DISCLAIMER: Transformers is owned by Hasbro and Avatar: The Last Airbender is owned by Nickelodeon.
Transformers: Avatar Chronicles
Chapter 20: The Southern Raiders
It had merely been a day after the Boiling Rock incident, and the group was sleeping at the fountain area of the Western Air Temple. Morning had dawned, and Aang, who was laying on Appa, awoke with a yawn before getting up and observing the beautiful sunrise when something caught his eye. Three far away objects were approaching him fast. Then he heard the sound of something firing and suddenly a missle emerged from the clouds. His eyes widened in shock, Aang immediately got his glider out and airbended the missile away from him. Everyone awoke due to the noise of the missile exploding and saw that the three objects then came out of the clouds and revealed themselves to be the jet forms of Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp, with dozens of Jet Vehicons behind them.
"Unleash hell my armada!" Starscream commanded as more missiles were fired at the group and Fire Nation zeppelins rose from the clouds bellow the temple. "Leave no trace of their insidious existence!" Then bombs were launched from the zeppelins, destroying portions of the temple. Aang and Appa then ran up to the group and Aang airbended the doors to the fountain area shut as more bombs and missiles continued to bombard the area. The ceiling above the ground starts to crumble and shake til a piece of it dislodged and fell right towards Katara. Bumblebee then immediately ran to her and shielded his human companion from the piece of the ceiling.
"Thanks Bee," Katara said.
"(Anytime my friend,)" Bumblebee beeped in response. Then Haru and Toph went up to the wall and earthbended a huge hole in it.
"Come on, we can get through here!" Toph said to the others. Everyone then ran up to the tunnel, except Zuko, Powerglide and Ultra Magnus.
"What are you guys doing?" Aang asked.
"We'll hold them off as long as we can," Ultra Magnus answered.
"Besides, I think this is a family visit," Zuko added before he and Ultra Magnus started running to the airships while Powerglide transformed and flew into action.
"Guys, wait!" Aang yelled to the three of them before Sokka ran up and grabbed Aang's shoulder.
"Come on, we gotta get out of here!" he said before he, Aang and Katara started to pull on Appa's reins, trying to get him through the tunnel.
Back outside, Powerglide was busy dogfighting with the Jet Vehicons while Zuko and Ultra Magnus fired at the launchers on the zeppelins, Zuko with his firebending and Ultra Magnus with his shoulder cannons. Then another airship rose in front of them, and Zuko's assumptions were confirmed when Azula was spotted on the observation deck, smiling sinisterly yet for some reason crazily, looking down at Zuko and Ultra Magnus while Starscream swooped in and transformed, landing beside Azula, cackling like a mad man.
"Ultra Magnus," Starscream said to the Autobot commander. "I have heard many great things about you. Let us test those rumors, shall we?" Magnus responded by readying his hammer while Zuko looked up to his sister.
"What are you doing here!?" he asked.
"You mean it's not obvious!?" Azula responded. "I'm about to celebrate becoming an only child!" Azula then grabbed onto the railings and flipped over them, firebending through her feet at Zuko, but Ultra Magnus responded by using a swing of his hammer to block the blast. Zuko and Magnus then ran up to the airship, jumping to the side, firing at the observation deck. One of the missiles exploded and Azula and Starscream jumped off it and landed on the top of the ship. Ultra Magnus was able to latch on to the ship, but Zuko could not hang on and fell down through the clouds, vanishing.
"Zuko!" Ultra Magnus shouted before glaring up at Starscream and Azula, who merely glared back at him.
Back inside, Toph was trying her best to prevent the roof from caving in while the others tried to pull Appa into the tunnel, but there was one problem.
"I can't get him to go in there," Aang stated as Appa kept resisting and growling in protest. "Appa hates tunnels."
"Aang, there's no way we can fly out of here," Katara stated.
"We'll have to find a way," Aang replied as he loosens his grip on Appa's reins.
"We'll need to split up," Sokka said as he turned to those who were already in the tunnel. "Take the tunnel and get to the stolen airship."
"No, the Fire Nation can't separate our family again," Katara somberly said as she ran up to Hakod.
"It'll be okay, it's not forever," Hakoda reassured. Katara obviously does not want to do this, having only been reunited with her father for one day, but she realized that there was no choice, so she gave her father a hug and ran up to Appa while Sokka grabbed Suki's hand and ran to Appa.
"Warpath, report your location once you guys land somewhere safe," Springer said to the Autobot rookie.
"You got it," Warpath responded as he got his jetpack ready and the others ran through the tunnel.
"I can clear that away and we can fly out through there," Toph stated, referring to the wall in front of them, while she earthbended herself onto Appa.
"Um, there's an awful lot of fire and lasers in that general direction," Suki said, unsure of Toph's idea.
"We'll get through," Aang reassured as their surroundings started to crumble. "Let's go."
Outside, Azula and Starscream noticed that the fountain area's wall exploded and Appa and Warpath flew through with an earth shield in front of him. They were about to attack when Ultra Magnus came up and got in their line of fire.
"After them my legion!" Starscream commanded before Ultra Magnus bashed his face with his hammer. Then a squadron of Jet Vehicons flew after them while the brawl between Azula, Starscream and Ultra Magnus continued. Azula tried to firebend and Magnus' head, but he used his arm to block it before trying to swing at the princess with his hammer, but Azula easily jumped over it. Starscream tried to get the drop on him from behind, but one of Magnus' shoulder cannons fired straight at him, blasting him across the ship. Azula kept firing at Magnus with everything she had, the commander easily blocking them, when the roar of a zeppelin stopped them in their tracks. They turned around to see an airship hovering upward beside them, and Zuko was on the roof, looking at his sister while Azula smirked deviously, looking back at her brother. Zuko then ran across the ship and jumped to the ship Azula. The princess tried to blast Zuko with her firebending, but Zuko easily blocked it with his feet and landed in front of his sister. He then tried blasting her himself, but Azula easily dodged it and used her feet to firebend back, to which Zuko easily blocked. Zuko then ran toward her sister and the fight escelated.
