The Agrarian Zone brought back bittersweet memories to Sokka and Azula, as they walked down the stairs of the inner wall, which would lead them to the large fields. Somewhere in this area was the small, abandoned house they'd taken refuge in with Iroh and Toph so long ago, where they'd shared a bed for the second time, where Azula had been torn up inside by her own insecurities during a fragile night.
Had they been somewhere more private, she might have taken his hand in hers, pleased to think of how things had changed since then. From being here at one of their lowest points, they were here today at the highest, it seemed. If just because of that comparison, Azula briefly felt as though they were undefeatable.
"You think we'll get lucky this time around, too?" Sokka asked Azula, as they made their way downstairs "Song's already happy with her mom in the Palace, and we're on our way to a, hopefully, properly controlled and organized event for the Gladiator League…"
"I know it's like me to expect monsters to lurk in every shadow, but I think my paranoia has rubbed off on you somewhat excessively, Sokka" said Azula, amused. Sokka sighed.
"It's what happens after you spend too much time with someone, after all" he said "Their paranoia gets contagious, as does their bending…"
"Oh?" Azula said, glancing at him upon reaching the ground. Sokka snickered.
"Forgot our indirect bending mishap already? It wasn't even that long ago…" he said. Azula bit her lip and smirked.
"You know, we ought to do that again sometime" she said. Sokka grimaced "You know, just as an experiment. To see just how far this skill can go, how it's triggered, exactly…"
"Well, if it requires the kind of thing we were doing half an hour before you bent through my arm… I'll agree to it, if only because of that" Sokka declared, proudly. Azula laughed as they walked together by the large wall.
The indications for Gladiator Brawl had been sent again to each contender's sponsor the day before the fight, for confirmation's sake. There still were no instructions to specify what they would gather in the Agrarian Zone for, such as that they'd take a private ferry and then a carriage all the way to the Terra Jewel. Instead, they were asked to wait at the large fields between Ba Sing Se's huge walls. Was it they wanted to gather all the sponsors and gladiators here for a briefing before the big event? Or…
The explanation for their course of action became apparent within moments. Sokka frowned, for he caught sight of them first: he hadn't seen much of those blueprints, for the Mechanist had worked on those by himself, but he could recognize the pattern of the design all the same.
He sped up his pace, surprising Azula. She struggled to keep up with him, up until she saw them too: three armored airships, fully functional and ready to carry the gladiators and sponsors all the way to the Terra Jewel.
Azula could barely give her eyes credit, not even as she gazed at the Fire Nation emblem imprinted on the flanks of the ships: had her father authorized this? Why would he? Weren't these airships meant for warfare, for more destruction and death? Why would they be used for something as trivial as ferrying people around like this?
"Well… they're uglier than the ones I designed" Sokka commented, off-handedly, bringing Azula out of her silent daze.
"Huh. Much bigger, too" she added. Sokka sighed.
"That's all the worse, really. One of these days I ought to take you for a ride on my hot-air balloon, you know…" he said "Just the two of us, floating in the sky, free to do unspeakable things on the balloon because, unlike Xin Long, it has no feelings and it won't scold us if we…"
"Well, that's one very nice fantasy you've cooked up there, no lie" Azula said, smiling dryly and restarting their walk towards the airships "But we can talk about it some more when we get home, if you're serious about that. For now, we're riding large airships with big crowds and keeping our secrets to ourselves"
"Oh, joy…" said Sokka, sighing. He had never had a problem with large groups of people, but over the past months he had grown accustomed to being alone with Azula more often than not. It was a habit he would break most unwillingly, even if he knew the circumstances demanded it of him.
There weren't many sponsors or gladiators nearby, it seemed: either they were already on the airships or they had yet to arrive. But there were soldiers close to the airships, and one of them sprinted towards Azula and Sokka upon noticing they were approaching. It wasn't until he removed his helmet, halfway through his race, that they recognized the man.
