Chapter 34: Nature's Cruelty

"Azula and Yanwu have forced Korra into opening the Northern Portal, and trapped Jinora in the Spirit World! Meanwhile, Tenzin, Kya, and Bumi came under attack from Yanwu's elite firebenders and were forced to flee! After an intense battle on the high seas with the terrifying Shark Squid, they washed up on a previously undiscovered land inhabited by strange woodbenders!"

The forced march through unfamiliar woodlands was not a pleasant one for Tenzin and Bumi to say the least, especially since they were carrying Korra and Jinora's still unconscious bodies the entire time. All the while, the woodbenders leading them through the forest said not a word, and the forest itself was strangely devoid of any visible animal life. As it stood, the deafening silence and absence of anything in the forest, coupled with the growing heat, only served to put Tenzin and Bumi even more on edge than they already were. Looking around, Tenzin kept his eyes out for his sister, all the while silently hoping that she hadn't been captured or killed by more of these "woodbenders".

Woodbenders. Suffice to say, Tenzin still had difficulty fathoming how there could possibly be another kind of bender out there, another kind of element that could be harnessed and controlled by humans. This in turn raised other questions. Why hadn't these people ever made contact with the rest of the world? Why and how were they overlooked by the other nations? And perhaps more importantly, why hadn't the Avatar Cycle ever included them?

Tenzin didn't have an answer for any of his questions, which in turn only served to irritate him. He turned the questions and seeming contradictions around in his mind over and over again, only to come up empty every time. Like an animal running around helplessly in a maze completely incapable of finding the exit.

Tenzin was shaken out of his ruminating by the sight of a large cluster of huts and cabins past some thick foliage. After being marched past the plants, Tenzin and Bumi could see the settlement in it's entirety:

The settlement in question was a massive circular patch of cleared out land featuring over a dozen different straw huts, wooden cabins, and other buildings that were harder to identity. But what was clear was that every last one of them had been constructed by nothing more advanced then simple wood.

Running about the different buildings performing a variety of tasks were dozens of men and women clad in relatively simple, and for the most part somewhat revealing attire, with nearly all of the men being completely bare-chested, displaying with pride an odd-looking tattoo resembling a crude tree drawing. Many of the men also wore large bamboo or straw hats over their heads same as the ones who had found Tenzin and his family, and most of the people of both genders had their hair fashioned into ponytails, dreadlocks, or some combination thereof.

As it stood, any other details present were lost to Tenzin and Bumi as they were forcefully marched into the largest building in the village, situated at the way back. It was an enormous dark brown wooden structure that stretched twenty feet wide. Tenzin and Bumi had only mere moments to take in it's appearance before being forced in and thrown roughly to the floor.

"We found these unnaturals on the shoreline."

At this, a man Tenzin's height stepped forward. In contrast to his fellows he was covered from head to toe, albeit in largely simple cotton clothes with a long cape draped around his shoulders. The only real visual stand-outs in his appearance besides the cape were a medallion bearing the same symbol Tenzin saw on many of the male's chests, and an eerie wooden mask the man worn over his face that's top gave way to two curved horns and had it's sides adorned with ridges like those on a serpent's tail. All that was visible behind the mask were the man's large green eyes, which did little to ease Tenzin and Bumi's anxiety when they stared at the two brothers.

"Unnaturals? Curious. They do not resemble the armored demons. Are you certain that is what they are?"

"How could they be anything else? They did not command the wood, as any child of the Earth can. Instead, they controlled other forces. Some kind of black magic."

"I see…this is troubling. What of the young girls they carry?"

"We do not know. We assume them to be asleep, but they have slept a long time. Why unnaturals would have children is a mystery to us."

"They are in the Spirit World." Tenzin explained before several weapons were all aimed at his head and throat.

"Don't interrupt, unnatural!" one of the Woodbenders hissed. "You are on sacred ground now. Some of the only sacred ground remaining thanks to the actions of your fellow abominations. You will not defile it with your poisoned voices!"

"Hold, my friend." the masked leader said, raising a hand. Tenzin did his best to ignore the unsettling similarities the man had to Amon by convincing himself that this person was more reasonable. At least he seemed that way.

"You speak of a 'Spirit World'. I have never heard of any unnatural mention a 'Spirit World'. Whatever do you mean by that?"