Starscream meanwhile kept dodging every swing with Magnus' hammer and got out his razor sharp claws before scratching Magnus' arm with it. Magnus flinched slightly in pain as energon started leaking before Starscream tried to jab him in the spark with his claws. Magnus responded by kicking him away from him and leaping upwards to try and crush him with his hammer, but the seeker easily rolled out of the way before the hammer slammed onto the ground. Magnus then tried firing a missile at him, but Starscream easily dodged it and charged at Magnus.
Back with the Gaang, Katara waterbended a shield around the saddle of Appa to prevent any of the Jet Vehicons' laser blasts from hitting them while Warpath tried shooting them back with his chest cannon. He was capable of taking out two of the six, but the others kept dodging the blasts. Aang then noticed that the firebenders on one of the zeppelins started firing at them. Aang quickly reacted by pulling the reins on Appa, causing him to fly upwards, dodging the fire. Once Aang got control of his bison back, the Jet Vehicons resumed firing at them when Powerglide flew behind them.
"Never fear, Powerglide is here!" he remarked as he started shooting the Vehicons, taking the other four out with ease.
Back with Zuko and Azula, Azula easily blocked a fire blast from Zuko and immediately reacted with a blast of her own. Fortunately, Zuko kicked the flame away before both siblings firebended around their left hands and attempted to fire punch each other. Once they came in contact, the result was a huge explosion, launching both of them off the ship. It wasn't long before Appa swooped in and the Gaang caught Zuko in time. Azula on the other hand was still falling as Zuko could just watch in slight concern for his sister.
"She's not going to make it," Zuko said, that is before a Vehicon swooped in and Azula fell into his cockpit safely before flying away.
"Of course she did," Zuko remarked as Appa continued to fly away with Warpath and Powerglide beside him.
Back with Ultra Magnus and Starscream, Magnus was capable of hitting Starscream with his hammer, but the seeker responded by launching a missile at him, hitting him in the metal gut, causing him to fly back into a wall. Starscream then pinned him to the ground and readied his claws.
"Ultra Magnus..." Starscream said in a slightly mocking manner. "You are no Optimus Prime." Ultra Magnus simply closed his optics, waiting for Starscream to finish him, when a dark purple Cybertronian jet swooped in and collided with him, sending him screaming to an airship that was about half a mile away. Ultra Magnus simply got up, slightly confused.
"Uh...thanks? I guess?" he said as he jumped back to the air temple.
Meanwhile, Starscream landed on top of the airship, then got up and noticed two Cybertronian jets in front of him. Furious, he readied his weapons when the jets suddenly transformed, and much to the horror of Starscream, it was the newly reborn Megatron, with Cyclonus next to him.
"M-M-M-Megatron!? I-is that you!?" he stammered in fear.
"Here's a hint," Megatron growled before pointing his fusion cannon at him, unleashing a blast of dark energon at him at maximum power, creating a hole in his spark. The seekers optics widened in shock and pain before he fell down, dead, ending his reign. Megatron then turned to the Vehicons on the ship and glared at them, causing chills to run down their metal spines.
"Will anyone else attempt to fill his shoes?" Megatron coldly asked. The Vehicons responded by kneeling in front of their master, who smirked deviously.
Soon afterward, Azula walked to the bridge of her airship, fuming with rage, till her eyes widened when Starscream's corpse fell before her. She looked up and saw Megatron standing in front of her, and Azula experienced something she hasn't felt in a long time: pure fear. Megatron then pointed his fusion cannon at the princess.
"If you wish not to join your colleague, you will exlain yourself," Megatron coldly said to Azula, who tried to think of a lie that will save her skin.
"Uh, y-you see, Megatron, Starscream threatened t-to end this allince a-as well as my father's life if I did not comply," Azula responded. "I mearly ment to p-protect my father as well as this nation from the Avatar and the Autobots, and without the alliance, t-they would have crushed us! Please Megatron, you must believe me!" Azula then closed her eyes, expecting the worst, before Megatron simply lowered his fusion cannon, much to her surprise.
"Very well, I will allow you to live," Megatron stated as Azula let out a sigh of relief. "However, there will be some 'changes' made to this alliance."
"I understand Megatron," Azula responded as she kneeled before Megatron.
"And do not reffer to me as Megatron anymore," Megatron added, which slightly confused Azula.
"W-well then, what should we call you?" she asked. Megatron simply smirked before giving his answer.
"Henceforth, I shall be known as...'Galvatron'..."
*QUE TRANSFORMERS PRIME OPENING THEME*
The group eventually met up on Ember Island, camping out far away from any civilization.
"Wow, camping," Aang said as he and the others sat around a campfire. "It really seems like old times again, doesn't it?"
"If you really want it to feel like old times, I could, uhh... chase you around a while and try to capture you," Zuko remarked, which got a laugh from the rest of the kids...except Katara.
"Ha, ha," she sarcastically and sorely replied before Sokka raised his tea cup.
"To Zuko," he said. "Who knew after all those times he tried to snuff us out, today, he be our hero."
"Here here," replied everyone else, again, except Katara, as the others raise their cups.
"I'm touched, I really don't deserve this," Zuko said with a smile.
"Yeah, no kidding," Katara harshly said while glaring at Zuko before she stood up and left.
