Hey everyone.
I want to shout out to everyone who reviewed, favorited and followed since the last update.
And as always, if you find the story worthy. Please consider doing so as you follow along.
The Clash of Comrades - Chapter One Hundred Nine
Many weeks prior.
The sound of heavy metal doors opening up resonating ominously into the air.
Which was soon followed up by the sound of soft footfalls stepping into the long-abandoned silo.
Naoki now stood in the doorway of the vast missile chamber with her emotionless eyes gazing in at the contents of the underground missile silo.
It was none other than an old cache of nuclear warheads.
The missiles still sat in their original placements covered in dust and forgotten by time.
But no longer.
"I knew it…I knew that they were still here. Provided that they are operational…this will serve as a suitable contingency in the event that I am left with no other option." Naoki spoke in a glacial voice with her unfeeling brown eyes staring in at the stockpile of bombs.
As her usual smile still graced her lips.
And soon enough the sound of her laughter echoed throughout the walls of the deserted missile silo.
Back in the present.
The combined blinding light from the three girls' auras and the gateway exploded brilliant over the horizon.
The four highborn women now slid to a stop on the icy slope as they gazed down the sloping hillside with their eyes wide in disbelief.
They shielded their faces with their elbows while they squinted their eyes to avoid being blinding by the radiant light.
As they quickly glanced over their shoulders with their eyes wide in bewilderment when they saw that the light from the gateway was shining high above them.
Before they turned to gaze back down below with shock still present in their eyes.
"Elle's power…. she activated it." Zoi stated in an awed voice while her companions stared on in astonishment beside her.
Azula gazed down with something akin to a flicker of pride in her surprised amber golden eyes.
Only for her ruthless eyes to widen when she made out a familiar shape plummeting from the shimmering light.
And not a second after that she watched with her lips shaking in a furious line when the girl fell into the snow.
As she tried her hardest to squash the sliver of concern in her eyes while the girl cried out as she rolled down the frozen slope.
The three noblewomen stared on with their mouths falling ajar in worry.
"Elle!" Ty Lee shouted in a sisterly voice with the cold winds whipping through her hair.
Mai gazed on with her tawny eyes wide in concern while the dust cloud of snow dissipated from the air.
Elle now lay on her back trying not to suppress the violent shiver from the brutal cold temperature.
As she gasped for air as she gazed up with widened amber eyes while otherworldly lines continued to glow from her face.
And right after that Naoki was revealed to be standing on the hill some thirty feet above the downed girl.
'So…. she truly has awakened it…' Naoki thought in a detached manner with her cold eyes staring down at the groaning blonde.
"I…don't really know what to do with this or how to use it…and I…don't really know how to fight either. And…and coming at you…is nothing like coming at the Avatar or Felix. They…don't even begin to compare to you." Elle spoke as she struggled to push her body up from the snow while the freezing air stung her cheeks.
She glanced down at her gloved palms in amazement to see that her hands were still emitting that strange glow.
Just before she turned her head to stare up at Naoki's emotionless face while her crimson bangs obscured her merciless eyes.
Her body trembled with pain as she tried to pull herself to her feet.
As the older girls listened in confusion as they gazed on in uncertainty from above.
"You're so strong it's insane. You're…. you're not even bothered by the frigid climate. You…really deserve to be called a supersoldier." Elle stated in a breathless voice with her visible breath pouring out before her face while she still gazed up at Naoki in marvelment.
Team Azula glanced on with transfixed expressions in their eyes.
As they tried to decide their next course of action.
The confident prodigy walked down the slope with her unfeeling eyes still staring down at the outclassed blonde.
"I know that I don't stand a chance against you and this is more than likely only going to yield me broken bones. But even so…. I will not give in to you." Elle declared as she shakily stood up while her friends gazed on with worry in their eyes.
Naoki's emotionless brown eyes stared right back into her soul.
"Then you are a fool." Naoki remarked in a chilling voice while her booted feet crunched in the snow.
As the younger girl breathed out cold air before her face with her golden locks hanging before her emotional amber eyes.
"I don't understand it! What the hell is going through your mind!? Naoki!" Elle yelled out at the peak of her lungs while her eyes brimmed over in great anger.
The four Fire Nation women listened with their eyes agape in disbelief over the girl's uncharacteristic burst of anger.
As Naoki stared back with a seemingly unfazed ruthless brown gaze.
"When we traveled together you always looked out for all of us! And even though you said that we were nothing more than your pawns, you still brought us food and led us to shelter! And while you killed many soldiers, you never once harmed a defenseless civilian! If they couldn't fight you didn't hurt them!" Elle exclaimed in a deeply impassioned voice with a mitten covered palm held up before her distraught face.
