Chapter 54: Into the Inferno
As a single speck of green in a deep red sky, Sokka knew he was sticking out like a sore thumb.
With his ring making a green sphere, he was carrying Suki and Toph across the world, the latter having difficulty dealing with the utter lack of vibrations within it. They had nearly crossed the ocean by the time Sozin's Comet arrived, which had turned the sky red and utterly annihilating any chance Sokka had of sneaking up on the airship fleet. They still had some distance to go, and enough time to look at the comet behind them. It was a pretty thing to look at, despite the green filter of the sphere Sokka was using.
Suki was taking the longest look at the comet, finding a strange appreciation of the sight. "It's weird to say, but the comet actually looks beautiful."
"Too bad the Fire Lord's about to use it to destroy the world," Toph said.
A few minutes later, a small island appeared over the horizon, and Sokka saw something else rising over that island. "We're too late. The fleet's already taking off."
"So they got off the ground," Toph said. She punched her palm. "Let's put them back."
Sokka was ready to do just that, until he saw another red glow in the sky. "Hang On!"
A large beam of red light nearly struck them, a very near miss when Sokka swerved out of the way. A second red beam followed the first and hit the green sphere, knocking it out of the sky and plummeting toward the ocean. A third red beam struck and shattered the green sphere entirely, separating the three within and dropping the girls into freefall. Sokka made a pair of large green hands to catch them, and then resumed course straight for the airship fleet. More red beams were fired from above, though Sokka managed to avoid them the rest of the way.
There was only enough time to drop off the girls on the airship farthest to the south, and Sokka stayed in the air above them. "I'll hold off Zhao. Go!"
Immediately after that, Sokka had to make a large green shield, blocking another red beam from Admiral Zhao above him. Cracks quickly formed in his shield and Sokka got out of the way before it shattered, narrowly avoiding the red light while it punctured the airship beneath him. From there Sokka flew back up to Zhao's altitude, easily avoiding more red beams now that he didn't need to worry about his passengers. There Sokka fought back with his own green beam of light, only for it to be blocked by a red shield Zhao conjured up.
When the shield vanished, Sokka got a good look at Zhao, and he didn't like what he saw. Red light emanated from Zhao's flesh, like he was wreathed in an unearthly flame. The red arm was larger than before, with fingers so curved and sharp that they were like the claws of a mythical beast. Those claws swiped through the air and unleashed hellfire, fast ethereal flames made from the red light Zhao wielded. Sokka flew up to evade the red flames, only for Zhao to swing his other arm and command the flames to rise up after him.
"Oh great…" Sokka muttered. "He's firebending the red light…"
Sokka conjured up a green waterfall, pouring the green water into the red flames to extinguish them. Then he flew straight toward Zhao with a giant green fist, and Sokka punched the air to launch that fist forward, slamming it right into Zhao's enraged face. The punch left Zhao tumbling in midair, and Sokka closed in for another strike. But then the ethereal flames around Zhao glowed brighter, and then burst outward in every direction. The red shockwave hit Sokka and pushed him away, long enough for Zhao to reorient himself and get back into the fight proper.
"This could take a while," Sokka grumbled. He took a glance down, seeing Suki and Toph in action. "You two will have to do without me."
The girls had figured that out already, and they were heading straight for the front of the airship they were on. That was where the bridge was certain to be, and Toph could make the shortcut they needed to get inside. However, their rush across the hull was far from silent, and it gathered attention from inside the airship. Firebenders emerged from a hatch up a head, two sent to figure out what was causing the noise, both surprised to see two intruders. One of them reacted first, punching the air to conjure a massive plume of flame, so big it amazed even the firebenders.
Toph quickly metalbent the hull of the airship, raising a wall of metal to block the flames, and make it difficult for the firebenders to pursue. She and Suki then continued on their way across the hull, reaching the front end, where the bridge was some distance below them. Toph metalbent a hole in the hull here, so that she and Suki could drop inside. The first deck down was empty, the deck below that was filled with gasbags behind a metal mesh, and the deck below that was an empty corridor. Down there Toph saw more of the airship, getting a better view of the bridge directly beneath them.
"Here we go," Toph said. "Only one shot at this."