"What crawled up her tailpipe and died?" Smokescreen asked.
"I wish I knew," Zuko replied as he stood up and left as well, following Katara.
Zuko eventually reached Katara, who was kneeling near the edge of a cliff. Noticing Zuko, Katara merely got up and moved away.
"This isn't fair," Zuko stated. "Everyone else seems to trust me now. What is it with you?"
"Oh, everyone trusts you now?" Katara asked as she turned around, clearly hurt and seething with anger. "I was the first person to trust you, remember Back in Ba Sing Se. And you turned around and betrayed me. Betrayed all of us."
"What can I do to make it up to you?" Zuko asked, clearly guilty of what he did back at the Earth Kingdom all those months ago.
"You really want to know?" Katara asked as she walked toward Zuko. "Hmmm, maybe you could re-conquer Ba Sing Se in the name of the Earth King. Or, I know, you could bring my mother back!" With that, she walked past a speechless Zuko and walked back to camp.
Back at camp, Suki looked around warily as she walked toward one of the tents before accidently bumping into Zuko, who seemed to also be walking toward the same tent.
"Oops, wrong tent," Suki said as she immediately raised her arms and blushed.
"Sorry, do you need to see Sokka too?" Zuko asked as Suki walked away.
"Nope, not me," Suki immediately answered, still blushing and still walking away. Zuko just shrugged it off and went inside Sokka's tent. What he found was a sight for sore eyes. Sokka, lying on his stomach, candles surrounding him, roses above him and with a rose in his mouth. NOW Zuko knew why Suki was heading for Sokka's tent.
"Well hellooooooo-" Sokka said as he turned his head, only for his eyes to widen and for him to accidently eat the rose in his mouth when he saw Zuko. "Uh, Zuko! Yes, why would I be expecting anyone different?" With that, he coughed out a few rose petals as he feels the pain of swallowing a rose.
"So what's on your mind?" Sokka asked, clearly wanting to change the subject.
"Your sister, she hates me and I don't know why!" Zuko answered, obviously frustrated with the situation. "But I do care what she thinks of me."
"Nah, she doesn't hate you," Sokka replied, trying to reassure Zuko. Katara doesn't hate anyone. Except maybe some people in the Fire Nation." It took him a few seconds to realize what he just said.
"No, I mean, uh, not people who are good but used to be bad," he said. "I mean, bad people. Fire Nation people who are so bad, who have never been good and probably won't be ever!"
"Stop!" Zuko interrupted before his expression became more serious. "Okay, listen. I know this may seem out of no where, but I want you to tell me what happened to your mother."
"What?" Sokka asked, stunned with what Zuko requested. "Why would you want to know that?"
"Katara mentioned it before when we were imprisoned together in Ba Sing Se and again just now when she was yelling at me," Zuko answered. "I think somehow... she's connected her anger about that to her anger at me."
"It's not a day I like to remember," Sokka replied, looking to the side somberly as he remembers what happened that day.
In the Southern Water Tribe, a young Sokka raised his head from a snow fort, only for a snowball to come in and hit him in the face. Sokka wiped the snow to discover that it was a young, giggling Katara was the one who threw the snowball. Sokka then heaved a huge snowball and prepared to throw it in retaliation when something caught his eye. He looked up and saw that black snow rained down on the village.
"I'm going to find Mom," Katara said, her look of joy now turning to concern as she ran past her brother while Sokka ran in the other direction.
"Many of the warriors have seen the black snow before and knew what it meant," Sokka said to Zuko as he told him the story. "A Fire Nation raid."
Three Fire Nation battleships closed in on the village as a few warriors, including Sokka, ran toward the soldiers that were coming out of the ship.
"We were badly outnumberes," Sokka continued. "But somehow, we managed to drive them off. As quickly as they came, they just left. I was so relieved when it was over but, that's because I didn't know yet what had happened. I didn't know we lost our mother." He then lowered his head somberly, thinking about his mother's death.
"Wait," Zuko suddenly said. "Can you remember any details about the soldiers who raided your village Like, what the lead ship looked like?"
"...Yeah..." Sokka replied as he thought about the ships. "Sea Ravens. The main ship had flags with sea ravens on them." Once he said the words 'sea ravens,' Zuko immediately knew who the raiders were.
"The symbol of The Southern Raiders," Zuko responded. "Thanks Sokka."
"No problem," Sokka replied as he placed a hand on Zuko's shoulder and pushed Zuko out of the tent. "Thanks for stopping by...Thought he'd never leave." He then smiled as he rubbed his hands together and poked his head out of the tent's opening.
"Suki..." he whispered, only to see Zuko still outside his tent. Embarassed, Sokka just whistled and went back inside while Zuko stormed off.
Meanwhile, Ultra Magnus was discussing his mysterious savior from the raid of the Western Air Temple.
"Do you remember what it looked like sir?" Arcee asked.
"All I saw ws that it was a Cybertronian aircraft, and appeared to be dark purple..." Ultra Magnus answered. "But...I remembered seeing that the aircraft seemed to glow that same dark purple...almost as if...it was coated with dark energon."
"Well it's a Con, no doubt," Springer said. "I don't know too many Bots with that color."
"But why would he save Ultra Magnus if he's a Con?" Ironhide asked.
"(Maybe that wasn't his intention,)" Bumblebee suggested. "(Mybe he was after Starscream instead.)"
"CouldBe, YouKnowHowTheConsAreAlwaysAtItWithEachOther, AlwaysPickingFightsWithTheirOwn," Blurr responded.
"Only one way to find out," Ultra Magnus replied. "Powerglide, you'll need to spy on the Fire Nation and find this mysterious Decepticon."
