AN: Hey there, here I am again with another chapter.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or Avatar the Last Airbender.

( - )

(Last Time)

"It seems the Avatar is not rushing to take the bait. Which only means that we will need to try harder to lure him in." Azula continued, speaking her thoughts out loud as she looked back at the town. Her soldiers had pacified the residents and set them to work on reinforcing the defences. Mai and Ty Lee she could see were currently dining outside what had once been the town hall. Her firebenders, meanwhile, were running through drills, even as her pet earthbender and three pet waterbenders did their own drills.

"What are your orders, Princess?" The captain bowed.

"I know how to force the Avatar's hand. Bring me Temujin, Ling, Xiou and Mako." Azula said, a slight smile playing around her mouth as her idea slowly evolved into a plan, and a very wicked one at that. She'd need her colonial soldiers to pull it off, but if the plan was successful, not only would it force the Avatar to face her, but it would also sound the death knell for the great wall city of Omashu as well.

( - )

Chapter 16

( - )

(With Percy)

"We need to leave." Sokka said bluntly.

Percy blinked in surprise as he digested the teen's words.

His statement was both abrupt, and unexpected.

It was around the middle of the afternoon, and so far their day had been a blowout, after both he and Suki had slept in for most of the morning after their exertions the day prior.

It hadn't initially been the plan, but had ended up happening as the tavern's landlady, Suu Min and her long suffering husband, had made sure to facilitate their laziness. After all, at around mid-morning just when they were grudgingly getting up, she had brought them a hearty breakfast and some freshly squeezed lychee juice to their room.

The thought had been appreciated, especially since it meant they hadn't had to move around too much.

Which was especially handy, as Suki was still sore from her fight the other day.

The injuries and burns she'd received during her battle with the fire benders were still raw and painful. With this being despite the poultice that had been put on the burns, and the fresh bandages that had been wrapped around her other wounds.

Likewise, he too was exhausted.

He still hadn't fully recovered from conjuring up the storm the other day.

Fortunately, now, several hours after they had broken their fast and finally roused themselves to make it to the tavern's main room, they had begun to feel marginally better.

Already his energy levels had improved. They nowhere near what they were before the fight, but he could at least walk around and do day to day things, and even perform a few party tricks for some of the gawking kids.

Suki, he knew, wasn't quite as recovered. She was still tender, not that she'd let her discomfort stop her from getting up and getting dressed. She'd never been one to just sit around and do nothing. Likewise, she was the type of person who could never adapt to a sedentary lifestyle.

After getting dressed, the two of them had come down to the main room for some more food and a few drinks, even as they prepared to discuss their plans for getting the Avatar and his friends out of their predicament. What with Aang, and the others, all having been arrested the other day for messing around with one of the many stone slides that criss-crossed the city.

Or at least that was the plan.

Only, by the time they'd finished their lunch and started discussing the ways in which they could facilitate the Avatar's release – including diplomacy, bribery, blackmail and violence – it all turned out to be unnecessary, as the trio in question, along with Momo their flying lemur, chose that moment to enter the tavern. With the three of them looking around for a few moments, before focussing in on where the two of them were sitting.

"Wait, come again?" Suki asked into the brief silence that had followed Sokka's blunt statement, her gaze shifting curiously between the three kids.

Percy did the same, his brow furrowing slightly as he took in their current state.

Sokka looked disgruntled and grumpy. He also looked tired. He had noticeable, dark purplish bags under both eyes, and smelt quite sour, like stale sweat. Noticeably, however, he didn't smell like smoke, which suggested he'd at least managed to wash himself after his exertions in the forest the previous day.

Katara too looked slightly bedraggled, or at least compared to how neat and tidy she usually looked. Her hair was not as carefully styled as usual, and her clothing were far more rumbled and unkempt than they were normally. She was not as messily presented as Sokka, but she was nowhere near as well presented as he was used to.

Contradictorily, however, she also seemed to be sporting a small smile. Which, considering the state she was in and the fact that she'd just presumably spent the night in a prison cell, was a bit odd to say the least.

Aang meanwhile looked just as tired as the other two, only unlike them, he was grinning broadly, and seemed to be in much better spirits.

The Avatar didn't look at all upset about his brief stint in jail, instead he looked practically giddy, all things considered.

