Chapter 35: The Battle

The two armies, consisting of tens of thousands of men, faced each other. Although they were still a good distance away from each other, they could see each other and every single person could feel the tension.

Zuko sat on top of his armored komodo rhino. His generals on either side of him also rode komodo rhinos. Zuko's armor had the traditional red, black, and gold colors of the Fire Nation. Rubies were encrusted in the armor.

Jet, on the other hand, wore traditional Earth Kingdom armor and rode an armored ostrich horse. Sokka was right beside him, wearing traditional Water Tribe armor.

"I noticed a small river in the north side of the field." Sokka told Jet. "I told the waterbenders to try and stay in that area."

Jet nodded. "It's one of our advantages. It's such a small, shallow river that the Fire Nation may not have noticed it."

Sokka stared across the field at the Fire Nation army. "Don't get yourself killed, Jet."

"Same to you, my friend." Jet replied. "This is for Katara. I won't lose." He raised one of his swords in the air. "Archers, take aim!"

The archers, who stood behind the other warriors, raised their bows and arrows into position. They could see that the Fire Nation archers had also taken aim.

For a moment, all was quiet and still. Then the war horn sounded, signaling the start of the battle.

"Charge!" Jet shouted.

The rebel army charged towards the Fire Nation army. The Fire Nation army had also begun charging forward.

Before the two armies collided with each other, the archers released their arrows. The arrows took out some of the warriors on both sides, but the armies didn't slow down.

There were loud shouts as the two armies clashed. Fire met water and earth as the benders unleashed their attacks.

At first, Zuko seemed to be untouchable. Sitting atop his komodo rhino, he lashed out with huge fiery blasts at any enemy who tried to approach him. His generals stayed close to him, creating swirls of fire that scorched the rebels.

Jet grit his teeth as he watched Zuko from afar. He needed to find a way to get to him. "I'm going for Zuko! I need defense behind me and at my sides!" He yelled at some of his warriors. They immediately went into position.

On his ostrich horse, Jet had the advantage of speed. As he raced towards Zuko, his men defended him from attacks aimed at him.

Jet saw that Zuko, who was in the middle of fighting an earthbender, was distracted. Jet raised one of his hook swords, preparing to swing as his ostrich horse rushed towards Zuko's komodo rhino.

Zuko turned his head just in time and saw Jet rushing towards him. He dodged Jet's attack by leaning far to the right. At that moment, a rock flew through the air, sent by the earthbender Zuko had been fighting, and hit Zuko's komodo rhino. Zuko was knocked off the animal.

Before Zuko hit the ground, he twisted his body and did a flip so that he would land on his feet. Flames shot from his feet while he was still in the air, burning the earthbender and keeping other enemies away.

The komodo rhino crashed into Jet's ostrich horse, which knocked Jet off his animal as well. When Jet and Zuko's men saw that they were both on the ground, they rushed to protect them, and began fighting each other. Zuko and Jet soon lost sight of each other; there were too many men fighting around them, separating them.

It was total chaos. Zuko was constantly defending himself against attacks from waterbenders, earthbenders, and swordsmen. A couple of chi blockers leapt at him, intending to take away his bending, but he blasted them away with fire.

Zuko found himself facing another earthbender. He could tell that this earthbender was stronger and more skilled than the others he had fought. Zuko dodged several huge chunks of earth flying towards him. Then when the ground beneath him began to crack, he jumped in the air as he punched forward multiple times, sending fiery blasts towards the earthbender. The earthbender had to stop his attacks in order to defend himself.

Suddenly Zuko sensed movement to his left. He turned a moment too late, and felt a sharp pain in his arm as a rebel chi blocker jabbed at him. Startled, Zuko quickly stepped away from the chi blocker and used a fire whip to keep him at a distance. A few more jabs and I would've temporarily lost my bending, Zuko thought grimly.

The ground that they were fighting on wasn't flat. There were dips and huge boulders that obscured the view of the warriors elsewhere on the battlefield. Zuko faced both the chi blocker and the earthbender, knowing that it wasn't going to be easy taking on both of the skilled warriors.

The chi blocker leaped at Zuko again, and Zuko swiftly dodged. At the same time, the earthbender sent a multiple rocks flying his way, and one of them hit Zuko's shoulder. Gripping his shoulder, Zuko kicked upwards, sending fire towards the chi blocker. If he could take out the chi blocker first, then he could focus on defeating the earthbender without worrying about his bending being taken away.