Suki drew a short sword that had been provided by the White Lotus. "Do it."
Toph punched the floor and metalbent it apart, dropping her and Suki into the bridge. They surprised the officers at their stations, and Toph was the first to strike. The pieces of metal that had been the ceiling were hurled at the nearest officers, striking down three of them before they could react. Toph then summoned the metal back to her and bent it around her body, creating a suit of armor for the counterattack. One firebender struck with flames, drawing upon the comet's power, and nearly filled the entire bridge with fire.
The armor Toph made shielded her from the flames, though she started to sweat from the heat. Suki crouched behind Toph for similar protection, the armor diverting the flames that impacted it. Toph charged forward through the fire, emerging on the other side to punch the firebender in the face and knock him out. The flames went out instantly, but it remained blisteringly hot, and no other firebender dared to bend in here, lest they cook themselves alive. As such, it was easy for Toph to overpower the remaining bridge officers, beating them into submission with metal-covered fists.
With the fallen bodies scattered across the bridge, Toph quickly peeled off the armor, since she was sweating fiercely under it. "Okay, that was not fun."
Suki went to the only door in the room and bolted it shut, then turned toward Toph. "Can you please metalbend this thing? I don't want anyone coming in here."
"Can do," Toph said. She got to the door and metalbent the edges, fusing them to the frame and locking them in. "Okay, now what?"
"We take over the airship," Suki said. She got the big wheel at the front and started steering. "I wish we had the time to learn how to fly it properly."
"Didn't you come to the temple on an airship?" Toph asked.
"I didn't fly it," Suki answered.
"Then Sokka must have figured it out," Toph said. "Oh well, it can't be too difficult."
"Turning looks simple enough," Suki commented. She tested out the wheel, got a feel for how the airship could turn, finding it surprisingly nimble. "Okay, I think we're in business."
At the other end of the world, Iroh put the comet's power to use.
He was the cornerstone of the military might of the Order of the White Lotus, the quintessential man needed to even have a chance at victory today. Already more powerful than the typical firebender on any given day, on this day that difference was amplified even further. He took several deep breaths to take in the Comet's power, used it to conjure a massive ring of fire in the Agrarian Zone, and then hurled all of this fire at the Inner Wall. The flames struck with enough force to shatter stone, blasting apart a large hole in the wall, wide enough for an army to slip through with plenty of room to spare.
Iroh brought down the wall singlehandedly, opening the way for the White Lotus to attack. Warriors clad in white and blue rushed into the lower ring, overwhelming the firebenders still shocked by the sudden destruction. Earthbenders were at the front of the assault, hurling blocks of stone at targets in every direction. Firebenders followed and turned the Comet's power against the Fire Nation, fighting fire with fire in the streets of the city. Waterbenders brought up the rear, washing away the stragglers missed by earth and fire, cleaning up the mess left in their wake.
Leading the assault were three bending masters, Bumi, Pakku, and Jeong Jeong. Bumi was earthbending the streets of the city, attacking the firebenders with the ground beneath their feet. Pakku was drawing water from the city's wells, creating floods that washed away the flames and the firebenders creating them. Jeong Jeong was spewing flames from his feet to fly into the air, spawning pillars of flame that swept aside the relatively weaker firebenders. Together they were a force to be reckoned with, even without the help from the Dragon of the West.
From behind the ranks of the White Lotus, Iroh commanded his forces like the general he used to be. He had imagined conquering Ba Sing Se for a long time, ambitions brought on by a vision he had decades ago. Back then he believed he would conquer the city for the Fire Nation, but instead he was taking the city away from the Fire Nation. Iroh did not allow the fulfillment of his misinterpreted vision to cloud his judgement, keeping his thoughts on the battle at hand. The enemy still had the numbers and the power of the comet, so this battle was far from over.
"Keep the pressure on," Iroh ordered. "Do not let them regroup."
The old masters of the White Lotus grouped together and combined their talents, mixing elements to overwhelm the enemy firebenders. Bumi and Pakku mixed loose dirt and water to unleash a mudslide, extinguishing flames and covering their benders in muck. Pakku switched partners and worked with Jeong Jeong, letting his flames overheat water into a cloud of steam, scalding the exposed skin of everyone it touched. Then Jeong Jeong worked with Bumi to melt solid rock, creating streams of lava that flowed across the land, sinking Fire Nation tanks into the very streets they drove on.
