Chapter Nine: Battle for Republic City

Ronan landed on the road, using air bending to soften the landing. All of the infantry, tanks, and mecha walkers came to a halt. Ronan looked up towards the battalion in front of him. The man leading the force looked familiar.

The man smirked. "Long time no see, eh Lee? Or should I say Ronan?"

Ronan felt dizzy as the mysterious man finished speaking. Something tried to surface in his head. He shook it off and looked forward.

"I'm only going to give you one chance. Leave now and everything can be worked out at a later date. If not..." He took a deep breathe, then exhaled, "You'll leave me no choice."

The man laughed, followed by all the soldiers behind him. The laughter pierced through Ronan, who looked away, trying not to let it get to him. But then he felt something come from up from his chest through his mouth. He began laughing with a sly smile.

"What?" asked the man, "You think you can take us all on?"

Ronan only continued to smile.

"So you think you can, eh?"

"Yep. Remember, I have a trump card."

"This city is ours! What could possibly be so great as to stop us."

Ronan's sly smile faded. "I'm the Damned Avatar."

Jade led the way out through the Presidential building. Most staff have already fled.

"So where exactly is this safehouse?" Jade asked.

"It's further down the street, but if Zhong orchestrated this, it may not before, especially if he has sleeper agents through out the city."

"Then it's either take our chances, or leave the city. Which is it?"

"I'm not abandoning this city. Damn, how could I have let this happen. I trusted Zhong."

"He's definitely the opportunist here. We'll get him, but today is not the day."

Two men came out from corner, shocked when they saw the trio. The men looked at each other then back at them.

"We'll escort the President to safety. You can trust us."

Aki held onto Jade's sleeve.

"No, I think we have it covered here, thanks."

"I insist."

"And I insist that I have it covered, now move!"

Suddenly from behind, another man rushed towards them. Rinn caught this and executed a perfect back kick to the man's chin, dropping him out cold. The two men ahead charged. Jade quickly let out a fiery wave that knocked the men back. Before they could recover, Rinn clotheslined them into submission.

"Holy crap Rinn, you can kick some ass." Jade said in awe.

"You don't run a country, and be weak at the same time. Now come on, if they are already trying to ambush, chances are the safehouse is compromised.

The main street in Republic City has become a war zone. This is the first time Ronan has gone all out. He moved fast and graceful as he avoided every attempt at his life with platinum bullets and explosive artillery. One such explosive was aimed perfectly that Ronan had no hopes to dodge it. He quickly shot out a blast or air that sent it screaming back to the tank that shot it. The resulting explosion caused collateral damage that several soldiers near the tank met their demise. The chaos that ensued from the explosive set back allowed Ronan to pull out his scimitars and set them ablaze.

His sprinted forward, dodging multiple projectiles. Each soldier he got to was briefly acquainted with his scimitars before falling to the ground. A mecha walker shot out an electrified net. Ronan rolled out of the way, and as he came up, he brought forth a hard hitting spire of earth underneath the walker, and sent it flying high up past the tallest building the in the city.

Ronan continued the push the battalion back, dropping each soldier he got close to. "Come on! You guys are against benders for being too powerful, and here I am with two swords obliterating your forces!" As he finished the taunt, the walker he had sent flying came falling back down the earth, landing, and completely smashing, a tank. The blow caused all of the artillery inside the tank to explode. The force was so powerful that anyone in close proximity were immediately wiped out. The force sent everyone else flying back. The destruction also took its toll on the closest building that was nearly thirty stories tall. The foundation completely shattered, and the whole building began to collapse. Any walker that managed to stand its ground from the explosion we soon crushed underneath the weight and force of the building as it crashed down on top of them.

In a matter of several minutes, one battalion of many inside the city was completely and utterly eliminated.

Ronan jumped high up onto a building, wall running his way up. Once he reached the top, he looked over what he could of the city. Out in the distance outside of the city, he could see the Republic City army returning, and in haste.

He quickly concentrated to get a hold of Xue telepathically.

"Xue!"

"...Ronan?"

"What's your situation?"

"We're just outside of the city. What about you?"

