A/N: Ok, time to move forward and continue the progress of this story. Hope you like what I did to this chapter!
Disclaimer- I own nothing
Chapter 12- The Red and Blue Spirits
Late at night, a messenger hawk was soaring through the skies toward a Fire Nation Fortress. The entire place was filled with fire guards scouting out every corner of the stronghold, and in the courtyard, skilled archers were firing multiple arrows at a target. Meanwhile, Commander Zhao and Cornel Shinu were watching the archers train while Zhao presented his request to the Fire Cornel.
"Absolutely not! The Yuyan archers stay here," replied the Cornel. "Your request is denied, Commander Zhao."
"Cornel Shi Nu, please reconsider," requested Zhao. "Their precision is legendary; the Yuyan can pin a fly to a tree from a hundred yards away without killing it." As Zhao spoke, one of the archers fired four arrows at the same time; all of them hit a bull's-eye. "You're wasting their talents using them as mere security guards."
"I can do whatever I want with their talents," argued Cornel Shinu. "They're my archers, and what I say goes!"
"But my search for the Avatar is…" said Zhao before he was interrupted.
"Is nothing but a fantasy project! We're fighting a real war here, and I need every man I got, Commander," said the Cornel as he got in Zhao's face.
"But…" Zhao prepared to argue before he was shut down.
"That's final!" dismissed Shinu. "I don't wanna hear another word about it!"
Commander Zhao growled in defeat when they suddenly heard the screech of a messenger hawk; the bird flew into the watchtower and landed on Cornel Shinu's wrist. The Fire Cornel pulled out the message from the bird's pack and read it, and his face quickly turned to shock from the message. "News from Fire Lord Ozai?" asked Zhao as he approached the Cornel. Shinu reluctantly handed the message to the still-Commander, who read it and smirked at the good news. "It appears I've been promoted to Admiral and Brody has been given my position as Commander. My request… is now an order."
The Fire Cornel bowed to the new Admiral and left to inform his archers of their new position; the Yuyan archers continued practicing as the Fire Admiral watched with pride. On top of the watchtower, two mysterious beings were watching everything that transpired. The two spies wore an all-black cover suit, making them completely invisible in the dark. Their faces were the only things not covered in black, but rather masks with horns on their heads, big ears, unibrows, and wide smiles with two fangs sticking out from their upper jaws.
The spy on the left wore a blue mask while carrying dual swords on his black and the spy on the right wore a red mask while he had a single sword strapped to his back. After hearing the news of Zhao's promotion, the two spies looked at each other before quietly sneaking away.
The next morning, the Gang took refuge in a deserted Earth town. There was moss everywhere from the number of years the place was abandoned. The four teens, the bison, the dragon, and the lemur were camping inside an old building. Gohan was keeping the fire going while Aang and Katara were checking on Sokka. The oldest teen was tucked away in his sleeping bag and laid against Appa; he was coughing, shivering, and sweating nonstop due to his illness. "This should bring your fever down," said Katara as she placed a wet cloth on her brother's forehead.
"You know what I love about Appa the most?" asked the delusional teen. "His sense of humor."
"That's nice, I'll tell him," said Katara.
"Should you be playing along with his delusions?" asked Gohan.
The Sky Bison growled and Sokka started laughing. "Classic Appa," said Sokka.
"How's Sokka doing?" asked Aang.
"Not so good, being out in that storm really did a number in him," replied Katara while her brother continued to shiver as his nose became runny.
"I couldn't find any ginger root for the tea, but I found a map," said Aang. He then placed the map on the floor and opened it up. "There's an Herbalist institute on the top of that mountain; we could probably find a cure for Sokka there."
"Then we should go right away," suggested Gohan.
"Guys, he's in no condition to travel," said Katara. "Sokka just needs more rest, I'm sure he'll be better by tomorrow."
The only girl in the group then started coughing strongly. "Not you too!" said Aang. "Relax, it was just a little cough. I'm fi—" Before she could finish, Katara resumed coughing, only now it had gotten worse. The boys covered their faces with their arms until Katara's coughing stopped, and when she stopped, her face expressed nausea. "That's how Sokka started yesterday!" said Aang. "Now look at him, he thinks he's an Earthbender!"
True to what the monk said, Sokka started punching the air as he believed he was bending a rock. "Take that, you rock!" said Sokka.
"A few more hours and you'll be talking nonsense too." The Avatar closed the map and grabbed his staff. "I'm going to find some medicine!" The Airbender marched over to the exit and opened his glider, but then lightning flashed from the sky and Aang suddenly had second thoughts about flying. "Uh, maybe it's safer if I go on foot," said Aang as he closed his glider. "Keep an eye on them, guys," the Avatar instructed Appa, Momo, and Icarus; the pets made their usual sounds and Sokka laughed again.
"Ha ha! You guys are killing me!" said Sokka.
Aang looked at his sick companions with concern while Gohan came to see him off. "You'd better hurry; their illness could spread to us if it's not cured fast."
"Let's hope I can get back before that happens," said Aang.
The Airbender then jumped a great distance away from their camp and started running incredibly fast. In a few seconds, he had already left the abandoned town and was headed toward the mountain.
Out at sea, Prince Zuko's ship was casually sailing as the hunt for the Avatar continued. Inside the ship, Prince Zuko, Trunks, and the Lieutenant were trying to pick up the Avatar's trail with their map while Iroh and some crew members were playing Pai Sho. "We haven't been able to pick up the Avatar's trail since the storm," explained the Lieutenant. "But if we continue heading northeast…" He was suddenly interrupted by a large shadow covering the map. Everyone looked up to see one of Admiral Zhao's ships stopping by theirs.
