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Chapter 35: Desert Storm

The blast that had shook up the ship almost threw everyone off their feet at that instant. Crates and barrels toppled all over the cargo deck, while Giam's men were shouting orders frantically to secure the bulkheads and the guns. In the middle of this chaos, Kori, Asami and their squad stood quietly as they continued eyeing the Blue Spirit. Sirens and alarm horns began blaring now as the ship became alerted to the presence of the saboteurs on the ship.

Which was just great. Asami groaned, their cover was completely blown.

"Was that your doing?" Asami said menacingly, her black blade pointed straight at their enemy.

"Just a little something I planted in the cannons before I found you." The Blue Spirit said calmly. "It'll buy us some time."

And probably guarantees that we won't try and do something stupid like attack him on the spot. She reckoned.

Asami gripped the handles of her sword tightly as the Blue Spirit revealed himself, restraining herself from attacking the man they had been chasing for so long. Korra herself was very much tempted to follow through with Asami's train of thought, keeping her jian pointed at the man; the memories of her last match with him before the cave in was still fresh in her mind, and she was wary of letting her guard down again in front of him.

The Blue Spirit however, approached with a calm confidence, knowing that they would not dare risk a fight that would stray them from their mission. He noticed a brief flicker of recognition in Kori's eyes, but Korra and Asami were too focused on him to notice.

"Why are you helping us?" Asami asked, suspicious.

The Blue Spirit slightly bristled at the question. In reality, he could care less about a victory for the Phoenix Empire here, but Giam was a threat to not just the Fire Nation, but to the Earth Kingdom as well, and he needed to be stopped. Besides, this was the best way to keep an eye on the young Avatar, as part of his promise to uncle.

"I have my own reasons."

"Yeah, that doesn't sound suspicious at all." Korra mumbled bluntly.

"Wearing a shady looking mask does that." Kori replied, as guardedly (and carefully) as she could. "But we're outnumbered as it is, and as the guy says, we need to take down this ship if we want to win this battle. We may need his help."

"But how can we do that?" Korra asked.

At that, the Blue Spirit had an answer. "The Engine Room. We split into two groups. One will go for the general, the other for the engine room."

"And you think we'll just trust you off the bat like that?" Asami said skeptically.

The Blue Spirit shrugged. "Like your friend said, I believe even you would agree it's best that we ally. The enemy of my enemy is my-"

"We're not allies," Asami said firmly. "It just so happens our interests coincide, for now."

"Fine by me," The Blue Spirit said, crossing his arms impatiently. "Now are we doing this or not?"

A tense silence ensued, and Korra watched warily as Asami weighed the decision in her mind. She had no doubt the three of them can take down the man now, but there was a greater mission at stake here. A city to save, and friends to protect. And at that point, the group was spotted, and all eyes turned to the entrance into the hanger, where the heavy Earth Kingdom troops in their lacquered green armour gathered to block their path.

With the odds stacked against them, and getting heavier by the second, Asami relented. "Very well." She replied, to the relief of both Kori and Korra. "But we'll do this my way. You're sticking with me and Korra."

Korra was completely taken aback by the suggestion, partly from the pride that Asami would place that much trust into her skills, but also that she would have to work with their enemy to take down the general of another enemy.

No objections however, came from the masked man, and Asami quickly turned towards Kori, who didn't need an order to understand what her role would be in the coming mission.

"My Earthbenders can take the engine room." Kori said confidently. "Then we can regroup with you to take down the General."

"Be careful." Asami warned. "There's no earth here, so I hope your squad is as skilled with weapons as they are with bending."

"We'll manage." Kori smirked, gesturing at her own resistance fighters that were now arming themselves with pipes and discarded spears. "Now go! We'll take care of the engine room, take down Giam once and for all."

"For Yu Dao!" At that, Kori's small group of Earthbenders cheered, and they braced themselves as the Earth Guards attacked at last. To everyone's collective surprise, the water tribe girl attacked first, and Korra led the way with a huge blast of flame that knocked several guards aside in one fell swoop.

