AN: So as some of you may have noticed, I've gone ahead and replaced the story's coverart with what is actually a piece of fanart I received in recent days. At this person's request and my slight disgruntlement, since they are most certainly talented enough to deserve a proper shout out, they requested to be remained unnamed and be mentioned only as a huge fan of this story, and I have thusly complied. Just wanted to make sure I mentioned that and wanted to make sure they were given a shout out, despite their reservations towards such ;)
Anyways, sorry this chapter took an extra day or so to knock out, very busy and eventful week for me. Hardly an excuse, but I wanted to make sure that it wasn't assumed that I'm growing any less tired of writing this; rather, it's becoming more and more rewarding as I go. But life happens, hence the little delay.
Very much hope you're all doing well and very much hope you all enjoy!
Chapter 23: Amber and Amethyst Sky
Azula walked slowly in line with the rest of her companions, treading over the street that had once been the earth of her greatest triumph. Years of sieging, years of countless battles and not even her uncle with all of his victory in the war had been able to breach Ba Sing Se's walls. She had managed to do it armed with only Ty Lee and Mai. It had been so satisfying and so entirely fulfilling and then… and then her father had hardly seemed to care.
Had it been because at that point he was already planning to kill her? Had that been the reason, an attempt to distance himself when he knew full well what was coming in the near future? The Fire Lord had continued to send her about on errands and placed the city under control of a half-assed regency, one that had apparently been overthrown only days prior. Had Azula been there to oversee the state of things, there would have been no such failing and the city would still remain in the grasp of the Fire Nation.
It wasn't the first time Azula had to remind herself that she was no longer a member of the Fire Nation, no longer subject to her father and no longer allied with the nation that she had been willing to die for. Clenching her fists and feeling her long nails dig into the skin of her palm, she felt the shame that came with such a humiliating fall from favor pierce her and she lowered her gaze to the street beneath her feet. She was fairly certain she would not be recognized, particularly not with the surrounding citizens milling about in a state of near complete panic. Still, she had never felt less of a desire to be noticed and seen for who she was. Or had been.
Mai and Ty Lee were walking on either side of her, almost like it was during the days of their pursuit of the Avatar, shoulder to shoulder and ready for anything. And here they were now, Aang just meters in front of them and no longer anything to the point of their interest. Now, he was an ally, as were the entire number of his troop who they had engaged on more than one occasion. By the result of circumstance, they had become allies and Azula was still thickly disgusted at this forced companionship.
"Eyes up. If anyone recognizes Aang or Zuko or anyone warranting the capture of significant attention, this could get ugly rather quickly."
And also not for the first time, it was Sasuke's voice, a clear and cutting edge, that took Azula free from her mental prison of shame and hatred, grounding her in the moment and reminding her why she was doing all this.
Jin had not accompanied them as they had left the teashop, offering her goodbye at the door; she had shared an awkward hug with Zuko that Azula had noticed Mai stiffen severely upon seeing, and had much more naturally embraced Katara and thanked her for everything she had done. Only the memory of Sasuke's threat kept Azula from firing up when she had then moved to Sasuke and pulled him into another hug that he had hesitantly returned. Azula lamented deeply she hadn't been able to finish the job, but after what had transpired between her and Sasuke near the bridge, she had to watch her step.
Though he walked ahead of everyone else, she knew he was keeping a careful watch on her. Part of her was deeply pleased that he was devoting a great deal of attention to her, but knowing why numbed the joy of it. For whatever reason, he had put a great deal of stake in making sure that she kept from attacking those that might drive a wedge between them and while she couldn't fathom it now, she knew that there would be a better time to address the situation. When the dust settled on this day, she could talk to him, convince him to let her handle things that might be dangerous to their relationship. Sasuke very clearly was worried about what might happen should he openly accept her, but time would remedy that. Impatience often crept into Azula's thoughts, but remembering the taste of his lips and the blows he had delivered to her allowed ecstasy to swallow the pain.
Her gaze drifted to her left and right where her childhood friends flanked her as they pushed their way through the throngs of people and Azula couldn't help but feel a bitter taste in her mouth as they looked resolutely ahead. The two that she had expected to stand by her side through anything had become so very distant in recent days, and over what? She had of course noticed Mai's attentiveness to Sasuke, something that Azula still very much intended to deal with, but Ty Lee? Azula had watched as carefully as she could, but there had never been so much as a glance in Sasuke's direction. So what was it?
All her pondering did was remind her that Sasuke was the only one she truly had anymore. Her father had been willing to abandon her for power, and while she supposed this wasn't something she could inherently fault, the rift between them was long now impassable. Zuko, despite his efforts, would do nothing short of domesticate her if she allowed it and there was simply no hope for her in perhaps… redeeming herself. Even just the thought sickened her. And her only two friends had resorted to ignoring and distancing themselves from her.
It was just as well, she supposed. Once this day was out, she would be able to focus on the only relationship she had that had ever truly mattered.
Sasuke…
She stared at his back as the neared the wall and ran her tongue against the back of her teeth. Azula truly wasn't sure how she had ever managed to live in a world that he hadn't been a part of.
Above them, the heat of Sozin's Comet burned the air with an arid and dry heat, and Azula could feel something coursing through her veins unlike anything she could have expected. As they made their way through the people mobbing the streets, she imagined that it would be all too easy to coat the streets ahead of them in a blue ocean of fire and clear them a path. She was able to restrain herself in that regard, but she knew that her firebending was indeed going to be unlike anything she had previously utilized. She could see her brother looking at his hands and running fingers along his forearms, no doubt feeling the same singing warmth in his veins that she did.
As they marched further towards the wall that now towered over them, Azula realized that while she couldn't run a bolt of lightning and cut the life from those like Jin who conspired to steal Sasuke away from her, there was one thing that she could do to impose something of an advantage. Though she could never pull off taking his hand again, she found it was more than a little empowering to quickly accelerate her pace to move up and stand just beside Sasuke as the moved ever closer. Sasuke didn't look over to her as she came up shoulder to shoulder with him, but it was as satisfying as anything to imagine the expressions of Toph, or Mai, or Katara surely searing into her back as she took her rightful place at his side. She knew there was only one true goal that mattered to her that day and that was proving herself, proving to Sasuke that she was worth his attention and love. She could do it, and however she managed it, it didn't matter. Even if her father won the day, if she could prove herself to Sasuke, it would all be worth it.
Toph's heart hurt.
She had tried more than once to simply beat down her own mentality, aggressing the negative and deeply painful emotions that were scorching her insides, but each time she attempted to do so, that damned burning had started to sting her eyes and she had been forced to blink away tears.
