A/N: I'm back and here's another chapter of Five Elements. As requested, I've skipped the Zuko Alone episode, though I'll have to put in what Trunks did during that episode in a flashback in one of my future chapters; all you need to know now is that after his solo journey, the Saiyan Prince tracked down the Fire Prince and they once again continued their mission to capture the Avatar. Now, without further ado, time for the story…
Disclaimer – I own nothing
Chapter 26 – The Chase
The Gang, now joined by Toph and Goten, had just landed in a dried up part of the creek. The travelers began unloading their things from the Bison while Aang's Earthbending teacher steps into Appa's fur that spread out on the ground. "Hey, you guys picked a great campsite. The grass is so soft here." Toph said.
"That's not grass, Appa's shedding." Sokka clarified.
"Oh, gross!" Katara whined.
"That's not gross; it's just a part of spring. You know, rebirth, flowers blooming, and Appa gets a new coat!" Aang explained.
"Ah, the beauty of spring." Katara said. The Sky Bison then stuck out its tongue that had some fur stuck to it; he then sneezed, blowing off some more of his fur. "Stop, Appa, stop!" the Waterbender screamed as he coughed and spit out fur.
"It's not that bad, Katara." Sokka said as he picked up a big pile of fur and put it on his head. "It makes a great wig!"
"And a great beard!" Aang said as he stood beside the tribesman wearing Appa's fur as a beard.
"How do you like my mustache?!" Gohan asked as he showed up with a long white mustache on his face and white cape. "It matches my cape."
"Look, I made myself a fur coat!" Goten said as h displayed his new coat. The four male teens pointed to each other and laughed with joy.
The Waterbender just looked at her friends, feeling unamused. "I'm just glad we finally have another girl in the group because you four are disgusting."
At that moment the boys were joined by the blind Earthbender. "Excuse me, does anyone have a razor...because I've got some hairy pits!" Toph joked as she raised her arm pits to show the wads of fur in her clothing. The five started laughing again before Aang suddenly sneezed blowing away the fur and knocking him into Appa; he lands on his stomach with a laugh sheet of fur on his back and the teens resume laughing. Katara still looks annoyed but then starts giggling herself.
Moments later, the sky had gotten darker and most of the Gang was busy getting ready for the night; Aang had used his airbending to set up the tent, Gohan gathered the firewood, Sokka brought out the sleeping bags, and Katara was bending some water in a large pot; the Waterbender then looked over at the Blind Bandit and who were lazily resting against a rock while chewing on wheat and playing with a lizard respectively. Katara then got up and went over to the new members and said "So, Toph, Goten, usually when setting up camp we try to divide up the work."
Goten wasn't really listening but Toph answered "Hey, don't mind us, we're good to go."
"Well, actually, what I'm trying to say is, uh, some of us might fetch water while someone else might set up the fire pit or put up the tent." Katara continued to explain just as the lemur bat flew by and dropped some nuts into her palms. "Even Momo does his fair share of work."
"Katara, we're fine. Goten and I can handle ourselves. I don't need a fire, Goten's already collected our food, and look," Toph said before earthbending a stone tent over her and Goten. "The tent's all set up."
A little annoyed Katara replied "Well, that's great for you, but we still need to finish..."
"I don't understand! What's the problem here?!" Toph interrupted her.
"Never mind," the Waterbender dismissed before walking away.
"What was that all about?" Goten questioned after his lizard ran off.
"Who knows? Who cares?" Toph said before lying back on the rocky floor.
A little later, the boys were still preparing for the night; Aang used his airbending to lift Appa's saddle up and toss it to his brother who caught it and placed it on the ground. Katara places her pot of water down before glancing over to the new teammates; she approaches then as they're snacking on their food. "Hey Toph, I wanted to apologize for earlier. I think we're all just a little tired and getting on each others' nerves." She said to the blind girl.
"Yeah, you do seem pretty tired." Toph replied.
"I meant all of us." Katara said a little ticked.
"Well, goodnight." Toph said as she went in her tent.
"Goodnight." Katara said back before leaving.
"I think she was trying to be nice Toph," Goten said.
"Yeah well, I didn't ask for her to be nice. Just let me be and there won't be any problems." Toph said. "Now let's go to sleep soldier."
"Actually, I wanted to ask if I can sleep with my brother tonight." Goten said. "I wanna get to know him and this is a good way to start."
"Fine. Go snuggle up with big bro," Toph allowed.
"Thanks bandit." Goten said before leaving her tent and going towards his brother who was resting against Icarus. "Hey Gohan, do you mind if I stayed with you tonight?"
