France, May 5th, 1940
Azula's hair blew gently in the wind that swayed the Fire Nation flag as she looked upon the plains ahead of her. She could smell and hear war approaching. The distant explosions and smell of smoke assaulted her.
She picked up a pair of binoculars and looked upon the hills surrounding the fort that protected the portal. On them, Fire Nation soldiers sat entrenched, looking down upon a giant army.
Azula growled. It would be hard to fight them off but with her skill and her ship, she would. They would never take this portal but will die trying.
She fixed the crown on her head with a snarl. It had to be perfect on her head. It wasn't befitting of a Queen for it to not. She turned her head down and looked at the fort.
It looked like a giant castle that was built by the strongest Earthbenders. There was a giant tower in the middle which is where she stood. Inside the fort were many areas for soldiers to sit and firebend out from or use one of the new weapons.
Speaking of the new weapons, Azula had very little faith in them. Nothing would ever beat raw firebending but her father had requested for her to bring a shipment of the "guns" as they were called to the defending forces.
She, in interest, had sent for her to have a duel with a man with one of the guns and see who would come out on top. She wanted to show her men that the new weapons were absolutely useless. There was no reason to use them when firebending could suffice.
She would show them the strength of the raw power she had. How she could change the whole tide of the battle into her favor with a few shots of fire.
She sighed at her soldiers weaknesses. They couldn't defend without the aid of special weapons. Anything can be accomplished with firebending. They just didn't realize it.
The men entrenched on each of the surrounding hills had to be shown her power and that of firebenders. Even some of the firebenders serving here had chosen to take some of the new weapons.
She must show them. She would show them. Like the Queen she is. The great Queen of the Fire Nation, soon to be Phoenix Queen of the world once her father had passed.
Azula turned and descended down the stairs towards where she would fight the man. The man thought new weapons were better than traditional firebending. He would soon realize the power of Azula and be converted.
Azula reached the bottom and pushed open the door. She stepped calmly onto the sand and walked with a straight back. She glanced at the gathering amount of soldiers and let her lips turn slightly upward. She would show them.
Finally she reached where she would fight the man. It was an enclosed area where no stray things would hit any spectators. She wasn't the first one there however.
The man she would be fighting was sitting on the ground examining his weapon. He had a piece of cloth in his hand and was using it to clean the tube in his weapon. Then he took out a smaller gun and began cleaning that too. She believed it was called a pistol.
Thee was also a ref in the arena already who seemed to be examining a piece of paper. Azula simply assumed it were rules.
The soldier she would be facing looked up and smiled at her. He stood, holstering the pistol and letting the rifle hang loosely in his hand and walked over to her.
"Hello Queen Azula. I'm Corporal Muir. Let the best of us win." He said, outstretching a hand to the Queen. Azula looked at the hand for a second before deciding she should probably shake it.
"Trust me Lieutenant, it won't be much of a battle." Azula replied with a smirk that made the Corporal white. The Corporal then turned and began to head to the other side of the field with shaky legs. They will be starting soon.
The ref stepped forward and looked at the papers. He was trying to understand how the rules worked and what the weapons each were using.
"On one hand we have Queen Azula." The ref said creating a large amount of clapping from outside the arena. "And the other is Corporal Muir." A bit less clapping.
"Now Corporal, I read that you are using rubber bullets to prevent yourself from dangerously hurting the Queen. Now Queen, if you get hit in the arm you don't need to stop. If you get hit in the stomach or chest with any of the projectiles he uses or comes from what he uses he wins. Corporal, try to refrain from headshots." The Corporal and Azula nodded at the ref. She understood perfectly. Arms don't count but the important stuff do.
"Queen Azula, please don't kill the Corporal by overusing fire. Just aim to incapacitate the Corporal with bending." The ref stepped back to the side of the wall. "Are both parties ready?"
Azula nodded at the ref and so did the Corporal. The ref raised his hands and when he brought them down, he shouted "Begin!"
Azula instantly fired off a blast of fire from her fingertips. The Corporal dodged the blast and rolled before aiming his rifle and shooting. Azula smirked and fired a blast of fire to melt the projectile. Then she felt something hot hit her arm.
She looked down in shock to see a rubber circle bounce off her arm and she winced. There would definitely be a bruise there later. The Queen began to seethe in anger. How dare this lowly soldier deal such a blow to her.
She screamed as she fired lightning at the Corporal. His eyes widened in horror before he barely jumped out of the way. He looked over and saw his rifle a few feet away. Quickly, he unholstered his pistol and began to fire. This had become more of a battle of survival for the Corporal than it was a friendly duel.
Azula barely dodged the many bullets the Corporal fired at her. She smirked, she would show this man. The Corporal on the other hand was reloading his pistol. He realized the rifle was useless in this situation. He needed something for close range and his sidearm was perfect for that.
Quickly he finished reloading and ducked under another blast of fire. If worse came to worst, he would use the grenade he had hanging from his hip.
Azula outstretched her fingers and fired a blast of lightning that was intended for a final blow. One that the Corporal jumped away from as sand was blasted away. As he slid on his side, he shot a few more bullets.
Azula felt her left shoulder jerk back as something impacted it then something else impacted her stomach. The shock was too much for her when she watched the rubber bullets fall to the ground as she fell along with them to her knees.
