-Inside the Jasmine Dragon-
"And then what happened?" asked Lan "Bumi saved the day right?"
"What about Xi'an?" asked Kanna " Why didn't anyone try to get him?
"Because he fell directly into the hurricane" said Hui "Right?
"That's preposterous!" snorted Hahn "There no way anyone could fall into a hurricane and survive"
"And you are an expert on hurricanes?" said Kanna
"All I'm saying is that's it hard to believe" said Hahn
"And all I'm saying is to stop trying to ruin Iroh's story!" said Kanna "Or else!"
"Or else what?" challenged Hahn"
"All right that's enough" said Iroh gently "It is getting late and I see that you kids are getting grouchy. Perhaps we should leave the rest of the story for tomorrow"
"NOOOOOOOOO!" yelled the entire tea house in unison
"Come on Uncle Iroh, we'll be good" begged Tai "Tell us just a little bit more..."
"PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!" begged the other kids along with King Kuei and Bosco, making the cutest looking puppy dog eyes. Looking around , Iroh noticed almost every one from the elderly couples to hardened former soldiers with the same look in their eyes.
"Are you sure?" said Iroh taking a sip of his tea
"YES!"said the tea house
"Oh, alright...If you will stop fighting" said Iroh with a warm smile "Just a little bit more. So where was I?"
"Your were at the part where, and quite conveniently I might add, King Bumi showed up to save the day" said Hahn
"It wasn't convenient kid" said a nearby solider "Bumi had raced his troops to Ba Sing Si. His men were tired and not expecting to fight a battle so soon. Even with their help, we were woefully out numbered against those things."
"So...You were there?" stammered Hahn "How did you..."
"Survive?" said the soldier "Perhaps if you talk less and open your ears, Iroh might be able to tell you"
"So what happened next Iroh?" asked Kuei
"Well" started Iroh as poured himself another cup of tea "As we were defending Ba Sing Si ,my nephew and his group were fighting a battle of their own..."
-Chapter 27-
The Battle of Earth and Sky 2
The once peaceful skies around the Hidden Sky temple had now erupted into vicious air conflict with the agile gliders outnumbering the small squadron of sky bison. For a people who loathed combat, the sky benders more than held their own. Answering the powerful fire blasts of the gliders with vicious air swipes, the sky benders proved why they were masters of the air.
"Xue!" yelled Zuko while shooting down a few gliders with his bending "Get me as close to the flagship as you can! We need to take it out"
Xue nodded as she shot ahead dodging the massive incoming waves of never ending gliders. Taking a deep breath, Zuko focused a large blast cutting a wide path through, sending gliders spiraling down toward to earth in flames.
As the the bison drew closer, a lone figure shot from the bridge the top the the large airship . He carried himself with an arrogant and regal air that even from a distance Zuko could immediately recognize...
"Zhao..." said Zuko through gritted teeth "I'm getting off here, help the others...please"
Before the sky bender could argue, Zuko dove off her bison's saddle. Gliding through air he landed on top the the massive flagship opposite of Zhao
"Prince Zuko" sneered Zhao "How nice of you to ...drop in"
"That's Firelord to you" spat Zuko as he unsheathed his broadswords "I don't know how you survived the northern water tribe raid, and honestly I don't care. It ends here, I wont allow you or anyone else to destroy the air benders...not again!"
"A touching sentiment, Oh great Firelord" said Zhao allowing his eyes to glow bright red as he unsheathed a sword of his own "As for surviving, I'm afraid I didn't. But don't worry Zuko, I'll make sure that you find death as liberating as I have...just as your uncle, your sister and even your little girl friend... Mai was it?
"Your …..Your lying!" yelled Zuko shaking with anger
"I'm afraid not!" smirked Zhao "As we speak Ba Sing Se is under siege, probably already a smoking ruin...
Zuko lost it, yelling at the top of his lungs and charged Zhao with his razor sharp swords...
"You left him!" screamed Te angrily "We have go to go back and get him! Now!
"There's nothing I can do. He's gone, Kid!" said Kai matter of factly "And If you hadn't noticed we got a few problems of out own"
Problems was a tad bit of an understatement as two gliders joined in the chase, making three gaining fast on Kai's air bison.