Still, despite their teamwork, Iroh would not get complacent. "That's it. Keep this up and we'll be victorious before the day it out."
Once Suki figured out how to steer the airship, she made it turn toward the rest of the fleet.
Treating it like a colossal battering ram, Suki set it on a collision course, and had Toph break off the wheel with her metalbending. After that Toph made a makeshift ladder to get them out of the bridge, heading back up through the hole they had made getting in here. They reached the top just in time for Suki to see the next airship up close, having just a few minutes before impact. The entire airship shook upon collision, and the shriek of tearing metal was deafening. The bottom decks were stripped away, and the other airship lost its top levels, its airbags ruptured and making it fall from the sky.
Immediately after that collision, Toph was on her tip-toes, trying to limit the vibrations reaching her. "Okay, ow, that hurt. Warn me sooner with the nex-"
"Jump!" Suki shouted.
The airship slammed into another one, tearing apart the middle decks, and making the other airship fall like the previous one. Only the upper third of the airship remained intact, held aloft by a few remaining gasbags beneath it, which were torn in places and leaking the lighter than air gas. They were still falling out the sky, albeit slower than the rest of the airship, and already below the altitude of the airship fleet. Suki could see that clearly, looking up at an airship passing by overhead, beyond their reach of this slowly falling wreck.
"Where's the next airship?!" Toph screamed.
"We didn't reach it," Suki answered.
Before panic could set in, Toph heard the sound of distant thunder, and had a good idea what it actually was. "Is that who I think it is…?"
All Suki saw was a red and blue blur, something picked them up, and everything around them turned into a blur. A moment later everything stopped and Suki found herself on solid ground, right beside a very relieved Toph. First, she saw the cragged shore they were on, hearing the waves beating against the rocks. Second, she saw the three destroyed airships crashing into the sea, their remains creating huge waves that quickly dispersed. Third she saw the remaining airships, still on course for land to the north of where she was.
Fourth was Taiyo, though not like Suki had seen him before. "Whoa…"
He wore a suit that was very form fitting, like a second skin over the powerful muscles that lay within. Most of it was a deep blue like a normal sky, but with a subtle pattern that made it resemble chainmail. Red boots and a yellow belt went unnoticed compared to the symbol on his chest, the red angled line in a diamond with the negative space filled by yellow. A red cape fluttered in the wind, with a yellow angled line in a diamond on the back. He had also combed his hair back, leaving only a little bit of hair hanging on his forehead.
"So…" Taiyo said, looking Suki in the eye. "Were you two counting on Sokka to catch you?"
"Maybe," Suki admitted. "We didn't really plan very far ahead."
"I thought we were winging it," Toph said.
"All things considered, you did as well as you could have," Taiyo said. "Now it's my turn."
Taiyo leapt into the air and took flight, heading off toward the airship fleet.
Suki watched him leave, and there was only one thing on her mind. "Where did he get that outfit?"
Although the White Lotus was fighting to take Ba Sing Se from the outside, their forces were fortunate to have help on the inside.
Behind Fire Nation forces, a lone individual struck from the shadows. Small spherical bombs were thrown into groups of firebenders, exploding with enough flash and bang to disorient them and disrupt their efforts. During the chaos, firebenders were picked off one by one, snatched away into dark alleys before they could even think of using their firebending. Soon, those that remained were hurling fire at anything that moved, sometimes even burning each other by mistake. They had no idea who was causing all the trouble, most having never believed in the existence of the Batman.
Never attacking from the same place twice, Batman stayed several steps ahead of the enemy. He made his way toward the center of the city, always being gone when someone realized where he had been. Along the way he picked up more supplies at prearranged checkpoints, keeping his ammunition topped off as much as possible. His efforts disrupted the Fire Nation's redeployment of firebenders, and spread a wave of disorder all the way to the palace. It stopped when he reached that destination, were a wall of guards protecting the palace were not going to be swayed by a few small toys.