"You got it boss," Powerglide responded as he jumped off a cliff and transformed, flying away into the horizon.
The next morning, Katara walked out of her tent, only to find Zuko sitting on a rock, sleepily.
"You look terrible," Katara harshly stated as she walked past him and rummaged through her bag.
"I waited out here all night," Zuko replied as he stood up, rubbing his eyes, and Katara started combing her hair.
"What do you want?" Katara asked, wanting to cut to the chase.
"I know who killed your mother," Zuko answered. Obviously that immediately got Katara's attention as her eyes widened and she stopped combing.
"I can help you find her," Zuko continued before Katara looked back at him, shocked at what he just said.
Afterward, the two of them walked toward Appa, which didn't go unnoticed by Aang, Sokka, (Who was fiddling around with a flower necklace. Five guesses on who he plans to give it to.) Arcee and Ultra Magnus.
"I need to borrow Appa," Katara bluntly said to Aang, who was busy feeding hay to his pet.
"Why? Is it your turn to take a little field trip with Zuko?" Aang asked in a slightly joking manner.
"Yes, it is," Katara answered, which visibly surprised Aang.
"Oh, what's going on?" Aang asked.
"We're going to find the man who took my mother from me," Katara answered, catching Sokka off guard as he lays the necklace aside and stood up.
"Sokka told me the story of what happened," Zuko explained. "I know who did it, and I know how to find him."
"What exactly do you think this will accomplish?" Ultra Magnus bluntly asked, which earned him a scoff from Katara as she shook her head.
"I should have known none of you would understand," she said as she walked away, but then she heard someone walk towards her. She turned around and surprisingly, it was Arcee.
"I understand," she said, looking down to Katara. "You're feeling so much pain and rage right now. You feel hatred and all you can think about is revenge."
"How would you know?" Katara bluntly asked. "A psycho didn't come in and take away someone you cared so much about." But then she noticed that Arcee hung her head down, sighing somberly.
"Yes...someone did..." Arcee replied. Katara's eyes then widened as she placed a hand on her mouth.
"I-I'm sorry Arcee," she quickly said.
"It's okay Katara, you didn't know..." Arcee replied.
"What happened?" Katara asked, slightly curious. Arcee then raised her head up slightly and kneeled down to Katara's level to tell her the story. Needless to say it wasn't easy for Arcee to be reminded of that day.
"Back on Cybertron I had a partner named Tailgate," she began. "We didn't really get along at first, but after a while, we became a powerful team, as well as close friends. Then came the day when he couldn't take out a sniper, forcing me to go in myself."
In a Cybertronian city, a fierce battle raged on as Arcee ran through a birage of laser fire through enemy territory.
"Arcee to Delta Team, requesting rendezvous coordinates, do you copy?" she asked through her comlink.
"Arcee, you lost again?" Tailgate asked through his own comlink. "Your sense of direction could use some improvement."
"So could your AIM Tailgate," Arcee joked back as she kept running through the enemy territory. "If you tagged that sniper back at the artilary depot, I wouldn't have had to break rank and engage the enemy hand-to-hand."
After a while, Arcee finally managed to outrun the enemy. Armed with her blaster, she looked around the Decepticon city she was in while still talking to Tailgate.
"From the sound of things, I'm guessing you came out ahead?" Tailgate asked.
"Try waiting up for me this time and I'll give you the blow by blow," Arcee answered. "What's your position?"
"About half a click from the depot due north," Tailgate answered. "Think you can find it partner?"
"Trust me Tailgate, my navigation abilities ar-ugh!" Arcee started before suddenly a web shot came in and pinned her to the wall. She tried to free herself, but to no avail, before another web shot blinded her.
When Arcee awakened, she found herself in a dark room, held captive by some sort of device that held her arms to the ceiling. Her legs on the other hand were held together by the same web substance that captured her in the first place. She kept trying to free herself when her captor walked behind her, revealing herself to be Airachnid.
"Piece of advice, make yourself comfortable," Airachnid said in a cold yet mocking manner as she walked in front of Arcee and brought out her claws. "You're going to be here a while." She then reached one of the claws up and scratched Arcee in the face, leaving a burn mark from the poison that was coated in Airachnid's fingers. Airachnid then simply walked around Arcee in a circle.
"You know, for an Autobot, your resilience is quite impressive," she said. "In fact, I'm guessing that no matter what I do to you, you'll never crack. Am I right?" All Arcee did in response was shoot a glare toward the spider-bot.
"That's what I thought," Airachnid stated before the doors opened and two Vehicons brought in a wounded Autobot in front of her. Much to Arcee's horror, it was Tailgate.
"Tailgate?" she said to her partner, but Tailgate merely groaned in pain as the Vehicons stopped dragging him and held him upward with the same device that was used to hold Arcee.
"What have you done to him!?" Arcee demanded.
"Not much...yet," Airachnid answered as she walked to her. "Just tell me what I want to know, or, well, you're a smart Bot, I think you can imagine what happens to Tailgate next."
"I don't know the attack coordinates!" Arcee responded. Airachnid, obviously thinking she was lying, then walked up to Tailgate.
"I swear upon the Allspark, it's the truth!" Arcee said, but Airachnid ignored her and kept walking.
"We shall see," she said as she reached Tailgate. Arcee could only struggle and beg for Airachnid to stop while she readied one of the arms on her back.
"No, please!" Arcee begged, but her words fell upon unmerciful ears, for Airachnid snarled at her captive and used her extra arm to jab Tailgate in the chest and pull his spark out, killing him instantly. "TAILGATE!"
Katara could only sit down and look up to Arcee in shock once her story was finished.