As her highborn friends stood higher up on the slope with their eyes staring down in bewilderment.
She mustered up the nerve to stare defiantly up into Naoki's cold brown eyes as the taller girl strode closer.
While she recalled each time that the ruthless prodigy looked after everyone in her gang and sheltered them from danger on more occasions than she could count.
It was almost if…somewhere deep down below the surface of Naoki's heartless exterior that she truly cared for them!
"You always had some sort of code! Some sort of standard! Which is why I don't get it Naoki! How could you ever think of subjecting other kids to the same torment that we went through!" Elle bellowed with unnatural fury in her voice in the same moment that a fist grasped a hold of her coat.
And then she was raised into the air while gazed right back into Naoki's haunting brown eyes.
Team Azula stared on as they exchanged a worried look with one another.
As the mighty princess tried to resist rolling her callous amber golden eyes.
'Soft-hearted girl! When will you learn that the battlefield is no place for your naïve pacifism!' Azula thought with her merciless amber golden eyes glaring on ahead.
She furiously breathed a slight blue flame from her nostrils as she glared downward.
And yet as strange as it may be.
She found that she wouldn't have the girl any other way.
And not a second later she was swiftly torn from her angry musing while she never once took her possessive eyes off Naoki's back.
Only to find herself staring down in surprise when her handmaid angrily took hold of Naoki's wrist.
"Anyone who would do that is akuma! It is pure evil!" Elle roared with her energy starting to surge over her body while the older girls stared on in a stunned silence.
The princess's tyrannical amber golden eyes briefly flickered with a hint of an unseen emotion.
She glared on with her powerful fists clenched at her womanly hips.
Only for her unforgiving eyes to widen in outrage when a cry of pain echoed throughout the snowy landscape not a second afterward.
She watched as the girl now flew through the air after being punched in the face by Naoki!
And that was all it took for her eyes to narrow into murderous amber golden slits as she seethed in fury.
The three noblewomen stood gazing on with their eyes agape in similar rage.
As Elle let out a pained cry as she rolled speedily down the icy slope.
"You little beast!" Mai snapped with her teeth clenched together as she trembled with a knife in her fist.
Ty Lee shook in sisterly anger with her fist gripped beside her just as she moved to assist Elle.
"You are going to scream in agony for that!" Azula boomed with fire snorting from her enraged nostrils as she began to slide rapidly down the ice.
Only to spin her head around in anger when the captain held out her arms to block her and her two furious childhood friends from continuing forward.
"What are you doing Zoi!" Ty Lee shouted in a much sterner voice than usual while she glared back at the captain's stony face.
It was at times like these that she couldn't understand how Zoi could be so calm and composed!
"I know that it is hard to watch…but it might be for the best if we let Elle get some experience in combat. She'll never learn how to fight with the Component if we always come to her aid." Zoi explained in a composed voice with her golden eyes staring down while her fellow noblewomen gazed at her incredulously.
Azula stared on with her amber golden eyes still forming a monstrous glare as her lips pursed into a ferocious glower.
She wouldn't deny that she saw the merit in such an approach.
And yet even so…
She couldn't just stand by and watch as her little girlfriend was beaten…could she?
"Are you insane? Against that girl? She slaughtered a whole military force all on her own. That would be like if you asked us to just stand by and watch while Azula tore her apart!" Mai retorted in an adamant voice.
While Naoki nimbly slid down the ice with her emotionless eyes gazing coldly down at tumbling handmaid.
As the princess and the acrobat scowled in agreement.
"While that may be true…unlike those soldiers. She needs Elle alive. Therefore, it stands to reason that Elle isn't in any danger of dying." Zoi remarked in a stoic voice while her three comrades listened to her in disbelief.
"Even if that is true, I'm not just going to stand by and watch my little sister take a beating!" Ty Lee protested with an outraged shake of her head while she shook in anger.
"And what if young Elle should find herself in a fight for her life without us around? What then? Wouldn't you want her to be able to protect herself Ty Lee?" Zoi pondered as she gazed back at the other woman's protective face while Ty Lee visibly swallowed as she turned to look away.
Mai stared back at the captain with anger still present in her tawny eyes.
Only for all three noblewomen to turn to the princess when the princess let out an impatient grunt.
"Fine. We will not intervene for the time being." Azula stated in a cold voice as her two lifelong friends stared back in shock.
Her hardened eyes gazed down at her serving girl as she tried to squash the slightest sign of emotion in her steely gaze.
"How can you say that Azula!" Ty Lee exclaimed with another swallow while the princess watched with eerie calmness.