"Fly Faster!" yelled Te as she ducked the saddle, narrowly avoiding the fire blasts
"He's going as fast as he can!" yelled back Kai pulling up through the clouds buying a few precious seconds of time "If you cant make yourself useful back there, then just shut up"
Kip sniffed around the large saddle, digging at wooden bottom. Barking at Te, he to pulled back to revel a few small patches of dirt stuck in the chipped wood
"Kip, I love you boy" hugging the Pup
Grabbing two handfuls of dirt, she bent them into hundreds of tiny hard pellets. Her eyes narrowed just as the three gliders popped through the clouds. The small earth bender blasted the pellets with rapid fire precision, making large holes in the wings.
"That's for my brother!" screamed the little girl at the gliders that were now spiraling down the earth below
"I hope you have a bit more of those things" said Kai as five gliders more swooped in in for the attack
"No, I'm all out" yelled Te as she ducked a few blasts from the gliders
Before the gliders had a chance to attack, a barrage of ice discs shredded the the five into ribbons . Looking up Both Te and Kai breathed a sigh of relief. It was Lu with both Aang and Katara
"You two all right?" said Lu
"We're fine" said Kai
"Wheres Xi'an?" asked Aang
"I couldn't reach him" said Kai looking at Te sadly
Deep in the swirling violent black clouds, amongst the powerful winds and stinging unforgiving rain rain, Xi'an was still falling. Being flipped and turned in the hurricane caused him to lose his bearings on which way he was falling.
'Not that it matters much' thought Xian as he closed his eyes and accepted his fate ' At lest Te and Kip are safe'
"So this is how it end's, eh boy?" said a voice echoing through the clouds "You just give up and die?"
"I did what I could" whispered Xi'an "It's over..."
"IT'S NOT OVER!" growled the voice "If you and Aang don't stop Lo pan, it all ends! Everyone you ever cared about and everything you ever loved gone! YE and TE, Kang, Your new friends, and dare I say it...AZULA?" Are you willing to let them go and die without so much as a whimper?"
"No!" said Xi'an
"THEN OPEN YOUR EYES AND FIGHT!" Yelled the voice "YOU'RE A GUARDIAN SO PROVE IT!"
Xi'an snapped open his eyes and not a moment too soon as the glider that followed in rammed him.
Slammed hard against the cockpit, he gripped on for dear life as the glider shook and shuddered from the hard winds and brutal rain. With his free hand he started repeatedly punching at the seemingly fragile cockpit. The howler pilot blasted fire at the boy through the glass, burning his arm and almost causing him to lose his grip.
"That's it! Now you made me mad!" said Xi'an grabbing the pilot and throwing it out "I hope you land hard"
Unfortunately as a last act of defiance the pilot ripped out the steering yoke, leaving the glider with no way to control it. Thinking quickly, Xian grabbed the control cables and pulled with all his might. The gliders engine roared to life as it shot up back to the battle
"Thanks...Dad..." thought Xi'an to the helpful voice
Zhao hadn't forgotten the humiliation he suffered at the hands of Zuko. His Angni Kai loss, His failure to capture the avatar due to his constant meddling and his part in his death at the northern water tribe village. Now he would return the favor
"How does it feel Zuko?" baited Zhao while deflecting Zuko' sword slashes with little effort "How does it feel to know everything you care about is slowly being taken from you?"
"Shut up!" growled Zuko as slashed more furiously
"Aw did I touch a nerve young Zuko?" goaded Zhao fighting back with graceful thrusts "This time you will lose more than just your precious honor. Your kingdom? Gone! Your Friends? Gone! Your family? Gone! And there is nothing you can do to stop it!"
With one last yell Zuko, brought both of his broadswords down hard on Zhao's sword breaking it. Zhao quickly avoided a rage fueled slash at his head.
"Good but not good enough" smirked Zhao
"You're wrong" smiled Zuko "It was perfect"
Zhao's arrogant smirk disappeared top not slid off his head and blew away. Angered at another display of Zuko's disrespect and through playing games with the young punk, Zhao shot a large powerful blast at the boy. Zuko deflected the best he could but it was too much. A final blast knocked his swords away, sending disappearing in the clouds below. Before he could react Zhao rushed in and lifted the young prince by the throat, squeezing tightly.
