Chap. 9

Things Go Horribly Wrong Part 2

"What do you Fire-Nation scum want here?" Kinjo snarled, staring at the trio of girls with burning hatred. "Get out, and let us perform our ceremony to Chirron!"

"Chirron….. hey I know that name!" Ty Lee said suddenly. But then her face contorted in confusion as she asked, "Wait, isn't that a vegetable? Why do you have a ceremony to a vegetable?"

"Oh Chirron isn't a vegetable." Azula said smugly, as the crowd collectively growled at the acrobat. "He's the Earth-God. You know, the weak, filthy, savage that these people worship. I imagine it's because he isn't that far removed from them."

"Do you have a point here?" Sokka asked. "Because I'm not really in the mood to bad-mouth a god right now."

"I suppose you're right." Azula said. With that, her voice grew hard as she said "My point is simple. You will surrender the Avatar to me now, or this village will be destroyed."

"Interesting proposal, but no." Aire said. "Last time I checked, there were sixteen of us, and only three of you."

But Azula only smiled, and pointed behind the crowd. Suddenly, there was a deep rumbling, as three more Fire Nation tanks rolled up from the back of the village. With a hiss of steam, they stopped as at least two platoons of Fire Nation troops exited and moved into formation.

"Oh. Never mind." Aire said weakly, as he looked back at Azula.

"Now, are you ready to give me what I want, or do you require further persuasion?" Azula asked.

But before any of the gang could respond, Kinjo's voice suddenly rang out, proud and strong. "I recognize you; the stories about you and the horrors you've inflicted have spread from refugees in Ba Sing Se. You are Azula, Princess of the Fire Nation. You've destroyed homes, lives, and land for your father's insane dream." Kinjo said, coming up to the front. Staring right at the Firebender, Kinjo said, "My people have lost enough to you and your soldiers. You will not take our last hope; you will not take the Avatar! And if I must die to stop you, then my life will have been given in sacrifice for the Earth Kingdom, and the world!"

As Kinjo finished his speech, a sound began to grow from behind him, a sound that grew with each second. The roar from the townspeople reached a fever pitch, as they moved to stand behind Kinjo and the Avatar Gang. These people had lost too many sons and daughters to the war, had spent too much time under the oppression of the renegade Earth Kingdom soldiers. They would not be oppressed again, and they would not let their last hope go without a fight. They stood united, many armed with only their fists, a few with wooden staffs and pitchforks, but all ready to battle. Even the Earth Sage stood ready to fight, as he moved into an Earthbending stance, the Ra-Ketah held firmly in his hand.

"I think you might want to rethink this whole plan, Princess." Iroh said with to his niece with relish.

But Azula was nothing if not conniving. "I see you people may actually have some courage in you." The Princess said, her mind working quickly. "But perhaps we can work out another deal. You obviously hate the Fire Nation, and all its superior children. So perhaps you would be interested hear that you actually have two of its sons in your midst."

At this, there was some gasping from the crowd, as the Avatar Gang and the Knights exchanged quick glances of fear. If Azula blew their cover now, there was no telling what could happen. And without the townspeople united behind them, the battle would be significantly against them. Frantically, they each tried to think of some way to stall Azula. But before any of them could stop her, she pointed to Zuko and Iroh and said, "You may have heard that Prince Zuko and General Iroh betrayed the Fire Nation. Give them to me now, and I will leave. I can capture the Avatar anytime. But the Fire Lord would love to destroy his worthless, traitorous family today."

Iroh and Zuko's eyes widened, as they waited for the townspeople to begin to turn on them. But instead, Jin stepped forward and said, "I thought that royalty was supposed to be well-educated." She said with a laugh as she gestured towards 'Li' and 'Mushi.' "These two are the kindest, most honorable people I have ever met. That alone makes it impossible for them to be related to you. Besides, do you really think that a couple of Firebenders could make their way into Ba Sing Se? If you aren't even smart enough to know that, maybe the other rumors about you are true. Which reminds me, do you really pad your armor…?" Jin paused, then suddenly pointed to her chest. Aang looked on in confusion, but the Knights, Iroh, Zuko, and the crowd began to chuckle, as Azula's face went red, which of course proved them right.

