Before anything else, I own nothing but the original characters, and content therein related to them. Avatar: The Last Airbender is owned by Nickelodeon, and any mentioned creator's work belongs to them, and them alone.

Chapter 7 A Minor Confrontation.

Landing ramps descended onto the beaches of the Earth Kingdom province of Gaoling. The southern coast, so far from the protection of Ba Sing Se, had thus far remained untouched by The Fire Nation throughout the war due to its mountainous terrain and thickly wooded hills, considered impassable to any army… But no longer could Gaoling resist progress's march.

After the beach had been secured by the Navy's First Marine Battalion, men fresh from the Siege of the North as well as new marines now numbering in the range of three hundred men, the sandy dunes of the coast were made into a rear camp. Soon after the seaside camp had been created, The First Army Expeditionary Corps, some forty thousand men in total began their march North.

Cutting their way through the forested hills, and ascending mountains, The Corps' attached engineer battalions made the trail by which the rest of the unit would follow.

On the backs of the Corps' attached Tank Division were the many fighting men of the Infantry Platoons, who rather than walk to their object, rode there. The unit progressed at such a pace, the Support Battalions could hardly keep up the supply line.

Further afield, far ahead of the main force, were the Komodo Cavalry Squads. Smaller in number than would be expected, the three squads of mounted men were performing reconnaissance where they had the ability to do so, and would act as skirmishers once battle had started.

After two days of movement, the First Army Expeditionary Corps halted their advance toward the city of Gaoling, prepared camp amid the west hills, and at dawn, staged for their attack.

The steam wagon and its two carts rumbled across the ground, South bound toward the next Earth Kingdom town on Azula's list. Tracking the Avatar was less a feat of outsmarting the boy himself, rather judging the average distance his pet could fly in any given direction before resting, and following a roughly straight line from there. As the Avatar had flown South, according to the last guard from Omashu who'd seen the bison in the sky, Azula was making periodic stops, announcing that she came merely searching for answers of the terrified townsfolk, and was often pointed in the direction of a village or small city within a day's journey for the flying beast. The last location of which Azula was directed toward, was Chin Village, in the Earth Kingdom's far South West, along the coast.

Azula sat in the iron carriage, before there was a forceful jolt that nearly tossed her from her seat, as the engineers had hit the breaks on the steam engine. Conner, who was resting on a cot, was tossed clean onto the floor. Mai stopped herself from falling over by grabbing a hold of the wall, while Ty Lee wobbled in place, her sense of balance and agility sparing her the fall. "GAAAH! wɒt ðə hɛl?!" Connor asked loudly, as he curled into a ball and clutched at his head with both hands. Azula turned towards the engineering compartment, and narrowed her eyes.

"What is the meaning of this?" Azula shouted up to them, as she leaned her head out of the cart. Pausing for a moment, Azula found that a Fire Nation mercenary group had been the source of the hold up, their mounts had blocked the road.

"The Rough Rhinos?" Mai asked, as she and the others got out of the carriage.

"The who?" Connor asked, one hand resting on his pistol, the other rubbing his pounding head, as he joined the others.

"Colonel Mongke." Azula said, as she approached the mounted men.

"Princess Azula?" The Colonel asked, surprised to see a member of the royal family so far from the Fire Nation.

"Is there any particular reason you've obstructed the road?" Azula asked.

"My apologies your majesty, I had no idea this…" The Colonel looked at the steam carriage for a moment. "Ironclad wagon belonged to you. If I might ask, Princess, why have you traveled so far into the Earth Kingdom? There's still many rebelling villages and provinces this far south. You may not be welcomed."

"I've been tasked by the Fire Lord with apprehending both my tratorus brother and uncle, as well as capturing the Avatar. I've been following him south for a few days now." Azula said.

The Colonel's eyes widened. "Your majesty, my men and I had a run in with the Avatar just yesterday, at Chin Village."

