Chapter 13: The Battle of Airbender Island
Everything happened so fast, yet even with the fear and adrenaline running through Tenzin, he struggled to set Meelo down in Oogi's saddle.
"No! Let me go. I can fight!" The young Airbender protested while furiously attempting to break free from his father's grasp.
"Meelo enough!" Tenzin spoke with sternness and ferocity that none of his children had ever heard before. So much that Meelo almost trembled and clutched his mother as she held Rohan and kept Ikki close.
All around them, the youngest of the Airbender students climbed onto the few adult sky bison on the island.
"Head right for the northern air temple and don't stop."
"You're coming too, right?" Ikki muttered. Tenzin took a deep breath and placed his hands on hers.
"Eventually, but getting you kids out first is what matters most.'
"Please, Tenzin, be careful." The Airbender master kissed his wife and infant son before Oogi and the other bison, adult, and adolescents. On one, Tenzin spotted his great-nephew Lu Ten and exhaled deeply.
"Everything will be ok." Jinora said as she took her father's hand. Despite his and Pema's fierce protesting, Jinora insisted on remaining behind until more help arrived.
Tenzin looked around at his few dozen remaining students. Despite their best efforts, a few children remained among them. Thanks to Lin, the White Lotus Guards raced about trying to set up makeshift defenses, including earth-bent barriers and bent metal.
"Move it! You call this a barrier? I could smash it apart in my sleep!" The police chief roared. Tenzin almost felt bad for the White Lotus Guards, who looked more afraid of Lin than of what might come for them.
"You have to admit she's perfect for situations like this." Kya chuckled.
"That's one way of putting it." Tenzin said.
"Incoming airship!" One of the White Lotus guards cried. The Airbenders trembled at first, but Tenzin and Kya calmed them down.
"Kai, get a closer look." Kya ordered.
"No problem." The young Airbender pulled out his glider and flew up high enough to see a few words on the airship's side.
"It says Future Industries!"
"Future Industries?" Tenzin muttered in confusion.
"Hold on. We're picking something up on the radio!" A Guard shouted as she adjusted the frequency.
"It looks like you Airbenders could use a ride!" Hiroshi Sato's voice came like music to their ears, and many cried out in joy when they saw the airship come in to land.
"Hiroshi! Perfect timing!" Tenzin almost cried in relief when he saw the businessman come out.
"I'm just glad everyone here's ok. Have you heard from Asami and the others?"
"They're on route to City Hall with General Iroh." Kya answered, earning a look of angst from Hiroshi.
"She'll be fine, my nephew-" Tenzin started.
"Incoming!" Lin roared. Tenzin, Kya, and Hiroshi raced beside her and felt their hearts race faster as a fleet of speedboats, and three airships with the Equalist banner approached the island.
"The Equalists are coming!" A student yelped in terror.
"Everyone aboard the airship now-" Hiroshi started. However, not a moment later, a metal javelin, with a grapple attached, shot from each of the Equalist airships and embedded themselves into his ship's engines.
"...So much for my airship." Hiroshi muttered, sweatdropping.
"Hold the line! Forget everything Tenzin here taught you about pacifism!" Lin roared.
Tenzin considered saying something but ultimately decided against it.
"Kids, find a safe place to hide." Tenzin would've had them use their gliders to escape, but most of the children still weren't skilled enough to get very far.
"Teens and adults, with me!" Jinora and Kai took up position beside Tenzin while Kya did the same with Lin. Even Hiroshi readied himself for battle, taking out and donning two electric gauntlets before cracking his neck.
"You don't have to fight, Hiroshi." Lin said.
"Yes, I do." He growled, sparking both gauntlets. The two women smiled.
"Glad to have you with us." Kya said while bending some water around her. When the boats came into range, Kya and the other water benders began bending large waves into them and disrupting the bay while Lin and the Earth Benders hurled a barrage of rocks followed by fire.
