Ch 25

Zaofu - Main City

Western Earth Kingdom

Screams and panic erupted and the ground shook violently. Entire steel and concrete chunks of the city's skyscrapers and platinum dome were torn from their facing and careened towards the streets below. Rebar, I-beams, and massive panels of rock and metal slammed into the ground below.

Having finally made it to Zaofu after days of evading Earth Empire forces, moving discreetly through the continental Earth Kingdom, Bolin, Varrick, and Zhu Li were not safe after all arriving in Zaofu. They had hoped to be able to surrender and seek temporary shelter and asylum in the gleaming utopian city.

"We need to get to cover," Bolin shouted, "Now!!"

Just as he said this an entire panel of one of the towering office buildings near the city center crashed down just across the street from them. The chunk of stone and steel was easily the size of a two story building! And it easily cut straight through the city bus it landed on!

Bolin erected an impromptu concrete shelter to shield the trio from falling debris. Rebar, chunks of office desks, suitcases, computers, and other miscellaneous objects crashed against the stone shelter, but it wouldn't be enough. They had to flee!

"The building is coming down! We can't stay here!" Zhu Li exclaimed peeking around the roof of their small shelter and seeing the large seventy-story building toppling over from around the fiftieth floor.

A terrible hum sounded from miles away, but instantly a powerful violet beam cut straight through several tall structures, faster than any projectile could be fired. It was just slightly slower than the blink of an eye! More explosions burst from every bit of matter in the way of this terrifying particle beam super weapon.

"What is that?!" Bolin shouted, moving his fellow two fugitives away from the fall zone.

"It's my super weapon!" Varrick answered. "It works real well too!"

"Too well," Zhu Li cursed.

"That's what you two were working on?!" Bolin exclaimed.

"Not by choice!" the not-couple couple shouted back in tandem.

Civilians, innocents caught in the midst of a deadly military assault fled from nearby shelters. They hadn't yet made it to the underground areas! They scrambled desperately, trying to get away from the hail of deadly rubble with nothing more than their hands or bags to shield their heads.

Bolin watched helplessly as several were cut down by falling building rubble, crushed beneath tons of steel or impaled by falling rebar! A shadow on the ground grew and grew. Bolin looked up and saw a falling slab of concrete careening towards a grouping of Zaofu citizens!

"Go on! I'll catch up!" he yelled, turning back to try and save the fleeing people.

The former pro-bender and movie star mustered all his strength and managed to catch hold of the massive ton of building! The rubble slowed, stopping less than ten feet above the fearful Zaofu citizens, before swinging left and slamming into the wall of the nearby office building. Bolin was able to save a grouping of civilians! But there was no time to express gratitude, nor did he expect any!

Metal, lots of it, made a core-shaking groan, like a thousand ill-tuned cellos being sawed by a thousand poorly conditioned bows sounded throughout the city as the western leaf of the city's massive domes fell away from the city, being struck from its mountings.

"The dome's fallen! The city's exposed!" Zhu Li exclaimed, awestruck in a terrified way. The domes of Zaofu were a marvel, thought of by some in the same way as the walls of Ba Sing Se.

Bolin knew what would come next, having spent much time in the Earth Empire's planning rooms. "With the city exposed, they're going to strike with artillery! We need to get these people underground now!"

There wasn't time to think. Amid the rain of stone and steel and the coming barrage of artillery, Bolin opened a deep tunnel straight into the streets they stood on. He jumped into the depression he had created to further dig it deeper and deeper down and make it wide. "Herd the people into the hole!" he yelled to Varrick and Zhu Li.

The two of them immediately sprung into action, yelling at the top of their lungs to get people to jump into the makeshift shelter. They needed to dive under the falling sky!

"Shelter!" they shouted "Shelter! Get in the tunnel! Hurry!"

The crowds ran towards them, a large handful not taking any notice of them and vaulting into the tunnel. But many stopped before the pair, apprehensive despite the dire situation. Some raised their hands in surrender!

Bolin, Varrick, and Zhu Li were still dressed in their Earth Empire uniforms, albeit stripped of their ranks!

"What are you waiting for?! Get in!" Varrick shouted at them, wanting to get out of the danger zone as fast as possible himself.

Members of the groups broke away and ran elsewhere trying to find their own shelter, while others blanked out. Not knowing where these mysterious enemy soldiers were trying to take them.

Zhu Li slung her MP40 and raised her hands in front of her, trying to alleviate the crowds' suspicions. "I know what this looks like! But we're not part of the incoming army! There's no time! We need to get people into the hole!"

"I don't trust them!" Someone shouted.

But before the crowd could fight, run away, or overpower the trio, a child push their way to the front just as Bolin clambered up, having finished the quick construction down below.

"Nuktuk!" the boy exclaimed, recognizing Bolin from the movies. "He's come to save us too!"

Before his parents could catch their child and keep him away from the man who was very apparently dressed as the invader, the boy ran to Bolin and jumped into the hole following his hero's instructions. "We can argue later!" Bolin yelled, "But let's argue in safety! Kuvira's army will fire artillery into the city to destroy the defending artillery units!"

The ground continued its death-rattling and their ears continued to be pushed to the brink of deafness as more tonnage of rubble smashed into the streets around them. The crowd shouldn't and couldn't, even if they wanted to, argue. They gave in and began pouring into the shelter. In the far distance, well behind the front lines, Kuvira's artillery drummed a deadly erratic beat, marking the impending barrage.

"Hurry!" Bolin shouted.

Just then, a shriek and whistle jabbed their ears. A terrible blast erupted just down the street. Chunks of asphalt sprouted from the ground as the first shell landed. More soon followed and soon the streets of Zaofu were being peppered with artillery fire. Shells slammed into the skyscrapers above, dropping more and more rubble, cars, buses, and trams were blown apart from direct hits. The central grouping of Zaofu's own cannons and missile launchers were smashed by a salve of 11-inch HE shells! The shockwave from the blast rocketed throughout the connected streets, marked by the disturbed and shaken dust in the air.

Tanks, armored cars, trucks, and mech suits, units reserved for the final defense of the city, scrambled. Tiger and Pershing tanks emerged from their concealed cover within ordinary building structures and were forced to flee from the barrage zone. Metal beasts of war denied exit by the constant pounding of the aptly named King of Battle. Bolin watched as tanks cowered and became as helpless as fish in a barrel as shells of various calibers slammed down beside them. Kuvira had Zaofu and its streets bracketed perfectly. The city was surrounded now, and they were being fired upon from all angles! The trio ducked for cover as the nearest tank took a direct hit from a falling shell! Deadly shrapnel shot out from all angles! A squad of soldiers just behind was blown to pieces from a second following shell.

