Jinora and Bumi ducked and evaded Zuko's fire blasts. Cautious, defensive, getting a feel for how he fought. He chased them down wherever they fled. While they acted like the true airbenders they were, he made the attempt to keep battle within the length of his sword. With each swing of the blade, he whirled out a scorching blaze. They never attacked him in return, content on leaping away from his strikes and shielding themselves with the occasional rush of wind.
"Lord Zuko, please," Bumi said, as he spun backwards through the air. "I don't want to fight you."
Zuko propelled himself forward with a jet of flames from his fists, and a whirling, deadly sword slash. "Then you will die!"
Wind collided into his chest and threw him backwards before his attack could find purchase. Jinora took a stance between them, facing Zuko with her palms raised. "Uncle Bumi, I don't think you're going to get through to him. He's under Sen's control."
"There must be something we can do aside from attacking him," Bumi insisted. "I grew up with him. He was a good friend of my dad's."
"I know, but this situation is difficult." Jinora repositioned herself as Zuko prepared another assault, sliding her steps sideways. "We can't dodge him forever."
Zuko howled in rage, lunging forward with a whip of fire lashing from his hand. Jinora sidestepped the initial strike and circled around it, maintaining her distance. With a quick shift of his wrist, Zuko caused the whip to snap back towards her. The searing tendril wrapped around her ankle, tightened, and yanked her off her feet. Fire seared into flesh, lifting a pained shout from Jinora's throat. Zuko tugged the whip forward, and Jinora's world spun. The ceiling, the ground, the walls, all of it spinning. All of it leading towards the outstretched tip of Zuko's sword.
"Jinora!" Bumi lowered himself to one knee and thrust a palm forward, releasing a concussive shot of wind into Zuko's chest. Zuko's eyes widened at the sudden impact, spittle spraying from his lips as he tumbled head over heels backwards, the flaming whip extinguishing into flickering embers. As soon as Jinora was free, she spun herself in midair and floated gently down to her feet.
Zuko flipped back to his feet with an explosive blast of fire from his heels. Jinora and Bumi evaded to either side of the burning stream. Zuko tracked them, waited a moment. When he had them in his sights, he swung his blade through the air. Fire arced in a burning wave, slicing a melted fissure through the icy ground. A second cut, and a second wave followed, one racing towards either airbender. They both jumped back, countering with defensive blasts of wind to disperse the flames.
Zuko shifted his stance and swung his sword a third time. A burning wheel erupted from the blade, growing stronger as it spun through the air. Heat sparked through the entire chamber, broiling and stifling in its power. Bumi ducked beneath the flames, while Jinora leaped over them, both of them spinning to evade the screeching inferno. A second slower, and they'd have been incinerated. The burning wheel continued on and exploded against the far wall of the cavern with a spray of melted ice.
"Enough!" Zuko threw his sword to the side and held both his arms outward. Towering flames erupted from his body, spreading through the entire cave with a destructive spark. If he couldn't hit them with singular attacks, he would burn everything.
Jinora whirled her arms outward moments before the flames consumed her, causing a spinning dome of air to surge around both airbenders. Fire swirled around them. While her whirlwind held the flames at bay, heat rapidly built within. Sweat poured from her brow, creasing a grimace across her face. With a strained breath, she began to rotate her arms in a circle. The dome spread wider.
"Uncle Bumi, follow my lead!" she called.
Bumi watched her, and his eyes sparked with understanding. Positioning himself next to her, he mimicked her actions and rotated his arms in the same circular pattern. "You got it!"
Wind raged, as the spinning dome grew stronger and expanded. Within moments, the whirlwind surged through the entire cavern. Zuko's flames flickered and weakened, rapidly snuffed out by the stifling vortex. A few more seconds, and the wind howled. Raging, furious, and unrelenting as a summer storm. Zuko raised his arms in front of his face to shield himself from the gale. He stepped back, widened his base. He attempted to stand strong. No use. A concussive wall of wind slammed into his body and lifted him off his feet. He crashed into one of the frozen walls, but he didn't fall. Unrelenting winds pinned him against the ice. For two long minutes, he lay flattened against the wall, forced to endure the storm's fury. He screamed, but no sound came out, drowned out by the cyclone's howl. His protests went unheard.
When Jinora and Bumi finally slowed the wind to a stop, Zuko plummeted to the ground with a weak thud. After five deep, long, heaving breaths, he attempted to stand. Muscles strained and shuddered under his own weight, refusing to obey his mental commands. He managed two stumbling steps before collapsing flat onto his face. He coughed, heaved a deep groan, and remained still.
