Chapter 16

"We are all in agreement, then?" Feng asked, looking between the resolute faces of the rest of team Avatar, each of them nodding in turn.

"We are," Aang replied, earning a nod from Feng.

"Good, then tomorrow, we'll go on top of the wall between the middle and upper rings, and Aang will use his bison whistle to summon Appa. From there, we will assault the palace of the king in an effort to reach him, and hopefully not die in the process."

"You say that like there's a way we could lose." Toph scoffed as she crossed her arms, smiling proudly. "As soon as I'm on the ground, no one will be able to get through my defence. Even if they have metal doors, I still won't be stopped."

"Yeah Feng, don't worry about it, together as a team, we're unstoppable," Aang added, seeking to convince the eldest member of the team, who just shrugged.

"If you say so."

To be honest, Feng did believe that they would pull through as each of them was highly skilled in their own fields. Even Sokka was decently skilled in his weapon usage, which combined with his unique tactical prowess to make something great.

But there was still a small thought in the back of his mind that they might fail, that they might lose, as no matter how well they planned the assault out, it would still only be the five of them against all the Earth Kingdom Palace guards, of which there was over one hundred skilled earthbenders, a fact they had learned by Feng's sneaking in and stealing their guard schedules.

They did have one thing going for them though, the palace was a big place. As long as they made sure to move quickly, they would be able to limit the number of enemies they faced at one time, so they should be fine. No, they will be fine, Feng decided. They just had to have the strength of conviction to pull through.

"Of course, you all realise that this does mean that if we pull this off, we're probably going to be forced to leave in a hurry," Sokka pointed out, earning a nod from the rest.

"I do Sokka, but it's too important to reach the king, we have to do this. Even if we fail, even if we can't get the support of the Earth Kingdom soldiers, we can still say that we tried, even if we failed." Aang stated solemnly.

"Exactly," Feng nodded before smirking, "besides if we need to we can just release the information about the Solar Eclipse to the general populous. You all said that one General, what was his name…Fing?" He knew it was similar to his own name, but it wasn't Feng.

"Fong." Katara piped up, earning a nod in thanks.

"Right, Fong. From the sounds of it, he was very eager to end this war once and for all, even if he went about it the wrong way. I can't imagine after so many years of war that he would be the only one to hold similar beliefs, which means if they receive word that the Fire Nation will be vulnerable…"

A grim smile graced Feng's lips.

"Why, I think that they just might attack, even if it's without the support of the Earth King. Combine that with any forces we can gather from elsewhere, like the Southern WaterTribe raiders and the Northern Water tribe ships, and anyone else, then we just might have a chance."

"Yeah, that's right!" Sokka exclaimed cheerfully with his eyes shining. "It would be easier if we can get the support of Earth King Kuei, but it's not essential."

"But what if it is?" Aang chose to ask, frowning as he crossed his arms and paced around the living room. "What if, without the soldiers stationed to defend Ba Sing Se, we don't have enough forces to win the war?"

The others shared a look at Aang's worry, each of them thinking over his words as they came to different conclusions.

"Well…if it's not… there isn't much we can do about it." Katara said gently, trying to ease his worries. "We'll just have to hope it's enough."

"No, that's not quite right." Feng refuted her, earning a glance of confusion from Katara before she gestured to him to speak.

"You see, we don't actually need to beat the Fire Nation Military, not in its entirety, on the day of the black sun. That isn't our goal precisely, is it?"

"No, it's not Sleuthy." Toph decided after a second, shaking her head as a smirk graced her lips. "We're not after the military…we're after the head of the viper. We're after Fire Lord Ozai."

"Exactly," Feng agreed with cheer as he turned back to face Aang. "Now, I'm not saying we have to kill him…although I would in a heartbeat, just saying," Sokka nodded in agreement, much to the disapproval of the others, "but with Appa, and the lack of Firebending during the eclipse, we'd be able to just go in a take the Fire Lord. Knock him out as Toph binds him, and escape while we have the opportunity. Ideally, we could do the same with Princess Azula. If we do that, then the Fire Nation won't have a leader, and they'll likely collapse into infighting as the top brass try to make their own claim for the throne. While they do that, the rest of our forces can mop up the rest of the Fire Nation Military, even if it takes longer."

