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Chapter 34: The Battle of Yu Dao (Part 2)
The scene at the breach was one of quiet tension as the Fire Nation troops gazed warily at the looming shapes forming behind the dust clouds of the collapsed walls. Based from the sounds of the thunderous cheers and the rolling tanks of the Earth Kingdom, it felt as though any minute now, they would burst through the smoke and charge through the collapsed section of the wall like water bursting through a dam.
But strangely, they did nothing, having formed up, the Earth Kingdom troops simply stayed put outside the range of the Fire Nation towers and soldiers. Mako watched them indifferently as his own platoon of Southern Raiders stood at the ready, while the Yuyan archers kept their bows aimed squarely at the breach, holding their strings in place with a strength that he could only admire.
"What's taking them so long?" Hide asked in irritation as he snuck a peek over the rooftop they were posted at. From their position above the streets, they had a good view of the anxious Fire Nation and Colonial soldiers crowding around the breach, ready to intercept the attack.
"Maybe they're waiting on more soldiers?" On Ji offered as helpfully as she could. In truth, even Mako didn't know why the enemy wasn't attacking. They've breached the walls, and they had a clear path through, even if it was into a cauldron of Fire Nation pikes and flames.
Then it happened.
It was a slow rumble at first, barely a noticeable whimper. But eventually each tremor was followed by several smaller ones, until it finally became one overwhelming wave, shaking the very foundations of the buildings in the streets. It was then that Mako noticed the first cracks in the pavement of the roads below.
"They're digging underground!" Mako shouted just as the building his group stood on collapsed into a cloud of smoke and dust. The Yuyan Archers and Southern Raiders too slow to comprehend were pulled downwards. Hide quickly dragged On Ji off the roof before she had a chance to protest, both of them landing on an adjacent balcony where the quicker Raiders and Archers had jumped just in time before the building collapsed.
Mako himself jumped off the collapsing rooftop with them, chips of stone and masonry flying through the air, flaking off his armor as he met a face full of dust on the ground. Through the smoke, cannon fire erupted from the ground, shelling the buildings around them. And even as he landed, Mako saw several larger explosions reverberating across the city, clouds of dust and flame kicking up as the Earth Kingdom Tanks emerged from the various tunnels they had dug underneath the fortifications. Their cannons roared behind the Fire Nation lines, tearing deep gashes into the buildings around them, shooting through barricades, walls and light armor.
Gritting his teeth, Mako unsheathed his own jian, nodding towards On Ji and Hide. It was then, through the hole, where the first Earth Kingdom soldiers emerged, with heavy armor and spears, charging at the rear of the Fire Nation army that had camped at the walls.
"We have to protect the troops at the wall while they reform!" Mako shouted at the remaining Southern Raiders and archers near him, who all nodded in assent. As Mako led the charge into the nearest group of Earth Kingdom troops, one thought echoed through his mind.
Korra. Asami.
Be safe.
With a grim cheer, the special elite troops of the Fire Nation advanced, determined to make Giam's forces pay for every step they took, to buy the colonial and Fire Nation troops at the wall the time they needed.
The view of the city from the ramparts was one of utter chaos. It was as if the ground had opened up at several points in the city, swallowing buildings whole and covering vast sections of Yu Dao in dust and rubble. It was too coordinated to be a coincidence, and sure enough, Zhenjin saw immediately the groups of Earth Kingdom troops emerging from the tunnels with their tanks, throwing up chaos and confusion in the rear while his own army faced the wall, where finally, the Earth Kingdom troops outside the city started to attack the breach.
"Just what are those treacherous Earth Benders pulling!?" Colonel Shu said in outrage as he watched his own men back away from the oncoming charge, disrupted by the enemy forces in the rear.
"They've snuck some tanks and soldiers into the city with their tunnels." Zhenjin remarked coolly.
"But sire..." The colonel replied. "If their plan was to dig under our fortifications all this time, why did they breach the wall?"
At that moment, it all became clear to the Prince.
"They wanted us to move all our troops closer to the walls, making the interior of the city vulnerable." Zhenjin answered, quietly impressed in his own mind. Whoever this Earth General was, he was a formidable opponent, to predict what the Fire Nation would do as soon as a section of the wall was breached. But then again, his plan didn't rely on winning the battle outright.