There were no convenient dark alleys around the palace, just the wide-open space that made it easy to be spotted. Another approach was needed, that being one of the many underground passages the Dai Li used to pass through the city quickly and unseen. Batman found the closest one and got inside, and within the dark tunnel he could move as fast as his legs allowed. It only took a few minutes for him to pass through, reaching the lowest levels of the palace. From there it would be a short way upward, and ambush more firebenders from behind.
But then Batman spotted Dai Li agents up ahead, turning around a corner. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen any of them today before now. "What are they up to…?"
Standing where the lion-turtle had left him and Momo, Aang saw the airship fleet come over the horizon.
He didn't linger on the thoughts of how or why the lion-turtle knew where to put him, instead focusing on what he was going to when he faced the Fire Lord. Aang had watched Taiyo fly away a short time ago, when the others had needed him. There was still a little bit of time for Aang to prepare, judging by the distance to the airship fleet and the speed it was going, time enough to plan his opening move. There was one airship flying ahead of all the others, larger and with more ornate markings on the hull, clearly the flagship that would be carrying the Fire Lord himself.
But if Aang didn't know better, he would swear there were fewer airships than there should be, like there should be at least three more than the number he saw. That was a promising sign for the day ahead, yet also something to worry about in the back of his mind, for it told of his friends trying to do the job in his absence. But Aang knew he had to put that thought aside, needing to focus on the task at hand. He had an idea to take down an airship, though he figured it would only work once, and would have to be spent on the Fire Lord's airship and bring him down first.
Aang glanced at the lemur sitting on his shoulder. "Momo, time for you to go."
Momo flew away immediately, not needing to be told twice.
Once Momo was safely out of sight, Aang steadied himself for the battle at hand. The airships were quickly approaching the shoreline, and the flagship was the first one to cross over into the Earth Kingdom. For a moment Aang thought he could see the Fire Lord up there, about to set the world ablaze and watch it all burn. Aang clenched his fists, drew upon his earthbending to break apart the columns of stone around him, and then launched the large chunks of rock into the air, straight toward the flagship.
At high speed, those chunks of rock tore into the airship's hull on impact, inflicting considerable damage and rupturing the gasbags underneath. It was enough to make the airship fall out of the sky, though at a slow enough pace for a gentle crash landing. It came down at the edge of the Wulong Forest, not far from where Aang was standing. However, during the fall, there was a burst of flame near the bow of the airship, and a person was riding the flames to escape the crash. It was Fire Lord Ozai, his firebending enhanced by the comet enough to let him fly by fire.
Aang kept his eyes on the Fire Lord. "Alright. Here he comes…"
Meanwhile, inside the upper levels of the Earth King's palace, two benders were fighting their way through the firebenders that stood in their way.
Zuko's firebending was enhanced just as much by the comet's power, and his skill was greater than the other firebenders here. With that power at his command, he would fill whole hallways with fire, driving back firebenders that could only barely spare themselves from the flames. Katara's waterbending dealt with those that managed to get up close, where firebending would hinder more than help. Together, they were a force to be reckoned with, and they steadily made their way up the palace to reach the throne room.
A giant plume of flame heralded Zuko's arrival, blasting open the big fancy doors of the throne room, ripped off their hinges and falling to the floor with a heavy thud. The floor was still shaking when more flames shot into the throne room, Zuko not taking any chances with the enemy sure to be inside. But he didn't hear any burning screams, and when the flames dispersed there weren't any charred bodies to be found. Indeed, they discovered that the throne room was empty, not even a token guard to defend a symbol of the Fire Nation's occupation.
Or so they thought.
The ceiling shattered into many chunks of rock, all falling down and promising death from above. Zuko shot a thick plume of fire straight up, piercing the rain of rocks, heat and flames pushing the pieces to the sides and away from soft flesh. Katara and Zuko heard the rocks hitting the floor around them, followed by the sound of many pairs of stone-clad feet making a landing. They saw Dai Li agents surrounding them, accompanied by firebenders unused to trusting earthbenders, bringing both elements to bear on the would-be assassins.
Among the Dai Li was Lachlan Luthor, commanding this little ambush. "Finish them."