"You're…you're right," Aang agreed after thinking about it for a second, a smile appearing on his lips as some of the tension in his shoulders left him. "We can just use Appa to kidnap the Fire Lord, and while things might become bad when Sozin's comet returns, as long as we can hold out, we can win."

"Not can win," Toph replied, "we will win. Really, it's just a matter of how long it will take us. That's all."

That, and how many lives it will cost us, Feng chose not to voice out loud, concerned that it would ruin the other morale, even if he was sure Sokka was thinking the very same thing judging by his unusually grim features.

"So relax a little, Aang. You're an Airbender first, after all, you need to go with the flow. Change what you can, and work around what you can't, alright?" Feng said.

"Alright," Aang nodded cheerfully before playfully frowning. "But I'm also a Waterbender and an Earthbender, so I should also grind away at my problems and stand in the face of them."

"Eh, semantics." Feng shrugged, earning chuckles from the rest of the room, each of their moods uplifted slightly as they spent the next few hours in each other's company, eating good food and telling jokes, just having a good time.

Their time in Ba Sing Se had done them well.

…

"Ah, I'm stuffed, I don't think I could eat another bite." Sokka groaned as he held his stomach, an action that none of the rest of Team Avatar had to copy seeing as they had known their limits.

"Yes, because if I had eaten an entire roasted duck, I don't think I could eat another bite either." Katara snarked as she tilted her nose up. "Seriously though, is your stomach a black hole or something? Even Feng only ate a quarter of a duck and some sides, and he's a fair bit bigger than you."

"Ah, but he doesn't have the muscles I do, I need to support them with protein." Sokka returned, helpfully flexing in a window to prove his point.

As one, each member of team Avatar, except Sokka, stared at Sokka's gangly limb, then they switched their gaze to Feng, and his lithe but muscled form, the man in question helpfully performing the same pose beside Sokka with a smile, showing off his far larger muscles.

"Nope, I don't see it. If anything, Muscles here dwarfs you tiny, so I think it's more that your just a pig." Toph replied, making Sokka visibly deflate as he poked his arm, his full stomach long since forgotten.

"I'm trying, alright? I do push-ups and everything." Sokka mumbled in a sulky tone.

Feng chose not to reply, even if it would be amusing. The main reason Feng had more muscle than Sokka was simply because he was older. Sokka was only 15 and had only just started his muscle-building phase, while Feng was over a year into it. Yes, he still had a lot of room to grow, but he wouldn't get much bigger than he was right now, not with his bending style.

Sokka, on the other hand, would be a warrior and would have a warrior's muscles, which meant he would eventually overtake Feng. For now, though, he could enjoy winning, because he wouldn't later. He'd always be taller though, which was a fact that he could take pride in.

For instance, his height sometimes gave him an advantage in seeing things that others couldn't, which meant that as they turned the corner, almost back to their house, Feng was the first to notice that something seemed out of place. Whereas before, the sky sitting over the city of Ba Sing Se was a bright, clear blue, off in the west, towards the section of the outer wall they had come through, there was now black smoke showing. Not much of it, as it was still a long way away, but the fact that Feng could even see it all was something of note.

"Hey, guys?" Feng spoke from where he had stopped.

"Yes Feng, what did you need?" Aang replied, pausing alongside the others a few steps away, having continued moving while eng had not.

"Am I just imaging things, or is that smoke?" he asked, lifting a hand to point at what he was looking at. Following the outstretched finger, each of the rest of team Avatar, bar Toph, looked towards what he was talking about, each of them frowning as they saw it.

"No, it's not just you, I see it as well." Aang replied, as did Sokka and Katara.