"Soon afterward Cliffjumper and Bumblebee came in and rescued me, but I wasn't the same afterwards," Arcee continued. "I had to make sure that I never had another partner again, so no one else could end up like Tailgate, so I drifted out, alone, until I ended up here, and needed help from Ultra Magnus to survive." Then, much to both Katara and Acree's surprise, Zuko walked up to Arcee.
"What was the name of the Con that killed your partner?" he asked.
"Airachnid..." Arcee answered, almost spitting out her name. "Why do you ask?"
"Because before I left the Fire Nation and before Megatron was killed, he enlisted her to lead the Southern Raiders," Zuko answered. Arcee's optics then widened in shock with what he just said before she scowled at the thought of Airachnid.
"Then I'm going with you," she stated, much to both Ultra Magnus and Aang's disapproval. They were about to say something when Zuko interrupted them.
"Katara and Arcee need this," he said. "This is about getting closure and justice."
"No, it's clearly about getting revenge," Ultra Magnus replied.
"Maybe it is Magnus!" Arcee shouted. "Maybe this is what we need! Maybe this is what they deserve!" Ultra Magnus was about to retaliate even further when Aang came forward.
"Arcee, the monks use to say that revenge is like a two-headed rat-viper." he said. "While you watch your enemy go down, you're being poisoned yourself."
"That's real cute Aang, but I have news for you," Arcee said as she glared at Aang. "This isn't air temple preschool, this is the real world, and in the real world, these two monsters will not stop causing pain and suffering until someone comes in and takes them down."
"Look, guys, I think Aang might be right," Sokka said.
"Then you didn't love Mom the way I did," Katara coldly responded, leaving Sokka speechless and shocked by what his sister just said.
"Katara..." was all he could say.
"Now that I know that man is out there, now that I know we could find him, I feel like I have no choice," Katara said.
"Katara, you do have a chioce: Forgiveness," Aang replied.
"That's the same as doing nothing," Arcee said.
"No it's not," Ultra Magnus responded. "Optimus once told me that it's easy to do nothing, but it's hard to forgive."
"It's not just hard," Katara started as she and Arcee walked away.
"It's impossible," Arcee finished while Zuko followed them.
Back at the Fire Nation, Ozai had called a war meeting to discuss the final plans for the day when Sozin's Comet arrives, when he noticed Azula walk through the tapestries.
"Azula, my daughter, is there a reason why you are late for this war council?" Ozai coldly asked when he noticed a look of fear in his daughter's eyes that he had not seen before. He was about to ask why when he saw something glow dark purple behind the tapestries and Galvatron walked through. Ozai's eyes widened when he saw who it was while the Decepticons inside immediately kneeled before him.
"Megatron!? You're alive!?" Ozai exclaimed.
"In a way..." Galvatron coldly replied as he walked towards Ozai. "And starting now, there will be some changes made to our little alliance."
"What do you mean?" Ozai asked as he narrowed his eyes at Galvatron.
"First and for most, allow me to establish my new chain of command," he began. "While my Decepticons are still at your disposal, I shall be above you. In a way, I shall be the new Fire Lord." Those words clearly got to both Ozai and Azula.
"WHAT!?" both of them shouted before Ozai stood up continued. "You expect me to step down simply because you say so!? I will not allow my reign to end, not even to you!" Galvatron simply growled and fired his cannon at the ground below Ozai, causing him to fly to the wall and fall to the ground.
"You forget Ozai that we can destroy your entire nation with our hands tied behind our backs," Galvatron stated. "So I strongly suggest that you swear your allegiance to me before things take a turn for the worst." Ozai simply looked up and glared at Galvatron before accepting his terms and bowing on his knees before him.
"Much better," Galvatron said with a wicked smirk on his face.
"But you will still allow our plans for when Sozin's Comet arrives to commence, correct?" Ozai asked.
"But of course," Galvatron answered. "We will continue to work on Project Nemesis and Project Retribution will continue as scheduled." Ozai simply smirked to himself, knowing that his plans will continue.
"Second, once your plan has been finished and we leave the Earth, Shockwave will remain here to ensure our presence in this nation remains."
"Very well then," Ozai replied.
"And finally, you and the other Decepticons will refrain from calling me 'Megatron,'" Galvatron finished, which visibly confused everyone except Azula.
"Well if you ain't Megatron no more, then who are you?" Rumble asked. Galvatron simply walked up to Ozai's throne and sat down, looking at all of his subjects before responding.
"Galvatron..." he said before all of the Decepticons in the room raised their right fist upward.
"HAIL GALVATRON! HAIL GALVATRON! HAIL GALVATRON!" they chanted before the Fire Nation generals, out of fear, did the same. Galvatron looked down at the scene, and smirked wickedly.
Later that night, back with the Gaang, Zuko and Katara, who were dressed in black ninja-like outfits, along with Arcee, walked towards Appa, when Aang and Sokka walked to them.
"So you were just gonna to take Appa anyway!?" Aang asked.
"Yes," Katara bluntly answered.
"It's okay, because I forgive you," Aang responded before smiling, hoping those words sunk in. "That give you guys any ideas?"
"Don't try to stop us," Arcee said as she got up onto Appa's saddle.
"I wasn't planing to," Aang responded. "This is a journey you two need to take. But when you do, please don't choose revenge. Let your anger out and then let it go. Forgive them."
"Okay, we'll do that guru-goody-goody," Zuko remarked, clearly tired of Aang's preaching as he got on Appa and Katara got on Appa's head, holding on to the reins.
"Thanks for understanding Aang," Katara said before turning her head forward. "Yip-yip." With that, Appa took off and Aang and Sokka just looked as the bison departed.
"You know, you're pretty wise for a kid," Sokka complimented to Aang.