"Sure Goten," Gohan answered with a smile. "Me Icarus es su Icarus," The two Sons of Goku rested against the Dragon and got ready to sleep.
Late at night, the Gang were all soundly asleep; Aang was on one of Appa's front legs while Momo was on the Bison's head, Gohan and Goten were huddled up with Icarus, Katara and Sokka were sleeping in their tent and Toph in hers. The Blind Bandit suddenly woke up and touched the ground with her hands; she listened carefully as she felt the vibrations o something big moving closer to their location. "There's something coming toward us!" the Earthbender alerted her friends.
"What is it?" Aang asked.
Toph placed her hand on the ground again "It feels like an avalanche... but also not like an avalanche." She explained as her friends came behind her.
"Your powers of perception are frightening." Sokka said sleepily.
"Weird I don't sense any energy signals," Gohan said.
"Should we leave?" Katara asked.
"Better safe than sorry," Aang said. The Gang had soon gathered their things and got on their flying beasts; as they fled through the skies, those with working eyes glanced back to see something large moving towards their campsite trailing a big smoke cloud. "What is that thing?" Katara asked. The thing was a massive weaponized tank that was faster than it looked.
The Gang continued to fly through the air as the need for sleep starts to hit them and bags form under their eyes; Aang and Gohan start to yawn while still steering their animal companions. Eventually the teens descend on a large hilltop; Toph immediately jumps off and embraces the ground. "Ahh, land, sweet land!" she says in relief as her friends climb off Appa and Icarus. "See you guys in the morning!" she bids them before walking off.
"Actually Toph, can you help us unload?" Katara requested.
"Really? You need my help to unload Sokka's funky-smelling sleeping bag?" the blind girl questions while glancing back. The Tribesman sniffs his bag and pulls his head away in disgust before falling to the floor.
"Well, yeah. That and everything else. You're a part of our team now and..." Katara starts to say as she approaches the Earthbender.
Toph jabs a finger at her and cuts her off. "Look. I didn't ask you to help unload my stuff. I'm carrying my own weight." She points out.
"That's not the point." Katara states while storming towards the younger girl. "Ever since joining us you've been nothing but selfish and unhelpful."
"What?!" Toph yells before jabbing her finger at Katara again in spite. "Look here, sugar queen, I gave up everything I had so that I could teach Aang earthbending, so don't you talk to me about being selfish!" She then sits on the ground and forms her tent of stone.
"Sugar Queen?" Katara says questionably before a triangular stone wall springs from the ground and shuts Toph inside her tent, which startles the Waterbender. "D-Did you just slam the door in my face?! How can you be so infuriating?!" Katara questions as she angrily starts banging and kicking Toph's tent despite her attempts being futile.
The boys watched questionably as the Water Tribe girl continues her tantrum. "Should we…do something to help?" Aang inquired.
"Hey, I'm just enjoying the show." Sokka replied with joy.
"Come on guys, can we not do this right now? We gotta get some sleep," Gohan moaned as he and Goten rested against their dragon.
"Gohan's right Katara. The both of you really need to calm down," Aang said gently as he appears behind the Waterbender.
"Both? I'M COMPLETELY CALM!" Katara yells as she faces the Avatar with a not so calm look.
"I can see that," a frightened Aang replies before he slowly backs away from the Waterbender.
Minutes later, the Gang are all trying to get some shut eye but Katara is too upset to sleep; she gazes at the night sky before saying aloud "The stars sure are beautiful tonight. Too bad you can't see them, Toph!" The Blind and pissed off Earthbender lets out a grunt as she creates a small earthquake that knocks Katara upward and drops her onto her older brother.
"Hey, how's a guy supposed to sleep with all this yelling and earthquaking?!" Sokka questions angrily while pushing his sister off.
Toph's tent suddenly opens and she peeks out while saying "That thing is back!"
"Well, how far away is it? Maybe we can close our eyes just for a few minutes." Sokka suggests while laying back down to try and sleep.
"I don't think so," Aang replies as he sees the cloud coming their way. Once again the six teens pack up their stuff and make a run for it while witnessing the same tank from before chasing after them.
"Seriously, what is that thing?" Katara asked.
"And how does it keep finding us?" Toph asked.
"I still can't sense any power levels, they must be masking their presence or my exhaustion is dulling my senses." Gohan stated. "Where ever we land next has to be safe for us to rest!"