"I gathered." Azula said flatly, seeing as Yeh-Lu's armor was covered in soot and scratch marks, and the others supported various other small injuries. "It's likely he's moved east then…" Azula paused, trying to remember what the next village the bison would be capable of flying to was called. "He's headed to Gaoling. It's a decently large town, and the Fire Nation hasn't so much as touched the southern mountain range, so there's a high probability the Avatar could find someone to teach him Earthbending there."

"I'll stand aside your highness." Colonel Mongke said, as he and his subordinates directed their rhinos off the road.

"Thank you Colonel… Oh, and if you see my brother, please tell him I said hello." Azula said, as she and the rest of the group returned to the carriage.

Azula had the carriage stopped just outside of the town's western borders, and tossed several articles of clothing at the rest of her companions. "Alright you three, get these disguises on. We're going to have to be a little more subtle about this than before. If the Avatar is here we don't need anyone raising alarms or creating panic before we find him." She said, as Connor eyed the drab brown shirt, change of shoes and a conical hat.

Connor started to take his outer tunic off, before Azula cleared her throat. He raised an eyebrow at her, before she opened the door. "The girls will be changing in private, unless you wish to be burned." Azula said, shooting him a glare.

"Ah right." Connor said in embarrassment, forgetting that the girls would likely be taking off a bit more to put on their disguises. He raised his hands defensively, then left the carriage.

"Gee Azula, that was kind of mean." Ty Lee said, as she started to change into her disguise.

"As royalty, I'll not be exposed in front of a boy, Ty Lee. It's only because we're faced with an absence of private quarters that I'm even doing so in front of you two." Azula said with a huff, as she pulled her boots off.

"Not like Connor would have paid attention to me anyways." Azula thought to herself, a pang of envy striking her as she realized Ty Lee's bust had grown larger than hers since last they'd met. Strangely, Azula noted, Connor seemed to avoid looking at even Ty Lee. At their age it was assumed a boy would actively strive to catch even a glimpse of female flesh, but Connor actively averted his eyes. Either he was taking Azula's orders to not involve himself with her seriously, or he had something against exposed skin. Maybe it was a cultural thing, and his people were just more conservative in their views of shown skin among the general public.

Once the three had girls changed into an assortment of greens and browns, with Azula having removed her hair piece before Ty Lee tied her long dark locks into a low bun, they met Connor outside, and took off on foot towards the town. Within minutes the disguised Fire Nation women, and the Irishman with them, had reached the town market.

"So how are we supposed to find out if the Avatar was here?" Connor asked.

Azula's answer came swiftly. "It's quite simple really. We ask nicely." Azula's eyes glanced all around the market. She searched for someone who'd likely done business with the Avatar, someone who'd be in the market every day. One of the merchants would be most suitable, a food store, or-

"Scuse me, have you seen a little boy around?" Azula's attention snapped to Connor as he approached what looked like two boys his age, though obviously much shorter than him. "About yea high. Wearing orange and yellow?" Connor continued, giving a rough guess at the Avatar's height.

The short haired one took a step back as Conner got near him. "Who wants to know?" He asked, as the dangerous ladies joined him.

"Oh, just some friends." Ty Lee said with a smile, her charm near instantly softening the two's demeanor.

"You're friends with the kid that beat the Blind Bandit?" The longer haired boy asked.

"Acquaintances really… Do you know where he is?" Azula asked sharply.

"Last I heard, he and the Bandit took on the whole Earth Rumble Six lineup and won. Seven grown men against two little girls." The short haired boy proclaimed.

"Earth Rumble?" Mai asked, an eyebrow raised. It sounded incredibly barbaric.

"Do you know where we could find this Earth Rumble Six?" Azula asked.

The boys looked between each other, before the long haired one answered. "The arena's under a mountain east of here. But most of the competitors live around town."

"And where might we find these competitors?" Azula asked, patience wearing thin.

With their directions given, Azula split the group up to search for the Earth Rumble competitors. Mai would be finding the Headhunter, Gecko, and Gopher, Ty Lee would be searching for The Fire Nation Man, Connor would seek The Hippo, and The Boulder, while Azula would talk to the show's host, Xin Fu…

Or not… Azula had managed to make her way to the Earth Rumble Arena, only to find the stadium abandoned, with a note left attached to the only office in the place, explaining that Xin Fu had taken an extended leave of Absence. Irritated, Azula left to see if the others had made progress.