Tenzin was so dumbstruck by the fact that these people had never heard of the Spirit World, that his jaw could have detached and fallen to the ground. But he managed to contain his incredulousness and answer the question as best he could: "The Spirit World is a world that exists parallel to our own. It is a world inhabited by creatures known as Spirits, beings possessed of great wisdom and power. Because of this we who know of it's existence do our best to please the Spirits, and keep them happy. But recently many of them have become very unhappy. These two girls went into the Spirit World to try and set things right."

"And that is why they sleep?"

Tenzin nodded. "Yes. Their spirits are in the Spirit World, and as such their physical bodies have been left behind until they return."

"And when will that be?" the Wood People leader asked with genuine curiosity. That in turn gave Tenzin hope that the man did not view him as some kind of dangerous heathen, and that in turn he could reason with him.

"I do not know." Tenzin confessed. "They have been there for a very long time. I can only hope that they will return soon."

As Tenzin said this, one of the Woodbenders turned to his masked leader. "Great Tribal Leader, you cannot seriously be taking these unnatural's words as truth, are you? It is obvious that they are spinning elaborate tales in the hopes of tricking us into lowering our guard. Once we have, they'll overwhelm us with more of their black magic."

"Calm yourself, my kinsman. These men do not look, sound, or act at all like the metal demons who have taken so much from us. Therefore, I will not be so quick to pass down severe judgment. Take them to the holding pen for now."

"The holding pen?" Bumi repeated. "What's a 'holding pen'?"

-X-

Korra awoke with a start as her spirit at last returned to her body. Her revival caught the attention of Tenzin and Bumi, the former in particular being very anxious to know about his daughter's and student's present condition.

"Korra! You're back!"

"Yes, yes I am." Korra said, shaking her head and doing her best to center herself as she struggled to reacquaint herself with the land of the living. Looking around at the small circular arena she, Tenzin, Bumi, and Jinora's body were all stuck in, Korra asked where they were.

"It's a long story..." Tenzin said before adding: "...where is Jinora? Why hasn't she returned to her body yet?"

As Tenzin asked this, Korra remembered what had happened in the Spirit World with her and Azula, and as she did, guilt came down upon her with the force of an avalanche, burying her in sadness, grief, and despair. Tears welled up her in eyes as she answered: "Tenzin, I'm sorry…we were attacked by Azula and the Dark Spirits…one of them took Jinora. I tried to stop it, but…"

Tenzin's face turned chalk white and his eyes widened in pure terror. Turning to look at Jinora's still comatose body, Tenzin pulled her close to him, and clung her tightly to his own body as he felt his heart race and mind buzz with activity. His daughter was in danger. Some of the worst kind of danger possible. And worst of all, there was nothing anyone could do to save her…

-X-

Jinora opened her eyes slowly as she at last regained consciousness. The last thing she had remembered was being carried off by one of the same creatures that had killed Furry-Foot and then blacking out. Standing up, Jinora could see that she was surrounded on all sides by thick fog. For a moment, Jinora considered using her airbending to try and clear it before remembering that as she was still in the Spirit World, she could not airbend.

Fear rising up from the pit of her now transparent stomach, Jinora looked around desperately to try and see if there was anyone or anything else in the fog.

Then she heard a haughty but also strained male voice yell out: "I am Zhao the conqueror! Zhao the Moonslayer! I will capture the Avatar!"

Looking to her left, Jinora could see a man she recognized by appearance and his given name as the infamous Admiral Zhao from the Hundred Year War. Like all of the other individuals Jinora's grandparents had encountered on their adventures, she had read up on Zhao and knew all there was to know about the egomaniacal sadist who had briefly killed the Moon Spirit before then being punished for his crimes.

And now Jinora realized she was bearing witness to that punishment.

"I am Zhao the conqueror!" he ranted again. "Zhao the Moonslayer! I will capture the Avatar!"

Deciding that it wouldn't do her any good staying near the now raving and clearly insane Zhao, Jinora backed away and hoped that the fog would be able to obscure her from Zhao's view, or alternatively that he was so locked in the throes of his madness that he wouldn't pay her any heed even if he did see her.

But the further Jinora went through the fog the more hopelessly lost and alone she began to feel. And as she struggled through the maddening fog she could hear other voices through it, all of them ranting about something or another, many simply repeating the same thing over and over again. That Jinora had no idea who any of the voices were or where they were coming from just made listening to them all even worse.