It was a very odd contrast to how Sokka was acting, with Katara's attitude being somewhat of a middle ground between the two.

"We need to go," Sokka repeated bluntly, his tired eyes shifting to Suki, even as he helped himself to their jug of juice. "Now."

Eyeing him as he pilfered the remains of their lunch, Percy turned his attention to the other two. Some things were not adding up, and he wanted answers. "What happened to you lot, exactly? Last I heard, you'd gone for a joyride on the inter-city postal system…?"

"Ermm, things got complicated…" Aang laughed awkwardly.

"Don't remind me," Sokka grumbled.

"Oh, it wasn't that bad," Katara laughed nervously as she absent-mindedly started playing with her hair.

Percy focussed in on her reaction. He wasn't the best at reading people, but even he could pick up on her nervous fidgeting, and the aura of uncertainty around her.

"That Bummi guy was a lunatic! He locked us up all night, threw chicken at us, and then trapped us in rock candy while forcing Aang to do a load of stupid challenges!" Sokka exploded, his voice cracking audibly.

"It was geminite," Katara corrected, her smile wavering slightly. "And I think he meant well. He's just eccentric. I mean he is Aang's old friend, I'm sure he had a reason behind-"

"-behind being a complete nutjob?" Sokka growled, his eyebrow twitching.

"It wasn't that bad," Aang piped up, waving away Sokka's concerns airily. "They were just tests. He wanted to help open our minds, and teach us that not everything is what it seems. It's just Bummi being Bummi, is all."

"We could have died!" Sokka shouted, his eyes wide as he gestured at Aang in askance.

"Not really, the crystal was edible, and it wasn't even that strong." Katara said, her tone slightly awkward. "It was a bit stupid, but I don't think we were in any real danger, and even if we were, I'm sure the king wouldn't have let it go too far."

"Yeah, Bummi was just joking around, is all." Aang tagged on defensively.

"Oh I'm so glad we all know what that ancient crackpot is thinking!" Sokka scowled, looking over at Percy and Suki. "Can you believe them? The king has us arrested, locked us up, and then spends half a day messing with us, all because he and Aang used to hang out when he was a kid, and he thought it would be funny…"

"It does sound kind of messed up," Suki allowed, her brow furrowing as she looked between the trio, and then back at Percy.

She looked confused, almost like she didn't quite know what to say about the bizarre things Sokka was spouting off.

As far as he was concerned, her reaction was somewhat understandable, even if he personally wasn't completely surprised. After all, unlike Suki he had spent far too much time near crazy and eccentric gods and immortals to be surprised by the inane and idiotic antics of the powerful and entitled.

This Bummi might not be a god or immortal, but he was still a king and so probably held a great deal of political power, and probably had an ego to match.

Plus, considering he ruled over a bunch of hard-headed earthbenders he was probably a powerful earthbender too. After all, from what he'd seen of the Earth Kingdom so far the people here were stubborn and unyielding. They respected power and force, and in some ways they probably relied on it too, as it was most likely the only way to get such a massive, obstinate population working together towards a common goal.

More than that, benders in general held more power and sway than non-benders. After all, from what he had seen and heard, there was a very noticeable divide between the two groups. In fact, Suki had already explained it to him how on the mainland earthbenders often wielded greater power, influence, and wealth than non-benders. They held all the high-ranking positions and were the social and political elite. Which, considering this was a society that respected power, probably meant that this Bummi was a very powerful earthbender too.

Which meant that in the society they lived, both kings and lords were akin to the gods in terms of the societal power they wielded and their innate eccentricity. They probably weren't all that way, but centuries of inbreeding and a spoiled and privileged upbringing where they never learned the meaning of the word 'no', or of consequences, probably had a pretty substantial impact on their emotional and mental growth.

It was a bit depressing really how, for all the differences that there were between his one and this one, something were irrevocably the same.

"It's better than actually being arrested or thrown in jail," Katara cut in, her attention now on Sokka. The two siblings looked to be on the verge of squabbling, again.

"Oh yeah, far better," Sokka drawled sarcastically, waving his hands up in the air for emphasis. "It was practically a jolly jaunt by comparison, what with the mortal dread of being entombed in crystal and all if Aang failed any of the nutter's tests."

