-Inside the Jasmine Dragon-
Crickets chirped and a soft cool breeze swept through the Jasmine Dragon as night fell on the city of Be Sing Se. The staff had long since cleaned up and ceased operations for night. But they weren't in any particular rush to go home. In fact, nobody in the tea house was. All were willing to stay to listen some more. It was quite refreshing to Iroh to have such an attentive audience.
"And so the battle for the Sky and Earth began" said Iroh "4 of Zhao's Airships had weathered the massive hurricane including the giant flagship. Meanwhile Jet's forces massive forces laid siege to the city of Ba Sing Se."
"What's with all the end of the of the world business?" asked Lan "I don't understand, how could both worlds be destroyed?"
"You have to understand the very fragile balance between the mortal and spirit worlds. One cannot exist with out the other and you cannot affect one without affecting the other" said Iroh "Lo Pan's actions were decaying the spirit world and in turn slowly destroying the mortal one. The Shi crystal was never meant to used in such a manner."
"As if things weren't bad enough, with Ba Sing Se and the Sky temple under attack" said Hui " Now this"
"Could the Shi crystal really be killing Xi'an?" asked Kanna " It seemed like he was handling it alright"
"Sadly it was" said Iroh "Xi'an wasn't meant to use the avatars power any more than Lo Pan was. While Lo Pan used the avatar spirits to power his crystals while Xi'an, though not aware of it, was using his own."
Wait a minute!" said Hahn "If the crystal was killing Xi'an wouldn't be killing Aang too? What was the point of even having the Shi then?"
"Have you noticed that Aang was getting stronger?" said Iroh "Somehow due to Xi'an he was slowly getting better"
"Because he helped get Kuruk and Yangchen out of those trees?"asked Kuei
"No" said Iroh "While that helped it wasn't the reason. With his piece of the Shi, he could slowly give back what was stolen by Lo Pan"
"Did that have something to do with that strange link between the two?" asked Tai
"Yes it did" said Iroh " While I still dont exactly understand it, they could enter the avatar state and communicate with each other.
"But if they could enter the avatar state, couldn't they defeat Lo Pan now?" asked Hui
"No, at most it was a small bandage for a deep wound" said Iroh "To fully heal Aang and the Spirit world, the Shi crystal, all three pieces, would have to be destroyed. If that was not bad enough, Xi'an's use of his own crystal would have to be used sparingly and in the presence of Aang"
"And if it wasn't?" asked Kuei
"It would be harmful...
-Chapter 26-
The Battle of Earth and Sky
The air around Ba Sing Se was deafening with the the clanging sounds combat as the small defending army valiantly fought the the larger seemingly unstoppable invading army.
Kang, despite his age, lead the charge himself. With a mighty roar, the seasoned old general smashed his way through the front line of the enemy, sending armored solders flying. Toph followed right behind leaping dead center of a bunch of howlers smashing them with a furious display of Earth bending.
"Toph!" yelled Kang finishing them off "I want you to stay close to me!"
"Why because I'm blind?"scoffed Toph smashing her way through a group of howlers "i can handle myself"
"I'm sure you can kid but I need help!" said Kang "We need to get to that massive train taking up the rear of the enemy and I was told you can bend metal. We just need to work our way through, are you up for it?"
"I always love a challenge" said Toph "Lead the way gramps"
Jet looked on from his position in watching the pathetic attempt led by an old man to save Ba Sing Se. It was a useless and only prolonging the inevitable. Ba Sing Se would fall this night along with it's King for Lo Pan demanded it. He smiled as the defending army was in for a very nasty surprise
Sokka and Hakoda led their troops in a mighty charge against the massive Howler army. While a massive amount of howlers fell to Sokka and his soldiers, it was leaving only a small dent in the enemy forces. Reaching into his small rucksack, as his father called for their troops to pull back, Sokka tossed a crude homemade flare in the air that lit up the night sky brightly.
"That's the signal!" said Iroh from the wall "Fire at will!"