And as she continued to wander through the fog, Jinora found her own thoughts beginning to become more scattered, with her finding it harder and harder to focus and concentrate on the matter at hand. Instead, her mind wandered more and more, and Jinora also felt like she had difficulty so much as staying awake. It was as if her mind was being slowly shut down by some unknown force…

"I am Jinora." She repeated to herself over and over again."…the granddaughter of Aang. I will help the Avatar. I am Jinora, the granddaughter of Aang. I will help the Avatar…"

-X-

"…and so then Kya ran off into the forest while we were taken here by these woodbenders?" Korra asked as Tenzin and Bumi finished relating to her all of the events that occurred while she and Jinora had been attempting to locate and close the Spirit Portals.

Tenzin nodded. "Yes. I can only hope that these woodbenders haven't captured her as well, or worse…"

"Kya's fine, I'm sure of it." Korra said reassuringly, cutting Tenzin off before he could voice the possibility they all feared the most. "I saw her in action against Azula. She can handle some 'woodbenders'. And about that: how can there even be woodbenders anyway?"

"I've asked myself that question several times now..." Tenzin admitted. "...and I do not have any solid answer to give."

"I think I remember Wan learning woodbending when I saw how he became the first Avatar." Korra said, doing her best to recall all the details from the immersive glimpse into the past she had experienced not that long ago. "Yeah, he visited two Lion Turtles that were farther away than anything else. And that's where he learned metalbending and…woodbending."

"So they've existed as long as the other nations have." Tenzin noted. "And Avatar Wan was able to learn woodbending. But why haven't any of the other Avatars learned it? There's no record of woodbending being taught to anyone anywhere. Nor is there any record of an Avatar of Wood People origin…"

"Guess the cycle decided to just ignore them." Bumi suggested. "Maybe it decided woodbending wasn't cool enough to warrant a slot."

"Somehow, I doubt that's the reason." Tenzin said shaking his head. "Could it be that these people angered the Spirits somehow? Or angered Raava? And that is why they were not only left out of the cycle, but have never even heard of the Spirits or the Spirit World?"

Korra shrugged. "I don't know Tenzin, maybe. But I can't think of what these people did that would make Raava so angry that they'd be left out of the Avatar Cycle. And it's not like I can talk to her to ask either."

"Well, in any event I still feel that they are questions worth answering."

"The only question I think is worth answering right now, is how we're going to get ourselves out of this little predicament." Bumi said. "And without getting a bunch of splinters, if you catch my meaning."

"For now we just have to hope that Kya's evaded capture and can come to our rescue." Tenzin said.

-X-

Kya allowed herself a brief moment of rest and also a sigh of total exhaustion as she collapsed up against a large tree trunk. Considering who her pursuers were, she knew being so close to wood was not a wise move, but at the same time, she was deep inside a forest, so avoiding her opponent's primary form of attack was not an option. Kya could only hope that she'd manage to temporarily lose them in the dense undergrowth for at least a time.

Looking around, Kya could see trees identical the one she was resting against surrounding her as well as all manner of plants, many of which went past Kya's ankles in height.

Knowing that the Wood People would be intimately familiar with their own home, Kya knew that they would be able to find her eventually and that she could not stay in any one place for too long. With this in mind, Kya forced herself back up, and set off in a randomly chosen direction, all the while taking care to keep her eyes and ears on high alert.

After several more moments however, nothing changed. Curious, Kya dared to force herself up again and looked around. She saw nothing. Not about to take that as a sign to let her guard down, Kya instead continued cautiously through the woods until at last she did hear something, namely the sound of footsteps, heavy footsteps that were accompanied again and again by a loud thud. Kya also quickly deduced that they were from quite a few people, far more than the number of woodbenders that had been pursuing her earlier.

Taking cover behind a massive tree with a width greater than her entire body, Kya peered out and saw several columns of men clad from head-to-toe in armor marching through the forest with a clear purpose, also destroying any and all trees and plants that were in their way, but with very little fire. Instead they used swords and axes to get the job done.

"Stay on alert, men." the apparent leader of the group ordered. "The savages know these woods better than we ever will. They could ambush us at any moment."