"What do they want?" asked Zuko.
"Perhaps a sporting game of Pai Sho." said Iroh excitedly.
"I don't think so," replied Trunks. "I sense Brody on that ship, but not Zhao. And if Brody's here alone, it can't be for a good reason."
Pretty soon, Brody and three more fire soldiers had boarded Zuko's ship. One of the soldiers opened two scrolls; one of them was a wanted poster of Aang while the other was of Gohan. "The hunt for the Avatar has been given prime importance! All information on the Avatar must be reported directly to either Admiral Zhao or Commander Brute!" said the fire captain.
"So, you and Zhao were promoted, huh Brody?" asked Iroh. "Well, good for you two." The old general moved a tile on the board and the crew members frowned while Iroh smiled.
"It's Commander Brute now!" said Brody. "And we're not here for your congrats. We want to know about the Avatar, or better yet, the Energybender he's traveling with!"
"What do you care of Gohan?" asked Trunks. "Why did Zhao bother to make his capture just as important as the Avatar's?"
"He didn't, I requested it to my Admiral and he graciously granted my request," replied Brody.
"Why do you want Gohan anyway? He's no threat to the Fire Nation!" argued Trunks.
"That's what you think, but I saw his power, his potential. If he is allowed to go free, then he could become too great a threat to our Nation! So I've decided to make sure he's brought to me so that I can end this little problem personally," said Brody. As he spoke, his mind went back to the incident at the fire temple where Gohan had defeated him. He growled and clenched his teeth at this flashback.
Trunks noticed this. "I see, you haven't gotten over your defeat by him, and you want revenge," said Trunks.
"Don't mock me, pretty boy, he got lucky that day. The next time I see him, I won't be beaten like you were!" growled Brody.
The two Energybenders glared at each other, and for a second their ki sparked around themselves, indicating that they wanted to fight.
"Just give us whatever Intel you have on those two!" ordered Brody as they calmed down.
"We have nothing to report to you or Zhao," answered Zuko. "Now get off my ship and let us pass!"
"I'm afraid the new Admiral is not allowing ships in or out of this area," said Brody. "And neither am I."
"OFF MY SHIP!" Prince Zuko yelled furiously.
"Or what?" asked Brody as he approached Zuko. A ki blast was suddenly launched at Brody's face, but he quickly caught it in his hand and crushed it. He turned to Trunks, who had his hand directed at Brody. "That was a warning shot, now get off our ship!" said Trunks as he prepared to fire another blast. "And if you want Gohan, you'll have to get past me. Don't forget that!" Commander Brute glared at the Son of Iroh before saying, "You don't know who you're challenging, pretty boy." The New Commander and his fire soldiers then exited the ship.
"Excellent!" cried Iroh, his attention still on the board game. "I take the pot!" The retired General took all the Pai Sho pieces on the board and the crew members expressed disappointment. "But you're all improving, I'm certain you will win if we play again," said Iroh as he smirked, clearly trying to goad the crew members into losing again. Everyone's attention was soon on the fire princes, who were staring out the window.
"This complicates things," said Trunks.
"Yes, it does a lot," agreed Zuko.
"So what do we do?" asked Trunks.
The son of Ozai gave no reply to his friend's question, as it seemed their quest would end in failure and that they'd never be able to return home.
Meanwhile in the mountains, a couple of scouts were hiding in a tree house while looking at the wanted poster of the Avatar. "It says here that the Avatar can create tornados and run faster than the wind," said one of the scouts.
"Ah, that's just a bunch of Fire Lord Propaganda; there's no way that's true!" argued the scout who was looking through the telescope. He then saw something running very fast from a far away distance. The speedy Airbender soon ran past the scouts' tree house, destroying it completely. The scouts stood there shocked at first but then one of them blew into a horn.
The Avatar quickly ran up the mountain steps and into the herbalist's greenhouse. When he got inside, he ran past a white cat and approached an old woman. "Hello, I'm sorry to barge in like this but I need some medicine for my friends; they have fevers and they've been coughing and…" Aang said rather fast.
"Settle down young man, your friends are going to be fine," said the old woman. "I've been up here for over forty years ya know, there used to be others but they all left years ago. Now it's just me and Miyuki." The herbalist petted her cat as she spoke.
"That's nice," replied Aang, clearly uninterested.
"Wounded Earth Kingdom troops still come by now and then, brave boys, and thanks to my remedies they always leave in better shape than they arrive," said the herbalist as she stirred ingredients in a bowl.
"That's nice. Are you almost done?" asked Aang as he grew impatient.
"Hold on, I just need to add one last ingredient," said the old woman. She then walked to a few of her plants and started searching for the last ingredient. She looked from plant to plant, rejecting everyone as she continued to search. Aang's expressed boredom as he waited on the herbalist.
On Zuko's ship, the son of Ozai was letting his anger out by shooting fire attacks into the sky. "Is everything ok?" asked Iroh when he went to check on his nephew. "It's been almost an hour and you haven't given the men a single order."
"I don't care what they do!" replied Zuko.
"Don't give up hope yet, you can still capture the Avatar before Zhao," Iroh said, attempting to encourage his nephew.
"How, Uncle? With Zhao's resources, it's only a matter of time before he captures the Avatar!" argued Prince Zuko. He turned away from his teacher as his hope at returning home with honor began to fade away. "My honor, my throne, my country, I'm about to lose them all. And worst of all, Trunks is going down with me."
