laughter that ended the cheering and made the army look up in anger. The very idea that the man was mocking their force was an insult to them and they were desperate to take out their rage on him and his followers.
"Oh, that's too much," said the Dark Ace. He ended his laughter and looked back down at the Storm Hawks. "Well, I must admit that you've got tenacity, but even that's not going to get all of you very far. If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get. Just don't say I didn't warn you!"
The image of the Dark Ace faded and was replaced with a wave of light that took shape into multiple forms. Everyone looked with stunned faces as the forms changed into human-like figures that were all garbed in red crystal armour and had wings protruding from their back also made out of crystal. Aerrow and his friends already knew they were exactly like the fighters the Dark Ace sent after them on Terra Neverlandis, so they knew that they did not pose much of a threat.
"All right, everyone," said Aerrow. "Those of you on sky rides will deal with the lackeys while the ships blast away at the barrier. Hopefully it'll be enough to get to the terra." Raising a lit dagger with his left hand, the Sky Knight then shouted, "For Atmos!"
"For Atmos!" shouted everyone else in unison.
All at once, both sides began their attack. The mighty ships fired off crystal pulses headed straight for the barrier. Each hit battered against the energy field with the intention of trying to dissolve it around Bogaton. The barrier showed no signs of wearing down but the fighters of Atmos would not halt their attack until they all broke through to the other side.
The Dark Ace's crystal warriors flew down and started to attack the people on their sky rides. With their crystal-powered weapons drawn, every Sky Knight squadron either slashed or blasted their way through the army and made them disintegrate into nothing once their bodies were struck with ferocity.
But more and more soldiers kept flying through the barrier and swooping into the battle to replace their fallen allies. Relentless in their numbers, the crystal warriors fired red energy pulses that managed to hit a few sky rides and forced their operators to jump off and deploy their parachutes to make a safe landing in the Wasteland.
Aerrow flew his Skimmer into a group of crystal warriors headed his way. He looked at Radarr sitting next to him and nodded, which indicated that they were to start their plan of attack. The boy stood on the wings of his sky ride while his co-pilot took over the controls. The Sky Knight and the warriors were getting closer, and so Aerrow stood on the portside wing with one dagger ignited. By Radarr's command, the Skimmer did a barrel roll that created swirling crystal energy from Aerrow's blade. Upon reaching the crystal warriors, they were sliced to pieces when the blade sped through them. Aerrow and Radarr saw the enemies they faced were gone, so the Sky Knight resumed control and laughed while he flew off to find more enemies to fight.
Piper had already gotten out the crystals she would normally use for Binding. Numerous energy pulses were speeding towards her, but she held up the crystals and used her powers as a crystal mage to create a shield around her and her Heliscooter. The attacks were absorbed by the shield and Piper used the energy to deflect the attacks back at her opponents, causing them to turn into dust the instant it hit their bodies.
Both Finn and Junko were taking turns in fighting off the crystal warriors. The blonde sharpshooter had his retractable crossbow ready and kissed a bolt before placing it on his weapon and firing off shots that directly hit their targets to destroy them.
It was now Junko's turn, and he brought up the missiles he kept within his Skimmer's wings. One missile was fired and made an explosion that was able to destroy the group of soldiers that he faced.
"Are we awesome or what?" said Finn.
"What's what?" asked Junko.
The marksman just rolled his eyes at his friend's question to his figure of speech.
Starling flew the Red Streak into a group of crystal warriors with her blasters drawn. She was able to hit a few of the soldiers but the rest flew above her to disperse in different directions. The Interceptor looked up at them and sneered, thinking that she wasn't going to let her enemies get away so easily. An idea soon came to her and so she drew her nunchucks. After doing a backflip in the air, Starling grunted with force as she swung her weapon around in each direction that hit every warrior that got away from her. The warriors broke up into pieces and the purple-haired Sky Knight landed back in her sky ride and chuckled over her victory.
Aang had flown Appa into a group of the crystal warriors. Energy pulses came in fast from the enemies' side, but each shot bounced off against the armour over the sky bison's body. It was holding well for Appa but it was making him rather irritated.
"Keep it together, buddy," said Aang. The last thing he needed was his companion going berserk while he was still carrying passengers.
"It's time that we fight back," said Zuko.
"I couldn't agree with you more," said Katara.
