Here is the thirty-seventh chapter in Book 4 released on schedule. This is the second of four chapters in the current arc of the War as the war continues to rage on. However, there isn't much else to say here so just sit back and enjoy the 37th chapter in the fourth installment of Avatar: The Tale of Harry. Book 4: Family.

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing related to these two great works of fiction.

Chapter 37

"James, this is your cousin Dominique, Chief-in-exile of the Southern Water Tribe. I hereby challenge you to a one-on-one duel to the death against me on Lahima's peak. While I know that this will not stop the inevitable battle, this will at least force the two best warriors out of the battle and allow us to confront each other on a level plain as leaders should meet."

James's heard the message his cousin was broadcasting and quickly turned his attention to the radio where it was coming from. He hadn't expected Dominique, his best friend growing up, to be at the Temple but given her likely involvement in the destruction of his Spirit weapon it didn't surprise him. Rather than deal with the pain he felt at how she now saw him, betraying her had been one of the hardest parts of his plan, James focused on her message.

"I challenge you, on your honor and mine, to a duel with blades, not bending, to decide this. If I defeat you then your forces retreat and leave the Temple alone while they figure out what to do when the Princeps dies. If you beat me, the Temple is yours and the only true threat to your Southern territory is removed because you know there is only one person in the line of succession who can truly succeed me and he's not my heir. I will be on the peak waiting for you. Come and face me, if you still have any honor left you will. I await you."

"You can't think about going Princeps." General Thaxted said with a worried tone in his voice on the bridge of the flagship. "If she somehow gets lucky and kills you the war is over and all you have fought for is lost."

They had been on the bridge when the message had come through so naturally the other officers heard the message. They had been watching the Temple come closer, as well as the defenders scrambling their forces, as the assault on the Temple closed in on them when it had come through and rocked the officers present, James could see that. It had rocked him as well, he didn't want to kill his cousin but if he had to, he would given the threat she posed, but he didn't show it.

"I must though." James replied shaking his head as he looked at his old friend. "Dominique has called me out and it is on my honor to accept her challenge. This is something that I must do."

Thaxted had served as his tactical officer when he they were both in the Imperial Army and had been a loyal follower since their days together at the Imperial War College. He had been reassigned after James's crimes, which had been a blessing in disguise that the authorities didn't realize.

Thaxted had steadily advanced over the next 7 years in the Imperial Army and reached the rank of Major, recruiting for the Principate the entire time and thus accelerating the attack by at least half a decade. He had been the military leader for the portion of the coup that had freed James from prison and had executed that operation to perfection.

For his loyalty and skill, Thaxted had been named one of the few Generals of the Principate military and given command over the Air Force. Fleet, the Attorney General of the Principate, and Otterburn, James's former navigations officer, had also been promoted to General, the latter being given the navy as his purview. The last General was General Suzuki, James's former recon officer, and he was in charge of the army. James knew he could rely on all four, he wouldn't have given them their positions otherwise.

Still, they were all below one man in the Military. Tate was the Supreme Commander of the Principate Military making him highest-ranking officer. The was because he was a Unique and the only one with military experience so naturally, he was the right choice for the role.

"I know but you will be needed for the upcoming battle." Thaxted pointed out. "We need the Princeps to lead from the front just as you did in Cymru. Your mere presence will ensure our victory."

"I have you, Suzuki, Dhillon and Pocklington here." James reminded him. "Two skilled generals and two powerful Uniques, y'all can handle this without me. Tate and Rohit did in the Fire Provence, and I wasn't even there so I trust y'all can do this here. Besides, I am still leading from the front by facing my cousin."

"How so?" Thaxted asked confused.

"The broadcast was on all frequencies, right?" James asked.

"It was." Thaxted confirmed.

"Then all the troops heard it, no doubt it's what my cousin wanted." James said with respect in his voice, unlike most of his other advisories Dominique was like him, a trained soldier so she knew how tactics worked. "Which means they heard Dominique's challenge to me. If I am to be the leader of the Principate, then I have to lead when called upon and that includes accepting challenges from someone like Dominique. She is a warrior nearly my equal and a symbol to the rebels in the South that their Chief still lives. If I don't then I will be seen as a coward and we lose moral."