"Oh good, so it's not just me," Feng declared, lowering his arm as he crossed them in thought. "What do you think it could be? It's quite far away from here. In the Outer Ring, you think?"

"Probably." Sokka agreed as a frown crossed his lips. "I don't know why, but something about that smoke worries me. Like, a lot. If it's in the Outer Ring, it has to be a huge amount of smoke, something that a small fire or something wouldn't produce. Hell, the last time I can remember seeing something that big was…" Sokka's eyes snapped wide open in surprise and shock.

"The Northern Water Tribe Invasion!" Katara yelled as the next to realise it.

This instant Katara uttered those words, Feng's mind leapt into action, his pleasant, after-meal mood fading away as his more war-like one took its place.

"Are you sure?"

"No, I'm not." Sokka was quick to deny with a frown. "It could just be a big fire or something. But my guts telling me that it's not."

"Alright, I'll trust your gut." Feng hummed in thought before looking at Aang.

"Aang, we're not far from the house. Could you go grab your glider and fly up to take a look? Don't go too far, but if this is a Fire Nation Assault, it should be obvious if you go high enough."

"Right." Aang nodded, letting Feng take charge as he immediately sprinted away in a Wind Run, moving only a smidge faster than Feng could now he thought with pride, although Aang could keep it up for far longer.

"As for the rest of us, let's follow him back to the house, but until we Aang figure out what's going on, their not much we can do I'm afraid."

"Yeah, I guess so." Sokka sighed, as did Katara.

"This blows." Toph declared with a huff, kicking a small rock in front of her, showing her frustration with the situation.

Yes Toph, yes it did.

…

"Where is it, where is it…" Aang spoke in a hurry, rushing through the door to look for his room, finding his stiff scattered around the room. He may have gathered a few things shopping the past few days and hadn't really put any of it away yet, having planned to do so this afternoon.

Looking around desperately, Aang spotted his trusty glider leaning against the wall, mostly concealed by the chair in front of it.

"There!" Aang declared, wasting no time as he grabbed his glider and then sprinted back out of the house, leaving the door wide open as he got a little bit of a running start, picking up speed before he leapt into the air with a blast of wind, unfolding his glider's wings as he latched onto it, sending burst after burst of air out of his feet as he swiftly gained altitude, only barely able to see as the rest of the team as they appeared around the corner of the street before he was too far up.

That didn't matter though, as his attention was fully focused on the column of black smoke spiralling up into the air over in the distance, one that he flew towards even as he gained altitude, splitting his actions between the two.

It was only after 10 frantic minutes of this, of climbing and soaring towards the smoke that the scene finally came into focus for the boy, his tired mind and body barely able to take in the scene as he panted for breath, the height he was at not exactly helping his breath control.

"Nooooo…" Aang trailed off softly, watching as blasts of fire erupted over in the distance to engulf the wooden building of the lower ring, immediately setting them alight. These were the source of the black smoke, as more and more of the lower ring was set on fire, the defenders unable to stop the assault.

Even from here, he could see the pinprick-sized forms of people scurrying back and forth, likely in search of either shelter, or to fight off the attackers, and every single one of them pulled on the boy's heartstrings.

Tears formed in his eyes as he purposefully turned away, beginning to fly back to the house in the upper ring as he forced himself to not think about the lives he was leaving behind. Every single part of his being wanted to go and help those poor unfortunate souls, to help fight the fire nation, but he had promised to go back to get the help of the others so that together they could fight off the Fire Nation.

Besides, even if he didn't like to admit it, unless he went into the Avatar state, by the time he reached the fight he would be less than useless, his chi reserves depleted from flying the whole way there.

Airbenders may be able to fly for hours at a time, but that was only by following the air currents, only occasional using their bending to direct themselves. A more directed flight like this, even with his glider?

It was not something Aang could do, even as an Airbending Master. It was one of the reasons that the Air Nomads had bonded with the Flying Bison after all, because they could fly for extended periods like that, being the original Airbenders as it were.

So, with a heavy heart, Aang soared through the air, it whistling around him as he picked up speed, only occasionally having to direct his path with a quick Air Blast.