"Rally the men Colonel." Zhenjin nodded at Shu. "We can win this battle yet. They still need to widen the breach to pour more men into the city. I want you to keep those breaches defended."
Still flustered, Shu nevertheless bowed formally to the Prince, his military discipline kicking in. "Of course sire, we'll fight to the last."
"Let us hope it won't come to that." Zhenjin smiled confidently, turning his gaze towards the now-burning city districts of Yu Dao.
Asami, Korra. I'm counting on you.
The air turned black with smoke and soot, raining ash onto the streets as the well armed platoon of heavily armored Earth Kingdom troops advanced, pushing aside the flimsy Fire Nation town guards who remained behind while the soldiers manned the walls. The lightly armed men and women fled easily before the might of Giam's forces, and the Heavy Infantry marched confidently, aiming for the Royal Palace. Once that fell, the battle was as good as won. Their confidence too, was bolstered by two Caterpillar tanks that advanced with them.
The lead infantry captain grinned, this was going to be as easy as taking candy from a baby-
Suddenly, the air roared violently as a huge burst of flame knocked the captain back into a nearby building, which was soon bursting into flame. This was soon followed by several slabs of Earth blocks and discs that slammed into the heads and chests of the stunned Earth Kingdom soldiers behind them.
"We're under attack!" Another Earth Kingdom soldier shouted as a warning, but his cry was cut short as a hand pressed against his back. The man screamed in pain as electricity surged through him, bathing him in a bright blue light.
Without looking, Asami unsheathed her sword, using the scabbard to knock an advancing spearman in the face, knocking him back while her blade grazed the armor of another soldier behind her. The soldier backed away in fear, but his face became a mask of fury as he advanced again, hoping to skewer Asami in the back.
Then, the soldier felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw a most curious sight. A teenage girl of the water tribes, wearing the distinct red armor of the Southern Raiders.
"Don't even think about it." Korra said sharply, and with a roundhouse flame kick, the Earth soldier was flying into a nearby cart of cabbages, smashing it into pieces and spilling the bundled merchandise all over the street.
"That's one you owe me for." The Southern Raider crossed her arms confidently.
"Don't be ridiculous. I had him right where I-"
An shell suddenly breezed past the two girls' faces, missing them by mere inches and destroying a section of the wall beside them. Both girls turned towards the center of the street, where the Caterpillar tank was curling itself to aim its cannon hatches towards them.
Before anything else could happen however, several Earthbenders in red and green uniforms dropped from the rooftops between the girls and the tank. As they landed, they conjured up a rock column underneath the tank that flipped it over on it's side, denting its metal frame and cannons. The crew themselves emerged moments later, with dazed and bewildered expressions on their face.
Korra and Asami shared the same expressions, until they heard a familiar voice behind them.
"How about a little less talking, and a little more fighting?" Kori Morishita smirked, armed with her dual meteor hammers, strolling confidently between Korra and Asami. Her Earthbenders had delayed the attack, but it wouldn't take long before they realized just how little defenders they were up against.
And true enough, the second tank, and the remaining soldiers of the Earth Kingdom stood in stunned silence for a few moments as they tried to process what they saw. Many couldn't believe their eyes. Earth Benders fighting for the Fire Nation? But that hesitation only lasted a split second. It was followed by shouts of outrage and hatred, as if Kori's Earthbenders were even worse than the Fire Nation in their eyes. It spread across the rest of the formation, an almost guttural roar that flowed through the remaining ranks of infantrymen who now advanced with the second tank.
"Remember the plan." Asami said authoritatively, assuming a combat stance towards the remaining soldiers. "Take out the infantry, but leave the Tanks intact."
"Right." Korra nodded seriously, doing her best to focus on the battle. Not on the image of that helpless and wounded girl hanging from the-
"DUCK!" Kori shouted, pulling Korra down just as another volley of shells exploded from the second Caterpillar tank, tearing up sections of the street and adjacent buildings. Kori's Earth Benders were occupied as well, fighting off Giam's soldiers as they swarmed them, and Korra had the feeling the second tank would be harder to take down.
"Keep your head in the game Korra." Kori snapped, giving her a light punch as she lifted her meteor hammers. "We'll need your bending if we want to make it out of this alive."
My bending. Korra thought grimly as she closed her fist. If she was able to Earthbend, she didn't doubt that she could do a lot more damage, but there was the tricky part of fighting alongside both Asami and Kori.