Every archer and catapult sent a their first wave of fiery ordnance into the heart of the mass of enemy howlers taking out a big chunk of their forward line. However the second wave of arrows and flaming rocks had a very different effect, they were blown away as if...
"What?" gasped Hakoda "Don't tell me they..."
"It looks like it dad" said a shocked Sokka "Air bending …. "
Aang, Katara, and Xi'an quickly started putting out the larger fires most importantly the Bison stables. Te opened the door letting the scared animals into the courtyard.
"We have to stop them" said Zuko
"I agree" said Sister Xue climbing on her bison "Kai, I want Sun and the rest of you to help the Avatar and the Guardian, we need to get rid of those airships"
"But this isn't our fight" argued Sun
"It just became ours" said Monk Lu hopping on his bison " Xue you take the Guardian and the Fire Prince, I'll take the The Avatar and The Water bender. Kai and Sun? I want you and your group to fly escort but fight only if you have to, got it? Everyone else I want you to evacuate to the lower levels.
"What about Me and Kip? asked Te
"I want you two to get to safety with the others okay?" said Xi'an climbing onto Xue's Bison
"But Xi'an!"
"Te, I need you to help get the others to safety okay?" said Xi'an "I'm counting on you okay?"
"You better come back" said Te grabbing kip and running off "All of you!"
As the group of bison flew off to battle the airships, Te ran toward the safety of the tower only to hear
a loud screaming sound, to her right,close to the edge was a small sky bender boy franticly trying to dig out a baby bison whose leg was stuck under some rubble. Using her earth bending she helped free the poor baby bison and helped them get to safety by pushing them toward the tower with a gentle wave of earth bending. Just as she and Kip started to head back, another wave of flaming stone hit behind them, causing the ground to shift. Te and Kip screamed as they were knocked off the temple grounds, plummeting to earth below. Hearing their screams Xi'an turned in horror as he saw them fall.
"TE! KIP!" yelled Xi'an grabbing Xue's staff and diving off the Bison without a hint of hesitation
"Xi'an!" yelled Aang preparing to jump after them only to be stopped my Xue
"Kai, Help them!" yelled Monk Lu "The rest of you, follow me "
Kai nodded as she broke off from the group in hot pursuit of the falling boy and his family.
Despite the the heavy damage to the airships, Zhao had an extra trick up his sleeve. As the small group of bison came into view, all four ships pitched violently to the right.
"Your making it far too easy for me, boy "said Zhao with a smirk on his face "Deploy the fliers"
As they got closer to the 4 airships a loud metallic clink was heard as the bomb bay doors opened and about 30 small wooden coal powered fliers shot toward the small group of air bison.
"You've gotta be kidding me" said Zuko
Due to the advancement of the plan, only two of the 4 captured airships were made battle ready leaving Suki and Ty lee in command of Airship 1 and Azula and Mai in command of Airship 2.
As the air ships passed the the wall both parties were shocked to see the howler army not only fire bending but others were water. earth and air bending. Due to the defending solders only expecting fire benders, this element of surprise turned the tide in the enemies favor slowly forcing back the defending army.
"Sokka, you better be alright" said Suki
"He's tough Suki" said Ty Lee "I'm sure he's fine"
"Well lets make sure" said Suki "Drop the 'Gloop' Bombs"
"Aye aye captain" said Ty Lee pulling a giant lever
With a loud metallic groan, Suki's airship opened its bomb bay doors releasing its entire payload of custom made bombs covering the a large mass of the enemy army in a sticky green slime. The 'Gloop'
as Sokka so lovingly called the stuff, was designed in theory to trap up the howlers in a sticky mess.
Azula's ship followed suit dropping their payload. Where as Suki and Ty lee gelled well together, Azula and Mai obviously had reservations with each other. The tension was very thick in the airship but they tried to put it aside and do their jobs. It wasn't easy...
Jet wasn't amused in the least, as the the defending army gained ground. Lo Pan decreed that Ba Sing Se would never see another sunrise. And Lo pan's word was law. Despite the lack of the massive air support fleet of Zhao, he would make sure that city would fall for good this time
"All earth and air bending units" Jet yelled in frustration "Take those airships out of the sky, NOW!"