"But if it should seem as if the girl's life is in danger or at any risk of being taken away. We'll step in." Azula commented in a strict voice while the two noblewomen sunk back in defeat.
The captain still gazed down with focused golden eyes as she kept a close watch on the fight below.
Just as they all turned to gaze out of the corners of their eyes with a guarded expression in their eyes when they saw Katsu come sliding down the slope.
As the feral girl seemed to stare down at the downed teenager with a greater sense of concern in her wild golden eyes.
Just as Elle rolled to a halt with her face planted in the snow once more while she let out a pained whimper that pulled at the strings of the older girls' hearts.
And then Naoki reappeared over the struggling girl while she gazed down with an unsettling smile on her lips.
"Did that hurt Elle? I'll have you know that I held back on you. I could have easily broken your jaw. But we can't have that, now can we? After all you won't be much use to me if I crack your skull, now will you?" Naoki quipped in an almost nonchalant voice while the walked forward with her emotionless eyes staring down at the groaning girl.
The Fire Nation women bristled as they gazed down with enraged stares in their eyes.
And Ty Lee and Mai almost started to move forward as they shook in outrage.
As the princess glared down with murderously seething amber golden eyes.
"But maybe a hefty dose of painful stimuli is what you need to wake up to reality. I know it worked wonders for me. So, be it then torture will be your mentor." Naoki spoke in an icy voice as she bent over to pull the kneeling girl up by her coat.
She raised the smaller girl into the air with her emotionless eyes staring frigidly back into the younger girl's grimacing amber gaze.
As Ty Lee and Mai turned to gaze incredulously back at the princess's scowling face.
Zoi stared down with narrowed golden eyes as she kept a close watch on Naoki.
"Azula!" Ty Lee urged in a frustrated voice while Azula stared down with sternly glaring amber golden eyes.
"Just yield and say you'll go back Elle! Fighting Naoki won't end in your favor!" Katsu pleaded as she slid down while she gazed at her smaller childhood friend's pained face.
And not a second after that Elle was slammed into a snowy wall while she cried out with her friends staring down in conflict from above.
As Naoki still gazed at the girl with that same cold smile.
"Surely, there must be some ferocity buried underneath that pathetic whimpering exterior? Well Elle? Perhaps, you just need some pressure to bring it out." Naoki purred as she held Elle up with her back against the snow while her fist gripped the girl's coat.
Team Azula stood uncertain as they gazed between their leader's ruthless face and the two girls below.
'What a savage! This kid really is like a younger and even more vicious Azula!' Mai thought with her tawny eyes taking on a repulsed death stare.
As Elle let out a groan as she gazed back into Naoki's soul piercing machinelike eyes.
"I…I've always seen you…like a sister Naoki and many times I have wished that I had gone with you instead of Felix!" Elle blurted out as she hung from Naoki's fist while the older girl stared back with nearly mechanical brown eyes.
The older girls gazed on in silence as they listened to the heartfelt confession.
And for the most fleeting of moments Naoki's bangs shadowed her eyes.
She stood unmoving with the chilling wind tearing through her hair.
And then mere seconds later she plunged the sputtering girl face first into the snow.
While expressions of fury flashed before the eyes of all of Team Azula.
None more so than Ty Lee who was now glaring on with a furious tear in her eye.
She couldn't even imagine brutalizing the gentle girl.
Let alone after such a heartwarming confession!
"No. You don't. You're too weak. You wouldn't have survived." Naoki stated in a dark voice while her fist gripped the back of Elle's head.
'Just like Yuji…' The assassin thought with her emotionless eyes staring back at the whimpering girl beneath her fist.
The older girls stared on with rage filled eyes as they once again found themselves recalling the old sage's words.
But I suspect that your efforts will be received with violence and a very painful beating.
The Fire Nation women glared down at Naoki's back.
Now they all understood what the old woman meant when she said those words.
Mai clutched her knives as she entrenched her boots in the snow.
She turned to gaze out of the corner of her angered eye at the princess's cold face.
"I…I would like to…help you Naoki." Elle remarked as she gasped with her face buried in stinging snow.
Naoki stared icily at the back of the younger girl's head.
"If I'm not going to elicit a response from pressuring you personally…perhaps you would respond better if I forced you to watch as I killed your so-called aristocrat friends. Hm?" Naoki declared in a pitiless voice as she smiled while Elle's amber eyes widened as she stared back into the hard snow.
Team Azula stared down with their eyes narrowed into cold glares.
"W-what?" Elle cried out as she turned to gaze over her shoulder into Naoki's savagely smiling face.