"Why can't we just burn them out?" one of the men asked. "Instead of wasting all this time cutting down the trees with our weapons?"

"Because the fire and the smoke it sends up will attract too much attention too soon. If we maintain the element of surprise, we can slaughter them without a fight."

"If you say so, sir." the one soldier conceded as he got back to swinging at the trunk of a tree with his broadsword.

Watching this from behind cover, Kya quickly deduced that these people were not affiliated with her pursuers, and quite the contrary were no friends of theirs. But what really caught Kya's attention was what they planned to do, which she realized was eliminate the men who currently held her brothers and niece hostage.

Kya knew that she needed to warn her family and make sure they weren't caught in the crossfire between the war they'd inadvertently stumbled into. But to do that would mean surrendering herself to her pursuers and also possibly death. What was she to do then?

Well either way, Kya knew she couldn't stay where she was, especially with the armored men advancing closer and closer. So it was, that she ran off in the opposite direction, hoping that the armored men would be too busy destroying the forest to notice her.

-X-

"The Clan Leaders wish to speak with you." one of the woodbenders standing guard over the prison pens said matter-of-factly.

Nodding, Korra, Bumi, and Tenzin all stood up, with the latter stopping only to pick up Jinora's still comatose body. With Woodbenders standing guard over them at all times, Tenzin, Korra, and Bumi were all directed back to the large building at the very back. This time the masked man from before was accompanied by four others like him, each one wearing a similar mask but a different colored cape over their shoulders. They were also of different heights and builds, and between it all the group had no trouble telling them apart.

"I have spoken to my fellow leaders." the one Tenzin and the others had seen from before said. "And I have persuaded them to let you plead the case for your being something other than unnaturals."

"Unnaturals? What are unnaturals?"

"Abominations that wear the skin of Mother Earth's children but are not. They are fiends who must be destroyed at any cost."

"And…what would make you think we're that?"

"You come from lands other than our own, for starters." one of the larger masked men said accusingly. "And besides that, none of you have demonstrated the most tell-tale sign of being a child of the Earth; namely the ability to manipulate wood. Can any of you say with total truth that you can manipulate wood, as all children of the Earth can?"

As these questions were asked, Korra found herself realizing just how similar her current situation was to the trial the Steel Empire had for her parents and others, and how like the Steel Empire the Wood People were clearly suffering from their own fanaticism that was fueled by their particularly belief systems.

Great…another bunch of fanatics.

It was Tenzin who answered the question, reluctance and hesitation permeating his tone the whole time: "Unfortunately no, none of us can control wood. But we can control other elemental forces. Korra here can control the earth itself."

"Bah. That proves nothing. The metal demons can control the thing they wear over their bodies, all it does is show them to be monsters with power, nothing more. We require the ability to control the wood itself."

"Well, I am afraid that none of us can do that, but that does not make us monsters. We speak, we think, we feel, we love, and we live. Is all of that not enough?"

"The metal demons live too." One of the smaller and more lean masked men said contemptuously. "They also speak and think. It does not make them any more worthy of existing on this glorious green land. You have failed to produce a shred of proof that you are children of the Earth. And as such I recommend that these unnaturals be stoned to death without delay."

"Stoned to death? Are you insane? We're not monsters! How can you do this to us?"

"Because it is our way." one of the other masked men said coldly. "Because those who were not us showed long ago that they could do nothing but destroy everything in their path. And so we match their hatred and fervor with our own. None of these demons can live to draw breath. And that includes you."

But as the masked man said this, another woodbender suddenly rushed into the building: "Leaders! My most sincere apologies, but I have urgent news! The metal demons are attacking again! They have already cut down whole swaths of trees to reach us! We must hurry if we are to keep them away from the villages!"

The five masked men shared only a brief look with one another before turning back to the woodbender: "Tell all warriors to mobilize and strike at the armored monsters without quarter. These unnaturals will be taken back to the pens in the meantime."

"Wait!" Tenzin shouted. "Great leaders, what if I told you that my friends and I could help your people fend off these attackers? Would you then see that we are not your enemies?"

The masked men again exchanged a brief glance with one another before the one Tenzin and Bumi had met first asked: "And you would do this? You would fight alongside our warriors against the unnaturals?"

