Chapter 14: The Battle of Republic City
Opal struggled to remain still as she sat beside Bolin in the troop transport alongside Mako, Asami, Varrick, General Iroh, and half of Fourth Platoon.
"Everything's gonna be fine, Opal. It's gonna be fine." Bolin muttered. The Airbender soldier took a deep breath and nodded.
"You're right, I just need to-" Opal started before she realized her boyfriend was trembling even more than her.
"Everything's gonna be fine, Opal. It's gonna be fine." He repeated. Despite this, Opal smiled and placed her hand on his. Asami looked out one of the narrow side openings, which only let in a little light, but enough for her to see dozens of people across the streets, still unable to move.
"...It doesn't feel right, just leaving them all." Asami sighed, particularly after noticing a few kids on the sidewalk.
"We don't have a choice! Zhu Li's in danger!" Varrick roared. The businessman abandoned his usual suit for an armored military-esk attire with an electric gauntlet on each hand.
Mako put his hand on Asami's shoulder with a comforting look.
"I know you want to help them, and I wish we could too. But right now, Korra's the only one who can do that." Asami reluctantly nodded.
"Varrick's right. We need to help Zhu Li."
"Sergeant, what's your status?" Iroh asked as he held the radio and stood behind the drivers.
"Nothing yet, sir. But we're only a block or two from the Presidential hall." Xinyue said.
"Copy, make ready for battle!" Iroh barked. Like a well-oiled machine, the soldiers, including Bolin and Opal, snapped to attention. Mako wasn't far behind with his police-officer training, and even Asami soon joined in.
"Sir, we're here!" One of the drivers shouted.
"Halt!" Both transports stopped and opened their backs.
"Go! Form up in a phalanx!" Iroh commanded.
"You heard him, shields up!" Xinyue echoed. The non-benders locked their fiber shields together while the benders positioned behind them. Mako, Bolin, Varrick, and Asami joined them, each carefully looking over the massive building in front of them. Everything was quiet, too quiet.
"Corporal Beifong, get a closer look." Iroh ordered.
"Yes, sir!"
Opal whipped out her gliding staff and flew around the building. All the while, Xinyue eased the platoon forward slowly but steadily. The Air Bender soldier diligently looked through the Hall's windows before her eyes went wide.
"Look out!" She shrieked.
One of the windows shattered, and a wave of concussive blasts followed, coming straight for the platoon.
"Earth Barrier!" Iroh didn't panic but acted speedily. Bolin and the other earth benders immediately thrust their fists up and raised a massive wall of rock that shattered into pebbles after P'Li's combustion bending made an impact.
"Scatter!" Xinyue cried when she saw the Red Lotus Elite preparing another blast. Opal moved fast and readied herself to hurl P'Li back inside. However, she yelped when another gust of wind hit and knocked her to the ground.
"Fraid I can't let you do that, little girl." Bolin and Mako felt their skin crawl upon hearing that voice and looked up to see Tahno standing on the rooftop with a dozen or so other Red Lotus Benders.
A ring of fiery liquid formed around the building, and Ghazan grinned, revealing himself near its base.
"If you think we're going to let a non-bender rule over the Benders, you're sadly mistaken!"
"Where's Zhu Li!?" Varrick roared.
"She'll meet her fate soon enough, and so shall you." Zaheer flew out one of the windows and landed beside Tahno, and P'li, who'd also come to the rooftop.
"The days of weak non-bender leadership are over! Those who are truly worthy will guide the world! Those with the power to do so!" Zaheer unleashed a cyclone of wind that nearly lifted the Fourth Platoon off their feet.
However, Opal quickly recovered and flung herself into the heart of the storm, dispelling it with her own wind.
"In the name of the United Republic, I order you to disperse!" Iroh roared.
"No thanks-"P'Li almost laughed while preparing to blast the General. However, this nearly proved fatal for her and the other Red Lotus when they realized that during Iroah's command, he was, in fact, channeling lightning and unleashing it directly at them.
Zaheer swept P'li off her feet and sprung backward with his air bending, but several Red Lotus members got caught up in the explosion, and two more fell off the rooftop.
Back on the ground, Ghazan furiously bent the moat of lava further out, nearly engulfing a few soldiers in waves of fiery rock.
"Oh no, you don't!" Bolin furiously countered Ghazan's lava bending with his own, intercepting it and hardening it. The Red Lotus Lieutenant's cocky grin faded slightly with each passing moment Bolin remained in the fight. While Ghazan's lava bending proved more powerful and refined, Bolin came a long way and managed to hold him at bay, thus ensuring the protection of Fourth Platoon.