Connor had no luck getting anything intelligible out of The Hippo, however he did manage to find The Boulder's stomping ground fairly easily. Pushing open the door to the dining establishment, Connor drew the attention of several patrons, though not The Boulder himself.

Approaching, Conner called out to the man. "Oy, Boulder, I've a question."

The Boulder stopped eating his bowl of noodles. "Can you not see that The Boulder is eating?!" He asked loudly.

Conner was taken back by the use of the third person, and the level of volume. He instantly disliked The Boulder more. "Can The Boulder be a little louder? I don't think everyone in town could hear you." Conner said, cupping a hand to his ear.

The Boulder turned around, looking irate. "So a funny man wants to ask a question about The Boulder."

Conner nodded. "We'll not about you. I'm looking for The Avatar. Heard you got your rear handed to you by him. Wanted to know if you seen him since, or if you know where he might be headed." Conner asked.

The Boulder stood from his seat. "The Boulder did not lose to The Avatar, he lost to The Blind Bandit. Earth Rumble's Champion."

Conner nodded his head. "Oh, so the Blind Bandit was the little girl who kicked your ass?" He asked.

It was at this point that The Boulder stomped his foot into the dirt floor, and a rock the size of Connor's head came out of the ground.

"Oh Christ." Conner said flatly in English, only just realizing that an Earth Rumble fighter called The Boulder, might be an earth bender.

At the market square Azula found Mai and Ty Lee waiting for her. "What have you two learned?"

"Just that earth benders from Gaoling are as dim witted as they are in Omashu." Mai said with an eye roll. "All three were clueless. They got their butts kicked in a fight with an earthbending girl like the two boys said, and the Avatar escaped with her. Funny thing, they were going to turn him over to the Fire Nation anyways."

"Fire Nation Man was actually really nice. He didn't know anything either though." Ty Lee said with a shrug.

"Xin Fu isn't in town, and I don't see how he could provide us with any useful details at this point. We know the Avatar was here as late as yesterday evening, and found an earth bender to teach him, so we should continue to follow his trail. Likely he'll be heading to Ba Sing Se. It's safe for now, and I'm assuming he intends to garner the support of the Earth King." Azula said, before realizing something. "Where's Connor?"

As if to answer her question an explosion of dust and dirt came from a building down the street, and like a rag doll, Connor flopped out of the cloud, landing on his back. As the dust settled, Connor got to his feet with a groan, and a taller, bulkier man stepped out of the building he'd put a hole in.

"The Boulder does not find your jokes to be amusing." The tall man said, as he approached Connor.

"eɪ wɛl, nəʊ əˈkaʊntɪŋ fɔː pʊə teɪst." Connor said, as he pulled his hat off of his head, letting it hang over his back by his neck.

Both Ty Lee and Mai began to move towards the altercation happening in front of them, only for Azula to hold up her hand. "Wait… If we draw attention to ourselves and escalate the situation we may have to fight our way out of town. Besides… Connor's got this." She said with a smirk, as she watched her servant and the earthbender be surrounded by a gathering crowd.

The Boulder, seeing his opponent stand up, took a solid earthbending stance. Connor just rolled his eyes, as he took his pistol off his belt, and pointed it at The Boulder. The Boulder looked confused, before he laughed. "Your crossbow appears to be broken." He said, before continuing his laughter.

Connor frowned at the man, before he took a gamble. He cocked back the hammer on his pistol, and pointed the gun to the sky. The sound of the gunshot rang out across the valley. And here Connor hoped that nobody knew his gun only held one bullet. The Boulder flinched as Connor cocked the hammer again, then pointed it in the earth bender's direction. The Boulder backed away from Connor, before the redhead drew the muzzle away from him, and started looking around at the gathered crowd.

Hushed questions and exclamations of fear rose through the crowd.

"What was that?"

"A fire bender?!"

"Some manner of sorcery?"

"Did he call down thunder?"