"I would like to see you try and kill me girl." Azula spoke in a confident voice with her amber golden eyes narrowing into slits down at Naoki's smiling face.
"If I don't do it…Reiko will. Can you feel that chill in the air? Reiko is already on the battlefield. She'll be here shortly…and when she gets here. If by some miracle your friends are still alive…she'll shatter your little friends into a thousand shards of ice." Naoki remarked in a menacing voice with a ruthless smile on her lips while the smaller girl trembled in an increased panic.
While chunks of ice fell down Elle's reddened face as she struggled to break free of the Naoki's grip.
As the older girls listened with their eyes widened in alarm as they turned to gaze off into the distance.
And true to Naoki's words it almost felt as if the air…was getting colder!
"I…don't like the sound of that Azula. We should take Elle and go." Mai advised as she shuddered with the frigid winds whipping against her skin while Ty Lee shivered in agreement.
The princess glared on with prideful amber golden eyes as she turned to exchange a glance with her captain.
And yet as much as she hated to admit it, she knew well enough that her friend was right.
"N-no…" Elle spoke with a mouthful of snow while her chi started to glow once more.
The highborn women turned to gaze down with surprise in their astonished eyes.
As the supersoldier smiled with her hair blowing before her emotionless brown eyes.
"Naoki…" Katsu trailed off in a conflicted voice as her golden eyes stared worriedly at her younger friend's panicked face.
"That Fire Princess of yours is so beautiful. I'll bet that she'll make for an even lovelier ice sculpture. Until Reiko stomps her head into pieces that is." Naoki taunted with a smirk while the small blonde's amber eyes now sparked in anger.
As the team listened above with unnerved expressions in their eyes.
Mai and Ty Lee failed to suppress the shudder of fright that was traveling down their spines.
And not a second afterward they all glanced down with their eyes agape in wonderment when they saw that their young friend's face was contorted in fury.
"No! I will not let that happen! Nobody is going to lay a finger on Azula-sama! I won't let anyone hurt my friends!" Elle yelled out as she pushed herself off the ice while her princess listened with a moved look in her widened eyes.
"I…can't believe it! Elle doesn't respond to all of that pain directed to her own person but as soon as we are threatened…more specifically the princess is threatened she gets livid!" Zoi stated with her golden eyes gazing down in amazement.
Azula stared on with her hands falling to her hips while her regal lips parted in a rare show of emotion.
'Elle…you are such a sweetheart.' Ty Lee thought as she gazed down at the younger girl with a protective stare in her brown-gray eyes.
And not a second later she stared on in awe when the girl's chi exploded once more!
As Naoki's gloved hand fell back to her hip as she smiled back at Elle's furious face.
Katsu gazed on with a flash of unmistakable battle excitement in her wild golden eyes.
"Alright! That's more like it!" Katsu yelled out in a thrilled voice as she shook her fist with a love for battle.
"Hn. That's it. Bring it on." Naoki replied in an undaunted voice with her hair blowing before her machinelike brown eyes.
Elle glared out from where she stood with her back against the wall in the ice.
And just like that she let out an angry roar while the Fire Nation women stared on in disbelief.
And then she sprang into the air with energy that she didn't know that she was capable of.
As her howls filled the air while her golden hair blew about before her angry amber eyes.
Naoki stood unmoving with her sharp eyes staring ahead as she watched the petite girl drop down above her.
As the princess stood in a state of shock as she gazed down with affected amber golden eyes.
And not even seconds after that the angry teenager clumsily swung her arm at Naoki's face.
Only for Naoki's brown eyes to widen a fraction in surprise when a disc shaped construct of energy formed before the girl's palm!
The older girls gazed on with their eyes widened in an expression of shock.
It was…just like they saw the girl's mother use in her tragic fight against that man Strados in their young friend's memories!
And not even a second afterward Naoki rapidly moved out of the way before the construct could strike her face.
She gazed out of the corner of her eye in surprise when a lock of hair fell from her head to the ground below.
'That's it! That's the barrier cutting power!' Naoki thought with her brown eyes taking on a beyond pleased gleam as she effortlessly jumped out of the angered girl's reach.
She slid back on her booted feet with her emotionless eyes gazing on with a satisfied gleam.
"Princess…that's the palm strike that you have been teaching her. She crafted a technique with it using her energy." Zoi commented in an impressed voice with a small smile on her lips while her princess gazed on with a proud smirk forming onto her red lips.
"Alright Elle!" Ty Lee cheered with a fist in the air while Mai smiled in agreement.
"Good job kid." Mai complimented in a supportive voice while Elle stood panting gazing back at Naoki's face.