To heck with it. Korra thought as she shook her head to clear her thoughts, her Firebending would have to do. It was too risky.
Standing straight, facing the enemy, Korra charged her fists up in twin balls of flame, staring grimly at the advancing tank and Earth Kingdom troops, while Kori and Asami were fighting beside her. The Earthbender was swinging her twin chained hammers at a nearby group of Giam's men, knocking several back with dented chest plates; while Asami raised her black blade coolly, nonchalantly taking down a man who tried to stab her from behind.
At that point however, the cannons of the Earth tank fired straight at them, and for Korra, it seemed as if time slowed to a crawl.
Korra responded by lashing out with her own jet of flame just as she turned to shout at Asami and Kori just as she shot the flames.
"Watch out-!"
The air shattered as her flames made contact with the shell.
The firebending burst from Korra had taken the brunt of the explosion, but the force of the blast was still enough to knock over soldiers, tear apart the shingled rooftops of nearby houses as well as throw back the three girls. Asami landed bluntly against the side of a house, her armor denting against the wall, while Kori and several of the colonial Earthbenders standing beside them were thrown even further back, unconscious.
Korra herself landed unceremoniously in the middle of the street, her armor caked in dust and soot from the blast, while she felt her body ached from the various bruises and scraps she received from the tumble. The explosion itself had covered the alleyway in a cloud of dust, obscuring the Caterpillar tank, but she could feel the not-so-subtle vibrations of the vehicle on the ground as it turned, along with the slow approach of the Earth troops as they marched towards them.
Through the blinding dust and falling embers, Korra coughed and as she lay on the ground, her left arm was trembling and her vision was blurry, either from weakness or the pain, but she couldn't give up.
Not now….
Focus.
That single word reverberated through Korra's mind, like fragments of a distant dream. And from it, the sounds and sights of the world faded into white, as though she was being pulled out of this world and immersed into another one...
......The room was calm, and peaceful, with nothing save for four toys she remembered playing with as a child, along with the stern looks of the Airbending masters. She felt her heart drop as they said the next words from one of the old masters, almost as if a part of her life had ended right there.
"I'm afraid war is upon us, young avatar."
"We need you. Korra."
..."Are you nervous?" A familiar face...kind and gentle asked with a smile. The old man full of understanding and patience.
"How can I not be?" She muttered dejectedly. After she had found out, all her old friends stopped playing with her, she never felt so alone. She just wanted to get away from thinking about it. "I'm practicing my meditating. The masters said we can use it to detach ourselves from our fears, our emotions."
The old monk simply shook his head.
"Detach from your emotions? No... Korra." Her mentor and friend said gently "The aim of meditation isn't to distance yourself from your feelings. It is to acknowledge them without judgement, so that we may not give them into them and by extension, hurt ourselves and others. Do not block off parts of yourself Korra, we are all human, we are all made up of both light and darkness. Let yourself be whole. "
..."You can't run away from what you are Korra." The Sentinel said encouragingly as they sparred with their swords. "Embrace it. Make it your armor. And no one can use it against you."
...She had to keep fighting, she had no choice. Chin the Conqueror would stop at nothing to destroy her home town, and she would have to do everything in her power to stop them. Even if it meant she had to kill-
..."Let yourself be whole."
The memories vanished as quickly as they came. A moment of perfect clarity giving way to burning ashes, smoke and clouds of dust. And she was back to where she started before.
Korra coughed, giving her fingers an experimental grip, before pulling herself back on her feet. To her, it seemed like an eternity had passed, but now, she found herself back where she was before. The tanks were approaching, along with the Earth Kingdom soldiers. She looked to her side, and saw that Asami and Kori were still unconscious, groaning weakly and unable to defend themselves. She lay alone on the street, and nothing stood between the enemy and her friends.
Yet this time, one thing had changed.
She knew what she had to do.
As Korra stood up, she grabbed one of the cloths off the destroyed cabbage cart that lay on the ground, wrapping it tight to cover the bottom half of her face. She had to play her cards right, and be smart about it.
She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and waiting as she stood. The street slowly began shaking as pieces of rock and rubble rose in the air and the Earth Kingdom troops seemed to pause in hesitation as they sensed the tremors that shook the ground, and as the dust settled, they saw the sight of a half masked girl in Fire Nation armor, surrounded by a floating shield of rocks.