The arena was silent for a minute. "Corporal Muir wins." The ref said in as much shock as Azula had. One soldier began to clap, then another, and another until the whole stadium was clapping cautiously.
Azula stared ahead at the Corporal who bowed. She had been beat by this new technology. It had defeated her as a prodigy in firebending. Was it because of her lack of skill? Was she too reckless? Was she growing weak? How will her father react? She wondered all this in fear. But one thing was made certain to her, the new weapons were not to be underestimated.
The Japanese Portal
Major Nezu yawned as he stepped out from his tent into the early morning air. It was another day to continue to fortify the portal for the men garrisoning.
Most of the army sent into Japan had returned in shambles. Some of the remaining forces had returned through the portal to join ranks with another army while others had joined the garrison.
The stories from the soldiers were horrible. It was a slaughter, so many had died and they were then hunted down like dogs. He was happy he was in charge of the garrison here.
But the Major saw the red flags. The Japanese were coming for the portal soon. The Major copied what had happened in France. He was attempting to build fortifications when the Japanese decided to knock on his doorstep.
The morning air was cold and the sun was just beginning to rise over the mountains surrounding the portal. The Major could even see his own breath. It was a very large difference from the Fire Nation.
The Major went back into his tent and walked to the table. He grabbed a book and placed it on the table and scrolled through a few pages.
He picked up the book and walked back outside and glanced at the pages. He looked back up at the many fortifications and smiled.
The defenses were coming along nicely, they would finish within a week. At the moment, they could defend the portal for about a month.
A glint from the rising sun caught the eye of the Major. The Major picked up the binoculars that hung on his hip and placed them to his eyes. What he saw made him drop the binoculars in shock.
Quickly he grabbed them again and looked through. Up on the mountains stood giant artillery guns. Japanese the Major thought in horror. He hadn't received any of the new weaponry yet but he knew what he saw. Giant artillery guns poised to annihilate this base.
He looked over across the many mountains and saw what he had feared. There were hundreds of guns surrounding the base. Prepared to create massive casualties on the people under his command.
He turned back to the first gun and stared at it. He saw men running like ants around the gun. He saw one man grip something before pulling back.
There was a large explosion that the Major could hear from where he is. The Major dropped the binoculars and looked around him, seeing grey streaks of smoke flying towards him.
The Major realized too late what was going on as he ran for the horn in the center of camp. He, in a final act, blew the horn with all his might before being annihilated by artillery shells.
The soldiers in the camp awoke to screams of the injured. Quickly, they dressed and grabbed weapons rushing out of their tents into a hellscape.
The base had been annihilated and men were screaming at the fact they were now missing limbs. A few tried to aid those injured but as they would soon find, it would be useless.
"What the hell happened?" One soldier screamed in horror and shock. Another soldier looked up and saw more grey lines of smoke flying at them.
"We're being bombarded!" Said soldier yelled before trying to sprint away. An artillery shell landed near him blowing him away across the camp.
Another artillery shell smashed into the center of camp blowing three soldiers in the air. One captain realized he had to take charge of the situation and began to scream out orders.
"Form ranks!" The captain called out. The soldiers rushed to the front of the base and formed a line of spears.
"Look over there! There are Japanese approaching!" A soldier pointed ahead of them at a mob of tan. There were many screams of "Banzai!" coming from the group.
Some of the soldiers who knew what banzai meant dropped their weapons and fled toward the portal in a desperate hope to survive. A few made it through but many were exploded by artillery.
The captain remained stoic and ordered the soldiers, "Charge at them! They wouldn't dare shoot artillery at their own men." He reasoned pointing a sword forward.
Many of the soldiers unsheathed swords and leveled spears before sprinting at the Japanese with a war cry.
The Japanese leveled their bayonets and fired their rifles into the lines of the Fire Nation. Members of the front line fell to ground in a slump. A few soldiers then began to flee towards the portal.
The remaining clashed with the Japanese in a flurry of metal on metal. A Fire Nation soldiers grabbed ahold of a Japanese soldiers rifle and stabbed him with a sword.
A Japanese soldier ducked under a spear and stabbed a soldier through with a bayonet. A firebender burned through 10 Japanese soldiers.
The firebenders at this close of a range were able to decimate the Japanese forces making many in the formation believe they might actually win. What they didn't realize however was that the Japanese were willing to kill their own men to defeat the Fire Nation. The soldiers they were fighting were ready to die to hold off the Fire Nation.
The artillery guns once again fired and the soldiers watched in fear and fascination as smoke streaks flew toward them. A few closed their eyes in anticipation before hundreds of artillery shells hit the men fighting.
When the smoke cleared and the dust settled, there were few survivors. All of the Japanese soldiers had surrendered themselves to death, lying peacefully in sleep but many Fire Nation soldiers were still living.
The few uninjured attempted to flee while many realized they were already dead from their injuries crawled for the Japanese rifles. They checked to see how they worked and aimed the rifle, preparing to help their friends escape and hold off the Japanese for as long as possible.
Those who stayed behind now lay dead or dying on the rice fields of Japan could hear the distant sound of guns firing into the early morning. Those who escaped would remember the sacrifice their friends made for them on this day.