"That's my girl. Good work! I'll shape you into a little warrior before you know it." Azula called out with a refined smile on her lips as she twirled a fingernail in her hair.
Mai and Ty Lee momentarily shivered for the young girl's wellbeing.
"And that's just the start Naoki!" Elle shouted as she huffed with her cheeks shivering in the chilling air while Naoki stared icily back at her.
And not even seconds later the supersoldier leaped into the air with even greater speed than before.
She stared up with a returning alarmed expression in her amber eyes.
And not a moment after that she stumbled backwards as she let out a yelp as she clumsily avoided Naoki's swinging fist.
Only for her amber eyes to widen in fright when she saw the older girl's fist cleave straight through the solid ice!
As the older girls turned to stare back down with returning alertness in their eyes.
Naoki landed on both feet before Elle as she smiled back into the shorter girl's intimidated face.
And then not even seconds later she sprang forward once more.
As she smiled confidently as Elle staggered out of the way of her swings.
"Eep!" Elle exclaimed in a lovable voice as she backed away while a savage smile pulled onto the other girl's lips.
And then just like that she cried out again when the girl's fist punched straight through the thick ice.
While ice dust and snow rained down in her golden hair as she staggered away.
The Fire Nation women quickly assessed that their innocent friend was completely outclassed.
As the princess's merciless amber golden eyes stared on as she remembered the words that the old spoke to her about the girl's power.
The Component is not the strongest or the fastest. Nor can the Component cause the most destruction. But when it comes to cutting through the energy of those linked to the spirit realm or any barriers of mystical energy…there is no one more capable.
"Zoi…do you remember what the old hag said about the girl's Component?" Azula inquired in a stern voice while the captain nodded her head.
The two other noblewomen turned to gaze back at them with rising worry and confusion in their eyes.
"I do Your Highness. She said that there was no one better when it came to cutting through the energy of beings connected to the spiritual plane…" Zoi answered in a knowing voice while Azula scowled unfolded her arms from over her armored chest.
As the princess began to walk forward as she prepared to join the girl in battle below.
"Then it stands to reason that perhaps the Tiger Monkey's power is less effective against beings that are not tied to the spiritual plane." Azula remarked with her hands on her hips while her subordinates listened attentively.
"I see…I was thinking the same myself…then that means…" Zoi trailed off in a stony voice while her focused golden eyes stared down at the younger girl's intimidated face.
"That the power is best used against otherworldly beings and slicing through mystical barriers…just as the old woman told us. And that other opponents are better left to us." Azula spoke in a sophisticated voice with her intelligent amber golden eyes gazing downward.
Elle began to pant as she took another step back while a crimson blur landed before her.
"Then…let's back her up!" Ty Lee exclaimed as she rushed up alongside the scowling princess.
"Good…I'm looking forward to paying her back for hitting my little sister." Mai stated in a ruthless voice with her blades in hand.
"My sentiments precisely. No one hits my peasant." Azula hissed in a scarily possessive voice with fire exuding from her wrathful nostrils.
The captain nodded in agreeance with her golden eyes taking on a much colder stare.
"Right then. Let's wrap this up…and get out of this frozen shit hole." Zoi declared with her katana in hand as she sprinted forward with great speed.
Her princess bounded ahead alongside her as her fellow noblewomen rushed after them in the rear.
Naoki gazed out of the corner of her emotionless eye as she watched the older girls slide down the ice hill.
The four warriors stared furiously down at her as she gazed fearlessly up at them through her crimson red locks.
Elle stared up at the highborn women with an expression of innocent gratitude in her amber eyes.
And then not a second later the young girl could only gaze on with an emotional look in her eyes when the four women dropped down behind her.
The Fire Nation women landed on their feet with their eyes glaring warningly back at Naoki's expressionless face.
As looks of anger formed in their eyes when they took in the bruise on their young friend's cheek.
"Arigatou gozaimasu…minasan." Elle murmured as she panted in front of her highborn friends while the older girls nodded their heads.
"Katsu. Get down here." Naoki commanded in a frigid voice while Team Azula's eyes widened as they turned to gaze in Katsu's direction.
And then just like before the watched with unnerved looks in their eyes when the combustionbender leaped down on all fours beside the stony redhead.
The superhuman earthbender stood with her emotionless eyes gazing back at the four older girls and her emotional childhood friend.
As the combustionbender knelt with her golden eyes wide with a flicker of madness.
"This is the final round and this time…I will not be so charitable to either of you. I'll kill you both!" Azula bellowed in a violent voice with her titanic aura flooding into the frozen landscape while her subordinates stared on in astonishment.