Korra was the one who answered: "Absolutely. From what I've gathered your 'metal men' are the same as the ones I've run into, and they're no friends of mine. I'll gladly help you fight them."

"So be it. We will give you the chance to prove yourself that you seek. Now go out and bring death to the invaders."

-X-

Jinora fell to her knees in despair as more and more the painful knowledge that she was hopelessly lost in the fog became fully apparent. No matter which way she went, Jinora was still surrounded on all sides by the maddening fog. And even worse, the more she continued to run, the more and more Jinora felt her concentration begin to slip, and her thoughts dim, like a candle light slowly fading away as the candle burned itself out.

"I am Jinora, the granddaughter of Aang. I will help the Avatar…" she kept telling herself again and again, but as she did she began to realize that thinking the thought over and over did not help her or ease her struggle but rather only served to irritate her further, the bitterness filling her mind the way the taste of bad food would her mouth. Tears begin to come out of her eyes as she continued to fight the growing madness within her.

"I am Jinora, the granddaughter of Aang. I will help the Avatar…"

Jinora buried her face into her hands and continued to cry.

But then at last, she heard a soothing voice call out to her: "It's alright, little one. You are not alone here."

Turning around, Jinora saw a beautiful tan-skinned woman dressed in shining white elaborate robes and with long and decorated hair of the same color. She glowed with an otherworldly essence and though her eyes were the color of ice they contained only warmth.

Even though her memories and the knowledge she prided herself on having were becoming harder and harder for her to access, Jinora still recognized this beautiful woman anywhere.

"Princess Yue…"

Yue smiled. "Hello to you too. I'm pleased that you know my name." She extended a hand. "Come. Let me help you."

Weakly extending her own hand to take Yue's, Jinora felt herself be pulled out of the fog as Yue rose up into the air, as she did shining a bright white light that briefly purged the fog and allowed her and Jinora to escape out of it. Looking down at the land the fog concealed, Jinora could see that it was barren, lifeless red ground with massive stalagmites and filled with wandering figures, people who had been hopelessly lost like her.

"What…what was that place?" Jinora asked weakly as Yue set her down on some grass overlooking the entrance to the foggy chasm.

"It is the Fog of Lost Souls." Yue explained. "A terrible place where only the most wicked of humans are sent by angry spirits. How you were sent there I do not know, but I know that you did not deserve it."

"I…I can't remember how I got there..." Jinora confessed. "...I just remember being carried off by a large monster that looked a bit like a Wolf-Bat, and then I blacked out. When I woke up I was in the fog…"

"Whatever put you there is no good spirit. Why don't you stay close to me for now, until we find a way to get you back home?"

"Can you send me back home?" Jinora asked.

Yue shook her head. "No, that is not a power I possess. But I can take you to someone who can send you home. Getting to him will not be easy, though."

"Why is that?"

"Because the Fog of Lost Souls is but one of many places where wicked humans are punished by spirits. And all of them are part of the same dark land that we are now in. It will be a long journey to get out."

"I bet it will be dangerous too…"

"Yes, yes it will be..."

-X-

With Tenzin having stayed behind to look after his daughter, Korra and Bumi were going into the massive woods alone to help their captors fight against their mutual foe in the Steel Empire. Though they had promised to fight for them, the Wood People clearly did not trust them to honor their word, and several woodbenders were watching over them at all times as they rushed ever deeper into the forest.

The Wood People forces came within sight of the Steel Empire phalanx in a short while, with the army of metal-clad soldiers marching tirelessly through the woodlands and cutting down any tree that dared to block or even line their path. The very image of the men chopping away at the trees with their swords and axes threw the Wood People into a violent frenzy, and they wasted no time unleashing the full might of their woodbending at the Steel Empire forces.

Massive roots burst out of the ground and sent up a cloud of dust that signaled the arrival of the woodbenders to the Steel Empire forces, who wasted little time retaliating with crossbow bolts and shot out pieces of metal courtesy of their metalbenders, the latter of which punched through any trees or bodies they connected with.

Not to be deterred so easily, the woodbenders pressed their attacks, also directing flurries of rapid-fire pieces of wood that, while not terribly effective against the Steel Empire knight's armor, was able to force them back for a moment. And that gave the wood people the opportunity to close the distance.