Appa got closer to the crystal warriors, and Aang, Katara and Zuko were getting ready to strike. Through all the energy pulses that were being fired, Aang saw an opening and grunted as he swung his staff down. A large gust of air sped into the oncoming group of soldiers and made them fly to the sides after a few of them were bisected by the air's sharp edge.
"Now!" shouted the Avatar.
Immediately, Katara commanded the water from the clouds to go after the soldiers flying on her side. The water covered the bodies of the crystal warriors and was transformed into ice. With their wings frozen and their bodies given added weight from the ice, the soldiers plummeted into the Wasteland never to be seen again.
Zuko held out his hands and shouted as he fired a jet of flame from his palms that travelled through the sky while he rode on Appa. The soldiers flew into the flame's trajectory and were incinerated by the intense heat.
Meanwhile, the Condor continued to fire blasts from its cannons while the crystal warriors circled around the ship to strike it down. Some of the soldiers were destroyed by the blasts from the ship's weapons while others were being struck down by random shots from the other ships. Eventually, some of the warriors had gotten onto the runway and began to forcefully open the hangar bay doors.
The Condor's alarms were already going off when the crystal warriors had gotten inside, but then they were met with a surprise as one was knocked to the floor by a fan that hit it in the side of its face. Standing in the hangar bay were the Kyoshi Warriors along with Mai.
"Big mistake," said Suki.
The soldiers ignored the threatening word from the girl and immediately ran into the ship with their arms already fashioned into blades.
In response, the Kyoshi Warriors already drew their swords and ran in to slash away at their foes. Ty Lee, meanwhile, used her chi-blocking skills to locate the pressure points on the soldiers even though they were not flesh. Still, she struck one area with two fingers extended and the soldier collapsed into bits of crystal dust right before her eyes. A smile formed on her face when she saw these enemies were built like humans and still had the same weak points she knew where to hit.
Mai stood where she was as four soldiers advanced on her. A smile slowly crept on her face while she would prepare herself for what she was going to do, and the enemies she faced would have no idea what hit them.
The soldiers raised their arms to fire blasts, but Mai was already taking initiative and hurled stilettos concealed within her robe. Each soldier was struck down when the blades pierced through their armour and made them fall to the floor where they shattered upon impact.
"I knew Zuko would need me," the girl said smugly.
Suki and her fellow warriors continued to fight off the crystal warriors on the hangar bay, but more of them were already coming in and they were worried that they could not hold them off for much longer. The soldiers that just came into the ship took this opportunity to fly over the Kyoshi Warriors and head straight for the door that led into the other areas of the Condor.
"Oh no!" said Suki. She then remembered that she could warn the others in this room so she shouted, "Sokka! We've got company!"
Sokka and Toph were patrolling the halls of the Condor to protect it until they had gotten to Terra Bogaton. They had just heard the call from their friend and were getting ready to keep them at bay as the boy drew his sword and the girl got into an Earthbending stance.
Just then, they could hear flapping sounds from down the hallway, and Sokka's face showed absolute terror as the soldiers came in a large swarm. They all settled down on the floor once they faced their foes and began to aim their hands to fire.
Toph immediately felt the vibration on the metal floor, so she acted quickly and pulled up the section in front of her to protect herself and Sokka. Energy pulses came fast and struck the improvised shield, but each attack would bend the metal backward and would eventually leave the two exposed.
"How are we supposed to fight them?" said Sokka.
"Like this!" replied Toph.
The blind girl had then pounded her fists on the floor to both her sides, and the result was the metal shooting up from under three soldiers and crushing them between the floor and the roof. The floor was lowered back down and Sokka rushed in to slash the remaining warriors, and Toph also joined by Bending metal to her arms that she used to club her foes.
But the warriors still kept coming down the hallway and flew right past Sokka and Toph. The Water Tribe boy already knew where they were headed and realized that their one friend would be left defenceless.
"Some of those things are headed for the bridge!" said Sokka.
Toph struck down another soldier and said, "Go! I'll deal with these lamebrains while you protect Stork!"
Sokka felt bad to leave his friend to face off against the remaining warriors by herself but knew that she could handle them. He quickly turned on his heel and ran towards the bridge.
When the boy had finally gotten there, he could see Stork screaming in fear when the warriors walked slowly towards him with their blades extended. Immediately, Sokka ran inside and held out his blade to his side. With a mighty swing, he bisected the soldiers by their waists and let them disintegrate.