Zoi responded with the same as she stared on with stoically focused golden eyes as her energies flared to the surface.
As the two nonbenders sunk into fighting stances as they stared hard back at the two supersoldiers.
Elle swallowed under her breath as her chi continued to glow as she stood up beside her highborn friends.
Just before she turned to cast a final pleading glance at Katsu's fraught face and then Naoki's merciless face soon after.
As the two mighty firebenders' energies flared out before the other two teenager's eyes.
"Charge it Katsu." Naoki ordered in a low voice while Katsu's golden eyes briefly flashed in surprise.
The four older girls and their friend gazed on with a spark of uneasiness in their eyes.
As the combustionbender slowly stood up with her arms hanging before her body.
Her entire body started to glow once more as her hair flowed freely behind her.
"Got it!" Katsu replied as she stared on with wild golden eyes while the highborn women eyed her warily.
"Naoki! Katsu! We…we don't have to do this! Isn't there any other way!" Elle pleaded in an emotional voice while the princess tried not to roll her amber golden eyes.
Mai and Ty Lee gazed at their adopted sister with a sympathetic look in their moved eyes.
Only for all five members of Team Azula to turn back to Katsu while their eyes grew wider when saw the girl's green aura started to consume her body was more!
"We didn't choose this life! This isn't what we wanted! To spend our entire lives as weapons! But we don't have any choice now!" Katsu shouted with her golden eyes gazing on in a heavy emotion.
Elle gazed on with a shaken expression in her sentimental amber eyes.
As Ty Lee and Mai briefly stared back at Katsu with a returning expression of pity in their eyes.
Zoi stood silent with her sword in hand as she gazed between the two girls.
All while the princess's cold eyes showed very little pity as she gazed harshly back at the two young warriors.
"No more games Elle. Our discussion is over." Naoki informed in a merciless voice as her body began to glow with a red aura while her hair blew before her emotionless eyes.
And not an instant later she slid her feet back on the icy ground.
And then she leaped high into the air with her machinelike eyes staring down at her childhood friend's-stricken face.
Elle gazed up with her amber eyes taking on a sorrowful stare as another tear dripped from her eye.
The four highborn women steeled themselves for combat as they glared up at the descending redhead.
"I'm sorry…Elle!" Katsu called out as she jumped into the air with her green energy glowing brightly.
As Elle hung her head with her golden hair shadowing her saddened amber eyes.
While her friends new and old stared defiantly back at one another.
Neither side willing to give in to the other.
"We are all survivors of that horrific day…and now we have to fight each other? This world…it really is such a cruel place." Elle lamented in a hurt voice with sadness in her gentle eyes while her highborn friends listened in an affected silence behind her.
As the wind swayed through her hair as she stood with her head bowed low while she clutched at the straps of her backpack.
The animalistic Katsu shouted out an emotional roar at the top of her lungs as she dropped down alongside Naoki.
As the young assassin vanished in a crimson blur once more while the older girls widened their eyes in alarm.
The girl's speed…it was simply inhuman!
"All this time…nothing has changed. We're still the same clueless kids that we've always been." Elle muttered in a solemn voice while her teammates listened with spellbound expressions in their eyes.
Another tear made its way out of her eye as her chi started to glow once more.
As the Fire Nation women gazed down at her from behind in awe.
"We're lost and alone without any clue of what to do, where to go or who to run to. And we have no idea what to do to stop the hurt." Elle spoke in a heart wrenching voice while the older girls stood speechless behind her.
The energy from her power flowed to life as she raised her distressed amber eyes to gaze up above her.
As Katsu dropped like a literal bomber with her emerald energy flaring brilliantly.
Elle gazed sorrowfully up into the older teenager's tormented eyes as her tear fell to the ice below.
And not a second later she slid her feet backward alongside her highborn friends.
The four Fire Nation warriors prepared themselves to defend their young friend.
Only for the women of Team Azula to spin their head around in shock when another bright burst of energy erupted from their companion's body.
And then they all took a stunned step backwards when they saw that the girl had somehow erected a strange dome of energy above them!
Their jaws dropped open in astonishment as they gaped at their young friend's back in awe!
And not even a second later they watched in amazement when their innocent friend's white aura of energy flowed into the air before them.
And just like that a mighty aura of crimson energy slammed into the construct of energy!
Team Azula stood in a disbelieving silence as they observed the two girls' auras collide with one another.
They held their arms over their eyes as explosions of red and white blinded their astonished eyes.
All while as Katsu's howls split the air as she dropped down above the two firebenders.
Azula and Zoi stared back up at Katsu as they slid back with their arms held out before their resolute faces.
And then seconds later the two warriors charged the feral bomber once more!