There was a flurry of activity on all decks as the alarms and sirens blared. The shouts and heavy clanking of metal boots resounded throughout the cargo bay as the elite guards armed with spears and swords assembled. The commander watched each platoon with a seasoned eye as he paced calmly in front of the formation.

"There's an intruder aboard men!" Lee wasted no time in pleasantries as he paced along the front of the formation. "There are also rumors that there may be some earthbenders among them. I want them found, and if possible captured alive, but don't hesitate to use lethal force if you need to!"

The Elite earth guards mumbled amongst themselves, some not believing what they were hearing, but all to eager to follow the order if it turned out to be true. Firebenders were the enemy, but earthbending traitors were worse. The Fire Nation, at least, was honest about what they were.

"You have your orders." Lee shouted. "I want two squads to clear the engineering bay, another two for the Engine room. The rest will stay here with me to cover the bridge. Dismissed!"

With a crisp salute, the guards quickly split into their groups, rushing to their various assembly areas, weapons in hand. Lee himself, unsheathed his weapon in preparation. Traditional Dual Daos. They had saved his life on many occasions and amongst Giam's forces, he was the only one to have mastered them, and that thought brought back a flood of nostalgic memories. Some not so pleasant.

Remember...these are Dual Daos. Two halves of a single weapon. Don't think of them as separate, because they're not. They're just two different parts of the same whole.

"Lee!" The captainly quickly turned to see the Mechanist, in his wheelchair, strolling towards him.

"Teo." Lee nodded, "You shouldn't be here, it's too dangerous."

Teo scoffed as he heard the remark, even as he was silently cursing that he wasn't more useful in this situation. "My engineers are being ordered to evacuate. You can't be serious."

"You know your orders Teo." Lee said firmly. "I'm going to have to ask you to evacuate with the rest of the engineers in the war balloons." Lee said firmly.

Teo gripped his fingers on the side of his wheelchair as he heard the order. "You can't do this. I need to be here Lee, I can fight!" The Mechanist pleaded. "I have to see this to the end."

"And you will," Lee nodded towards his friend, "But I can't risk having you fall into enemy hands should we fail. We can't take that risk, especially if the Fire Nation finds you and captures you."

"I'd die before I make weapons for them." The Mechanist said firmly.

"Let's hope it won't come to that." Lee smiled grimly. "Now go, you'll be there when we deliver the final blow. I promise."

Teo grunted in assent as he turned his chair to leave the bay to one of the emergency balloons, while Lee detached an escort of armed guards to ensure his safety.

As the doors to the escape bay closed, Lee turned back to the entranceway of the assembly area, where a commotion was already starting outside. The clanging of metal and armor, followed by grunts and screams of pain emitted from the down the hallways. Twisted red and blue lights seemed to bath the corridor, denoting the presence of combat and several guards were already fleeing away from the fight. Lee grunted an order to shut the steel doors that led through the cargo bay. The engineers left nodded, and had already activated the switches which would seal the doors shuts.

As the doors began closing, they suddenly burst open, knocking his men back while streams of flame seeped through the hinges and metal frame of the door, obscuring everything in smoke.

Firebenders.

Assembling his men, Lee quickly nodded towards his two squads to assemble a defensive formation. Whoever was there was looking to reach the bridge and the general himself. They would not get past him.

When the smoke cleared however, Lee himself was treated to a rather curious sight. A tall, well built man who donned a blue mask, as well as two teenage girls, a water tribe girl donning the crimson armor of the Fire Nation, while another wore the jet black armor of Azula's sentinels.

Just three of them?! Lee thought in disbelief, but his old soldiers instincts told him that these three were not to be underestimated, especially if they just took out one of his squads.

"For the Earth Kingdom!" Lee shouted at his men, who responded with a cheer of their own. "Elite Benders! Attack!"

Now it was the turn of the attackers to be surprised, as Lee's elite benders assembled in front of them, each of them levitating a heavy wooden crate...

