Apologies for the long wait, but I've been busy with other things.
This story has one more cahpter to go before its complete. I know I know, I said that last time, but I swear that there will only be one more
A3rrow: I proabably wouldn't have even done this chapter at all if you hadn't submitted so many reviews. I was glad to know that you enjoyied the last chapters as much as I liked writing them.
Vice Admiral Xylan gazed down at his crew from the observation port. Xylan spoke into the Leviathan's intercom, his magnified voice loud enough for the majority of the fleet to hear him. "Warriors! We face adversity, a band of brothers. But we will never know defeat as long as we stand together. The other nations think they can defeat us. After 100 years of combat, conquest, and glory; the remaining think they can resist. When in fact, they are only delaying the inevitable! When we are victorious here we will quickly bring the remaining territories in line, securing the first World Empire!" Xylan slowly annunciated his last five words, speaking with a truth so inspiring that the entire fleet seemed to erupt in cheers and shouts of approval.
From the deck of the Integrity General Qin walked down the bow of his flagship, he proceeded down the middle row dividing the ship's entire compliment of troops and crewers. They all stood at attention, their eyes staring straight ahead as Qin continued to walk down the middle line. He slowed his pace as he started talking with a voice that was loud enough to echo across the ocean, "Soldiers! Today we fight the enemy at the heart of their territory. You may think that they have the home-field advantage, and you would be right. But while the Fire Nation has that advantage, we have more than they could ever grasp. Courage! Fortitude! And something the Fire Nation has lost for more than a century, Honour!" Qin waited while the loud cheers subsided amongst his troops before continuing, "So I say let them have the home-field advantage, we all know they need it, for they have little else to fight with!"
Every single person cheered as loud as their vocal chords would permit; Qin's charismatic nature was enough to inspire everyone. The general continued to move up and down the lane chanting three words that spoke volumes about his confidence; he looked at everyone as he passed them, chanting, "We will triumph! We will triumph!"
The others joined in almost instantly; they shouted to a point where they hoped the Fire Nation would be able to hear their cries for justice as the fleet continued to accelerate toward the final battle.
Qin waited until the fleet was more than five kilometres away before quieting the others down and ordering them to man their battle stations. He watched from the bridge as the distant fire nation fleet came closer with every passing minute. The sound of part water was barley enough to calm his nerves. Pre-mission jitters were nothing new to Qin but no matter how many battles he fought, the sensation always threatened to throw him over the edge. Only strict military discipline allowed him to stay the course. He couldn't afford to make a mistake, not in this battle.
A grim smile touched Xylan's lips as he watched the Earth Kingdom fleet approach. "Order all ships to condition four. I want every ship and soldier ready for combat within the next five minutes." Xylan ordered Captain Vai.
"At your command Admiral," Vai spoke from the Admiral's side. He had experienced doubts about the Earth Kingdom's ability to mount an assault but, once again, the Admiral had proven himself correct. Victory had never looked so close.
Aang stood at the bow of the Integrity, waiting as he was literally accelerated toward his destiny. Whereas Aang felt dread leading up to the Day of Black Sun, this time he felt nothing but a calm, serene feeling. He had taken great pains to suppress his Avatar Spirit, though it was a still a prime concern within his mind. He knew he had been unable to let Katara go, but he also knew that he wouldn't be able to uphold the promise he made to her either. The feelings were enough to awake a sense of dread within his heart.
Aang had buried the feeling, knowing that he needed to be calm and collective to succeed in his destiny. Aang looked below to see the Earth Kingdom's boarding craft enter the water; soldiers entered the boats with the intention of creating a distraction. They knew that his had to look as if it were a full-scale assault, when in fact it was just a feint to lure the other Fire Nation ships into combat.
A deep breath escaped Aang's lungs as he took out his glider and perched himself like a bird atop the ship's bow. His eyes almost flashed with anger when he saw the distant outline of the Leviathan, Vice Admiral Xylan's flagship. Aang shook the feeling off to watch Sokka, Katara, Zuko, and Toph enter the boarding craft off the Integrity's starboard side.
The glider unfolded with a twirl from Aang's wrist. He jumped toward the waiting sea below, a small splash being the only sound of his entry. He used water bending to create a bubble of oxygen around his body, while he simultaneously propelled himself through the water like a torpedo. The bottom hull of the Leviathan grew closer and closer to the point where Aang could have touched the ship with his hand.
