Chapter Seventeen:

Yuzin was awoken with a start. "Get up quickly" said one of his bodyguards. "Tsume and the Iron Assassin's are attacking."

Yuzin got out of bed, and into formation with his guards. He and his guards waited, in battle stances, for Tsume to appear. "Show yourself!" he barked.

Tsume and the assassins burst into the room through the walls. "Fire Lord Yuzin!" Tsume snarled.

Yuzin and his guards sent a fury of flames and knives at the assassins. Yuzin tried to deflect an incoming knife, but in continued towards him. Instead he dodged, and let it fly by him. He glanced and noticed it was made of plastic. "Clever" Tsume admitted.

The assassins responded with a wave of rock and nails which clashed against Yuzin's attacks. Tsume went for Yuzin but a bodyguard got between them and slashed at Tsume. She threw knives towards his neck, which he batted away. Tsume closed in on the bodyguard and slashed at her, and dodged her swipes at him.

Tsume shot nails at Yuzin, and dodged fireballs. Yuzin and his guards kept pressing him, but Tsume continued to dodge and block with pieces of rock. Tsume then threw himself across the room, grabbing Yuzin, and throwing him against the wall.

For a moment Yuzin was stunned. He peered upward and saw Tsume raising his claws. "Die!" he snarled as he swung them towards Tsume.

A knife flew at Tsume's head, who leaned his head giving Yuzin just enough time to dodge the lethal claws. He swung back with a flame-covered fist towards Tsume's head. The two of them grappled, swing burning fists, and razor sharp claws at each other. Nails, fireblasts, and knives, flew around them.

Two of the assassins converged it on Yuzin. He briefly repelled them with fireblast, but Tsume lunged at him during the distraction. The three of them swung at Yuzin with their claws, despite his attempts to break free.

I charged into Yuzin's chambers followed by my companions. Yuzin and his guards were furiously brawling with a group of assassins. Kaze and I launched windblasts at the assassins surrounding Yuzin. The assassins recoiled upon impact, giving Yuzin a bit of space. Two of them continued to fight Yuzin, but Tsume turned towards us. "Avatar Arata!" he snarled.

We swung windblasts back and forth to deflect Tsume's furious sprays of nails. They continued to scatter around us, but Tsume kept sending more after us. He got closer and swung at us with thick spiked gauntlets.

I coated one hand with rock, and the other with flames, and brawled with Tsume. He deflected my punches and returned with brutal punches of his own. Kaze danced around us, jumping and dodging, never staying in one place. She continued to pester Tsume with air slices, but he was able to keep up with both her and me.

I took a swing at Tsume's head with my fireblast, and then my rock glove. "Your not going to be able to get at Yuzin, you'll have to kill me first."

"Not yet", he replied as he swung back. He motioned at my friends. "Them first."

I rallied harder and swung furiously at Tsume. He backed off, but a windblast hit him in the back of the head. My punches slammed him in the head and gut. Tsume tried to recover, but Kaze hit him with another blast.

An assassin lunged at me, but a large rock hit him on the back of the head. Sela leaped at him, and punched and kicked him repeatedly. The assassin fell over limp. More assassins tried to assist Tsume, but they were attacked while they were distracted. "Fall back." Tsume snarled.

Tsume turned and ran, with his assassins following. They barged their way through walls, only too quickly patch them up. Tetsu did the same so we could follow them, but the assassins scattered too quickly.

We chased them out onto the streets, and searched among the crows but did not find them. "We did they go?" I asked.

"I felt disturbances in the ground." Tetsu replied. "I think they went underground."

"Did you feel any tunnels?" Sela asked him.

"No, I think they were collapsed." he replied.

After wandering underground for a while, Tsume regrouped with his assassins in the room were they held the women. "Take them to Omashu." he said.

Tsume and his assassin tore down the wall in the room, revealing a railroad and a car. They stepped on and began to wave their arms rhythmically. The car speed down the rails.

After awhile the assassins knelt down, and a loud creaking noise came from the bottom of the car as it slowed to a stop. After it stopped Tsume lead his men and the captives up a flight of stairs to the surface.

There waited a zeppelin. Tsume didn't really care for traveling by air or sea. He didn't like the lack of control, of not knowing what the ship was doing.

Tsume boarded the zeppelin, where two assassins and the pilot where waiting. The pilot went over to the cockpit, while the assassins helped Tsume take the captives to the brig and lock them up.

Feeling the ship, Tsume could get a vague sense of motion, but did not know where exactly he was going. He sighed, sat down, and waited.

I returned to the palace empty handed. "They escaped." I admitted.

"I will have my guards continue to search. Such a brazen move will not go unpunished." Yuzin said as we walked down the halls.

"I don't think Tsume will stay here much longer." I replied

"At least we have a prisoner. Yuzin added.

Yuzin lead me into a room where a Iron Assassin was tied up with platinum chains. "Where is Tsume going?!" he asked.

The assassin just stared at us. Even with the nails, we could still see the glare in his eyes. "I can make you talk." Yuzin warned.

"I'm used to pain." the assassin snarled.

"These guys do seem to have quite the pain tolerance." I remarked.

Yuzin produced a flame from his hand and placed it next to the assassin's chest. Despite the heat, the assassin did not flinch. Yuzin extinguished the flame. "You seem to be right." he said.

"Worth a shot." I replied.

Yuzin and I rejoined my friends. "I don't think we can get much from our captive." Yuzin told them.

"How will we them them?" Sela asked.

"They probably won't stay in the Fire Nation for much longer." I said. "How exactly would they leave?"

"Maybe check air travel?" Kaze suggested.

"It's not like a guy with nails in his eyes can go to the airport and book a flight." Genji noted.

"We got here with an airship, maybe he did too." Kaze added.

"I will the skies searched for those." said Yuzin.