Chapter 28

Plan? What Plan?

"Move, Toph!"

Sokka barely managed to tackle Toph out of the way before the mercenary's fist struck the ground with a thud loud enough for Sokka to hear over the cheering crowd. The penetration left in the ground was clean enough that even Toph would have been impressed if she were in her right mind. The only thanks Sokka received for his heroic rescue was a violent elbow to his ribs as Toph got back to her feet.

"You need to calm down!" Sokka called to her. "This guy's a professional, Toph! Do you wanna get killed?"

Toph clearly had not heard a word that Sokka said because she was already charging in like an enraged animal. Sokka quickly glanced over his shoulder and found his sister standing over his wife bleeding as the freaky looking old woman swung her ridiculously long nails at her. For a moment he was torn between running to help them and staying where he was in order to keep Toph from killing herself.

I have to trust that Katara and Suki can handle themselves. Toph needs me right now.

Sokka returned his attention to Toph who was apparently going to try to run straight through the mercenary as though he was not even there. Either that or she could not make heads or tails of anything around her through all of her anger. Sokka charged in after her hoping to reach her before the two forces met head on. He was not quick enough.

Toph crashed into the much larger man, but to her credit she was only knocked off balance for a moment. She began to attack in a rage with no regard for her own safety. Sokka wanted to look away as he saw the man's massive fist come down on the top of his friend's head. Toph fell to one knee, but quickly began staggering back onto her feet. By the time the second blow was coming Sokka had finally caught up to her and he braced himself to take the impact in her place.

Sokka raised both arms to cushion the blow as best he could as Toph stepped in and tried to pummel her way through the mercenary's body. The punches she landed seemed to have the same effect a mosquito has on an elephant's hide. The man did not even blink at the contact. In response to the newcomer to the fight however, the mercenary lifted his thick leg and launched a kick that would have floored the both of them had Sokka not grabbed Toph by her collar and jumped back to avoid it. As soon as they were clear of the man's leg Toph went right back into the fight.

I need a plan, Sokka mentally raged. How do you plan for a fight when you don't know anything about the other guy? And when you're partner is doing everything they can to kill themselves?

Before Sokka had a real chance to mull that one over, he had to rush back into the fray in order to force Toph to avoid another devastating blow. Sokka shoved her aside as the mercenary's fist plowed into his abdomen lifting him off the ground. It was like the world was moving in slow motion as all the air in Sokka's lungs left him and he felt himself move through the air unhindered. Things only began to really move again when he crashed into the ground and the back of his head bounced off of the pavement.

Doing his best to ignore the sparks of light that the impact to his head left behind, Sokka searched for Toph to make sure she had escaped the hit. He did not have to look far as she was now flying towards him. Her landing was less than graceful as she collided with him. Sokka pulled the two of them to their feet and tried to drag Toph in the opposite direction only to be met with a wall of gang members who refused to let them move any farther.

"Get back in there!" they were yelling as they pushed Sokka forward.

Their tune changed quickly when they saw the mercenary barreling towards them. The gang members all scrambled to get out of the large man's way as he charged. Sokka struggled with restraining Toph and ended up backing into one of the parking garage's cement support columns.

"Oh, this is not going to be fun," Sokka groaned.

As the mercenary drew closer he raised his foot off the ground in an attempt to put it through Toph and Sokka's chests respectively. Sokka dove to the ground with Toph underneath him as the foot pierced the column. While the man busied himself with pulling his foot out of the concrete pillar, Sokka took the time to try and reason with Toph. Which was a difficult enough task when she in her normal frame of mind.

"If you don't get ahold of yourself, you're gonna get us both killed!" he yelled.

Toph's only response was struggling to get out from under him. Sokka quickly checked the mercenary's progress on the foot dislodging. He was having some trouble, but that would not last long. Sokka returned to Toph and slapped her across the face as hard as he could.

"Maybe you don't care about yourself, but I do!" he told her. "So do Katara, Suki and everyone else we came here with! Do you think Aang would want you to die?"

For a moment she stopped thrashing against him. He was getting through to her!

"Look, I can't win this fight without your help, and you're no good to me running around like a crazy rhino! Take a freaking breath and calm down!"

"Sokka, you have two seconds to get off of me before I make sure you can't procreate."

Violent? Yes, but completely coherent. Sokka would take what he could get. He rose to his feet and pulled her up with him.

"You okay?"

"No," she answered as calmly as she could manage. "I need something to break."

"You can break him," Sokka said as he pointed to the newly freed mercenary.

The man began to stalk his way over slowly but steady. Apparently he had noticed the change in Toph's behavior. The man was a professional after all.

"He walks funny," Toph said out of nowhere.

"What do you mean? How does he walk funny?"

"He just walks funny. His right foot steps way heavier than his left, but his center of balance isn't off."

"His right?" Sokka thought out loud.

Sokka's brain started running in overdrive trying to figure out how that was possible. Toph could not be wrong about this kind of thing, she never was. Maybe he had a hidden weapon? No, the amount of weight needed for his right side to be "way heavier" was too much to conceal easily and without tells.