The heavy guards posted to guard the engine room were thankfully non-benders, (not like Giam had any Metal Benders at his disposal anyways) and Kori's resistance fighters made quick work of them. Using their spears and makeshift weapons to force their way through the corridor.

Kori herself, was not without weapons. She threw her meteor hammers forward, propelling them with her earthbending to shatter the helmet of an unsuspecting guard, knocking him into the steel walls of the corridor while more of her resistance fighters covered her from the rear. The chained meteor hammers spun fiercely, taking out several more soldiers that were foolish enough to attack her.

Bodies tumbled all over the hallway from the earthbender's attack, and one of Giam's men boldly leapt forward, only to have the chains of the meteor hammers shackle his legs in mid-air, slamming him unceremoniously onto the steel floor, unconscious.

Before she could even take time to celebrate however, more guards approached the hallway, but these ones were unlike the other heavy soldiers from before. They seemed to wear a lighter, more maneuverable leather armor, but most importantly, they carried no weapons.

Benders.

Kori watched warily as they gathered in front of her, each one levitating a large box in front of must have brought something on board to bend with, Kori reasoned, probably some earth. She had no knowledge of any water or metal benders working with Giam. If it was earth or rock they brought on board, her own resistance fighters were proficient benders in their own right. So this would be an even battle.

An eerie silence filled the hallway between the two groups as the Earthbenders in Kori's team took point, ready to repel whatever Giam's men was going to bend at them. The officer in charge of Giam's men seemed to smile in anticipation, and Kori had an uneasy feeling about it all.

Then, Giam's benders attacked, thrusting forward in a powerful motion that caused the box to explode, propelling the contents forward.

Kori's benders had no chance, and the front rank of her fighters were torn apart as the enemy's attack scythed down the hallway, shredding around metal, through armor and into the pores, eyes and ears of her men. Screams of pain and agony filled the halls as the front rank of her fighters collapsed into a bloodied heap.

The resistance fighters widened their eyes as they saw enemy's attack. It was earth alright, but it was nothing they were used to bending.

Kori herself, brushed the grains from her armor that had managed to hit her.

Sand.

"They're sand benders! Watch out!" Kori shouted the warning, but it was drowned out as Giam's men retracted the sand and fired it forward again, in a literal sandstorm that blocked the corridor, scraping metal and tearing holes into the walls. Two more resistance fighters went down, sand clogging up their eyes, and ears, and drowning out their screams.

We need to get past this somehow. Kori thought through gritted teeth.

"The Elite benders have made contact with the intruders sir!" One of the engineers on the bridge reported to Giam.

The old general gave a satisfied smile as he heard the report. Metal benders would have been preferable, but only a few specialized benders in the world could bend sand, and with the many allies he gathered for the Southern Earth Kingdom, the Ba Sing Se remnants, the Gan jin, and the Zhang, he had also made sure he recruited the sand benders of the Si Wong Desert to his cause. And they had proven most valuable, digging up the trap for the Fire nation at the Great Divide.

The sandbenders came in handy, being able to bend a material you could carry easily in your own pocket. Their movements were fluid too, reminding him of the water benders, with the ability to quickly switch from offensive to defense if necessary. And sand itself was not like earth, it was not steady, or solid, making it hard for their enemies to counter.

In short, they were the next best thing from metal benders, perfect for close quarters combat in a crowded steel ship.

"How long before we reach the city." Giam asked.

"Another few minutes sir." The engineer replied.

"Good. Contact the engine room, I want them to maintain maximum speed. We must reach the city before they can reinforce."

"Sir." The engineer nodded obediently, before setting back to work on the controls.

The sand took Korra off guard, and she and Asami dived apart as the boxes exploded, sending a sharp wave of sand that slammed into the doorways behind them. The Blue Spirit simply blocked it, unsheathing his dual daos, he cut the stream of sand into several tiny slivers.

Not to be deterred, Giam's sandbenders attacked again, rushing forward while encasing sand around their palms, while the more proficient ones formed a circular barrier of floating sand around them, as if they were bending water. More non-bender spearmen circled around the trio, so that they were boxed in from all sides.