"Just like when Hermione refused the Avatar's challenge 40 years ago, or whenever that was." Thaxted said as James saw the realization dawn on him. "She refused and it destroyed her command authority with her military officers because they saw her for what she was, a fucking coward who let others die for her so that she could keep her power."

"Precisely." James said with a nod. "And as such I will not make the same mistake as that bitch. I will face my challenges head on, and I will win them. A true leader does that. Dominique knows this, that is why she has challenged me, and she knows that I will accept it."

"So, you will meet her while we take the Temple and unite the Air Provence." Thaxted said.

"Yes." James said as he checked to make sure he had everything he needed for a duel; he always did but a double check was reflex for him. "These are my orders, disseminate them and begin the assault as soon as I am gone. You are to take command from the flagship as this is your area of expertise and not Dhillon's or Pocklington's. They are here for their skills and that is it. They know their jobs and will do it.

"Of course, Princeps." Thaxted said. "And what are their jobs? I need to know so that I can direct the forces correctly. Uniques are separate from us so the troops must be aware of their movements."

"Dhillon is to take out the serious threats in the air." James responded. "Marshall Inglebee and my cousins Victoire, Louis, Lorcan and Lysander, as well as anyone else who is a leader of the aerial defenses. Pocklington will do the same for any that have stayed grounded in the Temple. Have the fighter planes clear a path for the ground forces to deposit the earthbending commandos under Suzuki's command."

"It will be done Princeps." Thaxted said. "And the air force? What are their initial orders?"

"Engage them with hummingbird mechs, and planes with their bison and small fighters." James said as he looked out on the defenses arrayed before them "They are small enough to counter them. The airships will fight each other but make sure that the defenses we have against planes and bison are ready as well. The battle will begin in less than half an hour so everyone should be at battle stations now."

"It will be done Princeps." Thaxted said with a salute. "What about you?"

"I have a duel with my cousin to attend to." James said. "I will take a hummingbird suit and a pilot and meet her on Lahima's peak as she instructed. The pilot will serve as the point of contact for me. He will report the outcome, as well as broadcast our success back to me when the Temple falls."

"Very well Princeps." Thaxted said with a bow. "Do your duty to the Principate and end the threat of the former leader of the South."

"I intend to." James said seriously shutting off his emotions to focus on the duel as he turned and swept out of the bridge, his coat billowing behind him as he walked.

James knew what had to be done. He would take a hummingbird, he was qualified on their latest models, and go to Lahima's peak. There he would face his cousin and duel her, first with blades and then bending if need be as he did not expect her to honor the duel, but he'd wait for her to bend first. This was clearly a distraction, but James would take it to end the threat that Dominique posed, as well as a chance to propagandize a victory over her.

it wouldn't be easy, Dominique was a skilled warrior and their history made it personal, but James was better. He trusted his generals and Uniques to complete the assault on the Northern Air Temple and incorporate one of the last hold outs into the Principate.

If everything went according to plan, within an hour James would be one step closer to uniting the world and at least one major foe removed from the battlefield. That was all the motivation he needed for his own upcoming battle; it would be enough for everyone else in theirs. Yes, it was a good day to be the Princeps.

Victoire just stared in horror at the carnage around her as she flew through it. She had heard of battles, both in books she'd read and the first-hand stories from her family regarding the battles they had been in, but she had never been in one herself. True she was a trained fighter and a skilled one at that but when she had made her decision to join the Air Nation she had never expected to be in battle. Then the Principate had happened so here she was.

To say that it was a clusterfuck would have been an understatement. It was pure and utter chaos. In all of human history there had never truly been a true air battle. There had been skirmishes with air pirates over the last few years, a few instances in prior wars and insurrections that had involved aerial combat but nothing like this. This was a whole new level.

Planes, the latest designs on Hiroshi Sato's invention, were dogfighting at breakneck speeds around the mountain and Temple itself. They were all 2 person planes, a pilot who also controlled the bombs the planes caried and a metalbender who sent out high powered metal spikes from a special machine mounted on the back of the plane. They were devastating when they made contact and planes were burning and crashing all around them.

Then there were the hummingbird suits, again an improvement on the design used against Kuvira's mega mech when they were first created. Highly agile, vulnerable due to their design, but as good as any mech suit except that they could fly. They were sending flames and electric shock restraints at everything and taking down planes and fellow suits alike.

