Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Eight

Sokka was feeling a little hot under the collar.

Like, he'd expected that they'd eventually end up going to the Fire Nation, hard to stop the war with the Fire Nation without doing that, but he didn't think they'd be doing so quite so soon.

And the island they'd ended up on was the most Fire Nation-y island possible.

But Aang had had an Avatar-vision-thingie with his Avatar-powers so they had to leave the Earth Kingdom, which wasn't that bad, and then run a giant Fire Nation blockade, which had been… kinda stressful, so here they were!

And they'd run into the Fire Sages, who were supposed to work for the Avatar, only they'd then tried to kill Aang, as well as Sokka and his sister, so they'd run, then run into a Fire Sage that wasn't evil, and who was now leading them through secret tunnels.

Secret tunnels full of lava.

So, yeah, the heat was probably actually that.

Or, like, both.

And Sokka was feeling so hot he thought he might catch fire, though, thankfully, the not-river was a bit away from them, but, from the way the air shimmered over it, like it was just one giant, long bonfire, the Tribesman was pretty sure if he threw a stick into the anti-water, it'd be ash before it even hit the glowing surface.

Seriously, Firebenders thought this was normal?

But the warrior was keeping his cool, metaphorically speaking, even giving Aang a little bit of a hard time, which distracted the kid from the seriousness of the fact that they were in the Fire Nation, being hunted by master Firebenders, and this guy was probably leading them into a trap.

It was like Dad said, that sometimes you needed to take a half-step back, to let you keep focus going forward, and while Sokka wasn't sure what help he could offer, he could at least do that much!

From there they went up a secret staircase that was actually really well made for being, ya know, secret, where Shiyu, the Sage, told them they'd have to wait for the last light before sunset before Avatar Roku's statue did whatever it was supposed to do, which mean they had, about, half an hour.

Cutting it close, yeah, but with baddies around and looking, that might be for the best.

Lifting up a piece of floor, that pulled back on hidden rails, Shiyu clambered up, the rest of them following, into a huge room with a fancy door on one end, and dragon statue-pillars all around.

Sokka followed Shiyu, only to run into the older guy, who'd stopped, surprised, and-

"You really shouldn't be here."

Wait, Sokka recognized that voice, and, looking past the Sage, it was Denki! And Mina! … and-

"What are you doing here!?" Katara demanded, before he could, pulling the water out of her canteen.

"Making sure you all survive," Denki smiled, seemingly relaxed, but with that guy it was kind of hard to tell. "Given how you've decided to be near suicidal today."

"But what is he doing here!?" Sokka's sister pressed, pointing a finger at prince ponytail, who seemed pissed.

Well, the warrior had only seen the Firebender a few times, but he seemed even more angry than he was then!

"How could you work with a Firebender?" Katara accused.

Denki stared at her, then looked to Shiyu, then back to her, before responding, in a voice that was a bit mocking, "I don't know, seems to be the thing to do today."

Realizing what he meant, the Waterbender flushed, "That's, that's different."

"Not really," the electric spirit responded with a smirk, leaving it at that.

Which is when Mina gently whapped him upside the head, like Sokka could vaguely remember Mom doing to Dad when she thought he was being silly.

"We're, like, here to help ya!" the pink-skinned girl responded. "And PZ is here ta help, 'cause, like, this is a really bad place to be."

Without missing a beat, the yellow-haired guy nodded. "Yep, because not only do you have the Fire Sages turned traitor," and by the snarl on Ponytail's face he did not like that, but, Sokka noticed, he didn't disagree, "but you've got an armada incoming, because that blockade you ran, well, is running after you. And both the Sages and Admiral Zhao want Aang dead, which is not something we're cool with. Any of us," he stressed tilting his head towards the Firebender beside him, which, what?

"Oh, please," Katara shot back. "Like he hasn't been trying to kill us!"

That was too much for the scarred guy, who ground out, "If I wanted you dead, Barbarian, you would've been. You and the Avatar!"

Pulling her water up to strike, which, Sokka noted, seemed to be the only water around in this entire place, his sister snarled, "I'd like to see you try!"

Denki looked at her in confusion, sighing and putting his face in his hands, and, while Sokka was right in that he'd throw down with Angry McFlamesalot, the warrior knew he hadn't gotten that much better since the guy had kicked his ass.

Kicked his ass without hurting him.

"Uh," Mina offered, lifting a hand, and getting everyone's attention. "He's… not gonna? That's, like, what he just said? Uh, you okay, girl?"

"Besides, I can't capture the Avatar and bring him to the Fire Lord if he's dead," the prince spat disdainfully, which, first of all, rude, but…

That… seemed important. Like… really important. But they were kind of on a time limit, so he'd figure out why that was sticking out like a lone otter penguin later.

Stepping forward, Sokka put a hand on his sister's shoulder, because she was hearing, but, like when, say, Gran-Gran said not to play in the Fire Nation wreck, she wasn't listening. "They're saying it's a break. The others, they're man-eaters."