The high turbidity of the sea forced Aang to squint his eyes in order to concentrate on what was ahead of him. He barely had time to react when he saw the submerged Gates of Azulon, the iron chains forced Aang to dive deeper if he were to pass.
Having passed the gateway, Aang continued toward the palace. But rather than continuing going straight ahead toward the harbour, Aang turned right. This attack was based on stealth, he would have to remain undetected until he reached Ozai. There could be no mistakes.
"Distance?" Xylan asked his navigation officer from his command chair on the bridge. He had no doubt that the Earth Kingdom ships were close to entering weapon's range.
"Closing at 700 metres Admiral," the officer responded, "We will be in weapon's range in less than a minute."
"Apprise our artillery officers Lieutenant."
"Yes Admiral."
"How close?" Qin demanded, a feeling of impatience starting to set in.
"Close enough to fire General," the Integrity's navigation officer responded with a grin.
"Then let's show the Fire Nation our upgraded weapons." Qin said as he marched to the bow of the ship. He looked at the crewers below and shouted, "We are in weapon's range! Fire!" The General shouted out his last word as he pointed toward the Fire Nation fleet.
The grinding of machinery could be heard as the counter-weights mounted onto the trebuchets forced the machines down. Enormous stone blocks filled the skies as they shot into the air before falling toward the unsuspecting enemy fleet.
"Incoming fire," was all Xylan heard as he saw the stone blocks falling toward the fleet.
"Launch the counter-batteries." Xylan ordered calmly, despite the fact that a stone block looked to be on a direct course for the Leviathan.
Half of the Leviathan's catapults launched fire balls in response to the threat, as did the rest of the fleet. Only a third of the enemy fire was stopped by the fleet's response, the stone blocks were converted into dust when the fire balls made contact. The rest of the volley impacted against Fire Nation ships. One stone block wasn't enough to puncture the armour plating of a Fire Nation battleship, but it was enough to weaken the metal.
The Merciless was unfortunate enough to be bombarded by several stone blocks; the hardened earth struck the bow of the ship, gutting it from stem to stern. The battleship lurched out of control, ramming full force into a nearby friendly ship. Both battleships were disabled by the collision, their hulls broken to the point where a major water leak was enough to force the crew to abandon ship.
Xylan watched the destruction with a cold fire burning inside him, he looked at Captain Vai and said, "Order the rear ships to encircle the Earth Kingdom ships while we lay down cover fire."
"As you command Admiral," Vai responded. He turned to the COM officer and said, "Order all rear ships to encircle the enemy fleet." When the COM officer nodded in acknowledgement, Vai turned to Xylan and asked, "Shall I give the order to return fire Admiral?"
"Not yet Captain," Xylan said as he turned to the navigation officer, "Get us closer Lieutenant."
"Aye sir." The Leviathan moved forward, its massive bulk soon followed by the other ships in the fleet. "650 metres………….600…………..550," The officer rattled of their position as the enemy ships appeared closer and closer.
"Admiral?" Vai questioned nervously, knowing that they were more than close enough to attain a direct hit.
"Not yet," Xylan said as he held up his hand. He looked at the navigation officer and asked, "Distance?"
"450 metres," the officer replied.
"All stop. Launch the catapults!"
Xylan's order was quickly followed by the launch of all the Leviathan's batteries. The fireballs didn't have very far to go before impacting onto the decks of several enemy ships. Several trebuchets were ruined by the fiery projectiles when they punched right through the only unarmoured section of the Earth Kingdom ships. The artillery operators on the bow of several ships were either thrown off into the murky water below, or they were killed when the fire balls impacted against the hull.
A control circuit must have been severed on one of the Earth Kingdom ships because it collided with its respective assault boats below, killing the soldiers inside. The ship kept gathering speed until it collided with a Fire Nation battleship, crushing the armoured bow and leaving a massive breach in its place.
A salvo from both fleets followed Xylan's strike, stones and fire balls filled the skies as they headed toward their designated targets. The majority of the stones were stopped by fire balls though there were still enough left to disable a few more battleships. The hardened earth shredded through metal plating, tearing through several decks before coming to a stop. Fire balls collided against stone armour, with only enough force to dent the armour plating.
General Qin and several other bridge officers were thrown to the floor when a volley of fireballs impacted against the Integrity's port side. Qin quickly pushed himself to his feet and shouted to his bridge officers, "Relay signals to all ships, tell them to concentrate their fire on the enemy's left flank."
