The Final Battle of the Hundred Year War
3
The heated fights, the rising tension, the fire that burned in buildings, the smoke that rose towards the sky, seemed to go silent and muted when the leading force of the Gladiator Army had stood by the now vacant body of one of its strongest members. Even in death, Renzhi's lips had curled into a small smile.
Sedna's efforts had yielded no fruit. She withdrew her hands and sighed, gazing pitifully at the crying man beside her at first, then rising to her feet and glaring at him begrudgingly, instead.
"Boss…" Gang Hong called Sokka: the Gladiator lowered his blade before turning towards him, eyes sharp with determination and channeled rage. "Know you told me to stand down, but… what d'we do 'bout this guy? He… he's one of 'em, ain't he?"
He pointed at Aonu, perched over Renzhi's lifeless body, crying helplessly. Turning him into a prisoner was, perhaps, a possibility. Gaining information on the Fire Lord's next moves might be the right choice…
And yet Sokka's heart ached deeply at the sight of a man who would never stop regretting every choice that had caused his best friend's death. His late attempts to aid him, to turn his back on the ambitions he had been fighting for, all along, hadn't been enough. He had learned his lesson far too late to save Renzhi.
If there was one thing that had become apparent since the very first time Sokka and Renzhi had clashed inside a gladiatorial ring, it was that the bond between Renzhi and Aonu was not as simple or bleak as that between countless gladiators and their sponsors. Theirs had been a true connection, no matter how conflictive or chaotic it could become. The Race had spoken for itself, too, regarding how tight and strong their friendship truly was…
It should not have moved Sokka to see Aonu quite so ready to die alongside Renzhi, making no efforts to save himself, no attempts to find protection from the very hostile group surrounding him. He might just hope that someone would take pity on him and slay him on the spot, so that he might not need to live on in a world where he knew he would never be able to talk with Renzhi again…
"Leave him be. Spread my order," Sokka said. Gang Hong tensed up, but he nodded. As unwilling as he might be to offer Aonu any lenience, he accepted that the partnership Renzhi and Aonu had shared merited that much respect.
Aonu didn't thank him for his mercy. Sokka didn't expect him to. He cast one last glance at the sobbing man, trembling, clinging to his dead friend helplessly, before turning around and facing the upcoming obstacles in his path.
The next towers along the main road had already been torn down, but Toph had stopped upon realizing the rest of the army had done the same. She built a thick wall, protecting herself and her earthbending allies from the ballista bolts that other towers, further along the way, had fired towards them… and she turned towards Sokka, a frown across her face.
"He's gone?" she asked. Sokka breathed deeply, stepping up to her. Footsteps behind him gave away that his fellow gladiators had continued to follow him.
"We carry forward. As he wanted us to," Sokka said. Toph frowned and nodded.
"He was worth like a hundred of theirs… let's make them pay," Toph snarled.
"For him, and for every life they've cost so far," Sokka scowled. "Gladiator Army… onwards!"
Toph pulled down the wall, and the chaos began anew.
Earthbenders attacked first, destabilizing the towers: Sokka knocked a ballista bolt out of his way with his club, and he gave chase to the soldiers that sought to escape the tower that Toph attacked before it fully crumbled. Firebending gladiators rained fire against the flames of their foes, but by now, the remaining Fire Nation troops had retreated back to the crater: fighting them there would be a challenge, for the uphill battle would provide their enemies with natural advantages…
Which they began exploiting once Sokka's forces were close enough to their reach.
Volatile bombs flew in their direction, blasting off and creating flaming barriers that forced the gladiators to back down. Sokka snarled, brandishing his boomerang and casting it between the flames: it returned soaked in blood, and he threw it again and again, knowing the fire of those bombs would never be as strong as Renzhi's. It could not repeal his attacks, and the enemy would never know how to put a stop to him.
Longshot and his fellow archers shot their arrows towards the heights of the crater too, and firebenders launched joint attacks just as the earthbenders began working to tear down the towers anew… until Sokka pulled back, snarling and glancing for Toph's group.
"Stop! Don't target the towers anymore!"
"What?! But you said…!" Toph exclaimed, scoffing.
"Landslide!"
"What?!"
"The very middle of the road, Toph! Where there are no towers! Tear that down… and we'll have our way in!"
The Blind Banding frowned: it was a challenge, certainly… but not one she couldn't achieve, especially with the support of her team. She clasped Shanyuan's arm, and he nodded in her direction.
"Get… get as many earthbenders as you can! Even the White Lotus bastards if you can get to those!" she said. "This is… gonna be trickier than the walls in Ba Sing Se. Can't let the landslide get to the army or we're just going to pay for his wild plans ourselves."
"Good point," Shanyuan said, nodding. "I'll get them!"
They had to hold for five minutes before Shanyuan had recruited as many earthbenders as he could find: the White Lotus forces remained intact so far, whereas many of the gladiators were wounded, with a few losses besides Renzhi's, and others were heavily exhausted, too. Even so, nobody was ready to back down. Not a single troop would lose heart, much less when their efforts were paying off as they appeared to…
And when their trump cards continued to yield fruit, their inspiration and hopes to fight back only gained more power: their allies in the hot-air balloons, unaware of Sokka's new attack plan, seeing the army stop, took to launching surprise raids upon the troops stationed at the very top of the crater.
"Rui Shi…!" Sokka gasped: the hot-air balloons had moved far back enough that the Capital would be visible for them… if they were attacking from there, surely it meant they could risk doing so. The Fire Nation's defenses weren't as strong within the city as he might have feared…
Ozai's forces were on their very last legs, it seemed. It wasn't merely their quality, but their quantity as well: surely the stronger defenses would be near the Fire Lord himself. Their leaders had either been killed or turned against the Fire Nation. But if this was how things would be… perhaps their rush to the Palace would not prove nearly as difficult as Sokka had thought.
"Toph…!" Sokka called.
"Working on it!" she rebuffed: over a hundred earthbenders stood with her, including General Fong… all intent on aiding the chief earthbender of their army in her efforts to quite literally move mountains.
Sokka feared that Rui Shi might not be able to get away with his aerial attacks for too long… but for now, his friend and the guards still adrift on the hot-air balloons managed to confuse the Fire Nation, even to take out some of the towers' forces while distracting the soldiers. His choice to do so certainly served their purposes: this way, the Fire Nation wouldn't find a proper footing to defend against the Gladiator Army once the Blind Bandit's newest move was poised to be unleashed.
Sokka and the rest of the gladiators with projectile weapons, as well as the fully arriving archery squads of the White Lotus, gave the Fire Nation no respite, either. Little by little, they would be overwhelmed, unable to defend against one of the fronts they were being attacked by…
Or they might just lose their footing when the grounds underneath their feet gave way.
The height of the crater made it difficult for the earthbenders to reach the very top right away: their operation began at its lower levels instead, where the smooth dirt road saw itself leveled suddenly, drastically, causing the troops standing on it to either fall straight into the Gladiator Army's reach, or to run uphill as fast as they were able, whenever that was a possibility.
The tremor shook the crater gradually as the solid ground started to grow unstable, terraformed into quicksand by the power of the earthbenders in the Gladiator Army. Screams, commands, desperation… all of it followed as the first to escape inevitably failed to run far enough before the onslaught of quicksand caught them. Who knew how many would wind up buried in the dirt? Who knew how many would be suffocated underground?