Because, yeah, tiger seals would kill anyone they thought was going after their prey in their territory, but while they'd kill you, they just ripped you apart. But sometimes, one would start hunting people, and for something like that? The Tribes would stop fighting, band together, and kill it, because if they didn't?

It'd start to turn others into man-eaters.

And they had stories for how bad that could go if it wasn't stopped.

Back from when they were Tribes.

And while he'd calmed his sister down, he managed to upset both Fire Nation guys, the prince breathing in to yell, but Denki beat him to it.

"You mean metaphorically, not literally, right?" the Spirit questioned dryly, gesturing to the locals.

"…Yeah?" Sokka replied, confused. Like, the Fire Nation was bad, but if they were actually… Them, then that'd be something way different!

Aang, looking around, asked, "So, we're all working together?"

"For today, Avatar," prince ponytail promised. "After that, you will be mine!"

Shrugging, the Airbender replied, "Well, that's tomorrow!" which just, caused the scarred guy to grit his teeth, but seemed to settle things.

"Prince Zuko," the Fire Sage stated. "You are exiled."

"Then it's a good thing we're leaving right after this," Denki shrugged.

"Oh, you are?" Aang questioned. "Me too!"

That caused both Firebenders to turn on him. "What?"

"Not important," Sokka groaned, not wanting to drag that into this too. "Limited time, we gotta work fast. So, where's the statue."

The sage gestured beyond them. "It's, no, the sanctuary doors! They're closed!"

Stepping forward, the Warrior noted that Shiyu gave Denki and Mina a wide berth, as Katara asked, "Can't you just open them with Firebending? Like you opened that other door?"

Which, actually, with how the door worked in the Air Temple, made a lot of sense.

"No," the sage replied, dashing those hopes. "Only a fully realized Avatar is powerful enough to open this door alone. Otherwise, the sages must open the doors together, with five simultaneous fire blasts."

"Well," Denki offered, and, with a gesture, a flame appeared in his left hand. "We've got, like, two and half Firebenders here. If you handle two, Zuko handles two, I could probably get the last one, and Bob's your uncle!"

"My uncle's name is not Bob," Shiyu replied confused. "And, I'm sorry, I know the prince, but who are you, and the… young woman with you?"

Aang perked up. "Oh, that's Denki Kaminari, and Mina Ashido! They're Spirits!"

"Yo," the yellow-haired guy greeted, turning his arm to lightning, while Mina waved as well with a "Hiya!" as droplets of acid followed her hand, hitting the ground and sizzling.

The Sage stared.

"No. They are not."

Both Spirits stiffened, while Aang asked, "Oh, do they have other names?"

Shiyu frowned, "No, they are not Spirits."

Denki smiled, and this time it was not a nice smile, mouth full of electric teeth. "Oh, then, pray tell, what are we?"

There was a hint of something, like a heat-shimmer in the air, as the older Firebender peered at them, then the sage went pale, stating, "They, as my duty, I know all Fire Spirits, and they are not…"

"Oh!" Aang smiled. "Yeah, they're not Fire Nation spirits. Ashido's an Acid Spirit, and Denki's a Storm Spirit!"

Expression softening as he glanced at the monk, the lightning-dude stated, "Close enough."

Now unsure, Shiyu waved towards the flame in Denki's hand, "But…"

"I was granted Firebending by my superior," the yellow-haired guy stated, "And I'm still learning how to make it work, but," lifting his right hand, ice appeared in his palm, "I'm a man of many talents."

"And I got Waterbending!" Mina offered, creating a bit of acid, and freezing that too.

"You do?" Katara questioned, suddenly interested. "Can you show me? Uh, later?"

"Sure, sweetie!" the horned girl smiled. "But ya probably know more 'bout this stuff than I do!"

"Spirits don't… Bend?" Shiyu argued, but now even he didn't sound like he was believing what he was saying.

Frowning, Sokka's sister stated, "I don't know what the Fire Nation believes, but in the Water Tribes we know that Bending is a gift from the Spirits!"

"That's…" the sage started to deny, before shook his head. "No, we three cannot open this alone. The blasts must be simultaneous, and while I can manage one, I cannot do two, neither could the prince."

With a sour look, the guy in question turned, went low, and shoved, two big blasts of fire roaring forward and hitting two of the five dragon-mouths, until something clicked, and the metal dragon-heads started to move, before, when he let it go, swinging back where they were.

And that seemed to confuse Shiyu just as much as Denki and Mina had, as he stared for a long moment, before, shaking his head. "I, unless you are as proficient as the prince… has turned out to be, it will not be enough."

"Yeah, unfortunately I'm the half-a-Bender I was referring to," the Spirit sighed, turning and looking at the door. Sokka walked up to look at it as well, which is why he barely caught the yellow-haired guy mutter to himself, "How the fuck did they do it?"

Wracking his own brain, looking around, the tribesman's eyes stopped on the lamp nearby, "We need more fire blasts, huh? I think I got the answer to that."

Looking his way, Denki asked, "You do?"

"Yeah, let me show you!" Sokka smirked, stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder.

"No time, just tell me," the Spirit disagreed.