As they walked, she could feel the steady pace of Ty Lee, Katara, Suki and the others offering a rhythmic consistency that she could follow as the pounding rumble of thousands of panicked citizens hammered their way through the streets. If Toph hadn't been so desperate to keep something of a confident and focused demeanor in front of her companions, she would have rather liked to move herself over towards Ty Lee and maybe take her hand for the sparse comfort it would bring her. Even just thinking that desire though sent a wave of self-hatred pulsing through her gut.
Why was this tearing her up so badly? What was Sasuke to make her feel so truly awful over a rejection like that? Not only was it unsurprising, she should have seen it coming over the horizon. It had been such a foolish thing to do at a time like that as well; the Fire Lord was perhaps only hours away and here she had been trying to force Sasuke into an intimate acceptance of her feelings. It was possible that if she had just waited until this was all over or even if she had attempted it nights ago, perhaps the outcome would have been different. That was maybe something she could take solace in perhaps, the idea that maybe she could just bide some time and—
Don't. Don't you dare get your hopes up.
She mentally chided herself for allowing herself to open up in such a way and to think that anything could come further from even thinking that she might be able to attempt it again. If Sasuke didn't want her then, what could a few days waiting help?
It doesn't matter anyway.
It really didn't. In the days before he had entered her life, she had been perfectly content, despite the deeply grueling and dangerous nature of their travels. She had had grown very close to Aang, Katara and Sokka, and had been warming up pretty significantly to Zuko. Then, he had shown up and completely turned the entire situation on its head.
I don't need him to be happy.
But as they walked on, there was nothing short of a deep and painful thundering on her insides that kept her from ever really acknowledging that as true.
As they walked along the top of the wall and Sasuke spotted Iroh, Gokan and another man he didn't recognize, he opened his mouth to call out, but Zuko beat him to the punch.
"Uncle!"
He ran past Sasuke and he and Iroh wrapped arms around each other and as Sasuke and his company drew closer, Iroh smiled at all of them in greeting, though the fear and intensity in his eyes was reminder enough of what was coming. Sasuke also saw something that might have been a brief swell of panic pass over the older man's face, and he had a pretty good idea why.
"Generals, this is the Avatar and his companions," he still said relatively pleasantly with a wave and both General Gokan and the other man dressed in blue armor and furs who must have been General Ungo bowed low. Aang, clearly flustered, waved his hands quickly.
"Please, that's not necessary."
They both straightened and General Ungo smiled, speaking in an airy and almost absent sounding tone that didn't match his battle-hardened face in the slightest.
"Having you at our side is the greatest source of motivation our troops could ask for. We are at your side, Avatar Aang."
"Indeed," Gokan said in a booming voice. "When we all heard the news that Ozai's kids had taken you out of commission, it was a real blow to everyone, regardless of nation. But looks like you just gave them the old trick play; we should have known it would have taken more than those crazy uppity firespitting psychos to put you down!"
It struck Sasuke then that there was a very curious part of this narrative he hadn't quite paid attention to thus far. He risked a look around and saw that a great many faces, most notably Zuko, Aang and Sokka were having a bit of trouble trying not to look distinctly uncomfortable.
They don't know. They don't know Ozai's family is here with them fighting this battle.
It would have been funny if the situation weren't so dire. Even though they were here to support the Earth and Fire Nations, Sasuke couldn't imagine that having the Fire Lord's two children along for the ride wouldn't be considerable cause for alarm, perhaps quite a fair assessment as well. From what he knew, Zuko and Azula had been rather significant terrors amongst the other nations during their time as part of the Fire Nation, and he couldn't imagine that the soldiers around him would be any too thrilled to know just who was atop the wall with them at that very moment.
Iroh hadn't so much as cracked any sort of expression that might let in that he was also surely a little uneasy about how close to home General Gokan was hitting and as Sasuke took a casual step to the left to block off Azula from potentially being recognized, he said rather lightly, "I wouldn't worry about the two of them. It sounds like they finally grew to a point where they could no longer listen to their father's lies and struck out on their own."
Gokan ran a hand through his mane of hair thoughtfully. "I suppose that's true enough. Wasn't that a story; to hear that Zuko had tried to assassinate Ozai and then only weeks later, Azula tries the same thing? Laughable, truly, I imagine they'll be messed up in the head forever after childhoods like that."
Surely not taking kindly to what was nothing short of insulting rheotoric, Sasuke heard Azula inhale sharply behind him, but before she could take a step forward or raise her voice throwing the entire situation into a state of unneeded chaos, Sasuke took another step, this one back and into her. As they gently bumped against one another, he reached behind him and took her wrist; he paused for a moment, trying to imagine how to appease her and allowed himself to gently rub his thumb against her skin. Biting his tongue, he felt her quiver and press her body against his back as she dragged the fingers of her free hand along his forearm, her nails once again raising the hairs on the back of his neck. But for all intents and purposes, his action worked and the two generals remained none the wiser to the actual company that had accompanied Aang.
Suki seemed to sense just how suddenly worrisome the situation had become and stepped up towards the edge of the wall, peering over the side and remarking, "Strong idea with the inclines."
Sasuke, curious as to what she was referring to, brought himself over as well and looked over; below them just beyond the remains of the enormous drill he had seen over, their were the miniscule dots that must have been earthbenders below and they seemed to have raised great masses of earth at angles facing towards the wall for them to use as cover.
"Who might you be, young lady?" Ungo inquired as he and Gokan stepped up beside her.
"Suki, a warrior from Kyoshi Island," she replied and Gokan let out a bark of approving laughter.
"I would expect nothing but the best to be accompanying the Avatar on his journey; I have never personally visited the island, but I've heard your program cranks out some of the best nonbending warriors our nation has to offer," he said and Suki seemed to grow flustered for just a moment.
"I've heard only the best about you as well, general," she said, her tone dipping into something Sasuke hadn't heard before, perhaps resembling deep admiration. "Your maneuvers at the Battle of Omashu Pass were legendary."
Gokan clapped her on the back with a massive hand, nearly knocking her off her feet. "Would have been nothing without the men and women under my command who made it possible. A military leader is only as good as the troops he commands, Suki and they in turn are only as good as they allow one another to be. I'm thrilled to have you by our side today."
She beamed up at him as a soldier from the masses that were positioned atop the wall called out to him; as Sasuke looked, he realized that the number of troops that were now stationed atop the wall had multiplied significantly, a veritable river of people that stretched as far along the wall as he could see.