The few survivors would live on to fight another day for their friends that were using new weapons to hold off a giant force. They were dying in a foreign land for them to survive and the survivors refused to die for a land as useless as Japan. In fear they ran through the portal and the sounds of artillery stopped.
The rice fields of Japan went silent as the Fire Nation base was finally entered by the Japanese soldiers. The portal was completely unharmed and the soldiers stood in front of the swirling hole.
"Should we head through sir?" One soldier asked the Corporal that was in charge of the group.
The Corporal shook his head, "We will when the tanks come in an hour. Let's just secure the base."
The soldiers nodded and fanned out. The Corporal looked up at the destroyed flag with the flame in the middle. One of his soldiers lowered the flag and raised a rising sun. The Corporal smiled and turned away to look once again at the portal, thinking on the eventual fall of the Fire Nation.
France
Aang looked around the place that would become his home for the next few days. It was a large town that the Fire Nation had deserted. The city hall had become the command building while the surrounding town became barracks for most of the armies. Tents were also raised on the outskirts for other troops too.
"Follow me." Pierre called to the group as he led them through the maze of men and guns. There were lots of different uniforms in the camp. Aang only recognized the Italian and French uniforms. No matter who it was, Aang always heard whispers.
"I think that's the Avatar." One soldier remarked to his friend in a thick accent that Aang couldn't place.
"No way, that's a kid!" His friend replied in amazement. The first soldier laughed, "He is a kid but he's very powerful I hear. But nothing compared with what we can do."
Aang grimaced at their words and just tried to ignore them. "Stupid Spaniards." He heard Pierre mutter from up front. So those were the Spanish Aang thought. He expected them to be more kind and humble.
Pierre was walking towards a large building near one of the main roads into the town. He pushed open the door and walked inside.
Haiko, Aang, and the rest of his friends followed looking around curiously. In the right room there was a shelf of delicate plates and a dining room table. Further back, there was a kitchen and directly in front was a staircase that Pierre was ascending.
Haiko followed Pierre up and Sokka pushed Aang to follow. Aang glared behind him and followed the two up. Upstarirs, there were five rooms, all bedrooms.
"Pierre and I will get the bedroom at the far right, the girls can get the one across from us, and Aang, Sokka, Zuko, and Momo." Pierre shivered at the mention of Momo. "Will get the room to the girls right." Haiko said.
"How did you get this building Pierre?" Zuko asked looking around the building, seeing how nicely it was furnished. "I pulled some strings, sent a few letters saying how the Avatar would need at least a whole room for himself and a house for all his companions and they agreed." Pierre shrugged. "I was honestly quite surprised."
"And we won't have to share with anyone?" Toph sounded surprised. Like she didn't know Pierre was capable of doing something like that.
Pierre shook his head. "We were probably the last group of people to get here. Let's see," Pierre began to count on his fingers. "The Americans, British, French, Portuguese, Canadians, Italians, and Yugoslavians are here already. We form together one giant army against the Fire Nation. But I think we're good, there should be no one else coming."
"What about Appa?" Aang asked. Pierre glanced around, thinking of an answer before saying, "You can go outside and try to find somewhere to leave him. I'm sure there's some open room for a sky bison maybe near the stables."
Aang nodded and entered his room. He took a glance around and saw three beds. "Yes, no sharing!" Sokka exclaimed pumping his fist.
Aang chuckled and walked towards the bed closest to him. On the side table there was a note.
Dear Avatar
Your presence is required at the Command Center for planning. We need your unique perspective on Fire Nation defenses in the region. Please come at your best convenience.
Sincerely General Bernard Law Montgomery and Omar Bradley
Aang placed down the note with surprise. He was shocked that the Generals had invited him to a meeting. Sokka, noticing Aang's shock, looked over his shoulder.
After Sokka read he shook his head. "They're just doing it for formality Aang. They have no representatives for our world, they need someone at least."
"Well I was about to ask you if you wanted to come with me." Aang stated with a smile. "Me!" Sokka said in shock, his face becoming a wide o.
"What about Zuko. He's a literal prince!" Sokka exclaimed. "Sokka, I don't think they would take kindly to me being there, Fire Nation and all." Zuko glumly replied.
"So your the best option Sokka. You've always been the most strategically inclined." Aang argued. Sokka put on a thinking face, pretending to think over the fact but Aang already knew Sokka would say yes. He had played Sokka's pride perfectly.
"Fiiiinnnnneeeee. I'll go." Sokka relented. Aang laughed and shook his head. That is when a peculiar sound reached Aang's ears. The sound of drums beating loudly and trumpets blaring, slowly coming closer.
Sokka immediately grabbed his rifle, sword, and boomerang. "It's the enemy they're coming!" Sokka screamed, rushing out of the house. Aang, Zuko, Katara, and Toph followed and they just missed Pierre yell, "Wait!"
They ran outside, preparing for battle but what they found surprised them. Everyone was lining up down the street, watching an unseen spectacle. Sokka forced his way forward towards the road with the others following behind him.
They reached the edge of town quickly and they witnessed what the other soldiers were seeing. It was a line of soldiers where in front were six soldiers in grey uniforms and behind them were men with drums and trumpets, blaring a tune unfamiliar to the group.