Hesitating, the tribesman wanted to show off, then realized he wanted to show off, which, while it'd be very cool, wasn't why they were here. "Right, it's a trick I picked up from my father. We seal lamp oil in animals skin casings, Shiyu lights oil-soaked twine, and, ta da, fake firebending."

As Denki stared at him, Sokka felt that maybe this wasn't the best of ideas, especially as the Spirit let go, facepalmed again, and groaned.

"It coul-" the tribesman started to say defensively.

"Of course," the lightning-guy stated, at the same time. "Lamp-oil bombs would do it, wouldn't they? Mina, Aang, Zuko, Katara, collect the lamps around here, Sokka, do you have the material to make them?"

"Uh, yeah!" the dark-skinned boy replied, flipping up the back of his tunic, revealing the belt-pouches he made sure to carry, because there was nothing worse than not having the tools you needed, and foraging on a hunt didn't work if you had nothing to put what you foraged in.

Mina brought over the first one, which was still lit, but, with a wave of his hand, Denki extinguished the flame.

"First lesson I got from Zuko, how to put fires out," Denki offered, which, huh, Sokka would've thought it was fire-balling polar puppies or something. "Sage, what's the lamp-oil made from?"

Shiyu blinked, "I… don't know? They just deliver it, and we have the acolytes fill it."

Walking over with his own extinguished lamp, Zuko took the top off his, and sniffed it. "Tree resin and alcohol, I'd say… three to one mix."

"You guys don't use animal fat?" Sokka questioned. "Huh, weird."

"Okay, standard burning oil, kind of," Denki mused. "With that composition…"

Clasping his hands together, he concentrated, as blue and pink spirit energy escaped between his fingers, and, opening them up, he now held a bit over a dozen small white spheres. "Add three of these to each bomb. Also, wash your hands afterwards, because this is super toxic."

Hesitating, Sokka grabbed an extra scrap of hide and used that to move the pellets, which got a laugh out of the Spirit, who said, "Okay, that works too."

"What are those?" Shiyu questioned, watching over their shoulders.

"Hyper-accelerants," Denki stated. "They make the boom boom faster."

"Sparky, what are you doing?" Mina asked, bringing over another lamp, which Zuko just glanced at, and the fire went out in.

With a laugh, the other spirit replied, "Consumable enchantments!"

Rolling her eyes, she handed them the next lantern, and Sokka made the explosives, putting one each in the mouths of the dragons, dusted his hands off, and went, "There we go!"

"Wait, that's it?"

Turning, and looking at Denki, feeling a little self-conscious, the tribesman replied, "Uh… yes?

Shaking his head, the Spirit stepped forward, glancing out the window for a moment, before nodding. "Okay, listen up, because it's time to impart some wisdom. Now, basic bitch air management: in any gas system, like the air in a room, the pressure will seek to equalize, moving from high-pressure systems to low-pressure systems. This is part of what makes wind happen, along with storms, on a global level. On a more local level, all explosives really do is create zones of extreme heat and pressure that then equalize, violently. Now, here's the important part, that pressure will, unless you Bend it, alwaystake the path of least resistance."

Gesturing to the bags sitting in the metal dragon's mouths, he continued, "Just like water won't run uphill, the blast of gas, in this case air and fumes, will go where it's easiest to flow, and, when it comes to gas, that is always the most open surface. You've got a lot of air moving, as the accelerant vaporizes, so, just like it's easier to take a bunch of people over an open field then it is to have them all try and run through a doorway at once, you're going, you're going to lose most of the blast with this setup."

Tapping the bag, the Spirit stated, "If you had everyone in your village's center, and you told them all to get out of that central area as fast as possible, some would run inside houses, but most would take off around them, down roads, and so on. So you'll get some of the blast going down the dragon's throats, but most will be lost headed out towards us."

"But," Sokka frowned, "How do we stop that?"

Mina scooted up towards her boyfriend, with a smile, "We make a cap, right Sparky?"

"Exactly!" he smiled, and, with one of his hands growing into glowing lightning that covered the bomb, but didn't set it off, the other spirit reached over and… melted it with her acid?

But, no, she gestured, and Katara gasped, eyes widening. "Oh, you're using ice!"

Pulling his hand back, Denki revealed that the bomb was now covered with a thick layer of weird white-purple material. "Exactly. There'll still be an exhaust-hole for the wick, but now the largest available area is going to be inside the door, not outside of it."

"Uh, Aang?" Sokka questioned, not that he didn't believe them, but it didn't hurt to check. "Is that how air works?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah!" the monk nodded. "That's why when I make my air-ball, I gotta keep it moving, because when you get air together, if ya let it go, it just, ya know, wooshes, but, like, most of it'll go up, not down! Well, a little will, but not as much! Huh, I didn't think fire and air had that much in common!"

"We don't," Prince Ponytail stated, and Sokka had kinda forgotten he was here? Whups. "So, can we open this up? We don't have much time left."