Sokka's chest heaved as he watched his latest idea coming to fruition: Rui Shi and his balloons remained safe so far, but the furthermost enemy troops recognized the danger and fled at haste, running inside the city. To Sokka's relief, the firebenders on the balloons didn't give them chase immediately, instead focusing on reducing the number of stragglers who managed to escape rather than launching themselves into danger when there would be no forces to support them.
Little by little, the earthbenders reached all the way to the top of the crater. So much of it was leveled down, and the unstable earth around the dirt roads made it appear as though the towers would likely crumble, too… but several hadn't been abandoned yet.
"We'll get the rest of the towers!" Jeong Jeong announced behind Sokka, startling him. "Have the earthbenders smooth a path for you, and charge in while we deal with them!"
Sokka nodded before giving the command to Toph: exhausted, but exhilarated, the Blind Bandit once again saw to the massive feat of earthbending that strengthened and bolstered the integrity of the land she had just smoothed over with her team.
The path ahead, once made of mere quicksand, became of steady, sturdy rock within moments. Earthbenders gave out war cries as they worked, stabilizing the road that would bring their army closer to victory.
"Gladiators… charge!" Sokka exclaimed: the uphill climb would not be as steep, nor as challenging, as it would have been if they had been forced to zigzag their way up, walking into every tower…
He led the march, followed by his chaotic but faithful allies. He ensured to run, weapons at the ready, for fire and ballista bolts were still aimed at them: he tore one of those in half with Space Sword, saving a firebending gladiator, Battleborn, from being cleaved by the projectile.
As the earthbenders strengthened their newly-built road, they also solidified the path into the remaining former roads that led to the towers: the White Lotus forces led by Jeong Jeong spread left and right, striking against each tower as the main force progressed onwards, climbing slow but steadily, defending against whatever attacks attempted to reach them still – the blast of incendiary bombs deterred them from progressing onwards twice, but a single bomb, in either occasion, didn't represent a hazard so severe. All they had to do was wait for the fuel to be consumed by fire, and once it was, they continued fighting.
Still worn-out and overwhelmed, the earthbenders kept pace with the spearheading forces of gladiators, bolstering the ground's structure as best they could. Toph marched merely a few steps behind Sokka, chest heaving as she stretched her arms out, solidifying his path back into the heart of the Fire Nation.
"Can't believe we're doing this even now… can't believe it, damn it…" Smellerbee whispered, merely a few rows behind them. Jet, beside her, clasped her shoulder firmly.
"We've come far from the days of the Freedom Fighters," he said, eyes blazing with determination. "And now you can see just what that crazy guy's capable of, too. Him… and everyone around him."
Smellerbee swallowed hard: even now, in the darkness of the night, the torches seemed to shine a light upon the Blue Wolf's figure as he continued to spur on their soldiers on that uphill climb. Beyond him, the hot-air balloons hovered, as did the sky-bison whose very existence was as good as a miracle…
"Well. He had to be good for something, didn't he?" Smellerbee smirked. Jet smiled, shaking his head at her animosity at their leader.
"You and Toph are going to be the best of friends, I can already tell," he said. Provided they all survived the battle, that was.
The final stretch of the climb seemed to take longer than it did. Sokka's eyes were fixed almost obsessively on the highest point of the crater, where the escaping soldiers had disappeared earlier. It had been lowered by the actions of Toph's earthbenders, but it never seemed to be close enough, no matter how hard, how fast, how steadily they might climb…
Until Sokka finally reached the apex, and his eyes fell upon the sight that his allies in the hot-air balloons, as well as on the sky-bison, could see since almost an hour ago.
His racing heart sped further. Blood rushed to his head. A thunderous roar coursed through his whole body as his grip on his weapons tightened.
The Fire Nation's Royal Palace stood at the end of the long street ahead.
Tanks and soldiers had been positioned to defend the city, he could see them already. Even a few commanding officers rode Komodo rhinos, visible by the torches the enemy held, as well as the lamps that lit the city streets.
The Capital appeared dormant, despite those lights. Not a single candle flickered in the windows of any of the homes in sight. Nobody had remained above the surface… everyone had fled under orders to evacuate the city, and they surely nestled underground now, waiting eagerly to be told to return to their homes safely, the usual outcome they faced in such scenarios…
Today, they would return to the surface to find their nation, their army, had lost the most significant battle of the Hundred Year War.
Sokka's chest heaved, eyes wide with rampaging emotions that urged him to rush in, all be damned. He forced himself to focus: he couldn't risk leading his forces astray now. The city had been erected to surround the Palace… concentric circles of streets, joined by avenues that converged right by the Palace, would bring them to where they were ready to go.
"Gladiators!" Sokka roared. The forces behind him slowed, as they caught up with their leader. "You will spread out… seek any weak spots, push through every street if you can! No fighting underground! The one thing you must do… is keep moving towards the Palace, at all costs!"
A chorus of approval rang after his orders. He turned around, finding his newest three-hundred allies appeared ready to loosen up and charge all across the city, wherever they might be able to go.
Sokka would take the frontal approach. If he couldn't reach the Palace first, so be it.
He turned forward. Beside him, Toph wiped her sweat and cracked her knuckles. The Light Bearer took his place by Sokka's left, his brother by his side, the Priestess of the Flames flanking him, in turn. Jet and Smellerbee approached, too. The Hallowed Rock, Shanyuan, The Lotus Tempest, The Lady of Laogai, The Eastern Wayfarer, The Vengeful Stone, Flameheart, Twist of Shadow, The Wall, The Lone Star, The Green Gem, The Sentinel Knight, Your Doom, The Amazoness, The Feathered Snake… gladiators he had crossed paths with, even those he had never faced, rallied to his cause, ready to unleash their power against the Fire Nation forces that sought to deter their approach.
They would fail. Sokka's heart sang with victory, even if he had yet to secure it.
She was there. He would find her. And whatever the nature of their reencounter might be… he would be ready to face her.
He raised his dark blade, and it gleamed under the glow of torches, signaling their army's arrival, and the impending fall of the Fire Nation Capital:
"Gladiator Army: FORWARD!"
The dark tunnels shouldn't have made it any easier to track down the fleeing soldiers, but Aang's seismic sense ensured that they could follow them as best as possible. Zuko only slowed down whenever Aang needed to confirm the direction where their foes had fled, but besides that, he pushed the group to their highest speeds throughout the underground tunnels, hoping deeply not to find any caverns filled with civilians as they sought the Fire Lord.
His father, the cowardly bastard he was, would never want his personal safety chambers connected to those of the lowborn. Zuko's hopes of keeping innocents safe hinged on Ozai's irresponsible, selfish behavior.
"How much further could it be?" asked Katara. "We're so far from the river that I can't use its water to fight properly from here…!"
"I know, but you have your waterskins, at least, and…!" Zuko said: Aang raised a hand to stop them, cutting off their potential discussion when he found another crossroad ahead.
He stomped heavily on the ground when everyone stopped, too: their quarry had taken the left in the newest fork on the road…
He frowned, glancing that way. Zuko scowled at his lack of movement.
"What is it?" he said.
"I… I think that's it," Aang said. The others froze. "There's someone that way… past a door. The guys we were chasing are getting through it now. And the one I can sense… he seems to be sitting on a chair of some sort. A… a throne?"
Zuko snarled: of course he was. His father would never relinquish his luxuries, not even in the face of danger quite as steep and deadly as what he and his team represented. Well, he'd make sure to destroy said luxuries for good measure, once he got to him.
