Chapter 19: The Calm Before

"You were right, General," Colonel Cujo said. "We are being hunted."

Sen nodded. It had been inevitable. With such a valuable resource stolen and the full moon coming up, there had never been any doubt that Sarin would pursue. It had only been a few hours since their departure and Sarin was already hot on their heels. They had a long chase ahead of them.

"We have our escape route planned out well in advance," Sen assured the Colonel. They were beating a hasty retreat down the highways of the Earth Kingdom. Sen had prepared this escape route so thoroughly that they never even had to stop and resupply: at several checkpoints along the way, fresh vehicles were prepared, meaning they never had to stop any longer than the time it took for them to change vehicles.

Their ultimate destination was Fort Ganhwa, a coastal fortress nestled on the cliffs of the western Republic. From there they'd be airlifted to safety, travelling across the ocean to the Fire Nation, far beyond Sarin's reach. At the rate they were travelling they'd be aboard The Fang and over the ocean long before Sarin's forces had a chance to catch up to them.

The blue horizon to the west should have seemed clear, but Sen had a sickening feeling in his gut. There was a storm brewing.

"Radio ahead. Summon as many reinforcements as we can," Sen commanded. "I want backup when we reach Fort Ganhwa."

He already had Whistler on hand as a consequence of her recent rescue mission, but the rest of his team was scattered across the nation. He wanted them all focused on this one battle. The speeding convoy moved on as Sen crossed his arms across his chest. There was a chill down his spine that clung to him as he raced across the terrain, a foreboding terror that he could not escape.

"I don't know what you're so worried about," Ada said. A broad smile marked her face. "This is Suda we're talking about. He'll be ecstatic."

"I know, it just seems so, you know, poorly timed," Yoki Uehara sighed. She was pacing back and forth nervously. She'd come to Ada for advice on a dilemma she faced, seeing as Ada was the only other important woman in Suda's life. "Maybe if I wait, just a little bit, a little longer, it'll be better."

"I'm not sure Suda would agree," Ada said. "You're overthinking it. Suda's a simple guy."

"I'm not that simple," Suda's booming voice protested. Yoki jumped slightly in surprise.

A swift-flying line of metal caught on the ceiling as Suda swung downwards from a higher level. He landed heavily between his two favorite women and put a hand on each ones shoulder, turning to Ada first.

"We just got the old heroes-call-to-action," Suda said. "Big important mission, save the world, you know the drill."

"This isn't good, is it?" Yoki asked. Suda always tried to cover up his concern with positivity. If he sounded excited, there was a fifty-fifty chance it was awful. Or he actually was excited. Suda was kind of hard to read, but Yoki had mostly mastered it. A slight frown on Suda's face told Yoki her intuition was correct.

"Okay, yeah, it's a little bit really dangerous," Suda said. "But it's nothing we can't handle. Sen's getting the whole team together. We can take anything they can throw at us."

"What exactly is going on, Suda?" Ada asked. She hadn't been on hand to hear the radio report.

"Sen's plan to get that engineer guy worked, and now he's being chased by all of Sarin's bloodbenders. We're going to meet up with him at a fort and then -and this is the good part- we're going to leave before they even catch up to us."

That did nothing to ease Yoki's nervousness. Suda noticed the pout she always did when she was upset and put both hands on her shoulders.

"Hey, don't be like that," Suda said reassuringly. "I'm going to be real careful this time, I promise. Pure defense, no stupid risks."

"I'll be watching his back," Ada said with a nod. "Now, we should get moving soon, but Yoki, didn't you have something to say?"

"Umm…"

Yoki turned red in the face and wrung her hands together. She considered speaking, but was interrupted as Suda bent over and kissed her passionately. He pulled away and stared into her eyes.

"I love you," He said, turning Yoki's face redder than before. "But you're a pretty big distraction for me. I have to focus on the fight, so maybe we can talk when I get back?"

"Yeah, yes, that works," Yoki stammered. "When you get back. I'll have it all figured out by then. Love you too, bye, have fun at war."

Suda smiled and embraced her one time before he grabbed Ada and ran off to join the fight. Ada spared one look over her shoulder at Yoki and sighed as she headed off for the mission. Yoki had never been very eloquent, but some things had to be said. Maybe there was no harm in waiting.

He ran his fingertips over every plate of the darkened metal. He had memorized the touch by now. The coarse surface of the unbreakable metal, the dents and scarring of a combustion bender's rage, the spiked knuckles that had crushed so many foes.

The Fist of Rahm rested on a pedestal. Temujin had examined it a thousand times over, and now he examined it again. It was more than his weapon: it was his ideal. His purpose in life, his one ambition, to wield the power, the rage that had made Rahm into a metalbender without peer.

Temujin knew where his failure lied. He knew why he could not control the Spirit Metal as Rahm could. It was an adage used by the great General himself: "An enemy struck down should never rise again."