"Grrr! Just die, you little brat!"
"That's Corporal brat!" Bolin half-laughed before he pushed Ghazan's wave of lava back at him, nearly engulfing the Red Lotus Lieutenant, who yelped as bits of lava seared his skin.
"Gaaah! That's it!" Bolin smirked while Xinyue and a few others chuckled.
Mako and Asami exchanged fireballs and arrows with the few benders still on the roof when they noticed a pair of Red Lotus earth benders near the main entrance get hurled away by General Iroh's fire bending.
"Get inside! Find the president!" He ordered.
"You heard him!" Verrick roared, blasting another two Red Lotus combatants as he raced towards the door. Mako and Asami didn't hesitate and immediately followed Varrick inside. Meanwhile, Bolin provided cover as Fourth Platoon nearly encircled the remaining Red Lotus combatants.
"Yuan Wen's got nothing on Bolin!" Opal added, making him blush immensely. However, that joy instantly faded when a trio of fireballs nearly hit his side. Sergeant Xinyue almost jumped in front of him and grunted when the fire struck her shield.
"Incoming, behind us!" Xinyue spotted more Red Lotus members rushing in from the surrounding streets. Iroh almost smacked himself for falling into such an obvious trap but immediately took action.
"From up around Corporal Bolin!" The General barked, and his soldiers quickly did so, making a defensive circle around him with their shields. Iroh tried to get inside, but a powerful gust of wind hurled the general back.
"Going somewhere?" Iroh looked up and saw Zaheer straight for him.
"General!" Opal tried to come to his aid only to suffer the same fate.
"We didn't finish our dance, little girl." Opal growled and leaped up to face down Tahno. Bolin felt sweat trickle down his back, and he buckled against the onslaught of Ghazan's assault. The Red Lotus Lieutenant's grin returned as he saw his lava inch closer and closer to the soldiers.
The benders inside the circle struggled to hold off attacks from P'li's combustion bending and other Red Lotus attacks.
"Sergeant, we can't keep this up!" A water bender panted, struggling to remain on her feet.
"Hold formation! We will hold formation!" Xinyue cried, despite the growing desperation. One of her earth benders took a hit to his side fell to the ground, creating the opening P'li was looking for.
However, the soldiers and Red Lotus alike jumped in fright when they heard and saw an explosion inside the hall's upper level.
"What the!? P'li, what are you doing!?" Ghazan shouted. Within the building, Mako, Asami, and Varrick fought their way through a few Red Lotus combatants scouring the halls for Zhu Li.
"Zhu Li! Zhu Li, where are you!?" Verrick screamed, but to no avail. The businessman ran up a flight of stairs to the next level when Mako spotted P'li standing in front of a window and inhaling for her next attack.
"No!" Thrusting his fists forward in successive blows, Mako unleashed a barrage of fire at her. P'li heard this and turned just in time to face them.
"Look out!" Azami tackled Mako to the ground before their senses exploded in horrible pain. Both saw everything go white and heard nothing but a high-pitched ringing sound for what felt like an eternity.
Eventually, Mako's vision improved to a blur, and finally, he saw P'li again. The combustion bender staggered around as if drunk, trying desperately to regain her surroundings and not fall out of the opening her explosion made.
"Asami, Asami-" Mako started, his head still pounding.
"I'm ok, I think." Asami groaned, slowly rising up to her feet. Varrick was long gone by then, and P'li moved towards the roof.
"What do we do?" Asami asked as she and Mako looked outside at their companions, struggling to hold on.
"If P'li hits them, they're all dead. We have to stop her!" Asami nodded, and they went after her. Back in the streets, Iroh and Zaheer continued their duel. The General grit his teeth in frustration as each of his blows failed to make contact with the elusive air bender. It reminded him of matches he used to have with Koyasu. Only Zaheer fought with a cold ruthlessness that Iroh didn't imagine air bending capable of.
Zaheer slammed Iroh into a wall with a violent cyclone and quickly followed it up by propelling himself over the younger man. Iroh shot out fire from his fists and feet. This caught Zaheer completely off-guard, and he grunted when Iroh flew straight up and into him. Acting fast, the General blasted Zaheer onto a rooftop and then came down with a fiery punch that nearly burned through the rooftop.