The next thing Korra and Bumi knew, they were in the middle of intense and vicious fighting between the two sides, with Steel Empire knights being tossed into the air screaming by the power and force of the Woodbender's manipulated roots, as meanwhile other wood people were mercilessly cut down by the Steel Empire's superior weapons. Bodies quickly piled up on both sides and the air began to reek of death as Korra for her part fought harder than she ever had before. Even the climax of the Equalist revolution paled in comparison to the intensity, violence, and savagery of what she had been thrust into now. Neither side had any interest whatsoever in taking prisoners, and as such the carnage only worsened with every blow. Even with the power of all the elements, Korra still found numerous iron bolts and shards of hot, speeding metal going by her way too close for comfort, as well as sword and axe strikes that came within an inch of separating her head or limbs from her body.

Sweat soon began to trickle down her brow and her lungs burned as she continued to weave out of the way of every swing of her opponent's weapons and every shot fired by the ranged soldiers.

Then one crossbowman who Korra had her back to took aim and fired an iron bolt. Korra turned around in time to try and throw up a shield of earth but she was too late. The bolt struck her square in the shoulder and Korra screamed in pain as she felt blood spurt out of where she had been struck as her entire arm felt like it had been blown clean off. Collapsing to the ground, Korra felt the effects of the blood loss almost immediately. As she looked up, she could see her assailant reload his weapon and then take aim at her prone form…

Then something struck the crossbowman in the back. He whipped around to confront it only for a massive blast of water to zoom forward and strike him square in the armored chest, the force of the impact sending him flying backwards. The water beneath him was then frozen to trap him.

Looking up, Korra could see Kya rushing into the thick of the battle, unleashing powerful waterbending attacks that forced the other Steel Empire soldiers away, and allowed Kya to reach the injured Avatar. Picking her up, Kya raced through the bedlam and bloodshed up a hill to some trees that had thus far been spared by the battle, where she wasted no time in applying waterbending healing to Korra's severe injury.

"Kya…you came back."

"Yes, and just in time too. Hang in there, Korra. I'm not losing you here."

Back down below, Bumi continued to be right in the thick of the fighting, as he did fighting with such fire that he realized that though he was supposed to retired, in many ways it was as though he had never left the front-lines. Grabbing and using whatever he could find, including the weapons of dead Steel Empire soldiers, Bumi became the Wild Man he had been legendary as in his early years. He attacked the enemy ferociously and without quarter with such force and fury that many of his opponents turned tail and fled as fast as they could go, Bumi grinning ear to ear at the sight. He liked it when they ran, as it meant less fighting for him. Plus, if he was being entirely honest with himself, he didn't mind being just a little bit feared.

As Bumi continued to hack and slash his way through the Steel Empire forces with largely weapons taken from their own men's bodies, he could see the Wood People begin to fall before several of the woodbenders performed a series of elaborate movements that saw the ground shake, which caught everyone's attention and in doing so brought about a brief pause to the fighting.

And then, the roots again burst forth, but this time it was only a presage of what was to come. As all looked on in awe, the trees forced themselves out of the ground and surged towards the Steel Empire forces. Next thing the armored warriors knew, they were being swatted into the air a dozen at a time by the controlled trees.

"Damned heretics, they call upon the trees themselves! I knew we should have burned the whole bloody forest down!"

In the midst of this chaos, Bumi had the presence of mind to dive to the ground as one of the trees swung one of it's trunk-like limbs forward and came within a hair's breadth of decapitating the retired commander. Getting back up, Bumi saw a particularly large and muscular Steel Empire knight advance towards him with a large battle-axe in hands and a sword sheathed in a scabbard slung over his shoulder. His helmet had a curved black horn on each side, and Bumi could see only his eyes behind the helmet, currently narrowed with hatred.

"So it's just you and me then, huh?" Bumi grinned. "I'm fine with that. I'll have you know, good sir I ranked among the very best swordsmen in the entire URN…"

Before Bumi knew it the large armored man had swung with his axe and broken Bumi's pilfered sword clean in two.

"…oh. Well, that isn't good..."

Ducking in time to avoid the next swing of his opponent's axe, Bumi backpedaled as quickly as he could as the titan came at him again, ready to cleave him in two. Bumi for his part, used his superior agility to his advantage, and did his best to put some distance between him and his opponent. Running further and further away as meanwhile the animated trees continued to smash into the Steel Empire forces all around them, Bumi kept his eyes peeled for some other weapon he could use. He didn't need to look for very long before stumbling upon a discarded polearm and grabbing it. As he held the weapon outward, he could see his enemy already surging towards him again, having covered the distance between them in a surprisingly short span of time.

