Chapter 29

The Next Level

Anger fueled him as Zuko thrust his fist towards Zhao with fierce intensity, but the older man dodged side to side as swiftly as Zuko could attack. Zhao also had a slightly superior reach which was allowing him to control the pace of the fight for the time being. To compensate for his lack of reach, Zuko resorted to kicks. A high arching kick to Zhao's head was pushed to the side. Zuko followed up with a leaping spin kick that Zhao ducked under easily. A series of stiff punches from Zhao forced Zuko to withdraw a few steps. With each step Zuko took back Zhao stepped forward with another strike until his reach finally caught up with Zuko. Two iron like fists collided with Zuko's chest, knocking him to the ground.

"Is this all you're capable of?" Zhao sneered.

In response Zuko pushed himself off the ground using only his right hand for support. His body twisted through the air with his legs spiraling over his head before his right and left hands traded places. The momentum resulted in his extended leg sweeping Zhao's out from underneath him. Zuko pressed his new advantage as Zhao tried to regain some semblance of balance, forcing the man backward until he tripped over his own two feet.

"Is that all you're capable of?" Zuko growled back.

"You shouldn't be so slow to finish a downed opponent."

Zhao's reply came with a knife that he had hidden on his person. It flew straight towards Zuko's face causing him to sway out of its path and open himself to attack. Zhao swung at Zuko's head, but Zuko evaded. He answered Zhao's attack with two swift punches and another kick towards the head which Zhao managed to avoid. Zhao attacked Zuko's chest knowing that the boy would side step him. As Zuko began to move Zhao followed with a sweep to his legs. Zuko leapt the maneuver and positioned himself behind Zhao. The old man was not without experience though. Zhao turned instantly to protect himself and the two met head to head.

Zuko blocked another fist aimed for his face and countered with a strike towards Zhao's core. Zhao turned to one side and forced Zuko's attacking arm down with his own before extending his leg in a wide stance to knock Zuko's feet out from under him. Reacting on instinct alone, Zuko left the ground placing his hands on Zhao's lowered shoulders and propelled himself over his opponent. When he turned to face him again he was met with a harsh blow to his ribs, doubling him over just in time for his face to meet Zhao's knee at maximum speed.

Zuko was not sure if his nose was broken or not, but he was dazed and dizzy as he got back to his feet. He had to calm himself down. He was not thinking, only reacting on his anger at his father and what had been done to Aang. If he continued fighting this way he would lose.

Aang, Angel, if you can do it, so can I.

Zuko took a deep breath as he watched Zhao's approach. He slowly released it as the man came closer and already he could feel himself becoming lighter. Another deep inhalation and calmness began to settle over him. When he released the second breath Zhao himself became easier to read. He was moving slower.

No, Zuko thought with a confident smile. I'm just seeing things clearer.

Zuko began to walk forward and met Zhao's charge. When Zhao's fist came, Zuko met it with a back elbow stopping it dead. He followed with a punch that Zhao managed to block and then another back elbow aimed for the man's temple. When Zhao blocked that as well, Zuko's arms wheeled over his head coming down in two quick strikes. Zhao's stepped to one side and avoided the first blow before using his own right arm to push the second strike along its path. Zhao then forced his elbow into Zuko's exposed chest and followed with a violent kick to his chin.

The sensation of the blow was odd to Zuko. It forced him off the ground and onto his back, but it was dulled somehow. There was almost no pain. In the instant his back and shoulders met the ground, he kicked back onto his feet and plowed his fist into Zhao's core and retaliated with his own kick under the man's chin. Zhao was not as quick to get up.

When Zhao managed to get back to his feet he stared at Zuko with an infuriated glare. The boy should have already been down and out. Where was he getting this energy? Where was the crippling pain that was supposed to linger after his strikes?

Zuko did not wait for Zhao to come to him this time. He leapt into the air and aimed a kick at his head. Zuko's leg met Zhao's blocking arm and Zhao tried to connect with a kick of his own. As Zuko side stepped he raised his left arm and blocked the oncoming elbow that Zhao followed with before mimicking Zhao's earlier counter and thrust his own elbow into Zhao's core. Zuko tried to follow up with a back hand to the face, but Zhao was able to raise his defense and Zuko moved to strike at his core again instead.

Zhao stepped back to try and avoid the attacks Zuko was throwing at him, but he could not manage to keep the boy out of reach. He blocked Zuko's next two strikes and swept his leg out as quickly as he could. He caught both of Zuko's legs with that one.

Zuko felt his legs swing out from under him and allowed the momentum to carry him to his side while he was still in the air. As he began to approach the ground he extended his arm and caught himself just long enough to send one leg in to kick into Zhao's exposed chest and the other followed closely behind and caught Zhao's leading foot. The force of the kicks swung Zuko's body around on his arm enough for him to put himself into a standing position. Rather than give Zhao too much chance at recovery time, Zuko immediately leapt towards his fallen foe in an attempt to land on his chest and knock him unconscious.