"Hey, come on, Sokka, you could have always eaten your way out." Aang protested, his smile wavering slightly under the onslaught of Sokka's anger and negativity.

"So not the point," Sokka snapped back, his hands covering his face now as he hunched over. "It was all so stupid, and pointless! It was a massive waste of time!"

"Yeah," Percy cut in, his fist rapping the table as he tried to break up the ongoing argument, "So I'm going to need to get a proper explanation here. First what happened with the fires further out, was there any trouble, or did you see anything that might be important and that would need to be passed on to the army? Secondly, what exactly happened with the king? And thirdly, why do you want to leave the city so quickly?"

Sighing, Sokka rubbed his face. "We put out the fires easy enough. While we were out there, we saw a Fire Nation patrol, but they didn't give us much trouble. We drove them off pretty easily. It wasn't even a fight. We put out a lot of fires, or well Aang and Katara did while I acted as lookout, and we probably would have continued too. But then that massive storm happened, and nearly knocked us out of the sky."

"Yeah, Appa was really struggling, and well, the last time there was a storm like that…" Aang trailed off, his brow furrowing as he seemed to get lost in thought for a moment. "Well, I thought it was best to head back to the city."

"The storm put out most of the fires anyway," Katara tagged on defensively. "We didn't see anything else, though. Or anything suspicious, really. We told the guards that questioned us that much when we returned."

"Did you return on Appa?" Suki interrupted.

"No, we left the fur ball in a nearby cave, we wanted to keep a low profile." Sokka shook his head.

Aang notably scowled at Sokka's description of his mount.

Before Aang could say anything about it, though. Sokka pressed on with his explanation. "As for what happened after, well, Aang suggested playing around on the city's delivery system as a way to relax after we put the fires out, and well, I kinda thought it sounded fun at the time…"

"It was fun!" Aang interrupted.

Katara glanced off to the side and didn't comment.

"Only things escalated, and we ended up nearly crashing into another one of the carts, so Aang blasted us off the slide and we…, well, we kinda crashed through a few buildings, broke another one of the slides, and crushed a wagon full of cabbages…" Sokka trailed off.

"Nobody likes cabbages anyway," Aang raised his hands defensively.

"I like cabbage," Katara muttered almost inaudibly.

Glancing at Suki, he saw that she looked as amused as he felt.

From his periphery he could also see a couple of eavesdroppers looking distinctly amused by the series of events Sokka painted.

The Avatar and his friends seemed to have a knack for causing chaos; they were much more skilled than he and his friends had ever been when it came to getting in trouble.

"And then you got arrested?" Percy asked, his lips twitching upwards as he fought off a smile. It shouldn't be funny, but it was.

"Perhaps understandably so," Suki grinned along. She was not quite as good at him when it came to hiding her amusement.

Katara blushed in response.

Aang, meanwhile, seemed unable to make eye contact as he instead looked up at the ceiling and started trying, and failing, to whistle innocently.

Their reactions were almost comical.

"Yeah, we got arrested and locked in this guest room up at the palace-" Sokka continued, his tone becoming more frantic.

"And that didn't raise any suspicions at all?" Percy cut in incredulously. "You cause chaos and get arrested, but instead of being locked up in a normal jail or at the local barracks, you get taken to the palace of all places and put in a guest room, not a cell, but a guest room…?!"

Now it was Sokka's turn to look embarrassed.

"We did think it was a bit odd…, but I mean we've never been arrested before…" Katara tried to explain.

"Except for that time you infiltrated Kyoshi Island?" Suki asked, a full-blown grin on her face now.

"Okay, we've never been imprisoned before!" Katara shot back, her fact reddening as she pointedly looked away from Suki's grinning face.

"Didn't Aang get arrested, and then imprisoned on a Fire Nation ship in the South Pole too?" Percy asked, smiling a bit as he thought back to the tales of their exploits. It maybe wasn't the right time, but he couldn't help but tease the trio a bit.

"Not the point!" Sokka snapped, his tone tinged with embarrassment. "The point is we were arrested and held overnight. But that was only after we were forced to have dinner with the king!"

Percy raised an eyebrow as Sokka flushed.

Sometimes words weren't needed.

"And was this when he threw chicken at you?" Suki asked cheekily.