Lastly there were the big airships. The Principate had come with 10 of them in a V formation while the defenders only had 4 in service for the battle, the rest were for evacuating the Temple. They were heavy with troops and weapons, well armored and defended by benders who protected the ships and took pot shots at the fighters at the same time. There were a few mid-sized airships that were clearly troop carriers making their way to the Temple as well but those were under guard from planes.

Interspersed amongst all this were bison in full armor, based off Sokka's design from a few centuries ago but lighter than it had been. They were controlled by the Air Nation Defense Force for just such an engagement and a few had already fallen thanks to the hummingbird mechs. There were also a handful of commandos in glider suits aiding where they could.

Victoire was in her usual suit and on the head of her bison as they swerved through the battle. In the saddle was her husband and the leader of the United Forces present, Teddy. He was in full battle armor with a small radio on his side so that he could bark orders to everyone as the battle unfolded. At his hip was his weapon of choice, a spiked metal ball on the end of a chain that he could wield with his bending. Teddy was a soldier before he was President and was a fearsome fighter, he had to be on the front for the battle.

Despite her training, Victoire was not that. However, this was her home, all Temples were, and she would defend it with her life if need be. Today was a day where she would ignore her vows of pacifism and to never take a life that she'd taken when she'd joined the Air Nation. If she had to kill today then she would, today was an exception.

Today, for the first time in her life, she truly embraced her father's side and her warrior roots in the South. Today she was not Monk Victoire, a peaceful monk of the Air Nation but Princess Victoire, formerly the Crown Princess, of the Southern Water Tribe and eldest child of Chief William. Today, in this battle, she would show why the blood of warriors ran through her veins just as much as they did her father's and sister's even if she was an airbender.

However, to say the battle was going badly was an understatement. They had managed to take down one of the troop transports, but the others were almost upon the Temple. One of their airships was on fire and listing heavily. Soon it would crash into the Temple so escape pods were already jettying from it. Their losses were already heavy and getting worse by the minute. It looked like they hadn't inflicted as many as they would have liked on James and the Principate. They were going to lose and badly.

It was as she was thinking this when Victoire saw the worst thing of the battle so far. Nearby, standing in the saddle of his bison while a low-level office steered it, was Marshal Inglebee, the leader of the ANDF. He had a receiver strapped to his head so that he could use his arms to bend and shout orders at the same time. He looked like a calm, confident leader just he should look. With him in command Victoire had hope for her nation to hold together until the retreat order was given.

Then she saw a blur too small to be anything but a solo person whiz past her and head straight for Inglebee. He noticed and turned at the last minute to avoid a collision as the blur veered up and away as it passed the Marshal. Victoire expected Inglebee to return to the fight but he just stood there a look of shock on his face. Then Victoire saw it, blood was gushing from a deep slash in his neck.

His bison then veered and rolled away from a bust of flame sent at it by a hummingbird suit. The movement sent Inglebee tumbling out of the saddle and falling to the ground miles below. Victoire didn't need confirmation. The Marshal of the ANDF was dead.

That was when the blur came back right at them. Victoire managed to veer away again and avoid any damage though there was a sparking from her bison's armor that showed how close the attack had been. The blur came to a stop and turned to face them. That was when Victoire got a good look at the attacker and instantly a sinking feeling came into her stomach. She knew who she was facing.

Hovering in the air 50 feet away from her was a man in his late 40s or early 50s wearing a skin tight green glider suit. The laurel wreath of the Principate was on his chest and a symbol emblazoned in the center that was too small for her to clearly see.

All of that was bad but what was worse was that the man was hovering there without the need for anything keeping him aloft. His suit did not have glider wings. He just floated there, his long hair windswept, his beard unkept and a bloody stiletto blade in his hand.

Victoire instantly knew who this man was. This was Dhillon, the Flying Unique. If he was here, then it wasn't a good sign. He was one of the best airbenders in the world, the third in history to unlock flight and a deadly fighter to face. Victoire knew why he was here and what she had to do.

"Teddy, give the order to retreat." Victoire yelled back just as a loud explosion ripped the air and the top of the Temple where the radio room was was blown off. "The ground forces have breached the Temple, which means that we've lost it."