There was little Bolin could do for them, but he was relieved that the last of the crowds of civilians he had rallied had dropped into the shelter he constructed below! He was about to shut the street on top of them when a cry from a guard came out.

"HEY! YOU! HALT! HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM! NO SUDDEN MOVES OR I'LL DROP YOU!"

A squad of guardsmen approached the aiding young adult and his two armed companions. Earth Empire personnel from the look of it.

"Drag him out of there!" the leading soldier ordered. "The other two as well!"

"Guys!" Bolin pleaded, "This is a misundersta-!"

Before he could finish the soldiers, still amid a terrible artillery barrage, firmly latched onto his uniform's collar and threw him out of the hole. Varrick was next, and he received the roughest handling out of them. The inventor was flung across the street and landed beneath a trio of aimed rifles. The men were firm with Zhu Li but they were comparatively more gentle.

"How did you get in here?! How many more are you?" the soldier questioned, threateningly. Bolin could barely hear him amid the shelling. "You better tell me something valuable, else we'll execute you right here, right now!"

"I don't know! We're not with the army! We didn't come with the attacking force!" Bolin answered in a panic, heaping his arms high above his head. He could have chosen his words better.

"Rear echelon spies," one of the other squad members chimed. "They've sent small units around, now that they've managed to vaporize out defensive lines. There's sure to be more!"

"What should we do with them?"

"Captives?"

"No time. And these people? They deserve no mercy!"

"Miss Beifong wouldn't-"

"Miss Beifong is busy handling things and isn't here! I'm giving orders here, Private!"

Zhu Li slid between Bolin and her interrogator's rifle. "Please, sergeant! We are telling the truth! We're defectors. We came aboard a freight train just before the Earth Empire cut the lines. We're trying to help as much as possible and also just trying to get to safety!"

"...Yeah, from the weapon I built!" Varrick idiotically uttered. That got a raised eyebrow from the arresting soldiers.

Zhu Li and Bolin gritted their teeth. He should not have said that at this very moment.

"Shoot them!" the sergeant called.

"WAIT!" Bolin pleaded, "Wait wait wai-wai-wai-wait--!"

"Bolin?!" a voice called, surprised. It was Opal!

"Opal?" he questioned, opening his eyes and turning towards the voice. His ex-girlfriend was indeed standing there, dumbfounded, dressed in her air nomad uniform.

"Miss Beifong," the sergeant of the guard acknowledged. "I-"

Opal cut the soldier off. "No time. Your thinking process until this point has been justified. Everyone into the hole! Now! Arrest them under cover!"

"Yes ma'am," the sergeant acknowledged the ranking member of the Beifong family. "You three! In the shelter! Move!"

Earth Empire Rear Echelon

Outskirts of Zaofu

Western Earth Kingdom

"Coming up here, boss," John prompted. "From the feel of it, we're going to be right in the thick of it, but we should be clear of any nearby troops. Seems like they're all ahead of us." He out his hand on the ceiling of their subterranean tunnel. "Pretty sure that's a destroyed Tiger up above us. Something heavy and metal, can't really tell, but whatever it is it ain't moving. Should be a good cover."

"Second squad is reporting they've also surfaced as well," Jun replied, dust falling from the ceiling and pebbles bouncing off the brim of his cap.

"Sounds a bit uncertain," Korra expressed with concern, "You can't tell exactly what's up there? Lin could."

John, Kaho, and Jun all shot glares back through the crowd at her. "It's pretty hard to tell with literally some kind of mechanical earthquake going on up there, sorry," Agent Masaoka answered.

"At any rate," Jun said, sliding in a fresh magazine, "be ready for whatever could be up there waiting." He checked for readiness with his two agents, as well as Mako and Asami. "This is what we're here for."

John punched a hole through to the surface, exposing them to the cool night skies above. The sound of gunfire was distant, the assertion that the brunt of the infantry were mostly concentrated far ahead was founded. What drowned the sound of fighting out was an imposing sound of mechanical whirring and humming.

"Let's go," John prodded the group, "Let's go!"

Jun in the lead, the squad clambered out of their tunnel and took positions behind what was indeed a destroyed Tiger tank. The wrecked hull was still warm from the fires that had only recently burned out. As soon as the last member clambered out, John shut the tunnel opening behind them.

Jun peered over the wreckage. His eyes soon began to climb up and up, and he pushed his cap back to move the brim out of the way. "Geez," he commented, "now that is a superweapon."

The group rallied behind the head of the UFDI and gazed upon the behemoth in awe and terror.

"It's a.." Korra and Asami began to mouth off.

"Ratte," Jun finished.

"A rat?" Korra questioned, "the thing is huge!"

"Colloquial. Original thing would have been called a landkreuzer or a land cruiser… a heavy cruiser, a warship, on land," Jun explained. "I don't know what Kuvira calls this thing, but it's heavily based on it."

Kaho and John were busy trying to size the leviathan up. How would they be able to destroy such a weapon? How could they circumnavigate the guarding infantry and tanks?

"John, pictures. We need to document this thing," Jun instructed, "Kaho, you're on watch."

"Aye, sir," she replied.

Mako looked the siege weapon up and down. "Why build something so big? It'd be impossible to conceal this thing!"

Jun panned over to the long deck that extended behind the super tank's main turret. Several relatively smaller cannons and turrets were mounted along the long engine deck. Anti-aircraft cannons, the kind to spit forty-five hundred rounds a minute, were littered all across the top of the behemoth, and several surface-to-air missile platforms were mounted as well.

"You're right Mako, but the thing looks like it certainly could bite back at air targets," Jun remarked, jotting down notes in his field log. "It's impractical, but likely it exists to serve the same role as any battleship: a heavy weapon's platform."

"To carry what?"

The imposing sound of a great building charge of energy wound up, it sounded like the mix of a spooling-up jet turbine and charges being sent through a tesla coil! A faint purple light emanated from one of the barrels of its massive main guns, growing stronger and stronger until the purple was overpowered by bright white. Then, bang! A terrifying blast followed by the horrific hum! A powerful beam of energy fired from the cannon, almost instantly spanning the miles between the tank and Zaofu. Everything in the beam's path was vaporized! A shockwave radiated from the muzzle, slamming into the ground beneath and racing outward kicking up dust and debris. The wrecked Tiger tank hull they hid behind jumped and shook as the shockwave slammed into it!