"Understood General," was all Qin heard as he looked out to of the observation windows to see volley after volley fire from Xylan's fleet. Another of Qin's ships was disabled by a barrage of enemy fire. The projectiles all impacted against the same spot until the armoured hull gave way with an ear-splitting crack.
Qin was about to look away from the destruction when he saw that another volley was heading toward his fleet. He prepared for the worst but was surprised to see the fire balls collide with the water. What are you up to Xylan, Qin thought with a growing sense of apprehension as he wondered how Xylan's artillery crewers could possibly have missed.
Realization struck him instantly; he was targeting the assault boats.
"Tell the fleet to protect the assault boats, they're under attack!" Qin shouted to no-one in particular as he continued to watch the unfolding battle.
"Message relayed," the COM officer responded.
The Earth Kingdom fleet turned ninety degrees to port, their armoured hulls providing the only means of protection for the assault boats below.
It was just the advantage Xylan had been waiting for.
The enemy fleet was manoeuvring to protect their boarding craft, giving Xylan's fleet a clear shot at their starboard hull. The Admiral didn't need to give the order to switch targets, his artillery creweres were already firing at the enemy's now exposed flank.
"What's the status of the Sky Bombers?" Xylan asked, he was eager to bring this battle to a close.
"Based on their last report, they should be here momentarily Admiral."
"Excellent, tell our crewers to concentrate their fire on the right flank."
"Yes Admiral."
"New contacts detected!" Qin's COM officer shouted, "Incoming Sky Bombers!"
A feeling of complete fear washed over the General as he looked outside to see the enormous outline of the airborne behemoths. "Spirits help us," Qin whispered.
Aang looked at the distant outline of the Fire Nation palace, he was now flying just inside the clouds. So far his stealthy approach had been successful but Aang knew that it would need to come to an end sooner or later.
He dove below the cloud cover, watching as the environment rushed past in his peripheral vision. All of his attention was focused on the staircase leading up to the palace as he dove like a hawk for his objective. Aang only prevented himself from slamming full speed into the metal ground with a well timed air-blast. Aang half-expected to be bombarded with fire blasts the second his feet made contact with the ground, but no such opposition came.
Aang folded his glider back into a staff as he made his way into the palace. The wide hallways made him wary of an ambush as he proceeded to jog toward the Fire Lord's war room. Despite Aang's uneasiness he was able to make it all the way to the palace's central chamber without seeing anyone. The deserted palace brought back memories from the Day of Black Sun, but he pushed the thoughts aside when he realized that Ozai might have sent soldiers toward the harbour; in order to prevent an assault that was never going to happen.
A few more steps was all it took for Aang to gaze around a corner and see two of the Fire Nation's royal guards. They were standing to either side of a red curtain that was decorated with the Fire Nation emblem, making it clear that the Fire Lord was inside.
Aang knew that he would have to utilize a stealthy approach until he moved inside the war room. His mind raced as he thought about how to take the guards out, he knew that the hallway leading toward the war room was a one-way access point; something that gave the royal guards a tactical advantage.
He smiled when he had a plan.
Aang used his air bending to speed through the hallway; the sheer velocity put him in front of the two guards before they even knew what was happening. The guards didn't even have time to enter a combat stance before Aang jumped up and slammed both of their armoured helmets together, knocking the two out cold.
Not being one to waste time, Aang walked into the war room, the fire just outside of the Fire Lord's throne burning as brightly as ever. An entire row of royal guards stood by Ozai, who was drinking from a cup. That all changed when Aang issued a challenge, "Ozai!"
That single word caused all of the guards to snap their spears to attention, and it was enough for Ozai to set his cup down; a grim smile settled on his face. "Avatar, you're full of surprises."
As if that were a signal, the guards started marching towards Aang. A powerful shockwave of air, aimed specifically for the advancing guards, knocked them off their feet and into the wall with enough force to render them all unconscious.
Ozai smiled at the destruction as he stood up and moved toward Aang. He parted the curtain of fire with his hands, taking on a combat stance as he locked eyes with Aang and said, "This should be interesting."
General Qin grunted in pain when his head slammed against a bridge console, the Integrity was taking a serious beating and Qin knew it was only a matter of time before—
The ship seemed to shake again as an officer looked at Qin and shouted, "Hull breach on deck five, blast doors are holding!"