Clearly hearing something crucial, Gokan nodded and glanced to Ungo who nodded back. He stepped away from Suki and looked to Iroh. "We'll be back momentarily."
Bowing again to Aang, he smiled warmly, "At your service, Avatar."
Ungo mirrored the movement and the two men strode off towards their troops. As they did, Sokka sauntered past Sasuke with a narrowed eye expression as he stared at Suki.
"Sure liked the look of that general, did you?" he asked and Suki rolled her eyes.
"He's a legend in Earth Nation military history, Sokka. Managed some of the most impressive maneuvers and counterattacks in the nation's history and he managed it all without a boomerang."
Sokka drew himself up at that, "What's that supposed to—"
Suki walked up to him and took him by his collar and pulled him into a kiss. "Relax, hero. I'm sure you'll outdo him someday."
She made her way past him and Sokka crossed his arms, adopting a comically smug expression before following her. "That's what I like to hear."
Sasuke watched the both of them a moment, giving the barest shake of his head.
They make it look so easy.
He shook off the thought and instead said to Suki, "Quick thinking."
She gave him a smile, but he barely had time to notice it before Iroh marched up to them with Zuko in tow, glancing over his shoulder to make sure the generals had moved out of earshot.
"What is this?!" he demanded in an angry, hushed tone and he glared at Sasuke intently. "What were you thinking, bringing them all here?!"
Annoyed by the sudden hostility, Sasuke crossed his arms and replied coolly, "I don't know what you mean."
Iroh gestured around at everyone nod including Sasuke. "They shouldn't be here, none of them! They're children!"
Sasuke gave a snort of laugher. "And what exactly does that make me?"
The older man's eyes narrowed then. "You're different, and you know it. What you can do and what you've no doubt experienced does not compare with them!"
"Excuse me," Mai said coldly, interjecting herself into the conversation. "I believe since this is about us, we should have something of a say."
Waving a hand in annoyance towards Sasuke, Iroh snapped. "He should have been smarter about this and not brought you here. It's far too dangerous."
"For your information, he asked us not to come," Mai snapped back. "He asked us quite empathically actually and while you many not know Sasuke all that well, that's hardly a small feat coming from him."
"Thanks," Sasuke muttered and took some solace in the smirks that passed over Ty Lee, Aang and Sokka's faces.
Not remotely satisfied with that, Iroh pointed out towards the horizon. "On their way are battleships and an army numbering in the thousands led by my brother. They will be firebending unlike anything that's been seen un a hundred years and this will hardly be a place for children!"
"Uncle," Zuko tried pleadingly, but the calm and kindly demeanor that Sasuke had initially seen out of Iroh had disappeared as he ignored his nephew, walking up to Sasuke and jabbing him in the chest.
"You should have tried harder, you should have lied, anything to keep them from coming. Many people will die, and I don't want to see any of—"
"And what exactly makes it your place to tell us what we can and cannot do, uncle?" Azula's voice hissed over Sasuke's shoulder with a venomous bite as she strode smoothly around him to draw face to face with Iroh as she peered disdainfully down at him.
"Perhaps you'd like to ask the generals what they think of having the Fire Lord's immediate family siding with them. I'm sure they'd be understanding of the fact that you lied, don't you?"
"Cut it out, 'Zula," Ty Lee snapped, but the princess tossed her hair over her shoulder and turned towards the horizon, smirking.
"We're not your children, and we don't owe you anything. Don't you assume you know better just because you're older than us, old man," she grinned. Iroh's shoulders seemed to slump slightly at her words, though Sasuke imagined it wasn't because of the insult. Zuko was fired up right away and stomped up behind his sister.
"Shut your mouth!" he barked angrily. "You don't know how lucky we are to have him in our lives! He just wants what's best for us!"
With a very sudden speed, the smile wiped itself from Azula's face and she whirled to glower at her brother; at the barely stifled rage on her face, Zuko shrank back just as quickly.
"What's best for us, big brother? He seemed pretty content letting our father mold us into morally depraved monsters while he ran around, failing to win the war. He didn't seem to mind letting you and your thick skull waste months hunting the Avatar, and you're really going to call us lucky when we're nothing short of disgraced royalty who will no doubt be strung up by our necks and gutted when the war's out?"
Zuko had gone rather pale and Mai came to his rescue.
"That has nothing to do with your uncle," she said in a low and firm voice. "And you aren't going to be executed; if there's any sort of trial, you'll all be exonerated when it's found what you did to aid against the Fire Nation."
Azula turned to her, a flat and bitter look on her face.
"I'm talking about if our father wins."
Mai grit her teeth and drew her head back. "Why are you even here, Azula? Is this some sort of psychotic trip for you where you want to see us fail?"
"Just being realistic, Mai," Azula drawled. "It's fair to note you probably wouldn't wind up much better off."
Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Mai turned her head away. "I can't believe I'm listening to your pretentious whining. How long until you grow up, your highness?"
Sasuke decided he had heard enough of this meaningless bickering.
"Enough," he snarled. Azula turned her gaze to him and bowed her head, maintaining silence as Mai spun to face him, a look of shock on her face.
"You're really going to take her side in—"
"There's no sides to take!" Sasuke snapped loudly and Mai's expression became somewhat cowed. He looked between her and Azula, with occasional glances at Zuko, Iroh and Ty Lee. If this was what it was to be Fire Nation, then he really would be doing the world a favor by winning this war. "If you have it in your head that there is any kind of battle that needs to happen between any of us, time to wake up."
He pointed towards the ever encroaching dark clouds on the horizon.
"We've got hours at best. And when they get here and you're stuck up your own asses trying to play the high ground with each other, don't expect the enemy to be understanding when you're debilitatingly distracted."
Sasuke knew he was perhaps exaggerating just how significant this petty argument was, but he knew that at least with Azula, he needed to lock it down now. She was likely only barely put off by Mai and Zuko's words, but vice versa, her insults and provocation could be deeply dangerous to the mental states of those she was instigating. When the day was over, they could settle their differences through as many pointless arguments as they liked, but right about then, he needed them all focused, and not on wanting to break one another's noses.
"He's right," Iroh said quietly and Sasuke turned his attention to the older man. Iroh wore an expression of both regret and understanding. "And so are you, my niece."
This seemed to catch Azula off guard and she blinked at him in surprise as attention shifted to him. He clasped his thick fingers in front of him, looking deeply remorseful.