This time, they moved more slowly, cautiously. The solid metal wall ahead would have easily collapsed under Toph's metalbending, but there was no need for her prowess to resolve that particular issue: Aang breathed deeply, gathering as much power as he could muster, before launching a large rock heavily into the closed metal doors.
The doors bent inwards with the initial crash, but they didn't open fully until Aang leapt in the air, delivering a secondary kick that saw the rock breaching the safe chamber.
With that, Zuko's father would be within their grasp.
They moved slowly, even now. Nothing inside the room suggested there was anyone inside, but Aang had guaranteed that there was. Zuko breathed heavily: some of the soldiers under his command stepped forward, ready to serve as his human shields, should it be necessary.
Side by side with Aang and Katara, Zuko marched into that dark room, golden eyes glowering with intent towards the furthermost end of the room: he could already see the silhouette of the throne-like chair, the shapes of the soldiers around him, keeping him safe…
Soldiers holding spears.
Zuko frowned. Even if he continued to step forward, that gave him pause: why? With the Imperial Firebenders at his disposal, why would his father ever need spearmen to…?
The soldiers did not wear the Fire Nation Armed Forces' uniforms.
And the man sitting rigidly on that throne, the only one dressed in the classiest of Imperial Guard uniforms, if without his helmet, was not his father.
Zuko gasped: he struck his hands out, clasping Aang and Katara's shoulders, reeling them back.
"Stop!" he told the rest of his forces: they slowed down at once, glancing back at Zuko warily as he glared ahead. "You… w-who are you?! Where is my father?!"
"Predictable indeed. I suppose I have nothing to worry about, if you fight as simply as you think," the man at the throne said: his smirk suggested his plans had proceeded to perfection… and Zuko's stomach sank for it. "Must have been complicated, finding the secret corridor into the Throne Room, yes… perhaps you would have succeeded, were it still there."
"You…" Zuko snarled: he wanted to take his swords already, but he knew that any move to do so would compel that man, and his many supporters, to attack at once. "I asked you a question. Answer it. Where is Fire Lord Ozai?!"
"I don't answer to treacherous princes. Much less those who stand with the Avatar… or the Gladiator," the man growled. "You act so bold, always, when you don't know who you're dealing with… you were no better in your Agni Kai. You'd like for your father to even out your face, perhaps? Or would you rather he kills you at last, as he was supposed to and didn't, coward that he is?!"
That none of the soldiers around him reacted to the man's open disdain towards the Fire Lord caught Aang and Katara by surprise, same as the rest of their group.
Zuko, however, heard more than just the man's words when he spoke.
His mother's own words… her confessions. Her explanations.
The man responsible for so much… the man who was the reason why she couldn't hope to ever return to the Fire Nation.
"You… you're Shaofeng," Zuko concluded, his wrath rising upon speaking those words. "The General of the Guards, aren't you?!"
"I thought you'd recognize me by the uniform, even without the helmet," Shaofeng smirked: he stood up, taking said helmet and setting it in place. "Took you long enough. Seeking an audience with your father, are you? To murder him, yes? You two are astoundingly similar, aren't you?"
"You will never do to me what you did to him. To my mother," Zuko snarled. Shaofeng hummed.
"And what's that supposed to mean? Don't tell me the Exile Prince knows more than he ever let on…" Shaofeng said. "Is that the case, Prince Zuko?"
"It doesn't matter what I know or what I don't," Zuko snarled. "I will kill you for what you did to them… I will! And after I do, I'll find my father and finish him off too!"
Shaofeng laughed, shaking his head and raising his hands: twin plums of fire burst to life in his grasp.
"Then I suppose I'll have to finish you off first, won't I?"
"Zuko…!" Katara exclaimed, uncorking her water pouch. The Prince gritted his teeth: they outnumbered the people within the room…
But a glance over his shoulder gave away that there were more enemies in the corridor they had just emerged from. An ambush. The General of the Guards had planned this far more insidiously than Zuko had expected.
Even so, they weren't entirely helpless against the corrupt soldier's intent to defeat them.
"Leave the scarred insect to me!" Shaofeng roared. "Get the rest!"
Fire and spears didn't take long to fly towards them after that command was given.
None found their marks.
A massive swirl of rushing air, a gust of unnatural magnitude so deep underground, took wind just in time to muffle the fire and deflect the projectiles. Shaofeng's men only had time enough to yelp before the flurry of violent air slammed against them aggressively, knocking even Shaofeng back into his seat.
"Let's go!" Aang exclaimed, wrapping an arm around Katara's waist protectively and yanking Zuko's hand, too.
"But…!" Zuko gritted his teeth, even if he followed.
"We have no time to waste! Run!" Aang said, flinging Zuko out into the corridor, and sending Katara with him, too.
The soldiers outside succeeded at attacking, though: Zuko's allies sought to hold their own, but swords and spears cut through flesh in multiple instances. Cries of pain and desperation broke in the corridor as Aang closed the door he had forcefully broken earlier, shutting Shaofeng and his troops within it by sealing the tunnel with an earthbending wall.
Katara jumped towards the nearest foe, unleashing the contents of her waterskin to resort to Anorak's quick-freeze attacks. She struck the first two firebenders in the head, shocking them into surrender, but the non-bender threats had not been reduced yet. Zuko unsheathed his swords, powering towards the corridor and screaming as he cut down the first of the spearmen who dared take a step too far by attempting to strike away at Zuko's allies.
"Go!" Aang urged the others: together with Zuko and Katara, their limited squad, now reduced by a few members, succeeded at pushing back their foes, sending them running deeper into the tunnels anew.
Zuko snarled: he hadn't given himself any time to truly think about Shaofeng. He only seemed to have learned about the man after having spoken with his mother, after learning of the heinous betrayal he delivered to them at the worst of moments. But he had been there all along, by his father's side, across all of Zuko's years in the Fire Nation Capital, whether when he was a boy or after his return from banishment.
He was no small fry to be ignored. No weak link that would allow Zuko to reach Ozai any faster. If Shaofeng ever allowed Zuko to catch up to his father, it would be because it served the man's best interests, somehow… would it ever suit him for Ozai to wind up dead? If so, why hadn't he killed him personally? What manner of usefulness did Ozai represent for Shaofeng to this day?
Nothing made sense to Zuko. The complications of political bonds such as these could very well send him reeling. This was not the time to think about it… but it certainly was time for him to acknowledge that his wretched father had played him, setting a dangerous enemy as bait for Zuko to chase unknowingly, potentially into multiple traps that would ensure that Ozai himself would always remain safe…
"We need to get out of here!" Zuko decided, glancing back at the rest of the group as they ran down the tunnels. "Aang!"
The Avatar rushed at the very end of the group – Katara had lagged behind to protect him, and they ran together, hands linked, as they glared over their shoulders warily, knowing that Aang's attempt to cut off Shaofeng would not last long.
"I don't know what to do! I don't know where to…!" Aang responded to Zuko, turning towards him… and spotting the next danger when the Prince was glancing backwards: "LOOK OUT!"
Zuko froze on the spot: a blasting sound, a potent explosion… a burning sensation upon his arm, and then the feeling was gone as quickly as it arrived.
Aang leapt over everyone at such vertiginous speed that nobody had seen him resort to before… but the explosion of clusters of oil underground wouldn't allow anyone to take notice of what the Avatar had done.
It was too late. The burning oil would spread already, he wasn't ready to stifle it, to command the burning liquid…
His eyes flashed white. His arrow lit up.