The COM officer turned to Qin and said, "Crewers are reporting that our starboard armour is down to twenty percent, we can't take much more of this."
There's always another way, Qin thought desperately as he tried to find a way to bring victory from the chaos. A bitter feeling rose up inside him when he realized that there was no way they would be able to pull victory from this mess. But then again, Qin thought as he looked at the approaching Sky Bombers, perhaps there is.
"Tell all ships to break off their attack on the enemy fleet, they are to focus their fire on the Sky Bombers. I want them out of the sky." Qin barked out his order, a plan was already forming in his mind.
"Understood General," came the hesitant reply from the COM officer.
The artillery operators adjusted the counter-weights on the trebuchets before firing at the Sky Bombers. The trebuchets released their payloads toward the approaching aircraft, sending stone blocks hurling for the aircraft's metal plating. By the time the stone blocks reached the Sky Bombers, they had picked up enough speed to rip through the armoured hull.
A small grin was plastered onto Qin' face as he watched the closest two airborne bombers plummet into a Fire Nation battleship below. A small breach was in the Fire Nation's right flank now, giving Qin the chance he'd been hoping for. "Signal the fleet, I want every ship to widen that gap and head to the Fire Nation."
"But General, the plan was to—"
"I know what the plan was Ensign," Qin interrupted harshly, "But this is the only way we will be able to achieve victory. Relay the orders."
"Yes General."
Artillery fire commenced almost immediately, all of the Earth Kingdom's firepower was divided between two enemy battleships. The stone blocks tore through enough of the armour plating to make it looks as though the ships had been caught up in a hurricane. The disabled ships had widened the gap to the point where Qin was confident that the fleet would be able to squeeze through. He ordered the Integrity to full power, watching as the flagship moved toward the Fire Nation capital.
The other fleet commanders followed the Integrity as it headed for the heart of enemy territory, fireball projectiles chasing them all the way. The Integrity's hull collided with the wreckage of a Fire Nation battleship at full speed. It created just enough space to allow the Integrity, and the rest of the fleet, to pass. The only obstacle remaining was the brightly burning Gates of Azulon. The chain-linked iron fence barricaded the entrance to Fire Nation territory, Qin was about to take it down.
"Tell our crewers to breach those gates. I want it done before the last ship breaches the enemy's lines!"
"Yes General, but I should let you know that we are running low on ammunition."
"I don't care if they pull the stones right off our hull. I want those gates breached!"
Volley after volley of hardened earth collided with the iron gateway, leaving loud cracks to be heard throughout the bay. It was obvious that the barricade was weakening; large dents could be seen forming in the centre of the fence. Qin saw that the last ship was moving to attack the gateway, he shook his head and turned to the COM officer, "Tell our ships to re-engage—"
"General, the wall's been breached!"
Qin turned to see that the Ensign was correct, the iron barrier had been breached right in the centre. A large gap had formed as a result and it looked more than big enough for Qin's fleet to scrape through.
It didn't take long for the fleet to arrive at the waiting Fire Nation shores, assault boats released their troop compliment while more troops abandoned the battleships. Fire Nation troops and Earth Kingdom soldiers met in a brutal brawl.
Katara, Zuko, Sokka, and Toph were among the first to leave their respective assault boats. Zuko and Toph helped reinforce the left flank while Sokka drew his sword and headed for the right. Katara stood where she was, there was an internal struggle raging within her. She debated whether she should help her brother or go and help Aang. She knew that Ozai was Aang's destiny but she couldn't bear to see him injured.
With that thought in mind she sprinted straight ahead, fiercely engaging any enemy forces in her path as she raced toward Aang.
This final battle would test everyone's skills. Qin knew that his soldiers trusted him enough that they would follow him anywhere. He just hoped he was worthy of that trust.
Vice Admiral Xylan almost slammed his hand on the arm of his command chair when he noticed that the Earth Kingdom fleet had breached the Gates of Azulon. He regained his composure and was about to order the fleet to a new heading when Captain Vai shouted, "Lay in a pursuit course for the enemy fleet."
"Belay that order," Xylan spoke with an icy tone that stopped the other officers cold.
"Admiral?" Vai spoke with confusion at the sudden reprimanding. He was aware that he had breached military protocol by giving orders on the Admiral's flagship, but the Admiral's tone gave the slightest hint that he had no intention of following the Earth Kingdom ships. "Are we not going to follow?"