The Merb smiled and let out a sigh of relief. "That was a close one," he said.
"No kidding," replied Sokka.
The two were about to celebrate their victory when another group of soldiers had flown their way into the room. Both Sokka and Stork were now paralyzed when they saw the crystal warriors aim their hands up and were getting ready to fire, and there was nothing they could do since they were too far away to do anything to stop them.
Sokka thought this was the end for him and Stork when he noticed that the soldiers were all standing on the Storm Hawks' insignia on the floor. Thinking back to when he first met the Sky Knight squadron on their ship, he remembered how he accidentally sent Stork flying from the ship by pulling one of the levers at the controls. He had been informed that this Condor was new, but remembered that it was built exactly like the old one, so he reached for the lever he once pulled.
"So long, suckers!" Sokka said in a sly tone.
The lever was pulled down, and the soldiers all stopped when they felt the floor shift under their feet. The springboard then lifted the warriors out of the Condor through the roof where they were blasted by a shot from another ship.
Stork laughed to himself when he saw that he was saved again by his friend. "Thanks, Sokka," he said.
"No problem," said the Water Tribe boy. "So, does this mean I get to touch things on the Condor now?"
The Merb narrowed his eyes, thinking the boy was crazy to act such a stupid request. "Don't push your luck."
Back in the skies, the battle raged on with every fighter continuing to either combat against the crystal warriors or try to break through the barrier. The soldiers still kept coming to replace the ones that had been destroyed, and shot after shot was fired at the barrier but still it held strong. It was now becoming hectic and nobody thought they could carry it on for much longer.
Aerrow fired pulses from his blades at the Dark Ace's soldiers and saw that they were no closer than when they started. "This is pointless," he said. "We won't get anywhere until that barrier is down. If only we had a powerful weapon at our disposal."
No sooner did the Sky Knight say those words when a powerful crystal pulse struck the barrier. The energy exploded in purple light and made the force field ripple from the sheer impact that made it look as though it was strong enough to destroy it.
Aerrow and the others all stopped in the sky and looked at what fired the attack. Looking around, they all stood wide-eyed at the source. The Storm Hawks and Starling all smiled while Aang, Katara and Zuko stood dumbfounded.
"I don't believe it," said Piper.
"What is that?" asked Aang.
"It's just what we needed," replied Aerrow.
The group saw a cluster of ships coming into the battle. They were all long and were larger in comparison to all the other ships and they each had what looked to be metal faces on their bows. The one ship leading had a dark red hull that fired off crystal pulses from its sides, and the face on the front had yellow eyes with large fangs formed into a crude smile. The Storm Hawks all knew they were Murk Raider ships that were being led by Captain Scabulous' vessel, the Blood Crow.
Inside the Blood Crow, Scabulous looked out at Bogaton to see that the barrier was still standing, but a smirk crossed his face as he knew that it would not be for long if his ships continued firing their most powerful weapons.
"Captain," said Eyeball, "we've got the cannon loaded again."
"Then let's not waste another second," said Scabulous. "Fire!"
All the Murk Raider ships then fired shots from their main cannons. The result was an array of purple explosions bursting on the side of the barrier where they struck. Everyone in the sky could feel the power surging with each hit that collided.
But then, they all looked in awe as the attacks had finally caused the barrier to ripple like a leaf falling in a pond. The shaking kept going faster and faster until at last the barrier shattered from the numerous impacts it received. Terra Bogaton was now left wide open.
"The barrier's down!" shouted Aerrow. "Now's our chance!"
Seeing that they were now clear to land, the forces of Atmos flew down to Terra Bogaton to begin their attack. Every sky ride and airship landed near Repton's lair, knowing that was the most likely place where the Dark Ace would be hiding. All the people within each ship, both from Atmos and the Avatar's world, rushed out once the ships had landed and began to fight the crystal warriors.
When Aerrow got off his Skimmer, he happened to notice the Blood Crow was right next to the Condor. Out came Captain Scabulous with the rest of his band of pirates with their weapons drawn. The red-haired teen was compelled to see what made the Murk Raiders suddenly change their views about aiding Atmos.
"I thought you said that it was too late for you to turn back," said Aerrow.
Scabulous looked at the boy with his reasons for joining the fight already in mind. "That blowhard put fear in ev'ry person in Atmos," he said. "That's our job! And I'm gonna be buried in the cold ground before I let that happen."