Shaking his head, he gestured for everyone to stand back. "Almost, that alone might be enough, but we're going to cheat like motherfuckers to make sure it does. Aang, Sokka, Katara, take cover behind the column. Zuko, Sage-whose-name-I-don't-know-"

"That's Shiyu!" Aang supplied, as the older firebender winced, and Sokka realized that he hadn't given his name on purpose.

"Thanks, Zuko, Shiyu, with me. When the blasts go off, I want us to grab the explosions and shove, pushing them into the door as hard as we can," he continued. "Mina, we'll need a veil to catch any shrapnel if the ice goes."

Prince Ponytail frowned, what else was knew, but slowly nodded, while the sage stated, "I am… not familiar with this technique. Is it from your, er, personal style?"

"It's not a technique, just an applications of principals," the yellow-haired Spirit stated, lifting his left hand and creating a bit of flame. "Hey, Zuko, Can you move this flame so it hits that pillar over there?"

While he was silent for a moment, the scarred guy nodded, took a stance facing the Spirit, and punched, only instead of shooting a fireball, the bit of fire in Denki's hand became the fireball, flying off to splash against the rock.

"You guys move fire all the time," the Spirit stated. "This is just doing a lot of it, really quickly, but also just for a moment. Like a long-jump instead of a sprint. So, ready?"

Both Firebenders nodded, even if Shiyu didn't seem that confident, the man leaning away as Mina surged with acid that stretched out in front of the four of them, Denki reaching forward to touch it as well, as an opening formed in front of the scarred guy, who, with a nod, shot a dart of flame right into the middle mass of wicks, which burned down, the hole in the sheet of acid closing, and-

Boom!

The ground shook, as all three Firebenders shoved their arms forward, gritting their teeth, and, for a long moment, it seemed like nothing happened, and Sokka felt his stomach drop, but, no, the click from before came back, with friends, the ice-covered dragon faces swinging around, the door opening up, and slowly pulling itself open, the spikes, because of course it had spikes, making it look like a giant pair of sideways jaws.

"Okay, they probably heard that," Denki smiled. "Everybody in!"

Aang sped forward, going in first, and then moved to follow-

Only for the doors to slam shut right behind him.

And then glow a brilliant blue, that blinded Sokka, and, from the way he could hear his sister cursing beside him, he wasn't the only one.

"Well… fuck," Denki swore, looking around. "Okay, new plan! Everyone back into that secret passage!"

But Shiyu shook his head. "No, the passages are known. It was only safe because only the other sages are supposed to know of them. It will be the first place they check!"

"Okay, Plan, fuckin', D," the Spirit sighed, glancing around. "Let's go up those statues! Mina, you grab Sokka and Katara, head up one, and make some handholds for them to use. Zuko, you and I will hide in the wings of that one. Shiyu, I don't fuckin' know, pretend you just got here and saw the glow?"

From the sound of distant footsteps, they didn't have much time, and Zuko ran up a statue, climbing it easily, while Sokka looked at the other, trying to figure out how he was going to do the same thi-

"Whah!" he yelped, as the acid Mina had made before rushed under his feet, picking him up, along with Katara, both of them carried up the statue, the acid turning into a kind of thick gel under their feet as they peered over the side of the statue, looking down.

"This is never going to work," Katara hissed.

"It might," Mina offered, with a smile.

Sokka, remembering hunts he'd been on with dad, added, "Actually, she's right, it might." As his sister turned an incredulous look his way, he shrugged, adding, "A lot of things don't look up. Including people."

And, as the other Fire Sages ran inside, and tried to open the door, they didn't.

They also couldn't open the door either, apparently the glow having been Avatar Roku not just slamming the door shut, but locking it, which, with how the evil Firebenders tried to open it, Shiyu going along with it to pretend to be one of them, that was probably a good thing.

Then even more Firebenders showed up.

They argued, that guy in charge the 'Admiral Zhao' that Denki had mentioned, and, keeping his breathing as quiet as possible, they stayed there for minute after minute, and it really seemed like they were going to pull it off.

And then one of the soldiers, way in the back, yawned.

Helmet tilting back, covering his mouth, Sokka couldn't see his face but he recognized the motion, just as he recognized it as the soldier froze, staring straight at him.

Maybe he wasn't seen?

The soldier's helmet tilted, and, yeah, no, he was seen.

Lifting a hand, just a little, Sokka waved.

The soldier waved back.

…Dammit.

Then the next soldier over looked up, saw him, then yelled, "Intruder!"

Which, well that was kind of that.

Fireblasts were sent up, and Sokka fell back, as the acid at his feet surged up, blocking it, but that meant he started to fall, the three of them swept down, as, with a crackle, Denki and prince ponytail jumped down with them.

Seeing the scarred teen, Admiral Zhao held up a hand, and the soldiers stopped Firebending, "Oh Prince Zuko! Fancy seeing you here! I'm certain the Fire Lord will be delighted to see that you've violated your Exile. And consorting with rogue Spirits and Water Tribe Barbarians? Oh, this is just-"

"Don't kill the soldiers," the scarred teen commanded, looking to Denki.