Back in the mountains, the herbalist found her final ingredient. "Ah ha, here's what I was looking for, plum blossoms!" She plucked one of the plum blossoms from its tree and placed it into her bowl.
"Finally!" said Aang. He rushed to the old woman and reached for the bowl. "Thanks for all your help."
The herbalist quickly smacked his hand away with a spoon. "What do you think you're doing?!" she asked furiously.
"Taking the cure to my friends," replied a confused Aang.
"Oh, this isn't a cure," laughed the herbalist. "It's Miyuki's dinner. Plum blossom is her favorite." She placed the bowl in front of her pet and the cat began to chow down.
"What about my friends?!" asked Aang.
"Well, all they need is some frozen wood frogs," said the herbalist. "There are plenty of them down in the valley swamp."
"What am I supposed to do with frozen frogs?" asked Aang.
"Why, suck on them, of course," replied the herbalist.
"Suck on them?!" repeated Aang.
"The frogs' skin excretes a substance that'll cure your friends. But make sure you get plenty; once those little critters thaw out, they're useless!" warned the herbalist.
Aang stared at the herbalist for a while before saying, "You're insane, aren't you?"
"That's right," said the old woman. When she saw Aang was still there, she pointed her spoon at the monk and said, "Well don't stand there all day, go!" Pieces of the cat's dinner flew off the spoon and hit Aang in the eyes. The Airbender cleaned his face as he stepped outside when two arrows were suddenly shot at his feet, impaling his shoes and binding him to the floor. Aang stumbled and fell on his hands before looking up to see archers firing more arrows at him.
Aang deflected the arrows with an air wave, sending them into the trees. He then pulled out one of the arrows in his shoe and held it up as he said to the archers, "Uh, I think you dropped this."
The archers ignored Aang as they grabbed more arrows and aimed at him, and the Avatar's face expressed fear as he realized what was going on. The young monk struggled to remove the other arrow in his shoe as eight more were shot at him. He quickly freed himself and dodged the arrows. He ran toward the gate but more arrows were fired at him, forcing him to jump back and run the other way. Aang ran to the edge of the mountain and jumped off, screaming as he descended towards the ground.
The Archers quickly jumped after him. Aang landed roughly in the trees and continued to fall through them with force while the archers fired roped arrows at a tree and swung onto another branch. Aang jumped from tree to tree with the archers right on his tail. More arrows were fired at Aang, barely missing him as he jumped off the trees.
The Avatar slipped on one of the trees and landed in the valley swamp; he emerged from the water and pulled out an iced amphibian. "A frog!" he exclaimed just before it was knocked out of his palm by an arrow. Aang started to collect frozen frogs while still avoiding the arrows.
He pulled out another frog when his left arm was suddenly pinned to a fallen tree by an arrow, and before he could free himself, three more arrows pinned him to the tree. The archers fired more arrows at Aang, so he tried to protect himself by creating a wall of ice, but the cluster of arrows eventually shattered his ice shield. Five arrows pinned his right arm to the tree before a net was fired at him. The Avatar was now captured.
Gohan suddenly jolted up and looked toward the sky. "Something's not right," he said. He then got up and walked toward the exit. Katara noticed him and asked, "Gohan? Where are you going?" while half awake. Not wanting his friends to worry, Gohan replied, "I'm just going to check on Aang, it won't take long." "Oh, ok," said Katara as she fell back asleep. Gohan closed his eyes and concentrated on his brother's ki. In a few minutes he managed to pick up on Aang's life force.
"His energy seems a bit low at the moment, that can't be good," thought the Energybender. "And it's surrounded by many others, too."
Gohan then jumped into the air and flew off into the sky.
The Avatar slowly opened his eyes and raised his head. His face expressed anger as he now found himself inside a fire nation stronghold. His arms and legs were chained to two posts that were on fire. Six guards stood at the door of Aang's cell. The Airbender struggled against his restraints when the door suddenly opened and Admiral Zhao walked in.
"So this is the great Avatar, master of all the elements," said Zhao as he approached Aang, clearly unimpressed. He then circled Aang as he continued to speak. "I don't know how you managed to elude the fire nation for 100 years, but your little game of hide and seek is over."
"I've never hidden from you! Untie me and I'll fight you right now!" challenged Aang.
"Uh, no," said Zhao. "Tell me, how does it feel to be the only Airbender left? Do you miss your people?" The Admiral got in Aang's face as he asked him those sensitive questions, causing the last Airbender's face to turn sad at Zhao's words. "Don't worry, you won't be killed like they were," said Zhao, which made Aang glare at him. "See, if you die, you'll just be reborn and the fire nation will have to begin its search for the Avatar all over again. So I'll keep you alive, but just barely."
The Fire Admiral turned and walked away when Aang took a deep breath and lung punched the Admiral in the back, knocking him into the wall. Zhao got up and brushed himself off. "Blow all the wind you want, your situation is futile," assured Zhao. "There is no escaping this fortress, and no one is coming to rescue you!"
Admiral Zhao shut the door as he left the Avatar's prison.
Outside the stronghold, the Red spirit and the Blue spirit were hiding in the bushes. A komodo rhino was pulling a cart toward the stronghold when the two spirits climbed under the cart. The cart was stopped at the gate by some fire guards. As they searched the cart, one of the guards looked under the cart; he found nothing as the two spirits were gone. "All clear, go on in," said the guard to the driver. The cart moved toward the gate with the two spirits inside it.
When they made it inside the stronghold, the spirits quickly ran inside before they could be spotted.