Suda. Temujin had failed in his purpose. An enemy struck down had risen again. Temujin clenched his fist around the shaft of his mighty hammer.

He would not fail again.

In recent weeks, Ariak had become inordinately fond of fire.

For one accustomed to dwelling in a land of ice and snow, fire was always a welcome companion. It chased off the biting cold and provided life-giving warmth. Even so, some would argue that Ariak relied on it far too much.

His room held a fireplace that was burning almost constantly, and dozens of candles filled shelves and tabletops throughout the room. The scent of smoke and heat permeated everything. The red light of the fire danced along the tip of his spear as Ariak meditated.

He surrounded himself with fire, but it was never enough to chase off the chill he felt within. It had been this way ever since the first lesson with his estranged father, and it had grown ever colder with every passing day, until he had mastered an unwanted power.

Bloodbending. The power ran through his veins like ice, choking him with frost. He could feel it in every moment, in every heartbeat. It only grew worse the closer they came to the full moon, a day which was now fast approaching.

He dreaded it more and more every month. So far he had been lucky, he had never been forced to use the power he wielded. He had been to untrained, or there had been no targets to fight, not enough risk –a dozen and more excuses to not tap into bloodbending. But every passing month made it more and more likely that he would be forced to face Kida again.

His next confrontation, he knew, would have to be their last. There could be no other way.

The heat in his room shifted. An intruder, and a unique one. Miyani had a way of pulling the fire towards herself. Maybe it was why they were friends, the principle of opposites attracting. Miyani had fire in her heart. All Ariak had was ice.

"Ariak, Sen put out the call," Miyani said somberly. "He's being chased."

"Kida."

Miyani nodded wordlessly. Ariak brought his meditation to a swift end as he gripped his spear. He doused his warming fires and embraced the chill that sunk into his bones as he walked out of the room.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to," Miyani said. "I could still take care of her."

"I know that," Ariak said. "And I know that if I falter or fail, you will finish what I started. But I have to face her one last time."

Ariak steeled his resolve and let his blood be as ice.

Kida sat stone faced in one of many racing vehicles in the pursuit convoy. She had hardly spoken since Sarin had put out the call. Her hair hung loose and unkempt, hiding her face, but it took far more than a few loose strands of hair to cover the intensity in her eyes.

Staring out from under black shadows and tangled locks of hair, she glared blankly at the world ahead. There was an incredible anger in her gaze, but it was unfocused. The object of her anger was far away, not yet caught in her single-minded sight.

Her burning eyes twitched slightly just at the thought of him. The one who'd drawn first blood in this twisted family feud. Ariak.

Kida clenched the stolen spear tight in her fists, her fingers wringing with an equal measure of hatred and disgust. This spear that had pierced the heart of her oldest sister, without hesitation, without mercy. She would see it strike Ariak the same way.

The vehicle rattled, and Kida's grip on the spear loosened for a moment. She grabbed it with both hands and held it tight again. Her fingers practically splintered the wood as she clenched it tight in her grasp.

This had to be it. It had to be the last time, she knew. She would not go on playing this game any longer. Ariak and Kida, bound by blood. Only one would walk away from their next meeting.

Kida stared hatefully at Ariak's spear, ignoring the sight of her own reflection in the blade.

Hanjo was one of the last to get the call. He looked out the window, to the north, where the Fort was waiting for him. He was fairly close, he could get there in no time.

Yet his feet didn't move. He felt no compulsion to carry on or move forward. There was nothing driving him to follow Sen's orders. In fact, he was actively considering just staying where he was, and ignoring Sen's little war for the time being.

He didn't have a stake in this, not like so many others. There was no vengeance to be found, no nemesis to battle, no divine purpose making him play the part of savior. He had only ever fought because he believed it was the right thing to do.

Now he wasn't so sure. Now he looked into Sen's glowing eyes, and he saw fire, not light. He wasn't fighting to save lives, he wasn't fighting to make the world a better place. He was just fighting to fight. Fighting to destroy Sarin.

There had been a time when Hanjo had been willing to die for Sen. Now he wasn't even sure he was willing to leave his chair.

All the same, he couldn't shake a feeling in his gut, the unmistakable urge that something terrible was going to happen. Hanjo got up and walked out the door. Despite the things he'd done recently, Sen was at least still fighting the right battle. Hanjo owed it to the world to help defeat Sarin. For the sake of innocent people, not for Sen, Hanjo would keep on fighting.

The plan had gone flawlessly. Sen's fleeing forces had kept ahead of Sarin's pursuit at every step. All of his allies had reached Fort Ganhwa on time. The airship was ready and waiting to carry them to safety. Almost everything had gone just as Sen had planned. Almost.

As mighty as the Avatar was, he could neither predict nor control the skies.

"Storm of the century, they say," Goto said morosely. The skies were already darkening, and the winds howled. The sky flashed with lightning and roared with thunder as the offshore hurricane drew ever closer.