"You think you have any chance against Lo Pan?"boasted Zhao as he slowly choked the life out of Zuko "He is the master of life and death, the true phoenix king. You and your family were merely pretenders to the throne. Perhaps I will be rewarded greatly for your demise. But between you and I, Your death is its own reward. Goodbye Zuko "
Zuko's vision started to get blurry as the air was cut off. Fighting as hard as he could, he just couldn't break his grip. Just as he started to weaken and black out, a bow sailed across the sky hitting Zhao right in the head dropping Zuko who gasped for air. From the clouds Xi'an appeared on top of a very damaged glider
"Zuko!" yelled Xi'an avoiding blasts of Zhao "The medallion! Destroy it"
Gaining his second wind Zuko tackled Zhao, ripping off the medallion around his neck. For the first time since the beginning of the fight Zhao showed fear. But Zuko wasn't in a merciful mood, not after the threats to his family and friends.
"Give my regards to Lo Pan" said Zuko he melted the medallion with his fire bending "Goodbye Zhao"
"I'm taking you with me "laughed Zhao as he started to combust in a large wall of flame "hahahahahaha"
The flagship and others nearby started to groan and catch fire. Seeing no choice Zuko ran narrowly avoiding the chain reaction explosions behind him. Preferring his chances in the air, the young price leaped off just as the flagship exploded in a furious ball of fire. Swooping through, Xi'an grabbed Zuko
pulling him aboard the glider
"You owe me a new bow, Fire lord" said Xi'an " I want one made of solid gold with ruby arrows"
"If we live through this you got it" sighed an exhausted Zuko
"Don't be so quick to thank me yet" said Xi'an struggling with the glider "This thing's on its last legs"
If on cue the glider sputtered and died.
"You just had to say that didn't you" said Zuko
Both boys hung on for dear life as it nose dived in the clouds. Swooping from above was Xue gliding her bison expertly alongside the nose diving glider.
"Get on!" yelled the air bender
The boys didn't have to be asked twice, leaping with the last of their strength they landed hard in the saddle. Both letting out sighs of relief they collapsed with total exhaustion.
"I don't know what you two did but all the bad guys are falling out of the sky" said Xue as the left over gliders started exploding and falling from the sky
"Zuko did it " said Xi'an with a stupid looking grin before collapsing in a heap
"Tattle Tale" sighed Zuko as he collapsed as well
The Battle of Ba Sing Se started to turn slightly with the added help of King Bumi's troops to the front line. The addition of some powerful earth benders Tyro and Haru and sword master Pan Dao made it eaiser to gain ground. However there were still breaks in the line and a lot of soldiers were scaling the large wall.
"Sokka, Azula, Mai, Ty Lee" said Kang "Take Appa and the rest of the Kyoshi warriors to help out at the wall. We cannot let them breach the outer wall or its over"
"What about you guys?" asked Sokka "We can just leave you here"
"Don't you worry about us" said Bumi "I'll make sure the old folks win down here"
"OLD? yelled Kang "Your older than all of us!"
"Whats 40 years or so?" smirked Bumi "Besides immaturity keeps me young"
"Just go kids" said Kang shaking his head "Help out Iroh as much as you can but fall back if you have to!"
"You think we got a chance of seeing tomorrow?" asked Haru
"I don't know but I'm gonna do everything in my power to make sure that they don't" said Kang
Ye pouted in the inner circle as the battle raged on on the outer circles. She was just as good as an earth bender as anyone else and instead she was forced to hide like a coward in the center ring with the little kids and the old folks.
"Its not fair, Momo" she said to the lemur resting on her shoulder "I should be helping the others
The little lemur chattered in response much to the little girls disdain.
"Sigh, I guess the conversation wold be a bit better if you spoke people" said Ye
"Little girl!" hissed a very thick accented voice "Over here"
Looking around Ye saw a masked woman in front of a small booth.
"Me?" Ye pointed to herself
"Yes, you little one" said the Masked woman "Perhaps you would like your fortune read"
"My fortune read? Are you serious?" asked Ye
"In times like this it is good to know ones future" said the masked woman
"Right..." said Ye skeptically "I don't believe in that stuff"
"You feel unappreciated by both family and friends. You have rough relations with a family member...a brother perhaps." said the masked woman "and you have a sense of loss... a mother perhaps"
Ye sat slack jawed, how did she know?
"Okay I'm interested" said the little girl "How much?"