"Don't worry bro, this time I'm going to make sure we lose 'em." Aang assured. The Airbender and the Energybender directed their flying pets to fly a great distance before finally stopping on top of an enormous mountain; The Bison descends on the ground and tips over, making the teens on his saddle collapse onto the floor as the Son of Goku depart from Icarus.
"Okay, forget about setting up camp. I'm finding the softest pile of dirt and going to sleep." Sokka said as he squirmed away.
"That's good, because Toph wasn't going to help anyway." Katara stated harshly.
"Oh, I didn't realize baby still needed someone to tuck her in bed." Toph replied in a mean tone.
"Can we not do this now please?" Gohan asked.
"I second that bro," Goten agreed.
"Yeah guys, come on. There's something after us and we don't even know what or who it is." Aang reminded them as he covered his face with his shirt.
"It might be Zuko and Trunks, we haven't seen them since the North Pole," Katara suggested.
"I don't think so, I would recognize Zuko or Trunks' energy immediately, and I'm sure it wasn't them chasing us," Gohan confirmed.
"Who are Zuko and Trunks?" Toph inquired.
"Oh just two angry jerks with ponytails who tracked us all over the world," Sokka answered.
"What's wrong with ponytails, ponytail?" Katara asked her brother.
"This is a warrior's wolf tail." Sokka explained the difference.
"Well, it certainly tells the other warriors that you're fun and perky!" Katara teased him.
"Anyway, whoever's chasing us, they couldn't have followed us here. So... now would everyone just shhh!" Sokka requested as he put his finger to his mouth and rested on the ground; the lemur bat suddenly jumps onto the Tribesman chest and chirps. "No, Momo, ssh! Sleepy time." Sokka told Momo. The little critter hops off his face and stands at the mountain edge; he continues to chirp as his ears start twitching, listening to something coming their way which gets the attention of the sleepy teens.
"Aww, don't tell me..." Sokka moaned as he realized the problem.
"That's impossible. There's no way they could have tracked us." Aang said in disbelief.
"I can feel it with my own two feet!" Toph said.
Aang and Gohan ran to mountain ledge and saw the same tank from before closing in on their location once again; they were joined by their friends as the machine scaled up the mountain path. "Let's get out of here!" Katara suggested.
"Maybe we should face them. Find out who they are. Who knows, maybe they're friendly." Aang said hopefully.
"Always the optimist." Sokka pointed out.
The Tank suddenly stopped moving and one of the three compartments releases a puff of smoke as it opens; four giant lizards crawl out of the tank each one carrying a passenger. Aang, Gohan, and Katara gaze at the adversaries in shock as they recognized them, Ty Lee, Mai, Bulla, and Princess Azula. The Blue Firebender only stares back at her targets with a neutral expression. The four girls on lizards started climbing up the mountain towards the Gang. "It's those four girls from Omashu!" Katara exclaimed as the Gang took their fighting positions.
"We can take 'em. Five on four!" Toph said.
"Actually, Toph, there's six of us." Sokka corrected her.
"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't count you. You know, no bending and all." Toph chuckled as she addressed the only nonbender in their group.
"I CAN STILL FIGHT!" Sokka shouted angrily.
"Ok, five on four and Sokka," Toph said which only made the Tribesman growl at her. The Earthbender then starts to attack by creating multiple chunks spring out of the ground, but the lizards managed to maneuver around with ease.
"Well, we wanted to find out who they were. We found out. Now let's get out of here." Sokka suggested just before he, his sister and the Avatar made a run for the Sky Bison while the Blind Bandit and the Sons of Goku stayed behind to fight; Toph then summoned an enormous stone wall to block their enemies path. Azula countered by conjuring lightning and shooting it at the wall, making a giant whole for her team to pass through. Toph had a look of astonishment just as Mai fired four arrows ate her; Toph quickly bends the ground beneath her feet, allowing her to dodge the projectiles and launch herself into Appa's saddle.
"Gohan, Goten, let's go!" Katara called to the Z Fighters.
"Don't worry, we'll catch up!" Gohan replied.
With no time to argue, Aang whipped the reins and said "Appa, yip, yip!" Instructing the bison to flee the battlefield. Gohan and Goten then fired numerous energy blasts at the fire nation girls but Bulla countered with her own energy blast to cancel out theirs. She then summoned her Ki sword from her right hand and extended it towards the brothers; Gohan stood in front of his younger brother and blocked the energy blade by holding his own horizontally. Bulla then lifts up her Ki sword and changes its shape, shifting it into a double bladed scythe before bringing it down on Gohan. The 1st Son of Goku held up his sword in the same position, stopping the energy scythe from striking him with the point of the blade right in front of his face. Goten moves from behind his older brother and uses his staff to swat the energy blade aside just as Bulla jumps off her lizard and lands in front of him. Goten twirls his power pole, making extend before he uses it to block Bulla's strikes. The two then stop and gaze at each other before crossing their weapons and making the ground crack from the clash of their Ki.