"You do know they're here willingly, they'll be willing to kill all of us, and you're making this harder on yourself," the Lightning Spirit noted.

Zhao, apparently, didn't like being ignored, his smile turning into an ugly snarl, as he announced, "I am speaking."

"Not for long," the yellow-haired guy noted, looking to Zuko. "You are making a formal request?"

"I am," the prince nodded. "They are still my people."

Now furious, the Admiral called up fire, sending it towards the Spirit, "You will-"

"Die," Denki interrupted, as his arm came up, unfolding, and, with a CRACK, fired, his thunder-sling piercing the fireball, causing it to explode but as it cleared, the guy was alive, running, holding a bloody hand to one ear as he ducked behind his own soldiers.

"KILL THEM!" Zhao commanded, and, ohdamnthat'saloto'fire!

While a barrage of it came at them, a single look between the prince and Denki had ponytail stepping between them and the attacks while the yellow-haired guy leapt forward into the fire, on the other side there was a wall of fire that made him remember, oh, yeah, Firebending Masters.

But, as Katara scrabbled for her waterskin, not that it would do much, Mina exploded with Acid, forming a wave that hit the inferno, and held.

Pulling his club, Sokka wasn't really sure what to do, the scar- Zuko batting aside a fireball that would've hit Katara, while she was staring at the waves of flame that was pressing down on them, and Denki, trailing mist, landed in the middle of the soldiers, sparking, and let out a ringing command.

"Naru-ikazuchi!"

And then the fires to the right was no longer the brightest thing in the room.

Blinking his eyes clear, all of the Fire Nation soldiers were down, twitching, Zhao nowhere in sight, and, in addition to being doubly certain he was never going to fight that Spirit, Sokka watched as Denki turned to run down the stairs after the others, when.

"Sparky! Help!" Mina cried out, as the tribesman looked back and realized the fire was a lot closer than it'd been a moment ago, the acid boiling, the Spirit's hands discolored, and, once again, he wondered what was he supposed to do?

Crack!

A shot punched through the fire, the flames buckling, as, turning, Zuko, gritting his teeth, threw his hands forward, trying to push as well, right next to Katara who was trying to do the same with Mina's acid, which was still flowing from the horned girl, but evaporating just as fast as it was being made.

The electric spirit was suddenly there, next to him, his arms splitting apart and reaching out, a tentacle of lightning wrapping around Sokka's waist, and then the world spun, the flames breaking through, then suddenly retreating, no, they were on the other side of the room, the firestorm raging through the acid that was left, getting rid of it in a second before his eyes.

"Mina!" Denki yelled, looking at her, in, oh, damn, if he was scared, then-

"I'll be fine, Sparky!" she replied, wincing, the same glowing rock that he'd seen before appearing in her hands, which, with a hiss, she dropped, and it disappeared. "Hit 'em!"

Nodding, the electric spirit took off, running as fast as a tiger seal could swim, as Shiyu, behind the other Fire Sages, turned on them, burning one as they turned on him, the older Firebender trying to hold off the flames, but it was four-

Crack!

Three- no, it was still four on one, as the shot that Denki sent missed, the sage he shot at having thrown up a bit of fire that made the attack veer off. The Spirit tried to close, but had to dodge a fire-blast, and, throwing lightning at the old man, with a pull and a throw, the sage threw his own lightning back at him!

Which he then absorbed, without issue.

Right, don't use lightning on the lightning Spirit.

While he was doing that, Zuko went on the offensive, throwing fireballs, which two of the evil sages took care of, leaving Shiyu to handle the last one.

Meanwhile, Mina, going "Owowowowoowow!" covered her hands with her own acid, which glowed blue, her skin slowly lightening, the blisters that'd started to form shrinking, and, from the entrance, came the sound of more boots, as more Firebenders started coming in, and, oh they were so dead!

"Use my acid!"

Mina commanded Katara, as the Spirit kept making more, his sister nodding and stepping forward, swinging her hands and gathering up the clear fluid, sending a wave of it towards the door, picking up the downed soldiers and shoving them out the doorway, knocking the new guys back, and, as a fireball arced in for her, Sokka could tell she wasn't going to be able to dodge.

He was moving before he even realized what he was doing, yelling, "No!", swinging his club, muscles straining, every part of him feeling more there than he ever had before, and, slamming the weapon into the ball of flame, it didn't explode, taking him out instead of Katara, but was instead sent to the side, hitting a wall, and then going off.

… Wait, what!?

But he didn't have time to think, didn't have time to try and figure things out, he only had time to move, feeling just like that first time he'd fought an Ice Crawler, too awake, every detail magnified, every breath another jolt of energy, as he swung his weapon so fast it seemed to sing, knocking another fireball aside, then a third, then a fou-

Something in him shuddered, and this fireball?

It went off.

The pain washed over him, as he was thrown back, towards the girls he was protecting, but he tried to keep going, even as something big grabbed him, and he swung, but he felt weak as a newborn arctic hen, back when they still had them, and realized it was the acid that was holding him, as Katara turned, eyes wide, going, "Sokka!"

"I got him, keep going!"

