Avatar: The Last Airbender Created By: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko
Avatar: The Last Airbender Owned By: Nickelodeon, a subsidiary of Viacom
All original content and characters © Acastus


Chapter XXI – Cemetery Ridge

Dusk had fallen. An afternoon had passed since the wave had wreaked its destruction upon the invaders, but it felt a lifetime to every soldier who contested the battlefield.

The Fire Nation line now extended along the length of Cemetery Ridge, for so Chieng had inadvertently christened it, and across the southern and eastern edges of the two nearby hillocks known as the Big and Little Round Tops. Four of the eleven tank trains had survived, a fifth, Solaria, had been caught in the crest of the wave at its zenith. She had lost all engine power and was deposited by the wave intact, but immobile, on the Big Round Top.

The surviving tank trains had been placed strategically along the line. Three lay broadside at the edge of Cemetery Ridge, allowing each a clear view of all approaches up the slope. General Xian's leviathan, the Sozin's Comet, could be seen clearly on the Little Round Top. Solaria anchored the Big Round Top where she had come to rest.

The downslope of Cemetery Ridge lay thick with the drowned or exploded corpses of hundreds of Fire Nation tanks and thousands of Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation dead. Water from the wave trapped between the ridge and its lower neighbors lay in thick, rancid pools of muddy blood.

All afternoon the Earth Kingdom catapults and archers on the surrounding hills had pounded the Fire Nation positions. All afternoon the allied army had mounted charge after charge up the ridge towards the thin line of Fire Nation defenders. They never got close enough to launch their stones or, in many cases, for the Fire Nation tank gunners to engage.

The last rays of sunlight drained from the west as the stubborn earthbender columns moved up the slopes once again.

"Fire!" screamed Chieng, as if her will alone could rout the advancing enemy. She was filthy, exhausted and utterly refused to admit defeat. Her golden eyes glittered with anger and determination. Her hair, normally coiled tightly in a bun, had come loose and flailed wildly around her face as she shouted orders.

Behind her the gunners who manned the mighty flamethrowers atop the firing platforms complied.

Flaming jets of liquid naphtha arced across the sky from the massive siphons. Seconds later they rained down burning death on the round helmets of the Granite Mountain infantry. Screams of pain and rage erupted from those caught in the deadly shower. Burning men collapsed, trying desperately to shield their exposed flesh or burning armor, and rolled down the hill writhing in agony. The charge broke and the survivors scurried back down the slope.

Each charge had ended the same way. The first attempt had come closest to succeeding, but here, Chieng recollected with grim satisfaction, the enemy had finally been shown the raw power of her warforged children. Barely had the Army of the Great Divide dug in when the waterbenders of the north summoned from the rapidly retreating lake water half a dozen wide ice bridges. Masters of their element, in seconds the blue clad warriors had connected the tops of the lower hills occupied by the Allies with the crest of Cemetery Ridge.

Glistening in the sun, the blue veined channels arched over several hundred feet each. Instantly allied soldiers had mounted each bridge, moving at double quick time to make contact with the disorganized enemy as fast as possible.

Corona, Sunrise, and Phoenix had opened up simultaneously, revealing to the world yet another Fire Nation technology of destruction. Under huge pressure, the liquid released from the siphons was ignited upon its exit, resulting in long, elegant arcs of flaming death. As the flamethrowers quickly covered the ice bridges in fire, a cheer rose amongst the Fire Nation ranks, the first of the day. Within minutes the ice bridges collapsed in a mass of melting ice, flame that water could not quench, and hundreds upon hundreds of allied soldiers who fell to their deaths.

As the afternoon waned and the battle continued to rage, the temperature on the bridge of the Corona became unbearable. The crew had long since taken off their uniform jackets and worked the controls in their undergarments. The stench of burnt flesh reeked in the stale and stifling air.

Chieng whirled on a breathless messenger who appeared behind her.

"What!?" she demanded, her hoarse voice cracking.

"Commander! A message from the Comet and one from the Phoenix."

"Xian's first! What's his reply?"