Somewhere in the middle of the group a tricolor flag, blue, yellow, and red was being swung by an unseen soldier. There was the sound of panting from behind the group and Aang looked back to see Pierre and Haiko bent over.
"I'm glad you're not attacking them." Pierre said through gasped breaths. "Who are they?" Katara asked in confusion.
"Those are the Romanians." Pierre rasped. Aang turned around and looked at the men in green woolen shirts and pants. He could see rifles and bayonets pointing up in the air and the men marched in perfect uniform. Behind them there was a giant dust cloud from their boots.
When they were about 800 meters away the tune became much lighter. The trumpets entered a much higher octave than what had previously been played.
"Drum bun, drum bun, toba bate, drum bun, bravi români."They sang, surprising the group. They had never heard a marching song before.
"Cu sacul legat în spate cu armele-n mâini. Fie zi cu soare fie sau cerul noros. Fie ploi, ninsoare cu armele-n mâini." They marched right on beat with the song shocking the Gaang.
"What are they singing?" Zuko asked. "Drum bun. A Romanian song saying farewell to the people of Romania." Haiko replied from behind them.
"Fie zi cu soare fie sau cerul noros. Drum bun, drum bun toba bate, drum bun bravi români. Cu sacul legat în spate cu armele-n mâini. Fie la paradâ fie la razboi toti mergem gramada veseli merfem noi."
The soldiers passed the Gaang and Aang watched them sing. Behind the many marching soldiers were trucks pulling giant artillery guns. The sight made Sokka's mouth drop.
The soldiers finally stopped in front of the commander's office and stood at attention. Aang watched a man exit from the building and could see his mouth move but not hear. The soldiers saluted and dispersed.
"Looks like we're sharing with people." Pierre said in annoyance. "Why?" Sokka asked.
"Pierre got the building under the assumption that we were the last to arrive. We're going to share with some Romanians." Haiko sullenly replied with a frown.
There was a pause. "I'm going to move Appa then I'll be back." Aang suddenly said before leaving the group.
Aang found Appa quickly and moved him to a large barn he found on the outside of town. "I'll be back buddy probably tomorrow." Aang whispered into Appa's ear.
Appa in response groaned at Aang. "I know buddy. I don't want to be separated from you as well but we have to. The people here aren't the most kind to very large animals. Pierre told me how people would love collecting furs and I don't want people to collect yours. Here you'll be safe from the war and them."
Appa seemed to gain a sad look and Aang patted him on the back. "Don't worry, next time I'll have some food to make you feel better. I'll be back."
Aang then returned to the house they were staying at. When he entered he was surprised to see around 10 Romanian soldiers in the downstairs area. One looked around to see Aang and smiled.
"Look it's the Avatar! Master of the elements!" He called in a very thick accent. He was very tan with black hair and a pointy nose. His friends turned around and began clapping for Aang.
"Give us a show Avatar!" Another Romanian screamed. This one had very light brown hair, similar to Pierre's. Aang smirked at their request when it registered.
Aang earthbended two rocks into his hand. Then using air, he spun them around at incredible speeds. He even added a small bit of fire in there. He looked at the soldiers shocked faces and laughed.
"Sadly I can't waterbend. I don't have water on me." Aang said as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.
"Here!" A third Romanian soldier who was short and had black hair called throwing a cup of liquid at Aang. Aang smiled at the man and took control of the liquid, spinning it around and making it do weird maneuvers all while the soldiers looked on in shock and excitement.
There was the sound of someone coming down the stairs and Aang had a great idea. When the person, Pierre, reached the bottom Aang shot the liquid into Pierre's face.
Pierre sputtered and glared at Aang. "Well Aang, I came down here to tell you that maybe you should get ready for the meeting but clearly your too busy doing other stuff."
Aang rolled his eyes at Pierre's antics and he followed Pierre up the stairs. Pierre and Haiko had both fit really neatly into their overall group. They each brought new antics and new personalities to the group and Aang loved it. It also seemed that they were horrible at hiding their feelings for each other.
Aang had to try hard to suppress his laugh. During the time of the Air Nomads, they were accepting of whoever you liked. As long as there was deep love, they were fine with the prospect. It didn't really matter with whom it happened.
Aang was so caught up in his thoughts he didn't hear Pierre speaking. "That is who we're staying with Aang, don't act too crazy. They'll be in the rooms next to yours and the girls. The one with the hair like mine is Alexandru, the really small one is Luca, and the one who talked to you first was I believe Cornal. I haven't figured the rest of the names yet."
Aang nodded, pretending to have heard the entire statement. He probably missed the first few statements that Pierre had said.
"Is that what your wearing Aang?" Pierre said looking back at Aang's clothes when they reached the top of the stairs. Aang nodded, "Its my typical Avatar outfit."
Pierre nodded and turned away, "Sokka you ready to go?" He called. Sokka exited a room in classic water tribe gear.
"Yep!"
"Now I want you two to be careful. You never know what might be out there. I wouldn't put it past the Italians or Spanish to do something crazy." Pierre said placing his hands on both of their shoulders.
"What are you? Our dad? Pierre I'm the same age as you." Sokka cried indignantly.
Pierre shook his head as the two began to descend the stairs towards the door. "Just don't do anything stupid."