Earth and fire were summoned and hurled together, converging on the two targets from nearly every direction. But Zuko was faster than they were, and he created a thick dome of fire around himself and Katara, shielding them from the blaze of other firebenders. Katara augmented that dome with a ring of swiftly flowing water, catching the rocks that pierced the blaze, flinging the hot stones away with the force of a raging river. Flung back through the dome of fire, the scorching hot rocks surprised the agents, who barely managed to shatter them before impact.
Yet while the rocks were broken, their fragments continued onward, hot enough to burn any unshielded skin. Several faces were burned by hot dust, and the dual element attack faltered for a moment. It was enough for Katara to direct some of her water down, cutting into the floor beneath their feet, severing a round section barely two feet wide. The disk-shaped piece of floor fell straight down, took Katara and Zuko down with it, getting them out of the throne room just as Zuko's dome began to fail. Both were knocked off their feet on impact, but had to move when fire up above spilled through the hole.
After leaping to the side and redirecting the fire away from them, Zuko turned toward Katara. "That was a bit too close."
"We're not done yet," Katara pointed out.
Sure enough, after the flames stopped, the next ceiling above them was shattered. But this time Zuko and Katara were expecting this trick, and the hurled their elements up at the agents in descent. Several Dai Li agents were taken out before they could defend themselves, hitting the floor in a crumpled wreck instead of gracefully on their feet. It created a path for Zuko and Katara to escape, running through a wide corridor that went beneath the Earth King's throne. Zuko left plumes of flame behind them, enough to block flames from firebenders above them, long enough to flee the scene.
"I hope you have a plan for this," Katara said, running beside Zuko and looking for more water she could use. "We are not in a good spot."
"I know," Zuko said. Still, he kept running, and he kept firebending. "We'll figure something out. I'm sure of it."
While the flagship crashed, Taiyo flew toward the rest of the airship fleet.
The one in the middle was his first target, and with both fists forward he flew straight into it. He tore through the metal like weak paper, puncturing the gasbags inside and releasing the lighter than air gas inside. Without that gas the airship began to fall towards the sea, though slow enough for the crewmen inside to brace for impact. The airship crashed into the sea not far out from Earth Kingdom shores, close enough for evacuating crewmen to reach safety. Now behind the airship fleet, Taiyo turned around to choose his next target.
Then something fast and strong blindsided him.
The impact sent him tumbling in midair, until he reoriented himself and saw what had hit him. It was Lobo, riding his space motorcycle, his hands wrapped around the handlebars. With him was Maxima, sitting right behind the alien, also smiling upon seeing Taiyo hovering there. The space motorcycle had a large dent in it, the result of the impact at high speed, though the dent didn't seem to impair the vehicle's function. Lobo brought the space motorcycle around to hover near Taiyo, and Maxima waved at him.
Lobo had hoped his space motorcycle would do some damage, but seeing the kryptonian unharmed didn't hamper his mood. "Well, well, well. I was wondering when you would join the party. The new look is a bit colorful, but we can dirty it up soon enough."
Taiyo remembered seeing him at the Western Air Temple, and afterward he had gotten Sokka to tell him all that he knew about this alien. "You must be Lobo."
"That I am," Lobo said. "And the Main Man is going to show you who's boss, kryptonian."
Maxima smiled brightly. "Floor it."
Lobo maxed out the throttle, and his space motorcycle shot forward to ram Taiyo again. This time, Taiyo was ready for it, and stood his ground, metaphorically speaking. The impact only pushed him back five feet, and the motorcycle was further dented. Lobo let momentum fling him forward, and Maxima did the same, which launched them both at Taiyo at point-blank range. Both of them punched Taiyo right in the face, and that impact knocked him back twice as far. Then Taiyo struck back with both fists, hitting Lobo into Maxima into the motorcycle, and all three fell straight into the forest below.
Taiyo flew down and landed on one of the shorter stone pillars, where he could watch Lobo and Maxima pull themselves out of a crater. "Seriously, why are you even here? What do you get out of helping the Fire Nation?"
"Just a little bit of fun before heading back to Almerac," Lobo answered. He shrugged, and then clenched his fists. "And I hope you don't disappoint."