"It was a trap to make Aang out himself." Katara stepped in, her voice lowering as she spoke, even as she looked around at all the nosey individuals eavesdropping on their conversation. There were a lot of them.

Raising an eyebrow, Percy listened in as the three then went on to explain exactly what had happened at the palace. Including the fact that the king had not only recognised Aang the moment he'd seen him, but had then gone on to set up an entire scenario to not only force him into revealing himself, but to also force him to think outside the box. Which, it appeared, all ended up being a very strange and a very roundabout way of jogging Aang's memory as to who the king was – apparently his old childhood friend –, and a way of teaching him a lesson that could have been very easily passed on in other ways.

Suffice to say, his estimations of King Bummi had gone down quite a bit. Not that they had been all that high to begin with, considering what the other denizens of the city he'd spoken to had said.

The man sounded eccentric, but more in an annoying way than an amusing one.

"And that leads us to what else he said," Sokka continued quietly, knocking Percy out of his thoughts. "Bummi told us about what he had found out, and about what was coming before we left…."

"Oh?" Percy asked, leaning forwards now. It appeared they were finally getting to the reason behind Sokka's abrupt decision to flee the city.

Their voices were pitched low, so that only those in the immediate area; Suki, Katara and Aang could hear.

"The Fire Nation is on the move. They took over the port of Quinlan and slaughtered the garrison there." Sokka muttered, his expression dark. "They were the ones behind the fires. The king and his advisors think they were set to lure the soldiers out of Omashu, so the Fire Nation could attack."

"It would make sense," Percy nodded, his eyes narrowed.

A part of him was wondering whether this was information they had gotten out of the captive they had handed over the previous day.

Suki bit her lip. "But it didn't work, though. We put out all of the fires before the garrison had even started mobilising."

Percy hummed his agreement.

"Do you know if the king is planning on forcing them out of the port?" She then asked, looking over at him as she did so. "If they do that, we can back them up."

"You're injured," Percy said softly.

Suki scowled in response. "My injuries aren't bad, and besides, they're already healing."

"It doesn't matter anyway," Sokka said, his brow furrowed and tone grim. Behind him, Aang and Katara were frowning too. None of them looked happy. "The occupying force at Quinlan have reinforced their defences around the town, and they've already received reinforcements too."

"Does Bummi know their numbers?" Percy asked, his fingers rhythmically tapping on the way on the table. If there weren't too many of them, he could try and clear them out with the support of the Earth Kingdom forces. Or at least he could, after he had had a few more days to recuperate. After all, by the sounds of it they were situated near to the sea, which considering his power set, benefitted him greatly.

"Not their exact numbers, but he said that there were thousands of them, including artillery, cavalry a lot of firebenders, and some waterbenders and earthbenders too." Sokka said, practically spitting out the words 'waterbenders'. His opinion on the matter was clear.

"That's not good," Percy muttered.

Nodding, he shared a look with Suki, before turning back to Sokka. "Is that why you want to leave?"

Sokka bit his lips, and glanced over at his friends.

Both of them look mutinous.

"Omashu is going to fall. It's inevitable." Sokka said after a few moments. "There are too many refugees, and not enough professional soldiers. With the Fire Nation already entrenched nearby there is going to be a protracted siege, and considering how many mouths there are to feed, well, it won't take long before people start to starve. Add in the traitorous earthbenders the Fire Nation had in their ranks, and their numbers, and well…, it's only a matter of time until the city falls. Bummi said as much."

"It's not over yet, though!" Aang snapped, real anger appearing on his face now as he glared at Sokka. "We can still make a difference. There is still hope."

"How?" Sokka retorted angrily. "There are only three of us. I'm not a bender, and as Suki proved, I'm no match when compared to a trained and experienced warrior. Not yet anyway. And Katara can water bend, sort of, but she's not skilled or experienced enough to use it in a proper combat setting. Percy didn't even need to try, and he thrashed the both of you with ease."

Katara scowled, but didn't outwardly object to her brother's words.

Aang meanwhile, looked like a kicked puppy.

"And you Aang, for all you're the Avatar, you're not experienced enough in fighting either. None of us are, and definitely not enough to get involved in a full-scale battle. We would all die, even you Aang, and if you die, the Fire Nation win! The only chance we'd have would be if you went full Avatar mode and wiped Quinlan off the map." Sokka continued.