"Your not a dad Pierre." Sokka called from the bottom of the stairs. Pierre shook his head and turned away.
Sokka and Aang walked towards the main building in silence until it was broken by Sokka. "You remember Aang when you were at my shoulder?" Sokka reminisced.
"Yes Sokka I do. When was it, two years ago?" Aang asked.
"Ya, it was around the Day of the Black Sun. I was 15 and you were 12. I wish Zuko had told us what his father was planning to do to end the war with one fatal blow."
"We all wish that Sokka. I have had many dreams and nightmares imagining if I had fought him on that day."
"We all have regrets in life Aang but it's best not to stick on them. We've grown. I'm 17 now, about to be 18 and your 14 and I don't know when your turning 15."
Aang laughed. "Air nomads never knew when they were born. We really had no celebrations for birthdays. I just know a general time when I was born."
"But do you know Aang how much you've grown? Your now at my head. The tip of your head is almost at my forehead!" Sokka made his voice sound downcast and despaired. "Your going to be taller than me."
"I hope you enjoyed the years you were taller than me Sokka because it won't be that much longer until I'm taller." Aang cracked a smile and he looked ahead of them. They were almost at the main building. All they had to do was ascend some steps.
Aang and Sokka ascended the steps, step by step until finally they reached the door. Sokka opened the door and gestured for Aang to go inside. "Your highness."
"Thank you Lord Sokka." Aang joked.
The two wandered through the building until a soldier came up to them. He seemed out of breath. The cap on his head was sideways.
"Mr. Avatar." He breathed. "Right this way." Aang and Sokka followed the breathless soldier to another set of stairs that brought them to another floor. The soldier opened the first door to the right and gestured them inside.
When the two entered, they found themselves with 7 other men, all dressed in commander uniforms huddled around a table. In the back corner of the room there was a map. The man at the head of the table looked up and upon seeing them nodded at Aang.
"Avatar." He glanced at Sokka. "And friend. It's nice to finally see you. I'm General Montgomery." He extended a hand to them both which they shook firmly.
"Avatar, it is nice to see you finally joined us." One of the commanders gruffly said. "I'm General Omar Bradley of the American Expedionary Force."
The rest of the table introduced themselves. There was General Giovanni Messe from Italy, General Harry Crerar from Canada, General Francisco Pires from Portugal, General Augustìn Grandes of Spain, General Alfonse Juin of France, General Petar of Yugoslavia, and Petre Dumitrescu of Romania.
"Not that I'm objecting to you bringing your friend Avatar but why?" General Juin asked.
"My friend is the strategist of my team." Aang replied. "He planned an attack on the Fire Nation that would've been successful if someone hadn't had told the Fire Nation we were coming."
The generals and commanders nodded. "If that is true he will be welcomed here." General Pires commented.
"Back to what we were discussing, the Fire Nation troops have entrenched themselves heavily into the hills surrounding their castles. If you would do so kindly to look here." General Montgomery pointed to the board with a map.
The commanders and Aang walked over to the board and examined it. It wasn't a map Aang realized, it was an overhead picture.
"Our aircraft took these pictures of the enemy entrenchments. They have formed large trench lines similar to that from the Great War." General Bradley said pointing at many of the trench lines.
Internally, Sokka and Aang marveled at the pictures, imagining the importance of them. They could get pictures from above without ever being spotted. They could never be snuck up upon again by Fire Nation soldiers.
"Why don't we just launch artillery strikes and bomb them?" General Messe asked curiously.
"British command wants to avoid a disaster like the Somme from repeating. We will most likely bomb them but we won't send a full out assault. The first set of hills." General Montgomery pointed to an actual map. "Overlooks a very large plain which we will have to cross. We could use tanks here to help us advance."
"If I may." Sokka interrupted. "Yes, Sokka, right?" General Bradley said.
Sokka nodded. "To avoid being seen, why don't we attack them during the night? We could do all of that but while it's dark so that we may have a few minutes of surprise."
The commander stared at the map and pictures for a second. "Utterly brilliant." General Crerar said in shock.
"I see why the Avatar made you his tactician Sokka. You have tactician blood." General Montgomery grunted.
Sokka blushed at the complements. "I just thought it was obvious." He said, red as a tomato.
"He even had the tactician mentality." General Dumitrescu laughed.
"So we have figured out the first assault. Now we have to figure out placements." General Bradley clapped his hands. He leaned over the table and took out a few figures from his pockets.
He placed them on the table and Aang realized they were mini flags. He handed them out to everyone.
"Even with our combined armies, the Fire Nation still has a stronger force than us. All their Western Front forces have retreated back after almost being encircled by the Germans. The Germans, Belgians, Swiss, and the other half of the French are pushing back those that refuse to retreat back all the way here. The retreating armies will reach the portal in the next few days. I would like to attack before but it seems increasingly hard. The Fire Nation is desperate to escape what they deem hell. They're retreating full force towards the portal. We should let them go." General Bradley stated.
"That is a stupid idea Omar." General Montgomery practically screamed. We could get flanked. We have to attack soon, or we'll get flanked by their forces. We have to attack tomorrow."