Unfortunately, Zaheer recovered fast and flipped himself back up in the same motion thrust his hands forward, hurling the General off the ledge. Iroh's eyes widened and he desperately tried to position himself where he could firebend himself upward. Just then, he felt something grab his arm and lift him up.
"Got you, sir!" Opal cried as she flew on her glider. Iroh let out an immense sigh of relief.
"Just for that, I'm promoting you to Sergeant." Opal's eyes glistened with excitement while her smile turned mischievous.
"Really, so I outrank Bolin now." Opal snapped back to attention when she saw Tahno and Zaheer readying themselves for an attack.
"Hang on!" Opal grit her teeth as she tried to maneuver herself away from the incoming torrents of air bending. Luckily this became easier when Iroh fire bent at the two with his free hand and feet, hindering their aim.
"Sir, the roof!"
"Drop me when ready!"
Opal swooped in and let Iroh go onto the rooftop Zaheer stood on. The air bender leaped back into the air, but this time Iroh was ready and he kicked a fan-shaped burst of fire that hit Zaheer dead in the center of his chest.
"Gaah!" Zaheer groaned in agony from the shearing pain and foul smell of burned flesh. He flew backward and tumbled towards the ground. For a brief moment, Iroh breathed a sigh of relief, only to cringe when he saw the air bender fly back up and land in front of him.
On the Presidential Hall's rooftop, P'li finally regained her senses and looked down at the wavering platoon. Grinning sadistically, she inhaled and aimed her third-eye. Then at the last moment, two fireballs hit the combustionbender's side, filling her with horrible pain and sending the blast harmlessly into the air.
P'li snarled and turned to face Mako and Asami.
"Grrr, die!" P'li nearly blew them off the rooftop when her blast hit between them.
"Ok, that one hurt, any ideas?" Mako asked as he got up. Asami got up and slowly nodded.
"Keep her distracted."
"I can do that! Hey, over here!" Mako charged straight for P'li and then propelled himself to the left away from her combustion blast. Once safe, Mako unleashed a fury of continuous fire strikes, with each one getting closer and closer until finally three struck P'li in successive blows.
"Gaaaah!" P'li roared, aiming her next blast low. Mako nearly lost consciousness and felt himself lifted up into the air from the blowback. The policeman hit the rooftop hard with debris all around him and gasped for breath while P'li's expression turned psychotic. Despite all of this, Asami remained calm and very carefully aimed her bow.
Mako felt the world slow around him as he saw P'li inhale, yet just as she leaned in to unleash her combustion bending, an arrow plunged into her third eye. Mako didn't even have time to see any blood splatter or terror in P'li's eyes before the rebound explosion nearly tore the rooftop apart.
After some coughing, Mako looked back but saw nothing left where P'li once stood, only smoke and debris.
"Hmp, bullseye." Asami said.
On the other rooftop, Zaheer heard the explosion and turned to see nothing left of the Red Lotus Lieutenant.
"P'li!" Iroh heard pure horror and lament in Zaheer's voice. Seizing the opening, he pressed his advantage and drove the air bender further and further back. Unfortunately, Zaheer now fought with much clearer focus, and managed to flip himself behind Iroh, blasting him towards the edge of the roof.
Back on the ground, more and more Red Lotus combatants closed in like a flood, pushing Fourth Platoon to the breaking point. Ghazan smiled widely when he saw Bolin covered in sweat and struggling to remain standing.
"This is it!" Ghazan readied himself for the final blow. However, just before he could, the night sky darkened further, as something moved over them.
"What the?" All eyes now turned to four airships moving over them. Opal was still in the air battling Tahno when they saw them. Opal couldn't believe it when she saw the symbol of Zaofu on their sides.
As one of the airships lowered, three women leaped off the platform and nearly shook the ground upon impact. A handful of earth and metal benders tried to ensnare them, but instantly regretted this decision when the metal flew back and nearly crushed them.
"You call yourselves metalbenders?" Toph sneered, cracking her neck and taking a fighting stance.
She, Suyin, and Kuvira went to work, pushing back entire groups of Red Lotus with brutal efficiency.
"Alright, mom, grandma!" Opal laughed. However, her joy faded when she saw Iroh get blasted off the rooftop again.
"Oh no!" She desperately tried to reach him, but Tahno blocked her path.
"Not this time, little girl!"
"General!" Iroh braced himself for impact, but felt something grab him.
"Gotcha!" Iroh's eyes widened when he saw who held him.
Zaheer smiled but soon yelped when he saw another air bender fly up and land before him.
"You!"
"So, you're the student who betrayed my brother. Zaheer." Bumi said, holding his glider staff.