Zhao knew he was in trouble. He rolled out of the way just before Zuko landed on him, but that did not change the fact that the boy was beating him. As he began to rise to his feet, Zhao connected with a weak kick to the back of Zuko's leg. This stunned his opponent long enough for him to rise his feet and deliver a spinning kick to Zuko's now open shoulder. Somehow the boy was moving more efficiently than he was at the beginning of their fight. If he did not take advantage of this opening, it could very well be the end of him. Zhao launched a volley of punches at Zuko's core, but all of his attacks were being stopped just short of their mark. Zhao chanced another kick at Zuko's head and the boy spun to one side aiming a punch at Zhao's face. It was just the mistake Zhao needed. He caught his younger opponent by the arm, turned his back on him and pulled the arm down over his shoulder in an attempt to break it as he hoisted Zuko over his back in a throw.

What Zhao failed to keep in mind however, was the terrain on which they were fighting. As the two had pushed maneuvered against each other during their battle they had moved closer to the support columns of the parking garage. As Zuko began to move over Zhao's back he kicked his legs off of one of the nearby columns, pushing himself over the side of Zhao's body that his arm was trapped by. As he rolled over Zhao's back the pressure against his arm was relieved and the momentum now moved in his own favor. Zuko's feet landed on the ground and he took control of Zhao's grapple. He pulled the older man off the ground and over his head forcing him to land with a resounding thud on the concrete that awaited him.

"This is over," Zuko said evenly.

Zhao lay prone on the ground taking shallow breaths as the air tried to get back into his lungs. He was down, but Zuko had not yet struck the decisive blow. He waited for Zuko to finish the fight and kill him, but the end did not come. He raised his head from the ground and saw Zuko's completely exposed back as he walked away. It was all or nothing now.

Zuko felt more than heard Zhao spring to his feet. The man's body was ignoring the pain, fueled only by rage as he approached. He leapt into the air and tried to kick at Zuko, but it was easy enough to dodge. Zhao spun in place and tried again to kick his opponent, but Zuko swatted the attack away. Punch after punch followed that, but none made proper contact. Zuko was batting his strikes away as though they were flies around a horse's tail. It was time to end this.

Zuko's feet flew from the ground in a flurry of kicks. First at the current striking fist and then, without placing it back on the ground, Zuko forced his leg into Zhao's chest. The force pushed Zhao back far enough that he could avoid the next kick that came by side stepping, but Zuko was undettered. He pulled his leg back in and extended it in Zhao's direction again, forcing his way through the man's defenses. When Zhao stumbled back this time, Zuko took two long strides towards him before twirling twice through the air in a very low leap and placed a sickening kick to the side of the man's head. Zuko stood over Zhao's fallen body once again and shook his head.

"Stay down this time," he whispered to himself. "I don't want to have to kill you."

With that, Zuko turned his attention to his father; the man behind all of the insanity. The man who was just standing there staring at him with a self-satisfied smile on his face, watching as the world around him burned.


"You see? I told you they could pull this off."

"I don't see anything, Angel," one of the gang leaders replied as he looked down at the fighting on lowest level of the parking garage.

"Damien's right, Angel, you're golden boy is dead," the other woman present added.

"Maybe so, but look at Ozai's people. They're all beaten. By kids. Ozai's got no one left. I told you they would come through and we could take back Serpent's Pass."

"If you're so sure, then why didn't you invite the other gang leaders?" Damien asked.

"Julia, out of the eight of us you have the best fighters in your gang," Angel said. "You guys don't like answering to anyone, you prefer your freedom. Damien, most of your guys were at my place at least once in the last few months trying to help me fight against Ozai. I know they wouldn't have been there if you told them not to be. Keep up the tough guy routine if you want, but you want him out of here as bad as either of us. If the three of us actually work together we could probably convince at least one or two of the other leaders that we've got a fighting chance against anyone that might still be loyal to Ozai after this."

"You're serious?" Julia asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"We've almost never seen eye to eye on anything, but I know we all agree that Ozai's gotta go."

The two gang leaders stood silent for a while. Julia seemed to be mulling over the idea, but Damien was unreadable. He just stood at the edge of the barrier and stared down at the fighting. Finally he turned and looked at her.

"You're right. I want him out of my neighborhood. I'll back you on this."

"Never thought I'd see the day. The one major pacifist in all Serpent's Pass trying to convince me to start up a gang war," Julia mocked.

"If we're lucky it won't come to that," Angel replied. "We'll spread the word when this is all over. Gotta know whose already jumped ship on Ozai after tonight."