"Its free for now" said the masked woman beckoning into her booth"Come this way"
As the girl and the lemur stepped in the booth the masked woman's eyes glowed a sinister red ever so softly.
Night fell on sky nomad temple as everyone recovered from the battle. It was amazing that despite all the damage, no lives were lost. That in itself was a small victory.
"Owww" whined Xi'an as Te wrapped the burn on his arm with a cooling salve and bandage
"Stop whining you big baby" said Te surprisingly mature " Hows the other arm?"
"It's okay" said Xi'an
"Good" said Te blasting her brother in the shoulder as hard as she could
"OW what the.." said Xi'an as he rubbed the charlie horse out of his shoulder
"DONT" YOU EVER SCARE ME LIKE THAT AGAIN YOU JERK!" yelled Te "YE AND I LOST MOM. I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU TOO!"
Her little lip trembled as she started to cry. Gently Xi'an pulled his little sister in for a hug softly shushing her as the little girl cried her self out. Xi'an felt extremely guilty for everything he put the girls through.
"It's okay" cooed Xi'an "I'm not going anywhere okay?"
Te looked up at her brother with tear stained eyes and nodded her head
"Okay lets wipe those tears" said Xi'an gently
"Ugh..." Complained a nearby sky nomad. "Look at this mess, its gonna take us forever to repair all this"
Looking up they saw a chubby but not quite fat teenage air bender, Xian recognized him as one of Kai's little lackeys, Sun. Sighing in frustration he accessed the damage on the temple which was vast
"Anything we could help with?" asked Te
"Not unless you guys can move tons of rock you cant" said Sun
"We're both earth benders" said Te "Show us what needs to fixed"
"Um I'm not comfortable using my bending, Te" said Xi'an
"Come on big brother" said Te "It'll be just like when we added on a new room on the house. It''ll be fun so quit whining"
"Do I have too?" whined Xi'an playfully
Aang, Katara and Zuko held a audience with the 4 elder monks. Lu, Shyu, Xue, and Yen
"Do you realize the damage and destruction you've caused" snapped Shyu
"Or the danger you put us all in?" said Yen "Who ever attacked us might return"
"Well that wasn't our intention" said Katara " and we'll be more than happy to leave. However our airship was destroyed so if we could borrow an air bison...
"Absolutely not" said Yen "You cause destruction that will will take months or even years to..."
A loud rumbling was heard outside causing everyone to rush to the windows. Outside was Xi'an with Te surrounded by a small bunch of sky nomads. The funny thing was despite Xi'an's aversion to using his bending he was doing quite well repairing the damage caused by the fire balls. With both Te and Xi'an bending massive stones the repaired in minutes what would have taken a few years
"Okay the south and north towers are repaired, the air ball court and so are the bison stables" said Sun quite impressed
"Just like remodeling the old house huh Xi'an?" smiled Te
"Yeah except the old house wasn't 40 stories tall" said Xi'an
"What about the giant Pai Sho board?" asked a bunch of younger sky nomads
"Where was that?" asked Te
"Right over there!" said a child Sky nomad pointed over to a nearby pile of rubble "It was in big gazebo that looked just like the spires"
"What? There wasn't a giant Pai Sho board" whispered Sun
"SHUSSSSH" said the children "Or else they wont build it"
As Te and Xi'an started to build the Pai Sho room, Kai took a long look a Xi'an. It was the first time she ever saw someone earth bend before. She liked the way his muscles flexed as he forced the rocks into shape. She had to admit it was a refreshing change from the gentle air bending she always saw. and she found it...attractive.
"Definitely some one to... keep an eye on" she thought with a blush
"And what about the Emperor Sized Soaking tub?" said a few older Sky nomads as Xi'an and Te finished the Pai Sho room
"There wasn't that either" whispered Sun
"Quiet boy" said an elder sky nomad "We may give up all worldly things but a good long soak is good for the spirit"
"So what did the it look like?" asked Te
"Well it was a large room over there" one of the elders nomads said pointing between the two spires "With a wonderful view of the western sky"
"I have the sneaking suspicion you all are taking advantage" said Xi'an with a smile
"Of course not...
Katara, Aang, Zuko and Xue struggled hard to stifle a few laughs as Xi'an and Te were getting scammed for more work.