Out of the corner of his eye Zuko could see the earthbender prepare to strike again, and braced himself. Suddenly he saw a flash of pink and a familiar braid. It was Ty Lee, launching herself at the earthbender and attacking him.

With Ty Lee distracting the earthbender, Zuko was able to take out the chi blocker. He turned to help Ty Lee take down the earthbender, but at that moment he saw the earthbender gain the upper hand. He watched in horror as Ty Lee was forcefully knocked backwards by the earthbender's attack. She crashed against one of the huge boulders; the back of her head hitting the rock.

Her eyes met Zuko's for a split second before they closed and her body went limp.

Ty Lee. The sight of her lifeless body made Zuko's chest hurt. The pain was almost unbearable. Then it turned into rage.

Zuko turned and attacked the earthbender with a ferocity that he hadn't had before. The earthbender tried to defend himself and attack back, but Zuko overpowered him. The earthbender screamed as he was engulfed by flames. Soon all that was left of him was a charred corpse.

By now, there were less attacks consisting of fire, water, or earth. That meant that the benders were either dying or getting their bending taken away by chi blockers. But the sounds of swords clashing didn't stop. Jet slashed his way through his enemies; no one could match his aggressiveness.

Now on the northern side of the field, Zuko surrounded himself with huge swirls of fire, taking out rebel after rebel. Their bodies were starting to pile up around him.

It was hard to tell which side was winning. Many generals and soldiers on both sides had fallen, and many were still fighting.

Zuko was battling several rebel warriors, including a waterbender, when he noticed several rebel chi blockers approaching him. They were ganging up on him, determined to take away his bending. Unfortunately, Zuko wasn't able take his attention away from the warriors he was currently fighting to deal with the chi blockers. Enemies surrounded him so his movements were limited, and he felt several jabs from the chi blockers. His muscles ached, and he felt his bending ability vanish. He knew that he wouldn't be able to firebend for a while now. But that didn't stop him from fighting.

Zuko unsheathed his dual broadswords and cut down all the chi blockers who had attacked him. He attacked swiftly and skillfully, and soon all of the enemies who had surrounded him moments ago were lying dead on the ground.

In the midst of all the mayhem, Jet found Zuko on the battlefield again. Jet realized that Zuko's bending was temporarily gone, and he knew that this was his chance. He rushed towards Zuko, swinging downwards with his hook swords. Zuko blocked his attack, and their swords clashed together.

Out of respect, the men around them didn't interfere. They knew that this was the fight that would determine the outcome of the battle.

Jet and Zuko were both exceptionally skilled in swordsmanship. Piandao had trained both of them, at different times in their lives. The soldiers watching them could describe their fight as magnificent, but it was also the most intense fight they had ever seen.

The ground was wet with the blood of fallen men, making it slippery. But Jet and Zuko kept their balance as they attacked, blocked, and dodged.

Jet's eyes were filled with a rage and hatred that Zuko had never seen before. His anger fueled him, and it almost seemed to give him an advantage. He was the most aggressive opponent Zuko had ever fought.

They were both thinking of the same woman as they fought, and they both knew it. Zuko grit his teeth as he fought with all the strength he had left. So far they had only given each other shallow, non-fatal wounds, but the injuries still stung and weakened them. But on the outside, neither of them showed that they were tiring.

Zuko leapt backwards to avoid one of Jet's attacks, and when he landed with a splash, he realized that he was standing in a shallow river.

Jet stood a few feet away from him. "You took Katara away from me. She was mine, and she still is mine!" His voice was filled with malice. "You're going to pay for what you did."

"She was never yours." Zuko answered, gripping his swords tightly.

"We were betrothed!" Jet yelled. He was shaking with anger. "After I kill you, I'm going to find her and she's going to be my wife."

Zuko responded by attacking him, and their swords clashed again. They were evenly matched, so neither of them gained the upper hand over the other, and the fight went on.

They were both moving so quickly that it was difficult to pay attention to their surroundings. All of their focus was on attacking each other or defending themselves.

And then it happened. Zuko's foot slipped on a rock at the bottom of the river as he was stepping backwards to dodge an attack. He lost his balance for half of a second, and that was all the time Jet needed. Jet lunged forward and his sword slashed diagonally across Zuko chest.

Zuko's armor had already been damaged from all of the fighting, so it did little to protect him. The red rubies that had decorated his armor were sent flying from the force of Jet's strike, landing in the river.

Jet stumbled backwards, breathing heavily. He was injured, more than he let on, and his final attack had used up the last of his strength and energy.

Zuko knew that he was fatally wounded. He sank to his knees in the river. With his last breath, he murmured one name.

"Katara."