Aang seized control of the deadly, suffocating explosion of oil and flames, and he deflected it upwards.
The tunnel's ceiling crumbled atop the enemies who had set fire on the oil traps: Zuko jumped back, shoving several of his soldiers out of the way of the debris that had just collapsed, just in time to avoid them winding up buried in the outcome of Aang's impulsive but correct choice to deflect the fire to save them.
Dust and dirt hovered all around them, sticking to their bodies. Several soldiers coughed. Zuko gripped his shoulder: his new and old wounds hurt after that last effort to protect those under his charge… not so much that his arm was unusable, but just enough to be worrisome.
"Everyone okay?!" Katara cried out: she had been left further back when Aang jumped forward, and she unleashed her waterbending quickly, patching up whatever wounds she could see once the water lit up. "Aang…!"
"I'm… I'm here," he said: while covered in dirt from head to toe, Aang nonetheless appeared to be in one piece, even now when his Avatar State was depowering.
"We're… we're safe," some of the soldiers said, those closer to Katara, whereas the ones by Zuko groaned, implying the opposite thing instead.
"We… w-we can't stay here," Zuko said, glancing over at Aang. "That wall you made back there, by their door… it can't be that strong, can it?"
"They'll tear it down quickly," Aang admitted, gritting his teeth. "Unless they have some other way out of there, but if not…"
"Shaofeng will want to kill us all. That's just who that bastard is," Zuko snarled. The others gazed at him with perplexity. "He's one of my father's… most questionable allies. As far as I know, he's stabbed him in the back in ways that nobody should forgive, but for whatever reason, my father keeps him by his side. Must be politically convenient somehow, I don't know, but… he's the lowliest of scum if you ask me. If… if need be, if the chance arises, he's another target we shouldn't let get away. He's not worthy of so much as breathing…"
"What did he do?" Katara asked, frowning. "I mean, not that it's surprising that a Fire Nation military leader would have done something unforgivable, but…"
"He… he betrayed my parents when they were trying to save my life," Zuko said. Katara's eyes widened. "My grandfather? He… he wanted me dead. To make my father pay for a shitty mistake he made. My parents sought to ask my grandfather for clemency… they relied on Shaofeng to help them find it. The bastard turned them in, telling my grandfather that they were conspiring to kill him instead."
"W-what…?" Aang gasped. "But then…! How is he still here? Why is he working for your father?!"
"It's what I'd like to know," Zuko snarled, pushing himself up and wincing at the pain: Katara approached quickly, pressing her healing water to the visible wound upon his arm.
"Your shoulder? Chest?" she asked. Zuko shook his head.
"No time to try and fix it now," he said. "We need to get out of here. I… I think we should rejoin the others. They might have opened the tunnel again by now. We don't know where my father is… but he's bound to be hidden better than we thought, probably someplace where we can't track him down to. He's that spineless…"
"But if there's more of his troops over here…" one of the other soldiers said, grimacing as he glanced down the tunnel. "They know where we are. They'll try to intercept us before we can reach the ships again. They might have more of that oil and they might burn the tunnels we came from. They were following us, that's how they ambushed us…"
"Then we move fast enough that they can't reach us," Zuko decided, gritting his teeth. "We… we have no time to waste. We…"
"We have another way out."
Katara stopped bending briefly before pointing upwards. Zuko and Aang frowned as they glanced in the direction in question: the explosion Aang had redirected had torn a large gap into the cavern's ceiling…
A gap that led right into an ornate room of some sort.
"Wait…!" Zuko yelped. "The Palace. We're right underneath… w-well, some kind of room! If we get out through here…"
"We could even rejoin Sokka, if he's done with his side of the battle," Katara suggested. "We wouldn't go through the tunnels they might set on fire, and that way, we won't walk into their ambush."
"But everyone down at the river…" Aang glanced at her, grimacing. Katara gritted her teeth, but she relented.
"Right. Let's try to get to them first, then we'll all rejoin Sokka," she said, glancing at Zuko. "You… you'd know where to find the way into the secret river from above, don't you?"
"Sokka said it was in the Throne Room. Right under the map my father usually stretches across it for war meetings," Zuko said, nodding. "I've never been in that secret corridor, but I think I can find it. Shaofeng said it was collapsed, but Aang, you could reverse-bend the earth back into place, or so, right?"
"Well, I could make a new tunnel, though not necessarily a staircase, that would get us back there," Aang reasoned. "Would save time if we don't get picky and I just make us some kind of ramp, or sled."
"Then… let's go with that, and let's get out of here now. We can't waste another second. They'll come for us otherwise," Zuko said, shaking his head as he urged his allies to approach the gap in the ceiling.
Aang spread the opening further, bending a slope into the crevice that allowed everyone to climb upwards. Katara and Zuko lagged behind along with him, urging the others to head up faster, but it wasn't long before Zuko made the climb himself. Still aching over the burst of fire that had reached him, he forced himself to focus on his task of leading his troops, nonetheless.
"This is…" he said, grimacing in the darkness of the room before raising a plum of firebending to spread light over the location.
Unlike his sister, who knew the Palace back and forth and might just have been able to tell wherever she might be while blindfolded, Zuko hadn't grown as intimately acquainted with every single room in his childhood home. Nevertheless, the lack of windows, the dirty armchairs and furniture, the stale sensation within the room, suggested that they were in a basement…
One that was seemingly a deposit for massive volatile bombs.
Zuko gasped, stifling his fire quickly upon identifying the design, so similar to Sokka's smoke bombs. The size of them daunted him: in that brief glimpse, he had seen well over twenty of those things inside the basement.
"Don't use your bending in here! No firebending!" he exclaimed. The soldiers climbing out were startled by his command. "T-this… it's some sort of trap too. I think. I… I don't know. Maybe it's an accident, but…"
"An accident waiting to happen, more like," said one of the soldiers aboveground already, who had also seen what Zuko saw. "The hell do you think they're doing, keeping those bombs in here?"
"Beats me, but… I'd rather not be anywhere near them if they set off," Zuko snarled. "We need to find an exit. Now."
As more emerged above the surface, the ones in the room busied themselves looking for any way out of the basement they had landed in: finally, one soldier urged Zuko to follow his voice in the darkness. A small beam of light emerged from a dark corridor, leaking through a slim window.
"Okay… okay. That's a start," Zuko swallowed hard. "Stay here. I'll gather the others."
Aang closed the gap in the basement again once everyone was through. Katara took to using her water, triggering its healing capacities to help ease the discomfort and pain of their hurt allies, as well as to better make their way safely through the darkness. Her ability enabled them to make progress through the stairs and dark corridors later, up until they reached what appeared to be a dead end. Zuko breathed out slowly as he approached the wall and he shoved it gently: it budged slightly.
"A secret passageway," he concluded, pushing it with the help of his allies until it finally opened the way into the surface.
Finally, Zuko emerged into a corridor he recognized: there was a way out nearby… this was the South Wing of the Palace. A quick scan of the area gave away that it was as good as deserted… but the terrains nearby were not.
Zuko snarled, turning towards the others and urging them to be silent, and to move quietly: troops, once again in uniforms he failed to recognize, appeared to be standing guard nearby, with a larger cluster of them near the southern gate of the Palace…
Zuko jerked his head to the side. Everyone readied to follow him down the dark corridors, barely lit by the occasional lamps, and they stuck to the shadows. The place appeared so deserted that such precautions might just be unnecessary… but for the time being, it was better to be careful rather than risking triggering any alarms that might give away their presence within the dark, unnerving hallways of the Fire Nation Palace.
