Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender; I only own my characters.
Chapter 12: One Last Fight
The boat ride to the main land was pretty uneventful if not nerve racking. The travelers had disguised themselves as Fire Nation travelers, but everyone was still paranoid. Every person that happened to look their way was automatically suspicious and every friendly conversation seemed to be a trick to make them reveal their mission.
Eventually the ride was over and Mai, Ty Lee, and the Tempest Troup made their way to the palace's prison. They made their way through the streets as casually as possible. Just as the sun began to set the group made their way off the civilized streets and cut their way through the forest at the edge of town.
When they got close enough to the prison Ashi was sent ahead again, to see if the coast was clear.
"There are three guys with bows and arrows guarding the entrance," Ashi announced after he came back.
"Let me see," Kori shouldered her own bow and followed Ashi up the tree. The two warriors crept silently and carefully towards the top. Peeking through the tree leaves, Kori saw the three men that Ashi had mentioned. The men were dressed in browns and grays, so they could easily blend into the forest around them. The traditional red of the Fire Nation was painted around their eyes to give them a more savage look.
Kori and Ashi climbed down the tree and addressed the rest of their party waiting below.
"It's the Yu Yan Archers," Kori informed the rest of her group. "They are the most skilled archers in the Fire Nation and like Ashi said there are three." They party looked at each other. They all knew of the Yu Yan Archers and what they could do. Getting past them would be far from easy. "Their leader is with them. He's the one closest to the entrance."
"They must have tightened security recently," Mai said in her normal monotone voice.
"They probably tightened it after the recent prison breaks," Mimi added. "Ashi, did you make any more of those sleep bombs?"
"No, but I do have some smoke ones. That way they won't be able to see us as well," Ashi answered.
"Yeah, but then they'll know that we're here," Ty Lee piped in.
"Isn't that what we want?" Kori asked. "Don't we want to draw as many soldiers here as possible so the others have a clear line to the Fire Lord?"
"Yeah, but we don't want to be dead before we even enter the prison." Nasu commented.
"The Yu Yan are good, but I doubt they will be able to see through the smoke. Even if they do fire at you they will be shooting blindly," Kori said. "If it makes you feel any better I'll draw their fire. Before you start to head in, I'll fire at the guards so they'll be more focused on me then you. I'll see if I can immobilize them while I'm at it."
"That sounds good," Mimi said, "but Kori, make sure you let one go so he can send the alarm." Kori nodded and began to ascend the tree with Ashi once more. Ashi pulled a smoke bomb out of his pocket while Kori prepared her bow. With a signal from Mimi Ashi threw the bomb into the center of the path to the entrance. Kori waited a second for the archers to respond to the smoke and then began to fire. She took carful aim and went after the leader first.
She immobilized him quickly with his own technique. She pinned him to the wall with her swift arrows. The other two shot their own arrows towards her, but she had already climbed up two branches. The rest of her group sprinted toward the secret entrance as soon as the archers set their attention on Kori.
She made quick work on the second archer and pinned him next to his leader. Using her last two arrows Kori pinned the last archer's bow to the ground at his feet. Unarmed the last archer ran off and disappeared around the other side of the prison. Kori quickly made her way down the tree and ran across the path that was now nearly void of smoke. Before she joined her friends in the prison she walked up to the trapped archers.
"Kori?" the leader asked astonished. "Is that you?"
"Yes," she responded.
"What are you doing, daughter?" His voice suddenly became stern and accusing. "Is this where you have run away to? Are you forgetting everything that I and the Fire Nation have done for you?"
"Yeah, and what about all those other people the Fire Nation 'helped'? They have nothing bad to say about the Fire Nation do they? Well, they have nothing much to say at all, do they? Thanks for teaching me archery dad." With that Kori hit her father with her bow so that his head banged back onto the stone wall behind him and he lost his consciousness. Kori did the same to the other archer and then took all the remaining arrows in the Yu Yan Archers' packs and transferred them into her own.
Kori joined the rest of her group to find three guards asleep and two others tied up and locked in one of the cells they had so recently been guarding. In their place unchanged and free stood Hakoda and the rest of the party that had said they'd meet up at Ember Island. Mai held the stolen keys and was searching for the key to the next cell. The alarm cut through the silence, making the newly freed prisoners jump.
"We should get out of here quickly. Soon this place will be filled with guards," Hakoda said heading towards the door Kori had just entered through.
"That's the point sir." Mimi said "I suggest you take these guards' weapons, you're going to need them. Mai try to free as many soldiers as you can, we'll need all the help we can get."
"What are you talking about?" The Duke piped up. "Why are we staying here when we know we can't win?" Mimi checked quickly to make sure all the guards were still knocked out before responding.
"We're not here to win. We're here to hold them off while the Avatar's group invades the palace. Kori, go back outside and alert us when the reinforcements come. The rest of you get ready to fight. We are going farther in to get more reinforcements." Everyone nodded. The escaped prisoners took the unconscious guards' weapons and Kori went back outside to watch for the reinforcements.