My Turn.
And with that, Korra charged.
A massive surge of water met an Earth Kingdom soldier's helmet with force, blasting it off his head and sending the soldier himself barreling backwards towards his comrades, knocking them all down with nine-pins. More soldiers were appearing in the alleyways around them, and those that weren't fighting the Fire Nation soldiers in the streets were busy fighting amongst themselves.
To Noatak, the scene was madness in itself. Why were they fighting them? He and his brother were clearly waterbenders, dragging a wounded girl from the Fire Nation prison. But one look at the soldiers told Noatak everything. They were lost in their battlelust, and in the midst of combat it seemed they didn't care who they were fighting so long as it was someone inside the Fire Nation colony.
"They're really serious about this." Tarrlok said, completely shocked. "They're attacking everyone in the city. Earthbender or Fire Bender."
"This is the reality of a battle Tarrlok." Noatak said grimly. "We gotta get Niska to a safe place and ride out the fight."
The younger brother nodded, checking the remaining flasks of water they had on hand. They had brought plenty along with them during the trip to the prison, but by now, they had used a fair amount of it defending themselves as they made their way to the streets, which had dissolved into a chaotic fighting mess.
"Take Niska." Noatak said firmly, gently lowering the wounded Kyoshi onto Tarrlok's shoulders, then emptying the remaining flasks of water they carried to create a protective floating ring of water around them.
"I'll clear us a path." The waterbender's eyes narrowed, and with great force, the ring suddenly exploded into all directions, swiping away the soldiers around them, both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom.
"Wow..." Tarrlok watched wide-eyed, as always, he was amazed at the strength of his brother's bending.
Noatak however, quickly grabbed Tarrlok's arm. "Don't just stand there, we gotta get out of here!"
I'm not half bad at this. Korra thought proudly to herself as she literally sliced her way through a platoon of Earthbending troops. The Caterpillar tank fired again, but she deflected the shot with a column of Earth that sprouted up in front of her, which simultaneously launched several Earthbenders into the air and into the next block, while the errant shell exploded harmlessly into the sky.
More Earthbending discs and rocks whizzed past her as she continued her quick advance, but Korra anticipated them, and rather than dodge them, she met them head on. One soldier, and Earthbender, simply widened his eyes in shock as Korra caught the boulder he threw at her with his earthbending, and launched it back at the group, knocking them all down.
With barely anytime to celebrate her triumph, Korra noticed that the Tank was turning again, loading the next cannon.
Stuck in between the tank and Korra, the remaining Earth kingdom troops dropped their spears and fled, but Korra simply sunk them into the ground when they took their first steps, giving them a good knock on the back of the head with the hilt of her sword as she kept running.
This just felt so...right. She thought. After spending so many weeks suppressing her Earthbending, just letting it out now was like relieving a burden on her soul. Not only that, it seemed like repressing it actually made it stronger now that she had let it loose, and her power was evident by the trail of unconscious soldiers she left behind.
Korra heard the frantic shouts of the Tank operators as she closed the distance, and the barrels of the tank cannons lowered to face her, but she showed no fear. The cannons were operated by Earthbenders? Then she would simply overpower them.
Taking a deep breath, Korra ran straight at the tank, remembering her own experience and lessons from the last time she faced a powerful Earthbender. The Arena, and that crazy woman who threw a boulder at her...yeah, this is nothing compared to that.
"Fire!" The tank commander shouted, and at that moment, Korra grounded herself and thrust her palms towards the tank...
...which suddenly exploded as the earthbent shells became stuck in the barrel. The steel frame of the vehicle groaned like a dying animal as the tank became twisted and smoking, while the occupants of the tank jumped out, covered in smoke and dust.
"Alright!" Korra shouted out loud, almost in disbelief that it worked. She felt so pumped, she jumped in the air in celebration.
"Wow..." A voice said behind her. "You don't see that everyday."
Crap! Korra thought. Her exhilaration quickly turning to panic as Korra realized that the ragged cloth she used to cover her face had fallen off in the melee, and she turned around to see a now-recovered Kori Morishita, along with several of her Earthbending soldiers.
"Umm..." Korra didn't know what to say, she only pointed dumbfoundedly at the destroyed tank. "This isn't what it looks like-"
To her surprise, Kori, and the colonials she had with her, didn't seem all that disturbed.