Katara's heart pounded as she glared about herself in the unsettling architecture of the Fire Nation's seat of power: this wasn't truly the way she ever expected to wind up in here, marching stealthily underneath those golden archways, past the ornate scrolls on the walls, the vases, the ornaments… it was so lavish, perhaps even stylish, but to her, it looked dark, grim and daunting. In other circumstances, perhaps, in other context, any such works of art might appear beautiful… but here, in this wretched place, anything appeared to be marred by cruelty, by corruption, touched by a hand of evil that had eternally altered its nature.
To think that Sokka had learned to live in a place like this… to visit it frequently, to bear with the oppressive atmosphere within it. Would she ever have grown used to it, if she had been in his place? Every second that ticked by, every instant within those long, massive hallways only convinced her that the sooner she saw the last of this place, the better off she would be. Fire Lord Ozai's dark reach appeared to have cursed these halls… no, not only his: the same was true of those of his forefathers, such as the Fire Lord who was ready to see his own grandson killed. Such as Sozin, the man who had started the war and annihilated the airbenders. Every act of such cruelty had been born here…
"Katara?" Aang wrapped an arm around her as she slowed down, shaking her head.
"This place feels… i-it feels wrong," she said. Aang nodded, eyeing it apprehensively as well.
"Let's keep going. We'll be out of here soon."
As much as Katara clung to his reassurances, following Zuko through those corridors challenged her anxiety even further once they reached a place with even more unnerving décor: gigantic paintings of what could only be Fire Lords decorated a large hallway that even Zuko scowled prominently at before marching off, speeding up further to avoid being in that place for longer than necessary.
"We'll head down immediately!" Zuko said, glancing over his shoulder at the rest of the group as they, too, broke into a sprint. "Aang, get ready to start bending as soon as we're inside!"
"We're there?" Aang asked: Zuko nodded.
"Almost. It's just around the corner," he said.
He made a point not to look at that painting. He might just have set it on fire, if he had dared.
He turned his back on his father's portrait on that wall: the curtain he had fled from as a child, just before Azulon commanded his death, greeted him. It almost felt as though it was taunting him… but Zuko was no longer afraid. He was a child no more. He had a goal to reach, allies to find, and as much as his mission had been a fiasco so far, surely Toph would be able to find Ozai eventually. Her seismic sense was superior to Aang's, and she would be able to tell apart Ozai from others, such as Shaofeng. If Ozai was quite so stupid as to abandon his seat of power right when things were growing hectic and complicated, then the Gladiator Army might as well claim it for itself first… and then, Ozai would go down once they tracked him down. Ultimately, Ozai would lose. The manner in which he would do so was up to him, to his cowardice, to his willingness to leave others like Shaofeng, Azula, anyone else to fight his battles for him while he hid away in secret bunkers, far from any danger.
But eventually, Zuko would confront his father. Sooner than later, he would-…
Zuko pushed his way past that curtain.
He crossed the threshold of the Royal Gallery, right into the Throne Room.
He had only taken a few steps into it before he slowed to a halt anew.
The Throne Room was not empty.
Lamps lit up the dark room ever so slightly. Again, mere silhouettes of soldiers might be seen... but this time, Zuko's heart damn near stopped upon realizing the number of forces here doubled, or even tripled, those of the chamber underground.
His lips parted. He heard the others pouring in behind him, but he couldn't even say a word of warning before they bumped into him and stopped, too.
Aang wound up to his left. Katara to his right. The others stood behind them, and Zuko stretched his arms out defensively before them, even if he trembled where he stood.
A spark of flames burst to life before his eyes, up on the dais where the throne sat.
The spark dropped into the oil upon that dais's canal: the familiar barrier of fire that Fire Lords ever summoned between themselves and their subjects rose then, shedding a terrifying light across the room, heavily stacked with Imperial Guards, Domestic Forces soldiers, as well as some others clad in the same uniform as those Zuko had come across underground…
Shaofeng stood next to the Throne. He had a direct path to the Throne Room indeed, and he had known Zuko would wind up here eventually.
The trap the man had laid down for him had been so much more complicated than Zuko had ever imagined.
His heart seemed to stop, outright, when a figure rose behind the flames. A tall man stood from the throne, the chair he had taken for himself almost twenty years ago, in a dangerous, unforgivable bid in which he had nearly sacrificed Zuko's life.
"I had a feeling you would be calling upon me soon, Zuko."
Zuko trembled. His lips twisted into a snarl, as the uncontrollable rage he had been amassing since his early youth to this very moment appeared poised to erupt.
Ozai almost appeared unbothered by his presence. It wasn't merely that he had been expecting him… no. Even if he had been, his father appeared quite uninterested in this reencounter, just as was ever the case with him. Even now, when Zuko had come to the Fire Nation intent on killing him… even now, his father sought to humiliate and ridicule him.
"But I'm afraid… I have no intentions of allowing you to be the one to claim my life," Ozai said, his voice charged with disdain.
"You…!" Zuko snarled, shuddering as his anger threatened, as ever, to run away with him. "You don't get to decide that! I'm more than capable of cutting you down right where you stand, Father!"
He didn't care about the risk anymore. He unsheathed his blades. His eyes were wide with crazed fury… whereas his father offered him a calm, uninterested indifference.
"Even now, after all these years, after all this time… you've learned nothing," Ozai said: his lips curled into a slight smile. "All the better. Finally fulfilling your grandfather's demand shall be all the more gratifying this way."
Zuko gritted his teeth: his father's words caused Aang to scowl heavily, and Katara's heart sank deeper than it already had upon finding themselves surrounded, once again.
The Fire Lord was here. They had found him. He hadn't hidden anywhere extraordinary… he had simply taken his seat in his own Throne Room, as though waiting for someone to challenge him for the crown he bore upon his head.
Was that the truth behind the cruel words he spoke to his son now? Was that the reason why he glared at him with such cold disdain? Passion and cruelty were to clash, intent on destroying each other at all costs…
A Prince would risk his life, and that of his trusted supporters, to destroy the monster his father, the Fire Lord, had become.
It was a tale Ozai had already lived once before.
Today, he was the monster. Perhaps he always had been.
That might just be the one thing he and Zuko truly had in common.
Their glares met, gold clashing violently against gold: the cycle of destruction and oppression of the Fire Nation Royal Family was poised to ignite and reach its pinnacle on that dark night…
Or so it seemed, until the Throne Room's curtains spread open once more.
The Capital's streets, pristine and cobbled, orderly and neat, had never been tested by the full might of an invading army rushing through them. The Gladiator Army and the White Lotus forces spilled into the crater: circular, concentric streets would gradually lead all advancing forces, regardless of where they spread to, towards the very central building that stood in plain sight: the Fire Nation's Royal Palace.
Instead of standing strong as a unified army, the spread would allow Sokka's forces to test all the likely insufficient defenses by the Fire Nation's army. Their grand weaponry could very well give them some advantages, but they would not suffice in the face of the numerous deadly individual fighters that now rushed into the city, weapons and bending in tow, ready for anything.
The Fire Nation's few hot-air balloons hovered back, remaining out of reach for the Gladiator Army for the time being, whereas their own hot-air balloons, as well as Appa, floated right above the city, keeping time with the advance of their forces, eyes keen for whatever dangers stood ahead.