"Whatever kind of spirit energy weapon that is!" Jun answered, pinning his hat to his head. "Nothing we have is going to take that thing down, less America sends over a B52 right now, or we could field the 18-inch guns of Yamato. But we need to get closer to that thing to learn about potential weak points! Ideally we get inside and find out how that gun works!"

"How do we destroy it?" Korra asked.

"We don't," Jun coldly said. "At present, we can't even if we wanted to. We can only prepare for future encounters."

"We can't let this thing continue to lay siege!"

"You can access the avatar state?" Jun asked, "Why didn't you say so! By all means, go nuts! Strike down the 1st and 2nd Armored Divisions from the heavens and send Kuvira into a full on retreat!"

Korra was at a loss for words, but Jun got to feel the cold disapproving gaze from Asami.

"Thought not."

Korra was not going to back down on this matter. She was going to put her foot down. "Even so, Mr. Stevenson!" she snapped, drawing intense shushing from everyone around, they were still trying not to get spotted, after all, "I'm not going to sit idly while that thing- whatever beast it is, continues to vaporize the people of Zaofu! We will disable it!"

The avatar was right, Jun conceded. He leaned against the wreckage. What would grandfather do? It didn't take him long to figure it out. If this were his grandfather, all the way back in WW2…if this were any US military unit during that time, regardless of how small the outfit was, this was a massive target of opportunity that they could not simply allow to continue to wreak havoc.

"You're right, Avatar," he sighed. "We can't sit by and let someone else deal with this." The lazer fired again, and Jun flinched.

"How will we do it?" Kaho, John, and Mako questioned. "Got anymore rockets?"

Jun peered over. There were patrols all around. Not as dense as they should have been, but in the fifty yards between the Land Cruiser and their cover, there were soldiers and tanks idling.

"The RPG isn't going to do as much as scratch the paint on that behemoth. Nothing we have on us will put a dent in that outer armor. We need to get inside somehow." Light shined out and illuminated the ground from a small opening beneath the tank. Behind the massive tracks, there was an opened service hatch. "That light probably marks our way in."

"Second squad reporting," Jun's radio quietly reported. They were not the only contingent of UFDI and Zaofu personnel coming up around the super weapon.

If we move when that death ray goes off, the noise should drown out our gunshots," Mako suggested.

"There are a lot of eyes though," Kaho countered. "Others will see the muzzle flash and commotion. If we get singled out, then we can kiss making it in goodbye."

"Which also rules out using the RPG on the idling Tiger tanks," Asami added.

Jun mulled it over. "No. But if we put another unit into action. That'll give all the surrounding sentries something definite to look at, and we could sneak through in the commotion."

"Wait," Korra interrupted, "If we do that, they'll get slaughtered. There's too much Earth Empire for small squads to handle."

"It's part of the job, Avatar," Jun grimly said. He sighed, knowing it all too well. "My guys are competent. They can take the heat." He turned to John and Asami, who had the best ranged weapons in the squad: a carbine and a shotgun with slugs. "You two take down the sentries atop this hulk of metal. They'd see us even amongst the chaos."

"Got it, chief," John acknowledged. The pair of them rested their weapons on the engine deck of the tiger for a steadier shot. In the dark, on iron sights, this was a difficult shot. Asami was being made to really push her shotgun into a role more suited to a rifle.

Jun turned to Kaho and Korra. "Kaho, you and the avatar clear our left flank. Try to minimize the noise and attention."

"Aye, sir," Kaho acknowledged.

"Officer Mako," Jun finished, "we have leftovers."

"Understood," the fire bender replied.

Jun got on the radio. "Second squad, First squad," he called, "We need to get in that thing, and we need cover. You guys are up to bat."

There was a brief pause. The squad leader on the receiving end knowing what their task was. "Understood, sir."

"Wait til they fire that main gun and open fire."

"Roger, chief. Standing by," the radio man replied. "Get the RPG ready…"

"Ready up," Jun called positioning by the corner of the wreckage. Mako braced behind, ready to dart across the field behind him. Kaho and Korra did the same opposite from them, ready to dash out from in front of the tank. John and Asami took aim and made final adjustments in sighting their prospective targets. The main gun of the Land Cruiser began to glow, an intensifying purple light radiated from the bore of its massive cannons.

A blast from the main cannon! The Ratte rocked from the recoil, just as the second barrel of the dual-gunned turret fired its devastating beam! The destructive hum of the energy gun filled the ears of all around.

"NOW!" Jun shouted into the radio.

Volleys of muffled and distant submachine gun fire rang out from a position just ahead of the behemoth. Groups of Earth Empire troops fell to the fire. It took them a while to realize they were being attacked. Soon the other surrounding forces began to spring into action, firing back at First and Second Squad's surprise attack.

Jun and Mako darted from behind the wreckage, making a dash for the underside of the Ratte. Kaho and Korra soon followed suit, emerging from the opposite side. A blast from Asami's shotgun and a short volley from John's carbine rang out over them as the two shooters simultaneously struck down some of the observers high on the Ratte's main deck; their targets' silhouettes crumpling out of view.

Jun sprayed a burst of lead at some straggling Empire soldiers. Mako blasted consecutive blasts of fire at the commander of a Tiger II that was parked between them and their target. Jun spun about, stopping his dash, and unloaded the rest of his magazine at the commander in the turret. Wounded, the tank officer ducked in and shut the hatch over himself.

"Mako! Let's go!" Jun yelled back, calling the fire bender onward. " We can't lose a moment! Don't let First and Second squad's sacrifice go to waste!"

Reluctant to leave such a big target still active in the fight, Mako hesitated before turning to continue the sprint.

Kaho and her designated partner, the avatar, weren't going to leave such a target active though.

"Avatar! Hatch!" Kaho shouted. "Now!"

The UFDI field operative flicked open the cap to her water carrier and laid forth an icy ramp from the ground to the King Tiger's deck. Water gathered around her boots and carried her rapidly up to the turret level. Korra just managed to forcefully metal bend the hatch open in the nick of time.

The enemy tank officer tried to pop out, P1 pistol in hand, but Kaho acted faster! Water shot from her pouch and splashed onto the man's face, immediately freezing into a heavy block of ice. The enemy officer recoiled, firing an erratic shot from his pistol before his hands reached for his face, trying to claw the ice off. Kaho pushed her palm downward while her other hand was already prying the pin from a hand grenade on her belt. The enemy commander was forced back into the hull, the ice formed on his head taking him down into the dark. Kaho slammed the armed and ticking explosive device against the underside of the steel hatch, freezing it to the metal and knocking the door shut. She froze the lock for added measure before jumping off and retrieving the rest of the frozen water she had used for the ice ramp.