"What?" Teddy yelled back at her.

"Inglebee is dead, the Temple has been breached, we need to retreat." Victoire shouted at her husband so that he'd hear her. "Stay close though, I have something I have to do. When I am done, either get me or find my body. Then rescue Dom and get us the fuck out of here. It is time to retreat."

Victoire didn't listen to her Teddy's response. She had to act and act now or else she would lose here nerve. With a yell, she leapt off her bison, using her airbending to gain more height, before extending her arms and gliding towards Dhillon. She had a fight to engage in.

Dhillon didn't move, and Victoire was sure that was because he was under orders to go after any of the high-ranking fighters. That would explain why he had shown up to kill Inglebee and then stayed to deal with her and Teddy. He just stared at Victoire as she glided towards him, his eyes blank, cold, and lifeless as he prepared for another fight.

His expression and age reminded Victoire of why Dhillon was seen as the odd one out amongst the Uniques. He was at least 15, if not 20, years older than the others based on their reports and the pictures they'd seen of the Uniques. He wasn't a zealot, he wasn't a fanatic, he was just a flyer recruited for his ability and hatred of the Air Nation. The latter almost certainly tied to his abilities.

When Dhillon had appeared as the flyer, the remnants of the Air Nation went through their records in the Northern Air Temple, each Temple had a set of records, to find out who he was. He was tattooed which meant that he had become a master at some point in his life while part of the Air Nation but there was nothing recent on him. Once his name was discovered by Dominique and her team, they had been able to find the record.

Dhillon had been a gifted airbender born in the Northern Air Temple and sent to the Elemental Academy when he was 11 but who had eschewed the typical nomadic lifestyle to start a delivery business with his nonbender wife. By all reports it had been successful and eventually they had acquired a fleet of old airships and run a successful independent business. Then the Air Raiders, a gang or airbenders that had formed while part of the Air Nation but been expelled for their crimes, took to the skies as air pirates.

They targeted independent shipping and eventually ran into Dhillon and his wife somewhere in the western part of the ISEK. The reports indicated the Dhillon had been afraid of them and warned the Air Nation of the threat they posed, but the warnings had been ignored.

The Air Nation had dithered in how to deal with the pirates that had once been members of their nation and Dhillon was attacked by them. His flagship went down, and it was believed that he and his wife, whose body was recovered from the wreck, had died though his body was never found. It appeared he had likely watched her die and then try to kill himself by throwing himself to his death, unlocking flight in the process as his family and business, his early tethers, were no more.

The pirates had eventually been dealt with by a young and upcoming officer in the United Air Force called Quirke, it had been the success that had launched her career, but not before they had caused a lot of death and destruction. Clearly Dhillon was out for vengeance against the Air Nation and the Principate had offered him that. The man had been failed by his nation and turned on them.

Regardless of the mistakes the Air Nation had made in the past, Dhillon was still a traitor and an enemy and Victoire would deal with that. That was why she had to face him. He needed to be defeated, or at least distracted, and only an airbender could fight him given his abilities. He would have an advantage but Victoire would give it her best effort. She was still a Princess of the South; Dhillon would learn what that meant.

With that, Victoire pushed all thoughts from her mind, shot a jet of air out of her feet, tucked her arms in and dove at Dhillon. The fight was on and it was going to be a tough one.

Dhillon easily avoided her attack. As a flyer he was more maneuverable than she was as he didn't have to rely on air currents. However, it also made him more arrogant and over confident. That was way she was able to blast him in face with a jet of air as she passed, sending him flipping away.

He quickly righted himself and gave her an appreciative nod as she opened her arms glided around him, using the wind that swirled around the Temple to her advantage. She knew that he would not underestimate her again. Without emotion, he twisted his body and flew at her.

His attack had been expected but more aggressive then Victoire had thought he'd use. He shot right at here, blade flashing as he went for her wings. Instinctively, Victoire used her airbending to shoot herself upwards and out of his reach, concentrating her attack on the knife in his hand. She missed but forced him to reconsider his attack as he flipped in the air to come at her again.

Victoire groaned, turned, and fled. This was going to be a game of chase until she could figure out what to do to win. She just needed to survive it. She did have one advantage, she had been here for months training, she knew the currents and area better than Dhillon did, she could do it.

