Ch 14 crossroads of destiny

Wash quickly and furiously put his weapons and ammo ready for a fight. Taking inventory, he had one magazine for his DMR, and only 12 bullets for his sniper rifle. He had to be conservative.

"Sarge, Tucker. This is Wash."

"Hey, Wash. How's it going?" Sarge asked.

"Not good. We're heading back to the city. ETA, 30 minutes. Do you have Katara and the rest of the group?" Wash asked.

"We're at the house, but she isn't here. Neither is Toph." Tucker said.

"She said that she was meeting with her mother in the city, so they could be anywhere. Find them, and bug out of the city." Wash said.

"You got it, Wash." Sarge said, cutting the comms off.

"Is that Toph?" Sokka asked, looking down. Wash grabbed his sniper rifle and looked as well. Sure enough, he saw the blind tough as nails earth-bender.

"Need a lift?" Aang asked, as he flew Appa close to her. The distraction caused Toph to lose her focus and fall on the earth, giving herself a few fresh scrapes.

"That's gotta hurt." Wash muttered.

"Toph, I thought you were in the city." Sokka asked.

"I was, but then I was kidnapped. Of course, I broke myself out." Toph said.

"Well, at least your safe. Aang says that Katara is in danger. My men are scouring the city for her." Wash said.

"You don't sound too confident." Sokka said.

"It's less than a dozen of us searching for one person, in a city as large as Ba Sing Se. Of course I'm not." Wash said.

Wash's fears were proven correct when they returned to the city and entered the house.

"Katara, you here?" Wash asked, entering in, DMR in hand.

"She's not here." Toph said.

"She could be anywhere." Simmons said.

The door was knocked open, and the red and blues aimed their guns at the door.

"Aang, calmly open the door and step away." Wash said, looking thru the scope of his DMR.

Aang opened the door, and Iroh appeared in view.

"I need your help." Iroh said.

"Our hands are tied right now. I don't know if we can help you." Wash said.

"Princess Azula is here in the city." Iroh said.

"I know." Wash said.

"How'd you know?" Sokka asked.

"While I was leaving, I saw the three kyoshi warriors. The leader looked very familiar to me. I left Ursa with Hakoda at the bay. That's why I told my troops to protect you guys." Wash said.

"So your plan was to abandon the city?" Aang asked.

"Yes." Wash said.

"Azula must have Katara." Aang said.

"She has captured my nephew as well." Iroh said.

"Who's that?" Sarge asked.

"Zuko." Sokka grudgingly said.

"Then we'll work together to fight Azula, and save Katara and Zuko.

"Woah there. You lost me at, "Zuko"." Sokka said.

"I know how you must feel about my nephew. But believe me when I tell you there is good inside him." Iroh said.

"Good inside of him isn't enough. Why don't you come back when it's outside him too, okay?" Sokka asked, shoving Iroh away.

"Katara is in trouble. All of Ba Sing Se is in trouble. Working together is our best chance." Aang pleaded.

Sokka grudgingly agrees.

"Good. I brought someone who can help." Iroh said.

Outside, is a captured Dai Li agent.

"Azula and Long Feng are planning a coup. They're going to overthrow the king." The agent said.

"My sister. Where is she?" Sokka asked.

"In the catacombs beneath the city." The agent said.

"Good." Wash said, as he broke the agent's neck, killing him.

Above the city, the group waited as Toph knelt on the ground and told them of her discovery.

"Well, what do you know. There is an ancient city down there. But it's deep." Toph said.

"We should split up. Me and Tucker will go with Aang and Iroh. Everyone else, head to stop the coup. Remember. If it hits the fan, leave the city and head to the bay. That's the rally point." Wash said.

Wash and Tucker followed behind Iroh and Aang as they made their way to the underground of the city.

"So, have you boned Ursa yet?" Tucker asked.

"Jesus, Tucker. The world is about to fucking end, and you're asking that kind of questions?" Wash asked.

"Dude, I'm just trying to break the tension." Tucker said.

"Yes, because making sexual jokes is a great way to relieve the fact that we could all be dead before the day is over." Wash bitingly said.

The rest of the group gathered next to the palace, where they saw general How get captured by the Dai Li.

"The coup's already starting." Sokka said.

"Then we better hurry." Sarge said, racking the pump on his shotgun.

Heading inside, they ran into the throne room and saw the king.

"We need to get you out of here, now." Sarge said.

"What for?" the king asked.

"Yeah, what for, cutie?" Ty Lee asked, as she performed a summersault and landed in front of Sokka.

"They're not the real kyoshi warriors." Simmons said, as he grabbed Ty Lee and threw her across the room, the force of the impact knocking her out.

"Sorry to disappoint you." Mai said.

"Lady, I'm sorry to disappoint you as well." Sarge said, as he pulled out his pistol and shot Mai in her shoulders.

"Drop your weapons!" Azula shouted, appearing behind the king and holding a blue flame to his neck.

Caboose shrugged his shoulders, aimed his rifle and pulled the trigger. Azula clutched her cheek in shock and looked as Long Feng and his Dai Li agents arrived.

"Dai Li, kill them." Azula ordered.