"They don't have as many tanks to the north or south," Rui Shi reasoned, scrutinizing the city's layout himself. "The bulk of the defenses appear to be in…"
Inside the Palace itself. His stomach sank at the sight of rows and rows of troops within the walls: he could have been one of them. If it weren't for Sokka, for the Princess's bond with him… he really might have been. His hand gripped the railing of his balloon's basket tightly.
"Bring us lower!" Rui Shi commanded: the firebender manning his balloon obeyed at once.
Sokka had begun his march towards the center of the city by then: rows of tanks stood in his way, but there weren't anywhere near as many tanks elsewhere in the city, from what Rui Shi's group could scout from above. Even if they were dangerous to contend against, the tanks would not be able to cut down the entirety of Sokka's forces, only slowing down those leading the charge, if anything.
"Sokka!" Rui Shi called, once he hovered near Sokka: the tanks were nearly in range by the time the former captain reached his friend. Sokka slowed his approach, even though some of his allies, other gladiators, progressed past him. "There are almost no tanks in the other avenues! You can take those instead…!"
"No can do!" Sokka responded, startling Rui Shi. "The minute I go elsewhere… these will pull back and go after me wherever I may go! Tell the others, get them to charge through the less guarded streets, but I'm staying here!"
Rui Shi grimaced, but he nodded, understanding just how firm Sokka was about fulfilling his duty as bait. The Gladiator purposed his importance, his fame, to continue drawing out the Fire Nation's power to their detriment.
The thick forces that had stood with Sokka had begun distributing across the city. The music squad aided in the process as best as they were able, giving out spreading commands that the White Lotus forces were quick to obey.
By then, the gladiators who recklessly charged ahead faced the unwelcome fire blasted out by the tanks.
Potent volatile bombs had taken the place of ballistae, as well as regular firebending.
Sokka snarled as his allies leapt behind walls and took defensive positions. The flames burned long and strong, but the enemy would not fire again until they saw Sokka and confirmed he hadn't been deterred with that alone. He breathed deeply, glancing up at Kino.
"Call him for me," he told the closest music squad member, who gave out the callsign for Appa in a heartbeat.
Kino descended: Sokka didn't give him any commands until he leapt upon the saddle, alone.
"Toph! Destabilize the roads, but don't break them too badly!" he commanded. The earthbender grunted, punching her own palm as she scowled with determination.
"Got it," she said.
"Everyone else, take defensive stances while you can! Avoid the worst of the fire until I've dealt with the tanks!" he said.
"Wait, you alone?" exclaimed the Dark Rook. His brother scowled before shaking his head.
"I'll go with you," he said. Sokka raised an eyebrow. "We both can."
"You… could blind them," Sokka said. The Light Bearer, Sei, nodded proudly. "That's a thought. Alright! You two, join in. Rook, I want you to be ready to fight the soldiers directly: I'll destroy the tanks while your brother keeps them busy. Deal?"
"Deal!" Kei, the Dark Rook, nodded as Sokka hoisted both him and his brother onto the bison's saddle.
Appa took flight, high above into the sky. The twins behind Sokka winced as they braced themselves against the buffeting air, never having flown this way before.
"What do I do?" Kino asked Sokka, his voice steady and firm.
"Dive near the tanks. Right above them, if you can. We're taking them out," Sokka said. Kino nodded.
Kei and Sei breathed deeply before sharing a meaningful stare: they had fought side by side for as long as they had been alive, it seemed, and this might just be the day when that would change, should either or both fail to live past this. As ever, the Gladiator's resources appeared to be too promising to fail… but who knew if that truly would be the case, once they were facing their enemies directly?
"Let's do this, brother," Kei said. Sei nodded.
"With you to the end."
Sokka's chest tightened: gladiators did not charge into battle under pretense of glory and honor. They didn't think of the future as a certain, immutable thing they would claim if they simply did their best.
Gladiators believed every moment might be the last. Gladiators fought with the conscious expectation that any misstep, any oversight, could cost them their lives. And they fought on regardless, never allowing their fears to keep them from giving their all on every stage, every fighting ring, every scenario where they had to strive for more than just their survival. The bond that joined them was as strong as it had been for Sokka with the men he had respected in the Amateur League: whatever the outcome might be, they would fight for their freedom, for the cause they believed in, for a world that deserved a better outcome than the nightmare it had been saddled with across the past hundred years.
"We're getting close… should we start?" Kino asked. Sokka breathed deeply: just a little further, just a little deeper into the enemy forces…
"Dive. Now."
Appa groaned: all the enemy's attention turned towards the beastly sound, and the tanks turned their attention towards him.
It wasn't Sokka who attacked first, of course: The Light Bearer rose on the saddle, keeping his footing as best as he was able in that downwards rush, before raising his hands and conjuring the brightest possible firebending he could muster.
The flash was so strong that it had to feel like a rushing sunrise to the soldiers manning the rows of tanks, as well as the ones behind it.
Some spears took aim at them but missed by a large margin: the blinding attack shook the Fire Nation forces so greatly that they couldn't strike an easy target such as the gigantic bison.
It didn't help their cause that a tremor, and cracks across the street, would also destabilize their aim: the tanks, so steady moments ago, suddenly stopped being the insurmountable wall they had represented briefly along the main road of the Fire Nation.
The Light Bearer shot another flashing burst of white flames: the next exploding bombs were launched in their general direction, nonetheless, but Kino steered the bison away from harm as the bombs detonated in the wrong places. Appa's flying pattern proved impossible to predict, much less for blinded soldiers…
Once they were close enough to the tanks, the Blue Wolf and the Dark Rook leapt upon the vehicles.
The Dark Rook stood behind the Gladiator, using his spear and shield to stab away at any soldier that sought to reach the Blue Wolf. Meanwhile, Sokka drew Space Sword, and he cleaved each tank systematically. Their blueprints, still vivid in his mind, ensured that he'd know just where to strike, just how to undo their weapons, how to remove their wheels with single swings of his sword.
One tank collapsed. Then two. Then five. Then eight.
The distraction enabled the rest of the gladiators to rush in: the Sentinel Knight was among the first to charge, joining the Dark Rook in defending Sokka from the soldiers that, blinded and overwhelmed, still sought to strike the leader of the enemy forces…
But Sokka fought fiercely, eyes blazing with intent, slamming away any soldiers that came anywhere close to reaching him with his club, while continuing his process of tearing apart the tanks with his sword. Nobody else would have a chance to reduce the tanks to rubble as easily as he would… though Toph, certainly, intended to give him a run for his money once she reached them, her hand gripping the nearest metal vehicle she could grab, bending it out of shape and crumpling it down in size until it was completely incapable of operating anymore.
It wasn't long before that powerful blockade of Fire Nation soldiers ran backwards, to the one place where they might find safety. Unbeknownst to them, the Palace was nowhere near as safe as they had hoped: the other forces, venturing out down other avenues that led to the Capital, had already rushed towards the walls, drawing out the guards to defend as best they could, firing ballistae, shooting what few volatile bombs they had left, slinging arrows and flinging spears that certainly found their mark at times, but not nearly as often as they wanted to.
One group, led by the Vengeful Stone, the second-best earthbending gladiator in the League, had chosen a rather unnecessary detour, however: their progress had led them to the very ruins of the long-gone Grand Royal Dome. They were still unkempt, still a blemish upon the pristine Fire Nation Capital… and a symbolic victory for those who had fought within its confines, only to return now, ready to conquer the city completely.