By the time the grenade exploded within the tank, she had just capped her water carrier and was pulling the avatar onward. A heavily muffled bang and thud came from within the steel beast and smoke poured out of all its view ports and cannon, its crew all killed in the blast.

Jun and Mako were approaching the side of the massive tank. The spaces they were aiming for were the gaps between the large road wheels and sprockets in the vehicles track assemblies. And even though the vehicle was big, the space they were dashing for, in between gigantic heavy moving metal parts, was uncomfortably small. If the Ratte moved, even a little, they would, at the very least, lose a limb!

"I hope you don't mind small spaces!" Jun said as he leapt and dove through the narrow opening. Mako followed, and just cleared the hole. Overhead the engine started to spool up, the Ratte likely being moved up again.

Now crouched on the other side, Jun and Mako were calling to their trailing squad members.

"Let's go! Get a move on!" Mako yelled.

"Get the lead out!" Jun followed.

Kaho slung her submachine gun and dove through. Korra followed but clipped the tracks as she did.

"Hustle up, Agent Masaoka!" Kaho yelled.

The revs from the engine grew louder.

"This thing's going to move!" Jun called. "Avatar!"

"Korra!" Mako yelled, "Prop this thing up!"

Without a word, two large and sturdy stone pillars shot from the earth, wedging through the large track assemblies. The Ratte lurched! A strong crack echoed as the large steel wheels bit into the stone pillars.

Nimbly, Asami pulled herself through the assembly. The engine overhead revved harder and the stone began to crack and crumble.

"Ohhh shit!" was all John could say as he jumped for it. He cleared most of the way through but didn't make it all the way. The stone pillars shattered and the huge wheels suddenly lurched ahead. Jun grabbed his partner by the collar and pulled with all his might. Just barely, John's legs were pulled from the tracks just millimetersfrom getting painfully pulverized by thousands of tons of steel. Both of them were tense with sweat from the close call.

"You ever look at a log splitter and think, 'yeah, I'd totally want to fling my body into that thing?'" John said, panting, "Because I sure don't!"

The radio cackled to life. "Chief! This is Second Squad leader! We've taken extensive casualties…not much is left of First Squad…We've definitely hurt the enemy, but we're falling back. Good luck in there!"

"Godspeed, sergeant," Jun acknowledged. He flicked off his transmitter just as the sound of friendly gunfire cut off.

The squad shuffled towards the opened lower hatch. Jun drew his M1911 sidearm, hastily screwing his suppressor onto the threaded barrel. The shadow of someone standing near the hatch could be seen on the ground ahead of them.

"Quietly as possible," Jun instructed. "Avoid unsilenced guns."

Kaho and John slung their weapons, readying their supply of water and metal plates. Jun motioned Kaho up to the front of the group.

"Catch, standby," he instructed. The young woman had her hands at the ready.

"Now!" Jun called. He dove out from hiding, into the light of the exposed engine hatch with his gun drawn and aimed. His back hit the ground and he fired two succinct shots. One hit the crew member in the chest, and the next in the head. The enemy's body fell to the floor but stopped mid-fall, suspended. Kaho suspended the victim's body, before he'd hit the steel flooring. His uniform and tools would have made a noticeable noise, possibly alerting other crew members within the massive tank.

Gently, Kaho guided the killed enemy tanker out of the hatch and down onto the outside earth beside the group.

"You're blood bending?!" Korra, Asami, and Mako gasped.

"He's already dead," Kaho answered back. "It's just crimson water now."

"Up and in," Jun hustled, indifferently. "John, you're up."

They clambered in. The inside of the hull was so large, it was easy to forget this was a tank. It was as if they were in a warehouse, or a ship's engine room. The ceilings were high, lamps were placed all around, and there were passageways in between the heavy equipment. Pipes lined the walls, running every which way, the rushing sounds of steam, fuel, and pressurized fluids, added to the clanking and grumbling of the gears and motors. It was a unit of a weapon, indeed.

"Straight ahead," Jun whispered, "Two targets."

John and Kaho staged behind their leader at the ready. There were two more crewmen just at the end of the small passage, observing dials and gauges having to do with the tank's mobility systems. Two more suppressed shots, both drilling through the base of the spinal column. The pair of UFDI agents immediately moved. John caught the one on the right by the metal rigging of his uniform, and Kaho caught the man on the left again with the 'crimson water' that flows in everybody. Swiftly, the two casualties were pulled from sight and stowed behind the group.

"Looks like we're in a central magazine," Jun noted. "The armor on this thing has to be over two-hundred-mils thick!"

"We don't have many guns that can easily pen that," John commented, "Not in the Army component of the United Forces, at least."

"The US Army can punch through this with their MBTs, but there aren't a lot of them in the Bending World."

The group stumbled as the massive vehicle lurched ahead. "We need to move

faster," Korra announced.

"We also don't want them to immediately know we're here," Jun held back, "We're outnumbered and outgunned." He pushed ahead, "Fork up ahead."

"Taking left," Kaho called out.

"Right," John followed suit.

"Avatar, you're with Kaho on the left," Jun prompted.

They split the already narrow passageway, stacking up behind the two corners. Jun quickly peeked the perpendicular passage. Two crew members on each path, four in total, he signaled.

The go sign was given. Jun and John took their path. A plate of metal flew from John's reserves, impaling one of the men through the neck. Two more precise shots from Jun's pistol fired at the same time. John moved the body of his target out and under the falling one of Jun's, catching both. A small portion of water flew from Kaho's carrier, immediately forming into a sharpened icy dagger. She quietly took her target out with just a small portion of water. But Korra needed more. The rest of Kaho's reserve was taken by Korra who froze the second crewmember to the control panel she worked beside. A layer of ice held her body to the machinery while another froze her mouth shut. The enemy soldier squirmed in her bindings! If she broke free, she could fight back! If she screamed, they'd be compromised! The dagger that Kaho had used flew from the neck of her previous target and impaled into the stomach of Korra's arrested target. Slowly, as the life drained from her, the enemy crew member ceased her struggle. The icy restraints thawed immediately under Kaho's control and all used water was immediately returned to her reserves.

"You're going to get us killed, Korra," Kaho prodded.

"We can't go around killing everyone," the avatar pushed back.

"You're starting to sound like Aang, you know that?" the young operative noted.

"Is that such a bad thing?" the Avatar questioned. "I can't try and value the lives of friend and foe?"

"Not in the real world."

"Where did you learn to be so brutal?"

"Training and study."

"Study? What were you studying?"

"The White Lotus," Kaho answered, as shortly and succinctly as possible, immediately rejoining the group and carrying onward.