The Howlers in the rear line shot a massive salvo of large razor sharp stones into the sky. The center line using air bending blasted the stones like a bullet at the slow moving airships each one doing massive damage.
"Incoming!" yelling Ty lee as she braced for another salvo of stones
"Whats the status?" coughed Suki as smoke started enter in the main deck
"Steering and propulsion is gone" said Ty Lee " But thats the least of our problems, that last attack ruptured engine the cooling systems, they're overheating"
"This the captain Suki" said Suki through the intercom" Everyone, is to abandon ship and prepare to fight as soon as we hit the ground"
Reaching into her pocket, Suki pulled out a small bison shaped whistle...
Azula's ship wasn't faring much better, in fact the damage was much worse, the sharp stones ruptured the giant gas bag that kept the heavy airship aloft. On top of that the main bridge of the her ship had been almost completely destroyed. As the airship pitched dangerously forward, she saw Mai out of the corner of her eye. The last attack left her trapped under a mass of twisted metal screaming for help.
"Azula!" Mai screamed " Please help me! I'm begging you!"
As the choking smoke filled the cockpit Mai slowly fell into unconsciousness. Her last image was of the the fire nation princess towering over her, a dark look on her face as she primed her fire bending.
Te and Kip howled in terror as they fell towards the ground. She gripped the pup tightly as she squeezed her eyes shut. She sobbed as she slowly accepted her fate, silently hoping that it didn't hurt when they hit the ground. She just wished somehow that someone would save her and kip.
"BRAT!"
Opening her eyes, her hopes were slightly lifted as a figure sped toward her.
Xi'an straightened his body to increase his speed to catch up with the two. He had jumped off with out thinking but he didn't care, this was his little sister and he wasn't going to let her die. As the wind whipped around him he kept a tight grip on the staff that he took from Xue, he just hoped it worked .
Te felt Xi'an grab her and Kip holding them close to his chest with one arm.
"Hang on you two!" yelled Xi'an hitting the button on the staff'
The glider extended but the force of the winds yanked it completely from his hand sending flying out of reach. As they spun out of control, every regret flashed through his mind, namely getting Ye, Te and Kip mixed up in this situation. Shifting his weight around he put himself in front of Te and Kip gripping them tightly. He hoped that if nothing else he would cushion the two if ther hit the ground. He knew full well that he would die from hitting the ground from that height but he didn't care as long as Te and Kip were okay
As he looked up he saw Kai on her bison coming close fast, on her tail two odd gliding machines.
Kai was frustrated, there was no way she could move in close enough with the two gliders behind her.
Every time she get close they'd buzz in front of her and blast fire causing her to pull back and zig zag in the air. The closest she could get was to pull along side them and hope the made they way to her.
"I cant get any closer" yelled Kai dodging another wave of fire blasts from the gliders
"Brat!"yelled Xi'an "On the count of 3 want you to and Kip to kick off of me and get to that bison, got it? As soon as you make to her tell her to get out of here!"
"What about you?" yelled Te "I'm not gonna leave you here"
"Don't argue!" said Xi'an "1...2...3...GO!"
Te gripping Kip tight, she put her legs to Xi'an's chest and kicked off with all her might sending her shooting toward Kai's Bison. The young sky bender grabbed both the little girl and her pup moving them into the bison's saddle. Pulling up, Te watched in terror as she saw Xi'an disappear in the surrounding black clouds with a glider in pursuit.
"Xi'an!" screamed Te
Mai slowly opened her eyes the last thing she remembered was being trapped under a mass twisted metal.
Seeing the massive battle below, she quickly snapped awake. She found herself in the familiar saddle of Appa surrounded by Suki, Ty Lee and the rest of the Kyoshi warriors. Also in the saddle was Azula with a expression of indifference on her face
"Why?" asked Mai "What's your angle Azula?"