Aang open his mouth to reply, only to be cut off as Sokka brutally continued his rant.

"But we both know you won't do that. Not only because you can't control your Avatar state yet, but also because any widespread attack on the town would also hurt the thousands of Earth Kingdom citizens; innocent men, women and children, that the Fire Nation have trapped there." Sokka finished, his eyes boring into Aang challengingly.

After a few moments, Aang looked away.

The younger boy looked completely crushed.

Looking at him, Percy felt sympathy well up within him.

He could understand the anger and self-hatred the boy was probably feeling right now.

He had all that power within him, and all that responsibility on his shoulders, but right here and right now he couldn't do anything with it. Sokka was right when he said they lacked both the training and the experience to fight in a war against a large scale invasion force, just as they also lacked the support they'd need to even have a proper go at it.

The Fire Nation had an entrenched position, and from what Sokka had said they had also turned the population of the town into hostages too. Any attack on the town would endanger the residents, which was something Aang couldn't face up to, both because of his background as a monk, and his naivety.

He lacked the experience and mind-set needed to fight in a war, and honestly, Percy felt for him. He was only twelve years old, and had until recently had only ever known peace and comfort. He was not used to the harshness of real life, or the brutality of war.

Percy felt sorry for him.

He was a sweet, if slightly immature, kid. He should be allowed to go out and have fun with his friends. But instead, fate had dealt him a shit hand and had landed him with the mantle of Avatar, and given him an impossible mission to fulfil. After all, was it even possible to bring peace to an entire world?

"We have to do something…" Aang said plaintively, his eyes watering as he desperately wiped at them with the palms of his hands.

"The only thing we can do is leave," Sokka pressed on, his anger bleeding away. "Bummi has already started evacuating those he can. He's trying to get as many people out and to safety as he can before the city is sacked, and we need to do the same. Right now, our first priority, our only priority, should be getting you to the Northern Water Tribe so you can master waterbending."

"Sokka…" Katara began.

"No, Katara, I know it's hard. But we have too, we can't stop what's coming, all we can do is get Aang to the North Pole, so we can actually make a difference the next time something like this happens!" Sokka interrupted. "Besides, you remember what Bummi told us. The reason they're here, it's for us. They are hunting the Avatar."

Aang flinched at Sokka's quiet hiss, and stared down at his feet.

Suki also flinched at Sokka's words, her grey eyes flitting around the room as if looking to see if anyone had heard what the younger man had just said.

Letting out a quiet sigh, Percy pushed his half-finished meal away from him and looked between the fractured group of friends.

The picture Sokka painted was a dire one, so much so that he could understand why the younger man was so miserable and pessimistic about the city's future.

Yes, the garrison at Omashu was of a decent size.

From what he had seen, the city had close to a thousand soldiers, bender and non-bender alike, and that was not taking into account the thousands of able-bodied men and women that could be conscripted, and formed up into an auxiliary force of sorts.

More than that, the city also had formidable defensive both in terms of its massive walls, and the general topography of the mountainous land. The city sat upon the peak of a mountain, and was surrounded by a gigantic canyon, with the main entrance being a single large earthen bridge that spanned the gap.

From an objective point of view, the city should be safe.

In fact, had this been earth during the medieval ages, then he would say the city was nigh impregnable.

But this wasn't earth, after all a decent sized group of mortals here had the power to manipulate the elements.

That included firebenders, who could rain down fire upon the city, setting anything flammable ablaze and forcing all those within the city's walls to take cover. They could also set the fields on aflame, and burn the crops the city relied upon to feed itself.

There were also waterbenders, who could turn water into ice and craft vast constructs, which could be used to bridge the giant canyon that surrounded Omashu,. Or, which could be used to freeze, or cut off, the water supply running into the city.

There were earthbenders as well. Individuals who could destroy the city's fortifications as easily as they had been created, and who could craft new bridges across the canyon, or etch staircases into the walls.

The Fire Nation force apparently had all three types of bender under their banner, all of whom, depending on their numbers and skill, could spell doom for the isolated city.

