Chap. 24

All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2

"Nice job bro." Oscuridad said, as he moved to stand next to his brother.

"I thought so to." The dog replied. "Now, shall we get to work? It looks like we've got quite a bit to do." Indeed, the soldiers that Tierra had scattered were already back on their feet, as was Ty Lee. There was a crunch, as Mai broke away from the stone hand that grasped her. Azula smiled, as the troops began to surround the group.

The bat looked around, smiled, and raised his hand, as did the other Knights. With a series of explosions, their weapons came flying out of the hold, and into their awaiting hands. Aire then reached out and used the winds to bring up Aang's staff and Sokka's boomerang and club.

"Yes, I think we'll get to work." Oscuridad, as he brandished his weapon. "Why don't you say it this time?"

"Viva la Raza!" Tierra cried out.

"Viva le!" the others yelled back, and with that, the group charged.

The Firebenders hit back hard, shooting a huge wave of fire towards them. But before it could reach them, Fuego leapt forward and shot it back, while Agua and Katara brought up the ocean water to knock out the troops. With a furious cry, the Avatar gang launched themselves at the soldiers. Flames, air, earth, and water scattered everywhere as the two forces fought each other….

"Get back here, you little brat!" a soldier yelled, as he tried to grab Toph. But the young Earthbender moved away from his grip with ease.

"I have a better idea. Why don't you go take a dip?" Toph cried back, as she reached out and punched the man. Even without the earth around her to bend, Toph's connection to her element was so strong that she had kept her strength. The solider went flying back, only to be caught by a huge arm made entirely out of sand. The arm was still a moment, and then it turned towards the oceans and tossed the man overboard.

"Nice move kid." Desierto said, as his arm shrunk back to normal.

Toph nodded and turned to find her next opponent. Unfortunately, this was not as easy as one might think. Toph could feel hundreds of vibrations on the ground around her; while this would've been a problem on the earth, the unfamiliar metal, processed by the Fire Nation, made it even harder to tell who was who. Therefore, Toph had to listen carefully for a sign to attack.

Unfortunately, this was not always possible, and Toph suddenly felt something strike her in the back. The young girl went flying and skidded forward, right into the heart of the battle. Toph managed to pick herself up quickly, but found herself ducking and weaving every few seconds as attacks whizzed through the air. Toph tried to find a moment to understand her surroundings, but such time was not allowed. Before she knew what was happening, a pair of arms had grabbed her from behind and lifted her off the ground.

"Put me down, you stupid hothead!" Toph cried out as she flailed against the soldier that held her. But without a sold base, Toph's strength was useless and the solider kept a tight grip. Or he would have, had Zuko not delivered a hard kick to the man's kidneys, causing him to cry out in pain and release Toph. The second the Earthbender as back on the ground, she whipped around and struck the man hard, sending him sailing back. Zuko took this chance to hit the man with a fireblast, sending him face first across the deck.

"You ok?" he asked Toph once the solider was no longer a threat.

"What do you think? Come on, we've got butt to kick!" Toph answered back, as she went after another soldier.

Zuko shook his head good-naturedly and began follow, but then a lighting bolt shot past him, just barely missing. His face grim, Zuko turned to face it's master……..

Sokka's club went down hard, as another Fire Nation solider fell at his feet. But he grimaced each time he swung the club. Despite the wrappings, Sokka' back was still raw and this exertion was quite painful for him. Thankfully, he had fortunate enough to only have Fire Nation soldiers come after him; weakened or not, he could still take them down.

But as always happens with Sokka, his luck ran out. A dagger came flying out of the air towards him; Sokka quickly brought his head down to avoid it, but more came after it. Eyes quickly searching the area, Sokka saw a stray metal square, likely left over from some kind of construction. Moving quickly, he grabbed it and used it like a shield, as Mai continued to advance on him.

But the shield wasn't enough, for a second later, Ty Lee flipped up behind him and before he could react, she struck him in the side, causing him to fall to his knees. She then struck him in his lower back, causing his legs to go numb.

"I was hoping you'd be a challenge." Mai sighed, as she came up to the Water-Tribesman. "Oh well, I'd better take care of you now, or Azula will be pissed."

"Do we have to kill him? It'd be such a waste." Ty Lee asked thoughtfully.