They launched fire into the air, drawing the attention of the enemy forces, making a clear statement pertaining the territory they were conquering: little by little, the city was entirely overrun by the spreading Gladiator Army, and the Fire Nation's best option was to draw back, as good as in a panic, seeking strength in numbers, by the Palace's walls.
Sokka's strategy paid off in more ways than he anticipated at first: his allies who reached the Palace first drew their stronger defenses away from the front gates. They were finally in plain sight for him, after the last of the tanks was nothing but metal rubble left in his wake. His army could progress onwards, to take down the remaining soldiers standing between himself and that firmly closed gate. It had opened for him in the past, he had crossed it so many times… today, he would tear it down himself. His blood as good as sang with the need to overcome them.
"CHARGE!" he commanded: the hot-air balloons joined the fray fully this time, unleashing firebending from the air as the Gladiator Army ran towards the cluster of Fire Nation soldiers, be it army or Domestic Forces, attempting to keep those gates closed at all costs…
They fought as bravely as they could, within the circumstances. As much as they had retreated as often as they had, there could be no denying that the Fire Nation forces were no cowardly troops, merely seeking their survival desperately… but Sokka almost wished they were. If only they lacked honor, if only they were as self-serving as War Minister Qin, so many more would live on, so many would survive…
Instead, they faced the full power of the Gladiator Army.
Earthbenders launched powerful projectiles into the cluster of defensive forces. Arrows from the Fire Nation's side sought to deter their advance, but the lack of numbers diminished their effectiveness. Archers on the Gladiator Army's side, as disorganized as they might be, succeeded at firing against the forces gathered before the gates: they didn't appear poised to allow any of those fleeing soldiers in… and they didn't appear to want to rush inside, either. Their goal was to keep the Gladiator Army outside the premises of their nation's seat of power for as long as possible… but their lives were forfeit, and they would go to waste rather quickly as their enemies encroached, gradually surrounding the Palace whose walls would never survive the overwhelming number and forces of the Gladiator Army.
No defense could hold against that attack. By now, a handful of soldiers did scurry off, cowed by the daunting force that rushed them: loud war cries carried the Gladiator Army in, where blades clashed with shields, and blood spurted out of wounds and splattered across the ground. Fire rained upon the soldiers from above, and even the occasional whips of the bison's tail could turn the battle's momentum in the Gladiator Army's favor, whenever Kino strategically positioned the creature to stop any promising defensive maneuver by their foes.
Pressed against the gates, there was nowhere the Fire Nation forces could go anymore, surrounded by the inclement forces that had invaded their city and would proceed to tear apart their seat of power…
All led by the man who had successfully turned the Fire Lord's conquest to nothingness.
"Earthbenders!" Sokka roared, while stabbing at the next opponent that stood before him. "Get the gates! Now!"
The command was heeded. Fire rained against the pristine, tall gates moments before the earthbenders, led by Toph, shook the very foundations of the walls to which the gates remained attached.
Kino snarled, gripping Appa's reins as he dove towards the battle – Appa didn't appreciate it, but the former Fire Nation soldier ignored his reservations.
"Sokka!" He shouted, hacking with his blade at a soldier poised to strike against the Gladiator with a spear. The weapon was split in half and the man's ear cleaved, along with half his helmet. "Sokka! I'll lift you over them!"
Sokka raised his head: Kino sheathed his sword, and Sokka did the same before his ally clasped his arm firmly, moments before Appa ascended again.
The Gladiator suddenly hovered above the rest of the Army, dangling by his friend's grip: Appa turned in midair, and a sweep of his tail saw the crumbling gates blasting open with a burst of airbending.
After the initial chaos, the remaining members of the Fire Nation army took that moment as an opportunity to race inside the Palace grounds for safety. The Gladiator Army roared with pride: the Fire Lord's Palace had been breached.
The running soldiers rushed as fast and as deep inside the Palace terrains as they could go, intent on joining the remaining forces inside: these gates had been the first to be breached, even though others had been battered and attacked by other forces for several minutes by then.
The struggling Fire Nation soldiers scarcely managed to regain their footing, but their allies aided them by standing forward, urging them to take cover as they raised their own weapons and fists.
The blur of swinging about in midair hardly allowed Sokka to detail who they would be facing… but when he finally released his grip on Kino's hand, jumping into the Palace at the head of his army, his eyes quickly recognized the color scheme of the Enforcers' uniform.
Somewhat dizzy, with eyes unfocused, but nonetheless fueled by bloodlust, Sokka pushed himself up to a standing position properly.
It was almost a double image by then. He couldn't quite process the sight his eyes offered him. His heart drummed so fast inside his chest he could hear it pounding in his ears.
But the blood seemed to slow in his body, rather than racing as it just had, when his unfocused eyes finally locked on the figure standing at the bottom of the steps that led into the Palace's main building.
It was almost a mirage. Multiple mirages, even.
Once, a long time ago, that very same woman had walked out of a smoking corridor, ready to defeat him, a confident, beautiful and wicked smirk across her face. Once, she had worn a golden armor to a battle that had nearly cost her life, and she had lost the protection of that gilt defense, so pristine, symbolic of her status at her father's right hand.
He froze on his footsteps. It didn't feel real. He almost thought he was imagining it…
There was no damage on that armor. No sign of the terrible crack that had resulted in a nearly deadly wound, through which corruption had nearly stolen her from him forever.
She was the picture of perfection once again. The vision he had seen in his dreams countless times, over and over, desperate to reach it one day, unable to handle the reality of their separation, of this distance between them…
She stood before him once again.
The gap between them was large. He still stood by the gates… she, by the Palace itself, across the long stone path among the Palace gardens. No matter how hard it might be for him to remain centered if he let himself lose focus now, no matter how many times his brain tried to insist that this was a mirage, that he was imagining her at all, that he had to keep going… it was her.
Azula.
She stood across him.
Fire Nation soldiers, Enforcers and Imperial Guards stood with her.
None of them seemed to matter. None of it… for Sokka's heart shattered anew as he finally allowed himself to accept the truth. It was Azula… his Azula. After all this time, after all his efforts…
The cold glares, the fierceness, the firm set of his shoulders, the determination and drive to only ever push forward, to only ever work towards his goal and forsake anything that might detract from it, faded from Sokka's body altogether. None of his allies could see it, standing behind him as they were…
They had halted behind him. Some had dared enter the Palace with him, but nobody dared move once he stopped. The soldiers who had fled earlier after the gate collapsed had a moment's respite that they had not anticipated, as the leader of the enemy forces seemed unable to give any commands anymore. His allies stood by him… some, understanding exactly why he had stopped, others uncertain of it, for they couldn't see what was inside the Palace terrains at all.
He opened his mouth. He wanted to call her name. He couldn't seem to find his voice.
She was far away still. Too far for him to see her eyes properly, most of all when shadows crossed her features as they did. The fire on buildings that burned outside the Palace, reflecting light inside the Fire Nation's seat of power, shed more than enough light on their enemy force, and yet Sokka couldn't see her eyes properly. Her head was tilted down. She didn't seem to react, to respond, she… she hadn't even seen him, had she? She needed to. If she did, she might just…
Sokka took a step forward. An awkward, tense, nervous step.
"Az-…" he managed, with a thread of a voice. With so much noise beyond them, there was no way she could have heard him.
But that was when she raised her head.
That was when she paralyzed him as her golden eyes finally fell upon him once more.
The coldness from that very first encounter appeared to echo in her features now, almost seven years later.
There was no sign of recognition across her face, even if there was no doubt that she knew exactly who she was facing.