"I doubt they will stay if what Bradley says is true about them thinking this place is a hellhole then they won't bother staying. Maybe the force will increase by a thousand or so men but the majority of the army will most likely retreat, seeing the impending attack on the fort. From what I hear, there are some truly brilliant Fire Nation commanders and they surely will realize the lost cause." General Dumitrescu argued.
General Montgomery snarled but relented. "If this operation fails Omar, I'm laying the blame solely on you."
General Bradley shrugged. "I'm basing my knowledge off statistical chance and intel. My intel tells me the Fire Nation is desperate to escape and don't want to stay a minute longer. They're 30 miles away and at the rate they're going, they'll reach the portal tomorrow or the day after. I won't risk my mens lives being destroyed by a siege breaker. If that happens then our moral will most certainly be crushed."
"What I suggest we do is encircle the enemy fortress when we attack. We can attack on all fronts and I expect they were planning for us to do so. They have defenses surrounding the entire fort for 2 miles. Reconnaissance tells me that artillery would do no good. They are too well entrenched. Bombing the fort is also not an option because that's where the portal is. We don't know how it works or if we can attack through it if it's destroyed." General Juin stated.
"I say the Italians and Spanish get the south side." General Grandes stated. "My army and the Italians have a history of performing military exercises together. We could take that side." He added.
General Montgomery nodded, "The Canadians, British, and Portuguese will take the north side. We also have done military exercises before." General Crerar nodded his head in agreement. "That is indeed true."
"My nation has a history of good relations with France compared to other nations in this room." General Petar eyed the Italian cautiously. "I would request fighting with them if they would agree."
"I agree with Petar. We will take the West side of the fort. That just leaves Omar and Dumitrescu." General Juin said with a pointed glance at the two mentioned people.
"I'm willing to work with the Romanians on the east side." General Bradley said with a smile. "I too am willing to work with the Americans." General Dumitrescu agreed.
"Then it is a plan, the Americans and Romanian will get the east side, the Italians and Spanish in the south, the Portuguese, Canadians, and I on the north, and the French and Yugoslavians on the west. The final question is what will you do Avatar?" General Montgomery gruffly asked.
"I'll help whoever may need it the most." Aang replied. General Bradley nodded at the young boy in front of him. "If that is the case, the Romanians and I will need some assistance. The western side is more fortified than the rest. Most likely they thought we would send a lot of our forces to attack head on and not spread our forces out along the perimeter."
"I suggest we dissolve and talk amongst ourselves. We should plan individually for our separate advances." General Crerar suggested. The Generals nodded.
General Bradley and Dumitrescu moved next to each other to the western side of the map on the table. They were whispering to each other when Aang and Sokka joined.
"Avatar." General Dumitrescu nodded at the Avatar and Sokka. "So what's the plan here?" Sokka asked the two.
General Bradley shook his head. "We have little tanks. The war started a mere 8 months ago and America is still gearing up for war. Mobilization is slow, especially when it wasn't started beforehand. We only have about 120 M3 Stuart Light Tanks and 30 M2 Medium Tanks. With all the defenses we're facing, we'll need armor to at least need to get close."
"Are you guys able to like create smoke from a distance?" Sokka asked.
"Yes, with aircraft. But I don't see the application here." General Bradley said.
"We could use smoke to obscure Fire Nation vision. If we use planes to block their vision, they wouldn't see us approaching." Sokka argued.
General Bradley's and Dumitrescu's mouths dropped open before Dumitrescu laughed heartily and patted Sokka on the back. "You my friend will go places. You could singlehandedly defeat the Fire Nation if you wanted with a large enough army."
"I did once and the soldiers gave themselves up to let me escape. One of them was my father and others were members of my tribe." Sokka grimaced.
"Such is war Sokka. There are points when a good commander has to make hard decisions. Your father seems like a great man." General Dumitrescu said patting Sokka on the back lighter this time.
"But I believe it was a mole that gave away the plans right? The Fire Nation was prepared." General Dumitrescu asked. Sokka shook his head, "It was actually lose lips that gave it away. A high leader in the Earth Kingdom told someone he thought could be trusted."
"Such are the tragedies of intelligence and spying." General Dumitrescu said shaking his head.
"I believe we decided that the attack would be at night right?" Bradley called to the other generals, finally getting over his shock that he didn't realize Sokka's idea first.
"Yes, 5 o'clock in the morning. Yet we haven't decided a day but I think it might be in the next 2 to 3." General Juin replied. Bradley nodded and went back to planning. "
"With the coverage of night and smoke we can attack. They'll know we're coming though so we'll have a hard fight." Bradley whispered to the group.
There was a knock at the door. General Pires opened the door and Toph rushed in. "Aang, we might have a problem." She said breathing heavily.
— — — — — —
"What's wrong Toph?" Aang asked in concern once they left the building. "It's the Romanians. They brought drinks."
Sokka rolled his eyes. "That's not really much of a problem." Toph stopped for a second and thought. "I suppose it isn't." She concussed. "I just wanted you guys back to help me keep an eye on everyone."
"Wait, everyone is drunk?" Aang asked in surprise. "Even Katara?"
"Yes Twinkletoes. Even Katara is drunk. I didn't want to be the only one there though who was sober. That means Sokka you can't have a drink."
Sokka put his hands up. "I wasn't planning on it." When he and Aang and entered the building, it was late afternoon but now the stars were beginning to appear in the skies above.