"Thanks Sokka," Aang responded.
"Usually it's annoying but right now, I'm just impressed," Sokka remarked, which visibly annoyed Aang.
"I appreciate that," he sarcastically replied.
"So...can I borrow Momo for a week?" Sokka suddenly asked.
"Why do you need Momo?" Aang asked. All Sokka did was shrug and make an 'I don't know' noise.
Meanwhile, Zuko discussed the plan to Katara and Arcee while Appa flew across the ocean.
"We need to find the Fire Navy communication tower," Zuko explained. "All the navy's movements are coordinated by messenger hawk, and every tower has to be up to date on where everyone is deployed."
"So once we find the communication tower, we bust in and take the information we need," Arcee stated, thinking she knows
what to do.
"Not exactly Arcee," Zuko responded. "We need to be stealthy and make sure no one spots us. Otherwise, they'll warn the Southern Raiders. Long before we reach them."
"I'll wait with Appa then," Arcee said, knowing a giant robot wasn't exactly stealthy in the human world.
Once they landed at their destination, Arcee stayed behind while Katara and Zuko ran to the communications tower. Once they reached the end of the land, Katara waterbended an ice raft and the two of them jumped onto it before Katara waterbended it forward, towards the tower. Katara then waterbended an upward wave so she and Zuko could jump up to the tower. Once two Vehicons walked away from their post, Katara and Zuko quickly sneaked past them and went through the air ducts.
Soon the duo came across a female guard writing on a desk. Looking down below from the gratings, Katara then waterbended the ink next to the guard so the ink spilled onto the guard's hand and onto the table. Looking at her stained hand in annoyance, the guard left the room before Katara and Zuko busted out of the air duct, then looked through a shelf of documents.
"Okay, Southern Raiders," Zuko said as he pulled a scroll and unscrolled it on the table, revealing a map with three flags placed along some points in an inverted triangle. "There. On patrol near Whale Tail Island."
"Whale Tail Island, here we come," Katara stated.
After getting back with Arcee, they boarded Appa and headed for Whale Tail Island. It had been quite a while since they had left and Zuko was asleep while Katara was clearly tired, but held onto Appa's reins tightly. Arcee took notice and went up to Katara.
"You should probably get some rest," she advised. "You'll need all your strength when we get there."
"Now, don't you worry about my strength, I have plenty," Katara responded. "I'm not the helpless little girl I was when they came."
"I'm going to find Mom," Katara said, her look of joy now turning to concern as she ran past her brother while Sokka ran in the other direction. She then made it to her house to find her mother, Kya, on the ground in front of a Fire Nation soldier.
"Mom!" Katara exclaimed before the soldier turned around and looked her in the eye, frightening Katara.
"Just let her go and I'll give you the information you want," Kya said to the soldier.
"You heard your Mother, get out of here!" the soldier ordered to Katara.
"Mom, I'm scared," Katara said to her mother.
"Go find your dad sweetie, I'll handle this," Kya reassuringly replied. Reluctant, Katara then exited her home and ran off.
"I ran as fast as I could," Katara said to Arcee as she told her the story of what happened.
"Dad! Dad!" Katara shouted to Hakoda, who was throwing a firebender soldier into the snow. Please, I think Mom's in trouble! There's a man in our house!" Once he heard those words, Hakoda immediately let go of the soldier and ran off.
"Kya!" he exclaimed as he and Katara ran up to their home.
"But we were too late," Katara continued, her voice cracking up. "When we got there, the man was gone...and so was she." Arcee, feeling sympathetic, placed her hand gently on Katara's shoulder.
"Your mother was a brave woman," Arcee said.
"I know..." Katara responded as she placed her hand on her necklace.
After a while, Zuko has took over the reins while Katara took a nap. A few hours later, Zuko spots a ship on a telescope.
"There!" he said which immediately woke Katara up before Zuko tossed Katara the telescope. "See those Sea Raven flags? It's the Southern Raiders."
"Let's do this," Katara said as she lowered the telescope before Appa descended underwater while Katara bended an air bubble around him.
Meanwhile, on the ship, the Vehicons and soldiers were exchainging small talk.
"So there I was on guard duty when some Autobot pipsqueak named Wheelie ca-" one Vehicon started before a stream of water came in, grabbed him and sent him screaming into the water. The others looked upon the sight, stunned, when Katara broke through the surface and waterbended huge waves, sending them towards the ship. One of the soldiers heard it and tried to warn the others when he turned around, but the wave collided with the ship and sent all of the guards and the Vehicon to the water. Once they had been taken care of, Appa landed on the ship and Katara, Zuko and Arcee ran inside when a Vehicon ambushed Arcee from a door from the side, but Arcee immediately got her blade out and decapitated the Vehicon before running back to Katara and Zuko. They continued to walk down the corridor, Katara with her arms consumed with water, when they made it to the door at the end of the hallway.
"This is it Katara," Zuko said.
"Are you ready?" Arcee asked as she got her blaster ready. Katara nodded once in response before Arcee immediately blasted the door down. Arcee quickly shot down the two Vehicons inside and blocked a firebending blast from the captain, whom they assume is Kya's killer.
"Who are you?" the captain asked.
"You don't remember her?" Zuko asked, reffering to Katara as he entered the room with Katara behind him. "You will soon. Trust me." Zuko then firebended at the captain, who moved to the side and broke the flame. He was about to attack again when his arm suddenly stopped, much to his horroer.
"What?" he asked when his arm moved around wildly and forced him to the ground. "What's happening to me!?" Zuko then turned, shocked to see Katara in a bloodbending stance, before Katara forced the captain to the ground. Arcee then walked to the captain, glaring down at him.