Admiral Zhao was soon standing at a balcony with the Fire Cornel at his side. The rest of his men were standing in the courtyard as the Admiral spoke. "WE ARE THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF FIRE, THE SUPERIOR ELEMENT! UNTIL TODAY, ONLY ONE STOOD IN OUR PATH TO VICTORY: THE AVATAR!" The spirits snuck past two guards as the Admiral gave his speech. "I AM HERE TO TELL YOU THAT HE IS NOW MY PRISONER!"
The fire soldiers cheered at the news Zhao gave them. "THIS IS THE YEAR SOZIN'S COMET RETURNS TO GRANT US ITS POWER!" Zhao continued "THIS IS THE YEAR THE FIRE NATION BREAKS THROUGH THE WALLS OF BA SING SE AND BURNS THE CITY TO THE GROUND!" Fire soldiers roared at the inspiration from Zhao's speech while the spirits climbed into the courtyard and entered the sewers. They slipped through the bars and began traveling underground.
Inside Aang's prison, he continued to struggle at his restraints but to no avail. When he stopped to take a break, he felt something moving in his shirt. The frozen frogs he collected were now half frozen and began jumping out of his shirt. "What? No, don't leave, frogs! My friends are sick and they need you, please go back to being frozen!"
The frogs crawled away from the Avatar. The six guards outside heard the frogs croaking and looked down to see the frogs crawling out from under the door. Their attention then went to the banging sound of a fire guard helmet, the helmet bounced on the floor and landed at their feet.
One of the guards walked over to where the helmet came from, and as soon as he went around the corner, there were sounds of grunting and a blast of fire. Three more guards went to investigate; when they went around the corner, they saw the previous guard was gagged and chained to the ceiling. They stared at their comrade in shock, unaware of the two spirits hanging above their heads. Chains were suddenly wrapped around the guards before they could react.
The last two guards heard the sounds of their comrades being beaten and one of them grabbed the horn on the wall to call for back up. However, a knife was thrown at him and it knocked the horn out of his hand. The guards saw the Blue Spirit charging at them with one hand behind his back. They shot a fire blast at him but he swung his arm forward to toss a bucket of water that put out the fire.
The first guard was knocked off his feet by the Blue Spirit while the Red Spirit kicked the second guard in the face. Inside his cell, Aang could hear the banging noises. His door was suddenly opened and the two Spirits walked in. Aang gasped at the sight of them. The Blue Spirit then pulled out his dual swords and approached Aang as he swung them; the Avatar screamed in terror.
Aang closed his eyes as he waited for the Blue Spirit to strike him, but instead his chains were cut from their posts. The Airbender looked at his hand before staring at the Blue Spirit, who quickly sliced his shackles off. The Blue Spirit put one of his swords away and walked toward the door. "Who are you guys? What's going on? Are you here to rescue me?" asked the monk. The Spirits replied by motioning Aang to follow them as they exited the cell. "I'll take that as a yes," said Aang as he followed.
Outside the prison, Aang saw the guards that were tied up and gagged struggling to get up. He then turned and saw the woodland frogs crawling away. "My frogs!" he exclaimed "Come back, and stop thawing out!" He tried to grab a few but they slipped out of his hands. The two Spirits then came up to him and pulled him away. "Wait! My friends need to suck on those frogs!" yelled Aang.
Outside, Gohan was approaching the stronghold. He quickly descended toward the ground in the courtyard and hid himself from the fire soldiers. "There are fire soldiers everywhere; this must be some fire nation prison," thought Gohan. "If Aang's here, then he must've been captured." The Son of Goku closed his eyes again and concentrated on sensing Aang's life force. His attention was directed toward a single tower in the center of the entire stronghold.
"Ok he's in there. Now how do I get in without being spotted?" thought Gohan. He looked around until his eyes located the sewers that led under the stronghold. "That'll work."
A few minutes later inside the stronghold, the two Spirits led Aang through the hallway to where they entered the prison tower. As they led Aang around another corner, they came face-to-face with the spiky haired Energybender.
"Gohan!" cried Aang.
"Aang, get back!" ordered Gohan. He channeled ki into his hands and fired them at the Spirits, but Aang quickly used his airbending to redirect them into another hallway. "Wait Gohan, these guys are helping me escape!" explained Aang.
"Really?" asked Gohan.
"Yeah." replied Aang.
"Oh, sorry then," Gohan apologized. The Spirits simply nodded to him. "We'd better get out of here!"
Suddenly, a green ki blast was fired; it hit Gohan in the back and knocked him into a wall. "Apologies brat, but no one's going anywhere," said Brody as he revealed himself. The Blue Spirit brought out his dual swords, the Red Spirit pulled out his sword, and Aang took a fighting position. "So, we've got two thieves trying to steal the Avatar from us. Although I was expecting only the brat to show, this makes things more interesting."
"You knew I was coming?" asked Gohan as he stood up.
"Yes, the moment Admiral Zhao captured the Avatar alone, I knew you'd find your way here to try and save him. I was waiting for you to get here; once I sensed your ki in this place, I came to stop you from getting to the Avatar." explained Brody.
"Well, you made a mistake trying to stop us, 'cause now we've got you outnumbered!" said Aang. "But if you let us go, we won't hurt you!"
"Don't try to bluff me, little Avatar, as if numbers mean anything to me!" said Commander Brute.