Victoire didn't know how long the chase lasted, just that it was going on. Dhillon was faster and more agile than her, but she was able to evade, counter, and protect herself for the most part. She did get cut on her thigh but that had been strategic to allow her to kick him in the hand and disarm him. With that she had airbent off his chest and higher into the air away from Dhillon to put some distance between them.

However, Victoire knew that she was tiring and that wasn't a good sign. She was going to have to end this fight and soon. There was only one way she could see doing that and it was insanely risky but in battle, if you didn't take risks you were likely to end up dead.

Pivoting in the air, Victoire opened her arms wide to glide and looked for Dhillon. He was still recovering from her recent attack and not focused on her for the moment. This was the opening she needed. She had to take it.

Closing her arms, Victoire dived at the Flying Unique. She had to guess her angle, but years of gliding made Victoire pretty good at estimations while in the air. Her aim was a little off center but still on its mark.

Dhillon had just recovered when Victoire slammed into him at full speed. Her weight was a lot less than his, but she had gravity on her side, so she at least hurt him when they collided. She had intended to catch him in the gut with her shoulder and wind him but instead hit his upper chest. Dhillon grunted but reacted quickly to try and disengage. Instead, Victoire wrapped her arms around him in a grapple to ensure that he had to fly with her or else they would both fall to their deaths.

Dhillon did just that. Likely it was an instinctive reaction, but it worked. He was forced to match her grapple and fly upwards with her to save himself. Never once did he make a sound other than the initial grunt. Victoire had him right where she wanted him.

As soon as she could, Victoire cocked her head back and slammed it forward. Thanks to her smaller height, her forehead was right where it needed to be. The force of the blow shattered Dhillon's nose with a sickening crunch and he went limp. Disengaging from him, Victoire pushed off him with her airbending sending him backwards while ignoring the blood now on her face, and, opening her arms to stabilize herself.

The goal had been to stun Dhillon and send him falling down, hopefully to his death given the height of the fall. Victoire had not known what to expect, she had never headbutted someone before, but she hadn't cared what happened to her. The goal was to take down another Unique, no matter the cost. She hadn't expected what happened next.

The collision with Dhillon and his flying afterwards had disorientated Victoire. Instead of facing directly down, they had been upright so when she threw Dhillon off her, he had traveled in a slight upwards arc rather than directly down. On its own that might not have been a problem. However, there had been a Principate plane flying towards them, heading to the Temple to likely bomb it. Dhillon's stunned, possibly unconscious, body went straight into the propeller turning at full speed on the plane's nose.

The next result was as expected. Dhillon was killed on impact, his body shredded into a bloody mist by the propeller. That was not all that happened. The impact also jammed the propeller and caused the engine of the plane to explode, killing the pilot and metalbender instantly. Too late Victoire realized that she was also fucked.

The blast sent a wave of concussive force at Victoire, along with heat and shrapnel that peppered her wings and sliced her in places. Fortunately, the blast had sent her backwards as well, so the shrapnel didn't kill her, though some if it did end up in her which wasn't good. Still, that was not the worst thing. That was reserved for the mountain that the Temple stood on. It was right behind her.

Victoire just made peace with her fate at this point and embraced the end should it come to that. The last thing she remembered of what would become known as the Assault on the Northern Air Temple was slamming hard into the side of the mountain. After that, her world went black.

Teddy had been barking orders to retreat over the radio, directed both at the Temple defenders and those engaged in the air battle, while also keeping an eye on his wife. Victoire was not a soldier, not a fighter despite her training, and as such he was worried about her. Especially after she had decided to leap off the bison and engage Dhillon, a Unique who was highly skilled, in a fight. As soon as she had begun the fight, Teddy realized who his wife was fighting.

Teddy did his job. He followed Victoire on her bison while the defenders began to scatter and flee to the north in accordance with their retreat plan. Teddy was not pleased with her decision to fight but he at least acknowledged that she was a better choice than him given the circumstances of the battle. All he could do was follow and make sure he saved her if he had too.

It was a short, quick, brutal fight but Teddy was pleased, and surprised, when he saw his wife win. That was before he saw that Dhillon was heading right into a propeller. Too late he noticed that Victoire was in the blast zone.