While the bright light of Naoki and Elle's auras continued to spark as the two girls gazed back at one another.
Mai and Ty Lee gaped on in awe behind their teenage friend.
Elle slid back with a pant as she held up her hands before her exhausted face.
And not a moment after that the ruthless Naoki impacted from above with Elle's energy shield for a second time!
As Elle let out another battle cry as she pushed back with every fiber of her being!
Naoki gazed back with gleaming brown eyes as she punched her gloved fist into the center of the construct!
The light from their combined powers shined brightly into the sky over the perpetually frozen landscape.
And then a series of explosions of combustionbending once again erupted into the air.
As the light from the ensuing battle illuminated the arctic land for all to see for miles on end.
Elsewhere.
A distant underground explosion resounded thunderously into the air.
The few soldiers that remained were already fleeing in the opposite direction.
Nero stood smiling with his detonator in hand while the flames from his exploding lair rained down overhead.
He narrowed his crimson eyes when a tall figure began to calmly walk through the smoke.
Just before the emperor's smiling face came into the view.
Reiko now lazily dusted herself off as she gazed back at her prey with unimaginably dominant blue eyes.
"I see that you destroyed your lair in an attempt to keep me from getting my hands on your research." Reiko remarked in a smooth voice that was overflowing with upmost poise while she eyed her target closely.
The monstrous man let out a maniacal laugh with his otherworldly white hair blowing in the rising winds.
And not a moment after that a whirlwind touched down behind the tall tyrant.
The emperor briefly glanced over her shoulder when her second in command landed in a crouch behind her with mechanical wings retracting onto her back.
Andromeda rose to her feet with her bun of coffee brown hair swaying about in the air as she placed her fists on her hips.
Her armor glistened with a light dusting of snow falling from her back.
As her snake like gray eyes gazed back at her leader's imperious face.
She turned her gaze back to the deviously smiling scientist while she gave him a quick glance over.
While a beyond self-important expression formed onto her lips as she stood smiling behind her leader's back.
As the emperor turned her conquering gaze back to the sadistic man in question.
"I can only presume that you two know who I am?" Nero purred in an undertone of sinister intent while he gazed back at the emperor's ever smirking face.
He tried to play off his fear as he never took his crimson eyes off the ruler's conceited visage.
"We can skip the greetings Nero. There is no aberrant in all of this world that I do not know about." Reiko stated in a dismissive voice while her blue gaze watched the man intently.
As the younger woman stood beside her taller leader while she let out a bored scoff.
"We know all that we need to know about you. I have read up on you quite extensively." Andromeda commented in a smug voice as she folded her arms over her chest while she gazed back at the cornered man.
"Have you now?" Nero pondered with a chuckle while he gazed back at the woman in amusement.
"I have. We are also aware that you have been spying on our faction for quite some time now. Not to mention your gruesome experiments that you have been performing on gifted children." Andromeda spoke with a self-assured smile on her lips while the researcher let out another cackle.
The emperor stood above her second in command at her full imposing height with her cold blue eyes gazing on patiently.
"Impressive. I also know all about you Air Force Commander Andromeda." Nero replied as he regarded the young woman with a gleaming crimson eye.
He returned his attention back to the emperor's supremely confident face.
While the was no doubt that Andromeda was no weakling…
It was not her that he was concerned with.
No…it was the monster who fancies herself emperor.
And then just before the younger woman was about to open her mouth to speak once more.
She turned to gaze up at her leader when Reiko glanced in her direction.
"Enough talk Andromeda, I don't need you here. Go join Victoria in subduing the other combatants. I will be joining you after I am finished with him soon enough." Reiko commanded in a tone of absolute authority while the younger woman paused as she looked as if she were about to talk back.
Only for her commanding blue eyes to silence the rebellious woman before she so much as even said a word.
"As you command…almighty Emperor Reiko." Andromeda responded with an arm over her chest while Reiko's blue eyes still gazed through her skull.
And then just as quickly as she had arrived.
She departed in a whirlwind of rapid air currents through the skies towards her targets.
Reiko now returned her focus back to the researcher as they stared each other down.
As she took profound delight in the way that the man was trying so hard to conceal his unease.
And then not a moment after that the tyrant gazed out of the corner of her eye when she saw a bright light illuminate above the sky several miles away.
Her conquering blue eyes flashed with intrigue as she glanced in the distance of the battle.
Just before she gazed back at the man with her pale lips curving into a sanguine smirk.
As she took note in the way that his crimson eyes momentarily flashed with aggravation.
"You came at a bad time. I was in the middle of other business." Nero complained in an irate voice with his hair blowing before his ruthless eyes while the tyrant's smile grew even wider.