"You missed your brother a while back." Lee's father said, as he moved up. "He came through this town at least a month ago, and we sent him on his way. Sorry to disappoint you, I'm sure you wanted him around to prove to yourself that you're not a man. Not that the armor and need to mindlessly kill things aren't feminine. "

Azula's eyes blazed then, as she snarled like a wild animal. "Oh good, things can start getting interesting." Mai said, as the Fire Princess screamed out, "ATTACK!! LEAVE NO ONE ALIVE!!"

At that, the Fire Nation troops leapt forward and launched a wave of fire at the crowd. But before it could reach them, a huge wall of earth suddenly rose up. As the fire splattered harmlessly against it, Toph and Tierra suddenly shot it out towards the troops, knocking them back onto the ground and flipping the tanks over. But the soldiers were crafty, and leapt over the tanks, blasting fire as they did so. But their flames were met by a mix of water and sand, extinguishing them. As they landed, their enemies charged. As the Firebenders were attacked, Kinjo pulled his family into a nearby hut.

"Stay here." He said, as he moved back towards the door.

"Daddy, no. I want to help." Jin insisted.

"Me too. You said I should defend myself." Hita argued.

"These are not some kids who picked on you. These are Firebenders!" Kinjo said. "They will kill you without a second thought. They are merciless, savage animals!"

"So we need all the help we can get." A voice said from behind them. Kinjo turned and saw Hierro and Zuko standing there.

"Your son's an Earthbender Kinjo. We could use another one of those." The spider said.

"Absolutely not! He's a child! He's…."

"Barely younger then the Avatar. And he wants to help. And believe me, we Knights will protect him with our lives."

"So will I." Zuko added.

Kinjo began to protest, but before he could, Hita ran up to them and asked, "So what do you need me to do?"

"You get back here…" Kinjo began, but then Aia spoke

"Kinjo, he's going to go whether we tell to or not. He's been trained well; you should be proud to fight with your son."

Kinjo wrestled with that for a moment, and then said, "Fine. But stay close to me or Li."

Hita nodded, just as his sister got up. "I'm coming too." She said

This time, both Kinjo and Zuko said, "NO!" But Jin just said, "What, you'll take a kid, but not me? I went to the Academy Dad, they taught us how to fight."

"That was rudimentary training." Kinjo replied.

"Jin, these are Fire Nation soldiers. They'll destroy you in an instant. Stay here, where it's safe." Zuko insisted

"No. The Fire Nation already forced us from here. Don't make me stand by while they destroy it."

"Actually, I think I can help." Hierro said. "Did they give you any weapons training at this Academy?"

"Staff-fighting."

"Good. I was going to do this for Li, but I think you'll need one too."

With that, the spider placed four of his hands together, palms open. Closing his eyes, he began to concentrate. Slowly, he pulled apart his hand, revealing two long shards of metal stuck between them. As he pulled apart his hands more and more, the meal between them began to grow and take shape. Finally, the spider finished, and held in his hands a long metal staff, and an elegant broadsword. Handing out to Zuko and Jin, he said, "Use them well." Both of them nodded, and with that, the spider turned and headed out the door, drawing his mace. Kinjo and Hita followed a moment later. Jin started to leave, but then felt Zuko's hand on her shoulder. Turning to face him, she said, "Be careful Li."

"You too." Zuko replied softly, and with that, they exited together.

"Aang duck!" Agua yelled, as two daggers whistled by the young Avatar's head. Aang quickly did so, and sent an air blast at Mai. But the girl was just as agile, and dodged it.

"Don't you try anything new?" Mai asked in a bored tone.

"How's this?" a voice asked suddenly. Before Mai could turn to face it, two chains suddenly shot and wrapped around her wrists. There was an abrupt tug and Mai was suddenly pulled back hard. She soared for a few feet, and then slammed right into a large pillar of very hard earth. She fell to the ground half-unconscious.

Aang turned to see Hierro pull back his chains, and Hita retract his pillar. "Nice job." The Avatar said with a smile. The two of them nodded, but then their eyes widened. Thinking quickly, Aang rolled to the side, just as Azula's fiery blast shot past.

"Nice try." Aang said as he leapt back to his feet. But Azula gave no response, only a second fire-burst. Again, Aang dodged it, but when Azula tried to charge him, she was met by two broadswords.

"I see you still remember your training, brother." Azula said, as she pulled back and faced Zuko and Jin. "And who's this? Your girlfriend? Doesn't she know you spent your life training to kill her people?"

"Leave now, and I won't hurt you." Zuko said bluntly.