"I was never there when you needed me. As children, you were always being molded by your father into subservient minions just as he wanted, and I suppose I just hoped Ursa would be there to temper that. Then, when she disappeared, I told myself that you were both old enough to not be ruled by the fear and anger your father ruled with. I learned how wrong I was when traveling with Zuko, and I am truly sorry, Azula, that I couldn't be there for you in the same way. Years you spent under my brother's thumb and I can't tell you how much it hurts me every day to remember that."
Azula said nothing and Sasuke silently hoped that some sort of ground was being made with her right about then.
"And I know too that everyone here is not what they appear to be. Even the youngest of you have been forced to grow up much too quickly and I know what that does to your maturity and understanding of the world. Of course I have no place to tell you if this is your fight or not. I only ask… please take care of yourselves and one another, if you must join us here today. No one's safety can be guaranteed."
He fell silent then, clearly at peace with what he had said. Azula's jaw was working furiously and while she crossed her arms and looked back out towards the horizon, away from her uncle, her silence was as reassuring a sign as any. Zuko put a hand on Iroh's shoulder and his uncle squeezed it back. Mai's expression had become a sad and hardened mask and she turned her back from Azula and returned the one-armed hug she received from Ty Lee. Sasuke let the moment sit for a moment before he inhaled and spoke again.
"Well, now that's cleared up, I think I'm going to try and close my eyes for a little bit."
Dumbfounded expressions turned his way then and Sokka gaped at him.
"You're going to try and sleep in a time like this?"
"Well, I can't imagine Ozai is going to be all that amenable to me taking a rest when he gets here, can you?" Sasuke asked and Sokka's face softened then as he shrugged in a gesture of 'fair enough." When no one else said anything, Sasuke moved over to where some sandbags that had been acting as weights for some of crates of supplies rested. He caught Azula looking longingly after him, but she fortunately didn't follow; the group began to slowly meander about as they no doubt fell into their own respective thoughts about the day and what was to come. But as Sasuke lay down, he realized that Iroh had followed him over; he looked up at the old man inquisitively.
"Yeah?"
Looking over his shoulder, Iroh looked to the ground beneath him with an expression of remorse on his face.
"I'm sorry for speaking to you in such a way. I just didn't want to see… I don't want to see any of them hurt."
Sasuke sighed as he sat down and leaned against the sandbags. "You don't have to apologize to me, old man. If I could have it my way, none of them would be here."
He locked eyes with Iroh. "I did try and stop them."
Iroh looked at him a long moment before giving him a sad smile and walking away. Sasuke watch him go before sighing and leaning back; as he prepared to close his eyes, he saw Mai looking at him with an unreadable expression and she turned away the moment he met her gaze. For a moment, he stared at the back of her head, deep in thought before growling in annoyance at himself and slamming his eyelids shut.
It barely felt like he had been lying there for a minute before there was a hand on his shoulder, shaking him urgently.
"Sasuke!"
The suddenness of what was happening snapped him to attention immediately, and before he even knew what he was doing, he had grabbed the person's wrist and used them as leverage to yank himself up, Chidori spitting in his hand as his instincts got the better of him. But he only saw Aang before him, expression worried and anxious in the blue crackle of the lightning around Sasuke's hand; he banished the jutsu and shook the sleep from his body.
"How long was I out?" he asked as he climbed to his feet.
"Maybe two hours," Aang said worriedly and as Sasuke looked, he saw every single person he had come atop the wall with, alongside every soldier standing near the edge of the wall, facing towards the horizon. As Sasuke moved to join them, he realized how quiet everyone was; no rustling of armor and gear, no statuses being passed between soldiers, no bickering amongst Azula and whomever else she might have antagonized. Everyone was turned intently the southwest and as Sasuke moved to stand between Katara and Ty Lee, he saw why.
The clouds that had originally been perceived as a black mass coming towards Ba Sing Se had split and now were cast above the city as great tears of black. Where the clouds parted, an orange and sickly sky shone through, a deeply unnatural color and it wasn't until Sasuke felt a bead of sweat sliding down his temple that he realized just how hot it had become, as though they were standing in a smithy with all the fires burning hot.
Blackness still covered the horizon itself, but as Sasuke looked, many singular dots of yellow light shone in very distinct circles all across the dark strip of cloud; he estimated at least a few dozen by his count.
Ozai's airships were closing in.
The very significance of what this meant was not lost on Sasuke and as he listened to the sheer silence around him that seemed to stretch for miles, he knew that everyone understood the same that he did. This was it, this was the war about to come to its final head. He looked left and right and shot quick glances towards his companions; Ty Lee had her eyes wide and mouth locked in a firm line as she breathed deeply in and out. Mai had her arms crossed, but Sasuke could see her fingers rubbing anxiously against her biceps as she bit at the inside of her mouth; beside her, Zuko had donned an expression of extreme intensity as though he was trying to hide from how scared he felt. Katara had perhaps the most reassuring expression and he saw that look in her eyes again that he had seen directed his way more than once in the past, that controlled anger and concentration. Sokka was beside her running his fingers over the hilt of his black sword and looking deeply confident himself wit Suki beside him, looking confident as well, almost hungry for battle. Aang was slowly shifting balance from one foot to the other, looking as out of place as anyone could be, and Sasuke felt a surge of anger that the kid had to be there at all.
Azula looked as intense as Sasuke had ever seen her, lips peeled back over her gritted teeth and her eyes wild with fire. He could tell she was itching for things to kick off and he found himself worried just what this battle might mean for her in particular.
I don't need her doing something stupid to try and impress me.
He gave a silent sigh of frustration; that was just what he needed, that planted seed of doubt that told him Azula was going to lunge headfirst into things and potentially get herself hurt or killed in an effort to…
To do what?
What the hell was this all for? Trying to get his attention? She already had that, she had been granted that from the moment she had tried to kill him above the air temple. Trying to vie for his affection? Was she really so emotionally stunted that she believed the best way to garner his love was to throw herself needlessly into danger as she had done at the festival? For a moment, Sasuke wanted to pull her to the side and just force her to come clean with her emotions, however badly he didn't really want to hear them. Or better yet, knock her out and stow her somewhere safe until this was all over.
"Think he'll be on the front with them?"
"Why wouldn't he be… he's got nothing to be scared of now…"
He heard the hushed voices of two soldiers a dozen yards down the wall and realized that there was a part of this he wasn't considering. For as much as he had been focused on Obito aboard the flagship, Azula had essentially taken down her father with Zuko. What would happen today would likely drive a nail into that finality of her relationship with her father, and as Sasuke looked at her furious and fierce visage, he supposed that perhaps this wasn't all about him.
At a tug on his shirt, he looked down and to the left.