"How are the others?"Hakoda whispered as they crept through the torch lit corridor. "Are Sokka and Katara okay?" Mimi nodded and put her finger to her lips. They had reached a turn in the corridor. Mai pushed to the front. She pulled out one of her many knives and cautiously peeked around the corner.
Two guards, swords drawn, stood at the entrance of another cell. They must have heard the alarm and were waiting for the infiltrators to appear. The guard farther from Mai saw her first. Mai took that split second of recognition to her advantage and threw the knife in her hand towards him. The knife succeeded in pinning the guard's left hand to the stone wall, but the other guard had seen them and charged towards Mai swinging his sword. Mai began to throw more knives at the man, but he skillfully deflected the missiles with his sword. When the guard was inches from Mai, Hakoda jumped out and met the guard's sword with his stolen one. The two of them became engaged in a fierce sword fight.
Meanwhile the first guard had freed himself from Mia's knife and charged towards her. His left hand hung bloody and useless at his side, but he cut Mai's knives out of the air with his right hand quite easily. Ty Lee cart-wheeled to Mai's aid and began to try to jab at the man's pressure points. He was so busy swinging at Mai's knives and Ty Lee's advances that he didn't notice Taz sneaking up behind him. She quickly grabbed his injured hand and, as he yelped in pain, threw him to the floor. Ty Lee took this moment to jump down and deliver a few well aimed jabs at his pressure points. The man's sword was quickly taken and thrown to Chit Sang who was still in his prison clothes from the last prison he was held at.
With one guard down the three girls turned their attention to the second one. Mimi had evidently sent him crashing against the wall with her bending because he lay crumpled on the floor eyes closed and head bleeding. The Duke had taken the keys from Mai earlier and now was working on the cell door. Soon they heard a click and the door swung open to reveal six prisoners chained to the walls. Haru was among the six, and his face lit up when he saw The Duke entering the cell.
"Hey how'd you get out?" Haru asked as The Duke began to work on his shackles.
"This group of people attacked the men guarding us and let us out. They are calling themselves the Tempest Troup." The Duke replied as he tried yet another key. "Stupid name if you ask me. It's supposed to be because their leader is an airbender, but I still think they could have been more creative. I mean 'The Freedom Fighters' was clever and catchy. Maybe we should help them with their name when we get out of here." The key clicked.
"Wait, did you say their leader was an airbender?" Haru asked rubbing his now free wrists. "Isn't Aang supposed to be the last one?"
"Apparently not," finished with Haru, The Duke began to try and free his neighbor. "Say, why were you put in here instead of the cell in the cage with us?"
"We're all earthbenders in here," said the women whom The Duke was trying to free. "They can't put us in regular cages because they know we'll get out."
"You should really get out of here," came a man's voice from across the room. "The alarm has been sounded and reinforcements will be here any minute. Take the ones you have already freed and save yourselves. There is no use in all of us getting captured." There was a click and Haru's neighbor was set free.
"We aren't here to run," The Duke said moving to the man who was on Haru's other side. "The Tempest Troup rescued us so we could help them draw out as many soldiers as we could from the palace so a second group could bring down the Fire Lord." Another click signaled the freedom of another earthbender.
Haru nodded. "We'll set you free, but whether you run or fight is up to you. I'm staying. What about the rest of you." Haru asked the room.
"Well, I'm staying," said the newly freed women. The man standing next to her smiled and nodded in agreement.
"Let's show these Fire Benders that The Earth Kingdom is a force to be reckoned with!" came a cry from one of the men still chained to the wall there was a chorus of replies as everyone agreed to fight. With another click the forth bender was freed.
The man whom had spoken earlier chuckled. "If it means an end to this accursed war, I'm in." The sound of many feet could be heard coming swiftly towards the warriors and those freed ran outside the cell as Mimi's voice called everyone to get ready. It was now time to either fight or die.
While the rest of the team had been freeing prisoners Kori had snuck back outside to keep watch. She had run back towards the forest and back up the tree she had started in. From there she had quite a good view of both the prison and the castle. Before she left she had grabbed one of the many torches that had adorned the walls of the prison, and now she was taking special care to cover the flame so it wouldn't give away her position. She would have doused it but she needed the fire to signal the Avatar's group when they were ready.
It didn't take too for the message to reach the castle that there was a break in at the prison. Soon many soldiers and guards came running towards the prison. The men surrounded the prison and charged through all the entrances. Kori waited for the last soldier to enter the prison before pulling a special arrow out of her quiver. Instead of a point the arrow had an end that could easily catch fire. Kori lit the end and then pointed the arrow up at the sky and shot. The fire arched brightly over the prison
Her job done, Kori quickly climbed down her tree and ran towards the prison to help her friends with the upcoming fight.
"There's the signal," came Katara's voice from my left.
"They must have made it to the prison," I said.
"Well, this is it," Sokka came out of his crouch and crawled out of our hole. "Let's go." Like wolf-bats we crawled out of hiding and ran towards the palace. Under the light of the full moon the seven of us ran towards my old home and the fight of our lives.
A/N: Well here's another chapter! Hope you like it, and please Review!!