"Move, Sokka!" Toph cried as the mercenary swung at him.

Sokka ducked out of the way as quick as he was able, but the mercenary's follow up swing was right on target. Sokka flinched at the upcoming hit, but it never came. Toph launched herself at the much larger opponent and smashed the back of her fist into his right temple. The man staggered one step to the side and shook his head quickly to clear the dizziness. An act that did not go unnoticed by the two young fighters.

Toph tried to move in for a follow up strike, but the mercenary was prepared and took the blow on his forearm. Toph retreated a few paces and shook the numbness from her fist.

"Sokka, why didn't you tell me this dude had a metal arm?" Toph asked angrily.

"I didn't know!" Sokka replied. "It looks like a normal one to me!"

Wait a second. A normal arm. A normal arm made of metal. On his right side.

"A normal looking arm that's made of metal!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Yeah, we've established that!" Toph growled as she dodged another attack. She stepped closer to Sokka and heard a laugh that rivaled that of every cartoon villain's evil chuckle she had ever heard before.

"I've got a plan," he whispered conspiratorially.

"Is that what that means?" Toph asked, smirking evilly herself.

"You saw how he reacted to that headshot you gave him, right?"

"Couldn't miss it."

"I'm about to give you a clear shot at him again. Make sure you put him down."

"And if I don't?"

"Then I'm probably gonna die," Sokka shrugged. "Maybe you too."

"I like this plan."

The mercenary began to move in again. There was no time to try and predict how he would react to what Sokka had in mind. He hoped that what he was about to do was not something the professional would have encountered before, but based off of the intel that the White Lotus had it was unlikely.

"Just stay about two steps behind me," Sokka instructed. "Don't get any closer to me, okay?"

"You got it, Snoozles."

Sokka took the lead and did not bother to check and see if Toph was following him. This was a risky gamble and he knew it. Hopefully his theory would prove right, and if it did not then this was going to be a lot messier than he wanted to think about. That was if the plan even worked at all.

Sokka made sure to keep a close eye on the right arm. That was his primary target. Sure enough, just before he came within reach the mercenary was already preparing to attack him with it. The large man stepped into his swing with his left foot and brought his right fist in for the blow. Sokka ducked low in response and shifted his weight to the right. As he began to duck under the blow, Sokka reached up and began to unsheathe the black blade that Master Pian Dao had entrusted him with. In the second that the steel of the blade met with the mercenary's prosthetic limb Sokka prayed that his was the better material. The sword cut through the mercenary's arm as though it were paper. As the sword finally cleared its sheath, the mercenary's forearm flew from his elbow and Sokka spiraled around to face his opponent's back. Gripping the hilt with both hands, Sokka thrust the blade down through the man's exposed right calf and through the concrete floor beneath it, effectively pinning the leg in place. Sokka's theory that the leg was prosthetic as well proved to be true when the limb produced no blood but a thick hydraulic fluid instead.

The mercenary's eyes widened for only a moment as his arm dropped to the ground. His attention shifted immediately to the small girl who was now leaping at him again. He attempted to shift his position so that he could block her attack with his left arm, but was surprised to find that he could not move his leg. Had it not been for this one moment of shock he could have easily maneuvered himself to a position to handle the small girl, but that one moment was all she needed to capitalize. She clasped both hands around his head and smashed her forehead into his own. His vision blurred as he stumbled, but his pinned leg kept him from moving freely to reorient himself. He felt the hands of the scrawny boy he had been fighting grip him around his face from behind. The next sensation the mercenary felt was of falling backwards, and then nothing.

Sokka sat on the ground breathing heavily with his hands resting on the mercenary's head that lay just in front of him. He had just cut off a man's arm, stabbed him through the leg, and then dragged the back of his head forcefully into a concrete surface. Each of the thoughts triggered painful ideas of what it must have felt like.

"Really glad I'm not you, buddy," Sokka sighed as he pat the fallen man's forehead. "That's gonna be one heck of a headache when you wake up."

Long Feng stroked his gloved palm as two more of the Fire Lord's fighters fell. This was not possible. How were these children defeating these mercenaries and murderers?

"How's the hand?" Azula asked condescendingly.

"This is nothing," Long Feng groused. "Fire Lord Ozai is still more than capable of handling this situation."

"His mercenary and witch were just defeated by a half-sane inventor and a nurse," Azula scoffed. "His forces are pathetic and your words are empty. He will lose."

Long Feng continued to stoke the still healing hole in his hand. There was still Zhao and the Fire Lord himself. They could win this battle yet. Not to mention the number of gang members they had to command. Long Feng began to smile confidently at the thought of those children being overwhelmed by their superior numbers. His smile only grew at the thought of repaying Azula for his hand.

A/N: Two chapters in one day. Apparently I'm back with a vengence. Thank you Legend of Korra. Short but hopefully satisfactory. Katara is the most difficult person for me to write in these situations which is my excuse for taking so long. I'm hoping to have the next few (hopefully 3) chapters done by the end of this weekend. I don't know if anyone is still out there, but reviews would be a nice way of letting me know you are.