"Like you could." Azula taunted, as she reared back and blasted fire at them. But Zuko deflected the attack with his broadswords, as he and Jin pressed on. The young girl fought quite well, as her staff flew this way and that, trying each second to find a target. But Azula was just too quick, and with her fireblasts, much more dangerous. Aang and the Knights tried to help, but the soldiers suddenly became a very big problem. However Zuko's broadswords were proving to be a perfect equalizer to his sister's fire.

Unfortunately, she realized this and was prepared to deal with it. "Why don't you use your firebending, brother? Or have you really sunk to the level of these savages? You were never worthy to be Prince." But Zuko gave no response, other then continuing to attack.

"I just can't believe you went for a helpless peasant." Azula continued, as she effortlessly dodged the attacks. "You actually want to protect this weak little farmer-girl? She isn't even a bender. But I suppose I'll still enjoy burning her face off after I defeat you, again."

That did it. With his eyes blazing, Zuko stabbed hard at his sister, trying to finally put an end to her. But Azula sidestepped the attack and with a sudden burst of firebending, slammed Zuko into a nearby wall, knocking him out. Before Jin could react, Azula had twisted around and wrapped her arm around the girl's neck, positioning her flaming fist very close to her face.

"Now, perhaps you'd be more willing to listen now." Azula said, as Aang and the toerhs finished with the soldiers and turned their attention back to Azula. Hita's face contorted as he looked at his sister, as Aang and the others held their stance.

"Let her go, Azula." Aang said, not taking his eyes off the Princess.

"Or what? You'll blow me away? You try anything and I'll fry her before you can hit me. Or do you really want to risk her life to stop me?" Azula said, as she moved her fist an inch closer to Jin's face. Aang and the others didn't drop their stances, but they didn't attack either.

"Come on now, this isn't that hard." Azula said. "All you have to do is come with me, Avatar. Then this little peasant goes free, and you get to take a trip to the Fire Nation."

"Aang no! You can't sacrifice yourself for me!" Jin said, as she struggled to break Azula's grip.

"Oh he will. He cares too much." Azula said, as she jerked Jin like she would a dog. "But maybe this will teach you to respect your betters."

"Aang, whatever you plan to do, you'd better do it soon." Agua whispered. "We don't have Fuego to shut her off."

"I know." The young Airbender said. He looked out at Jin, remembering how kind and brave she had been in defending them. He remembered how Zuko had looked at her when they were on Appa, and how much the former prince had done for her. He thought about how much Zuko had begun to change since meeting Jin. With that, he made his decision. Moving out of his stance, Aang said………

But it doesn't matter what he said. Because at that moment, Zuko groggily opened his eyes and saw his sister holding Jin. At that moment, Jin noticed him awakening as well, and realized it was time to make her move. With a cry of rage, Jin drove her elbow into Azula's stomach. The Princess gasped in surprise and pain, releasing her grip on Jin. As the girl quickly ran out of the way, Azula felt a hand grab her collar and drag her up. Suddenly, she was face to face with the scarred visage of her brother. But while Azula had always laughed at her brother's disfigurement before, there was nothing to laugh at now. Zuko's face was twisted with a rage so strong, so mindless, so full of hate, that for the first time in her life, Azula was scared stiff.

And that was her mistake. With a mindless roar, Zuko flipped his sword handle down and delivered a vicious uppercut to his sister's face. Grabbing her chin, Azula staggered backwards, as the coppery taste of blood began to fill her mouth. But she had no time to react, as Zuko began to swing his broadswords around in a circle, a circle that began to glow brighter and brighter with each revolution. Finally, Zuko released the energy inside him, and the wave of fire shot forth from his swords, slammed into Azula, and blasted her into a nearby building.

As he watched his sister careen off, Zuko lowered his swords, the steam still rising from them. Slowly, he began to regain control of himself, regaining his calm. But as he grew more and more calm, Zuko began to realize what he had just done. But it was not the sight of the wreckage from Azula's crash that made him realize this. It was not the looks of concern and worry from the others. It was the sharp intake of breath, the staring eyes from Jin that made him see. Zuko's mind was a mess of confusion, as he turned to her and tried to think what he could say to explain this. He reached out to her, tried to bring her close, to make her see. But she pulled away from him, her eyes filled with fear and confusion. As Zuko's own eyes began to fill with pain, he started to speak, to try to make her understand, but before he could even speak, the voices began to call out.