"No way we can fly in this weather," Goto said. "I doubt The Fang can survive these conditions even on the ground."

Sen slammed his fist into the wall. Of all things to be thwarted by, the weather was by far the most infuriating. A freak occurrence of the sky was going to ruin days of planning and preparation, and put hundreds of lives at risk.

"We still have vehicles," Colonel Kim suggested, gesturing to their idle convoy.

"With no gas to get us anywhere," Kujo added. They had never planned on driving any further than Fort Ganhwa. They had barely scraped by on what fuel they had.

Sen stood atop the ramparts of the fortress and looked out to sea. The waves were already churning, the winds already howling. The hurricane would make landfall about the same time Sarin caught up to them. Sen turned around at looked at the horizon behind them. He could feel them coming.

The black, soulless void of Sarin, darker than any stormy sky, was racing through the hills, hunting them down. It would not be long. The sun was already setting. Soon the full moon would rise.

"Siphon as much gas as you can and get a handful of vehicles ready to move," Sen said. They could manage a few more miles on the last few drops of gas, enough to get some people out of harm's way. "Get the noncombatants out of here."

His order was hastily obeyed by the many engineers, medics, and radio operators they had brought with them. Ada watched the fearful support network try and scrape together a means of escape for themselves.

"Suda, you should…maybe consider going with them," Ada suggested. "For Yoki's sake."

Suda was more focused on the soldiers preparing a defense. Sen had yet to formally give the order, but they all knew they were in for a fight. Caught between a storm and the enemy army, survival seemed unlikely.

"I think I'll stay," Suda said quietly. Ada bit her lip and looked away.

Sen overlooked the sudden buzz of activity in the fort as they all prepared for the storm to come. Ariak and Miyani took posts on the walls, watching for their approaching enemy. Whistler tried to relax and rest before the battle, tucking her hands into her pockets to calm their shaking. Hanjo walked into the crowd of soldiers and tried to calm their nerves and sooth their fears. The crowd of Coalition soldiers was slowly corralled back into an orderly army by the White Lotus commanders.

"Get some of the radios online, if we can," Sen requested.

"I don't see much point," Colonel Kujo retorted. "Any troops that could make it in time are already here."

"Not for the reinforcements," Sen said.

He removed his coat, exposing arms scorched and scarred by battle, and stared at the charred fabric. It had been falling to pieces anyway. He dropped the brown coat from the walls and let it be pulled into the distance by the racing winds of the storm. He straightened his shirt and started to patrol the wall.

"Open the radios to the men. Let them call their families," Sen said. "Not all of us are going to make it home."

SEVEN YEARS AGO

The walk through the fog was difficult and slow. The path to the Spirit Portal had been completely overtaken by the mist, leaving its guards and the citizens seeking passage in disarray. Through their blind confusion, the Energybender brothers and their escort moved deliberately and slowly towards their destination.

"Why go to all this trouble, brother?" Sarin asked. "There are barely any guards. We could easily fight our way through."

"Because it would attract attention, first and foremost," Kalden scolded. Sarin quickly backed down. "And secondly because we are not here to fight."

Kalden looked through the mist at a guardsman trying to guide innocent people out of the fog and into the safety of a building. He was just a man doing his duty, not an obstacle.

"We are architects of peace, violence is used only as a regrettable necessity," Kalden said. "We do not take lives without reason."

Sarin nodded and followed in his brothers footsteps once more.

Sarin and Dei Sensheng overlooked the fortress from far and above, standing atop a cliff-face. The rocky terrain here served to their advantage. They could see the fortress long before the inhabitants of the fortress could see them.

For this brief window of time, it seemed they might actually hold a real advantage. They had their enemy on the defensive, and they had an army of bloodbenders ready to strike. There was only one problem.

"See there, a small convoy is on the move," Ahn-Li pointed out. She handed her telescope to Dei Sensheng, who confirmed her report.

"Likely the non-combatants, possibly a few VIP's," Sensheng concluded. "Almost certainly including our former Engineer, the reason we came all this way."

"Can we give chase?" Sarin asked.

"The roads go through the fortress and the storm will ground our helicopters," Sensheng said. "It seems he's out of reach. Our objective has been lost."

Sarin held his arms behind his back and stared long at the fortress in the distance. He could feel his prey amidst the fearful host of Coalition soldiers. The Avatar was there, waiting. Daring Sarin to attack.

"I know we're in position, Sarin, but an attack may be ill-advised," Sensheng suggested. "Even if we win, what do we accomplish? This battle would be pointless."

Sarin straightened his back and unfolded his hands before clenching them into a tight fist.

"We have a cause, Sensheng, and we will fight for it."

Sarin turned to his subordinates and stared at them with his grey-ringed eyes. He held out one hand towards the fortress.

"Kill them all."