When they reached the door to the house they were in, Aang could hear music from inside. "What's going on in there." He asked to no one in particular.
"You'll see." Toph mysteriously replied before opening the door. When they entered, they could hear the screams and yells from the kitchen.
When they entered the room, they saw Pierre, Haiko, Zuko, Katara, and the rest of the Romanians sitting around a table, passing drinks around. They all wore bright smiles.
"Aang!" Katara yelled, with a slight slur, holding up a drink. "Why don't you join us for a song!"
"How the hell did Katara get drunk?" Sokka whispered to Toph. "She's supposed to be the responsible one of us two."
"I'm not sure. The Romanians just took out drinks and somehow, they're all drunk." Toph replied lowly.
"I think I'm good Katara." Aang said sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.
"Nonsense Avatar." Cried Luca grabbing an accordion. "Let's sing. What do you guys say, Treceti Batalioane Române Carpatii!"
"DA!" All them screamed and Luca began to play the accordion.
"Treceți batalioane române, Carpații. La arme cu frunze si flori. Ne-asteaptâ izbânda, Ne-asteaptâ si fratii cu inima la trecatori. Ne-asteaptâ izbânda, Ne-asteaptâ si fratii cu inima la trecatori." To Aang's shock, Pierre, Haiko, Katara, and Zuko were all singing to the song s if they knew it by heart. They were getting the notes perfectly right along with the pronunciation.
"Ardealul, Ardealul, Ardealul ne cheama. Nadeidea e numai în noi! Saruta-ti copile, parintii si fratii si-apoi sa mergem la razboi." The group grabbed each other's shoulders and sang passionately.
"Saruta-ti copile, parintii si fratii si-apoi sa mergem la razboi." They exclaimed holding up drinks.
Sokka turned to Aang and Toph and whispered in a low voice. "They're really drunk and I don't think Katara can handle that much. It might be dangerous."
"I'll work on it." Aang said with a nod.
"'Nainte, 'nainte spre marea Unire. Hotarul nedrept sa-l zdrobin. Sa trecem carpatii, ne trebuie Ardealul de-o fi se ne-ngropam de vii!"
"What the hell are they singing?" Aang asked Toph who shrugged. "I have no clue. Something about Transylvania and dying. They've sung it so many times tonight."
"Since when did you become an expert on Romanian Toph?" Sokka joked. "You could could just say I'm more inclined towards their culture then you are." Toph replied making Sokka stop laughing.
"Sa trecem carpatii, ne trebuie Ardealul de-o fi se ne-ngropam de vii!" The group took in a deep breath before continuing. "Cu sabii facura Unirea, din inimi. Spre Alba cu totii mergeam. Toti oamenii tarii semnau întregirea, vointa întregului neam. Toti oamenii tarii semnau întregirea, vointa întregului neam."
"Cu totii eram regimente române, Moldova, Muntenia, Ardeal. Fireasca Unire cu patria muma ne-a fost cel mai drept ideal. Fireasca Unire cu patria muma ne-a fost cel mai drept ideal. Ura!" They all screamed once again and began to laugh.
Aang walked forward hearing Katara slur to Luca, "That was great!" Aang grabbed her arm tightly and began to lead her away.
"Aang what are you doing? I was having a great time." Katara complained lightly. Aang shook his head. "You may need some rest Katara."
"I'm fine, I'm fiinnee." Katara tried to say before passing out in Aang arm. Aang groaned in annoyance as he swung her arm around his shoulder and carried her up the stairs bridal style.
She was much lighter than he thought and much prettier when she was asleep. She looked like an Angel that had fallen from the Heavens as Pierre would say. She was beautiful.
"Aang you better not be doing anything with my sister!" He heard Sokka yell from downstairs. "Don't worry Sokka, I'm just laying her in bed." Aang replied.
He reached the top and walked down the hallway and laid Katara in one of the beds. He gave her one last look and pushed a strand of hair from out of her eyes. He smiled into those closed eyes before turning and heading back downstairs.
"Now what?" He asked Sokka. The group was now dancing and taking out another set of drinks. "I think we gotta get Zuko out of here. It wouldn't do well if the Prince of the Fire Nation were to pass out and break his neck. That would be bad."
"I'm on it." Toph said before running over to Zuko. "SPARKY! There's stuff to be done."
"Like what?" Zuko asked, he wasn't slurring as much as Katara was but he had the slightest amount.
Toph thought for a second. "I need help capturing the Avatar." She told him. Zuko's face seemed to brighten considerably.
"Lead the way, I must restore my honor!" Toph led Zuko up the stairs into their bedroom. "Where's the Avatar?" They could hear Zuko exclaim.
"He's on the bed." Sokka and Aang heard Toph say. Then there was the sound of a bed creaking which the two could only assume was Zuko jumping on the bed.
"Clearly Zuko forgot we've been traveling together for so long." Sokka laughed, clutching his stomach. "Yeah, he is still so obsessed with capturing me and regaining honor." Aang also laughed.
When Toph reached downstairs again they sat down at the dining room table which looked directly into the kitchen. "So are we grabbing and tricking next." Toph said with an evil smirk.
They heard someone stumble and fall onto the ground. When they turned, they saw it was Haiko clutching at imaginary stuff that was in the air. It was as if there were little flies circling his head.