…

It was a nerve-wracking twenty minutes for the rest of Team Avatar, simply waiting on Aang to come back and inform them what was going on. None of them wished it to be the Fire Nation, but all of them feared it would be.

That's why they all expressed their own signs of nervousness. Sokka paced with his hands behind his back. Katara simply tapped her foot where she was sitting, expressing her nervous energy that way. Toph actually seemed to be leaning against the wall quietly, but if you looked closer, you could see a shiny metal coin being rolled between her fingers. She wasn't bending it, she wasn't advanced enough in metal bending to do that passively yet, but the action was familiar to her, so she did it.

Finally, there was Feng, the last member of the team. Unlike the others, he was not moving at all. He was not expressing his nervousness through pacing or tapping his foot or anything else like the others were. Hell, he didn't show any sign of nervousness at all, but it couldn't be further from the truth.

He was just as nervous as the other three, perhaps even more so than they were, but for a long time now, whenever he felt like this, he would shunt the feelings into the back of his mind, letting a cold, calm persona overcome him as he sat in wait, ready to strike out against whatever had made him feel this way.

This was why he was just sitting quietly on the couch, his fingers crossed together with himself bent over them, his elbows on his knees as he waited. His eyes were similarly, closed, the only sense the teen was using was his ears, listening out for the tell-tale whistle that indicated Aang's glider.

That's why he was the first to notice the sound, even though it was only another couple of seconds before the other three did as well as the whistle swiftly grew in volume, evolving to an almost thunderous roar as Feng's eyes snapped open, watching as Aang came in for a landing just outside the open doorway with panted breath.

"It's the Fire Nation! They broke through the wall!" Aang yelled in shock and fear, confirming the worst for the rest of Team Avatar.

"Dammit!" Sokka exclaimed, slamming his fist against the wall in an outburst of anger before he could restrain himself, taking a careful breath in as he centred himself. "Okay…that's bad. What do we do now?"

He may have been asking himself this question, but his words were heard by the others as they also thought about what they could do.

"Even if we tried to reach them…would we even get there in time to help?" Toph was the first to say, voicing her doubts.

"Toph, how could you say that?! We can't just abandon them!" Katara yelled out in shock as she moved to her feet, moving into Toph's space.

"I'm just saying," the girl shrugged, unbothered by Katara's aggression. "We all know how far away the outer wall is, if what Aang says is true and the Fire Nation has broken through Ba Sing Se's walls, would we make it there in time before the Earth Kingdom Soldiers are overrun? We're good, but we're not beat back an army good."

This was a point that no one wanted to think about, but it was one that needed to be said, as it was true. They couldn't fight an army, not by themselves. That's why they had been dodging Fire Nation pursuit up until now, simply because they couldn't handle it.

From the looks of it, the others thought so too, but Feng couldn't accept that. After staying in the shadows so long, taking out Fire Nation leaders one by one, he couldn't just abide standing by. He couldn't just run, even if it would be dangerous to consider the other option of fighting.

He didn't care.

"If we go on foot, yes, we won't make it in time." Feng started with a deadly coolness, one that forced the rest to quiet down as they paid attention to the boy. "And I don't think the Monorail would operate in a time like this. Luckily, we have an option outside of that."

"We do?" Sokka questioned, only to be smacked on the back of the head by his sister.

"We do, Appa!" Katara refuted hotly as Aang's eye alit in understanding.

"That's right! Appa can take us." Then the boy slumped. "But he's not here right now, and it'll take some time to summon him."

"Yes, it will, but that will still be far quicker than going on foot. With Appa, as long as he pushed it, we can make it there in…what, a half-hour?"

Aang nodded, confirming Feng's question.

"Then that will just have to do. Remember Aang, control what you can and move past what you can't. That being said, we're close enough to the Upper Ring wall that that would be the ideal place to summon him, so if you could go ahead and do that? The rest of us will catch up before Appa arrives."