The sim troopers simply turned their guns on the Dai Li agents, and were more than happy to gun them all down. Azula fled the scene with her two friends, and Long Feng was shot in the face, curtesy of Sarge.

"Where do we go now?" Simmons asked.

"Simmons, Toph, Sokka. Take the king and head to the bay. The rest of us will help Wash and the avatar." Sarge ordered.

Wash and Tucker took rear position as Aang and Katara ran thru the catacombs.

"Is there a way out of here?" Tucker asked.

Tucker didn't get an answer, as Azula attacked the 4 of them.

"Holy shit!" Tucker shouted, as the dust cleared.

"It's that bitch, Azula!" Wash shouted, aiming his DMR at her.

Katara pulls water from a nearby stream and goes on the offensive against Azula, yet Azula destroys the water and uses the steam as cover.

"Where is she?" Tucker asked.

"Got you now." Wash muttered, as he aimed upward into the steam and pulled the trigger. Gunshots rang out, and a bolt of lightning came out of nowhere and destroyed Wash's DMR.

"Damn it. She's good." He said, unslinging his sniper rifle.

Azula starts firing lightning at the group, causing them to scatter. Landing on her feet, she confidently walks forward, preparing for an attack.

"Over here!" Tucker shouts, activating his energy sword. Azula turns to her side and fires a bolt of lightning at Tucker. The sim trooper holds his plasma sword in front of him, and the energy builds up in the blade.

"Damn it!" Tucker growls, as he tosses his sword into the air, and watches it explode from the pent-up energy.

An orange fireball suddenly comes from nowhere and lands in the middle of the fight. Everyone turns to see Zuko approach the group, unsure of his intentions. Aang's eyes widen as Zuko attacks him.

"Oh come on!" Wash shouted, as he aimed his sniper rifle at Zuko. Putting the crosshairs on his head, he exhales and puts his finger on the trigger, only for the ground underneath him to violently explode.

"Trouble with cars, now with the ground." Wash muttered, as he stood up and faced 12 Dai Li agents.

"Too easy." Wash muttered and pulled out his knife.

Wash dodged an earth rock, grabbed one of the agents and plunged the knife into his head. Swinging rightward, he slashed another agent thru the throat. The Dai Li quickly wrapped his feet and legs with earth to prevent him from moving.

"Washington!" Caboose shouted, firing his assault rifle at the Dai Li agents.

"I'll be damned." Wash said, seeing the sim troopers come to his rescue.

"Did you stop the coup?" Wash asked, as Sarge and Caboose broke the earth bonds.

"No. But we got the king out of the city. We came back to help you guys." Griff said.

"That's selfless of you, Griff." Wash said.

"The food here is really good, so I feel like I have to do something in return." Griff said.

"That's more like it." Wash said.

"I thought you changed!" Katara shouted, as she dueled with Zuko.

"I have changed." Zuko replied.

"Oh, Wash. I got bad news." Caboose said.

"Can't get any worse than this." Wash replied.

A loud explosion was heard, and dozens of Dai Li agents quickly came into the catacombs. Wash's HUD registered at least 100 agents, as they all appeared at once, thanks to their advanced earthbending.

The sim troopers pulled out their weapons and started to fire at the Dai Li agents, but were running out of ammunition real soon.

"Out of ammo!" Wash shouted, slinging his sniper rifle.

"I'm all out! Griff, where's the ammo?" Sarge shouted, as he slung his shotgun.

"You said for Donut and Lopez to take everything back to the ship. Including the ammo." Griff said.

"We're in a bind here. Any ideas?" Wash asked.

"Only one idea so far. Kill as many as possible." Sarge said, as he holstered his now-empty pistol.

Aang took a look at the battlefield and noticed they were heavily outnumbered. Even the sim troopers were beginning to fray, and the piles of dead Dai Li surrounding them was very substantial.

"I'm sorry, Katara." Aang muttered, knowing what had to be done.

Aang earthbent a shelter of crystals and meditated. Activating all the chakras, he rose up in a pillar of light, attracting the attention of everyone else.

"What's that?" Sarge asked.

"Looks like he's mastered the avatar state." Wash said.

A bolt of lightning struke Aang thru the back, and he fell towards the earth.

"No!" Katara shouted, and attacks the Dai Li with a large wave, washing them away. She catches Aang and looks up as Azula and Zuko approach them. The sound of a bolt being racked catches her attention, and she watches as Tucker stands in front of her and Aang. He holds his pistol with one hand at the two firebenders, while his other hand is clutching his side, blood seeping past the fingers.

General Iroh jumps from above, landing between the two parties and is throwing fireballs at any attackers.

"Go! I'll hold them off!" Iroh shouted.

Tucker backed away with Katara and Aang and ascended using the waterfall to escape their imminent capture.

"Where's the rest of the team?" Katara asked.

"Don't know. We need to leave, now." Tucker replied.

Wash led the sim troopers back thru the same tunnel he came thru first, and came upon the darkened streets of Ba Sing Se. No-one was on the streets, almost as if the city itself knew the end had come.

"We need to run and fast." Wash said.

"No need to." Sarge said, as Appa landed next to the group and they climbed on board. Flying away from the city, the earth king made a sober statement.

"The earth kingdom, has fallen."