All Teddy could do was watch in horror as Victoire was thrown back by the shock wave, likely taking shrapnel in the process, and into the side of the mountain. Her body instantly went limp and pitched forward, falling to her certain death, if she wasn't already dead that is.

"Not on my watch." Teddy yelled as he leapt of the bison and dove to intercept his wife and hoping she was still alive. "You are not dying on me Victoire."

Teddy hadn't really thought his decision through. All he had thought about was saving Victoire. He knew that if he could catch her before she hit the ground, he could protect them. His bending and training ensured that a fall to the ground was not going to be fatal for him. He just had to reach her before she reached the ground.

Teddy did have an advantage; he had been beneath Victoire during the fight just in case he had to catch her if she fell. As such he had a shorter distance to go to grab her. Still, it wasn't going to be easy and he would need a little help to ensure it. That help came in the form of the metal spool he always had on his him.

With a flick of his wrist the metal cable shot out and connected with a passing hummingbird suit. Using his bending, Teddy pulled himself forward to accelerate his dive. The hummingbird, one of the Principate's, was thrown off course and crashed into a plane but Teddy didn't care, he was solely focused on saving Victoire.

The assist had been what he needed. He caught his wife just in time to turn and slam into the mountain with his back. Teddy had, at the last minute, used his bending to cushion his fall but the impact still hurt and winded him.

It took all of his effort to continue the bending and keeping Victoire close to him as they slid down the mountainside. She was passed out at least and Teddy had no idea how badly hurt she was, but he had her and that was all that mattered.

Teddy kept up his bending until they finally reached the bottom and skidded to a stop. The devastation of the battle was all around them. The foliage at the mountain's base was on fire, broken machines lay everywhere, and then there were the bodies.

Both human and bison lay broken on the ground all around them. The cost of the battle outside the Temple was clear. It was a sight Teddy would never forget.

Regardless, he had something more important to deal with. He had to assess his wife's condition. Looking down, Teddy grimaced at what he saw. Victoire was out cold, shrapnel embedded in several places, she had numerous cuts that were bleeding but not as bad as they should be thanks to the hot shrapnel partially cauterizing the wounds, and her the back of her head was red, not blond. The only good thing was that she was breathing. She needed a healer and likely had a skull fracture, by far her worst injury, and a broken shoulder, but she was alive.

Teddy blew the bison whistle he always carried on him. He hoped that Victoire's bison would obey it and was still alive to come and get them. Fortunately, the bison had been nearby to begin with knowing that his master was injured and was already flying towards them before it landed with a groan.

Teddy took Victoire in his arms and used his bending to raise himself up on a platform so that he could step into the saddle from the side without risking worsening her wounds too much. He then carefully laid Victoire down in the saddle. There were some first aid supplies there just in case that he could use but he needed a healer, and he knew exactly where to get a healer.

"Yip, yip." Teddy commanded and the bison began to fly. "Take us to Lahima's peak."

Teddy knew that bison were intelligent creatures, he just hoped that this one knew where to go. It seem do as it began to fly off but kept low to avoid the battle. Teddy turned to his wife and began to administer first aid while also radioing Louis that he was on his way to the peak.

He needed Dominique, both to save her from James and for her to save Victoire. The Temple had fallen, his role in the battle was over. It was time to get Dominique, avoid James, and flee north to their rendezvous with the remaining forces.

Hopefully, the others got out safe but for now, Teddy's primary concern was making sure that Victoire did not die, her family had already lost enough during the war, they could lose her as well. Teddy would do everything in his power to ensure that. After that, James and the Principate would pay. They had lost another battle, but they were still in the war. It wasn't over yet.

Well another Unique is dead but the aerial battle has been lost and Victoire is alive but badly injured. Her status won't be confirmed for a bit so y'all are going to have to wait as the next chapter is focused on the second main aspect of the battle, what is going on at the Temple and as with this one will focus on one of the main heroes of the CNFS. That's all I will say on that front and for this chapter so as always, please follow and favorite both this and myself so that you can stay up to date with new releases (chapters and stories) and please keep the reviews coming as I do love to hear from y'all regarding my work, it means a lot to me. Until next time.

Stringdog