On top of that, from what he had seen in the forest, the soldiers the Fire Nation had sent were seasoned warriors. They had both the training, the equipment, and the hard-won experience they needed to sack the city, and more than not they probably had a highly skilled commander to lead them too.

In contrast, the garrison at Omashu was made up of men and women who had either seen true combat yet, or had seen too much.

Most of Omashu's forces were little more than city guards at best. They were good at dealing with petty thieves, putting down civilian riots, fighting bandits and harassing migrants, but little more than that. Their numbers were mostly made up of those who were too old to fight on the front lines – some of whom might have been veterans of the hundred year war –, or those that had dodged conscription because they were either too cowardly to join up, too infirm, or were either rich enough to avoid the draft and had other ways of contributing to the way effort. Either way, from what he had seen, most of the city's professional soldiers had been sent south to fight in the war.

When compared to seasoned soldiers, the city's guards wouldn't stand a chance. Not even with greater numbers and the city's defences. After all, with there being waterbenders and earthbenders in the enemies ranks the earthen walls were no longer as secure as they should have been, nor were the city's food and water supply as safe as they had once believed.

Percy massaged his temple as these thoughts percolated around his head.

By the sounds of it, Bummi too had come to this realisation, and so had already begun making preparations for the eventual fall of the city.

It might not be today, or even within the week, but so long as the Fire Nation maintained a foothold and continued to gain reinforcements, the city's days were numbered.

"Right," Percy said decisively, speaking into the tense silence that had followed Sokka's words. "Aang."

Aang looked up at him, a hint of desperation visible in his eyes.

"Can you set up a meeting between Bummi and me?" Percy pressed on, a scowl on his face.

"What? I mean, yeah maybe, but why?" Aang replied.

"Are you going to help?" Suki asked, looking over at him.

"Do you actually think you can?" Sokka added, his expression grim.

"I don't know. But I can try. Either way, I need to speak to Bummi and his commanders. So if you could set up a meeting, it would be appreciated. I'll admit I'm not an expert in siege warfare, but I've seen my fair share of battles, and have experience both commanding armies, and fighting a defensive retreat. With access to the right information on both the enemy and the city's resources, and with the support of the city's commanders and armed forces, we might be able to do something. Even if that something is only buying enough time to evacuate the city." Percy said, his fingers once again drumming on the surface of the table as plans whirled about his head.

"But you've not recovered yet?" Suki said, biting her lip anxiously. "Neither of us have."

She sounded bitter to admit it, but firm all the same.

"I've not recovered enough to pull another storm like before out of my ass, but I'm not completely useless." Percy said with a grim smile.

"Wait, that was you?" Katara asked, her eyes alight with awe.

Ignoring the look for the moment – it was disconcerting as he was far more used to disdain and disappointment in her gaze – Percy turned back to Aang, "Leverage your friendship with Bummi, and get me an audience with him, and I'll see what I can do."

Aang nodded.

"We can support you." Katara stated, her expression resolute.

"Katara-" Sokka began, with a grimace.

Only for Percy to cut him off. "No, you three need to go, and you need to make a show of it."

All three of them gave him confused looks at that.

Suki's eyes meanwhile alighted with realisation. "They're hunting you, Aang. You're the reason they're here, which means if you are seen to flee, and make a big show of it, then they might follow. Or at least a good chunk of them might."

"If we can even just split up their forces, it might be enough to save the city." Percy nodded, sharing a smile with Suki. He knew she would catch on fast. "And even if they don't follow. Getting you out of here is for the best." Percy paused and withheld a grimace. "You're a symbol more than anything else Aang, as long as you stay alive people will still retain their hope."

Suki's eyes widened as she turned and stared at him.

Aang meanwhile, seemed to stand a little taller.

"So you three need to get out of here. Leave the city as fast as you can on Appa, and make a big show of it. Make sure the entire area knows you're leaving." Percy continued. "Now is the time you need to announce the Avatar has returned."

Aang nodded eagerly.

Katara meanwhile, gave her friend a proud smile.

"Won't that hurt the morale of the city if the Avatar is seen leaving?" Sokka asked suddenly, putting a dampener on things. "You know, if he reveals himself, and then flees?"

Aang deflated, while Katara turned and glared at her brother.

"Probably, but hopefully this won't turn into a protracted siege." Percy clenched his hand into a fist. "Besides, if needs be I can always make a showing of myself to reignite that hope."

