Gabriel and the Myrmidons were spread out in the hallways and camping in the many big rooms in the city. The battalion of Myrmidons numbered nearly a thousand, and they were spread thin. Most of the defense was outside the city. They were the best troops, being held in the back in case the enemy poured into the city.

His squad had a room where food and weapons were piled. It was now the beginning of August and it had been a week since Colonel Kuruk gathered the force and prepared them for a defense. Some reinforcements had come in, though most of the Earth Kingdom's forces had to be scattered around the moon.

It was morning when he took his position, guarding the same hall for hours on end, only getting breaks for meals or to use the bathroom. He had been practicing the angles that he had to hold. It was monotonous, though it was necessary, and every day, he had to do the same thing. He found it boring, but at least his life wasn't in danger, and he didn't feel the need to panic.

The civilians were waking around the halls, though they were carrying big bags. When Gabriel was eating breakfast, Sokka and Suki approached him and his squad.

"Private Hoodman, I had a lot of fun times with you. I never expected to befriend a soldier, especially a Myrmidon," said Sokka. "The civilians will need to evacuate when given the order. The Fire Nation is at our doorstep. It's only a matter of time before the attack begins."

"We're the last line of defense," said Gabriel. "If we have to fight, that means the enemy broke through. I hope you'll be able to leave safely."

When breakfast was over, the intercom came on, and everyone was silenced and looked up. "All civilians and Marine escorts must now head to the spaceport with all their belongings."

"I guess this is goodbye," said Sokka.

The civilians all stood up. The only noise was from their movements. No words were said.

Gabriel opened his arms to hug Sokka, and Siu did the same. They also hugged Suki.

"I'm sure both of you will ace Marine bootcamp," said Gabriel.

Sokka and Suki went their separate ways to grab their belongings. The Myrmidon squad geared up and went back to their post.

Something was different this time for Gabriel. He was feeling a bit nervous as scouts told the defenders that the invasion had begun. He would hopefully not have to fight, but even if the enemy broke in, the Earth Kingdom's best soldiers were in the middle defending it. The goal was just to hold the city and take as many enemies as possible down. Hopefully, it would force the enemy to give up.

Gabriel was constantly checking his exits. He would need places to go in case his position got overrun. His main focus was to remain in a fixed position and maintain good angles, though he might spend some parts of the battle running around the halls. He was quite familiar with the nearby area, but he could still get lost if he wandered too far from his defensive position. He was tasked with defending the main offices and labs that were in the middle of the city. If he found himself running into the tunnels, he would turn back.

The city was eerily empty. Normally, people would be out in the hallways, and the afternoons and evenings were the busiest, with most people flocking to the arcades, sports facilities, and other entertainment centers. Now they were holding defensive positions, with metal boxes for cover. They had multiple weapons ready to use. Some parts of the hallway were narrower because boxes were placed on the sides.

The group was sitting on the floor in a circle. Kipmi was standing.

"We may be down to four people," said Kipmi, "but don't let that discourage you. We've lived long enough to fight another day, and that day is today. Hold your angles and take down as many of the enemies as we can."

Everyone went to their positions. Gabriel counted a few times before moving to another position, making sure he held his angles. He must've been pointing his gun in a certain angle thousands of times by now. By this point, he could position himself without even thinking about it.

Gabriel kept his eyes wide to stay alert. He didn't want to be too relaxed as the enemy could come in at any second. He was sweating slightly, and as the day wore on, he started feeling the burden of his gear on his shoulders. The cooling system in his clothes had helped him regulate his temperature, feeling a slight breeze on his skin whenever it got too hot. He would also feel warm air blow whenever it got too cold. Everyone was wearing a spacesuit in case the oxygen filters failed.

His rifle would also get heavy whenever he kept it raised for hours. He had been ordered to stay put and wait for the enemy to push forward, just focusing on holding the line and taking down enemies. The current goal was to let the enemies exhaust themselves.

Out in the dark and barren plains of Polus, countless Fire Nation soldiers and vehicles rolled through the dust. They stopped at least a hundred meters away from the Earth Kingdom's defenses.

Thousands of Earth Kingdom soldiers kept their weapons raised while waiting for their enemy to push. Minutes later, they could see small objects flying through the sky. There were planes and helicopters fast approaching. Soon, the rest of the vehicles pushed, with infantry walking behind.

The city's air raid siren was sounded, and a long, deafening noise filled the atmosphere and alerted the defenders inside.

The aircraft arrived and began to drop bombs on the defenders while soaring above the city. The soldiers were forced to scatter as vehicles were being destroyed. The helicopters weren't far behind, firing rockets and spraying the infantry with minigun bullets.

Within minutes, the initial bombing run had ended, doing considerable damage to the defenders, though the city itself was unharmed, with some tanks and guns still in their original positions.

