Chap. 23

All Hell Breaks Loose Part 1

Tierra's entire speech had moved mountains in the lives of those it affected. Two people had learned that the blood in their veins flowed from two sources that had been opposing each other since the dawn of time. They had learned that the person they had thought closest in blood to themselves was only halfway there. But this last revelation, that affected not only them but brought in two others, others of that source they had thought their eternal opposite, finally brought the mountains home for everyone.

Gasps were heard allover the ship, from crew and prisoners alike, as Zuko, Azula, Sokka, and Katara stared at each with a mix of awe and disbelief. These four, who had been enemies for so long, were now linked by a bloodline of unbelievable coincidence and power, that they could never escape from. However, nothing like this is ever accepted easily.

"T-This can't be." Zuko whispered as he stared at the Water-Tribesmen… his family, his kin. He stared at the boy who had hated him for so long, his brother now. And the girl who had been so kind to him, who had been his sister all along.

"I can't believe it. You can't be my brother!" Sokka cried out, as he looked out at this Firebender, that he had spent so much of his time hating, and yet growing to respect despite of it.

"All this time we fought,….., he was….." Katara whispered, as she remembered the pity she had felt towards Zuko when she heard about his scar. She felt it again now, as she realized that her own kin had experienced such pain and suffering.

But Azula, despite her expression of confusion and shock, switched back into her standby of uncaring and laughed. "You think this is enough?" she asked Tierra. "You think I'm stupid enough to believe these lies?"

"Oh believe it." Tierra said. The others turned back at the sound of the dog's voice, as he spoke. "This is straight from the mouths of Darya and Ruta, the Father and Mother of the Water-Tribe and the Fire Nation. They know the fates of all their peoples and all their histories. Especially four like you, so closely entwined with the fate of your nations, and the whole world."

"Please. Even if Zuko is unfortunate enough to be related to these two savages, I'm not. And if you were counting on some kind of misguided loyalty to my brother to save them, you were wrong." Azula said, as she walked over to her imprisoned brother.

As Zuko looked up, he saw her ignite both fists in waves of blue fire. "Let's see if I can do as well as Dad did." Azula said, as she began to move towards the unscarred side of Zuko's face.

"Why bother? Even if you kill him, it won't make a difference." Tierra replied, speaking quickly as Azula moved closer to Zuko. "You'll never have what you really want. You'll never be perfect."

At that, Azula paused, the flames held right over Zuko's exposed skin. Seeing his chance, Tierra continued.

"You spent all this time trying to be the perfect Firebender, the perfect example of the teachings of your nation. You might be a perfect Firebender, but you are a failure anyway. You can never be what your father wants. You can never be what your country wants. You'll always be what you are now; a half-breed, belonging to neither side. The word will spread Azula. Whether or not we live and die today, these men know the secret you hold within you. No matter how you threaten them, one of them will talk."

"Can you imagine it?" he asked, as Azula stared at him in a mixture of acknowledgement and anger and fear. "Going home and having to endure the stares from everyone? The great Princess Azula, the pride of the Royal Family, has the blood of the Water-Tribe flowing in her veins. They'll call you an embarrassment, a stain on the name of the Fire Nation. Your father will disown you like he did Zuko, and you will spend the rest of your life alone, because everyone who cared about you will abandon you. Face it Azula, you've always been a failure, and now, everyone here knows it."

Looking at Azula's face, everyone knew that she believed every word that the dog said. There was a glint in her eyes now, a glint of fear that everything Tierra had prophesied would come true. It was a rare expression for Azula, one she had only shown a few times in her fifteen years. When it had come before, she had buried it deep, and thrown herself into her duty and training and her own desires. Today was no different; the Princess looked down for a moment, then whipped around and unleashed her fire at Tierra. The flames struck the dog full on, blasting him across the ship, straight onto the tower that rose from the back deck. As he struck the back with a scream, Azula continued to pour on the fire, her face empty of all fear and filled with the urge to kill.

The blue flames poured over Tierra, as he writhed against the wall. They worked over his body quickly, searing his clothes, and then his skin. As the screams and the stench of burning flesh filled the air, the Knights stared in horror at their brother. Iroh looked on with the same expression he'd had when the body of his son had been brought to him. Katara and Aang turned away, their gentle natures unable to witness such an atrocity. Sokka and Zuko were forced to turn away as well, while Toph gagged on the sickening smell that filled the air. Even Mai and Ty Lee had to avert their gaze.