Lobo leapt from the crater to reach Taiyo, only to receive a punch to the face that launched him away. Maxima had been right behind him, and she swung both fists at Taiyo's face. He caught those fists in one hand, then spun Maxima round and round, before throwing her back at the ground. She landed on her feet, and jumped back up again, determined to strike a blow. She pulled back a fist to punch, but it was a feint, and she swung her legs instead. The kick knocked him back a few feet, right into Lobo's path, who was coming back for another attack.
Taiyo grabbed Maxima by the foot, and swung her into Lobo, so that both of them fell back to the ground. "Okay, enough distractions."
He flew back up into the sky, and turned back toward the airship fleet. Taiyo targeted the northernmost airship next, since it was the closest one to him. Just like the last one he had rammed, Taiyo tore through the center of the airship, punching a hole clean through, making it fall out of the sky. This one crashed into the shore of the Earth Kingdom, digging a long and shallow trench inland, which quickly filled with seawater. He turned his attention to the next airship, flying toward the stern to ram it from behind.
But then the space motorcycle struck again, making Taiyo tumble through the air. Lobo was struggling to control his ride, courtesy of the dents from prior impacts, but still managed to bring it around to try and hit Taiyo once more. This time, Taiyo grabbed the handlebars to seize control of the vehicle, holding it in place. Then Maxima leapt into the air and slammed her entire body into Taiyo, and the unexpected impact sent all three of them spiraling out of control. They crashed into the upper hull of an airship, leaving long gashes in the metal, while the space motorcycle kept going and fell off.
Taiyo got up and stood on the hull, where he saw Maxima recovering quickly, and he remembered the last time they had fought. "No eclipse to help you this time."
"That's fine," Maxima said, taking a second to stretch. "I don't need it."
"You sure about that?" Taiyo asked. He saw her nod. "Let's find out."
Taiyo flew at Maxima, threw a punch, and she managed to block it. But not the second punch, which struck Maxima in the face, and knocked her off her feet. She crashed into Lobo, who had just gotten back up, and he complained about being knocked back down again. Taiyo flew after them, swung his fists into both Maxima and Lobo, and with significantly more force. Both of them were launched clear from the airship, and they plummeted toward the ground. There wasn't even a scream as they fell, and Taiyo chose to take that as proof that they had finally been knocked out.
"Okay," Taiyo said. He looked down at the airship was hovering over. "Back to stopping-"
"Look out!"
That was when a red beam from above struck Taiyo, pushing him into and through the airship, and coming out through the bottom hull. He recovered and looked upward, seeing who did it. "Zhao…"
Another red beam followed, but was blocked by a large green shield. Sokka dropped down to Taiyo's altitude, getting side by side while maintaining the shield. "Sorry, couldn't hold him back."
The green shield shattered, but both Sokka and Taiyo got out of the red beam's way. They both flew up to Zhao's altitude, and Taiyo flew in front of Sokka. "At least you kept him off us as long as you did. It was bad enough dealing with just those two aliens."
"Well, I could use a hand with Zhao," Sokka said. "If you don't mind."
"Let's make this quick," Taiyo insisted.
Zhao flew in at both of them, firing red beams from both arms, aiming at both targets before him. Sokka conjured a green sphere around himself, Taiyo crossed his arms in front of his face, and both took the hits head on. They were pushed back by the attacks, defenses cracking but not breaking, and were left intact after they finished. Sokka retaliated with another green beam, while Taiyo flew in and pulled back his fist, and Zhao formed a red shield to block. The green beam hit and the red shield buckled, and then Taiyo punched the damaged shield, breaking through it to strike at Zhao directly.
Still flying forward, Taiyo struck Zhao in the chest, his red aura taking the brunt of the impact. It still knocked the wind out of him, and his world was spinning when Sokka fired another green beam at him. Zhao narrowly dodged that attack, only for Taiyo to appear behind him, wrapping his arms around Zhao's to put him in a lock. Zhao didn't bother to struggle physically, his muscles no match for Taiyo's, and focused his power into his aura instead. Red light built up around him, and then exploded into a fiery blaze, forcing Taiyo to let go of him before being flung away.
After a short fall, Taiyo reoriented himself and glanced down before looking back at Zhao. "Man, I'm missing everything."