"I stopped one of their battalions, but there are still several more in the city. But most importantly, tell the army that these guys are using platinum bullets. They will not be able to stop them in mid shot."

"Okay, I'll let them know. What about everyone else?"

"I told them to retreat. I'm going to go find them now. Good luck Xue."

"Same to you."

As the conversation ended, Ronan jumped off the roof, and began gliding back towards the Presidential building.

The group met a few more ambushes along the way to the safehouse. As they reached the final corner, they stopped to examine the building. It seemed vacant.

"The real safehouse is underground," Rinn stated. "This building is the just the front to make it look ordinary."

They approached the building with the sounds of explosions in the distance that echoed through out the city streets. Aki looked back towards where Ronan is fighting.

"It'll be okay," Jade said to comfort Aki.

"I hope so.." She replied back softly.

"So why isn't this safehouse at the Presidential building?"

"That way if anyone digs there, they don't enter the building unlawfully from underground."

As Rinn and Jade entered the structure, they were immediately tackled down by several men.

"We got him! We got the bastard!" One of them yelled.

One man looked towards Aki, he was stunned. He charged at her. His motion towards her broke her out of her stun, and she instinctively shot water out of her pouch to his face with such a force that he went head over heels. A few men who were pinning Rinn and Jade down saw this. Aki stepped back frightened. Two of them got off and began advancing at her. Without even thinking, she froze the water from the last attack, and the men slipped and fell on their backs.

By now, everyone else is distracted, giving both Rinn and Jade the chance to counter their foes. Jade got an arm free, and blasted one assailant in the face with fire. He fell back, knocking off the last two men. Rinn got up and tackled one of them. Jade got up quickly as well, and as the other man tried to get up, she plowed her foot into the face, knocking him out cold. The men outside who slipped were getting back up, but Rinn threw the man he tackled into the guys.

"If these guys were waiting, then anyone who came here are in danger. We must get in there," Rinn said as he finished tying the attackers together to a steel beam.

Suddenly, there was a big boom. It was far away, but could easily be felt. They peered out the door, and from far away, they could see a building collapsing to the ground.

"My gosh..." Rinn breathed.

They all retreated back into the building.

Jade looked over to Aki. Even though she just saved them, she doesn't want to intentionally put her into harm's way. She looked around and saw a hiding spot in the corner.

"Aki, I need you to stay here."

"Eh? Buy why?"

"I need you to keep an eye out and alert anyone coming here for safety that it is not safe. But if it is safe, I'll be right back to get you, okay?"

Aki looked down. She didn't want to be left out of the fight, let alone be left alone. "...Okay."

She obediently went to the corner where she covered herself with tarp and other debris.

"We'll be back."

Aki didn't reply.

Both quickly ran down the stairs and out of sight.

Aki sat alone in the corner.

For several minutes, she listened to the sounds of war echoing in the city. She was so sad from thinking about it all that she stopped thinking all together. Just complete silence and tranquility. Then she heard a noise that was different from the war going on. Ronan came running through the door.

"Aki?!" he called out. She was so glad to see him that as she jumped out to get out of her hiding spot that she tripped. He came over to pick her up, then proceeded to hug her. "Where are Jade and Rinn?"

"They're downstairs. This place isn't safe. They went anyway to save anyone who is down there."

"Let's go get them."

"Really? I can go?"

"Of course. Can't leave you alone, besides, I need someone to have my back." He pulled the now melted ice out of the ground, and redirected it back into Aki's pouch.

They hurried down the steps to reach the bunker. Enemy soldiers were strewn across the hallway.

"Yep, I think they've been here." Sounds of a struggle could be heard further down the bunker. As they passed through a blast door, Rinn finished off the last enemy and threw him onto the ground.

"Are you the one kicking all this ass?" Ronan asked.

Jade stepped into his view. "Me and him both."

All around the bunker, the citizens that were lined up against the walls began to walk about, relieved that they are no longer held prisoner.

..

Both armies have clashed on the outskirts of the city. The Non-Bender Army were caught off guard; having lost one battalion, the Republic City forces are back, and the fact they are aware that bullets fired from any gun are made of platinum. They easily advance and stop the enemy from reaching any farther into the city.