"Any ideas here?" Asami asked warily, her back was to both her allies. It had been easy enough fighting their way to the bridge cargo bay, but the Earth Kingdom general obviously had an ace up his sleeve in these sandbenders.

"Yeah. Less talking, more fighting!" Korra (as usual, Asami sighed) rushed forward, charging both her fists with flame.

The sandbenders responded in kind, sending a blade of sand horizontally, almost aiming to cut Korra in half. But the Southern Raider was faster, and Korra slid underneath the wave, and unleashed a massive wheel of flame that caught several sandbenders at their feet. That opening was all that Asami and the Blue Spirit needed as they both rushed, swords raised.

"Protect the sand benders!" The captain of the formation, a stern looking man in green lacquered armor shouted, and with his orders, the spearmen rushed forward, meeting Asami and the Blue Spirit's charge. That delay gave the sandbenders enough time to get on their feet, and prepare for the next attack.

Korra however, was faster. Jumping to her feet, she unsheathed her jian and rushed forward, charging the metal blade with her firebending. In one massive arc, she swung the blade forward, unleashing a blade of fire that swept towards the enemy commander's formation.

The earth guards and sandbenders widened their eyes in surprise, and those that didn't dive out of the way were quickly thrown back by the powerful blast, unconscious and smoking.

"Great work!" Asami shouted above the din of battle, having grabbed an Earth Kingdom spearman by the wrist, she quickly used her electro gloves to send a burst of electricity through the man, causing him to fall into a smoking heap, another sword slash to her side send another guard tumbling backward, and he was quickly dispatched by a firm kick to the nether regions.

"Go on!" The Blue Spirit shouted, spinning the twin blades of his swords to disperse a sand blast that came at him. "I'll take the commander, you take the general."

Asami nodded, dispatching another guard with her sword before running to grab Korra from behind, she had already slammed another Sandbender hard into the metal walls with a firebending roundhouse kick. "Come on Korra, let's finish this!"

"Like I'll let you get past me!" The captain of the Earth Guards yelled fiercely as he charged the pair with his dual daos, Asami was just about to turn around to block when suddenly the captain's swords hit solid steel.

The Blue Spirit jumped right in, with Dual Daos of his own.

"GO!" The masked man shouted, and the two girls nodded, running past the last of Lee's guards and towards the bridge of the ship. Lee grunted in rage at his own helplessness, still locking swords with this masked man who seemed so hauntingly familiar.

"I didn't think I'd see you here of all places." The Blue Spirit said calmly, which sparked the Earth Kingdom soldier. He kicked the Blue Spirit firmly in the abdomen, and as the man backed off, he sliced forward, taking a chip of the mask off from the top.

It had been just enough to see the scarred eyes behind the mask.

"ZUKO." Lee said fiercely, his voice white hot with rage.

"It's been a while. Lee." Zuko said softly, taking off the chipped Blue Spirit mask and letting it drop to the ground, his own dual dao blades raised to guard.

Kori gritted her teeth in frustration as the sandbenders continued their assault on her men, pinning them down the hallway with waves of sand that threatened to cut apart anyone foolish enough to reveal themselves. The sand itself was too fine for her own men to bend properly, and the ones who tried to counter were simply swept away by the sandstorm that filled the halls.

The sandbenders controlled the only entranceway to the Engine room, while her own men were taking cover at the intersections of the corridors, hiding behind doors and makeshift crates.

Still, she wasn't one to give up, and she had a quick, desperate idea in her head as she surveyed the scattered ruins of the battered hallways. There were at least several destroyed crates and ripped metal panels lying around the floor, along with the unconscious bodies of several Earth Kingdom guards in their armored suits.

"Everyone! Get a shield! A piece of wood, A crate. Something to block with!" Kori said authoritatively "Pile up a wall, we'll going forward."

