Responses to Reviews:
Zigzagdoublezee: No, Ozai definitely doesn't deserve it.
RonaldM40196867: Not as some kind of secret fifth element, but I could maybe see it as some advanced subset of waterbending.
As Always, Please Review!
The tanks rumbled down the dirt road, a cloud of dust following in their wake as Yue and Sokka scrambled to their feet.
"We have to go," Yue said.
"But Gembul-"
"But we have to go!" Yue gestured to the tanks.
"Can't we hide?" Sokka asked.
"They've already seen us," Yue pointed out.
Just then, they were interrupted. A horn sounded, reverberating around the field, and a moment later the hilltop on the other side of the road was crowded with vehicles travelling quickly. Yue strained to see, and they looked like smaller, more nimble versions of the carts she had seen at the market. They were pulled by two ostrich-horses each, and as they quickly descended the hill towards the tanks Yue saw three men each in green uniforms clinging on in the back. One man held the reins, one man was holding some kind of weapon, a polearm, sword or bow, and the third was unarmed.
By now the tanks had seen the approaching chariots, and the column rolled to a stop. Then each tank turned on the spot, turning their column into a line which faced down the attack.
"What's going on?" Suddenly Rinzen was beside them. "I heard..."
"We found the war," Sokka said, gesturing needlessly to the battle in front of them. Several chariots charged forward, driving forward a wave of earth in front of them which caused the first jets of flame emitted from the tanks to simply hit the earth harmlessly. A boulder flew forward and slammed into the viewport of one of the tanks, blocking it and causing the machine to stop moving. Then the chariots were in among the tanks, and the battle truly began.
Yue watched one particular chariot circling a tank, before a fire blast spooked the ostrich-horses and it went charging away, the driver furiously trying to change course without result. Another tank was knocked onto its side, the hatch opening and disoriented crewmen spilling out onto the floor. Another chariot went away unmanned, the wooden box the crew would normally stand in ablaze.
Katara joined them, and looked on in horror at the battlefield. Nobody spoke, transfixed by the sight.
More chariots were breaking away; one overturned, and the crew barely scrambled free before it was smashed to pieces by a tank rolling over it. The impact freed the ostrich-horses, which scrambled to their feet and ran away. Another chariot galloped up though, and its Earthbender fired a rock dart which went straight through the viewport. The tank suddenly stopped moving, the driver having been incapacitated.
Yue did not consider herself well-versed in military affairs, but even she knew that no matter how skilled the earthbenders were, they were in wooden vehicles pulled by animals that could be spooked, and their opponents were firebenders.
By now, both sides were suffering heavily. The remaining tanks tried to close up, manoeuvring around the shattered wreckage of friend and foe alike in a bid to form a protective ring, while their opponents raced around them, staying out of reach of their fireblasts except when they seized a chance to race in closer when the tanks were pointed the other way.
Neither side looked like they were willing to give up the fight, the Earthbenders fighting for their homes, nation and families, and the Firebenders stuck in slower machines that didn't give them much chance at escape. They swooped in closer, looking for any opportunity to take one of their metal adversaries out. The tanks backed up to each other, forming their ring of protection, and the chariots charged in-
A moment later, it was over. The last chariots wheeled away, on fire as their crews dived for cover. A moment later Katara was moving, rushing towards the battlefield.
"Katara!" Yue rushed after her. "Wait!"
"There are people who need my help!" Katara shouted back.
"I know!" Yue told her.
The tanks were a long way away from the forest, and so it was a long walk, all the while watching Fire Nation soldiers clamber out of the tanks and search the wreckage for survivors, both friend and foe. There were. not many. Both were dragged into the tanks, before the soldiers got back in, fired their machines up again and drove off the way they had come.
"Where are they going?" Yue asked.
"It must have been a scouting mission," Sokka reasoned. They were among the wreckage now, the burning hulks of chariots and tanks, the ghastly aftermath of battle.
Yue looked around, trying not to be sick. This was war, this was what the Fire Nation had unleashed upon the world. She didn't know Ozai's motivations, but nothing could be worth this.
A figure popped out from behind the wreck of a tank and pointed a bow and arrow at them.
Yue yelped and threw her hands up.
"Don't shoot!" She called in a less than dignified manner.
He was young, she noticed, and dressed in green. A soldier of the Earth King, who must have come here on one of the chariots.
"Where's the rest of your crew?" Sokka asked.
"We can help you!" Katara added.
The soldier didn't say anything, but he lowered his bow. He gestured downwards. Yue came towards him slowly, followed by the others, and stepped around the wreckage.
It turned out the archer was guarding another one of his friends. This one was just as young, but was sitting propped up against the tank with a pained expression. His eyes widened at the sight of her.
"Are you a spirit?" He asked.
Yue looked at the others, confused. She supposed she had deliberately chosen her outfit to be striking, so that meant it worked.
"Well, I am the Avatar..." she said.
"Oh," the soldier looked sheepish, and then grimaced in pain. "Did you see all of that?"
"Sorry we didn't help," Yue told him with a twist of guilt. "It's just I only found out I was the Avatar recently..."
Katara was already kneeling down beside him, and had brought out some water.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
The soldier gestured to his leg.
"Fell off my chariot," he explained. "It hurts."
The water flew into Katara's hands and began to glow blue as she moved it up and down the limb. He leaned his head back against the tank and groaned in relief.
"That's better," he said. "Thank you for doing this."
He smiled at Katara, and she smiled back.
"Why didn't they take you prisoner?" Sokka asked.
"I don't know," came the reply. "I guess we were just lucky. At least we got some luck today."
The archer had walked a short distance away from them and seemed to be searching for something. Finally, he seemed to find it, and picked up a pair of swords off the floor.
"Oh good!" The soldier called. "At least I haven't lost those."
Each sword was long, and each was characterised by a distinctive hook-shaped blade. The soldier took them gratefully from his friend and lay them carefully down beside him.
"Sorry, I should have introduced us," he said. "He prefers to be known as Longshot. I don't think he likes his real name."
He whispered that last part conspiratorially to Katara. Longshot scowled, and that was met with a brilliant grin.
"As for me, I have no such problems. The name's Jet. I would bow, but I have a bad leg."