"Goten shield your eyes, quick!" Gohan ordered as he jumped over the two. He placed his hands by his face, closed his eyes and shouted "Solar Flare!" creating a intense blast of light that blinded Bulla and the rest of her comrades. Gohan then grabbed his brother by the shirt and jumped with onto his Dragon's back. "Go Icarus!" Gohan commanded to his pet; Icarus flapped his wings hard and flew after Appa, escaping just before the fire nation girls recovered from the sun blast. Pretty soon, the brothers caught up to their friends and Icarus collapsed onto the Bison's saddle. "Icarus doesn't have a lot of stamina like Appa and the extra flying we've been doing has really worn him out. Is it ok if he takes a break on Appa for a while?" Gohan asked his brother as he joined him on Appa's head.
"Sure thing bro." Aang replied. The Gang continued to fly through the night sky, although Appa's eye lids were getting heavy, he managed to stay awake; the passengers were still pondering on the four enemies they had just encountered and escaped.
"Who were those girls?" Goten asked.
"Four fierce females we met while looking for Aang's Earthbending teacher." Gohan answered. "I wasn't sure if we'd see them again."
"Tell me about it. I can't believe those girls followed us all the way from Omashu." Katara said.
"I still think we could've taken them." Toph said a little miffed.
"Are you kidding? The crazy blue firebending and the flying daggers are bad enough, but last time we saw them two of those girls did something that took mine and Gohan's bending away. That's just scary." Katara said while a little shaken from her past experience.
"Our Chi was blocked." Gohan said, getting the others to look at him in confusion. "They basically struck the points on your body that stopped the energy or Chi from flowing. It's a fighting technique. Since Chi is the source of bending, when its blocked or cut off there's no bending, but it's just temporary."
"Speaking of techniques, wouldn't it be better to call the one you used to blind the Lunar Flare rather than the Solar Flare since you used it at night?" Goten inquired.
Gohan shrugged "I don't know. That move is also known as the Sun Technique or the Fist of the Sun. Its never been used at night before now, and it usually requires the actual sun to perform." He explained just before noticed the giant star coming up. "Speaking of which…"
"Oh no, the sun is rising! We've been up all night with no sleep." Sokka complained.
"Sokka, we'll be ok." The Airbender assured him.
"Are you sure!? I've never not slept before!" the Tribesman said worriedly before acting hysterical. "What if I fall asleep now and something happens? And something always happens!"
"Calm down man!" Gohan yelled at him. "We've got more important things to worry about, like the fire nation girls who somehow track wherever we go!"
"Look, every time we land, those girls are there, so we'll just have to keep flying." Katara said calmly.
The Gang flew over another mountain while the sun continued to rise. "We can't keep flying forever." Aang muttered. Not too far behind them, the tank drove through a field of flowers chasing after the Gang; and not too far behind them were the Son of Ozai and the Son of Iroh, riding their ostrich horse as they tailed the fire princesses. The Gang continued to fly over the clouds as the day dragged on, growing more and more exhausted and sleep deprived that none of them knew what to do about the situation. "So, what's the plan?" Aang asked.
"Don't know... too tired to think." Toph replied as she slumped in Appa's saddle.
"That makes all of us," Goten said sleepily.
"I'm sure we'll come up with something after a short nap." Katara suggested.
"Yes, sleep!" her brother happily agreed. The teens suddenly started to rise into the air as though they were descending towards the earth at a fast rate; Gohan, Sokka, and Toph were grasping onto the Bison while Katara held onto her brother, Momo grabbed Toph's foot, and Gohan grabbed Goten who grabbed Icarus' tail.
"What's going on?!" Toph asked.
"Appa fell asleep!" Aang answered as he held the reins. The passengers screamed as the Sky Bison fell rapidly, they held on for their lives while Aang crawled onto Appa's face and tried to wake him up. "Wake up buddy!" he shouted. As the Gang got closer to the ground Appa's fluttered until they snapped open; catching himself, Appa quickly changed his trajectory and flew roughly through a forest. The Gang shielded their faces as they ripped through branches and leaves until the Bison eventually dug a long path in the dirt and landed near the lake. Everyone got off the Bison as he immediately went back to dreamland. "Appa's exhausted." Aang stated.
"He's not the only one. That was too close for comfort!" Gohan said.