"Amazing work your friends have done" said Lu "All we have to do is paint"
"They have good hearts" said Xue
"However, back to the matter at hand " continued Yen "I say that we cannot allow you to leave here"
"What?" said Zuko "You don't understand, our friends and family are fighting for their lives in Ba Sing Se! We cant stay here!
"You can and you will" said Shyu "I understand your attachment to friends and family. But you have to understand, we have been hidden for so long and now you brought your war to us.
"That wasn't our intention"argued Aang "and if what Xi'an says is true, the world will in in just a few days"
"That fact is debatable" said Yen "A so called vision, a dream perhaps?"
"And so we just dismiss it just like that?" argued Xue
"We put it to a vote then" said Shyu "They stay"
"They stay" said Yen
"Let them go" said Xue "Lu?"
"I'm sorry, I must agree with the others" said Lu
"And if your wrong the world ends!" said Katara
"Then that is the risk we will have to take" said Lu "I'm sorry the decision stands"
"I will not allow this" said Zuko "You cant do this"
As they finished the soaking room Xi'an and Te found themselves at the business end of a bunch of air bending staffs. Kai little group of cronies
"What is the meaning of this?" said Sun "Is this anyway to treat our guests?
"It is the decision of the Elder monks" said Kai to Xi'an "Please dont make any trouble, Just follow us"
They were lead to an old wooden cage in the lower levels. Inside were the others, looking just as unhappy as Xi'an and Te were
"I'm taking the meeting didn't go well?" asked Xi'an rhetorically
"Gee what was your first guess?" snorted Zuko
"We'll we cant stay here" said Xi'an "We need to get to Ba sing se"
"Well if you got any ideas I'm open to them" said Zuko
They all slumped as they tried to think of ways to escape. And even if they did they had no way to get to Ba Sing Be
Jet looked on as the battle raged. He hadn't anticipated Bumi's soldiers but no matter, he was done humoring the pathetic attempt to save the city. It's time to deliver the killing blow
"Start the engines" ordered Jet "I had my fun but its time to bring an end to this"
A low steadily increasing rumble filled the air as a massive Airship appeared over the treeline. Bigger than anything ever seen in the sky, it was the size of a small city and loaded for war.
"You've gotta be kidding me" said Sokka
Things just now went from bad to worse.
~A~
"Well lets get out of this cage first. Zuko, cant you burn it?" asked Xi'an
"Sure if you want every one to roast" said Zuko
"Aang?"
"Air goes straight through this thing"
"Katara?"
"They took my water skin and too cool to sweat"
"EWWWWWWWWWWW"
"I find that a key does the job well enough" said a voice
Every one turned to find Sun, unlocking the cage.
"You guys are planning to go back right? asked the chubby sky nomad "Then take me with you!"
"You are aware that by helping us you probably will never be able to come back here" said Zuko
"If what you guys are saying is true and the world is in danger " said Sun "Then that hardly matters if I can never come back home"
"Okay then whats the plan?" asked Aang "We lost our air ship
"I got transportation covered" said Sun "All the stuff that we could recover for the airship is loaded in the bison stables. But we have to get going"
The tension was high as they silently crept their way to the stables narrowly avoiding the other nomads. As they made their way inside everyone was in for a shock as the stable was full of sky nomads mostly teenagers but a few older"
"Sun!" Kai yelled whispered "What took you so long?
"Sorry, there was a lot of guys guarding the place"
"What?" asked Xi'an incredulously "Your coming too?"
"Yes" she said snootily "I'm bored here and you guys need help"
"You better have a better reason than being bored" said Aang "We may be flying right into another battle"
"Regardless" said Kai hopping on her Bison "We need to get going before we get caught"
"Uh Kai" said Sun pointing to the gates"Too late"
Standing in the doorway with her arms crossed was sister Xue with a none too happy look on her face.
"And just where do you think you are all going..." she said her cross expression melting into a mischievous grin "...Without me"
Laughing at the multiple sighs of relief she hopped on her bison.
"It's time to get serious everyone" said Sister Xue "If we leave here tonight we can never come back , I want all of you to think hard a long about that. If anyone wants to back out now I wont think any less of you."
Nobody moved an inch
"Okay" said Xue "Yip Yip"
"Yip Yip" said the other air benders in unison
A group of 15 sky bison rose from the stables and flew out disappearing at the edge of the hurricane destination Ba Sing Se