Bumi uttered a relieved sigh. "Well, that was more excitement than I signed up for. What now?"
"Find a way to restrain him." Jinora sat cross-legged on the ground, closing her eyes as she shifted into her meditative pose. A second later, her astral form flickered into existence above her body. "I'm going to see if I can find the others. I'll be right back!"
"Oh sure, don't mind me. I'll just wait here with the possessed firebender who tried to kill us." Bumi folded his arms, watching as his niece disappeared through one of the cavern walls. With a deep sigh, he scratched his head and wandered over to the unconscious Zuko. "So, yeah, sorry about that, Lord Zuko. You know, I didn't actually want to hurt you, but I mean you were attacking us and all..."
No answer. Zuko remained motionless, collapsed with his face flat against the ice.
Bumi lowered himself and sat cross-legged on the ground. "I just want you to know, we're gonna find a way to help you, I promise. Izumi and Iroh, too. Whatever it takes. No crazy spirit is going to have his way with you guys, not while I have something to say about it. Although, I'm not exactly sure how the whole 'you being younger than your grandson' thing is going to work. I mean heck, your daughter is probably old enough to be your mother now. There's a freaky thought, huh? Wish I could get a little of that de-aging mojo. I'm not as young as I used to be, you know." Bumi chuckled, leaning back on his hands. "We'll figure it out, one way or another. Once we fix things, that is. You, Toph, my mom, everyone this Sen guy has hurt—you'll be alright. Just like always."
"Mako!" Bolin dove across the ground, flames licking at the edges of his jacket so close he could smell the fibers melting against the heat.
Mako lunged in front of his brother, bending away the incoming fire blast with a whirl of his arms. He countered with two quick jabs of his own, flames leaping from his fists. Ozai swatted them away. A wicked sneer snaked across the former Fire Lord's face. He raced forward, lunged at the two brothers, and led with a vicious, spinning kick, sparking an inferno from his heel. Mako took a step back and swiped with his arms, cutting the fire stream in two. Flames exploded, pushing him back another step, clumsy and off balance. Ozai seized the moment with a secondary blast of fire that would have incinerated him, had Bolin not yanked him out of the way. Mako and Bolin both fell over themselves, crashing against the frozen ground in a tangle of limbs.
"This would be so much easier if I had some earth to work with!" Bolin declared, as he scrambled back up to his feet. He gestured with an indignant groan at the sheer icy cavern around them. "This is so not helping!"
Mako flipped upright with a countering shot of fire, forcing Ozai back a step. "What happened to your backpack? You had rocks in there!"
"Well, I lost it when we fell through the ice!"
Ozai raced forward again, leading with a double blast of fire from both his palms. Mako met the man's flames with his own. The two streams collided and pushed each other to the side, spitting gouts of flames outward so large they engulfed half the cavern. Bolin covered his head and ducked behind his brother as the heat from both attacks began to boil the small chamber. Mako grimaced, straining to stand firm against the overwhelming might of the former Fire Lord.
"I don't know how much longer I can hold him off!" Mako said, as his legs buckled down to one knee. Sweat poured down his brow. He pushed back harder, with everything he had, but still the opposing flames broke through his own. "He's too powerful!"
"Okay, uhhh, just hold on a minute." Bolin looked up at the plumes of fire spewing around them, searching for a clear path. When he found one, he scrambled out from behind his brother and broke into a sprint. "I'll figure something out!"
"Bolin, wait! What are you—?"
Mako's words cut out with a sharp gasp of pain, as Ozai's flames surged around his body. He redoubled his efforts, to no avail. With each passing moment, he slipped further. A few more seconds. That's all he had left in him. A few more seconds, and he'd be incinerated.
The assault stopped. Mako fell forward in surprise, landing with his palms flat against the cold ground. No more fire. No more heat. No more pain. With a frantic look, he lifted his attention towards Ozai to see what could have stopped the man's attack.
"What in spirits name are you doing?" Ozai questioned.
Bolin stood behind him, arms wrapped around the man's waist in a tight, unrelenting grip. "Keeping you from hurting my brother!"
With a single, firm yank, Bolin lifted the man backwards over his own head and slammed him with a thudding crack against the ice. A shocked grunt burst from Ozai's throat. The former Fire Lord's body fell limp momentarily, stunned from the impact. Bolin immediately repositioned himself to better grapple the firebender, locking the man's arms behind his head. By the time Ozai began to regain his senses, he found himself pinned against the ground with Bolin kneeling atop his back.