"Okay, we've put a lot of distance between us and them. The plan right now is to follow Appa's lead and get some sleep." Sokka said as he and his sister carried their sleeping bags.
"Of course, we could have gotten some sleep earlier if Toph didn't have such issues." Katara said about the Earthbender who was lying on the ground.
"WHAT?!" Toph shouted as she slammed her hands on the earth and cracked the ground beneath her.
"Alright, alright! Everyone's exhausted. Let's just get some rest." Aang advised.
"No! I want to hear what Katara has to say." Toph said as she stood up and faced the Waterbender. "You think I have issues?"
"I'm just saying, maybe if you helped out earlier we could've set up our camp faster and gotten some sleep and then maybe we wouldn't be in this situation!" Katara replied spitefully.
"You're blaming me for this?!" Toph asked as she approached Katara.
The Water Tribe girl threw her sleeping bag and gestured the blind girl to come at her; the Airbender quickly got between them to calm them down. "No, no! She's not blaming you!" he assured.
"No, I'm blaming her!" Katara admitted.
"Hey!" Toph yelled as she shoved Aang aside and got in Katara's face. "I never asked you for diddly doo da. I carry my own weight! Besides, if there's anyone to blame, it's sheddy over here!" she said as she pointed to the Bison.
"What? You're blaming Appa?!" Aang asked.
"Yeah! You wanna know how they keep finding us?" Toph explained as she stepped by Appa, grabbed some of his fur and released it into the wind. "He's leaving a trail everywhere we go!"
"How dare you blame Appa! He saved your life three times today! If there's anyone to blame, it's you!" The Monk declares as he gets off Appa and jabs his finger at the Earthbender before getting in her face. "You're always talking about how you carry your own weight, but you're not! He is! Appa's carrying your weight! He never had a problem flying when it was just the four of us!"
Toph says nothing for second before turning away and announcing "I'm outta here!" She stomps on the ground, launching her bag up and onto her back before walking off.
"Wait!" Sokka says as he intercepts her path; Toph simply shifts the ground, moving the nonbender from her path.
"You coming soldier?" She asked Goten.
"Yeah," Goten answered as he got up to follow her.
"Goten wait!" Gohan said as he put his hand on his brother's shoulder.
"Forget it bro, I don't think this is gonna work." Goten said. "Don't try to stop me."
"I won't stop you, but what kind of brother would I be if I just let you go like this." Gohan said. "Take Icarus with you at least, I'm sure he'll be of good use to you." The Older brother patted his dragon and gestured it to follow the Bandit and the Soldier.
"Thanks Gohan," Goten said as Icarus came beside him.
"Don't worry bro, we'll settle things here then come get you and Toph." Gohan whispered to him. "Everything will be fine,"
"I hope so," Goten whispered back; he and Icarus quickly caught up to Toph. "He's coming with us," he told the Earthbender.
"Whatever," Toph replied as the three continued to leave; the four teens just watched as their friends left them behind.
With the Tank, numerous pieces of Appa's fur fell from the sky; the Tank drove past them, following the trail they made towards the Gang.
"What did I just do?!" Aang cried out as he slumped against Appa. "I can't believe I yelled at my earthbending teacher. Now she's gone. So are Icarus and Goten, and it's my fault. I'm sorry Gohan."
"It's also my fault. We're all just trying to get used to each other, and I was so mean to her."Katara said in regret.
"Yeah, you two were pretty much jerks." Sokka said.
"Thanks Sokka," Katara said sarcastically.
"No problem," he replied.
"We need to find Toph and Goten and apologize." Katara said as she helped Aang to his feet.
"Okay, but what are we going to do about the tank full of dangerous ladies chasing us?" the Tribesman inquired.
The Avatar picked out a chunk of Appa's fur and let it blow away. "I have a plan." He said. Pretty soon, the Sky Bison was in the river with the teenagers giving him a bath; Gohan and Sokka stood beside Appa with scrub stick while Aang and Katara were bending streams of water to rinse him. Many of the flying beast's loose fur was washed into the river, Momo flew onto Appa's back and started scrubbing with brush, but he quickly flew away to avoid the water stream which ended up soaking the Tribesman. "Toph was right. Appa's fur was leaving a trail right to us. But now that he's clean, no more trail!" Aang explained after they finished.
"Are you sure that he's okay to fly?" Katara asked.
"He'll be fine as long as we leave his saddle and all our stuff here." The Monk replied before he packed all of Appa's fur into a bag. "I'm going to use Appa's fur to make a fake trail and lead the tank off course."