"Right." Aang agreed, following Feng's orders once more in spite of his state of tiredness, leaving with his glider to head towards the wall, his trusty Bison whistle having never left his neck.

This left the rest of Team Avatar looking towards Feng, swaying to his orders in this matter, bowing to his superior experience as normally it was a more diplomatic approach, even if Aang was the nominal leader being the Avatar.

"As for the rest of us…you have 5 minutes before we leave, so grab whatever stuff you want to bring to the fight, but no more than that. We want Appa to have as much speed as possible, and even if we lose, we'll still be able to come back to grab our stuff before we flee, it'll take the Fire Nation some time to cross the Middle Ring."

"Got it." Sokka and Katara said, doing as he said as they each left for their own rooms to get ready for the battle ahead, Sokka donning his armour as Katara grabbed her waterbags, leaving Toph and Feng alone for a moment.

"And what about you? What will you do?" Toph asked, not moving from where she was as she was still dressed in her blind bandit outfit, the one that she always fought in.

"Me? Well, if the Fire Nation has broken through the outer wall, I can imagine that morale would be pretty low, correct?" Feng more stated than asked as he headed towards his own room where he kept his stuff, Toph following behind.

"Probably," Toph admitted as she frowned. "Actually, morale would be horrible, as it would be a sign that the last stronghold of the Earth Kingdom is falling. I imagine that any soldiers there, while still fighting, wouldn't be giving it their all, likely expecting to eventually lose if the giant Earth Walls of Ba Sing Se couldn't protect them."

"Yes." Feng agreed, stripping off first his cloak and shoes, followed by his shirt and pants as he was left standing it only his underwear, under the curious eyes of Toph.

"And getting naked will help this…how? I'm sure that some of the female fire nation soldiers would be distracted, but that kind of defeats the purpose of protecting yourself."

"You said morale would be low," Feng said, moving towards a section of his oversized backpack that Toph had never seen him use, but still knew about as a knowing glint began to form in her eyes.

"Ultimately, while morale isn't the be-all-end-all in war, it is an important aspect of it, as it makes any soldier you have fight that much harder. So, if I had a way to both increase the morale of our allies and decrease the morale of our enemies, why wouldn't I take it?"

As he said this, Feng pulled out the all-black bodysuit that, while he hadn't spent much time in it recently, was the attire he had worn most these past two years. Pulling in on with familiarity that defied disbelief, Feng was left standing tall in his all-black ensemble, the black cloth clinging closely to his upper body even as it became a bit looser when going down.

Not as loose as it used to be though.

"It's a bit tight," Feng muttered as he performed a few stretches, ensuring that everything was in place. It was, so he guessed that he'd simply put some muscle on these past few months, along with possibly some height, which was not a surprise.

He was still growing after all and he was working on his bending a lot, performing kata after kata. In fact, it would be more suspicious if he hadn't put on any muscle. Luckily, the only piece of equipment that was rigid was his mask, and he kind of doubted that his head would have changed size any time recently.

"But it'll do," Feng noted as he lifted the last piece of equipment, flipping it around and unlatching the face as he tied his long hair up in a bun, letting it lie flat as he first pulled on his helmet, then slotted the face mask in place, leaving him standing tall once more as the infamous Oni.

"After all, if the Fire Nation seeks war, I'm happy to oblige them." Feng's voice spoke, deepening mid-sentence as he altered it with a subtle use of his bending, muscle member kicking in as Feng's presence became menacing in an instant, an almost visible aura of bloodlust staining his body before drew it in, turning to look towards Toph.

"That…is the most awesome thing I have ever seen," Toph breathed out in surprise, a happy grin forming on her face as she threw her arms out. "Like, your very presence has changed, even how you move! If I didn't know any better, I'd think you're a different person entirely! And that voice, spirits, it sends chills down my spine." The girl trailed off as her grin left her, a considering expression replacing it before she nodded, her grin returning.

"It's perfect!"