The resistance fighters nodded, and from the debris caused by the sand, they began piling up anything they could lay their hands on, crates, metal scraps, as well as body armor, forming a crude makeshift wall.

"Alright! Let's go!" Kori nodded, and with a desperate cheer, the resistance fighters of Yu Dao surged forward, pushing their makeshift barrier forward.

The sandbenders at first, were shocked at the crude barricade being pushed toward them, but they responded quickly, sending another storm of sand crashing straight into the barricade. The barrage however, was too light to stop the charge, and the Yu Dao fighters pushed harder, gaining ground and getting closer to the sandbenders.

Finally, having had enough, the sandbenders gathered as much sand as they possibly could, forming a solid mass that was easily the size of a boulder, and sent if flying towards the barricade, smashing into it and stopping the advance cold.

But by then, they were already close enough for Kori, and the opening was all she needed.

From behind the crates, she ran forward, jumping in the air and unleashing her meteor hammers towards the Sandbenders, who had just realized they used up all their sand in the last attack. Before they could retract it back, Kori was already among them. Two were slammed into the walls hard as the chains of her rock hammer wrapped around them, while the other smashed directly into the face of the enemy commander, knocking him through the doorway and into the engine room, smashing several crates in the process and littering the floor with coal.

The engineers in the engine room watched with shock as Kori's fighters climbed over the barricade and sand, taking out the remaining guards that were protecting the ship's engines. Some fled, while others charged, only to be swept aside by Kori's men.

By this time, Kori looked over her shoulder, and saw that some of the sandbenders had recovered, and were already gathering up sand for their next attack.

But one good look at the floor told Kori all that she needed to know, and with a smirk, she ordered her earthbenders into a defensive stance.

"Use the coal!" She ordered firmly, "It's our only chance!" and at that, Kori herself gathered a wall of coal in front of her, blocking a blast of sand that was aimed at her. Another thrust of her arms sent the block of coal flying straight at her assailants, knocking back the sandbenders.

The resistance fighters cheered, and taking from Kori's example, they began levitating the coals on the ground and out of the boilers, some of which were still glowing red hot from the engines. More sandbenders joined in the fight, but they found themselves out matched by Kori's Earthbenders, who now had their own material to work with. One sandbender was lifted high into the air by a bed of coal, and dropped hard onto the metal floor, while others were burned badly as they were hit by the coals that were bent straight from the engine boilers.

It wasn't long before the remaining sandbenders were soon backed into a corner, and they watched nervously as Kori approached, casually twirling several pieces of searing hot coal above her hand.

At that point, she had her own bright idea.

"Bend the coal in the engines and boilers. Tear the ship apart from the inside out!"

Zuko grunted as he parried another hard blow from Lee's dual daos, the swords almost seemed to spark as they locked, but Zuko was more focused on his opponent, who glared at him with a look of intense hatred. Lee continued to attack, trying to sweep Zuko's feet from under him with a kick, but the Firebender quickly disengaged, jumping back while Lee did the same, the two swordsman circling each other like hunters tracking their prey.

"You and your people took away my life." Lee snarled as he attacked "Destroyed my home. And caused nothing but pain and misery. I'll make you pay."

That bit took Zuko a bit off guard. Lee hated the Fire Nation, and that hatred was now focused towards him. A small part of Zuko thought that he probably deserved it, considering his past actions. Still, even if Zuko knew all too well what Lee was going through, now was not the time to play nice, not when everything was on the line here.

"And you think suffering gives you the right to destroy these people's homes?" Zuko said firmly, watching Lee guardedly.

"We're liberating the city! From your kind." Lee shouted back. "We're the last hope of the Earth Kingdom."

"Is that what you call it? Liberating?" Zuko shot back. "The way I see it, you aren't that different from the Fire Nation."

"Yes, you should know. Wouldn't you?" Lee pointed one of his swords at Zuko accusingly. "I've heard what you did at Ba Sing Se, I was right about you back at my village, you're all the same."