"The White Lotus? They'd never be this brutal."

"The current version, no. They've become too showy and weak. About this, Zaheer was right."

"They weren't like that either during Aang's time. The retaking of Ba Sing Se during Sozin's Comet ended without a single Fire Nation soldier being killed!"

"Not then either. Back in the era of Yangchen however, the White Lotus was much more…deadly and resolute."

They snaked their way through to the engine compartment. The engines were constantly being observed, and were huge. They looked more like the engines needed to propel a ship on the open seas. They weren't diesel or even jet-fuel driven either. Rather they seemed to be some kind of hybrid. Some kind of extreme power source was surging within. Jun didn't think it was nuclear, but somehow it was close. Asami, however, felt that it seemed familiar.

Jun, Kaho, and John quickly secured and set demolition charges on the large engines. They'd be able to immobilize the Land Cruiser and prevent it from further advancing.

Ahead was another ammunition magazine, as the squad made their way towards the front of the Ratte. A klaxon alarm sounded as another hum echoed throughout the inside of the tank. Another burst from the lazer outside.

A massive cylindrical structure stood ahead of them. The turret barbette for the main gun, the assembly that allowed the turret to spin and where the gun crews loaded the shells in for its main gun. The shells were stored just behind, where the squad was not positioned among the reserve projectiles.

"We need to find out how that gun works," Jun thought out loud to himself. But, seems we can't access the main turret from the magazine. We'd have to go topside."

"We can detonate the powder magazine though," Mako suggested. "That'll surely knock this tank out of commission.

"Already ahead of you," Jun answered.

Asami was taking a look at all the shells while they plotted their next move. The ammunition used was massive! All the kind used on a battleship, and they had several types of munitions too. High explosive, armor piercing -for some reason-, and even what looked to be a massive canister shell. Imagine being shot at with a battleship-gun-sized shotgun! But it wasn't these man-sized shells that caught her interest. It was the metal and glass canisters that did.

These rounds didn't resemble the other traditional warheads at all. They weren't even bullet-shaped. They looked more like something you'd find in a lab, a powercell of sorts. Two heavy silver and platinum plates housed a middle unit that was see through and encased with a thick glass. Inside the casing, bolted into place, looked like some kind of plant. It was an organic material! Some were vines, while others looked like tree trunk material.

Asami had seen these before. They were similar to the spirit vines in Republic City! These designs too…although she didn't know how exactly, they seemed familiar to her somehow.

"Stop!" Asami said, halting the UFDI personnel just as they were about to conclude rigging their explosive charges to the ammunition stockpile.

"What's the matter?" Jun asked.

"We don't know how volatile this experimental ammo is. I can't put my finger on it, but the results might be catastrophic."

Jun stopped in his motions. Why would she know that? Even if just a hunch? "Wait, what do you know?-"

Alarms sounded. Red lights flashed, the tank's defensive measures came alive. All of a sudden, armed soldiers emerged and darted across the catwalks overhead.

"Who gave us away?!" Jun called. He gritted his teeth and re-holstered his sidearm. Time to go loud.

"It wasn't us!" Korra shouted.

Indeed the soldiers didn't immediately notice their small team nestled among the ammunition stored below. It had to be something going on outside. But the crew and garrison that were stationed on this land-born battleship were everywhere, all at once.

"Breach!! We have intruders in the Ratte!"

A stray burst of machine gun fire peppered the floor just beside Jun and Asami. They both took cover behind the volatile munitions. It was obvious the responding soldiers were cautious about shooting at them, which likely saved their group. John and Kaho returned fire at the soldiers that were on the same level as them, while Jun fired on the crew that were above, shooting bursts through the floor of the catwalks with his Thompson.

"We need a way out! Preferably up!" Jun shouted, the battle now intensifying all around them!

Asami saw one of the heavy shells twitch and immediately jumped to action. Jun knelt between the two heavy pieces of ammunition, firing on a detail lined up across the hull on an overhead walkway.

"Chief! Watch it!" Asami yelled, shoving the man clear of the munitions. She had barely enough time to clear herself out of the way before the heavy shells crashed together; they would have crushed Junichiro to death!

"Good looking out, Miss Sato!"

A blast of airbending knocked the metal benders from the walkways, followed by a rapid fire volley of firebending from Mako.

"Korra, John! Get us a route out of here!" Jun prodded.

Korra tore the support beams for several panels of the overhead catwalks. As the metal came crashing down, John caught and reformed the pathways to form a ramp to the upper level of the lower hull.

Quickly the squad stormed the rampway with Kaho taking the rear.

Most of the soldiers that formed the Ratte's defensive garrison had moved topside. Many of the soldiers found within were mostly engineers stationed there to run the massive superweapon. Most posed no threat, but the occasional one took up arms or turned out to be a metal bender. Those that fought back were quickly struck down. It was a cramped, hot, and uncomfortable fight out to the top of the vehicle.

Finally they got to a hatch to the upper fighting deck. Jun primed a frag grenade and tossed it up through the hatch. He didn't like the idea of blindly storming up a ladder, potentially into a loaded rifle's muzzle. Just as the grenade passed through the opening, John slammed the metal hatch shut and waited for the explosion.

A forceful, muffled, boom slammed against the door as the explosive went off. Korra threw the hatch open and forced herself out the opening with her airbending to clear the rest of what waited for them. Mako, Asami, and Kaho followed, and the four burst out fighting, forming a defensive perimeter for the rest of their squad mates to emerge.

There were soldiers all around, but most of their attention was focused to the edge of the vehicle. Jun and his partner finally propelled themselves to the open air. The Earth Empire soldiers still hadn't noticed them.

"Cut 'em down!" Jun ordered.

The UFDI members fired on the garrison's men, catching most off guard. Mako joined the firing squad as well. Some were simply knocked over the railing and left to fall the height from the top of the tank to the ground.

Jun could barely hear his thoughts as he darted for cover behind one of the secondary turrets. Bullets started to fly their way as the enemy soldiers began to catch on. The sound of all the heavy guns firing as well as the disorientation from being fired on from all angles kept them pinned down. Jun was desperately trying to think of a way off of this thing.

"We're surrounded!" Mako called out, ducking back into cover.

"You think?!" John snarkly called back, tapping another magazine into his M1 Carbine.

"Now would be a great time for the Avatar State, Korra!" Jun shouted, poking the corner to fire on the enemy. "Or some kind of support!"

The door for the turret they took cover behind briefly opened, and out dropped a primed grenade! Jun just felt the explosive tap against his boot as the hatch once again closed and locked.

"Grenade!" he called, reaching down and grabbing the stick grenade.