"Looks to me, like some Earthbenders came by and took care of these guys for us. I guess we can count ourselves lucky." Kori replied flatly. "Isn't that what you were going to say? I mean, there's no way a single Earthbender can do all this right?"
Korra blinked, completely taken back by how quickly Kori had grasped the situation and deduced that Korra needed to keep it a secret.
She barely had time to feel relief, much less question Kori's reason for keeping her secret, because at that point, Asami woke up, groaning as she rubbed her ribs. She had hit the wall hard, and it was evident by the dust and rubble that caked her black armor
"What happened?" The Sentinel asked.
"Korra and my Earthbenders took care of the tanks." Kori pointed at the smoking wreckage of one of the Caterpillar tanks, along with the upturned one from earlier.
"I...see." Asami said softly, somewhat ashamed at having been knocked out a a crucial part of the battle; especially as a Sentinel. Even then, she watched the scars of the battlefield casually, wondering just how many earthbenders came to their rescue. It looked as if a giant badgermole had torn the street apart.
However, true to form, Asami refocused herself, questions can come later and there was no time to dwell now, they had to act fast.
"Can your Earthbenders operate these tanks?" Asami asked.
"They'll find a way to make it work." Kori replied confidently, her own Earthbenders were already propping the first tank back up, while the second tank would need a little bit of mending, but it would serve, being powered mainly by Earthbending. Despite her own hidden allegiances, she hoped that the plan would work, if only to end the battle quickly and spare what was left of her home.
"Good, then we can move on." Asami nodded, at this point taking out a flare gun from her armor and aiming it skyward. She pulled the trigger, and within seconds, a column of bright green smoke shot up in the sky.
As the flare was raised into the sky. Korra looked uneasily at Kori Morishita, trying to see what game she was playing at, but Kori simply turned to Korra with an assuring nod, probably meaning that they would talk about this when it was all over. That was fine by her, as far as she was concerned.
Now, was time for the next phase of the plan.
That's the signal. Zhenjin breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the thin green trail of smoke ascending from one of the city districts. Now, it was time.
With a nod, Prince Zhenjin turned to Governor Morishita, who stood next to him at the steps of the ramparts.
"Pass the word down to the men. Detonate the blasting jells." He said calmly.
The Governor initially balked at the suggestion, but even he saw that the tide of the battle was turning against them. Despite the extra colonial troops on hand, the Phoenix Empire's soldiers were slowly being outmatched by the Earth Kingdom. It was as they said, desperate times indeed, called for desperate measures.
"It will be done." The governor bowed, then quickly ran off to fulfill his task.
With that little detail sorted, Zhenjin gave a smug smile, clasping his hands as he overlooked the burning city, and the advancing Earth Kingdom soldiers.
"You aren't the only one with a trap, Giam." He said in a low voice.
"Keep firing!" Mako shouted, directing the Firebenders and Archers at his command to pin down the Earth Kingdom troops that were fighting in the streets. They were doing damage, for sure, the arrows and flame blasts taking down many an earthbender who tried to rush the defending Fire Nation troops in the rear, but it was not enough. The main army had been pushed away from the breach, and to his despair, he saw that more Earth Kingdom soldiers were pouring through. Despite their best efforts, it wouldn't take long before the Earth Kingdom battalions overwhelmed the garrison.
Then suddenly, the world seemed to shake, with a loud overbearing noise that seemed to stretch on forever.
Both Yuyan archers and Southern raiders turned temporarily to look at the source of the sound, and eventually, all eyes turned to the breach in Yu Dao's wall, which suddenly exploded.
Instinctively, Mako and his squad ducked, just in time to avoid the hot rush of wind and debris that swept across the rooftops. The explosion swept through the space between the walls and buildings with a fierce, unnatural wind that threw up more clouds of dust, knocking many a soldier over. Others however, weren't so lucky, while several squads of Earth Kingdom infantry and tanks had trickled into the city via the tunnels, the vast majority of Giam's men were occupying the main Fire Nation army at the breach, and they bore the brunt of the blast.
To Mako, who watched from the rooftops. It seemed as if the entire mass of soldiers and the breach itself disintegrated. While Giam's men who were closest to the blast saw nothing, nothing but the flash that ended their lives, while the surrounding walls simply collapsed into the charred space of the blast, burying the remains of the Earthbenders under a mountain of rubble, and a burning pyre of smoke.