Even with the Fire Lord flying toward him, Aang stood his ground on the stone pillar.
Despite the grave threat, Aang was able to stay calm, for a rash action now would be a deadly mistake. Ozai had discarded his fancy robe before starting his flight, which left him bare chested, and that was more than a little distracting. The Fire Lord landed on another stone pillar, where he could stare down the Avatar. For a moment, their eyes were locked, and Aang noticed that something was off. Ozai seemed to be very calm and quiet, unlike the monster he had heard so much about. At the very least, Aang had expected him to gloat before starting the fight.
"Shouldn't there be a speech right now?" Aang asked. "I figured you would be boasting about having the comet's power."
Ozai's eyes narrowed. "So you are the Avatar. I must admit, you are not what I expected."
Aang blinked twice, now confused more than frightened. "How is that so?"
"You have powerful allies at your disposal, yet chose to face me alone," Ozai said. He held out an arm toward all the fighting in the distance, as though to illustrate the point. "I wonder, is it pride? Is this to prove that you are still relevant? Or are you merely taking the glory for yourself?"
"No, no, and no," Aang answered. That was when he made the tiniest glance upward, and noticed a tiny scar in Ozai's forehead. "It's the Avatar's job, my job, to put the world back into balance. I can do that with or without help."
Ozai saw distant flares of light in the corner of his eye. Red, green, and fire, clashing in the sky nearby. "It seems that the traitor is occupied. He cannot save you."
"I don't need saving," Aang said.
"We'll see," Ozai said. Done talking, Ozai punched the air, and a plume of fire shot toward Aang.
Expecting that move, Aang jumped backward and deliberately fell off the pillar, calling on the wind to control his fall. Ozai leaped across the gap between pillars and landed above Aang, looking down to see him clinging to rock halfway to the bottom. He punched another plume of flames straight down, scorching the side of the pillar, and making Aang leap away again. This time Aang threw gusts of wind up at Ozai, but he stood his ground and withstood the wind beating against him. Then he too leapt off the pillar, flying on plumes of flame to chase the Avatar.
Aang pulled towards himself and the stone pillar broke apart, the scorched chunks of stone drawn toward him and directed at Ozai. He saw them coming and nimbly avoided the falling rock, and he got much closer to Aang and shot more fire at him. Aang made his own plumes of fire and shot them into Ozai's, blocking most of the flames and dispersing the rest. But Ozai still got closer and continued firebending, more than Aang could handle with his very limited skill. Mimicking Ozai's feet firebending, and using airbending to assist, Aang shot up into the air and high in the sky.
Ozai followed him up there, using his fists to make more plumes of fire to ascend much faster. Aang abruptly stopped and let himself fall, and swept his leg to airbend at the right moment, hitting Ozai with wind as he passed by. The blow knocked Ozai off course and sent him tumbling through the air, which got worse as Aang threw more and more wind at him. But then Ozai surrounded himself with a sphere of fire, blocking the wind and giving him a moment to recover. Then Ozai sent the flames outward in every direction, only for Aang to part the flames with his own firebending.
And as Aang diverted the flames, he heard the distinct crackling of electricity. "Oh that isn't good…"
A massive bolt of lightning came his way, and Aang only barely avoided the strike, and felt the immense heat that surrounded the lightning. Another bolt of lightning followed the first, and as Aang dodged the strike he felt the little hairs on his arms and legs stand up on end. Bright light from the lightning nearly blinded Aang, and he had to shield his eyes during the third dodge, and there were spots in his vision afterward. Aang dropped down to the closest stone pillar and got behind it, only for the fourth lightning bolt to shatter the stone into smaller pieces.
A fifth lightning bolt followed, and Aang couldn't get out of the way in time. Instead, he pointed two fingers into the oncoming lightning, hoping that the redirection technique Zuko taught would work. The lightning hit his fingers and traveled down his arm, and when Aang brought his other hand down his stomach the lightning went there as well. Then Aang stretched out his free arm, and the lightning started to go up and out. At first Aang's fingers were pointed at Ozai, and he knew that he had walked right into a trap.