Zuko however, had heard enough, and to Lee's surprise, both the Firebender's swords began smoking, almost glowing with fire. Even then, Zuko worked hard to push down the image of that scared and innocent little boy, who was only waiting for his brother to return home...

"I'm not here to apologize Lee." Zuko said fiercely, encasing both blades in a cloak of flame.

"I'm here to put an end to this."

The entrance to the bridge exploded apart violently as the fire blast simply blew the doors off their hinges, and a swirling inferno of flame and smoke filled the room, disappearing as quickly as it came. Through the smoke, the silhouettes of two girls were clearly visible.

"Protect the general!" One of the guards shouted, which was followed by several squads of soldiers as they gathered up. Four wooden caskets were placed behind the troops, similar to the boxes that the sandbenders were using to hold their sand. Korra and Asami braced themselves, readying for the attack, but before they could fight, a booming voice sounded from above the bridge.

"STOP!"

Obediently, the Earth Kingdom soldiers paused in their footsteps, weapons still levelled at the pair. At that moment, the heavy sound of boots on metal rang through the air, and Korra and Asami both looked up to see the Earth Kingdom general, resplendent in his green lacquered armor, topped with a flowing green cape. The man was middle aged, but he looked well built, and fit for a man his age.

"I'm on the verge of my greatest victory yet." General Giam said smugly as he revealed himself in front of Korra and Asami. "And the Fire Nation sends two little girls to fight me? I'm almost insulted."

"I think you'll find us more than a match for you." Asami taunted smugly.

To Korra's surprise, Giam simply let out a rather confident laugh. "The sentinels of Azula must be losing their touch, to underestimate me so."

Suddenly, the four caskets exploded, and four pillars of sand and earth rose into the air as Giam's men parted before their General's Earth Bending. The sand itself seemed to flow around the general, forming several whip-like tendrils that were not-too-different from a waterbending technique.

"In my campaigns for the Earth King, I was known amongst the Council of Five as Giam of the Desert." Giam gave a dark grin as two pillars of sand suddenly sprouted in front of him, curling them towards the girls and shaping them into sharp spikes. "And trust me, the sandbenders you've fought before are nothing compared to me. You won't be getting out of this alive."

Korra watched with apprehension as the tendrils of sand seemed to harden as they took shape, almost glinting menacingly like an iron blade, but Asami simply shook it off with a smirk.

"I've heard better boasts from my recruits." She levelled the black blade at the general. "Let's go."

The battle sounded almost like a thunderstorm from the port of Yu Dao, but even from this distance, the rising columns of black smoke stabbed into the red sky clearly. Yu Dao was burning.

That however didn't concern Phoenix Lord Azula, as far as she was concerned, a mere city was an acceptable loss. More importantly, she had received word from Chan and Ruon-Jian on the movements of the Crimson Armada. Soon, this would be over, one way or another.

"Ty Lee, prepare the royal guard. It's time I pay my son a visit." Her lips fell into a smile as she viewed the battlefield. Everything was proceeding smoothly.

"As you wish, Azula." Ty Lee said cheerfully with a smile.

Coming up: The conclusion of the battle with Giam. Azula is on the scene!

Sorry for the wait, I'm getting major writer's block now, and as a consequence, this chapters suffered a bit, but I figured the best way to get over it was just to write on through. The Earth Arc is nearly over though, and just in time for the beginning of Book 2 of Korra! Can't wait :) Thanks everyone who has been reading and keeping track of the story XD I have maybe a few more chappys (will be shorter though) before this part ends, stay tuned!

To those I can't PM

Uzu chan - thanks! :) I won't forget Mako as he does have a role to play in this, but when you have awesome fighters like Kori, Asami and korra and zuko, I can only squeeze so much in haha! And yes, i'm dying to get this earth arc done and over with and get on with water!

Rashestrumble - Yep, I know I totally have her in a non-southern raider outfit, but I fell in love with that design in Ep 1 of Korra so I just gave her the armor, a little inaccurate I know, but I think it suits her better :) If anything, I hinted that only regulars get those suits, and korra is still considered a colonial.