Aerrow nodded in compliance with the Murk Raider captain, glad to see some more help in the fight despite his reason. And with that, everyone charged on the crystal warriors.
The Dark Ace's soldiers then marched on the ground with their hands extended, ready to attack when their targets were within range. It was then that the forces of Atmos banded together and faced their enemies with unyielding fury burning in their hearts.
"All right, everyone," said Aang. "Remember what we've taught you, and fight for freedom!"
The crystal warriors then fired their energy pulses, and the Earth Kingdom fighters came out first to protect the army by raising a wall from the ground. The pulses started to break down the defense, but then Junko, the Wallops and the Buff Buzzards came up and raised their hands, concentrating hard as they remembered the lesson they learned before heading off into battle.
The earth beneath the soldiers then started to rumble, and then dozens of stalagmites shot up from the ground that skewered the Dark Ace's minions where they shattered upon impact.
"They did it!" Junko shouted proudly.
Aerrow cheered at the sudden display, knowing that Aang's idea to use his Energybending on every Atmosian fighter to learn how to Bend was sheer genius. Now he truly felt confident that they were going to win this battle.
It wasn't over as more crystal warriors advanced to replace their fallen comrades. Aerrow, Aang, the Rebel Ducks and the Rex Guardians were the first ones to respond, and they each brought their hands together and moved them in circular motions to create tornadoes. When they were ready, they unleashed their Airbending moves on the warriors that spiralled them into the sky and sent them careening into each other where they broke into pieces.
Katara came out and used whatever water she had left from the cloud earlier to bring down to her level. Right next to her stood the Waterbenders of her world, Piper, the Neck Deeps and the Absolute Zeroes, and they moved their hands around to manipulate the water into a large gush. The water swept the crystal warriors away in a riptide where they were immediately frozen by the command of the Waterbenders. They were then quickly dispatched by Hakoda's men when they moved in and struck them down.
A group of crystal warriors had then faced the Fire Nation fighters along with the Third Degree Burners and the Screaming Queens. Both the Sky Knight squadrons and the Firebenders smirked in delight when they saw the advancing foes. Just before the crystal warriors were about to fire their energy pulses, the forces of Atmos all extended their fists and unleashed large jets of flame that reduced the warriors to ashes.
The plains of Terra Bogaton were now filled with non-stop combat as every person who came to it was now fighting for their side: the forces of Atmos to save their world, and the Dark Ace's crystal warriors to punish the ones who would stop them. The sky was lit up with the energy of crystal-powered weapons clashing or with the powers of the elements. Slowly, the Atmosian fighters and the armies of the Avatar's world were getting closer to where they needed to be.
Tritonn pierced a crystal warrior with a giant icicle and then turned to face the Storm Hawks along with the Avatar's group. "We can handle things here, mates," he said. "You've got bigger fish ta fry."
Aerrow heard the call from his fellow Sky Knight and knew that what he said was true. The only way they had any chance of ending this battle was to get to the source and take it down for good. "We're counting on you," he said. Turning to his friends, he told them what was going to happen. "Let's find the Dark Ace and put an end to this!"
The rest of the group all nodded with agreement to the red-haired teen's idea, so they left the battle in the capable hands of their comrades and ran their way to Repton's lair with Aerrow leading the way.
In his mind, Aerrow kept telling himself that he was ready, that he was going to fight the Dark Ace because he believed in himself and in his friends. They could not back down at this point, especially not after everything they had experienced and after everything they worked so hard to achieve for what happened at that moment. And he also knew that any doubts he had would be dangerous, so he had to think positive.
Everyone was almost within reaching the lair when laughter filled their ears. They immediately halted in their tracks and looked up ahead to see several figures blocking the entrance just as lightning flashed in the sky. Aerrow and the others all clenched their teeth when they saw it to be the Dark Ace's followers: Carver, Domiwick, Ravess, Snipe, the Raptors, Long Feng, and Hama.
"You didn't think we'd let you face the Dark Ace without having to go through us, did you?" said Carver.
Finn sighed in annoyance. "Just when we thought things were going smoothly…"
Aerrow narrowed his eyes in anger and looked at the malicious figures standing before him and his team. He knew that it was a major hindrance but he would make sure that they were dealt with strictly.
BlueTiger321: Uh oh! You can already tell the next chapter is gonna kick butt! So folks, please stay tuned, and please make sure to read and review!