The Fire Commander shot a ki blast at the young monk, which Aang blocked with an air shield before countering with an air blast. Brody was blown straight into a wall, but he simply stood up and smirked; he rushed at Aang and bashed him into another hall. The two Spirits charged at the Energybender with their swords ready. Brody dodged their slashes and struck the Blue Spirit in the chest while grabbing one of his swords. The Red Spirit swung his sword rapidly at Brody, but he blocked all of his swings with the Blue Spirit's sword and kicked the Red Spirit away.
"I barely broke a sweat, and you thought four-on-one would give you an advantage," mocked Brody.
The Commander was suddenly knocked over by an air wave from behind; he turned around to see Aang launching more wind attacks. He withstood all of the attacks and fired an energy blast at the Avatar. Aang hit it with an air blast, which created a small explosion that knocked Aang into Gohan just as he was about to get up.
The Blue Spirit's sword was suddenly swiped out of the Commander's hand by the Red Spirit, who then started using both blades against the Energybender. The Red Spirit swung multiple times at Brody, only managing to scratch his armor a few times before he grabbed both blades with his hands. The Red Spirit was then kicked into the Blue Spirit. Brody then threw the blades down and smirked.
"And here I thought you could give me a real workout. I guess I was wrong," said Brody.
"How's this for a workout?!" yelled Gohan.
The young fighter jumped over Brody and grabbed him by his hair. He landed behind him and tossed him into a wall. Brody stood up in time to see Gohan channeling ki into his palms, which were placed above his head. "MASENKO, HA!" cried Gohan as he fired his signature yellow beam at Brody. The Commander raised his arms and crossed them in an effort to block the attack. The beam hit him and pushed him into a wall and Gohan's attack didn't stop coming as it was now preventing Brody from moving.
"Now's your chance, get out of here now!" Gohan ordered the others.
"What?!" asked Aang. "No, we can't leave you!"
"Listen, I'm the only one who can take him right now, so get out of here now while I have him in place," said Gohan.
"No, I won't leave you to face him alone!" argued Aang.
"Aang! Katara and Sokka are still sick and you're the only one who knows how to cure them, you need to get to them fast and help them recover!" urged Gohan. Aang opened his mouth to argue but he knew Gohan had a good point. Gohan saw Aang's hesitation and said, "Don't worry about me, I can handle this guy! I'll beat him and meet up with you guys, just make sure you escape!"
The Avatar sighed and said, "Alright, let's go!"
"I don't think so!" cried Brody as he slowly pushed through the beam and walked toward Gohan. When he was right in front of him, he attempted to punch the young boy in the face but Gohan cancelled his beam and quickly jumped back to avoid Brody's fist. The Commander punched the ground before rushing at his opponent. Gohan charged at him and the two collided in a grappling match. "Go now!" ordered Gohan.
The two Spirits picked up their weapons as Gohan said to them, "Don't know why I'm trusting you guys, but I am. So make sure you get my brother out of here safely!" The Spirits nodded before running off with the Avatar through another hallway.
The two struggled for a while until Gohan kicked Brody in the chin, making him let go and stumble back. Gohan tried to punch him but Brody grabbed his fist and tossed him into the ceiling before kicking him down and stomping on him.
"You really think you can me alone?" asked Brody.
"Yeah I do!" replied Gohan. He then blasted Brody in the face, causing him to stumble back, and struck him in the chest with his palm. Brody quickly recovered and punched Gohan in his right cheek. Gohan shook it off and tried to attack Brody but he was blasted into a wall by a green beam. Brody then elbow bashed Gohan in the gut, which he countered with a blow to Brody's head. Brody clenched his teeth and slammed Gohan into the ground, but the Son of Goku quickly got and jumped back.
Brody rushed at him with his fist ready but Gohan created a blue sphere of energy to protect himself. Brody's fist made impact with the energy shield and did nothing. He growled before he started rapidly punching Gohan's force field. After a few punches, the shield cracked and shattered, leaving Gohan vulnerable. He quickly dodged Brody's fist and hand chopped him in the head before kicking his chest multiple times. He then shot his hands forward and blew Brody back with a kiai attack. The Fire Commander cracked his neck and took a stance.
"What makes you think you stand a chance against me alone?!" asked Brody.
"'Cause now that I sense that they're not close by, I don't have to hold back!" said Gohan.
His body suddenly started emitting a white aura and his ki began to rise. Brody smirked at this and started releasing his own aura of green ki. "Well then, show me that same power you used in the fire temple! Let's see what you got!" challenged Brody. The two Energybenders channeled ki into their right hands and charged at each other; they threw their fists forward as they resumed their battle.
Meanwhile in the sewers, the two Spirits and the Avatar were running underground toward the courtyard. "I sure hope Gohan can handle that guy," said Aang as they ran. The Red Spirit suddenly stopped, making the other two look at him. "What's the matter?" asked Aang. The Red Spirit didn't reply as he pulled out his sword and stared at his partner. A sort of understanding passed between the two as the Blue Spirit nodded to his comrade.
The Red Spirit nodded back and headed back to the prison tower. The Blue Spirit ran the opposite direction with Aang close behind him. "Is he going back to help my brother?" Aang asked his rescuer. The Blue Spirit looked at him and nodded.
Back in the prison tower, Gohan was knocked into the wall. He groaned in pain as he slowly stood, but was then met with a punch to the gut from his enemy. Gohan grasped his stomach as he fell to his knees and Brody smirked as he watched Gohan in pain. "What's wrong, brat? Don't like being beaten by a stronger fighter?" asked Brody. Gohan glared at him before jumping up to punch him. The Commander dodged the attack and kicked Gohan in the side of his waist.