Except that Aang couldn't follow through, unwilling to unleash the lightning even on his greatest foe. He pointed his fingers into the sky instead, firing the redirected lightning into the heavens. And yet, despite Aang's choice, the lightning still hit something. There was a bright flash of light, a very loud scream, and a body fell out of the sky. Both Aang and Ozai looked to see Zhao in freefall, his red aura nearly gone and his red arm missing. He made impact not too far away, and once he was out of sight Aang and Ozai turned their attention back to each other.
And knowing that Taiyo could hear a whisper, Aang spoke before continuing. "Go help someone else."
He heard the sound of thunder on the wind, disappearing in the east, enough for Aang to know that Taiyo was heading out to help at Ba Sing Se.
At this point, Sokka had only one thing to say.
"Stay down this time!"
The misdirected lightning strike had been pivotal in his own battle against Zhao, Aang's attempt to get rid of lightning harmlessly having gone awry. Zhao's red aura had acted as a lightning rod, and the bolt struck him directly. That same aura had shielded him from the worst of the lightning strike, but still left him falling from the sky with all his constructs shattered. Zhao recovered just enough to concentrate before hitting the ground, restoring a portion of his aura and slowing his fall. Zhao still hit the ground hard, but not hard enough to kill him.
At Aang's insistence, Taiyo had flown off to provide assistance elsewhere. That left Sokka to deal with Zhao, and he was in no mood to allow the oldest enemy to get back up again. Sokka struck without hesitation, exploiting the opportunity while he still had it. He conjured a giant green fist and brought it down with righteous fury, punching the crater with Zhao still in it. That impact made the crater deeper, impressing a fist shape into the dirt, burying Zhao in it. Sokka punched with that fist over and over, not giving Zhao a chance to get back up again.
Sokka only stopped when the red glow at the bottom vanished, and he could see Zhao lying there out cold. He punched one more time for good measure, and then let the green fist vanish. All traces of Zhao's red glow were gone, though he was still alive. Even the bright red uniform faded away, replaced by the normal red uniform of the Fire Navy. Sokka landed at the edge of the fist shaped hole in the ground, expecting Zhao to get up and strike back, but it didn't happen. He walked up close to Zhao, finding that was truly down for the count.
And just to be sure, Sokka made a green claw to remove the red ring from Zhao's finger. "There."
Stashing the red ring away in a pocket, Sokka turned his attention to other matters. He saw the battle between Aang and Ozai, not a single spark of electricity flying after the redirection display, only flames being used by the Fire Lord. He also saw the airship fleet still in motion, the big burn of the Earth Kingdom well underway. Sokka wanted to deal with the former, but knew he had to do something about the latter first. He aimed his ring at each airship in turn, fired a large blast of green energy each time, and blew a hole clean through the underside of each airship.
The damage slowed down the airships, and startled the firebenders into stopping the big burn. Satisfied with that, Sokka flew to Aang's side. "Need some help?"
Standing on a pillar, currently deflecting a plume of fire with his own flames, Aang glanced at Sokka. "Well… if you're not busy with something else."
Sokka flew above Aang and fired a green beam, which Ozai attempted to block with fire. The beam passed right through, striking Ozai and knocking him off another pillar. "Got him."
But Ozai wasn't out, already creating flames to stop his fall and rise back up. He returned to the stone pillar, glaring at the two enemies before him. "You have friends in high places, Avatar."
"That blast should have done some damage," Sokka noted. He aimed his ring at Ozai. "What gives?"
A twitch of recognition struck Ozai, eyes darting between Aang's face and Sokka's ring. "It seems the time for this charade has come to an end."
Aang braced himself for another attack. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Ozai's head snapped backward, twisting his back into an arch while his knees bent a little. Fire erupted from both fists and his mouth, one plume going up and two going down. Black lines appeared on his skin following his veins, creating a metallic shine over parts of his flesh. On his forehead the black lines formed three circles at the points of a triangle, and the skin inside the circles turned a dark green color. The flames ceased, Ozai's head tipped back forward, and all expression left his face. The eyes were dull and lost their golden glare, as if someone else was looking out through them.
"There is more here than just a Fire Lord," Ozai said, his voice having a metallic ring to it now. "I had hoped to remain concealed, but you have forced my hand."
Only one thing came to mind, and Aang remembered a name. "Brainiac."