Without another word or thought, under fire, he ran around the emplacement, threw the explosive down the barrel of the auxiliary tank turret, and ran back to cover. A bullet tore through his side just before he made it back behind cover. An explosion rang out, tearing through the wall of the gun barrel and detonating the loaded 128mm shell in the cannon's breach. The door swung open and smoke bellowed out, followed by the fleeing remaining gun crew.

Paying no mind to the intense burning sensation in his side, Jun fired on the escaping crew. "They're closing in!" he called out, peeking the corner once more.

"You're hit!" Asami noted.

"I'll be fine for now," Jun replied. "But we won't be without any help! Keep fighting!"

Just then, launching over the sides of the towering Land Kreuzer, came their aid. Suyin, Lin, Wei, and Wing had been the disturbance that had alerted the tank and its crew to battle stations. Moving with precision and speed, the trio quickly established a fighting hold atop the main deck, taking out several soldiers from the fight and incapacitating the rest. Again the soldiers of the Earth Empire were caught with their backs turned to the threat, and this time their numbers were greatly whittled.

"Stevenson!" Suyin called once the immediate threat was cleared, "Are you guys alright?!"

"Shaken up and bruised" Jun replied, "but otherwise we're holding out! You've come just in time!"

"We need to take this thing down!" Korra called.

"No," Suyin opposed. She knew they'd need more firepower to directly destroy this tank. "We need to take Kuvira down! This ends with her!"

"You're welcome to try, Suyin!"

Leaping down from the observation platform, Kuvira and Guan sprung into battle alongside the remaining garrison forces.

"Suyin, look out!" Korra shouted, seeing an airborne piece of metal headed toward the leader of Zaofu.

Lin reacted, redirecting the airborne sheet metal away and off the side of the tank. Jun opened fire, firing burst after burst toward the leading officers of this siege. Guan ducked out of the way, but Kuvira bent a substantial panel of armored steel straight off the deck. The metallic rectangle floated up and shielded her from the incoming fire, forty-five caliber slugs ringing off the metal. The shield spun in the air, varying and covering her entirely until Jun was out of ammo. Then, Kuvira began to launch sharp fragments of the heavy steel at them.

Jun ducked back behind cover, he felt the turret metal just beside his face bounce as a a large chunk of fragmented steel slammed into the turret and bounced off. If he was hit by it, it surely would have taken a limb clean off!

Suyin took additional armor. Metal off the turret facing peeled off and formed around her body, giving her protection and fighting material.

John cut across his body with a slashing motion with his hand. The cannon barrel of the secondary turret sliced clean in half, dropping a free section of the cannon down for Lin to use. The police chief crimped the end of the cylinder to a sharp point and launched the projectile at Kuvira.

Kuvira ducked! Light on her feet, she bent over backwards, supporting herself with a freehand as the sharpened cannon barrel flew overhead. Quickly she was back up in her fighting stance, and she swept around to dodge an incoming pairing of fire and metal!

The Great Uniter moved for cover, but just as she did Guan took his turn. One of the heavy munitions carts that rolled along the top of the tank lifted into the air. He heaved the grouping of heavy shells at them, slamming the loaded cart and its content into the ground where the other half of Jun's squad was standing. Narrowly they dodged being crushed by the heavy cart, but the shells spilled out all across the deck.

Jun, John, Kaho, and Asami returned fire immediately. Guan was much easier to hold a sight picture on as he was a bigger target slower than Kuvira. Rounds peppered the top of the turret which he stood on. Narrowly he avoided taking fatal hits, but Jun managed to put a grouping of three rounds into his side! The general fell over, and dropped out of sight. Kuvira reengaged! Kaho attempted to freeze Kuvira. A pillar of water flew from her canister and smashed into where the Great Uniter was standing, but Kuvira jumped clear, just as the water and immediately freezing ice landed. She threw a punch, and at her command a loose shell from the spilled casings flew up and struck Kaho square on the face!

The young waterbender flew back from the hit. Jun winced, hearing the muffled-by-flesh ping that came from the empty cannon shell.

Korra, Mako, and the Beifongs all swarmed Kuvira, but she managed to dodge each throw. She moved like a boxer in a ring. Though this was closer to a boxer in a bar fight. As if the mastery of her element in combat, and being able to dodge throws as if it were easy wasn't enough, Kuvira knew how to take a hit as well. When one managed to land, she knew just how to shield herself, how to turn, how to angle, or where best to take that hit to where it would cause the least amount of damage. All the while she stayed on her feet, and rarely, if ever, was struck from her fighting stance.

Soon they were all equally bloodied. Jun had taken a few hits of stray metal across his body, now bruising in his arms and face. John was pressing on, and Kaho was on the verge of losing consciousness. Lin and Suyin similarly had a few cuts and scratches, with Wei still in the fight and Wing out of consciousness.

Kuvira had sustained several bruises but was largely unharmed. Only a few strands of loose hairs had come loose from her bun, and a slight cut had been slashed across her cheek. Guan as well was hanging in there, although still reeling from being shot.

"Zaofu is done for, Suyin! You should cut your losses and save your people!" Kuvira shouted at them from behind cover.

"I intend to save them!" Suyin said, referring to her intent to take down the Great Uniter, right here, once and for all.

"All you need to do is surrender," Kuvira said, "and all this goes away!"

"It'll never go away and you know that!" Suyin yelled back, preparing to jump back into the fight.

"Fine, then you and your company will perish where you stand! And so will the misguided, still holding out in Zaofu!"

As if on cue, several metal cables latched onto the railings of the Land Kreuzer. On both sides! The whole length of the massive vehicle was about to be boarded by what had to be an entire company of reinforcing Empire troops.

"I don't have the ammo for this," John called. "And Kaho isn't doing too good, either!"

"Her and I, partner," Jun winced. His own injuries, being shot above them all were now starting to weigh him down. "And I'm also running dry."

"I'm out completely," Asami called out. She, unlike the rest, did not start with a soldier's load of rounds for her shotgun. Slinging her emptied shotgun, she equipped her electric shock gauntlet. It wasn't going to do her much good here, but it was all she had.

"You still have time!" Kuvira shouted at them, "Though it is limited!"

"We'll never surrender!" Korra yelled back.

We can't surrender, Jun thought, thinking of his ties and his mission. If they're captured, Republic City would be left in the dark regarding this new superweapon. Of course, he thought, if he were dead, there was then absolutely no way to finish his mission too. If they were captured, he didn't know what would become of the avatar, but he would certainly be executed, or worse.