"Well, look who is growing an ego." Suki smiled.

Percy sent her a dry look, before focussing back on the trio. "Either way, it doesn't matter. The most important thing is you three get away from here, and lure as many of the Fire Nation forces away as you can. Suki and I will stay here, and either mop up the remains of the Fire Nation invasion force, or mobilise as many fighters as we can and organise a fighting retreat so we can evacuate as many people as we can."

Aang, Katara and Sokka all nodded.

They were on board with the plan.

Glancing over at Suki, Percy felt his heart miss a beat as she saw the happy look on her face.

Nodding, he tore his eyes away from his lover, and instead looked at Aang. "But first things first, it's time for you to use that Avatar magic of yours and get me an audience with the king."

Gritting his teeth, Aang nodded.

It was time to kick some Fire Nation ass and save Omashu.

( - )

(With Azula)

Watching on as her men worked, a slight smile spread across Azula's face as her plan rapidly came to fruition.

It was always wondrous to see how much faster and more capable benders were than non-benders.

What would take a non-bender weeks of backbreaking work to achieve, a bender could do in minutes.

Truly benders, be they; earth, water, fire or air, were the superior beings.

Though of course, with fire being the strongest element, firebenders were naturally at the top of the hierarchy, and so were the only true master race.

Her smile widened slightly at that thought, even as she patted the neck of her mount, calming him down as he shifted about beneath her. The loud rumbling of shifting rock and splashing water was unsettling him.

It hadn't taken anywhere near as long as she had feared to find the source of the city's water supply.

At first, she had thought they were using groundwater aquifers, which, if that had been the case, would have made her plan much harder to manage.

Fortunately, the residents of Quinlan were cowardly enough and knowledgeable enough to fill her in on the area, and more particularly on the true source of the city's water. Which ended up being a vast ice plateau that spread across several mountain peaks.

According to what she had heard, in winter the plateau of ice grew and expanded, while in summer it melted, releasing a vast amount of fresh clean water which rushed down the mountain in both underground and overground streams. These streams apparently provided water not only to Omashu, but to the surrounding towns and villages too.

What she was looking at now, was the primary source of water for the whole area, and it was hers to do with as she pleased.

Turning in her saddle, Azula watched as her soldiers continued to work to dump the barrels and corpses of both animals and humans that they had transported up the mountain in wagons into the river, even as Temujin continued to alter the river channel, and her waterbenders started to manipulate the vast plateau of ice above.

Gazing back down at the large city in the distance, Azula grabbed the reins of her mount, her smile widening as she wrenched it around and started down the mountain again.

Her soldiers had their orders, and the captain would make sure they followed them through.

As she rode, a dozen other firebenders on their own mounts joined her, even as the one hundred troops she left behind continued their work. They knew the plan, just as they knew the consequences of failure.

There would be no mistakes, she was sure of that.

Mentally nodding to herself as she rode, she could only hope the commander of her forces in Quinlan had been diligent in assembling and preparing her forces, as soon enough they would be adopting the tried and true 'slash and burn' doctrine that had served the Fire Nation so well over the last century. Already they had driven as many fleeing Earth Kingdom bumbling into the city, along with several spies of her own. Now it was time to truly put the pressure on the already beleaguered city.

She could only hope Mai and Ty Lee weren't getting too bored because soon enough they would be joining her in hunting the Avatar, after all she was growing tired of playing hide and seek, and now that she had her reinforcements nor would she need to continue playing it as instead she was prepared to take a more forceful approach going forward.

All they needed to do was force him out of the mountain city and into the open, and what better way to do that then to burn the land and starve the city.

Hunger, she found, was almost as good as fear when it came to motivating people.

( - )

AN: So we've almost reached the end of this arc, the next chapter will be very action heavy, as you might've guessed. There will be a lot going on, and this will be the first big battle Percy will be getting involved in of the war, so far. After that, well you'll just have to stay tuned! Suffice to say I've got some exciting stuff coming up :D

Also I've had a couple of people PMing me about this, so decided why not. So, if you'd like to become a patron just head on over to Pat re on and add a /Greed720 after the . com.

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Thanks for reading, and I'll see you later.

Greed720.