"Well, well… Captain Zhen" said Azula, smiling as she stopped before the soldier. Zhen was grinning wildly at them "It's been a while"
"It has! I'm so glad I could see you both again!" he exclaimed "As soon as we were given this assignment, I knew you had to be joining this event! Huiwen told me to send his regards to the both of you!"
"How's he doing these days?" Sokka asked. Zhen sighed and shrugged.
"Somedays he's the happiest boy in the world, and within twenty-four hours he wants nothing to do with me. It's hard to keep track with his mood swings" he said "I guess puberty is kicking in…"
"Sounds like this should be your worst challenge as his father" said Azula, with a sympathetic smile "I hope you can keep up with him"
"Did he continue practicing his swordsmanship?" asked Sokka. Zhen nodded.
"And he continues to get in trouble by picking fights for no reason" he said, shaking his head "Especially with older kids. He seems to enjoy being defeated, somehow"
"Well, there's quite a lot of wisdom to find in defeat, unlike victory…" Sokka said, closing his eyes and raising his index finger, as solemnly as he could. Azula scowled at him.
"If that's how it is, I'd rather have an unwise gladiator, mind you" she said, and he froze before pouting at her. Azula turned to Zhen again "You said you knew we'd be in this event… does that mean my father requested for the Air Force to assist the sponsors and gladiators who would be traveling to the Terra Jewel?"
Sokka raised his eyebrows, glancing at Azula with uncertainty. He had found Zhen's comment slightly odd as well, but he hadn't reached that conclusion as quickly as Azula had. Still, what concerned him now was Azula's emotional wellbeing: did her father's veiled gestures of kindness reach her, or did she think they were hollow attempts at regaining her favor? Was she pleased, or was she upset by Ozai's sudden and direct intervention in the Gladiator League?
"Why, yes, he did" said Zhen, nodding promptly "We're still adapting and learning the ropes with these airships, after all. We need some small missions, preferably not military ones, you see? So the Fire Lord sent word to our commander about this quick job, and he brought us here!"
"I see" said Azula, with a cold smile. Sokka gritted his teeth, but he did his best not to let his apprehension show any more than Azula's did "Well, that's terribly kind of him, really. I had no idea he was up to this. I guess it's better than traveling there by whatever methods the organizers had resorted to in the past, right?"
"I would think so, yes" Zhen agreed, beaming "In any case, the airship to the right is mine. You can board it, if you so please! Every team of gladiators and sponsors are supposed to be on board within the next twenty minutes, so the sooner you're there…"
"Very well, we'll be off now, if that's the case" said Azula, nodding and urging Sokka to follow her "Thanks, Zhen. Good luck with piloting the airship"
"Good luck to you on your Gladiator Brawl. May you be victorious!" he exclaimed, proudly. Azula smiled gratefully, and Sokka sighed but grinned as well as they restarted their walk towards the airships.
"Do you think Zhao's already here?" Sokka asked. Azula shrugged.
"We probably should have asked Zhen. If he's here, he's bound to be on Zhen's airship too"
"It'd make sense" said Sokka, nodding. Azula raised an eyebrow.
"I know we're somewhat depending on him to have your back, but you don't have to be all that eager to see him…" she said, both probing and teasing him. Sokka pouted.
"That's not it, darn it. I just… had something I wanted to bring up to him, I guess"
"And what might that be?"
"Uh… you won't like it"
"Are you for real?" Azula said, looking at him accusingly as they climbed the airship. Sokka grimaced "Now you're absolutely going to talk, Sokka. What does that mean, mind you?"
"It means you won't like it, like I said" he pouted "I'd rather tell him directly, that way you won't be able to stop me…"
"If you make some sort of dramatic request for him to watch over me if you die or something along those lines, I think I'm going to kill you myself"
"Good thing that's not what I had in mind, then" said Sokka, just as the aforementioned Admiral came into view.