"He confirms the plan, Commander, and," after a brief pause to catch his breath continued, "instructs that we begin the bombardment at the eleventh hour as you requested!"

Her expectation confirmed, she turned to survey the scarred terrain downslope once more. The observation port was dirty and covered in soot, but the Earth Kingdom lines on the opposing hillocks were plainly visible. Stern and sullen, the enemy had evidently been dissuaded from mounting another frontal assault. The landscape was littered with the remains of hundreds of Fire Nation tanks that had escaped the wave, but not the enemy. Flipped over, their bellies shattered by the impact of heavy stone, they resembled in the fading light the carcasses of some huge, extinct creature.

Pushing away guilt and shame once again she vowed silently, "Time, just give me a little more time…"

Her silent prayer offered, she turned again to the messenger.

"Phoenix?"

"Captain Hideo took two arrows through the lungs and died, Commander," the messenger reported somberly, "their Chief Boiler Operator is in command and reports that their starboard siphon line has split. Their fuel tank on that side emptied before they detected the breech. At this rate of fire they'll be dry in an hour."

She eyed Corona's own gauges briefly before replying, "Order the Solaria to drum out her reserve, get it over to Phoenix and fill their port tank. Send whatever's left to the Sunrise. Go!"

It would have to suffice. Solaria couldn't move anyway and there was no more fuel left to distribute. The messenger saluted smartly and disappeared through the spiral staircase that allowed access to the guts of the leviathan.

"Scope!"

At her command the sighting scope lowered itself silently from the roof down to eye level. She squinted through the eyepiece. The magnification and targeting hash marks allowed her to take the last measurements she needed. With just a few minutes left before darkness rendered the instrument useless, she carefully surveyed the enemy positions between Corona and the Round Tops.

"We have one chance to breakout," she thought feverishly, "… one chance…we're finished if we stay here…"


Iroh's friend and his makeshift platoon, now swollen by a few dozen survivors of other tanks, had taken cover in a shallow, but well forested ravine. After moving for hours and besting more than one enemy patrol the Fire Nation soldiers had sunk wearily to the muddy ground for a few minutes rest. They had at least successfully avoided the larger enemy formations and skirted around the many fortified positions which had continued to fire non-stop during their march.

Nikon observed his followers without emotion in the rapidly waning light. The tired, dirty soldiers he saw before him bore little resemblance to the bright eyed enthusiasts who had debarked months ago in the Gulf of Gela with little experience and boundless confidence. Instant success had swelled their pride and expectations of easy, glorious victory. This was understandable. Wasn't victory the only possible outcome? They were young, the world was wide, and they were the Fire Lord's finest.

Now, they looked hollow, vacant, and above all, defeated. They had seen the genius and power of the enemy with their own eyes and suffered in the comparison.

As they had trudged over the low lying hills they had seen the aftermath of the deluge play out before them. Within an hour the hills and vales above the wave crest were filled with the shattered remains of the Fire Nation tanks that survived the water, but had not kept up with the retreating tank trains. These unfortunates had been flipped over, their treads caked with mud that had slowed them down, and their bellies cracked wide open by the Earth Kingdom artillery that had been waiting patiently for them. Some crews had escaped their metal coffins before they were hit, some to join up with Nikon, others to disappear in the forested hills around them. The smashed bodies that hung grotesquely out of many however testified that most had died instantly.

Tien Shin's words had resounded like thunder at each metal corpse they passed.

"You gave him four whole days to probe for weaknesses in our new weaponry! That's what you've done!"

One wreck had been hit by a boulder so large that the stone had not shattered on impact. An arm and three legs stuck out from beneath the stone at terrifying angles.

"The shadow of death hangs over you for what you've done here," Chieng's voice rang in his head. She had proven prophetic.

Nikon passed judgment on himself in stony, impassive silence. The wave had done massive damage to be sure, but the enemy had used it to exploit a key weakness of the Fire Nation's newest weapon. A weakness they had undoubtedly learned at Cam'ron. The realization came to him swiftly and suddenly.

"I am a traitor."

He had the courage for suicide, that much he knew, but now was not the time for that luxury.