"I should hope so." Feng chuckled darkly as he grabbed his war fans, slotting them into the pockets he had sewn on the outside of his black body suit as he went for the door. "I spent a long time perfecting it."

Well, that and he may have had some help from one of the, not malevolent, but not peaceful spirits he'd encountered in his time. One that had been furious with the Fire Nation and was more than happy to assist Feng in his quest for vengeance.

The Mask had been from him after all, as even now it shone with a dark light that didn't appear human.

A fact that Sokka and Katara were both shocked by when he went out to meet them by the door, the pair of them suited up like they were ready for war.

"Gah!" Sokka choked for a second before withdrawing his club, holding it in front of himself in defence. "Who are you?!"

Katara similarly prepared herself to fight, a stream of water leaving her water pouch and winding around her arm, only for it to leave again as Toph followed him out, laughing at the expression the two water tribe siblings had taken.

"Relax guys. I know he's intimidating, but he's on our side. Can't you recognise him?"

Blinking earnestly at the question, Sokka lowered his weapon but did not holster it as he took a closer look at Feng, shuddering slightly at the sight of the mask before taking a closer look at his body and height.

"…Feng?" he asked hesitantly like he was unsure of the answer before a dark chuckle greeted him, Feng reaching up to unlatch his face mask.

"Got it in one, Sokka." Feng chuckled as he tied his mask to his face, not needing it yet.

"Feng?!" Katara yelled in surprise as she stepped forward, reaching out to touch him before she pulled back, hesitance shining in her form before she swallowed, determination shining in her eyes.

"So this is the Vengeful Oni…I can see why everyone was so intimidated by it."

"I know, right?!" Sokka yelled in agreement.

"Yeah, but the Earth Kingdom soldiers felt hope because of it. Now, more than ever, we need to turn the tides of the battle, and what better way to do that than bringing out the very figure that has haunted the Fire Nation's minds for the past two years?"

Sokka and Katara fell silent as they considered the proclamation.

"Huh, you're right. Nice work Feng," he nodded before a look of concern flashed on his face, "But are you sure? If you do this, your identity is almost surely going to come to light, you'll no longer have the illusion of safety."

"I'm sure." Feng declared softly as he led the way out the door, latching it closed behind them as Toph created an earthen blockage behind it, one that would stop the door opening until they got back. "Besides, it's not like it'll really change anything for me. I don't have any family, and my only friends are you guys, and you all already know. So yes, I believe the time is now. It is finally time for the Vengeful Oni to no longer hide in the shadows…it is time for him to shine in the light."

A gentle silence followed as they rushed through the streets, Feng leading the way to the closest staircase up the wall.

"Dude…that's kind of deep," Sokka noted, making Feng's head slump a little even as other people in the Upper Ring looked at them in both shock and hope, they themselves moving around frantically as the news reached them. Until now, he had been feeling resolute, like a force of nature.

But then Sokka had to ruin it.

"I know," Feng sighed, still leading the way. Soon enough, they would be flying on Appa, and soon enough after that…they would be fighting a war.

…

"Keep Pushing!" Azula yelled as she sent another blast of azure flame at the earth-bent encampment, her powerful flames overcoming the defence to surround them whole, burning them all alive.

"Their will is weak, their defences brittle! They are no match for the might of the Fire Nation!" She continued to say even as a manic grin crossed her lips, the princess feeling right at home in the bloodshed and carnage, uncaring of the pain and misery she was causing among the Earth Kingdom soldiers.

Not all of them were Earthbenders though. Even here, in the capital of the Earth Kingdom. If anything, it was closer to a five-to-one ratio of normal soldiers to benders, and it showed. While they outnumbered the assaulting Fire Nation soldiers, the difference in equipment proved to be the true decider of the battle.

For every soldier that fell for the Fire Nation, five more fell for the Earth Kingdom as their superior steel and armour kept them going for longer, their exhilaration at having finally pierced the mighty walls differences pushing them forward.