There were several people already waiting within a wide space in the airship's deck. It was stocked up with a few weapons and a couple of tanks, which were secured to the floor and walls with thick chains. The open space on the deck provided the sponsors and gladiators with ample room to move around, even if it was far from the most comfortable place to be in. Still, it was bound to be better than whatever traveling means this event had featured in the past.
Amongst the passengers waiting for the airships to take off was a man wearing an ornate military uniform, and he was quick to glimpse the newest arrivals as soon as they climbed aboard.
"Princess, Blue Wolf" said Zhao, smiling and stepping towards them. Sokka frowned, scanning his surroundings warily, assuming that Zhao's behemoth of a gladiator would be nearby, but he wasn't, it seemed "I'm glad you've made it safely, and on time, too"
"Thank you. I take it your gladiator is hiding somewhere?" Azula said, raising an eyebrow "He's hard to miss, usually…"
"Yes, I believe he went looking for a silent corner somewhere" said Zhao, shrugging "At any rate, I hope you're prepared for today's event"
"As prepared as we could be" Azula answered, nodding. But Sokka cleared his throat "Ah, so now you'll talk?"
"I did say I had something to tell the Admiral, so yes, now's when I talk" Sokka pouted, before breathing deeply and looking at Zhao somewhat sternly "You're here so your gladiator can help me prevent Aonu's attempt to court Azula, right?"
"Well, yes. I thought that was what we'd agreed on" said Zhao. Sokka gulped and nodded.
"The thing is, after all this time, I've pondered as many scenarios of this event as I could…" he said "And I guess I have a request, in case worst comes to worst"
Azula frowned, looking at Sokka in confused, worried disbelief. He gritted his teeth, keeping his eyes set on Zhao.
"If the Millennium Dragon overpowered me, or if he ever seemed close to knocking me out… Combustion Man should sweep in, and finish the job for him"
"What?!" Azula said, looking at him with indignation. Zhao's eyes merely widened, while Sokka raised a hand in a gesture to stop Azula, but she swatted his hand away immediately "Are you serious? That's not going to accomplish anything…!"
"It will give me a chance to fight another day" Sokka said, turning to her now "If I can't do anything else today, at least I can postpone this fight until later. I mean, Azula, this is the Millennium Dragon. As nice as he may be, he's still the second-best gladiator in the League. I can't expect to be strong enough to defeat him thoroughly, to the point where Aonu would leave you alone, so…"
"He is a sore loser" Zhao agreed, nodding "Aonu won't back down easily, even in the event that your gladiator legally defeated his. He would look for an underhanded excuse, anything to shoehorn his way into being engaged to you. I understand you may think he's overstepping his boundaries, but… I think the Blue Wolf is wise to come up with a secondary plan like this"
"Wise? Really, then?" Azula said, leering at Sokka with irritation. He grimaced, the echo of their previous conversation ringing in his ear "Maybe I should've gotten myself an actual fool for a gladiator, then. The wisdom of losers isn't something I'll find much value in, not in these circumstances"
"I know it's not" Sokka groaned "But it's the best I've got, alright? It's just a final resort, though. Chances are Combustion Man won't need to do anything in the first place"
"But, in the case that he did need to… the last I saw him, he seemed to go hiding behind those crates over there" said Zhao, pointing at the location for Sokka's benefit "You can go ahead and tell him yourself. Of course, he might not answer you when you speak, but I assure you, he'll be listening all the same"
"Heh. Great, then" said Sokka, smiling a little and nodding "Thanks, and Azula…"
"Spare me the nonsense. Just do whatever you want" Azula growled, and Sokka grimaced "It's what you always do, after all"
"I'm just trying to…"
"Save it, I said. Go"
Sokka sighed in defeat before walking off in the direction Zhao had pointed him in earlier. Zhao swallowed hard, eyeing the angry Azula with uncertainty.