"Faster than he looks, eh? Well I've still got the long range weapon. That gives me the edge!"

Bumi continued to hold his polearm out, and then thrust with it when his opponent was in range, only for the juggernaut to use his axe to swat it away with such force it went flying out of Bumi's hands.

"…or not."

Rushing forward at that moment, the man grabbed Bumi by the throat and hoisted him aloft with one arm. With his other hand still wrapped tightly around the handle of his axe, the man prepared to finish Bumi off. Before he could, one of the animated trees surged past them, it's bark brushing right up against the Steel Empire man's armored back and pushing him forward in such a way that he had to release his grip on Bumi, who wasted no time clambering away from his enemy. Seeing another discarded sword, Bumi grabbed it and struck out with it. Though his foe parried every strike, this time Bumi was able to keep from being disarmed, holding the handle of his weapon tightly as he struck out again and again with his weapon, all the while trading blows with his opponent's massive axe.

But as he continued to bring down punishing strike after punishing strike, it steadily became clear to Bumi that his younger and stronger opponent was becoming too much for the older man, who found himself struggling to maintain his defenses as his arms began to ache under the continued strain.

Finally, Bumi's foe landed a particularly hard strike that managed to disarm him, the force of the blow also knocking him down. Bumi tried to grab the sword but his enemy stomped on the blade, snapping it like a dry twig. Grabbing the broken half, Bumi rolled to avoid the next swing of his opponent's axe, and surged forwards with his broken sword, stabbing it at his enemy's neck area. His foe's armor protected him, but the force of Bumi slamming into him was enough to knock him down and dislodge his helmet. Throwing Bumi off of him, the man's helmet fell of completely in the process, exposing his face.

Seizing on his chance, Bumi dove to the side and grabbed a nearby branch that had broken off from one of the many trees during the intense battle. Waiting as his opponent surged towards him, Bumi timed himself before whipping around and swinging his branch as hard and fast as he could just as his opponent was right on top of him.

The branch struck the side of the man's head with such force that the branch itself all but exploded into a shower of splinters. The man staggered and let out a grunt of pain before falling backwards, his armored body sending out a loud thud as it hit the ground.

And no sooner did it, did all of the nearby Steel Empire soldiers gasp in shock and pause as they stared in awe at the sight they had just seen.

"It's…not possible…he felled General Anthony the Ram!"

"General who the what?"

But Bumi's question was unanswered. The terrified Steel Empire forces fled from the man who had downed their legendary leader, with the Wood People's own forces in hot pursuit. The animated trees continued to surge after them, swatting them aside or alternatively trampling them under their roots.

"They are in full retreat!" one of the Woodbenders shouted before turning to Bumi. "Thank you. It seems that we were indeed wrong about you. You have proven yourself our friend this day."

"Don't mention it, pal. Just doing what I do best. Saving the day with only the simplest of tools. Did you know that I once took out a man twice this size using nothing but a chair and some forks?"

-X-

Within his prison inside the tree, Yanwu could sense the comings and goings of the Moon Spirit as he realized she had descended into the darkest parts of the Spirit World. It did not take him long to deduce her reasons for going there.

"So, Tui has gone to the rescue of the Air girl, has she? Her trip shall be in vain. The friend of the Avatar will not escape the abyss. I will send the oldest of my Fennu down into the abyss after them. He will certainly be enough to ensure her…'permanent stay'."

Author's Note: You wanna know what's really, really darn sad? There are as of this posted chapter only EIGHT Mako/Asami fan-fics on this site counting this one. And nearly all of them are by the same author. Pretty depressing no? Ah well. Eight's better than one or zero. I will always support the Mako/Asami couple no matter what.

With that out of the way I hope you all enjoyed my Wood People-centric chapter. I didn't have quite as much fun with them as I did the Steel Empire but I still enjoyed myself all the same. And speaking of the Steel Empire next chapter will be giving us a return to the battle at the South Pole!

And no, the broken sword bit was not a Lord of the Rings reference. At least not an intentional one.