Even Ty Lee and Mai were affected, each of them disabling Earth Kingdom Soldier after Earth Kingdom soldier, Ty Lee getting up close to dazzle them with her masterful display of what the human body could do when pushed to its limits, and Mai showing them just what accuracy with a blade meant.

A key difference between them and the Princess, however, is that they did not go for the kill. They did not strike down their enemies, even if some of them were killed by other Fire Nation Nationals. The same could not be said for Azula, who was relishing in the carnage.

"Fire Benders! On me!" The princess yelled, her orders being swiftly followed as the 19 benders still with them, one having fallen during the pitched battle, all moved swiftly to the princess' side.

"Assault Formation, Dragon's breath with myself in the centre!" Azula stated, moving into a crouch as two lines formed behind her, staggered backwards in a wedge as each and every one of them moved into the same position as the princess, one foot back with an arm at the ready, ready to punch forward.

"Fire!"

As one, 20 Firebenders unleashed a strike at the Earth Kingdom defences, pillars of flame erupting from their fists towards the singular target in front of the tip of the wedge, all aimed at a 2-metre wide area as the air around them heated up rapidly.

While this bothered some of the soldiers with them, Azula paid the change in temperature no mind as she unleashed her own attack, a brilliant blue beam of fire travelling from her fist a half second after the rest, twice as large as the rest as it engulfed the fire in front of her, wrapping around it in a way that created a swirl of colour that drew in all of the surrounding fire, a deep, fierce sound filling the area.

It was almost beautiful, in a way. That is if it wasn't unleashing heinous distraction, as the fused attack kept howling forward, coming to form a singular house-sized beam of fire that struck the centre of the newly risen earth defences that their own benders had created, colliding harshly with the wall before flowing around it, the combined power of so many firebenders creating an attack that would normally only be possible under the influence of Sozin's comet, it's deadliness undeniable.

"Hahahaha!" Azula cackled as she let up on her stream of fire, the blue disappearing from the flame as the others around her disengaged one by one, moving out from the peak as the level of flame slowly lowered, finally revealing the scored remains of what was over 200 hundred men, a number of them Earthbenders.

Now, now they were just bodies, casualties of the slaughter. Azula was not done, however, as the instant the fire disappeared, she strode forward, uncaring of the heat of the scorched earth that tried to pass through her fire-resistant shoes, her mind focused on the search for more enemies.

The rest of her army followed her, dealing with the stragglers that were left, not that they put up much of a fight. The singular army attack had wiped out basically all the Earthbenders on their side, the last remnants after an hour of battle, so it was just a mere 300 regular soldiers and 2 mediocre earthbenders left to face 150 Fire Nation soldiers and 19 Firebenders.

Not everyone was so eager for such carnage, however, as both Ty Lee and Mai fell behind the main force. They still trailed behind Azula of course, but only from a distance, the pair of them occasionally dispatching a foe or two if they were attacked.

"Mai…I don't like this. This…slaughter." Ty Lee cried, sounding far more furious than someone as normally bubbly as she was. "These people... they're just trying to defend their home. They weren't planning to attack us, so why? Why did we slaughter them?"

Tears were streaming down her face.

"To be honest…I don't really know." Mai replied in a monotone, but a different one from normal. This one didn't sound bored, it sounded…more like she was holding back her emotions, bottling them up as she started disdainfully at the brunt remains of people's houses, letting her eyes drift away from the chared bodies.

"In school, we were told that the other nations were savages, that they needed to be conquered for their own good so that we could share our wealth and prosperity with them. Yes, resistance to change was expected, there always is…but not this." Mai said softly, her eyes turning glassy, the only sign of emotion she allowed herself. "Not this."

The pair of them shared a weak grimace, neither of them happy with the situation, but what could they do? Azula herself, the crown princess of the Fire Nation, had recruited them personally for her mission. And they, well at least Mai, had been happy with just that, with hunting the Avatar.

But they had not signed up for war, and doubt was beginning to sprout in their hearts. Doubts of their nation. Doubt of their princess. Doubt of the necessity of the 100-year war.