Toph was standing just there, looking deeply frightened, though she was hiding it behind an almost humorous expression of confidence. The anger she had no doubt been harboring towards him since their brief exchange on the rooftop seemed to have alleviated at least for the moment.
"What's everyone see?" she asked quietly and Sasuke had to mentally rebuke himself after it took him a moment to remember her condition. Though he supposed, as he looked out towards the ever approaching spheres of light in the sky, ominous in their silence and lack of form, that perhaps it was better Toph couldn't see what had drove everyone to silent vigil in watching the approach of Ozai and his army.
In an attempt to perhaps ease Toph's likely rushing worry, he ignored her question, instead raising his voice and saying rather loudly, "Is that it then? A few airships?"
He remained looking forward as his companions turned towards him, expressions speaking with varying levels of 'are you serious?' as they stared at him. A little ways down the line, Iroh gestured beneath the horizon itself, more so pointing towards the ground itself.
"They didn't just come by sky."
Sasuke turned his gaze in the indicated direction and immediately caught sight of what he had missed at first glance. Tapping into his Sharingan, he achieved a more concentrated view of what he had originally seen as the earth itself moving.
Countless soldiers, all garbed in the dark colors of the Fire Nation were marching swiftly towards wall. They seemed to represent a carpet over the earth that shifted and raced towards them with a speed that was nothing to scoff at; Sasuke imagined that if they continued to move at their present speed, it would only be minutes until they reached the end of the drill.
"They're attacking from the ground first?" he asked, somewhat surprised.
"Indeed they seem to be doing so," came the booming voice of General Gokan who gave Sasuke a hearty pat on the back as he strode up behind him. "Perhaps they intend to try and force us to use a great deal of our benders' chi early in the fight. But we have more than enough soldiers on hand to keep a ground assault at bay for a good while, if they intend to only use their ground forces, enhanced firebending aside. Without their air support, we can hold them off indefinitely."
"That's a lot of soldiers," Sasuke remarked and Gokan gave him a look, his voice dipping into an unfamiliar tone of severity.
"Do not underestimate our earthbenders. If Ozai wants to wage a ground war, we can more than accommodate him, especially if all he intends to—"
What happened next was something Sasuke had no choice but to react to immediately.
"Above!" came a roar from Mai and Sasuke immediately snapped his head up to look to where she was pointing alongside everyone else within earshot of her shout.
Practically falling out of the sky were a number of about eight compact airships, all streamlined in shape and size. They must have been flying from behind the clouds and had come out at an angle just above the wall and were now rocketing precipitously towards the city. They were not large, nor were they armored, but it was clear very quickly what their purpose was as one of the firebenders who must have been aboard sent an explosive jet of fire rocketing towards the wall. It impacted with a blazing explosion about a hundred yards further down the wall and in the enormous fireball it created, Sasuke saw soldiers flying about as screams sounded through the air.
Katara raced to the inner edge of the wall, reaching down with the other waterbenders of the defense forces and pulling up water hastily from the reservoir beneath to utilize likely as both offense and as a protective measure. He vaguely heard Gokan and Ungo shouting orders as earthbending soldiers drew up stone missile in preparation to strike back and he watched as his other companions drew up their elemental abilities; Zuko and Azula summoning cyclones of orange and blue fire, and Aang pulling his air about him and Toph, slinging up walls of earth around them for cover, mirroring the other eartbending soldiers. He could see the fear written on all their faces, but found himself distantly impressed by their focus and confidence.
But as Sasuke looked back to the sky and saw the incoming assault, he knew that no amount of bending here would be enough to take them all down in a timely enough manner, not timely enough to keep his companions from being hit in the process.
And as he had a fleeting image of the scorched and lifeless bodies of Toph, Azula, Mai, Katara, Aang and everyone else being flung through the air, his decision was reached instantly.
Bending his knees and tightening his muscles, he drew up his chakra reserves within him in a single breath and then kicked off from the wall hard, his feet crushing the brick beneath his feet. In the blink of an eye, he was rocketing towards the airships, silently hoping that no one from his own side might hit him in the process, rather sure that he would have been pretty easy to miss propelling himself up.
I've got some surprises too, Fire Lord.
A purple hue burst from his body and coated the area around him as he ascended higher, the color stretching out and around him, blossoming outward with a furious speed. Sasuke reached into the rapidly coalescing pieces that were being created by his chakra, feeling the arms and legs as though they were his own, which in a strong sense, they were.
A moment later and he was soaring upward, the wings of his Susanoo thudding behind him.
He was certain that everyone beneath him was surely in a proper state of shock and the thought almost made him smirk; no one had seen his Susanoo in action, though he had used its arm in half form to save Toph when they had fallen out of the sky above the Fire Nation capital. This was the first time he had fully summoned it as well, and it felt as good as taking in a deep breath of fresh air.
I didn't want to have to use this so early on, but there's no choice now.
Bearing towards the airships with a destructive speed, he noted they had all ceased firing at least for the moment, no doubt stunned by the massive purple figure that was zooming towards them, but Sasuke knew this distinct advantage wouldn't last long. He had to end this quickly.
Pulling the vibrantly gleaming bow on his Susanoo's left arm and directing it upwards, he loosed a series of arrows, each of them a gleaming bolt of violet as they blasted upwards towards the atmosphere. Half the airships were speared and erupted in a collage of purple and orange as they were hit; just as the explosions rocked the sky, he was on top of the remaining ships. Seizing one and crushing it, he hurled its broken remains towards another and they both vanished in another fireball. By his count noting that there were only two remaining, he turned towards the first one he saw and moved swiftly towards it, his arms outstretched as he did.
He only made it about halfway towards it when men aboard the other airship behind him directed what must have been four or five different attacks to crash into his Susanoo's back.
For a moment, Sasuke spiraled out of control, not hurt but the sheer amount of power that had been behind the assault was staggering. This had only been four or five men and they had just managed to deliver a blow strong enough to stagger his Susanoo; getting himself back in order, Sasuke turned his spiral into a sharp turn and plugged the second to last airship with a shot from his bow and then right himself forward and swiped a hand through the last one, sending its pieces and occupants flying into space.
Giving his wings a great heave, he stopped himself in midair, catching his breath from within his Susanoo. The blow had been outrageously heavy, and though it hadn't been enough to even slightly damage the Susanoo's armor, Sasuke could only imagine what an army of men with those capabilities could do.
Rather would not be in a position where I have to find out. They really do need me after all, no way even all those defenders with this wall can withstand that kind of firepower.