"We'll take the left side,"Jun offered. "You benders do what you can to hold the right. Our combined ammunition should be able to hold off this side for a while! Atleast make a dent!"

Jun reached over and pulled the loaded magazine from Kaho's submachine gun. He could use her rounds now that she was not actively using them. He grabbed one final fully loaded magazine from her magazine pouches.

"It's just like being pinned by the Red Lotus all over again," John grumbled peering through his sights.

"Yeah, but this time the very people that bailed us out of that situation are trying to kill us," Jun replied. "Hold fire until you see something you can definitely hit!"

The incoming Earth Empire troops vaulted the railing, zipping up their attached lines. They all came over at once, and this was mirrored on the other side! They were smothered! Certainly they would indeed be killed or captured.

So this is it, Jun thought. He was just about to pull the trigger and let loose one last sweep with his weapon. But a forceful blast of wind came thundering across the deck. The soldiers just ahead of Jun's group were blown clear off the top of the Ratte, and a second knocked the other's on Suyin's side off too! Jun quickly got up to his feet. He fired into the remaining soldiers still left atop the tank, but downed from the blast of wind. That couldn't have been natural, and it wasn't!

The roar of a sky bison sounded over the tank. Pepper, Jinora's bison swooped in and touched down atop the tank. Their ticket out of here!

"Hurry!!" Jinora yelled from her seat just behind the reins. "We'll cover you!"

Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo provided cover from atop Pepper, keeping the remaining Earth Empire soldiers down with their blasts of air. Fighting the air benders would incur a great risk of being knocked off!

Scurrying and firing, the UFDI, Avatar, companions, and the Beifong family clambered up Pepper's tail and leapt into the saddle.

"Dry!" Jun called out dropping the magazine from his Thompson. He reached for Kaho's half-spent magazine, opting to save the fully loaded one for later.

"Covering!" John said, popping up and volley firing his carbine.

The avatar was the last person to board. Jun did not waste any time further.

"All aboard that's coming aboard!" he shouted, "Get us out of here!"

Jinora dropped down behind the reins, and with a firm tug, Pepper leapt into the air, taking flight away from the behemoth as fast as possible.

"That's clear enough," Jun called to his partner, "Hit em!"

Agent Masaoka reached for the detonator he kept in his tunic. He clicked the trigger without hesitation. Explosions burst from the exhaust vents and ports all along the top of the Land Kreuzer! The demolition charges they had set in the engine compartment tore through the beast's propulsion systems and drive gear! The noise from the explosions rocked their ear drums even several hundred feet overhead!

Jun was slightly disappointed. He was hoping they'd deal more extensive and awesome damage. But as he thought in the back of his mind, they'd only managed to destroy the engines and immobilize the massive vehicle. The Ratte seemed to come down from power as thick black smoke rose from its engine ports. Its main turret was turning at the time, but it slowly ground to a halt.

"Not destroyed, but looks like she's critically wounded," Mako observed.

"We're not clear yet!" Jinora shouted back to the saddle, "Hang on!"

Tracers filled the air, tearing over the saddle! Machine guns of every size and caliber fired at the massive lumbering sky bison as they made their escape. Jun could see the close-in weapon systems atop the Ratte, multiple multi-barreled gatling guns used for shooting supersonic jets and missiles, being aimed at a lumbering soft body sky bison!

"Evasives! Now!" Jun yelled.

Jinora yanked the reins just as a terrible tearing sound fired from behind. Several! A solid line of tracers tore into the sky. It looked like a glowing whip or lasso being swung at the ten-ton animal! Every fifth round was a tracer, and so that was a terrifying amount of lead!

Jun gripped on to the saddle as Pepper rolled over, going fully inverted for a moment and just dodging the line of 20mm cannon ammo. Another erratic tug and Jinora had pepper suddenly cornering in the sky off to a ninety-degree angle! The occupants in Pepper's saddle held on for dear life! No parachute and the threat of being disemboweled by a massive round. If they managed to hit Pepper, they'd be done for too!

They dodged, left, right, up, down, over, under, and rolling. With every yard they gained away from the Ratte, the less effective the anti-air fire. The cannons were most effective when the target wasn't running away. Eventually, their sensors deemed the sky bison to not be an immediate threat and gave out.

So, the flak guns picked up the slack.

"Head for Zaofu!" Suyin called to Jinora, "I have to help my people!"

"The city is crawling with Earth Empire! They'll take you into custody immediately!" Lin voiced out. "We can't go there!"

"I can't let them take my people!" Suyin voiced out again!

"Incoming flak!" Jun shouted.

A terrible whistle charged at them! The shell whizzed overhead and burst several yards ahead! Pepper roared, startled by the explosion! Jinora shielded her face, keeping one hand firmly gripped on the reins!

Down below, back on the deck of the disabled Ratte, the pounding of their anti-aircraft cannons boomed and drummed out a melody of destruction, casting their explosive shells up towards the stunned bison!

You had your opportunity to survive this, Kuvira thought as she watched the Sky Bison get smothered by numerous poofs of black smoke and shrapnel.

Pepper groaned in pain! Numerous metal fragments, easily in the hundreds, had torn into her hide. Regardless, the sky bison pressed onward. They were now on the far outskirts of the battlefield's northern flank, over the forested areas on the outskirts of Zaofu, with the main city in sight. But the flak kept coming.

Kaho, still out of commission from the fight on the Ratte, had been secured to the saddle by a rope around her waist. But in the maneuvers, the connection was coming undone. Jun moved to secure his subordinate, else she'd be tossed from the airborne animal, unconscious, and with no parachute.

"What are you doing?!" John yelled across the saddle just as another airburst shell exploded just behind him. He saw Jun undoing his own line to the saddle.

"Kaho's harness is coming undone!" Jun yelled back, "If I don't fix that, she'll be tossed!"

Pepper banked right sharply! The saddle canted over at a steep angle! Jun slid along the saddle, catching the perimeter wall with his foot! Korra watched the whole ordeal, she was used to extreme maneuvers on a sky bison.

Despite being on the very edge of being thrown out of the saddle himself, under constand and continuing flak, Jun slowly but surely re-tied his subordinate's anchor rope.

He pulled the ropes tightly secured, sighing slightly in relief, "gotcha!"

Jun heard the incoming whistling shriek of an incoming shell. He could tell this one was going to be much closer to hitting its mark.

"INCOMING!!!" he yelled, diving for the floor of the saddle.