Finally, after what had seemed an eternity but was only a few minutes, Azula stopped. The flames vanished, and the body of Tierra fell to the ground, blackened and charred. As everyone else stared in horror, Azula smiled at her work; this lying fool was finally gone. She would make sure his words never came to pass, and then she would dance on his ashes. But she was wrong. As she watched, the blackened husk began to move, as it slowly and gingerly began to pull itself up. Eyes wide, Azula watched as it leaned back against the wall of the tower. It opened what was left of its eyes, and looking over at Azula, began to cackle that same laughter it had uttered before.

Before, the laughter had scared Azula. Now it terrified her. Slowly, she began to back away, the glint returning to her eyes. Tierra saw this, and as he stopped his laughter, he carefully brought up his blackened hand, which was curled into a fist. As everyone looked on, he opened it to reveal a handful of dirt. For a second, Azula didn't understand. What did this mean? How did he get the dirt? But then she noticed the broken pottery shards around him, the broken flower stalks. With a gasp, Azula remembered how Ty Lee had suggested putting some flowers on the deck, to 'brighten the ship's aura.' Azula had agreed, simply wanting Ty Lee to shut up. But now, she regretted her decision, as Tierra closed his fist around the earth from the broken flowerpot again.

The effect was instantaneous. The dirt shot out from Tierra's fist and swirled around his burned body. The blackness began to vanish, as skin and even clothes began to grow back. Within seconds, the dog's body was restored, and even improved as he leapt to his feet and with a pull, shattered his manacles. Tierra stretched out his hand, and with an explosion from the deck, his hammer shot forth from its hiding place and flew into his awaiting grasp.

"I don't know who thought that flowers were a good idea Princess, but I personally loved the idea." Tierra said, as he brandished his weapon.

But Azula was unfazed. "So what? You're still powerless; there's no earth here for you to bend." The Princess sneered.

"Again Azula, you make mistakes." The dog said. "I knew I could use your temper and arrogance to escape and recharge. And I knew it would prevent you from realizing why I don't need earth to bend."

Suddenly, the dog sheathed his hammer, and threw out his arms. Before anyone could react, the arms became stone and stretched out, growing to the length of the deck. Moving quickly, Tierra swung his arms outwards, knocking two whole squadrons of soldiers back and scattering them all over the deck.

"I don't need earth; I am the earth." Tierra said, as his arms returned to normal. "So, shall we dance Princess?"

Azula's response was a blast of lightning. But Tierra flipped over it, landing on his feet and instantly moving towards her. But before he got there, the dog felt a dagger enter his skin. Grimacing, he pulled it out and looked to see Mai advancing on him, more daggers at the ready. But Tierra didn't panic. Moving quickly, he got to his feet and then threw his hands at the girl…. Literally. Mai stopped in her tracks and tried to backpedal, but it was too late. The hands grew huge in the air and quickly locked around Mai, trapping her on the deck. She fell over, the huge stone hands closed around her, as Tierra quickly grew new hands from his body.

And not a moment too soon, because then Tierra found himself under the shadow of Ty Lee, as the acrobat leapt up and attempted to get the drop on him. But the dog was prepared for this too. Before Ty Lee could reach him, he fell backwards and once she landed, he brought his feet up, catching her in place. Stunned by the impact, Ty Lee couldn't move fast enough to hit a pressure point, which gave Tierra enough time to hit the girl with a blast of earth from his feet, knocking her back onto the ship.

As Ty Lee skidded past Azula, the Princess turned to face the dog, as he flipped back onto his feet. With a yell, Azula charged Tierra, her anger fueling her vicious attacks. Blue fire flashed everywhere, as Azula spun around trying to strike the dog. But while he had been ready to attack Ty Lee and Mai, Tierra took a different approach with Azula. Instead of responding, he kept avoiding her attacks, moving like an Airbender would to dodge the moves. He did this endlessly, as Azula grew more and more frustrated.

Finally, the dog made his move. As he ducked under Azula's flaming arm, he twisted around it, and shooting past Azula, skidded over to where the others were chained.

"Give it up Azula. You've already lost." The dog said.

"What! You haven't hit me once!" Azula screamed.

"No, I made one blow. And it was the only one I needed to make." Tierra said with a grin, as he revealed the blue glass antidote orb in his right hand. Azula gasped and looked down at her belt; indeed the holder for the orb was empty. But before she could do anything, Tierra threw the orb down.

It shattered instantly, as a cloud of blue gas grew from it. The gas spread over the others, who breathed in deep. As the cloud covered them, there was suddenly the sound of chains snapping, and then of a deep breath being taken. Suddenly there was a gust of wind, as the antidote cloud was blown away, revealing the rest of the Avatar gang, freed from their chains, and ready to fight.