"No, not yet," he thought coldly, but if he managed to get his charges to safety he knew that neither Xian nor Iroh could deter him from making the final atonement. He had failed them, the Fire Lord, and the Fire Nation. Tien Shin had been right about him all along.

"On your feet everyone," he said quietly, "We have to keep moving."

"Where are we going, Commander? We don't really know where we are," Jin inquired without rancor.

"No," Nikon admitted, but pointing toward the long slope that began to their north he replied, "but the enemy has been pounding that ridge all day. If the any part of the army has survived, that's probably where they are."

Suddenly the pretty young gunner, startled by her own reply, said, "Then why are we going there!? I don't want to die!"

Jin grabbed her by the arm and hissed for her to lower her voice.

"No one does," Nikon answered, "we're going because our chances of getting out of here alive are much better if we do it together. How long do you think we will last out here on our own? We have no food, no equipment, nothing."

"Let's go," he said when no reply was forthcoming, "there is no other way."


Tien Shin regarded his commanding officer with undisguised contempt.

"You would surrender, General? Is this how you honor your father?"

They faced each other on the wooded crest of the Little Round Top. The General and his second in command had retreated to a small clearing behind the Comet and the ragged line of Fire Nation soldiers who watched and waited for the next enemy charge. The ground was littered with enemy arrows and dozens of impact craters. They were alone.

The wind blew hot and dry from the south as the sunlight faded. The daimyo's red cloak flapped wildly, held in place by the black bow strapped across his back.

"No, Tien Shin," Xian corrected in a broken voice that betrayed his expectation, "I will negotiate to buy time if this break out attempt fails."

The last part of the General's reply was partially drowned out by a nearby artillery impact that showered them both with dust and shards of stone. Both ignored the interruption, as well as the whistle of half a dozen arrows that planted themselves in the ground just a few feet away.

"You are weak, Xian," the daimyo continued boldly, "and if you do this you will have earned the death and dishonor that are the inevitable wages of such cowardice."

"There is nothing else to be done!" Xian cried, stung by the accusation and fearful that it was true.

"Attack with everything we've got - now!" the daimyo countered hotly, as if speaking to a child, "The cavalry must be sent into the downs immediately! The archers must cover them! Then the tank trains can spearhead the armor back out! Damn you, it's our only chance!"

"No!" Xian roared back, "You propose to sacrifice those men, leaving the cavalry and archers to die while we escape! And you speak to me of dishonor? The archers are your own men!"

"I speak of turning certain death for all into a chance for life for as many as we can hope to save," the prince replied coldly.

"You speak fluently of murder and with such ease!" Xian retorted, his eyes haunted pits of misery, "I am tired of murder! And tired of soulless murderers like you who have turned our country into a filthy sink of corruption and dishonor! Men like you who have turned our hearts against one another and made us pitiless as stone! We were supposed to bring peace, prosperity and civilization to the world! Look now at what we have become!"

Xian's words hung heavily in the air.

Tien Shin studied Xian for a moment before replying softly, "You speak treason, Prince Xian, and have lost your right to command."

Iroh's cousin stiffened, realizing his mistake, "You have your orders, Tien Shin! You are dismissed. Do as I have instructed and I will forget the insult you have just given."

Xian turned from his subordinate without another word.


Nifong pursed his lips tightly as he lowered his sight glass. Doomed as they were, the remaining Fire Nation forces had fortified the western hills with iron discipline. The Earth Kingdom's frontal attacks had been costly, but necessary to pin down the rump of the Fire Nation army now fighting for its life.

"They're dug in, General," his aide observed, "They cleaned out our positions on the hills behind them, so they have a tight front line. It'll take days to flank them. Or we could just lay siege and starve them out."

"Yes, the enemy is resourceful. I have a solution for that problem, though," he vowed without a trace of satisfaction. "Please transmit these instructions to Colonel Liu."

The green clad general handed a scroll, still fresh with ink and sand, to the Captain.

His aide scanned the document quickly, "Tonight, then?"

"Yes," Nifong replied grimly, "tonight."