"Aang wait, I'm going with you!" Gohan said.
"You sure you can fly in your condition?" Aang asked.
"As long as you're sure you can keep up with me," Gohan answered and Aang nodded; the Energybender then pointed east. "Goten and Toph went in that direction. Keep going that way, and you'll find them." He told the Water Tribe siblings; Katara, Momo and Sokka left on Appa but the Sky Bison accidently knocked off the top of three tops without noticing. Aang and Gohan quickly flew off in the opposite direction leaving a false trail of fur behind them.
Not too far away, the Blind Bandit and the Stone Soldier continued to wander with Icarus close behind them when they suddenly stopped; the Earthbender shifted her foot as she felt something nearby but in hiding. "Goten," Toph said.
"I know, we're not alone," He replied seriously.
Toph then sent an earth wave towards a rock, causing it to rumble; a painful grunt was heard from behind the rock and the two climbed on top. The stalker that was struck down turned out to be a bearded elderly man who was rubbing his side where Toph hit him. "Ohhh... That really hurt my tailbone." Iroh groaned.
Back at the river, Princess Azula and her team had made another stop at the Gang's last campsite; the pieces of Appa's fur are floating in the river from the bison's previous bath. Azula picks them up and examines them. "Wads of wet fur. How delightful." Mai said.
"Hmm... They're not wads, more like... bundles." Ty Lee said while thinking "Or bunches... It's got an "uh" sound."
"Clumps?" Mai suggested.
"Clumps! They're clumps!" Ty Lee cheers while hugging her friend; the girls then noticed the trail of fur left by the Airbender.
"The trail goes this way." Mai said.
"This is too easy, even easier than before. By now they should've realized how we were tracking them." Bulla said.
"You're right." Azula agreed before looking into another direction where she spotted the broken trees. "The Avatar is trying to give us the slip. You two head in that direction and keep your eye out for the bison." The Princess ordered her non bending comrades while pointing towards the trees. "Bulla and I will follow this trail." Mai and Ty Lee followed Azula's instructions and headed after the gang on their giant reptiles; the Princess and her shadow quickly got on theirs and followed the fur trail.
Aang and Gohan continued to fly until the fur in Aang's bag began to finish; they passed over a large terrain and landed in a ghost town. The two walked through the old village until Aang's bag was completely empty, ending the false trail. Aang opened his glider and but made no attempt to fly into the sky, feeling a bit hesitant. Gohan glanced at his adoptive brother knowing what he was thinking. "We could escape ya know, they wouldn't be able to track us this time." Gohan suggested. Aang didn't answer as he just stared at the trail he made; the Avatar then closed his glider deciding to stay. "Thought you'd say that. Even though we're tired, I'd rather fight than run." Gohan chuckled and the two sat on the ground, Gohan took the time to meditate as they waited for their enemies to catch up.
A/N: Since the other scenes are practically the same with just a little differences that aren't that significant, I saw no point in including them and just went on to the main event; forgive me if any of you don't like it but I'm sure you can imagine the few differences just from seeing the original scenes.
Moments later. Gohan opened his eyes as he sensed two power levels coming their way. "Heads up Aang, they're here." The Z Fighter alerted the Airbender. The boys sat patiently as the saw Azula and Bulla rode towards the abandoned village on their lizards. "They're only two of them here. The other two must be trying to find Katara and Sokka." Gohan thought. The girls then stopped before the boys and mounted off their lizards.
"Alright, you caught up to us, now who are you and what do you want?!" Aang demanded to know.
"You mean you haven't guessed yet? You don't see the family resemblance?" Azula asked with a smile. "Here's a hint... I must find the Avatar to restore my honor," The Princess covered her left eye and mimicked her brother. When no one found her joke amusing she said "It's ok, you can laugh. It's funny,"
"So now what?" Aang asked.
"Now? Now it's over. You're both tired and you have no place to go," Azula answered. "You can run, but we'll catch you."
"And why would we run after we went through all the trouble of leading you here?" Gohan asked.
"That would've been smart. You created a fake trail and separated us, escaping and making it seem like it led to a dead end would've been the best choice." Bulla said. "Or perhaps you felt too tired to flee and decided to wait for us while taking a break."
"Is that what you think? That we'll always run from you?" Gohan inquired.
"Face it, you may have the Avatar, but the two of you are no match for us! Especially in your condition and you know it!" Bulla replied with a smirk. "Running is all you can do, we'll even give you a head start if you want."
Aang held and Gohan grabbed his sword hilt as they both stood up. "We're not running!" Aang declared. The two girls smirked in response; the four benders stared each other down as they prepared to fight.