"I think our decision was made for us. Aang, would you do the honors?" Sokka asked in fake sweetness.
"Of course I would Lord Sokka." Aang replied with equally fake sweetness. Toph rolled her eyes. "You guys are weird."
When Aang grabbed one of Haiko's arms, he realized that Haiko was a lot heavier than he had thought. "Sokka, some help?" He asked.
Sokka nodded and walked over and grabbed Haiko's other arm. He grunted as he tried to lift Haiko up. He too had underestimated Haiko's weight.
"We might just be able to move him to the couch. We can't get him upstairs without accidentally dropping him." Sokka argued and Aang nodded.
As they began to carry Haiko, he opened his eyes slightly. "Ohhh, Aang, Sokka, why don't you join the party?" He asked.
"Haiko, we're literally taking you away from the party." Sokka told him. "You are?" Haiko looked up and around. "You are." He finalized.
He glanced around for a bit before he looked back up to the two of them. "Don't tell Pierre this but I think I like him." He whispered to Aang.
Aang nodded, "Really?" He asked. "Yeah, yeah, but don't tell him though. I doubt he likes me back though." Haiko replied as they finally reached the couch.
Aang and Sokka gently laid Haiko out on it. "Don't worry Haiko, our lips are sealed." Sokka said with a smile.
"Yay!" Haiko yelled before falling back on a pillow, snoring.
"How much did they drink?" Sokka exclaimed.
"Clearly too much." Aang stated causing Toph who was behind him to snort.
"They've been at this for a few hours. What time is it?" Toph asked looking over at the still partying Romanians and Pierre.
Aang glanced at the clock, "It's like 10:30." Aang told her.
Toph yawned, "I think I've spent too much time stressing over them. I'm exhausted. I'll be in bed." She said before walking up the stairs.
Aang and Sokka looked at each other and fell onto two chairs in the main room. They could not see the drunk soldiers but could certainly hear them. They were screaming joyously, and playing music.
"Sokka, do you think we should head up before things escalate?" Aang asked Sokka after someone else screamed and they heard the sound of glass shattering.
Sokka turned to Aang with a grimace on his face. "I think that's a good idea Aang." Sokka said before he walked upstairs leaving Aang.
Aang threw his arms up in the air at Sokka blatantly leaving him before shaking his head. He followed him up the stairs too so that he could get some shut eye.
May 6th 1940
Aang woke up with the sun in his eyes. He blinked multiple times and sat up in bed. He looked to his right and saw Sokka was beginning to stir from the sun too. Further on the right was Zuko was remained passed out.
Aang swung his feet out from the sheets and placed his weight on them. The wood creaked as he walked slowly down the hall towards Katara's and Pierre's room.
First he gently pushed open the girls door and looked in. Toph was already changed and was about to open the door when Aang did.
"Toph, good to see you awake." Aang whispered to her in an attempt to not wake Katara.
"You too Twinkletoes." Toph said in a bit louder of a voice that Aang would have liked. "What were you doing? Wanted to look at sleeping beauty?"
Aang blushed a deep shade of red. "I just wanted to see if you guys were awake. Zuko is completely out and Sokka is waking up soon."
Toph nodded and stepped out from her room and closed the door behind her. Aang crossed the hallway and opened the door to Pierre's room.
He was surprised to see Pierre and Haiko passed out on top of each other. Aang turned to Toph. "How did Haiko get up here?"
"Pierre must have carried him up when he grew too tired and when he got up he must have passed out with Haiko still in his arms." Toph said with a shrug.
"I would say let's wait to see what would happen when they wake but that would probably be in a few hours. We already have enough embarrassing material from last night on them."
Aang closed that door and he and Toph walked towards the stairs. The sun shined through his door into the hallway and Aang could see all the little specs in the air.
When they reached the stairs they walked down and went into the kitchen. Here, they found Romanians strewn across the floor and rooms. There were some on the couch, some on the table, some facedown on the floor.
Aang tried to suppress his giggle and Toph grinned. "Should we wake them up?"" Toph asked. Aang thought for a second.
"How about let's go on a walk through town and if they're still asleep when we get back, we'll give them a rude awakening." Aang said with a devilish smile.
"And we'll do the same to Sokka if he's still asleep." Toph added. The two shook hands before they exited the building.
It was at this moment that Sokka descended the stairs. "Hey, I heard my name called." He said looking around the area downstairs.
"Hello? Is there anyone here? Hello?" Sokka said cupping his mouth in his hands. He looked at all the passed out Romanian soldiers in all sorts of positions.
"Great, they left me on watch duty." Sokka said with a groan, laying his head in his hands. He grabbed some water from a cabinet and sat down at the dining room table and began to watch them intently, wishing harm on Aang and Toph for leaving him here.
I don't own any of the music in this chapter. Drum Bun from Pentru Patrie - /4l5fNKlC9ck. Treceti, batalioane Române, Capatti - /Gn31Osxs3L8. Neither song is owned by me but by their respective artists.
I'm also in a cast now so updates will be slow. Some guy clocked me at my lacrosse tournament and I landed on my growth plate. Now I'm in a cast so bad news is that I can't type very fast. I'm sorry if updates seem slow as a result.