Connor blew out the barrel of his gun with a quick breath down the barrel so it would be easier to clean later. "Alright you primitive pinheads, listen up…" Connor said to the crowd of people around him. "This…" Connor held his gun up for all to see. "Is a hand cannon!" Conner shouted, causing everyone to back up a step. "It's a sixty nine caliber, model seventeen sixty three. ˈfrɑːnsɪz best. You can find one like it at just about any market or general store in the united States, and more recently in the inventory of The Fire Nation Army and Navy. This little pop was made in Charleville ˈfrɑːns. Retails for about one gold coin and some copper. It's got walnut wood furniture, a solid steel barrel, and a flint striking lock…" The crowd, now less fearful than curious, listened intently to the presentation Connor was giving to them. "That's right, ˌjʊərəˈpiːən quality and craftsmanship. Now I swear, if any of you dirt people so much as pick up a rock, I will not hesitate to use this." Conner said, before tucking his pistol away. "Back to my original reason for coming here. I am looking for The Avatar. Does anyone know where he is, or might have gone?"

The crowd remained silent, before The Boulder spoke. "He's left the province. The Boulder heard he and the Blind Bandit went north east towards the Red Ridge Mountains."

Connor gave a nod. "Thank you." He said, before turning towards Azula and her friends.

Azula smirk remained as she and the others began walking towards the end of town. "Well done Connor."

"Ah it was nothin'." Connor waved off the complement before bells began to ring across the town.

"Smoke on the horizon! The Fire Nation's here!" An earth kingdom soldier on the back of an Ostrich-horse said, as he rode through town. "Spread word! Women and children stay indoors! Men, gather arms!"

As the soldier rode off, the townspeople began running, either to the safety of their homes, or to gather weapons. "We need to leave." Azula said, quickening her pace.

"Ay, I second that, unless anyone else wants to be mistaken for cannon fodder." Connor said.

As the team left Gaoling, reaching the Steam Wagon in record time, they hurriedly removed their disguises, and changed back into their recognizable Fire Nation wardrobe just in time for the Fire Nation Army to meet them on the road.

The convoy of Tanks, Cavalry, beast of burden drawn carts, and infantry all stopped dead in their tracks upon finding their Princess before them. Muttering broke out among the ranks, as soldiers dismounted the tanks they had ridden on. "Princess Azula." An Amy Captain said, as he approached before giving her a formal bow. "Your Majesty, I do not believe what I am seeing. A member of the Royal Family so far from home. I had heard that you were traveling the Earth Kingdom in search of your brother, but I did not know you would enter our theater of the war. We hoped to have conquered this province before you might have arrived, however the invasion was postponed due to our re-armament." The captain said, gesturing to the convoy, nearly a quarter of the infantry consisting of Musket wielding men.

Azula gave a thin smile to the crowd. "Believe what is before you, and send word to your general that your battle has already been won. The Earth King's Army has not yet arrived. What men guard it are not soldiers, and the few earth benders would pose no threat. The town is all but his to take." She said.

"No Princess. This victory is yours, if what you say is true. Lead us your highness." The Captain said.

Azula looked over her shoulder at her friends, finding Conner reloading his pistol, having fetched his sword and musket. Azula turned back to the convoy and smirked. "Any warrior who so rides with me shall taste an easy victory today. Come now, as we share our greatness with the inferiors of this kingdom." There was a round of cheers and raising of weapons, as Azula climbed into the steam wagon, followed by Mai, Ty Lee and Connor. Azula climbed the ladder to the emergency roof hatch, opened it, and stood, poking her upper body out of the vehicle, as three tanks, flanked by Komodo-rhinos, and infantry created a formation in front of the steam wagon.

Azula looked down at the captain, as other officers joined him in a forward huddle. "What are your orders Princess?" One asked.

Azula smiled thinly. "The usual for such undefended and unresisting towns, captain."

The streets of Gaoling rumbled lightly, as The First Army Expeditionary Corps rode into town, the steam wagon centermost of the formation's spear point as it drove up the main road. What few disorganized men with spears or swords were so enormously outnumbered that they'd dropped their weapons without being instructed. People peeked out of doorways and windows as soldiers marched by.