Gohan grasped his waist as he fired an energy blast with one hand. Brody simply caught with in palm and crushed it. The young fighter got up and tried to kick Brody, but his attack was blocked by the Commander's arm. Gohan then threw a punch at Brody which nailed him in the left cheek. Brody glared at Gohan and hand chopped him away. "Can't you use the power you had at that fire temple?" asked Brody as Gohan rolled on the ground. "Too bad, cause without it, you've got no chance of beating me."
The Fire Commander slowly walked toward Gohan who was still down, when he suddenly sensed the presence of another fighter behind him. He slanted to the right where he barely managed to dodge a slash from the Red Spirit. "You again?!" cried Brody as he dodged another strike from the swordsman. Before Brody could counterattack, he was kicked in the face by Gohan; the Commander skidded across the floor from the assault. "Why are you here?! You're supposed to be helping Aang escape!" said Gohan. Brody got up and rushed at his two foes; the Red Spirit quickly jabbed Brody's stomach with the hilt of his sword.
Brody grasped his stomach as he stumbled back a bit. "There is no escape for either of you now!" he said. He then hit Gohan with a green ki blast and rushed at the Swordsman. The Red Spirit started channeling energy into his sword; he swung his blade, creating a curved energy attack that blasted Brody backward. Gohan stared at his ally before asking, "If you could do that, then why didn't you do it earlier?!" The Red Spirit simply shrugged as he took a fighting stance. Brody growled and shot a green blast at the duo, but the Red Spirit positioned his blade horizontally to create an energy barrier that blocked the attack from hitting him or Gohan.
The Red Spirit then charged at Brody and swung his sword forward. Brody dodged the slash but was kicked in the face by his enemy. Brody tried to punch the Red Spirit, but he ducked and uppercut him in the chin. Brody flinched and the Swordsman jumped at him. His sword was brought down on Brody, who caught it before it could touch him. The two stared at each other before they heard Gohan yell, "Duck!" from behind the Swordsman. The Red Spirit let go of his weapon and ducked, allowing Gohan to blast Brody away with an energy attack. Brody quickly recovered and charged at Gohan who charged at him. The two started trading blows before Brody was suddenly bashed in the back by the Red Spirit.
Brody glared at the Swordsman before blasting him with a green energy beam. The Red Spirit was blown into a wall just as Brody jumped at him. Gohan quickly tackled the Commander to the ground, but Brody countered by landing on his hands and body slamming Gohan into the ceiling. The impact made Gohan let go of Brody and fall to the ground. Brody started stomping on the Son of Goku before he was kicked away by the Red Spirit. The Swordsman helped Gohan to his feet as their opponent regained his balance. He then bashed the Red Spirit faster than either fighter could react and punched Gohan into the ground.
Before he could inflict any more damage to the Son of Goku, Brody's chest was slashed by the Red Spirit's sword. Brody stumbled back a bit as blood slid down his armor. He growled before he tackled the Red Spirit, knocking his sword out of his hand and causing him to slide across the floor. Brody attempted to drop kick his foe, but the Red Spirit rolled to the side and got on his feet.
The two were soon trading blows. The Red Spirit punched Brody in the face, and he countered with a kick to the stomach. Brody punched the Red Spirit in the chin and he returned the attack with a kick to Brody's ribs. The Red Spirit palm struck Brody in the chest, which made the Commander glare at him before kicking him away. Brody then approached the Red Spirit and clamped his hands together while raising them above his head; as he prepared to bring them down on his enemy, his back was slashed by Gohan, who was wielding the Red Spirit's blade. Brody winced before he tried to elbow bash Gohan, but the young fighter ducked under the attack and the Commander was kicked away by the Red Spirit.
"I believe this is yours," said Gohan as he handed the sword to its rightful owner.
Brody stood up with an angry expression on his face. He started to channel green ki into his hands as he said, "You're both going to wish you never met me!" He then fired a big green blast at his two opponents. "KAMEHAMEHA!" shouted Gohan as he quickly fired a blue beam to counter Brody's attack. The Red Spirit put his sword away and brought his hands together, firing a gold beam to help deflect Brody's blast.
In the Courtyard, fire soldiers were still guarding the fortress while the Avatar and the Blue Spirit were sneaking through the sewers. The two slowly snuck under the vents without being spotted by the guards; the Blue Spirit then stuck out his head and looked around. When the coast was clear, he pointed upward to Aang before the two climbed out of the sewers.
Inside the Prison tower, Admiral Zhao was walking down the hallway with his personal scribe trailing behind him. "I want a full transcription of my speech sent to the Fire Lord," said Zhao to his scribe, who was writing as he spoke. "Along with, glowing testimonials from all the ranking officers present, and…" The two suddenly heard a loud bang and saw an explosion of light that shone throughout the tower. The two fighters were sent flying backward past Zhao while Brody rushed after them.
"Commander Brute, what's going on?!" asked the Admiral.
"A little busy at the moment, Admiral, but…" replied Brody as he pointed to the hallway that had four Firebenders gagged and chained to the ceiling. "You might want to check the Avatar's cell!"
The Admiral frowned before rushing to the Avatar's prison, only to find that the prisoner was gone and a woodland frog was on the floor. Zhao's face showed anger as he quickly left the empty cell. "Sir, shall I hold off sending that speech to the Fire Lord?" asked the scribe as he followed Zhao and the frog followed him.
Gohan and the Red Spirit recovered from their flight and retook their stances. As Commander Brute approached them, he smirked and said, "I can sense that your friends haven't left this fortress yet, which means that in a matter of minutes, every soldier here will be sent to make sure they don't escape!"