"Think back to your last raid on the Southern Water Tribe," she said.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" the captain responded. "Please, I don't know!"
"Don't you dare lie to us!" Arcee shouted before pointing to Katara. "Look her in the eye and you tell me you don't remember what you did you monster!" Katara, seething with rage, then walked up to the frightened captain and looked him in the eye. However, when she did so, her eyes immediately widened.
"It's not him," she said as she lowered her arms. "He's not the man."
"What!?" Zuko exclaimed. "What do you mean he's not!? He's a leader of The Southern Raiders! He has to be the guy!" Katara didn't respond and merely turned around to walk away. Zuko then noticed the captain struggling to get back up and immediately pulled him by the arm and pushed him against the window.
"If you're not the man we're looking for, who is!?" Zuko demanded.
"You must be looking for Yon Rha," the captain answered. "He retired four years ago." Upon hearing that, Katara's tear filled eyes opened with determination before Zuko let go of the captain and he and Arcee followed Katara outside, only for Zuko and Katara to get webbed to the wall. Arcee's optics widened in horror before she heard someone laughing deviously from above. She turned to see Airachnid standing on top of the tower of the ship.
"Arcee, how good it is to see you again," Airachnid remarked with a wicked smirk on her face. "How's Tailgate?" That clearly got to Arcee, for she then yelled up at Airachnid and fired a birage of laser blasts at her, to which the spider-bot easily dodged. Airachnid then tackled Arcee to the ground and threw her against the wall. She was about to finish her when Arcee got out her blades and sliced two of Airachnid's extra arms off. The spider-bot exclaimed in pain, allowing Arcee to kick her in the face, sending her across the deck of the ship. Airachnid tried to get up when Arcee, consumed with anger, pinned her to the ground and punched her face repeatedly.
"THIS, IS, FOR, TAILGATE!" Arcee said in between punches before Airachnid grabbed her fist and kicked Arcee off of her. She then got up and readied her arms for the kill when Arcee fired her blaster at Airachnid, sending her to the wall. Before Airachnid had the chance to counter attack, Arcee pinned her to the wall and got her blades ready, aiming to decapitate Airachnid.
"When you extinguish my spark, make it hurt," Airachnid coldly said. "You know I would extend that courtesy to you." Arcee then readied to end Airachnid there and now, when her eyes widened in realization and she stopped when her blades were an inch from Airachnid's neck. Airachnid simply looked at Arcee, slightly confused when Arcee retracted her blades.
"No...I won't do it..." Arcee said with her head down.
"Very well," Airachnid coldly replied before she tackled Arcee and pinned her to the ground with her extra arms. "I've been waiting for this day for a long time Arcee, the day that I rip your still beating spark out of your chassis!" She then readied one of her arms while Arcee shut her optics, waiting for Airachnid to finish her when she heard some type of piercing sound. She opened her optics to see Airachnid, her optics widened in shock as she looked down and saw ice spikes coming out of her chassis, energon leaking from the wounds. Arcee looked behind Airachnid and saw Katara in a waterbending position and with Zuko behind her. Then Arcee kicked Airachnid off of her and into the ocean, where her spark extinguished just a few seconds later.
Soon afterward, the trio boarded Appa and set off to Yon Rha's location. Katara continued to steer Appa while Zuko took a nap, but Arcee just sat there, breathing deeply.
"Why didn't you do it?" Katara asked which immediately got Arcee's attention. "You had Airachnid at your mercy, so why didn't you end her?"
"I thought back to what Optimus said to me before we attacked Kaon," Arcee answered.
The Autobots stood a few miles away from Kaon, observing the Decepticon capital, waiting for when to strike, when Arcee noticed Airachnid walking inside.
"Airachnid," Arcee growled as she got out her blades. Then she heard Optimus walk to her.
"Easy Arcee," Optimus warned.
"How can I be 'easy' when that glitch is right there!?" Arcee asked before she started walking towards the capital. Optimus then grabbed her shoulder before she went any further.
"Arcee, revenge is like a poison," Optimus begun. "A poison that slowly begins to take you over, and before you even notice it, it will turn you into something you're not." Arcee took in Optimus' words before hesitantly retracting her blades and getting back into position.
"Katara, I understand that it's impossible to forgive this man for what he did." Arcee began. "I couldn't forgive Airachnid for what he did to Tailgate, even when I stood down. But when you face Yon Rha, please, don't let vengeance consume you." Katara just looked down and took in Arcee's words before they neared the island where Yon Rha lived.
At the island, Yon Rha was outside his home, gardening, when an elderly lady appeared at the doorway of the house behind him.
"Yon Rha, you lazy piece of work, I need something!" she demanded harshly.
"Yes mother, what is it?" Yon Rha asked as he stopped his gardening, trying to contain his annoyance.
"The tomato-carrots from your garden are too hard for my gums, I need something soft and juicy!" Yon Rha's mother responded.
"Would you like something else from the garden?" Yon Rha asked. "I would be happy to-"
"Forget your stupid garden!" Yon Rha's mother yelled. "Get your grimy hind to the market and buy me some real food!"
Once Yon Rha had made it to the town and walked to one of the stands, he immediately purchased some food for his mother. Suddenly, a chiming tune was heard and Yon Rha turned to see what it was, but saw nothing.
"Hello?" he asked before turning to the stall owner. "Did you see someone?" The owner responded by shaking his head 'no' before Yon Rha walked back home.
Once he was on the slopes, he could feel as though someone was following him and turned around again.
"Hello?" he asked, but again, no one was there. "Is someone there?" No response. Yon Rha decided to shrug it off again and keep walking, unaware that Katara, Zuko and Arcee were hiding behind a rock.