He slid his feet back in the snow with his lips pursing into a malicious snarl.
"I am certain that it goes without saying that I don't need to tell you that fighting against me is inconsequential." Reiko commented in an autocratic voice while she folded her gloved hands behind her tall back.
She stared at her prey with her lips entrenched into a dictatorial smile.
As the demented scientist forced himself to regain his composure as he gazed back with a sadistic gleam in his crimson eyes.
'To think that this woman was born with such an ungodly mutation…I must obtain it!' Nero thought as he began to smile savagely.
He began to lick his lips as he stared back at the unintimidated face of the tyrant as he let out a menacing chuckle.
'He actually thinks that he can obtain me for research…how adorable.' Reiko thought as she stared ahead while she watched a lethal energy began to seep from the madman's body.
"I want to study you! My single greatest desire is to uncover the secrets of the fabric of life! And I know that I will be that much closer to finding the answer that I seek when I dissect you, Reiko!" Nero screamed with a maddened expression taking over his cruel crimson eyes while his aura of chi flared to life.
The emperor simply gazed back with an unfazed demeanor while her hair continued to blow about in the arctic winds.
And then she confidently closed her blue eyes while she held her head high with the aura of an unrivaled monarch.
"It is time that I taught you a lesson about what happens to those that get in my way." Reiko spoke with her eyes calmly closed while she exhaled a cold vapor into the air before her face.
And not an instant later the mad scientist broke out in a wicked sprint towards his far stronger opponent.
As a crazed smile adorned his lips as he leaped into the air above the statuesque woman.
And just like that an unfathomably mighty aura erupted from the tyrant's relaxed body.
And then the tyrant opened her eyes to gaze up at the man's stunned face while he was blown back by the release of her energy.
"I estimate that it will only take a fraction of my strength to defeat you." Reiko announced in a supremely hubristic voice as her lips pulled into a predatory smirk.
And that was all it took for Nero to gaze on with shock in his widened eyes.
And then before he even had a chance to react.
He could only let out a powerless shout of protest as he was sent skidding backwards in the snow.
As he gazed back at the tyrants beyond confident face while a horrible aura of power was now being exuded from her body.
And then the emperor held out her gloved palm while frigid energy gathered before her fingertips.
And soon after that the sound of inhuman scientist's screams echoed calamitously into the arctic air.
And the only sound to follow after that was the terrifying sound of the tyrant's cruel laughter.
AN:
I am going to keep this afterword brief as I am not feeling well today.
In this chapter we saw that Naoki does indeed have nuclear weapons and that her threat was not just a bluff.
I hope that everyone enjoyed Elle standing her ground against Naoki. Even though Elle is outclassed by Naoki, she has decided that she is willing to fight to go home with the people that she views as her new family.
We also saw that Elle learned to do the energy construct attack that we saw Lana do in the flashbacks. And even though the power of the Component is best suited against beings connected to the spiritual plane, Elle was still able to cut a lock of hair from Naoki's head.
And because Naoki referred to it as the barrier cutting power, this leads us to infer that if Elle can cut through mystical barriers. Then Elle can also cut through physical barriers as well.
And the fact that Naoki took the time to dodge that attack of Elle's, shows that the Component can be a lethal power when the holder puts their mind to it.
And furthermore we also saw that Elle is capable of using her energy to form constructs to not only attack but to defend as she did in the end of the chapter.
And Elle's words really help to illustrate that she, Naoki and Katsu are just three kids that are lost and don't know where to go.
As for the end of the chapter with Rieko and Nero. Nero never stood a chance against Rieko to begin with. And I was trying to convey Nero's awareness of this when he showed fear over Rieko's arrival on the battlefield.
He knew he was out of his league, and yet he felt compelled to obstruct her anyway for two reasons. One, out of his pride for his research and two out of a desire to study her.
Also, we're getting small hints about Rieko's power the more we see her appear. Rieko has an exceedingly fine control over her energy, to the point where she is able to control how much power she is using down to the percentage.
And she essentially told Nero that defeating him wasn't going to require a high percentage of her power. I wanted to show that they wouldn't call her the worlds strongest without good reason and that she is in a league of her own in comparison to the other aberrants.
Also, Rieko's second in command Andromeda make her second appearance in this chapter. She'll come into more prominent focus on book two, but the one thing we know about her is that she isn't fond of Rieko. She'll have some more appearances in this arc though, and we'll get to learn more about her before it is over.
Anyhow, that's it for now though.
Stay tuned for next time.
For chapter one hundred ten! The Duel of the Prodigies!