The Boulder stood by and watched as the Fire Army invaded his home without so much as lifting a finger. He wasn't sure if it was cowardice that stopped him from fighting then and there against the colonizers. For every four of the soldiers one carried a large hand cannon with them, and even larger cannons still were strapped to the tops of Fire Nation tanks. The Boulder grit his teeth, as he realized he did not fear the cannons now. It was disloyalty that kept him from fighting. These aggressors in his land were the very same he would have gladly sold The Avatar to. He should be fighting these black and reds, to his last breath. The Boulder turned his head in shame, before walking home.

Azula looked out at the townsfolk. It was critical that the first meeting with these savages go smoothly. "This province is now under the control of The Fire Nation. Swear fidelity to the Fire Lord, and you will be granted his protection as citizens. Resistance will be met with swift and harsh punishment." Several people looked up at her from their hiding places, and cowered in fear. Azula grinned to herself. These people were so docile, so easily controlled, being spared the fighting that the western Earth Kingdom had grown used to, these koala-sheep were all but helpless in the face of a threat. Perhaps she needed to be more reassuring. "Do not fear citizens, for The Fire Nation is as benevolent as it is grand. Because of your cooperation thus far, no harm shall befall you. Your town will not be ransacked, your women will remain unmolested, and your lives will continue as they had before." Azula said loudly, as a few of the townspeople came out of their homes to observe the army's movement.

Connor could be heard clearing his throat. Azula looked down the hatch towards him. "What exactly do you plan on doing with the town?" He asked.

Azula gave him a small smile. "It's likely to become a stronghold city, and a jumping point for the rest of the army as it presses north. Once the colonial rail line project is up and running it'll no doubt turn into a bustling hub of travel, trade and production for the entire region. These people have done nothing to earn our wrath, and so will prosper." Azula said.

Connor nodded, before suddenly the vehicle was rocked by something that had struck the exterior. The steam wagon stopped. Azula poked her head out of the top hatch, and saw the infantry forming ranks, filling the gaps between the tanks in front of the steam wagon, all holding their formations for the moment. Just down the street there were about three dozen men blocking the road, though none were in the Kingdom's Army uniform. A few earth benders among them were creating a fortification out of the ground, as others had started throwing rocks. They were well within range.

Azula exposed more of herself from the steam wagon, as she looked down at both the townspeople and the commanders of the units in front of her. "Fighters that attack The Fire Army under no flag will not be given quarter, nor mercy. Soldiers, make an example of these rebels." Azula said.

The gunner on the backs of the middle most tank lowered their cannon's muzzle behind the tank's hatch and issued orders. "Loader. Ball shot, double load!"

The fire bender inside of the tank took a powder charge from behind him, opened the hatch over his head, and shoved the silk bag down the bore of the gun, before ramming it home with a two foot wooden rod. Ducking back into the tank, the firebender grabbed two cannonballs before ramming them down the barrel. Once done, the hatch was closed. After covering his ears, the firebending loader shouted out, "READY!"

"Firing!" The gunner said, before touching off a lit match to the small hole in the cannon. The tank lurched backwards as the gun went off, sending two cast iron balls down the street into the wall that the rebels had erected, blowing it to pieces, and sending bits of stone in all directions. One man among them had his leg taken off by a stray chunk of iron from the ball. His cries of pain were ignored by but one of his comrades.

"Compay, form ranks!" A Captain said, before his men filtered out from between the tanks to create a row of guns. "Prime and load!" The men echoed his order as they pulled their weapons to half cock, drew premade paper cartridges, and completed theri loading in little under forty seconds, before the men pulled their weapons up, keeping the barrels to the sky.

"Make ready!" As the order was echoed, hammers were cocked into position. "Present!" The order echoed, as the men shouldered their weapons and pointed the muzzles down the street. "Fire!" With a series of thunderous claps, the infantry shot down the men on the other end of the road before they could collect themselves from the cannon fire.