Over a dozen boats capsized or broke apart, but there were too many, and uniformed Equalist began swarming onto the island. At the same time, chains lowered from the three airships, allowing dozens more to repel in, including the Lieutenant, Grapple-Arms, mech-suit, and Chi-Blocker.
"Form up! Today, we rid the world of Airbending, forever." The Lieutenant growled while sparking his batons together.
"Well, technically, there's still plenty of Airbenders in the Fire Nation." Kai corrected, earning annoyed looks from Jinora and Tenzin.
"Oh, don't worry, we'll deal with the Fire Nation soon enough."
"Sorry Amon's not here to join you!" Jinora growled.
The Equalists looked feral.
"Hmp, that's our niece." Lin chuckled with Kya.
"Kill them!" The Equalists surged in, and despite their best attempts, the White Lotus Guards and adult Airbenders couldn't keep them back. Jinora furiously dodged or blew away incoming bolas, bombs, and electrical surges while also trying to protect Lin and Kya.
"I'm gonna need some help here!" Jinora grunted as she felt an electrical burst graze her right arm and nearly made it go numb.
Three Equalists nearly outflanked the two master benders only to get blown off their feet by a repulsing gust sent by Kai.
"Don't worry, baby. I've got them covered!" Kai declared with a cocky smirk. A dozen or so equalists all tried to charge Lin, but Kai kept them back with infuriating effectiveness.
"Stay still you little!-" One growled before feeling his electric gauntlet jerked away against his will. All twelve of the equalists yelped when they saw themselves pulled into each other and zapped out of consciousness.
"Too bad those gauntlets are made of metal!" Kai laughed, earning a nod from Lin.
"Not bad kid, thanks for watching my back."
"We're not done yet." Kai muttered, emphasizing the sheer number of Equalists.
"Right." Lin grunted. She couldn't believe how many came at them. It was nothing short of an army. Tenzin moved from place to place around the island with a few of his best students, going wherever the Equalists looked like they would overwhelm them and get into the temple itself.
However, as the fighting dragged on, Tenzin felt his fatigue set in, and worse, he watched their numbers thin. More and more of his students and White Lotus Guards became incapacitated or wounded, but thankfully Kya managed to pull them away to safety before any died.
Even so, Tenzin recognized this was a losing battle. If only he had Korra and the others there. Back on the ground, Hiroshi zapped three Equalists across the courtyard and two that tried to come upon his flanks. However, the businessman's injury began to flare up, and he struggled to remain standing.
"Gaaah." Hiroshi staggered and nearly doubled over in pain.
"Not now!"
"Traitor to your kind!" Several equalists roared when they saw Hiroshi.
A few tried to seize him only to get hurled back. Hiroshi slowly looked up and tried to wipe his glasses, for it almost looked like the mechanical suit did so.
"What?"
Lin pinned another four equalists against a wall with small metal bars when something hit her and Kai, knocking them back and then dragging them across the courtyard.
"He he he he!" Lin shook her head and tried to get up, but to no avail, for the Grapple-Arms dragged her and Kai back towards her.
"Goodbye!" She laughed sadistically as two equalists lit bombs and readied them.
"Lin!"
"Kai!" Jinora and Kya shouted.
"Kai, remember what I said about forgetting Tenzin's pacifism!" Lin screamed, almost sweating as she did so.
"Yeah!" He muttered.
"Well, now's the time!"
Kai grit his teeth and closed his eyes. The two equalists threw their bombs, and Lin's heart pounded as she saw them get closer but then fly back when Kai unleashed a gust of wind.
"Gaaaahh!" The Grapple-Arms quickly let go of her prey and covered herself from the resulting explosion. Kia covered his eyes, but Lin had no trouble watching the two Equalists get blown to pieces. Unfortunately, their Leituenant only had soot covering her body. As she moved her mechanical arms, the woman's face erupted into a feral rage.