"It's Zuko! That girl was telling the truth!"
"But how? He didn't look like that when they came here."

"It's some Firebender trick!"

"Get the old man too! They'll hand us over if we don't!"

The townspeople began to crowd around then, trying to trap the enemies in their panic. As the panic filled them, the townspeople began to fight with tooth and nail, wanting to preserve what little life they had left here.

A Fire Nation soldier felt his helmet torn off, as sharp fingernails raked a bloody map in his face. Another watched as a pitchfork suddenly shot through the chest of his comrade. Iroh watched this with grim horror, then was forced to deal with the townsfolk surrounding him. Aang, Agua, and Hierro were suddenly forced to protect Zuko.

But through it all, there was one person who remained calm as she watched the panicking scene. Mai shook of the last of the attack and looked upon the madness with a detached look. Then she saw something that caught her attention. The Earth Sage had turned his attention towards Ty Lee, and the old man was good. He apparently knew enough about Ty Lee's skill to keep her at a distance, sending up a maze of rocks and boulders to throw off her leaps. But to Mai, he presented a target that she could easily hit. Reaching into her sleeve, Mai pulled out a long dagger, her personal favorite, and began to line it up with the Sage's heart. Within seconds, Mai was ready to aim. But as she pulled her arm back, Mai neglected to notice the young boy standing near her. She neglected to notice as Hita swiftly brought up a rock and sent it flying into her arm, just as she hurled the dagger. Mai cried out in pain, as the rock slammed into her arm. But she grimaced even more, as she saw her dagger fly out in the wrong path and miss the Sage.

But it did hit something. The Earth Sage suddenly stopped and looked down as the sound of metal penetrating metal could be hard. Looking down, the Sage's face went into a mask of terror as he saw Mai's dagger sticking out of the Ra-ketah. Horror-stricken, he dropped it on the ground and began to back away, as it began to shake and shudder. Slowly, everyone stopped fighting and looked at the Ra-ketah, as it twisted and changed, it's golden covering peeling away as it lost its ball-shape. Even Azula, as she pulled herself out of the wreckage of the house, stared in a rapt fascination.

But that ended a split second later, as the orb suddenly exploded in a burst of energy that shot up to the heavens. The sky turned black, as dark clouds began to fill the air. The winds began to blow, harder and harder, as everyone watched.

"What the hell is going on?" Kinjo yelled, over the roaring winds.

"I don't know, but I don't think we should try to find out!" Iroh yelled back. "Everyone needs to get out of here!"

"He's right!" Oscuridad yelled. "Everybody, leave the village! Get as far from here as you can!"

"We'll try to stop this!" Aang cried out as well.

Hearing those words of reassurance from the Avatar and the leader of the Knights, the townspeople, who were already quite racked with fear, began to run. Kinjo and his family stayed, making sure that everyone got out safely. The Firebenders made no move to stop them, but let them pass, as they stared at the skies in wonder.

"This is certainly interesting." Mai said, as she looked at the skies.

"I don't like this." Ty Lee said, as she actually began to whimper. "It's aura…. It's all wrong."

"I'm sure that's something to be worried about." Tierra said. "But I'm more concerned about what the hell it is."

But the dog got his answer a second later, when suddenly the energy pulsed and twisted, then there was an explosion of light. Everyone was forced to shield their eyes, but when it faded, the beam of energy was gone. In its place, was a….. hole. It literally looked like an empty blackness in the air that hung there as if waiting for something. Suddenly, the winds began to pick up again, blowing harder then anyone could stand, harder then Aang or Aire could control.

"Everybody grab hold of something!" Fuego yelled, as he felt the winds begin to pull him towards the hole. Almost instantly, Toph and Tierra brought up the earth around everyone's feet, even the Firebenders, locking them in place. As they stood there, attached to the ground, Fuego yelled, "Is this thing what I think it is?"

"Oh, you bet it is!" Oscuridad yelled back.

"Gee, do you think you could inform the rest of us?" Toph screamed.

"It's a portal! I don't know how, but that thing was something holding a dimensional portal!"

"A what?" Zuko asked.

"A hole in the fabric that separates the worlds." The bat explained. "If we get sucked in, we could be sent to any world, with no way to get home."

"Well, then how do we shut it off?" Sokka yelled.

"I have no idea!" the bat yelled back, as the portal raged above them.