The two fighters looked at each other as their opponent stopped in front of them. "Too bad you can't help them when you have your own problems to worry about!" said Brody. He then opened his mouth and yelled, "OMEGA BLASTER!" as he fired a large green beam at the two warriors.
Outside, the Avatar and the Blue Spirit ran across the courtyard to the wall where a rope was waiting for them. They started to climb the rope when a loud bell rang throughout the stronghold. "There! On the wall!" cried one of the fire guards when he spotted the two escapees. Another fire guard appeared on top of the wall and cut the rope, causing the duo to fall toward the ground, but Aang used his airbending to soften their descent. The Blue Spirit then brought out his swords and pointed to the open gate, and the two quickly made a run for it.
"THE AVATAR HAS ESCAPED! CLOSE ALL THE GATES IMMEDIATELY!" ordered Admiral Zhao from the balcony.
"Stay close to me!" ordered Aang as he ran ahead of the Blue Spirit. Fire soldiers quickly came and blocked their path, but Aang released a gale force attack that blew the soldiers away, clearing their path to the gate. Aang continued to run to the still-open gate, but two soldiers with spears managed to stop the Blue Spirit from making it. The dual swordsman started fighting off soldiers as more surrounded him.
Aang almost made it to the gate but stopped when he saw his ally being attacked by soldiers. One soldier tried to jab Aang but he quickly dodged the assault and grabbed the spear. The monk air kicked the soldier away and twirled the spear before breaking off the sharp point.
The Avatar ran back to aid the Blue Spirit as the gate closed shut. The Dual Swordsman continued to cut off the sharp points of the spears jabbed at him by soldiers, when the soldiers were suddenly blown away by an air blast from Aang. The Airbender then launched the Blue Spirit into the air and he landed on a wall. The Blue Spirit was immediately surrounded by more fire soldiers. Aang then flew onto the wall by twirling his stick like a propeller, grabbed the Blue Spirit with his legs, and flew toward the gates.
As the soldiers watched the two fly over the fortress, they threw multiple spears at them. The Blue Spirit kicked away and deflected all the spears. Aang was struggling to remain airborne and the squirming from the Blue Spirit made things worse. Eventually, Aang couldn't stay in the air and the two ended up crash landing on the wall.
The two got up and noticed fire soldiers climbing onto the wall to capture them. Aang attempted to grab his stick, but a fire soldier kicked it away. The soldier tried to swing his sword at Aang but he swiftly dodged the slashes. The Blue Spirit then grabbed the soldier and threw him off the wall. The Dual Swordsman then retrieved his blades as more soldiers approached them, and Aang quickly blew them away with air blasts. The soldiers on the ground soon brought three ladders and started to climb up the wall.
The Blue Spirit focused on knocking the soldiers off one ladder while Aang blasted the soldiers off the other two ladders. The Airbender jumped to one ladder and air blasted the soldiers on it away, causing the soldiers on the second ladder to flinch at the force of Aang's attack. They looked up in time to see Aang take a deep breath. The soldier on top screamed when he realized what was coming, seconds before Aang lung punched the fire soldiers off the ladder. The Blue Spirit had just knocked another soldier off the ladder when Aang came to him with two ladders.
"Take this!" said Aang as he handed a ladder to his ally. "Jump on my back!"
The Avatar carried the ladder while using the one with fire soldiers on it to move across the courtyard. The Blue Spirit quickly jumped onto his back as the ladder tipped over. The soldiers watched as the two passed over their heads toward the fortress gate. Aang switched ladders as they got closer to the gate. "Give me the next one!" said Aang. The Blue Spirit handed him the last ladder needed to complete their escape, but before they could make it across, a Firebender set the last ladder on fire. The two were forced to jump off early; as they sailed toward the final gate, Aang tried to grab onto the wall but his hands slipped off.
The Blue Spirit managed to grab the wall with one hand but couldn't hold on for long and eventually had to let go. The two fell back to the ground, and the Dual Swordsman quickly brought his blades as they prepared to fight their way out. There was a sudden eruption from inside the prison tower, and the Red Spirit and Gohan were soon sent flying out of the tower into the courtyard right beside Aang and the Blue Spirit. They got up and took their stances once again. Gohan's forehead was bleeding along with his mouth and wrists. The Red Spirit's right arm had a small wound on it and his mask was cracked diagonally.
Commander Brute suddenly jumped from the tower into the courtyard with his hands charged with green energy. "Now, all of you will face oblivion!" cried Brody as he fired a green energy blast while four Firebenders followed his lead and shot fire at the four warriors. Aang quickly got in front of everyone and blocked the attacks with an air bubble.
"Hold your fire!" ordered Zhao as he and the Cornel approached the escapees. The Commander and the soldiers immediately stopped firing at the four. "The Avatar must be captured alive!"
Upon hearing this, the Blue Spirit placed his blades at Aang's neck, threatening to kill him if the gates weren't open. "What are you…?" Gohan was about to ask before the Red Spirit put his own blade to the Son of Goku's throat. Admiral Zhao stared at the two Spirits, unable to see their faces, so he couldn't tell if they were bluffing or not. Not wanting to lose his prisoner, Zhao said, "Open the gate." with a stern voice.
"Admiral, what are you doing?" whispered the Cornel.
"Let them out, now!" ordered Zhao again.
The gate was soon opened and the four slowly exited the fortress. Brody growled in anger as his target had gotten away from them. "Now what, Admiral?!" he asked.
"How could you let them go?" asked the Cornel.
"A situation like this requires… precision," said the Admiral with a smirk.
