Ping: Hi there! For some reason, Typewriterman was worried that because of his absence, people would start to think that he died, or something...

Chin: Well no worries everyone! Typewriterman isn't dead...HE'S STONE COLD CRAZY!!!

Ping: Yeah, considering that, "hey! we're here!"

Chin: Even though he's crazy, the poor guy doesn't own a lick of Avatar

Ping: Even us?

Chin: Wait...I think we messed up our lines...crap...

Firebenders…who needs them? They are no stronger than the peasants of the Earth Kingdom, or those barbarians of the Water Tribes. No…what truly sets us apart…what sets the Fire Nation apart from those blasted neanderthals…is technology. The Water Tribe fools pride themselves in their ice sculpting. The Earth Kingdom is happy playing in their sandboxes. The Fire Nation on the other hand…we revel in the use of our steel and metal, of our gears and boilers.

Sure, we have our metal because of our control over fire. That's just the point…they only control fire. Fire still exists whether Firebenders do or do not. The Earth and Water peoples have swords and metal weapons too, with use of fire. So why must I subjugate myself to a mere bender…when I have the power technology on my side? Yes…without technology, the Fire Nation army would never have been as successful as it is now. They wouldn't have their tanks, or artillery, or siege machines, or sailing ships. One day I will take the throne from that fool Ozai, and he will burn…just as I have…

The world is in terror. For the last one hundred years, the three remaining nations of Water, Earth and Fire have fought a total war. Armies have been amassed and battles have taken place between soldiers, civilians and animals alike. One side fights for supremacy, while the other fights for survival. The world has known only the dread and horror that the Fire Nation army has wrought upon them. Within the island nation of fire however, the army is celebrated as heroes; charged with bringing civilization to the other nations and protecting their cultural sovereignty from the rest of the uneducated world.

Sadly, not all the citizens had the privilege and gift of firebending. This had never stopped young Shirong from wanting to defend his country. Born from nobility, Shirong lived a luxurious life. His father was a prominent and famous engineer in the Fire Nation army. Also a powerful firebender, Shirong's father was well appreciated by the late Fire Lord Azulon. Sadly, he lost his life in an accident and all of the political pressures fell upon Shiron's mother. A strong and independent woman, Shiron was devastated at the age of sixteen when she collapsed from stress, heartbreak, and old age. Losing both parents and being under the proper age of eighteen, Shiron lost his promised inheritance to be embezzled in the war effort by personal order of Fire Lord Ozai. With nowhere to go and nothing in his name, Shiron decided to drop out from the Royal Army Engineer School to enlist for battle.

Now at the age of thirty, Shiron has endured twelve years of ridicule, of hardship, and of feelings for vengeance. It was not uncommon for nonbenders to enlist as engineers, but it was beneath a noble to be one. Although not technically a noble, many officers feel that Shiron has sullied his father's name by doing so, as well as the fact that he was the only nonbender born from a long line of powerful firebending nobles. It was safe to say that Shiron was the laughingstock of the Fire Nation second only to the exiled Prince Zuko. Shiron however, proved himself to be an engineering prodigy. War Minister Ching saw the Shiron's potential as a young man, and drafted him as the lead engineer of the army.

It didn't take long for Ching to replace Shiron, who had been feeling political pressure from the generals and noblemen who despised Shiron's high position. In fact, Ching was more than happy to replace the broken man by an even greater engineer and inventor; The Mechanist. Feeling the burn of his pride, Shiron had no other choice but to seek revenge. Revenge against the Ozai, revenge against the War Minister, and revenge against his Earth Kingdom rival. Fortuitously, Ching's recent betrayal inspired the young inventor to his greatest idea. He would design a weapon that the world has never seen. It would bore through its target until it completely collapses, leaving nothing in its path. There would be nothing to stop it because the attack is internal.

With the design completed, Shiron would present it to the Fire Lord himself; bypassing the chain of command and especially the War Minister; he would no less take all the credit for himself. Shiron made his appointment with the Fire Lord, and the next day he found his laboratory destroyed. All of his research was ransacked, all of his experiments ruined. Everything that was flammable burned…

Damn you Ozai…damn you and the whole Fire Nation. First you take away my title, and now you attempt to take away all that's left of my father's memory! Well no more…I will take the fight to you for once…

There was no other put down that was more demeaning than when he was ridiculed for not being a firebender. In response, Shiron had in fact invented fire gauntlets; technology that allowed nonbenders to control fire. Although he had never been able to firebend himself, he had trained as one his entire life. That night, he approached the palace doors and easily dispatched the guards. Upon entering the throne room, Shiron found his opponent sitting behind a wall of fire.

Ozai! Step down from your throne and fight me like a man! You've taken everything from me but my life…and I intend to keep it!

Knowing full well of what he was doing, he charged at the Fire Lord with all of his might. He knew he it was pointless, that he would die. But should there be an off chance that he succeeded, he would stand execution with a smile, for his true goal was to sever Ching's one gain to fame; himself. Without his engineering prowess, the Army would be left in the hands of Neanderthals who invented according to what the Generals wanted; not what they needed.

Within a week, Shiron's suicidal attempt at treason was known throughout the Fire Nation, although Ching believed that he was immune from the prodigy's sting…

"War Minister, urgent news from the front!" A messenger had run into Ching's office panting. The bureaucrat took the paper quickly and read the grim news. The Mechanist had revolted against the Fire Nation, and now Ching realized he had now lost two engineers. His eyes were now wide open to what Shiron had done, and now he was afraid of what Fire Lord Ozai would do. Terrified, Ching searched through the late Shiron's confiscated papers. Loudspeakers, Tank modifications, improved smelting techniques, stronger boilers, larger braces…

…A drill…

Chin: OOOhhh suspenseful!

Ping: What? Anyway's, thanks for reading this short 'what if' fic, and stay tuned because us two will be showing up in our own very soon!

Chin: That, and we've been going around reviewing people's fics.

Ping: By the way, Brittany's Story Sucks!!

Chin: Yeah, seriously, we've...I mean Ping's done the math: for about every five to six reviews-whether they're constructive or flames- brittanyloveszuko will publish a new chapter.

Ping: What we're trying to say is people, is that flaming her is only feeding the madness. Just stop paying it attention and it'll eventually go away. Seriously...STOP...PAYING...ATTENTION TO IT!!!!

Chin: From the Simpson's Halloween special, "Just don't look!"

Ping:...What's 'the Simpson's'? And 'Halloween' for that matter?

Chin: Oh, just a quote that transcends all time and space to try to reinforce a moral value that would potentially succeed more than an in-universe equal.

Ping:...