A deathly calm descended onto the battlefield, and the soldiers on both sides continued to eye each other warily.
It was a stalemate.
Giam slammed his fist on the console of the bridge as he watched his perfectly built army buried under the rubble of the blast. The Fire Nation had somehow mined the breach he had created with explosives, and he waited until enough of his army had fought its way through the gap in the walls before detonating it. In another time, he would have admired such ruthlessness, but today, it only filled him with fury.
Well... if the Fire Nation wanted to play that game, he would more than welcome it.
"Recall all units." Giam said coldly. "If the Fire Nation are so eager to destroy their own city, we can oblige them. It's time we level Yu Dao with the Goliath. Those too wounded and exhausted to continue will be left at the camp, the elite guards will join the attack on the ship."
Lee watched the carnage at the breach silently, gripping the handle of his sword tightly as he tried to imagine just how much they had lost today. "Yes... General." He said tersely as he made his way to the lower decks, while the message was being sent to the army commanders on the ground.
Nodding at the helmsman, Giam gave the orders for the Goliath to begin its slow descent to the army's camp at the outskirts of the city walls.
The scene at the Earth Kingdom camp was chaos.
Hundreds of soldiers were hurrying about, taking down the tents and shelters and packing them all in while moving the wounded to safer ground. Battalions that had numbered hundreds in the morning now assembled, barely a hundred strong. No matter how one looked at it, the operation was a disaster, and now, they were throwing everything they had left at the city.
True, the Goliath itself was probably overkill, but it brought small comfort to the men and women assembled below. The day's fighting had proven draining and demoralizing, and many soldiers simply sat on the ground in exhaustion, still numb from the shock of the explosion that stopped their last attack. Medics were busy healing those wounded, while the abled bodied soldiers were too busy hastily gathering their equipment and weapons.
In the midst of this chaos, amongst the piles destroyed equipment and vehicles, no one noticed two rather dented and damaged Caterpillar tanks being abandoned on the side, while several figures donning the green cloaks of the Earth Kingdom slipped out and made their way towards one of the Goliath's cargo bays.
They did it quietly, and no one was the wiser. As the last of the Earth Kingdom guards loaded onto the airship, the engineers closed the hatch doors, and the giant, lumbering ship began its slow ascent.
The insides of the steel ship was unlike anything Korra had ever seen before. Sure, she had read about the famed airships that the Firelord had used to destroy the Earth Kingdom during the hundred year war, but this almost dwarfed them by comparison. It was as though Korra found herself in a mechanical city floating in the sky, its walls interlaced with complex pipes, gears and steel beams. The air too, was filled with the endless noise of mechanical gears, and was hot with steam blowing from several pipes, almost as if the machine were alive.
"I...I can't believe we made it." Korra gasped as she marvelled at the technological wonders around her. From the looks of it, they were in the cargo bay still, hiding behind a mountain of crates. Around them, she already saw the Earth Kingdom troops making their usual rounds in platoons of five men, while the engineers worked the machines that Korra guessed, kept the airship afloat.
"Stay on your guard Korra." Asami whispered as she joined her in her hiding place. "We'll move swiftly and quietly, look for a break in their patrol patterns and follow my lead."
Kori nodded as she their surroundings warily. They had only managed to sneak a small group in. And with a literal battalion of Earth Kingdom guards on the ship, they would have to be careful.
"ATTENTION ALL HANDS." A speaker blurted out from the ceiling of the hanger bay. "PREPARE FOR BATTLESTATIONS."
At that announcement, Korra and her friends felt as if the entire ship had jerked forward into motion, and the low humming of the machinery quickly escalated into an almost deafening roar.
"They're moving the ship towards the city, we have to stop it!" Kori said sharply.
"Our objective is the enemy general." Asami replied sternly. "We didn't come here to take down the ship. Besides, how exactly can we do that? Last I checked, none of your men are exactly metal benders, they got us to the ship, but how can you expect them to take out Giam's men?"
"I... don't know..." Kori gripped her fist tightly, hating the fact that she felt so useless right now. "But we have to try. I doubt General Giam has any metalbenders on board, we should still have a fighting chance."
At that, Korra jumped in. "I'm with Kori. Killing the enemy general does squat for us if we have no headquarters left to report back to."