Mina ordered, as a soft, blue glow washed over him, the pain fading, though his strength was just gone, and, looking over, the fight with the Fire Sages…

Oh.

Denki was burned.

Like, a lot.

Struggling, Sokka tried to stand, letting out a slurred, "I'm fine. Denki, Denki needs help."

Looking his way, Mina's breath hitched, the healing flickering, before it came back. "He's, he's fine," the spirit-woman replied, but she didn't sound like she believed what she was saying. "At least he still has all his limbs this time."

Zuko was holding his own, but Shiyu's outfit was covered in scorch marks, and, while one of the evil Fire Sages fighting Denki was missing an arm, it just seemed to have made the old man even angrier. Meanwhile, Katara was desperately throwing acid down the stairs, even though it was kind of like slippery water, and while Sokka wondered why she wasn't using stronger stuff, he was reminded, oh, right, because I'm covered in it as she's healing me.

But then his sister fell back, as a column of fire roared up, breaking up to show it was dozens of fireballs together, as they exploded up across the ceiling, not breaking anything, but forcing the Waterbender back.

DamnDamnDamn, Sokka thought, trying to come up with a plan, trying to figure out how they were going to survive this, and finding himself agreeing that they shouldn't've come here and that maybe doing everything Aang wanted wasn't the best idea.

Zuko stumbled, barely throwing himself out of the way of a fire-blast, Shiyu forced against a wall, and Denki, Denki was turning more and more into lightning, but his hands were claws, his mouth full of snarling fangs, expression wild, distorted, and crackling, and oh that's not a thing I'm gonna forget, but they were losing, and everyone was busy, so he needed to come up with a plan, as his eyes shot over to the piece of flooring that hid the way they'd come in.

Yes. That! he thought, as, well, they needed to get out of here, the Fire Sages they were worried about were already here, and Aang was still inside, but there were windows along the back wall, and Aang could fly while they couldn't. And, if they lead everyone else away, that'd leave their friend to get out without a firestorm in his face, so, as the pain in his face finally went away, Sokka forced himself up to one knee, his legs shaking like they were going to give out, but he was a Warrior of the Tribe and he wasn't done ye-

While fire kept pouring in through the entrance, the Fire Sages all stopped, turning towards the door, that started to glow a bright white, as the Sages turned, and started to Fireben-

Crack!

One Sages head exploded, as a staggering Denki killed him, but the others were able to attack anyways, flames bathing Aang, as Sokka felt his breath catch in his throat, only the fires compressed, forming a sphere, and were parted, and-

… That's not Aang.

Instead what must've been Roku gathered the flames, before sending them out in a blast that extended out in a wave, one that knocked the Sages back, and burnt Denki even more, the thunder spirit snarling as he forced himself to stay standing. It continued on, passing over the rest of them harmlessly, except for Mina, who hunkered down in a shell of Acid that was half-burned away, but she stayed safe, the back wall of the room being blasted out.

Roku turned to look at Denki, and, for a moment, seemed… confused?

Then, looking at the evil sages, the last Avatar's expression was one of disgust, the old Firebenders running for the door, screaming in terror. With a snarl, slamming a hand down, the last Avatar melted a line through the floor.

From the crack a geyser of lava erupted, even though they were, like, two hundred feet up, and Shiyu, stumbling over to them, told them, "Avatar Roku's bringing down the temple! We have to go!"

Screaming could be heard, Sokka, focusing as hard as he could, forced himself to his feet, as the smoke in the room was pulled inwards, like it was Bent, surrounding Roku, before, parting, Aang was there instead, Katara rushing forward to catch the boy, who was as out of it as Sokka felt, the warrior helping his sister carry them, as Mina, Shiyu, and Zuko moved with them, the ground shifting under their feet, the heat only increasing, but, as they tried to leave, they found they couldn't.

Denki, covered in blackened burns, bones visible on his arms, part of his jaw just gone, didn't seem to notice, he just looked down and said what Sokka was thinking.

"Well… shit."

Looking out the blown-open wall, he nodded, calling his glowing rock, and commanding, "Mina, grab Zuko and the sage and bring them Home."

"But, Sparky-" she started to argue, but he cut her off.

"I can fly. You can't," he told her, and, hesitating, the horned girl used her acid to grab both Firebenders, only to… disappear into thin air.

"Wait, people can go there?" Sokka questioned, having thought there were, like, rules against that or something. "Can we?"

"If need be," Denki nodded, looking out. "But your ride's here."

"Our ride?" the warrior echoed, only to hear a distant, familiar, roar.

Aang, still groggy, stood up, and yelled, "Appa!" before launching himself out of the building, and onto the back of his Sky Bison.

Sagging with relief, Sokka barely had the energy to jump when he felt a firm, too-big hand grab his back, long electric fingers folding up over his shoulders.

"Wait, I can-yaaaah!" the warrior yelped as he was, once again, flying through the air, finding himself on Appa's back, as the beast growled warningly.