"Dum Dum would never forgive me if I let you die" said Azula matter of factly "Besides, I have my own reasons"
Sokka and Hakoda group wasn't fairing much better, despite the skill of fierce water tribe warriors and battle hardened earth soldiers, the overwhelming numbers of Lo Pan's army invading army were winning. Suki landed Appa behind the main line. Hopping off, her and her Kyoshi warriors spread out and filled in the gaps in the line.
"Appa Go help Iroh" said Suki
Kang and Toph fought their way toward Sokka's and Hakoda's group sending howlers flying left and right.
"The war train's a decoy!" said Kang " It was empty!
"The commander is nowhere to be seen "said Toph
"That's the least of our problem... look!" said Sokka
The howlers that were covered the gloop bombs slowly pulled them selves free and joined the others surrounding the group,
"Everybody in shield formation" yelled Hakoda
All the benders and warriors brought up their shields forming a circular guarding formation. As they were surrounded by a massive amount of howlers. Every one clamped their eyes shut as they heard that unnatural screaming noise . They then proceeded to attack the shield circle with a brutal onslaught of combined bending
"We have to do something" said Ty lee "Our shields aren't going to hold up against much longer"
"Sokka" said Azula narrowing her eyes "Is that gloop of of yours flammable?"
"I don't know"said Sokka "I didn't design it for that! But what ever your plotting, make it quick, we're not gonna last much longer!
Seeing opening, Azula took a deep breath of air, blasted a massive blue fire ball at the the gloop covered howlers causing them to explode in a twisted storm of blue fire. Breaking shield formations the Kang and Hakoda rallied the others on the offense smashing and slashing through the line of howlers
Iroh was having problems of his own. Most of the Yu Yan archers fell as well as a few Earth Kingdom souls manning the catapults from the repeated barrages of fire stones. If that was not bad enough a a large group of earth bending howlers were slowly climbing their way up the wall.
"Smellerbee, Longshot!" yelled Iroh "Gather what troops that you can and spread the line! Do whatever you can to keep the those things from reaching the top!" From his area, the Dragon of the west fired a powerful blast of orange yellow fire knocking a large mass of howlers off the wall. The rest of the wall troops followed suit shooting arrows, dropping large boulders and blasting fire.
From the safety of his hidden vantage point, Jet smiled evilly as he saw the the desperate attempt of the dwindling defending army of Ba Sing Se. It was a useless gesture thought Jet, he had the advantage of numbers and soldiers that didn't feel pain, get tired or show fear. Sure they got lucky downing a few but for every one they took out 3 replaced them. They couldn't hold out forever
The battle on the ground turned for the worse many brave soldiers and and warriors fell to the massive howler army. Back in shield formation, Sokka's Group was in a bad shape. Kang and Hakoda were injured very severely with burns, Mai's leg was swollen bruised and bleeding hampering her speed, Azula was bleeding out of her mouth her and injury from Kyoshi island reopened, Suki,Sokka, Toph and Ty Lee were uninjured but like the others were showing massive signs of fatigue. Calling Appa and running was out of the question as he was helping trying to slow down the howlers climbing the walls.
Tears almost formed in Kang's eyes. He wasn't afraid of death, as a solder he realized the was always a possibly on the battlefield. No it was failing his troops under his command, and it was indeed clear they were failing. If only the had some more fresh troops they might have a chance...
A Loud Tsungi Horn echoed in the distance. Over the hills surrounding the battle, another large mass of soldiers appeared. It was a frighting sight from the vantage point of the Sokka's group
"Oh no!" said Ty Lee "More of them?"
"It's doesn't matter!" said Sokka "We'll take them down too!"
"Spoken Like a true warrior!" said Hakoda proudly
The leader of this new army came forward. While his form was obscured by the shadows, they saw that he was a big muscular man that exuded power. Blowing the horn again the new army marched into full view...
"Tee Hee -snort snort- " said the King Bumi "Ba Sing Se throws this big party and doesn't even have the courtesy to send us an invitation? I'm insulted! Well its high time we crash it ladies and gents! CHARGE!"
The battle for Ba Sing Se was Far from over...