"Kai, get behind me." Lin said, rising to her feet in a fighting stance.
Kya and Jinora tried to come to their aid, but the young airbender nearly collapsed when two lightning-fast jabs hit her side.
"Jinora!" Kya bent water around her niece and pulled her away from the Chi-Blocker Lieutenant.
"Hmp, you Benders, without your unnatural abilities, you have nothing. Let's see how well you fight on an even playing ground!" She snarled before rushing towards Kya.
Tenzin came down hard and hurled four more Equalists away from Hiroshi upon landing.
"How are you holding up!?"
"Oh you know." Hiroshi grunted while cracking his back and standing up straight. The two men desperately tried to keep back another few squads of Equalists even as their situation continued to deteriorate. However, just as they readied themselves for another attack, Tenzin and Hiroshi surged with electricity.
"Gaah!" Tenzin quickly blew them both back, barely evading the Lieutenant's batons.
"The time of bending has come to an end." He said before pointing to the temple. Tenzin and Hiroshi's faces went pale when they saw four squads of Equalists get inside.
"Show no mercy."
"No!" The men cried. Tenzin desperately tried to go after them, but the Lieutenant got in his way. Hiroshi attempted the same but similarly found his path blocked by the mech-suit.
Tenzin almost collapsed as he felt the world crumble around him. This couldn't be happening, it couldn't be-
Everyone on the island jumped when they heard a series of rapid explosions.
"What the!?" The Lieutenant yelped. All eyes turned to the three Equalist airships that went hurling down into the ocean as burning wreckage.
"Look!" Kai cried out in pure joy. Soon both Equalist and defenders alike saw four new airships descend upon them. Each one had the same sigil upon their side, the sigil of the Fire Nation.
"Impossible!" The Lieutenant cried.
Within moments, a thunderous roar ripped through the air, and something else came down, a red dragon. The dragon slammed into a dozen Equalists beneath him before an old man leaped off his back.
"Zuko!" Jinora shouted in glee. Within moments, dozens of Imperial Firebenders and Kyoshi warriors rappeled down from the airships alongside Izumi, Mai, and Koyasu.
Zuko took a fighting stance beside his family and gazed at the airbenders.
"Today, we restore the Fire Nation's honor! Save the Airbenders!"
"Save the Airbenders!" The elite fire benders and Kyoshi warriors roared. Even Tenzin found himself laughing when he saw their rescuers go to work. The Imperial Firebenders and Kyoshi warriors made quick work of the Equalists across the courtyard.
Inside the temple, a group of children yelped when several Equalists found them.
"There you are, filthy benders!" One snarled as she lit a bomb.
"No, please!"
"Get back!" Another voice cried.
A Kyoshi warrior acrobatically kicked the Equalist back and away from the children, taking her bomb with her. In quick succession, she brought down two more with almost ruthless efficiency. The others didn't last as three Imperial Firebenders practically burned them to a crisp with mastered firebending.
The young airbenders continued to tremble even when the fight ended, but finally, the Kyoshi warrior and Imperial Fire Benders knelt down with warm expressions.
"It's alright. You're safe now."
Back in the courtyard, Lin desperately bent up rock and metal to keep her opponent back.
"He he he he he!" The Grapple-Arms mechanical limbs clearly went through an upgrade, as they retracted faster and packed a much bigger punch than before.
Kai tried to help, but even his most powerful airbending had little effect. Seeing him in the air, the Grapple-Arm's eyes went wide and she launched her right arm at him.
"Kai!" Lin shrieked.
The boy almost lost his breath but then felt himself get blown down. Koyasu flew up and took his place with a determined expression.
"My turn." Koyasu unleashed a gust of air far stronger than Kai's. Lin almost blinked when she saw both arms go flying to the side. Lin bent the metal band around her arm into a blade and launched it forward without hesitation.