He turned in the air and looked down to the top of the wall beneath him; the thousands of soldiers both atop the wall and on the ground milled about, as small as insects to where he hovered in the sky, but as he looked, another moving series of objects caught his eye and he focused his chakra into his Susanoo's vision.
Diving from the cover of the clouds were another tight cluster of the same kind of vessel Sasuke had just torn through, smaller and lighter, but no doubt with the same load of skilled firebenders ready to take chunks out of the defending forces. He looked in a swift wide scan of the area to see if there were any other attacking groups of ships, but saw that this was the only other series anywhere in the immediate vicinity. They would be close enough to attack the wall within seconds.
Time to stop fooling around, Sasuke thought angrily and tore the sky as he blazed his way to intercept. From his fists burst fountains of crackling amethyst as his Susanoo brought its swords to life and he pulled them back into readied positions.
It was likely none of the eight ships saw him coming and within the blink of an eye, he had torn through each and every single one of them, reducing them to burning scraps that fell harmlessly towards the earth below.
Just about to congratulate himself on how much better that particular engagement had gone, the sense of his Susanoo picked up more inbound objects and he quickly turned to spot them, but found these were of quite a different sort. There were only three of them and they were flying in a split pattern, even smaller than the advance ships Sasuke had just destroyed and much faster. He barely had time to even see them before they were rocketing over the wall itself and flashing past on retreating routes, one over the defenders on the ground ready to meet the army, one over the thousands of reinforcements hunkered down just inside the wall, and over the top of the wall itself. They seemed to do nothing other than perform a set of precise flyovers though as Sasuke watched, a jet of blue lightning flashed from atop the wall and tagged one, sending it spiraling out of control down into the city where it crashed into a town square of some kind. Sasuke allowed himself a tight smile as he knew this couldn't have been anyone other than Azula.
But as he looked towards the paths the speeding airships had taken, he noticed something strange underneath the harsh orange light of the sky that seemed to be settling down atop the wall. It looked almost like a mist of some kind, nearly greyish white in color, though it was likely only due to his Susanoo's enhanced sight that he was able to spot it at all under the violent hues thrown down from Sozin's Comet.
And as Sasuke thought to the only thought in recent memory that remotely tied itself to something like a mist or a gas, he grit his teeth as the realization sent a pang of sudden worry and understanding through his gut.
As Katara watched the smoldering wreckage of the vessel Azula had shot down smoke upwards into the sky, she turned her attention back to the massive figure hovering high off above them, stunned and in relative disbelief.
What… is he?
This was about all she could even manage to think as Sasuke, or whatever giant purple monster he had become flapped its enormous wings above her.
"I'm going to assume Sasuke went ahead and did something really impressive," Toph muttered, her arms crossed and Ty Lee, also staring unblinking at Sasuke, put a hand on the earthbender's shoulder.
"You don't know the half of it."
Katara saw the rest of her allies similarly stunned, but there were undertones to every one of them behind the shock that held dominant in their expressions. Azula's wide eyes danced with the color of the sky as her mouth turned upwards into a hungry smile while Zuko looked almost scared next to her. Mai had her brow furrowed and her mouth slightly agape, while Aang had fallen to his knees as a result of his astounded state. Suki's shoulders were slumped and she almost looked as though she were ready to just give up on being surprised period with a weary look on her face, but beside her, Sokka had his hands clasped behind his head and was wearing a humongous smile.
"I'll be damned," he said through his wide grin. "Just when you think he's shown you everything."
Zuko moved towards Iroh, not looking at where he was walking and tripping, he nearly fell over; he never took his eyes off Sasuke though as he asked his uncle in a hushed tone, "Uncle… you know a great deal about spirits and what they are. Is this… could he be…?"
As he said this, Katara realized that she had never once herself considered this possibility; Sasuke's broken memory, his strange abilities and absurd power, could they all be a result of him being not even remotely human? Katara also realized that while she had avoided this potentiality, she desperately didn't want it to be true and almost gave a sigh of relief when Iroh, also with eyes locked on the heavens, shook his head slowly.
"No," the older man said. "It is the duty of spirits to watch over this world and not take sides in the wars of humans. No, no spirit would seek to insert itself as openly as this. Nor does the energy he give off seem at all…"
Iroh paused at this before shaking his head. "The amount of chaotic energy I feel from him is quite unfathomable and both beneath and beyond what any spirit might possess."
Azula turned her head and gave her uncle a sharp look from over her wrinkled nose. "What, you can just tell what kind of person he is through his 'energy' is all?"
She turned back to Sasuke, her eyes almost misting over as she only half-heartedly finished her insult. "Don't tell me you got soft and crazy after you retired."
Zuko seemed to ruffle up at this, but after only a moment, his gaze too turned to what Sasuke had become above them and Katara followed suit.
It was unlike anything she could every have imagined. It was shaped like a person, with a torso, head and arms and legs, but that was where the similarities ended; it seemed to be covered in armor the and its head was mishappen, looking like it possessed both horns and a beak. Its wings could have stretched the length of Ozai's flagship had they been fully extended and its entire form seemed to be shrouded in a purple, sickly mist that matched the entire body's coloration, save for a pair of searing yellow eyes that burned as bright as the sheets of orange light that sliced through the clouds from Sozin's Comet. As she looked up at it, Katara felt quite uncomfortable then as it peered down very potentially in their direction. She wanted to find some tiny nook somewhere and curl up inside it; whatever Sasuke had become, it scared her.
"Well, then," came a loud and grim voice and Katara managed to extricate her vision from Sasuke's new form and saw General Gokan standing before them, arms crossed and with a squad of a dozen or so soldiers flanking him, each looking as agitated and somber as their commanding officer did. Behind them, General Ungo was passing orders along to be carried down the masses of soldiers congregated atop the wall, but Katara saw him looking over his shoulder towards his fellow general nervously.
Gokan looked over Iroh, then Azula and Zuko, and then back to their uncle again. He held his silence a long moment before glancing skyward at Sasuke, his face momentarily catching in a look of sheer disbelief, before returning his attention forward.
"I didn't want to even think it," he finally said as a way to introduce whatever was clearly eating at him. "I did my best to think nothing of the name 'Iroh' what with it being a relatively common name, but your resemblance at least to the story's I heard of the Fire Lord's brother was… at least a little uncanny. Still, I assumed the best of you and that I was just being paranoid. And maybe because of that little delusion on my part, I didn't even look at these two you have by your side, not seeing the face of a disgraced member of royalty or her scarred brother."
He inclined his head slowly and Katara saw the menace in those eyes that had only hours ago shone at them all with a sense of compassion and camaraderie.