There were screams of pain, and groans of the dying. As the gunsmoke cleared, all could see the many dead and mangled bodies laying on the ground. A flood of feeling washed over Azula. She was proud that she'd so easily achieved victory, yet there was a sense of discomfort upon viewing the deformed corpses that the volley of lead had left behind.

There were no simple punctures from spears, or bloody slashes made into men from swords, not even a stray arrow protruding from an eye, or the burns so many soldiers spoke of inflicting. No. All Azula could see was ripped flesh, men missing limbs, and organs pulled from torsos. It just didn't seem as glorious as she was told war would be. Steeling herself, Azula spoke to the soldiers. "Clear this road." She said before looking towards the nearest officer. "My companions and I must be traveling now. Inform your highers of what has happened here. I trust that this province is now in safe hands."

Ducking back into the steam wagon, Azula shouted up to the vehicle's engineers. "Take us to the Red Ridge Mountains."

Captain Akira stood on the conning tower balcony of his recently retrofitted ship, commanding his men from above as gunsmoke obscured the air between the two cannon equipped boats. Akira grit his teeth, as the ship was shaken by another volley of iron shot. Looking left at the conning tower of the Fire Nation made cruiser, carrying the flag of the Northern Water Tribe, Akira muttered a curse. "Damn savages."

Immediately after the retrofit and the shuffling of the ship's armory to carry muskets and shorter pistols, Captain Akira's ship had left the naval yard with orders to hunt down the captured gun carrying ships that were left behind during the northern invasion. Performing "hit and run" attacks on the ships to sink them or recapture them. However, it seemed that a captured ship had come to him.

The enemy cruiser was one of the few cannon carrying ships from the invasion, equipped with only a fourth of the guns it originally had, (likely distributed to other water tribe vessels,) the ship had several victory marks on its hull, apparently having sunk or captured five ships all its own.

The two ironclads had been locked in a battle for nearly an hour, making passes on each other, and unloading iron and smoke to no end. Akira had an inkling of an idea that the battles he was ordered to engage in would inevitably result in a slug fest such as the one he was currently in, where the cannon balls simply bounced off of the iron hulls. He knew the fight would have to end either by ramming into the other ship, or boarding it. Both options carried heavy risks.

Leaning over the railing Captain Akira shouted at his crew, as he drew the new pistol he had been issued. "Come you dog-seals, and prepare to board! Marines to arms, and sailors to stations!"

Author's Note.

Next time on Gunsmoke and Hellfire. Connor smells some paper, Sokka does an ecchi anime cliche, and Someone in the main cast gets shot.

Showing that for every horrible siege, and Fire Nation atrocity committed during the war, there were bound to be places that were taken with little more than a skirmish. And for good reason. The Fire Nation being a colonial power likely did what the brits did and rewarded native groups that were willing to swear loyalty to them. In Avatar, Gaoling is a far removed province from the central authority of Ba Sing Se, which has nothing to gain fighting the Fire Nation, and nothing to lose joining them. Quite the opposite in fact. For once Azula is telling the truth here. Fighting the Fire Nation in the province's current state is suicide, and loyalty is only going to make them richer as the city is now open to goods and services coming from The Fire Nation that they didn't have until now, as well as the usual earth kingdom trade. It's economical warfare... Naturally, the Fire Nation intends to eventually supplant the earth kingdom culture, but they aren't stupid enough to waist the resources rebuilding the entire highly flammable city if there is a more cost effective way to capture it... Well everyone but the head of state isn't stupid enough.

I decided I wanted to give The Boulder a reason to fight the good fight later on down the road. Also Army of Darkness is peak cinema, you cannot change my mind about this.

I've been writing a little faster these past few days, so I've got the next oh, three chapters in reserve already. Just need to polish them off.

Probably should have added this warning when I made the story, but eh... There have already been a few race based slurs tossed around by Fire Nationals, (like duh, they're supremacists) and Connor's pretty loose with his usage of derogatory language in general. Obviously I don't believe in any racial superiority, but damn does it make good material for conflict. Don't worry, it's gonna get way worse.