The Earth Kingdom responded by firing guided missiles at the aircraft, managing to shoot down a handful of planes and helicopters. Some of the buildings in the city were getting damaged because the vehicles were crashing into them. The helicopters flew much lower, and some were shot down by smaller anti-aircraft weapons.

The ground forces began their advance, and soon the enemy vehicles were being fired upon by turrets from multiple angles. Sometimes, soldiers would peek and fire at the infantry, who responded with machine gun fire.

The Fire Nation was moving closer to the first line of Earth Kingdom defenses. The defenders braced for the impact that this wave of attackers was going to hit them with. Soon, different vehicles began to spray each other with machine gun fire. Near one entrance of the city, the defenders were doing their best to blunt the assault of the Fire Nation. Although the Fire Nation was slowly pushing, they would lose a few soldiers each time, and as they got within range, bodies began to pile on both sides. Although the Earth Kingdom also lost some soldiers, they were doing so at a slower rate, as they were firing from a fortified position and had better cover.

As the battle advanced, weapons shook the ground, kicking up dust in their wake, and the sky was colored with a purple haze, reducing visibility for both sides if they didn't have advanced targeting systems. Artillery continued to pound those on the ground, yet the Fire Nation was only concerned with striking their enemies instead of destroying the city as well.

A smaller airstrike had been quickly routed by the Earth Kingdom's helicopters and flak cannons. The helicopters briefly fired upon the enemy infantry with miniguns and rocket launchers before being forced to retreat when the Fire Nation soldiers fired their own rockets.

Although the lighting in the sky barely changed, many hours had passed, and the Fire Nation stopped sending any new waves of soldiers. Smoke was rising from the area right outside the city. The Earth Kingdom soldiers collected their dead and some began to rest, while others reassembled the defensive line and continued to keep watch. The first day of fighting had not pushed the defenders back, though it blunted their lines. The Fire Nation had lost at least a few hundred soldiers that day, as well as a handful of aircraft and tanks. Other vehicles were forced to retreat once they were damaged.

The defensive line had been fractured in multiple areas, yet the soldiers adapted and slowed down to rebuild. Destroyed Fire Nation vehicles littered the field in front. Tanks had smoke coming out of them and the metal plating was shattered and dented in multiple places. The bodies of crew members littered the ground near each vehicle.

The squad had been ordered to eat dinner and get ready for bed. It felt like an eternity until Gabriel had been called to rally with the rest of the squad. Most of his training and even his duty had been boring, though all the boring drills had saved his life multiple times, and he was glad that he had committed to it, taking everything one day at a time. It was only the more interesting lessons that had strained his body.

It was the end of the second day of the battle, and the squad was emotionless as they ate their dinner. Gabriel thought that everyone seemed so grey, like they were just thinking of the same thing and waiting for the battle to come to them. It's like the life and color was drained from them.

"The defenses are holding, though many parts are fractured," said Kipmi. "Colonel Kuruk reports that the soldiers are adapting and changing the layout. In front of them, a handful of enemy tanks are destroyed."

"What about the airstrikes?" Gabriel asked.

"They've been devastating to the defenders, but there's minimal damage to the colony itself. The senior officers are a bit confused, though they also think that the Fire Nation is being careful and not risking killing civilians."

Gabriel thought he didn't need to worry about the roof collapsing on him, though he wasn't too sure. There could be a missile launch coming next. He was sure that the Fire Nation would throw bigger weapons at them. Sometimes, his boredom would replace his fear. He didn't know what he wanted to feel. He concluded that he would rather feel bored than anxious. He always went to bed dreading the next day.

For the next few days, he and the rest of the squad continued to guard their post. Their area was about the same size as a professional American football field, though with all the twists and turns, it felt a lot bigger. The hallways were much smaller than a typical city street. The widest tunnels were the ones with the monorails that functioned as an elevator but going sideways.

Gabriel was quite tired, and he went onto his makeshift bed, which was just a thin mattress with a single pillow and blanket. Everyone was a bit scattered, though they slept in the same area, and they could all see each other. They kept their gear in a storage space nearby, weapons still loaded, doing their best to store their weapons safely so that they won't accidentally fire them and deal with any lethal consequences.

The next day hadn't been more eventful for Gabriel. He ate breakfast and immediately went to his post. It had mostly been quiet except for the air raid alarm that rang.

Many hours had passed when he caught a glimpse of soldiers coming around the corner of one of the tunnels. In a few seconds, he had assumed the worst and that some Fire Nation troops had broken through the defenses. Once he recognized that the uniforms belonged to the enemy, he opened fire, blinking a few times to gain more focus.