"Do you really want to fight us?" Azula asked them.
Before an answer could be given, the noise of an ostrich horse was heard just as it run between the four dropping off its riders, Zuko and Trunks "Yes, we really do." Zuko replied.
"Zuko! Trunks!" Aang said in surprise.
"I was wondering when you both show up, Zuzu." Azula said.
"Zuzu?" Aang snickered.
"Back off girls! The Avatar's mine!" Zuko declared as he took a stance.
The girls did the same as Azula said "We're not going anywhere."
"What are our chances here?" Aang whispered to Gohan.
"Not very good. They may be on opposing sides, but they're all with the Fire Nation. They could decide to attack us together." Gohan whispered back. "Our best hope would be to use their rivalry to our advantage or to escape while they're fighting." The six benders stood ready, waiting to see who would make the first move; Zuko and Trunks repeatedly looked back and forth from Aang and Gohan to Azula and Bulla. The Fire Princess then smirked which was noticed by her foes; she launched the first strike at her brother who tried to shield himself but was blasted into a nearby patio. Trunks retaliates by firing his own energy blasts which were blocked by his sister. Azula then charges at Aang and Gohan, sending a stream of blue fire at them; Aang blocks it by rotating his staff. Gohan then fires his own Ki blast that blows the Fire Princess back jus as her brother got back us. Aang, Azula and Zuko were soon locked in combat launching their own attacks at each other. Gohan charged at Bulla who charged at him; before they met, he launched an energy blast at her feet covering her with a smoke screen.
The Son of Goku jumped over the smoke and ran towards the lavender haired teen; he brought out his sword and swung it at Trunks who blocked it with his own. The two clashed, repeatedly swinging their swords at each other. "Impressive, you've gotten better since the North Pole," Trunks commended his rival.
"You too, guess you were busy when you weren't tracking us," Gohan replied. "But what's with the get up? The Fire Nation kick you out or something?"
"As a matter of fact, they did!" Trunks answered as he socked Gohan in the face; the black haired fighter stumbled but quickly recovered and fired an energy blast at his enemy. Trunks dodged and countered with his own, Gohan ducked and launched three more which Trunks deflected with his sword. As the two continued to ramp it up, the Sapphire Shadow watched and began to grow more irritated by the second.
"I will not be ignored!" She declared as she channeled Ki into palms and put her hands together. "Final Flash!" she roared as fired a gold beam at the male fighters. The blast landed right between Gohan and Trunks, separating them; Trunks landed on his back just in time to witness his sister descending onto him with her Ki blade. He blocked with his sword before kicking Bulla away. He got up and charged at his sister but was elbow bashed by Gohan. Bulla kicked Gohan right before she received a blow from her brother. Gohan recovered and shot at blast at the prince, Bulla then charged at the black spiky haired boy at the same her brother did. Gohan blocked their strikes with his blade but the sibling strike began to overwhelm him, causing him to be pushed back. The brother and sister then disarmed him started firing energy blasts at Gohan who backflipped to avoid him; he moved all the way to where his brother was facing the children of Ozai.
He stretched out his hands, creating a kiai to blow the enemies away before grabbing the monk and running towards an empty home; they avoided a few more attacks by entering the building with the girls right behind them. The girls quickly stopped the moment they saw that the building had no floor from top to bottom; Aang and Gohan gleefully floated on air and watched as the girls struggled to keep themselves from falling. Azula manages hang on the side of the wall and grab Bulla. Zuko and Trunks soon rushed in and failed to notice the zero ground in time; Trunks quickly grabbed onto the ledge but Zuko fell and crashed onto the floor. The girls fired their attacks at the Airbender and Energybender but they dodged it and rand across the ledge, knocking their enemies off. Azula, Bulla, and Trunks landed on the ground just as Zuko got up while Aang and Gohan exited the building; an explosion blew through the wall, spitting out both Trunks and Zuko who were unconscious. They boys were so surprised they almost didn't see the girls attacking them; Bulla launched a massive energy beam at the two, Gohan pushed Aang aside and was blasted into a another building but she didn't stop as she fired numerous more blasts at the Son of Goku.