"That was him," Katara said, her eyes consumed with hatered. "That was the monster."
Soon, rain started to fall, and Yon Rha could again feel as though someone was following him. This time, when he turned, he dropped the basked of food he was carrying and firebended at a bush, setting it ablaze.
"Nobody sneaks up on me without getting burned!" he shouted before an explosion from the ground sent him flying against a tree. He looked up to see Arcee walking to him, smoke coming from her blaster.
"We weren't behind the bush," Arcee stated before pointing her blaster at Yon Rha. "And I wouldn't try firebending again."
"Whoever you are, take my money!" Yon Rha exclaimed, visibly frightened. "Take whatever you want, I'll cooperate." Then he noticed Katara and Zuko walk up to him. Katara then pulled down her face mask.
"Do you know who I am?" Katara coldly asked.
"No...I'm not sure," Yon Rha answered.
"Oh you better remember me like your life depends on it!" Katara responded. "Why don't you take a closer look." Yon Rha did just that, and when he realized who she was, his eyes widened in terror.
"Yes, yes, I remember you now," he said. "You're the little Water Tribe girl."
"Just let her go and I'll give you the information you want," Kya said Yon Rha.
"You heard your Mother, get out of here!" Yon Rha ordered to Katara.
"Mom, I'm scared," Katara said to her mother.
"Go find your dad sweetie, I'll handle this," Kya reassuringly replied. Reluctant, Katara then exited her home and ran off.
"Now, tell me, who is it?" Yon Rha asked in a demanding tone. "Who's the waterbender?"
"There are no waterbenders here," Kya answered. "The Fire Nation took them all away a long time ago."
"You're lying," Yon Rha replied. "My source says there's one waterbender left in The Southern Water Tribe. We're not leaving until we find the waterbender."
"If I tell you, do you promise to leave the rest of the village alone?" Kya asked somberly. Yon Rha simply nodded his head his head once before Kya responded.
"It's me," she said, which was of course a lie. "Take me as your prisoner."
"I'm afraid I'm not taking prisoners today," Yon Rha responded with an evil smile on his face.
Yon Rha continued to look up at Katara, gulping in fear as lightning started striking in the background.
"She lied to you," Katara said to him as she looked away and closed her eyes sadly. "She was protecting the last waterbender."
"What!?" Yon Rha asked, shocked at what she said. "Who?"
"...ME!" Katara shouted with all of her fury as she waterbended to make the raindrops stop in mid air, causing a dome to form on top of them. Katara then pulled some of the water and froze it to form spikes before yelling with fury and bending the spikes towards Yon Rha. Zuko did nothing except watch while Arcee closed her optics with her head down, hoping Katara wouldn't do what she thought she was doing, when suddenly, the spikes stopped, inches from Yon Rha, who was cowering in fear. Katara then slowly lowered her hands as the spikes turned to water and fell to the ground. Arcee opened her optics and sighed in relief at Katara's actions.
"I did a bad thing, I know what I did was wrong and you deserve revenge, so why don't you take my mother?" Yon Rha asked in a kneeling position. "That would be fair."
"I always wonder what kind of person could do such a thing." Katara started. "But now that I see you, I think I understand. There's just nothing inside you. Nothing at all. You're pathetic and sad and empty."
"Please, spare me!" Yon Rha pleaded.
"But as much as I hate you...I just can't do it," Katara finished before controling her feelings and walking away from Yon Rah, who hung his head in shame, sobbing, while Zuko and Arcee followed Katara.
Once back on Ember Island, Katara and Arcee just sat near the edge of a dock, staring to the distance sadly, neither of them saying a word, before Zuko and Aang walked to them.
"Are you guys okay?" Aang asked.
"We're doing fine," Katara replied.
"Zuko told me what you two did," Aang said. "Or...what you didn't do, I guess. I'm proud of you two."
"We wanted to do it," Arcee began. "We wanted to take our anger at them, but we couldn't. We don't know if it's because we're too weak to do it or if it's because we're strong enough not to."
"You did the right thing," Aang responded. "Forgiveness is the first step you have to take to begin healing."
"But we didn't forgive them," Katara said as she and Arcee stood up and walked toward Aang and Zuko.
"We'll never forgive them," Arcee added before Katara turned to Zuko.
"But I am ready to forgive you," Katara said before embracing Zuko into a hug. After a while, they parted and Katara. walked away.
"You were right about what Katara needed," Zuko said to Aang. "Violence wasn't the answer."
"It never is," Aang responded.
"Then I have a question for you," Zuko stated. "What are you going to do when you face my Father?" Once that bombshell hit Aang, he looked off to the side, unsure and confused, when he noticed Ultra Magnus running to them with a concerned look in his eyes.
"What is it sir?" Arcee asked when Magnus stopped in front of them.
"Powerglide came back," Ultra Magnus answered with a serious and concerning tone. "The Con that ambushed Starscream at the Western Air Temple...was Megatron." Upon hearing that, Aang, Zuko and Arcee's mouths lowered in shock.
Back at the Fire Nation, Galvatron, Shockwave and Sixshot were being transported via an elevator to the lower levels of the Decepticon base.
"Project Nemesis is complete my lord, and I expect Project Retribution to be finished the day before the comet arrives," Shockwave reported.
"Excellent Shockwave," Galvatron responded before turning to Sixshot. "Sixshot, once Retribution is finished, you will be in charge of commanding it."
"Yes Mighty Galvatron," Sixshot responded as the elevator kept going lower, revealing to their optics what Project Retribution was. The massive Godzilla like Decepticon known as 'Trypticon.'
*QUE AVATAR ENDING THEME*