"Just dropping them off," Denki promised, and, oh by the Moon did it feel good to fall to his hands and knees on the sky-bison's giant saddle, the cool air blowing in his face, Katara dropped down next to him. "Sokka, Katara, Aang," the Spirit stated, voice hard. "Word of advice. Stay the fuck out of the Fire Nation until you can take the heat. Zuko's not trying to kill you. The Fire Nation is. There is a difference."

"G-got it!" the monk stuttered, grabbing Appa's reigns and turning him west. "Back to the Earth Kingdom, boy!"

With a rumble of agreement that almost sounded like the Sky Bison was chiding them for having left it, though maybe that was just Sokka's imagination, the giant fluffy escape-craft started flying away from the inferno that once was Roku's Temple.

"I, you," Sokka heard his sister say. "You need healing, Denki!"

"Don't worry, I already am," the Spirit said, and, turning to look, he actually was.

The black bits had shrunk, the heat-cracked bones were now either whole or hidden under bright red muscle, and, damn that was gross.

Useful, yeah, but gross.

"See you on your next adventure," the yellow-haired man told them, arms shifting to electric wings, and, with two steps, he jumped off Appa, soaring through the sky like a really big, really dangerous bird.

But, like, Storm Spirit, so, sure?

Feeling the last bit of his strength leaving him, Sokka asked, "Hey, Aang? Was it worth it?"

Not getting a response, the warrior lolled his head over, to see the Monk deep in thought.

"I… Yes. Yes it was," the boy finally said.

"Okay. That's good. I'mma take a nap now," the tribesman announced, before everything went dark.

MHA

Scanning the waters as I flew, it took me a good ten minutes to find Zuko's tender, the small boat's iron construction camouflaging it against the water in the crimson light of the volcanic sunset, which, honestly, was a good thing, as it pulled away from the small armada on the other side of the island.

Landing, a little hard, the loud clang causing the Firebender on deck to swear and throw sparks, but the other two, while also jumping, kept the ship on course.

"W-where's the prince?" the Firebender questioned.

"Gimme a sec," I replied, summoning my phone, opening the portal on the deck, and reaching an arm through to wave everyone through.

Zuko was first, looking around, spotting the island, and shaking his head, the sage next, wide-eyed, Mina last, carrying a plastic jug of water, already open, which she immediately started bending as she got to work healing my face, which I appreciated.

The… normally blinding pain of my wounds I could ignore to complete the mission, but it still took a mental effort to do so, and, while I was regenerating, that meant the burned nerves were regrowing too, and those…

Fucking Smarted.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I wanted to just leave the pair of them, and go Home, the sage looking absolutely shell-shocked, but, no, I had to stick around until the handoff to Iroh, just to make sure everything was okay.

I'd given my word, and I intended to keep it.

While, technically, I'd heal on my own, and working on me might give her some bad habits since I was already regenerating, I couldn't bring myself to ask her to stop, and slumped on one of the smaller ship's seats, just… done with today.

I distinctly remember this not being such a fucking shitshow, but, then again, I got involved, so should I really be surprise-

Flick!

"Ow!"

I swore, as Mina had hit me in the nose!

Not hard, but-

"This isn't your fault!" my partner informed me.

I opened my mouth to ask how the hell she knew I thought that, but she apparently also knew I was going to ask that too because she informed me, "Because I know you. You don't know how that would've turned out, and you got hurt, again, trying to save them. And you did. So own it!"

"… yeah, okay," I admitted, looking away, noticing that the sage, name started with an S, didn't remember what it was, was staring at us with wide eyes. "Can I help you?"

"What are you!?" the Firebender questioned, voice strangled.

"Spirits that saved your life, and, more importantly, saved the Avatar's life," I replied cooly, adding after a moment, "probably." At Mina's warning look I reiterated, "I said probably!"

She harrumphed, but went back to speeding up my healing, moving down my neck, adding a bit of acid to dissolve off the bits of my jacket that'd melted to my skin, which stung, but was also probably needed.

Looking stricken, the sage nodded, muttering to himself, "I, er, yes. I, I think I need to go lay down."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Same, but I'm staying up until I can dump you into Iroh's lap. Let him figure out what to do with you."

For a long moment, the older Firebender stared, before he nodded. "Ah, yes, of course," he muttered, heading into the back.

A moment later, the prince dropped down into the seat across from me, looking just as exhausted as I was, if annoyed, but I was fairly certain he'd have Resting Bitch Face until he realized his dad was a fucking dishonorable dickbag. That said…

"Pinky, can you heal Zuko real quick? He doesn't heal nearly as fast as I do, and you got the worst of it," I requested.

Blinking her black and gold eyes, it took her a moment to realize what I was saying, and she didn't move until I turned a beseeching look her way, and she sighed, shoulders dropping.

"Okay, let's see the damage, PZ," my lover said, hands full of water.

"I'm fine," the Firebender stiffly noted, before shifting, and indicating the charred bit of pantleg, Mina kneeling down to start working on it, and, while he grit his teeth, he slowly relaxed as burned flesh was carried away, and new, pink skin took its place.

I'll admit it, I drifted off at that point, coming to as Mina gently shook my shoulder, telling me, "It's time."