The Spirits kept their weapons at the brothers' necks as they backed away from the fortress. They moved closer to a fork in the road while still carefully watching the fortress. On top of one of the towers, Zhao stood calmly as he watched the four move further away from the stronghold. He looked over to his left where two Yuyan archers were taking aim. "Do you both have clear shots?" asked Zhao. The archers responded by closing one eye each. "Knock out the thieves," ordered Zhao as the Cornel and the Commander stood behind him. "I'll deliver them to the Fire Lord, along with the Avatar and the young Energybender."
The Archers let go of their arrows, and in a matter of seconds, both Spirits were hit in the head and knocked unconscious. Aang and Gohan turned in shock as the Spirits released them and fell flat on their backs. Their masks were still covering their faces, but the strap was cut, making it easy to remove. Aang immediately created a wall of smoke to shield the four of them.
"Quick, recover the Avatar and the Energybender!" ordered Zhao.
Fire Soldiers immediately ran through the gate toward the smokescreen. Aang slowly grabbed the mask of the Blue Spirit and lifted it up, and he gasped when he saw the face of the Son of Ozai, Prince Zuko. Aang heard Gohan gasp and looked to see that he had removed the Red Spirit's mask and saw the face of Prince Trunks. The two backed away and turned to run but immediately stopped. They looked back at the Fire soldiers approaching, then at the unconscious fire princes. The Brothers expressed worry on their faces before they looked at each other and nodded.
When the soldiers made it to the smokescreen, it slowly faded away, revealing nothing as the four escapees were now gone. They looked in all directions, but they could not tell which direction they ran off in. At the Fortress, Admiral Zhao's face turned very angry when they heard a woodland frog croak. The frog jumped onto the wall and immediately jumped down. Brody growled as he thought, "You haven't seen the last of me, Kakabrat! We'll meet again!"
The next morning, the fire princes awoke to see that they were now in the woods, lying on their backs while Aang and Gohan sat beside them. They recalled being knocked out by arrows and were surprised to see that they still managed to escape Zhao's fortress. The boys spoke in sadness while the princes simply listened.
"You know the worst part about being born over a hundred years ago is?" Aang asked the princes. "We miss all the friends we used to hang out with."
"Before this war started, we used to have this friend named Kuzon," said Gohan.
"We used to always visit him. The three of us, we got in and out of so much trouble together. He was one of the best friends I ever had, and he was from the fire nation like you two," said Aang as he looked at the princes. "If we knew each other back then, do you think the four of us could've been friends too?"
The Fire Princes didn't respond to what was being said, they only listened to the brothers.
"You know, whenever I look at people, I don't usually see them as enemies, I see them as potential friends," said Gohan. "I especially see that with you two. It's just that we're from different nations that we're forced to pick a side in this war and we ended up on opposing sides. I keep thinking that if this was the past lives Trunks and I had, we could have all been friends on the same side."
The Princes suddenly got up and launched their attacks at the brothers; they instinctively dodged the attacks before fleeing. The Princes watched their enemies retreat before looking at each other while thinking about what Aang and Gohan said.
The Avatar and Gohan were soon at the swamp, collecting frozen frogs to cure the water tribe siblings. "Are you sure these will cure them?" asked Gohan. "That's what the crazy herbalist said," replied Aang.
The Fire Princes finally made it back to their ship. They passed General Iroh, who was sitting on the main deck with his horn. "Where have you been, boys?" asked Iroh. "You missed music night; Lieutenant Jee sang a stirring love song."
"We're going to bed, no disturbances," said Zuko to his uncle.
"Everything alright, boys?" asked Iroh.
"It's just been a long night, Iroh," said Trunks. "We just need some rest."
The retired general expected their answer and went back to playing his musical instrument.
The Brothers came back to their campsite, which was now full of random items. "Uh, where did all this stuff come from?" asked Gohan. "Don't ask," replied Katara. Aang went over to Sokka and put a frozen frog in his mouth. "Suck on these, they'll make you feel better," said Aang. He then put one in Katara's mouth and collapsed onto Appa's tail. Gohan sighed heavily and sat beside his pet dragon. Icarus licked his face and Gohan petted his head in sadness.
"Aang, Gohan, how was your trip?" asked Sokka as he sucked on the frozen frog. "Did you guys make any new friends?"
"No, I don't think we did," said Aang as he rolled over.
In Prince Zuko's chamber, the Son of Ozai was lying awake in his bed. He looked over to the fire nation symbol on his wall before turning over to get some rest.
In the ruins, Gohan lay against Icarus and held up his weapon; he partly unsheathed his sword and stared at his reflection.
In his own chamber, Prince Trunks was looking at his own reflection from his blade; he then closed his sword and lay down on his bed. "Maybe we could've been friends if things were different," he thought as he closed his eyes.
Back at the ruins, the Water Tribe Siblings were still sucking on the ice cold amphibians; Sokka's face expressed delight from the taste of the frog. "Mmmm, this is tasty! Mmmm!" said Sokka. The frog eventually thawed out and began struggling to remove itself from Sokka's mouth. The Tribesman noticed this and immediately spit it out, while Katara gasped when she saw a frog in her mouth seconds before it hopped away.
The teens started coughing and spitting in disgust and Sokka started licking Appa's fur while Momo chased after the frogs.
A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers, favorites, and followers. Some of you may think that the blue haired girl from the previous chapter is a love interest for Trunks, but she's not. I already have a love interest for Trunks in mind, but you won't know who it is until I reveal it, unless someone figures it out. Until we meet again, BBFN AntiHero out!