Two soldiers dropped dead in the far end of the corner. Now he was doing something, and he tried not to panic as he fought for his life. He was watching that corner, and he occasionally looked around at his possible escape routes. He was feeling a bit chilly as he engaged with the enemy. He was a bit scared that the enemy would sneak up on him from other sides. He could always run closer to the middle, where there was a smaller chance that the enemy had already occupied it. He would be backing himself into a corner, though. They had many escape plans, though, and it was a bit unlikely that the enemy had arrived from all sides. If they had reached his position, Gabriel thought that they had eliminated multiple squads of Marines and some Myrmidons.

He pulled the trigger every time he caught a quick glimpse of the enemy. Bodies piled at the far end of the hallway. Every few minutes, he saw a body being dragged backwards.

The sudden ring of Gabriel's communicator didn't break his concentration. "Is anyone fighting?" Kipmi's voice came in.

"Yes," said Gabriel. The others agreed.

"Looks like we all have our hands full now," said Kipmi. Retreat closer to the center if you're overwhelmed. Our last resort will be to find a hallway where we can break out."

Gabriel was firing again, and sometimes, his shots weren't hitting, as the enemy was adapting and getting better at peeking. He also had to twist as the bullets were hitting closer to his position, making metallic noises whenever they collided with the wall. He spent a few seconds peeking before hiding again. This time, he waited a few seconds to let the enemy get closer.

In less than a second, he had turned around and killed the first enemy before moving to the next few that were nearby. Four bodies dropped as they came around the corner. He was firing at least two bullets into each enemy. Occasionally, he would hit a place that was unarmored, like a limb or the neck. He would rarely aim for the neck as it was a smaller target. He also wouldn't aim for the head because the enemies were heavily protected by their helmets.

Gabriel hadn't had to walk backwards, even though he would be under heavy fire every time he turned the corner. With just a short glimpse, he aimed in a way that only exposed his weapon and part of his arms. With a horizontal spray, he killed another two enemies that were walking beside each other. He could briefly see that there were more enemies walking through the hallway, stepping over the bodies of fallen soldiers. He was aiming less carefully now. Rather than targeting one enemy and shooting two bullets into their chest, Gabriel had sprayed bullets horizontally, emptying a magazine in seconds. The soldiers had been a bit cramped in the hallway and a handful were felled by the bullets.

Gabriel then turned around the corner again, his back pressed to the wall. He then threw a grenade sideways without looking down the hallway, only exposing his arm. He waited for the grenade to explode before firing again. Some enemies who backed away were walking forward again, only to be gunned down. Over a dozen bodies had piled up. He didn't know how much time had passed, but he had already gunned down multiple soldiers and used up three assault rifle magazines. Sweat was trickling down his forehead and other parts of his body. The enemies were still pushing slowly, and Gabriel thought they were being careful. After all, he was firing so fast that the second the enemy peeked, they dropped dead, while Gabriel barely exposed himself. He had managed to hold of at least a dozen attackers.

The enemy's bullets whizzed past him and hit the wall behind him. He saw a quick glimpse of muzzle flashes before stepping to the side and hiding behind cover. He only needed to make a quick twist and he was back to peeking at the enemy from a good angle.

While hiding, he was looking back at his other escape routes. The area behind him was bright and empty, though he also feared that the enemy would flank him. He was waiting on Kipmi's orders, though he could also strategize on his own. He was currently focused on taking down as many enemies as he could, though he also had to worry about his own survival. He was trying to find an opportunity to retreat. Maybe he would deplete more of his ammo first.

The enemy was pushing closer and soon, they were going to be right in front of him. Gabriel shot carefully and wanted to be precise. He was careful as he hit each enemy with two bullets to the chest each. As the enemies dropped, the soldiers behind them began firing, and Gabriel took cover again. There seemed to be an endless horde walking down the hall.

Gabriel eventually depleted another rifle magazine. He reloaded the next one, which was his last, threw a grenade, and ran, turning to the left when he found an opening. He then found a spacious room to stay in, pushing the doors shut and barricading them. The room had three other entrances. It used to be a lab, though now everything was stored away safely. Gabriel went to one of the counters for cover. He sat down and dialed the rest of his squad.

"I retreated to one of the labs and I shut myself in," said Gabriel. "It's only a matter of time before they come in here."

"We're also being pushed to the center of the base, where all the important skyscrapers and offices are," said Kipmi. "Let's regroup at our base and grab everything."

"On my way," said Gabriel.

Gabriel ran through a door, not the one he used to enter. He kept his rifle slightly raised, though he was fully sprinting, reaching the base in a matter of seconds. The others had already arrived.

"We've spent almost an entire day fighting," said Kipmi. "I'm glad to see that you're all still here. Those Fire Nation soldiers just keep coming. I'm sure we took out a few dozen today, but I think they'll eventually back us into a corner. They might be separating our units to pick us off one by one."

The squad began to pack their equipment. They then walked down a hallway while waiting for the enemy. They had chosen a hallway that would enable them to access the outer parts of the city.