Blinking the sleep out of my eyes, I stretched, finding myself completely healed, and, with how tired Mina looked, I could tell why, reaching over to give her a hug, pulling her into my lap, leaning my head into her shoulder as I murmured, "Thanks."

She leaned back into me, asking, quietly, "Were you trying to be careful?"

Nodding, I replied, "Yeah. They were… Good, and if I'd disengaged, they would've gone after you and the others."

If I'd been operating at a hundred percent, I would've main-lined OfA, barreled through their flames, and ripped their fucking heads off with electric claws, but I could only transform so much of myself at any given time, my secondary powers were still semi-fucked, and, I was realizing, I'd been leaning on OfA heavily to bolster my own capabilities, feeling its absence keenly, but…

Still worth it.

With a sigh, Mina hugged me, quietly saying, "Then I'm glad you're okay," and standing up, left, as the soldier standing guard looked uncomfortable.

Rising myself, I nodded to him, and, surprisingly, he spoke, stating, "Thank you, uh, sir." At my raised eyebrow, he added, "For watching over the prince."

"You're welcome," I nodded back, heading out, to see the Wani a dark shape on the darker horizon, only a few lamps giving it away, though, with a flex of my power, everything brightened, and I could make it out more clearly, everything seeming to be overcast instead of cast in irregular shadows under the fleeting pale light of a cloud-shrouded full moon.

Of course, as the back of the ship opened, light spilling out, stretching towards us, I had to shift my Photokinesis so I didn't flashbang myself, and the tender was smoothly piloted into the back-end where the smaller ship docked, hooks attached to it as it was pulled the rest of the way into the larger ship with chains.

Tiredly, we disembarked, where Iroh stood, outwardly calm, but I couldn't help notice his eyes darting to Zuko's healed wounds, and, well, what little clothing I still had left.

"Things didn't go to plan. Fought the Fire Navy, and a bunch of Fire Sages. Zuko held one off, I 'held off' two more while getting the shit burned out of me, and, uh… sorry, I forgot your name," I offered.

"Shiyu," the sage noted, offended, but also lost, and the second overpowered the first.

"Right, Shiyu held off another," I continued. "Also, this is Shiyu, he's a defector."

Aaand, from the look of shock on the ex-general's face, that meant more than I probably meant it to, something confirmed when the sage insisted, "My loyalty is to the Avatar, as is right for a Fire Sage!"

That made sense to Iroh, who nodded, and… I was too tired to figure this out.

"Anyways," I continued, "Given he didn't kill the Avatar, like the traitorous sages wanted to, along with Admiral Zhao, if you could use your army contacts to get him to a safe house somewhere, that'd be great, as there's a good chance, depending on Zhao's report, he'll be executed on sight. At least until this entire 'Avatar' business is sorted. We all can just pretend we didn't break Zuko's Exile, but dragging along a 'rogue' Fire Sage would likely be too much."

With a considering look, the Dragon of the West, and Head of the White Lotus, slowly nodded, stating, "I believe arrangements can be made. Prince Zuko, do you have anything you would like to add?"

Staring at the older man blankly, the younger royal shook his head, a bit like a horse coming out of a fugue state, blinking rapidly, before announcing, his voice slowly regaining his normal angry energy, "No, Uncle. I'm, I'm going to bed. And when I wake up, we better be in Earth Kingdom waters, where everything makes sense, and I can go back to hunting the Avatar!"

The scarred teen stormed off, and Iroh chuckled, "I am glad to see today's journey has not done that much harm. Will you be staying the night, Denki, Mina?"

I blinked, confused, before Mina answered for me, "Thanks, Uncs, but I'm gonna drag this big lug back home before he passes out on his feet. Again. But PZ did real good, and Aang got to talk to Roku, or was Roku, or somethin'! I don't know. Byyyye!"

With a confused smile, as Mina opened up the Gate, Iroh replied, "Good night, Ms. Ashido."

Half-dragged through, it wasn't until we were back Home, and safe, that the tiredness really hit me, and I staggered, caught on a cushion of acid.

"Don't worry, Sparky, I got ya," she smiled, carrying me up the stairs, and to our room.

"I ever tell ya how much I love ya?" I asked appreciatively.

"Ya could tell me more," my horned lover informed me, helping me strip what little clothing I still had, before, in a couple swift movements, getting naked herself, and joining me under the sheets.

With an exhausted grin, I held her, her comforting weight and soft warmth a balm for my soul.

Tomorrow, we'd head back to UA, but, for now?

"I love you, Mina Ashido."

"Ooooh, fancy,"

she chuckled teasingly.

"I love you too, Sparky."

Music:
Wisdom – Thoughts of Lightning
KILL THEM - Dark Chinese music (combat / chase) : Jiangshi (殭屍 / 僵尸) | RPG music #06
Click! ClickClickClickClickClick! - Roku Destroys the Temple

AN: In Canon the Gaang were easily captured, and thus not a threat. Here... not so much. As usual, the next four chapters are up on Pat-reon and Subscribestar!