"Isn't he merely trying to do what you expect of him?" Zhao inquired "I mean, you wish to avoid this catastrophic marriage and…"
"I don't wish to do it at the expense of his life, or his wellbeing" Azula growled "I've spent all our journey at sea training him as hard as I could to ensure he can handle this event, and all along he's been planning ahead for failure? I'm not surprised you expect me to be pleased by his endless loyalty, but I'm not when it comes in this shape"
"You speak like your father's daughter, to be sure" sighed Zhao. Azula's eyes widened "Only absolute victory is acceptable, then?"
"That's…" she was about to begin, but she held her tongue.
Zhao couldn't know the true reason why she was as upset as she was: she couldn't care less for victory, all she cared about was Sokka's safety. Every single time he was wounded in battle, she longed to switch places with him and endure every torment she kept putting him through. She only pushed him so far with his training so he would overcome each challenge more easily, so he would be in less danger, so she would have less reason to worry about him in the fighting pit. But there was no denying that they were only just reaching the top of the ranking, and that was where the worst of their rivals would be found. As far as she had pushed Sokka up to date, she might have to push him further still.
But that remained to be seen: perhaps this day would bring a different outcome for them. Perhaps he would prove to be stronger than he ever realized he was. She had to hope he would… for if not, she would continue to struggle with every wound he took by fighting for her.
Still, Zhao's wrong assessment was the ideal cover. And if there was something Azula could do with ease, it was spinning a lie with complete mastery.
"That's true, I suppose, in some way…" she sighed, closing her eyes. Zhao tensed up.
"I… I'm sorry. I forgot you two weren't exactly on good terms lately" he said, grimacing "Uh, but I mean, it's more of a royal mentality, isn't it? You're used to having things go your way, which is why you're generally better leaders than others, and…"
"You can save all that praise too, Admiral" Azula sighed, shaking her head "I guess I deserved to hear that"
"If you say so" Zhao gulped "At any rate, don't worry, Princess. If you fear Combustion Man will be too violent on your gladiator, I can always warn him to tread carefully with him. It's not like I haven't already, he knows how valuable the Blue Wolf is, so…"
"Does he?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows. Zhao smiled.
"You know half my job in the League is about making whatever decisions are most convenient for your father. That includes being aware of which gladiators are untouchable, and yours is amongst them"
"Huh. But apparently he won't be so untouchable now" said Azula, sighing "He hasn't been knocked out in a fight since… goodness, since ages ago. To think he's outright asking for it…"
"His loyalty is beyond reproach" said Zhao, shrugging "It's fortunate for you to have inspired him to be such an honorable companion. I can understand that you wouldn't want to push him too far, perhaps in fear that his loyalty might falter once he realizes he's genuinely putting his life on the line for you…"
"Ah, that's where you're wrong, Admiral" said Azula, with a disbelieving scoff "He has no notions of self-preservation, not in the least. I have no reason to fear he'll ever stop to ponder if this is worth it, because he's reckless and so ready to die he might just jump off a tall cliff into solid spikes of rock if there's a chance he could save someone else by doing so. My problem is he's far more ready to die than to fight, looks like. And that…"
"It outrages you, naturally" said Zhao, nodding "Well, whatever limits he may have, in terms of fighting skills, I'm sure my gladiator will make up for them today. It should be an interesting event to witness, if anything"
"I guess so" said Azula, trying to soothe her irritation somehow. She truly hoped Zhao hadn't seen the truth behind her anger: going by his behavior, he hadn't so far.
Still, Azula's displeasure took a backseat when two short people climbed aboard the airship next. She hadn't known they would be here, but she wasn't all that surprised to bump into them so coincidentally. And while she wasn't happy at all to see her uncle, which was only natural at this point, she couldn't hold back a grin at the sight of the barefooted earthbender by his side.
"Well, well. I suppose if someone was going to jump at the chance of joining a brawl, it'd be you, huh?" Azula smirked, and Toph's eyes widened at the sound of her voice.