The shell burst directly beside Pepper! Concussive forces threw the saddle, shaking everyone and slammed against the Sky Bison's sides! Fires charred her white fur, leaving black burnt ends, and large pieces of shrapnel ripped into her body. This explosion had taken chunks out of her sides and legs. Jun was thrown in the saddle! He barely managed to catch the edge with one hand and was hanging off the side. It happened in a split second! Pepper roared from the immense pain of her injuries. She dropped in altitude and began to roll over, and fall from the sky!

"HANG ON!!!" Jinora yelled, desperately pulling on the reins! She propped her foot against Pepper's right horn to stop herself from falling off and give her extra leverage.

Weapons and supplies fell from the saddle, being dumped overboard as they went near-inverted.

One of Jun's greatest fears, outside of spiders, was heights. And hanging off the now-underside of a sky bison saddle with one hand at three-thousand feet was not helping. He could feel his grip losing its hold.

"Well, shit," was all he could say as he felt his hand slip from the saddle edge.

Jun felt his heart rate skyrocket as he fell from the bison's saddle. Faster and faster he fell, and the winds picked up around his ears until it was all he could hear! He wasn't one to yell or scream, but he couldn't help himself now.

"Stevenson!" Korra yelled after the operative. Without a second thought she too jumped out after the man, to the shock of everyone else aboard!

"We need to go after them!" Suyin yelled! Pepper was still falling from the sky and trying to power through her injuries.

Everyone aboard was in agreement, but they physically couldn't!

The flak intensified, but it was clear they were, finally, out of range. If they turned back, they'd put Pepper and everyone aboard in even more danger now that they were intensely wounded.

"We'll have to come back for them," John spoke up.

Lin also joined in making the difficult call. "We won't survive in the state we're in! And the UFDI, here, still aboard, has valuable intelligence about that weapon. If we go down and get killed or captured, Republic City- No- The Worlds are in grave danger."

Jinora, hesitated. But looking over everyone aboard, and the injuries that Pepper had sustained, she silently agreed to carry on.

"Korra's the Avatar," Mako said, trying to assure everyone, particularly Asami, "between the two of them I'm sure they'll be okay."

Suyin, after a moment of pause, said, "Take us to Zaofu. I need to meet with my family and make a stand for my people! We can get aid there!" She said this with conviction, but truthfully she had no clue what the state of Zaofu actually was.

Zaofu Outer Regions

Western Earth Kingdom

Jun could see the ground drawing nearer and nearer. He wondered if it would be super painful for a split second upon impact, or if it would instantly be lights out. Oh this would definitely be a closed coffin funeral. Hell, this would probably just be my portrait on a table surrounded by flowers, he thought. He tried to sing Gory Gory What a Helluva Way to Die on his fall, but he didn't remember all the lyrics. This is why he didn't join the airborne, he had a major issue with the idea of willingly jumping out of a perfectly good airplane.

How was Yasuho fairing in all this? Probably okay, he thought. She was afterall in the conquering, and winning, army. Despite their two sides being pretty much at war, he hoped she was okay. Would she attend his funeral?

Grandpa Joe was still around too. He is quite old now, and isn't fully aware of what Jun did for a living. In fact, I remember now, he's in Republic City now. Retired Colonel Joe Stevenson is going to have a field day when he learns everything he'd learn at this funeral. In the end, Jun thought, I was not able to make as huge of an impact in either world like you did Grandpa, but I did try.

These thoughts at least helped Jun somewhat calm himself during his parachute-less fall from three-thousand feet. He was anticipating hitting a tree or a boulder, but his thoughts found another thing to distract themself with. The sight of another person.

If this wasn't the most Superman-Avengers-Comic-Book-Hero-esque thing he'd ever witnessed in the first person, then he didn't know what else would be. Soaring in after him, like an eagle diving in an attack run, came none other than Avatar Korra herself!

"What the-"

He was interrupted by Korra literally ramming into him, intercepting him like a missile homing in on a jet in flight! The wind, whatever wind he had left was knocked out of him, as Korra latched onto his waist!

"This is your great idea, Avatar?! Both dying?!"

"Can you quit your nagging at me while I am saving you, at the very least?!" she yelled back.

The ground was coming up fast, and they were rocketing in at terminal velocity!

Jun could see a river directly ahead of them. A shallow and rocky one. Great.

He shut his eyes and his scream intensified, as he covered his face with his arms. Korra held on tightly. She had to do this perfectly. There were no second chances.

A column of water shot up and caught them at just around forty feet above the ground. Rapidly they decelerated, but were still moving fast. At this rate they'd still slam into the shallow river bed…and die. This wasn't the ocean. Korra curved them upward through the forty feet of water she had, leveling them out perfectly with the ground at the edge of the river bank. The two of them slammed into the dirt, Korra's bending burrowing them through the soil and rock for as long as it'd take to come to a safe stop. The sound of rushing wind, replaced with rushing water currents, and now the rumbling and crumbling of dirt and stone. The two skidded through the field like a plane crash landing with no landing gear before they finally came to a grinding halt seventy feet from the river in the treeline. The whole way down, Korra had shielded Jun with her body and bending.

"Jesus Christ, I'm alive!" Jun shakily exclaimed, immediately sitting up and checking himself over for anything cut, broken, or painful. Apart from some scrapes and cuts in his uniform, he was fine! "You did it, Avatar!"

Korra didn't respond. She was face down in the dirt, motionless.

Jun noticed and immediately felt his heart drop. No, she couldn't be dead!

"Korra! Korra! Are you okay?! Stay with me-!" He turned her body over and was shocked. One way or another, either she figured it out, or her body did it on its own in survival, she had done it.

Her eyes glowed an intense white.

A/N: Hey guys. Nice to be writing after quite a long time. Life has been busy, but things have settled down to where I can sit down and continue writing. FFN is being very problematic right now, and doc manager...most of everything having to do with uploading a story is not cooperating...or even functional at all. I've started cross posting on AO3 months ago and fell behind schedule. If FFN continues to be this dysfunctional, which I really hope they sort it out, I may have to shift operations there. This document was uploaded through FFN's mobile app out of desperation. The mobile app does not save any formatting and expects you to go though and do it again. You'll likely have noticed several places where formatting is off from how these stories usually look like.

Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed the further exposition about Kuvira's newest super weapon. There are some parallels in utilizing spirit vines as an energy source to fuel her death beam, but also using more grounded means of carrying such a weapon system. The super tank, Land Kreuzer, or "Ratte" is based very very closely on the original P-1000 Land Kreuzer proposed design from WW2. A gigantic impractical super tank to be fielded by Nazi Germany. Is it practical in the Bending World? Absolutely not, it's still huge...but the Earth Empire has other tricks up it sleeve.

stay tuned! And thank you for your continued support of The Rift series.