"Correct Captain, we are not." Xylan said as he realized that he had underestimated General Qin. But although he had failed in this battle, he could use this to his advantage and initiate the military takeover he'd been planning for years. "For one hundred years we have fought and died in the name of conquest. We have fought for a government that is corrupt and a leader that is weak. The Fire Lord is ruthless but he has no concept of leadership, others do. In accordance with Directive 01, I am taking command of the military; every soldier is under my command. If you do not agree with this, speak now."
Xylan swept his gold eyes around the bridge, daring anyone to question his authority. "Admiral?" Captain Vai said as he stepped to his side.
"Yes Captain," Xylan locked eyes with Vai, a hidden menace lingering in his words.
"I believe I speak for the others Admiral, when I say that it would be an honour to serve under your command."
A small grin touched Xylan's lips as he nodded his appreciation to Captain Vai.
Aang dodged another fire blast from Ozai, his body spinning to avoid getting burned. This battle had been raging for what felt like hours, adrenaline seemed as though it couldn't provide the energy necessary for his fatigued limbs. Another series of incoming fire balls forced Aang to go on the defensive again. He pushed off of the metal floor with his feet, using air-bending to keep his body parallel to the floor for a handful of seconds. The timeframe was just long enough for the two fire blasts to miss Aang.
A portion of Aang's mind told him that Ozai had launched three fire blasts, the knowledge was quickly followed by a searing pain lancing across his right side. Aang fell to his knees, pain filling every portion of his conscious mind as he felt himself slowly losing consciousness.
Ozai lowered his guard as he stepped toward his helpless victim, "So, it comes to this. I would have hoped that all the time you spent training might have given you more skills. It's a shame you weren't killed along with the others of your kin, I wouldn't have had to wait this long to end your existence."
Aang gritted his teeth at Ozai's mocking words, rage was beginning to drown out the sense of pain. He'd never felt so angry in his life, fire seemed to be a cold substitute for the raging inferno that was building within Aang. His perceptions felt as though they were being taken over by others, it was something Aang had long understood as the effect of the Avatar State.
Oh no, Aang thought, what have I done.
Exactly what I told you would happen. A voice, that Aang recognized as Vontor's, responded.
Tell me how to stop it, Aang almost screamed inside his mind as he was vaguely aware of himself unleashing destruction.
You can't, was the fearful reply.
A part of Aang sensed his Avatar Spirit unleash a concentrated funnel of fire out from his palm toward the Fire Lord. Ozai was cut completely off guard by the unexpected offensive, he was killed almost instantly. A small feeling of relief washed over Aang now that the Fire Lord was dead, but it wasn't enough to soothe his wild, malicious Avatar Spirit. So much energy was pouring out of Aang that the very ground seemed to warp and ripple.
I won't kill anyone else, Aang said in defiance though he wasn't quite sure who he was even speaking to. You must stop!
Aang felt his Spirit subside after his words. Though it wasn't the normal, gradual recession of his Avatar Spirit, this time it was abrupt. Aang felt himself falling toward ground, his body fell fifty metres before he collided with the metal floor. His visual perception started feeling hazy, so much so that he wasn't sure if the voice he heard was real or not.
"Aang! Aang!" It sounded like Katara, but part of Aang knew that she should still be on an assault boat.
He felt a pair of arms wrap him in a soothing embrace, his vision cleared enough where he could see Katara kneeling next to him. Aang still felt as weak as he usually did after going in and out of the Avatar State, that was cause for grave concern. Normally the feeling of weakness only lasted for a few seconds but it seemed to be dragging on. The only logical conclusion Aang could reach was that he was about to die.
Holding on to his last conscious minute, Aang took a weak old of Katara's arm and said, "Katara…..tell the others…..that I did it."
Aang's hazy perceptions of the Fire Lord's palace morphed to one of complete darkness….
This chapter was really forced, I still don't have much interest in Avatar but I felt that I should probably finish what I started. After two months of neglect I imagine that you agree.
I'll have the next chapter up fairly soon. I just hope I can write it better than this one. No matter how many changes I made, this chapter just seemed to suck.
If any of you have played Half-Life 2, you might be interested in checking out my stories. I'm particularily proud of Urban Warfare, go to my profile and check it out if you're interested!