Mai sighed and ran her hand down her face. "I have to do everything myself." She muttered, as she turned back to Sokka, her dagger held above her head. Ty Lee looked away then, unable to watch. Sokka began to steal himself for the pain, but then he saw something reflected in the dagger. It was the image of Trueno running towards them, an image that Ty Lee and Mai didn't see, so focused were they on their respective tasks. As he looked, Sokka remembered a training move that he had seen the ram perform a few times, and he smiled inwardly. Sokka waited a second more, then suddenly threw the metal plate at Mai. Surprised, the girl dropped her dagger, reached up and caught it as it almost went over her head. She brought it down slowly, confused at what Sokka had hoped to accomplish. But she found out a second later, as Trueno reached her, and delivered a vicious spin-kick to the plate, driving it into Mai's face. The girl instantly crumpled to the ground.

Ty Lee whirled around at the noise, but this was her downfall as well. A puddle of water at her feet suddenly morphed into Agua, who kicked the girl in the stomach, forcing her to bend over. The cat then stuck her head between his legs, hooked her arms, then leapt into the air and drove her face first into the floor of the ship.

"Thanks guys. Is she gonna be ok?" Sokka asked as he gingerly got to his feet, Ty Lee's attacks already wearing off.

"They should be ok. Still, that was damn easy." Trueno said.

"Hey, don't get cocky, there's still a game going on." Agua said, as he leapt back into the fray. Trueno followed, but Sokka held on a moment. There was a small vent near him, and as Sokka had started to leave, he'd heard a strange noise coming from it. Curoius, Sokka bent down and put his ear to the vent. Sure enough, he heard the sound again. Sokka gasped and then smiled as he saw a door to the lower part of the ship only a few yards away….

Azula slashed away at Zuko, her eyes filled with anger and frustration. As the blue flames sparked around him, Zuko blocked them with his own fire, as he watched his sister with a strange, almost detached look.

Is this how I was? He thought as he looked at his sister, all her control gone, replaced by bitter frustration and rage. He remembered his last battle with his sister; he had been so angry, wanting to destroy his lying sister. As the two siblings moved further and further up the ship, Zuko knew that the expression on his sister's face had been on his own. That same mindless, angry, pointless look, that ruined anything that was good in Azula's face and twisted it into a horrible mask. And the more Zuko looked at it, the more he felt it shame at his past actions, the more he wanted to emancipate himself from his family.

"Getting tired Zuzu?" Azula sneered, as she moved back suddenly, her fist ready to strike. The Princess struck, but Zuko moved away, and caught her arm. For a second, they stood there, eyes locked, in a scene that they'd played out once before, when Azula had betrayed him. But this time, things were different. As Azula's eyes widened, Zuko pulled his hand back and then shot forth his fireblast. Azula went flying back and skidded across the deck. Finally, she came to a stop, only to stare at her supposedly weak older brother, as he stood there with the smoke from the flames still drifting from his fingers.

But Azula's shock lasted only a second, as she sprang back to her feet. Quicly moving through the stance, she let loose her lightning at Zuko. But the boy merely put up his hand, absorbed the lightning, and then using Iroh's method, sent it back at his sister. Azula dodged it, but this time, she looked over at her brother with something she'd never associated with him before; fear and awe.

Zuko noticed this look in his sister's eyes, but before he could relish it or do anything, there was a huge clang from the back of the deck. Everyone on board stopped and looked, as the door leading down into the ship's cargo popped up again. The metal frame began to buckle, as something pushed against it harder and harder. Finally, the frame gave way and shot up into the air. As everyone watched, a creature emerged from the door, one that was large, furry, dirty, but still recognizable as….

"APPA!" Aang cried out in happiness, as he leapt over to his bison. Hugging the creature's face happily, Aang began to weep in joy.

"Come on guys, we're taking off!" Sokka yelled out from his place in Appa's saddle.

"How on earth do you ride that thing?" Iroh asked in amazement.

"Very carefully." Katara replied, as the two of them began to run towards the creature. But before they could reach Appa, the soldiers blocked their way,

"Stop them!" the captain yelled out. "We cannot let them steal the Princess's tribute to her father! Attack!"

The Firebenders began to move into their stances, but before they could, the metal floor of the ship suddenly became liquid and covered their bodies, just before returning to its solid form around them. Katara and Iroh stared in confusion, then saw Hierro running towards them.

"Thought you might want a break from fighting." The spider said.

The two of them nodded, and quickly leapt onto Appa's saddle. Hierro prepared to follow, but then saw Azula running over. This time, the spider slammed his fists down on the metal decking, sending a shockwave through that knocked Azula back down. Hierro nodded, as Zuko and Toph made their way over to Appa and leapt on.

The Knights then quickly summoned their armor and spread their wings. Aang flipped over onto Appa's head, grabbed the reins and sent the bison into the air with a cry of "Yip-Yip!" As Appa soared upwards, the Knights launched themselves after him, leaving Azula sitting on the deck, bereft of any glory or prizes for her father or any answers for herself.