"I was a fool. For now, I have the Fire Lord's very family before me, and I have to be quite honest that I don't know quite what to do now."
Opening his palms slowly in a gesture of goodwill, Iroh spoke in a slow and measured tone. "My deceit was deeply regrettable, but you must understand why I had to lie to you and your men. If you knew who I was, I would never have been allowed to help you set up your defenses, nor would I… would we be able to aid you now."
Gokan's lips tightened and curled angrily. "Aid? You think we want aid from Ozai's own kennel? How in spirits' names do you expect me to believe that you're anything more than opportunists looking to backstab us or the Fire Lord to get a foot up in this whole damned mess of a war?"
Katara found she couldn't hold her tongue as she felt the situation starting to fall out of control, anger starting to rise in the general's tone.
"They've made no attempts to do anything deceitful or harmful! They were abandoned and openly disgraced by Ozai, what makes you think that's something that would have them turning around to play the traitor against you?!"
Gokan gave her a hardened look, but she could see something akin to sadness in his eyes.
"In the history of warfare, there have been tougher cons pulled," he growled.
Azula stepped forward, her expression deeply incensed, but there was an absolutely savage grin on her face as well.
"As if there was even anything you could do to stop me," she hissed and the general straightened his back.
"We'll see."
He gestured behind him and the soldiers at his back tensed.
"These men will take the three of you into custody where you will be placed in holding cells until the such a time as you can be given proper trials," he said and Iroh closed his eyes, looking down sadly as Zuko and Azula both glared forward. Gokan looked at the three of them a moment longer during which time Katara looked desperately to Aang, Mai and Ty Lee, but all three of them looked just as lost and helpless as how to proceed.
"Take them," Gokan said and the Earth Nation soldiers moved around him quickly, hands snapping into positions of various earthbending techniques no doubt to create walls and bindings of earth to seal the three members of the royal family.
But as all dozen of the men gestured ahead of them, nothing happened.
Azula gave a cackle. "That's the best your 'benders' can manage, general? Why don't I give you all a taste of what an attack is actually supposed to look like."
She drew a hand back behind her, fingers pointed in sharp angles and she whipped her arm around to no doubt assail the soldiers in a torrent of flame; Katara felt herself surge forward in an effort to stop her and she saw Iroh, Aang and Ty Lee out of the corner of her eye doing the same. If Azula attacked these men, it would no doubt seal their fates in the eyes of the Earth Nation military, regardless of whether or not she had been provoked. But as Katara reached out a hand, a shout on her lips, she knew none of them would reach the psychotic princess in time.
Then, just as the soldiers had, Azula's hand came forward and not even the tiniest burst of fire emanated from her fingertips.
Azula stared in stunned fury down at her hand as though it was her hand that was somehow defective. She snapped her fingers, a method that Katara had seen Zuko use to create fire and nothing happened. She lashed out with two kicks, each of them punctuated with an angry shout, and still, no fire.
As the pieces began to fall horrifyingly into place in Katara's mind, she turned down to the basin far beneath her and attempted to draw water from it again, but it didn't move, sloshing around at the base of the wall. Around her, she saw Zuko, Aang, Toph and countless other men and women of the Water and Earth Nations start to understand something was wrong as they all moved to try and affirm their bending abilities, but nothing, no pebble, no breeze, no drop of water moved through the air as a result of their efforts.
The three super quick airships, Katara thought and closed her eyes in frustrated despair. It was so terribly obvious what had happened and potentially fatal what would come as a result.
Ahead of them, Gokan whipped his arms around with deepening aggression, furious panic starting to show on his face.
"What is this?!" he shouted angrily and Katara suddenly felt a rush on her insides as though something of massive size had just moved by very close to her. As she looked up, she realized this was indeed a correct presumption of the situation in actuality; Sasuke's enormous glowing form had just soared by overhead, coming around on the wall's left size before pulling up, gigantic wings thudding and once again drawing the attention of all. As Katara watched, the luminescent violet giant began to dissipate with a loud series of purple hisses and in only a matter of moments, there was no sign of any purple glow, only Sasuke as he remained suspended in midair for just a brief instant before dropping to the wall's surface, landing gracefully without a sound.
As he approached them, his voice was a grim tone that perfectly stated out what Katara so feared was true.
"It's the toxin. You've all lost your bending."
Sasuke watched as the defensive mass of people that stretched out before him began to devolve into chaos.
Katara immediately went to Gokan and Ungo, explaining what had just been used on them and the time constraints for which the parameters of the toxin were created. Even as she stated that the effects were temporary regarding the Fire Nation's relatively brand new weapon, Sasuke saw both the men's faces grow deeply stony as they were informed. It had taken the toxin only minutes to dispel from their systems before, but with what was bearing down on them now, minutes were as devastatingly long as hours.
He watched Toph, Azula and the rest of the benders trying in vain to summon their abilities and he listened to the sounds of panicked chatter and shouting carry all the way down the wall. The three airships had flown over top it and both ground forces, the one outside the wall and the one still within. The Fire Nation's only resistance from the benders defending the city would be their fists and their spears, no doubt to be blasted away by the enhanced bending capabilities the Fire Nation touted. It would be as simple a slaughter as anything could be.
Sasuke watched as Ty Lee and Mai approached one another, the former with eyes wide and scared before she embraced her friend. Mai's expression was tighter but no less worried and as she looked over her friend's shoulder, Sasuke caught her eyes and she gave him a truly saddened look that almost made him want to go over and comfort her himself. Because he saw that look in the eyes of Sokka and Suki as they looked at each other, he saw it on Toph's face as she stared at the ground, small fists shaking at her side, on the faces of Iroh and the two generals as they realized that all their years of military experience were as useful to them now as grains of sand would be. He looked at Azula who was still attempting to muster up even the smallest bit of fire to no avail, for once, her attention not on him, her eyes furious and mouth pulled in a snarl. Sasuke saw Zuko drop to his knees, staring out at the approaching ground forces of his father which would reach the wall far sooner than his bending would return.
Finally, Sasuke looked to Aang who had walked a short distance from his friends and was standing at the edge of the wall. Silently, Sasuke walked up to join him as they stared out over the hell that had become the world Aang lived in and that Sasuke had been thrust into.
It was a long couple seconds before Aang said quietly, "I have to do down there."
Sasuke turned to look at the Avatar and saw Aang's face tight with determination as he continued. "I'll go down there and surrender myself to the army. I know Ozai still wants me, maybe even dead; maybe they'll just kill me when they realize who I am, but if it buys even a little time… maybe enough for everyone's bending to come back, I'm the best chance to being able to just slow them down just by consequence of who I am."