But Azula would not care, so with heavy hearts, they rushed forward to join up with her, making sure to only disable their opponents.

Azula however, was in no state to notice their discontent with the situation, caught up in battle lust as she was, sending blast after blast of blue fire at her enemies.

"Hah!" Azula yelled, slamming her heel into the ground as a circular blast of flame left her, throwing the mass of bodies surrounding her away as her eyes darted around the battlefield, cataloguing the positions of both her enemies and her allies.

"Oh?" Azula smirked cruelly. "What's this?"

Standing twenty metres away from her was a group of elite earthing kingdom soldiers, all of them earthbenders. Working in unison, they were successfully holding off the soldiers attacking them, taking advantage of a natural choke point two stone buildings created to put down all that came at them, working in tandem to attack while others defended, and defending while others attacked.

It spoke of excellent training, but to Azula, they were just sitting turtle ducks. Taking a second to note that there were no enemy soldiers near her, Azula harnessed her focus like a whip, beginning the jerky motions of her most advanced firebending kata as crackling blue energy surrounded her, following her arms as she built it up, the deep blue light, appropriately similar to the colour of her own fire she noted, wrapped around her lithe limbs.

Her display did not go without notice, not with how loud it was as the eyes of everyone on the battlefield turned to focus on her, taking in the sight of the infamous peak of Firebending. The soldiers around her found their morale increasing, glad that Azula was on their side, while the Earth Kingdom soldier's morale plummeted, recognising this attack from the one she used earlier when they first breached the walls.

"Resistance is futile!" Azula smirked as she finished her preparation, crouching forward as she extended her arms, two ferocious streams of energy leaving her fingers as bolts of energy rushed towards the encampment, spreading out as they covered the ground, filled with malice that was ready to silence any and all opposition. Smirking, Azula remains in her striking position, wanting to watch her enemy's pain when it hit.

Only, out of nowhere a small form smashed down in front of the encampment, hitting the earth with the force of a cannon shot as a mountain of earth erupted in front of them, standing tall and wide as Azula's attack wasted itself on the monolith.

Yes, it blasted through it, but it struck nothing as whoever had raised the attack had not moved from their position in the earth, and the original defences of the other earthbenders were more than enough to fend off what little remaining energy the lightning had.

"Who dares!?" Azula snarled as she took a ready position, her left foot stuck outwards as she held her arms up by her side, ready to strike out.

"I dare you Prissy Princess," Toph's smug voice emerged from the rubble, the girl emerging from the earth to show that she was unaffected by Azula's assault, her legs spread wide as she readied herself to move at a moment's notice.

"You!" Azula snarled, sending a blast of fire at Toph. To her pleasant surprise, the girl did nothing as she stood in wait for the fire. The girl's actions were not without reason, however, as just like her last attack this one was also deflected, only instead of the defence emerging from the ground, it emerged from the air.

Literally, a blade of air struck the centre of the attack, forcing it to split sideways under the air's direction as a dark figure emerged from behind it, fans held at the ready as the fire split around them.

A hint of fear reached Azula as she took in this new player, their voice sending chills down her spine.

"Not just her, Azula." The dark figure spoke, dressed in all black except for a bright red mask. A familiar mask. "I was content to let things go, but the Fire Nation…you, just forced it out of me. So, just in case you've forgotten my name in the time I've been gone, let me remind you."

With bated breath, every single person in the area stayed silent, earth kingdom and fire Nation both as they listened, some gaining hope, and others fear.

As the figure spoke, the silent forms of Sokka, Aang and Katara all emerged from behind the building, followed by Toph as they backed up the intimidating figure, standing beside him as bloodlust erupted from his cloaked form, almost forming a visible miasma around them.

"I am the Vengeful Oni…and I am here to hunt."

AN: And Now we are finally at the Battle of Ba Sing Se, where cannon truly goes off the rails. And finally, we get some action again, but don't worry, there's going to be far more of it in the coming chapters.

Thank You for Reading, Ervin.