Asami furrowed her brow as she heard both arguments. "Even if that is true," The sentinel replied, "We'll have to split up into groups to cover the entire ship's engines and weapons rooms. How do we know that's even enough?"
It's not.
The three girls tensed up as they suddenly realized that a fourth person was standing behind them in the shadows. Just how long was he there- the voice too, seemed so familiar, and Korra couldn't quite put her finger on it. He must have snuck on at the same time as them, if not before.
"The girl's right." The man said sternly in a tone that brokered no argument. "To win this battle, you're going to need to take this ship down, and if you're going to have a chance to do that-"
The figure stepped out of the shadows now, and Asami and Korra quickly tensed up as they saw who it was, wearing a dark black garb, with that distinct mask that had been the object of their hunt for so many weeks. The Blue Spirit.
"-You're going to need my help."
General Giam leaned forward towards the smoking city of Yu Dao, which was still defiant and still standing; almost like a mocking testament to the failure of his attack, but no more. If Yu Dao would not become part of the new Southern Earth Kingdom, then it will burn in the funeral pyre along with the rest of the Fire nation colonies.
"How soon before we are in range?" The general asked impatiently.
The Mechanist checked the gauges of the console he was working on, measuring the Goliath's speed and altitude.
"Five minutes General." Teo replied coolly.
"Excellent," The General smiled delightfully. "Have the gunners ready the cannons, I want them ready by-"
Before he had a chance to finish, Giam suddenly stumbled forward as he felt the entire ship shake. A small blast echoed through the metal structure of the ship, and to them, it almost felt as though something had just torn itself through the hull of Goliath itself.
"What was that?!" The General demanded fiercely.
"Sir!" Lee rushed up to the bridge as he heard the latest report from the lower decks. "Word has spread through the cargo bay and the engine room, it seems like the enemy has infiltrated the ship."
"What?! But how?" Teo said in disbelief.
"It could be the Earth Kingdom colonials." Lee commented, "We did see them fight alongside the Fire Nation on the walls, maybe they used them to sneak past our lines."
Giam's however, was long past listening, he face was a mask of fury. "I don't care how or why. Hunt down these intruders!" He swept his arm furiously at the soldiers assembled on the bridge. "I want them destroyed. At all costs!"
"I've already sent out your guards sir." Lee saluted, before unsheathing his own sword to join his own troops as they scoured the ship. "They won't get a step further."
"See that they don't." Giam said fiercely, before dismissing his men and turning back to the task at hand. Yu Dao.
Victory was so close...
At that moment, Giam sorely wished Toph Bei Fong had joined his cause, for her metalbenders would have made short work of any intruders fighting on a metal airship, but he quickly banished the thought. He would never stoop so low as to beg for her assistance. Besides, he had more than prepared for such an eventuality. And if the enemy had indeed brought some traitorous earthbenders on board, they would be nothing more than dead weight when they faced his own guard of elite benders.
Next Chapter: The showdown between the Korralition and Giam's Gang. Can they stop him before Yu Dao is destroyed?
Thanks again everyone for your amazing support and the reads and reviews ! ^^
To those I can't PM:
Guest2: Thanks for reviewing! :) And thanks for the support! Yes I do try to keep Korra's Krew somewhat developed, even if they are minor characters, they shouldn't be completely ignored
RashestRumble: Zhenjin's role is indeed somewhat grey at this point, if I were to describe him, i'd call him an anti-villain, and this will also come into play later on. But the antagonist of the story? well hehe I can't reveal too much! my bad on the Jian, I just didn't think of sokka's space sword when I made that pic. I hope this chatper was the usually lovely moral grey for you ;) PS I've read the first parts of your fic, i'll email you my feedback this weekend, i'm pretty pressed for time atm, which will explain this slightly longer update time.
Isn'tLoggedIn : Thanks! glad you liked it :) As for Asami, I plan on having that little bit addressed later on, but when you work for Azula, you unfortunately have to accept that fact that you may have to cut throats in her line of business =S Stay tuned for more :) I'm glad the rescue worked for you as well.
UZU-Chan: Wow thanks Uzu! Yes, Asami was one of my favourites in the series, I just hope she gets better treatment in book2! Oh man...the things I have planned for the water tribe...;) once we get there. As for the description of Yu Dao, I tried when they were first introduced to it in a previous chapter, but i'll definitely work on description as we move onto other locales.
Random airbender kid? hehe, we shall see!