"Firelord Bumi!"
"You almost killed my son, I'll give you one chance to surrender."
"Never! With P'li dead, I'm truly detached like the air benders of old! I'm the ultimate air bender now!" Zaheer tried to blow Bumi back, only for his attack to get broken with something beyond ease.
"My turn." Opal and Tahno nearly froze when they saw Bumi go to work on Zaheer. Opal always considered Tenzin to be a true air bending master, but Bumi was on another level entirely. From his style it was clear that he was Korra's teacher, but even Korra had nothing on Bumi's air bending.
The Fire Lord meticulously broke Zaheer down like a sky bison playing with a fire ferret. Perhaps her grandmother was right when she said that even Avatar Aang admitted that Bumi had surpassed him in air bending.
Back on the ground, Iroh rallied Fourth platoon around him and personally knocked out an entire squad of Red Lotus before he saw another few go down. Turning, the General saw Kuvira and a few Zaofu guards rush in beside her.
"Colonel!"
"General." She nodded with respect.
"Perfect timing, but I didn't know my father was with you?"
"He wasn't, he was with your sister and Fire Nation delegation, but flew over to us when he heard you were here. Where's the president?"
"They're looking for her."
Opal watched as Bumi slammed Zaheer into the side of a building so hard that the side collapsed, covering him with debris. For a brief moment, she saw his outstretched hand twinge before going still.
Feeling invigorated by the master before her, Opal avoided Tahno's next blow and then hurled him out of the air, directly at Ghazan. The two lava benders struggled to gain control the liquid rock wave between them, at least until Tahno crashed into Ghazan and knocked them both to the ground.
Bolin had been pushing so hard that when Ghazan's resistance abruptly ended, he couldn't stop himself from unleashing the lava wave over them.
"Oh no! Stop!" Bolin desperately tried prevent it, but to no avail, and the two were engulfed in the liquid rock.
Bolin grimaced as he watched them melt, and Opal landed beside him.
"Are you ok?" She asked, putting her arms around Bolin to help him remain standing.
"Well I just melted two people, so I could be better, all things considered."
Inside the Hall, Mako and Asami continued their search for Zhu Li. Though Asami had to help Mako walk.
"Are you sure you're good?" She asked while looking at her injured boyfriend in deep concern.
"I'm ok, we need to-"
"Gaaah!" The two heard Varrick scream and raced inside the room before they saw none other than Zhu Li standing over two unconscious Red Lotus and Varrick over Raiko.
"What the!?" Asami muttered.
"Mako, Asami, thank goodness you're ok." Zhu Li panted, looking beyond exhausted.
"Yes, and but more importantly, you're ok!" Varrick said, taking his foot off a limp Raiko before he wrapped his arms around Zhu Li and kissed her.
"What happened, why is Raiko here?" Mako asked. Varrick finally let go of Zhu Li to let her speak.
"I've been ducking and hiding for over two hours, thankfully you all showed up and drew away most of them. That's when Raiko found me, with two Red Lotus benders at his side."
"Raiko with Red Lotus? None of this makes any sense?" Asami said.
"Hmm, unless there's more to Raiko than we thought. That's it, Zhu Li, do the thing!" Varrick shouted. Asami and Mako nearly sweat dropped, but oddly enough Zhu Li looked somewhat excited and nodded.
"With pleasure." Despite her fatigue, Zhu Li knelt down beside Raiko and jabbed a pressure point with two fingers. The would-be president gasped as he regained consciousness. However, before he could do anything else, Varrick aimed both electric gauntlets at him.
"I'd stay still if I were you. Zhu Li." She nodded before kneeling directly over the trembling man and bore into him with her eyes.
"Why are you here?"
"This was a mistake, I was held prisoner-" Raiko started before Varrick touched him and delivered a mild shock.
"Raiko, I can tell when people are liars."
"She can, perfectly." Varrick muttered, earning smirks from Mako and Asami.
"Why are you here?" Raiko trembled harder.
"Tarlock, he told me tonight I'd become president when you died."
"Tarlock, you're working with Tarlock?" Asami said in disbelief.
"Yes, and more-"
"Ok, enough said." Varrick grimaced.
"This makes some sense, Tarlock must've wanted Raiko as his puppet and had him push anti-Red lotus legislation as a way to dissuade suspicion!" Mako cried.
"Well, your political career is over." Zhu Li said firmly.
"Not yet." Raiko growled while looking out towards the statue of Aang in the harbor.