As that was happening, Azula advanced on the Avatar; she fired multiple streams of fire at her target who evaded them by hopping off building sides in an alley. When he reached the top, the princess used her fire to cut off a piece of the roof, making him slip and fall. Aang clung onto the building desperately just before Ozai's daughter cut that part off, sending him falling into the building. When Azula steps into the home, she spots Aang trapped under a pile of broken wood; she sent blue fire at the sides of the building that quickly changes to orange. The fire surrounds the monk who struggles to free himself as the princess approaches her prey. Aang gazed in horror as Azula held two fingers to strike him; she was then caught off guard when a water whip grabbed her wrist and pulled her away before cutting Aang free. "Katara!" Aang called to his friend. The Waterbender ran out of the building with the fire princess chasing her; she was intercepted by Katara's brother who swung his weapons at her.
Outside, Trunks and Zuko began to wake up, as they did, they spotted the Dragon of the West standing over them. "Uncle?" Zuko muttered.
"You're really here!" Trunks said.
"Get up!" the old general instructed them; Iroh helped the boys to their feet.
With Bulla, she stopped firing attacks and saw Gohan on the ground; she then held up her hand and created an energy ball. She threw it at Gohan who couldn't avoid it in time. Suddenly Goten appeared in front of his older brother with his power pole, and swatted the blast back to the sender. Bulla was surprised but quickly put up her arms to defend herself. "Hey, Goten!" Gohan greeted his brother.
Goten turned and smiled at his brother "Hey bro, need a hand?" Goten asked coolly as he offered his hand to Gohan; the older brother accepted his brother's hand and stood up. The Sons of Goku smiled as they took the same stances and charged at Bulla who braced herself. The spiky haired boys threw multiple punches and kicks at the blue haired girl who blocked them; though she was having trouble, she still managed to hold her own against them. The two managed to gain the upperhand by punching her in the gut and double kicking her in the face. Bulla back flipped and glared at the brothers as she wiped her mouth. Before she could attack, she was met with a skull bash attack from her older brother; she slid back and stopped, still rearing to go. She stared at the three male fighters before her and smirked as they took their stances.
"Alright boys, let's dance!" she said and she charged at them as they did the same to her.
Back with Azula, the fire princess was surrounded by Aang, Katara, and Sokka; she used her fire attacks to keep at bay. They backed her into an alley when the ground under her shifts, causing her to fall on her hands. "I thought you guys could use a little help," Toph said from behind the Firebender.
"Thanks Toph," Katara replied.
Azula quickly got up and shot more flames at her enemies before retreating, she didn't get too far as she bumped into her uncle and brother; the benders(and Sokka) had literally backed her into a corner when explosion nearby sent Bulla flying in her direction. The blue haired Energybender landed in front of her princess and took a defensive position as Gohan, Goten, and Trunks joined the group. The nine fighters moved in closer to the girls, leaving very little room for them to escape. "Well, look at this Bulla, Enemies and traitors. All working together," the princess states calmly; she then hold up her hands and announces "I'm done. I know when I'm beaten. You got me. A Princess surrenders with honor." Bulla glanced at her friend questionably before following her lead and holding up her own hands. General took the time to examine Goten and Toph before looking at the other members of the Gang; he soon realized the two benders he met before were with the Avatar.
Azula had also been analyzing and noticed her uncle's distraction; faster than anyone could react the Fire Princess sends a stream of fire at the old general, striking him in the chest. Iroh cries in pain and everyone stares in shock, especially Trunks and Zuko. All the benders then launch their attacks at the girls but Bulla puts up an energy shield; she then crosses her arms over her chest as she channels Ki throughout her body. Trunks and Gohan's eyes grow wide as they sense her energy rise. "Everyone, get back!" Gohan yells, seeing what the girl plans to do. The Energybenders moved quickly as Gohan grabbed Aang and Katara, Goten took Sokka and Toph, and Trunks grabbed Zuko and Iroh and the three jumped away just as Bulla spread out her arms and unleashed an enormous explosion. When it ended, large cloud of smoke surrounded the area, the fighters looked through the smoke but saw no sign of Azula and Bulla who fled from the battlefield.
The whole town was set on fire from Bulla's explosion; the Gang then spotted the wounded general lying on the ground, unconscious with Trunks and Zuko kneeling beside him looking distressed and frustrated. The Gang slowly approached their enemies with looks of sympathy. "Get away from us!" Zuko yelled at them. Trunks remained silent as tears began to form in his eyes.
"Zuko, I can help," Katara offered genuinely
"LEAVE!" Zuko shouted as he shot a wave of fire at his enemies; the Gang ducked fearfully before quickly fleeing, leaving the three benders.
Late at night, Appa flew to the top of a high mountain and rested on the side; in his saddle, every one of the teens and Momo were getting the rest they very much needed.
A/N: And that's another chapter. Hope you're all still reading cause I've got more coming up. Later! TTFN, AntiHero out!