That didn't keep her from drawing the white blade Sokka had wielded so many times, by her design, and slowly raising it…
Aiming it towards him.
Time stopped.
Neither army made a single move, at a lack of a direct, open command as to what to do. The Fire Nation soldiers appeared to hesitate just as much as the Gladiator Army did.
The voice Sokka had almost found now caught within his throat.
Affront crossed his features now.
Betrayal.
Outrage.
He had known this was the likely outcome.
He had said he would be ready to face it. To face her.
It didn't make it hurt any less.
His face contorted as he snarled. As his brow furrowed heavily. As his blue eyes now blazed with a hot fury that contrasted perfectly against her reflected coldness. Burning coal and frigid ice, clashing between them once again, with a violence and a need for victory unlike any they had felt since the very first time their paths had crossed.
Sokka's chest heaved. His allies watched him warily: no one had ever seen him like this. No one had ever imagined his rage could burn in such a manner… but it came as no surprise, for the woman he had fought to save openly turned her blade and fire against him.
He shuddered as he rose to his full height: she could tell just how much she was affecting him. He knew she could. There had never been any secrets between them, not when it came to that. They had been open books, their feelings ever carrying them forward through chaos and strife, whether that of their own making, or that which others inflicted upon them. It had hardly taken them any time to know that they were falling in love…
Just so, she would know how deeply her choice had devastated him now. She would understand it.
She didn't lower her weapon, regardless.
"This is how you want it to be, then?!"
His shout broke the strange spell of silence that had spread between both their forces. Sokka didn't take another step forward yet, but it seemed he was moments away from losing his grip, his temper, surrendering to impulses that would lead him to cutting the distance between himself and the Princess he had been ready to kill and die for.
"Is it, Azula?!" he roared. "Answer me!"
Her grip upon her blade shook. It allowed him a mere instant of hope, but one he refused to cling to at all…
"It's by your choice that it has come to this at all!"
Her response sufficed to make him see red.
Sokka snarled: she had never seen him quite so furious before… for he didn't think he ever had been, to begin with.
He had never expected anything good from any of the foes who had enraged him so far. He had no hopes in them, not once matters came to a head: all his trust in Rhone had long died before they faced each other for the final time. All his hopes in Zhao had been squashed even though he had forced himself to think of the man as an opportunity, a way to truly unravel what was happening in the Fire Nation Capital.
He had thought the world of her, though.
He would have given it to her, too, if she had ever asked for it.
Jokingly, he had told her he would conquer it with her if she truly wished for that.
Today, it seemed as though he had held up a dark end of an unspoken bargain, only to realize she would never hold up hers.
Who was right? Who was wrong? Whose choices were the better ones? Who was the villain? Who was the victim? Who was the hero? Who was the culprit?
Sokka didn't know anymore. His aching, breaking heart did nothing to ease the mix of betrayal and guilt that now grew as a raging storm inside him, much less when she spoke anew.
"If you ever… if you ever deceived yourself into believing that I would turn my back on my people for anyone, your disappointment is no one's fault but yours!"
The slight breaks in her performance almost eased him. Almost. The words she spoke were so devastating he could find no relief, nonetheless.
"We… we swore we wouldn't turn on our people for each other, didn't we?" Sokka said, a wild grin spreading across his face. Azula didn't echo it. "We swore to find balance… and then we broke that balance. And after it was well and truly broken, you decided to compensate it this way?! To fight me to the death if you must, for the sake of your corrupt nation?! Your fucked-up father?! That's who you're choosing over me?!"
Azula's eyes narrowed. Her grip upon her sword tightened further.
"You seem to forget…" she hissed. "That this is who I am. Who I've always been! I never asked any of this madness from you! I never asked you to save me!"
Sokka scoffed. He took a step back: his betrayed smile, so dishonest, so pained, faded from his face anew.
"Is this… is this our destiny, then?" he asked. "This is what you're choosing?! To cross blades with me one last time, Azula?! Is that who we are?! Is that what you want us to be?! Enemies, for the first time since the very first?! You know I won't lose this time! Not to you, not to your father, not to anyone! I won't surrender ever again! I won't forsake everything I've done to come as far as I have! If this is your answer…!"
"It is," Azula hissed, gripping her sword tightly. "As it has been from the moment I knew you had set out in war against my people."
"Against your father!" Sokka retorted: even he knew, by now, that as far as Azula was concerned, there would be no difference between either thing. "The man who betrayed you far more than I ever did!"
"And yet here you stand, bringing an army to my doorstep, ready to destroy everything I ever fought for across the years you stood beside me!" Azula snarled. Sokka's chest tightened. "If you won't surrender and you won't stand down… then let us be done with it."
Sokka closed his eyes. He trembled. His heart shook and wavered and threatened to give out…
He did have an army. One that had counted on him making the right choice when this moment arrived. So many had known this would happen. Sokka himself had known it, after the naval battle in which her choices had nearly cost his life.
His heart screamed against what he had to do. His gut sank, and every nerve ending across his body urged him not to do this. He couldn't. He would regret it forever. For however long he had left to live after it was done. He couldn't…
He wouldn't care to live for much longer anyway, whether he did it or not.
He raised his hands.
The first wrapped around Space Sword's hilt as he withdrew it from its sheath, stained with blood. The second gripped his boomerang, its edges sharper and honed, deadly as it had been on the day in which it had claimed its first life.
Azula didn't move as Sokka opened his eyes. As he drew both his weapons. As his determination spilled out of him in spades, as his body, heart and soul demanded that he didn't do this. It went against everything he was. Against everything he had been trying to achieve. It wasn't right. She was lying. She didn't mean any of what she'd said. It was a front. It had to be. Nothing she had done so far would make sense otherwise, he knew her too well to believe…
He had no other choice.
She was giving him no other choice.
Backing down now would make him a traitor to the forces he had led thus far.
He would be slain where he stood anyhow.
Might as well die by her sword, if he was to die today at all.
Tears burned in his eyes as he met her glare: even from afar, he almost thought there were tears in hers, as well.
But this was the outcome she had committed to. The choice she had made for them.
It would be the last time Azula called the shots in such a way. The last time she would choose for them both. His willingness to comply was no less rebellious than refusal: only if he contested her now would he ever prove that he wouldn't stand for her to continue throwing their world in disarray just to placate her piece of shit of a father.
He had to stop Azula.
She was giving him no other choice but this one in order to do so.
He took one step forward. Then, the next.
So did she.
Nobody else dared move.
There was no command given. No orders. Only whispers spread, at best, among either army.
Nobody dared intrude. Nobody could do so much as watch as two estranged partners, spouses, lovers sped up in their race towards each other, weapons and fire in tow, ready to collide in the final clash that so echoed their first: yet again, they stood at opposing sides of a war, but no longer were they as young and idealistic, as naïve and single-minded, as they had been when destiny had set them on each other's paths.
Their hearts screamed against this, pushing an impulse of denial, of rejection, deep inside their chests. Their souls battled against this outcome, and if their chi remained bonded, their mutual hatred of this battle certainly appeared to rise in unison…
But it didn't stop them from rushing down that cobbled path to meet in the middle.
Azula jumped, aided by her blue fire in gaining height. Sokka gripped his two weapons firmly, teeth peeled in the fiercest of snarls, as Azula spun in the air, ready to kick down against him, to force him to stop running…
But he wouldn't stop.
He would never back down.
Not even for her.
Their blades collided among the flames and fury of the final battle between Princess and Gladiator.