The Grapple-Arms convulsed, coughing up blood as she looked down and saw a blade sticking out of her throat. The woman frantically tried to grab it with her grapple-arms but to no avail, and she collapsed.
Koyasu landed beside Lin and looked at the body with an unsettled look.
"You don't approve?" Lin asked.
Koyasu didn't answer.
Elsewhere, Kya struggled to keep the Chi-Blocker back as the Equalist Lieutenant moved in too close for her to effectively water-bend.
"Hold still!" The Chi-Blocker snarled, her fingers getting closer and closer to Kya with each strike. The water-bender could've bent her sweat into a blade if she had the chance but had none. At least until three blades nearly impaled the woman.
Kya looked back and saw Mai standing there, five throwing knives in each hand. Despite her age, Mai still moved fast and gave the Chi-Blocker a cold expression.
"Another traitor to non-benders-" The Lieutenant stared before two blades hit her arms.
"You're really annoying." Mai said while throwing several more. The Chi-Blocker did her best to avoid them, but they embedded themselves into her skin one by one.
"Gaaah!" Seizing the opening, Kya bent a jet of water into the Chi-Blocker, freezing her arms and legs, then carrying her into the ocean, where she sank.
Kya panted heavily, nearly collapsing from exhaustion.
"Getting old sucks." Mai said.
"...Yeah." Kya muttered.
Hiroshi staggered backward as he watched the mech-suit knock away White Lotus Guards, Airbenders, Kyoshi Warriors, and Fire Benders as she approached him.
However, in his masterful mind, Hiroshi continued to study the suit closer and finally saw a weakness. Charging both gauntlets, he blasted a small section between the joints and caused the suit to surge.
It nearly collapsed and forced the user to open the center, revealing its pilot. Hiroshi's mouth dropped when he saw none other than Zeng inside.
"Zeng!"
The woman grit her teeth and almost looked away.
"Zeng, you, it was you all along! You gave the Equalists our technology!" She scowled and looked back full of venom.
"Yes!"
"Why?" Hiroshi muttered, feeling more than betrayed.
"Because of what Benders did to your wife! To the mother of your daughter! What they still do to all of us!"
"All this time around Mako, Bolin, Korra, and you still see Benders as the enemy!"
"The fact that you let that filthy ashmaker near Asami is disgusting! I didn't want to do this, but you leave me no choice!" Zeng readied herself to charge Hiroshi when several throwing-blades came at her. She furiously raised the suit's arms and blocked them, looking back to see Izumi beside Hiroshi.
"Benders and non-benders are against you Equalists. Think about that." The Fire Lord said.
Zeng screamed and tried to charge them. Without hesitation, Hiroshi unleashed two more bursts of electricity into the suit's joints, seizing the arms up. Izumi whipped out a few more blades and hurled them into the opening.
Zeng gasped and looked down at four blades embedded into her stomach. Hiroshi felt his heart break, watching her collapse to the ground in the suit. The businessman slowly walked over and nearly teared up as he saw Zeng's lifeless corpse.
Izumi came up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry."
Meanwhile, Tenzin and the Lieutenant continued their duel. The Airbending master blew his foe backward, but the Lieutenant managed to stay on his feet.
"Grrr, just die already!" Flipping himself in the air, Tenzin blasted his foe's batons straight forward.
"You first!" The Lieutenant's eyes widened when he saw Zuko standing beneath his nephew, moving his fingers in a distinct motion. The Lieutenant's eyes widened, and the world slowed around him. Zuko unleashed a bolt of lightning straight into the Lieutenant's batons.
When the smoke cleared, Zuko and Tenzin saw nothing left.
"...Oh my." Tenzin muttered, horrified by the result.
"It had to be done." Zuko said, earning a deep sigh from Tenzin. Despite this, he looked around and saw the Equalists getting routed by Zuko's forces. Kai and Jinora were both safe, as well as Kya and Lin.
Tenzin looked out at the city with hope.
"Stay strong, Korra."