He tightened his mouth into a line of focus as he added, "I'm scared, but I have to try, as hopeless as it seems."
In that moment, Sasuke was thrust into a memory, or more so, a voice that spoke to him across time and space as he listened to it resound through his head, upbeat, energetic and endlessly optimistic.
"You're not lost yet, Sasuke. Everyone at Konoha says so, but Sakura, Kakashi-sensei and me won't give up on you! Even if you try and kill us for trying to help, I won't stop trying. I'll never stop trying, Sasuke, believe it!"
As he flashed back to the moment at hand, Sasuke looked at Aang who in that moment had reminded him of an old, familiar face.
Still trying to shoulder the weight of the world, are we, Aang?
But as he watched the Avatar's deeply resolute face, Sasuke began to smile.
Because despite the hand that he and all of the people standing beside him had just been dealt, had they really just forgotten about who was with them?
Sasuke was starting to regret more deeply that he had burned so much chakra then on his Susanoo and its abilities, but it didn't matter. Just as Aang had said, he had to try. He thought to the people that he had come to care for, Aang, Azula, Toph, Katara, Mai, Sokka, Suki, Ty Lee and Zuko. It had hardly been an overall healthy relationship, but Sasuke knew there was so much more to it than the fear and hate some of them had initially displayed. Because in a sense, they had all shown him a different kind of understanding, a different kind of acceptance. He even thought to Jin, kilometers behind him in the teashop with Pao, no doubt waiting and praying as the end of the world seemingly approached and all of this was enough for him to know what to do.
You got soft, Sasuke.
He put a hand briefly on Aang's shoulder and walked back to his companions. He brushed both Mai and Katara on the shoulders and when they looked his way inquisitively, he gave his head a little jerk to the less occupied area of the wall to their left. They followed him without hesitation and everyone else seemed too caught up in their despair to notice, save for Ty Lee, who watched them with distant nervousness behind the agony on her face.
When he knew they were out of earshot, Sasuke turned to look at them; they both were watching him with total attentiveness, Mai looking anticipatory and Katara looking deeply curious. He thought of how best to address this before taking a deep breath and looking at them intently.
"I need you both to do me a favor."
They said nothing in reply and he took that as cause to continue.
"Katara, I need you to keep an eye on Toph, and Mai, I need you to keep an eye on Azula."
He watched both of their brows begin to furrow, and he raised his hands, continuing before indignation or questioning could be thrown his way.
"I'm not that blind or naïve, though maybe I've tried to be. I know that they both have… feelings and I don't want those feelings getting them in trouble after what happens next."
Mai made a face and he could see fear behind her anger, different to the kind that had accompanied the toxin realization.
"What are you—" she started, but Sasuke cut her off.
"And I also know that there might be something going on perhaps with you two as well, which is why I'm bringing this to you both in particular. I owe you both this much."
As he said it, Sasuke wanted to punch his own nose clear out the back of his own head as Katara and Mai both looked at one another, eyes slowly narrowing.
Maybe not blind or naïve, but damn it all if I can't be dumb as a box of rocks.
His annoyance with himself faded as he remembered that in this moment, time was very much of the essence and he took both girls by the shoulder to regain their attention and they both quickly looked back to him at his touch.
"You both have much clearer heads than those two. And this is about more than me, it's about keeping all of you safe, no matter what happens to me."
His feet were tingling as he knew what was about to happen and Katara's eyes widened and Mai's lips curled aggressively.
"Sasuke, don't you dare…"
All he could manage then was a shrug.
"Don't wait up for me."
Turning before he could think of something else to say, he ran between them, feeling Katara's fingers graze his shoulder in an effort to stop him. He raced up to the generals, Iroh and the rest of his companions where Aang had just walked up, no doubt about to try and inform them of his plan to give himself up. As Sasuke skidded to a halt between them all, he put a hand on the top of Aang's head.
"Under no circumstances let this guy do anything stupid. Keep him safe no matter what," he said loudly and saw all eyes turn to him. Sokka seemed to be the first to piece two and two together and he gave Sasuke a look of dawning comprehension.
"You're not seriously…"
As he trailed off, Sasuke looked down to Aang, who was looking up at him with a curious expression, eyes still deep with fear and helplessness, though as he met the Avatar's gaze, Sasuke could still see that determination there.
He gave Aang a small smile.
"Don't let anyone tell you different, you're going to be a great Avatar."
And he turned and stared out into the black horizon, bending his knees as he did. Behind him, he heard Katara and Mai both running up, shouting out words he chose to ignore and he kicked off the wall, just as he had when turning into his Susanoo. But instead of transforming, he let his powerful launch carry him through the air and the ground rushed up to meet him from far below as he arced his leap to land a hundred or so meters ahead of the defensive walls the Earth Nation had composed around the drill. It took him several long seconds for him to land on the ground, and he touched down with a powerful impact, leaping out of the crater he had made as a result.
And as he stood and took a deep breath, beginning to walk forward, he realized how quiet it was. The only sound that came was his feet crunching against the dirt and stone beneath them and that of his breathing as his walk became a jog.
He looked ahead of him and saw a rolling storm of dust rising before him so far and yet so close. It seemed the ground forces of the Fire Nation had gotten the message that the benders they were about to face off against had been robbed of their abilities for a short period and were looking to take advantage of that. Sasuke's job became a run as he felt the ground start to shake beneath his feet as the thousands of approaching soldiers pounded their way forward.
Sasuke thought for a moment to how Toph or Azula might have been looking towards him as he leapt away towards the approaching apocalypse. He thought of how angry they would surely all be with him; maybe Sokka at least would have the time to be a little impressed, he thought with a smirk. He thought of Aang's expression and thought of how he had been so willing to sacrifice himself for a ploy he didn't even know would work. He thought to Iroh and his focus and drive to protect a city he owed nothing to. He thought to Jin sitting alone at a table in the dining room of Pao's teashop, a place that seemed so far away to him just then as he felt the vastness of the wasteland before him, and to all those people, panicking and certain they were about to die. He wondered where Obito was right about then, the true threat he would no doubt have to get past to win the day and secure Ozai's defeat.
He wondered if he even could.
Finally, as the rumble of the earth and the bellowing of thousands of battle-ready warriors echoed just distantly in his ears, Sasuke put all these thoughts out of his mind and broke into a sprint.
When he drew his sword, it glinted in the orange sky, already tasting the blood of a day that would surely come to know much violence.