"Alright, little bro!" Mako called, with an excited laugh. Leave it to Bolin to improvise in the most ridiculous but effective way possible.
"Get off of me, you filthy swine!" Ozai growled, struggling against the hold.
"Uhh, yeah, no, not gonna happen," Bolin said.
Mako climbed back to his feet, shaking his hands back and forth in attempts to soothe them. The burns weren't severe, and hopefully wouldn't take much to heal. "Just hold him there, Bo. I'll figure out what to do with him in a minute."
Ozai's expression darkened. "I said. Get. Off!"
Flames exploded from his body. Bolin shouted in surprise, as the scorching blast launched him into the air. He hit the ground with a hard flop, jacket singed and smoldering. A weak groan squeaked out his throat, but nothing more. While he managed a few desperate twitches of his fingers, any attempts at sitting upright resulted in pained gasps. He remained lying flat on his back, staring blankly up at the ceiling.
"Bolin!" Mako ran to his brother, sliding down onto his knees next to him. "Bolin, are you alright? Say something!"
"You two are fools to think you could defeat me!" Ozai stood upright and spread his arms outward. Flames coiled around his feet, racing through the entire cavern. "You are nothing but mere peasants to me! You are weak! You are worthless! You are—!"
Pop pop... BOOM!
Ice and fire exploded at Ozai's feet, launching him off his feet with a dazed scream. He slammed into the wall behind him. No more words. No more boasting. An unconscious glaze warped his expression, eyes rolling into the back of his head as he collapsed face first against the ground. He didn't move.
Bolin grabbed his brother's arm and pulled himself back to his feet. "What on earth was that?"
"I have no idea." Mako held his arm around Bolin's shoulder for support, and looked towards the far end of the chamber. His gazed settled on a newly opened path in the ice, where a familiar figure entered into the cavern.
"You two alright?" Korra asked, hurrying towards them.
"Korra, man am I glad to see you," Bolin said, with a weak cough. He strained to keep himself upright, leaning heavily against his brother on trembling legs.
"Yeah, seriously, perfect timing," Mako said. "But how did you—?" His voice caught dead in his throat when he noticed the towering figure of a third-eyed woman standing behind her. "Korra, look out!"
"Mako, it's okay, relax," Korra insisted. "This is going to seem... well, odd, but she's on our side. Really."
P'Li glared at him. "You're welcome, by the way."
"What?" Mako's eyes flared, staring daggers at the giant woman. "Are you insane? She's... her!"
"Yeah, I know," Korra said, "but I was able to free her from Sen's control. She wants to help us."
"And from where I'm standing, it looks like you need all the help you can get," P'Li stated, planting her arms across her chest.
Mako narrowed his eyes into a stern glare, meeting the woman's gaze. With a disbelieving groan, he shifted focus back to the Avatar. "You really expect us to trust her just like that?"
"No," Korra said, with a shake of her head. "I expect you to trust me."
Mako heaved a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "Fine..."
"Good, now let's keep searching for the others."
A blue flicker sparked in midair between them, drawing their attention as the noticeable form of a glowing spirit materialized. Mako recoiled with a startled shout, almost dropping his brother in the process. When he realized who the spirit belonged to, he eased a deep breath and calmed himself.
"Good to see you, too," Jinora said, with an amused smirk.
Korra's brow lifted, relief flooding across her face. "Jinora! What's going on? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Jinora's voice spoke with a slight echo to it. "I'm here with Uncle Bumi. We were attacked by Lord Zuko, but we managed to subdue him. For the moment, at least. Right now I'm trying to find everyone else."
"That's good," Korra said. "And a little worrying. I was attacked, too, and so were Mako and Bolin. That means the others must have been separated and attacked as well. We need to find them."
Jinora nodded. "I'll do what I can. When I find someone else, I'll come back and let you know where—" Her words cut out when she noticed P'Li standing there, watching her. "Uh... Korra, do you know the explosion lady is standing next to you?"
"Explosion lady?" P'Li frowned, glaring at the hovering spirit. "I have a name, you know."
"Yes, I know," Korra assured. "Don't worry about it. Just try to find the others."
"If you say so," Jinora said, with a quiet sigh. "In that case, I'll get back to you."
When Jinora flickered out of sight, Korra waved the others along and made her way towards the next frozen wall. With a firm push of her arms, she split the ice apart and created a new path. "Come on, let's keep moving."