"Spicy? Are you kidding me?!" she exclaimed, beaming too before rushing up to her.
There was no holding back when it came to Toph's bone-crushing hugs anymore, and she didn't seem to care about all the people who could see her embracing the Fire Nation Princess right now. She merely cut the distance between them and wrapped her arms around Azula as soon as she reached her.
Azula had no idea why she found it so easy to accept Toph's near-aggressive form of affection, but she did anyways. All she could do was chuckle and pat her back, glad to find her friend was still in one piece, and still cheerful, even after spending so long traveling alone with Iroh.
"I didn't expect to see you here, General" said Zhao, smiling at Iroh "I was under the impression your travels took precedence over the Gladiator League"
"These days, it feels like the League accompanies my travels just fine, Admiral" Iroh answered, sounding much like his usual self. Azula raised an eyebrow as Toph released her, wondering if Iroh was feeling better about his quest for Zuko these days.
"I told him we had to come to this Brawl when we heard about it in Omashu" Toph said, beaming still "I actually figured I could beat everyone up pretty easily, and heck, I probably still can, but I didn't think you'd be here with the Dog! Where is he, by the way?"
"Uh, looking for Combustion Man, I suppose" Azula said. Only then did Toph seem to reason with Zhao's presence in the airship. She blinked blankly.
"Wait a sec… the top dog is going to be here too!" she exclaimed, smirking "Woah, if I could beat him…!"
"Okay, I think we should have a word, Toph…" Azula said, smiling with unease upon noticing Zhao had raised an eyebrow skeptically at those words. The Admiral smirked when Azula steered Toph away, and he focused on Iroh again while the two younger women walked away from them.
The rest of the airship was crowded, but not by a lot. There were several metal corridors that no doubt they weren't supposed to be in, but Azula led Toph to one of them all the same. The earthbender reached a hand out to one of the walls, smirking as she felt the purified earth under her fingertips.
"You know, I can't see through metal quite as well as on earth yet" she said "But knowing I can bend it now… I don't know, it just makes me giddy somehow. Is this how you felt when you discovered, well, whatever makes your fire special? Was it that it's a different color than others? I can't see colors, so it's all the same to me…"
"Well, yeah, I've discovered both new colors and uses for fire" Azula said, smiling a little "I'm glad you're enjoying your newfound powers, but I do have something to talk about with you"
"Yeah, I figured, since you dragged me away" she smiled "You're no fun, Spicy. We haven't even asked each other how we've been doing lately!"
"I suppose we haven't" Azula admitted, with a soft laugh "I take it you haven't found Zuko yet, or you would have dragged him here with you?"
"Well, Iroh would have, I don't want to drag him anywhere" Toph laughed "But yeah, we haven't found anything. Somedays Iroh's frustrated about it, somedays he's completely fine. It's random, really. But he's been more open with me, and I'm not worried about bickering with him anymore. As much as we may fight, we're still a team, somehow"
"I'm glad you've figured out how to be honest partners, then" said Azula, with a sigh "At any rate…"
"Now you! What's up, Spicy?" Toph asked, grinning broadly. Azula's eyebrow twitched.
"The Millennium Dragon's sponsor wants to marry me and Sokka is supposed to defeat his gladiator to stop him" she answered bluntly, wiping Toph's smile away immediately with her words.
"W-woah. That's… huh. Is that what you're doing here today?" she asked. Azula nodded.
"I had no intentions of fighting him yet, but Aonu is a forceful bastard" she said "I haven't seen him around yet, but Zhao told me he signed up for this event. He might just be on another airship"
"Goodness. And that's the same guy Sokka beat in the Slate?" Toph asked, rubbing her nose with the back of her hand "So this guy … he's got a vendetta over it, on top of wanting to be a royal?"
"Exactly" said Azula, nodding "The thing is, I didn't agree to fighting him here, he's trying to take me by surprise. Which is quite underhanded, as I'm sure you'll understand…"
"Yeah, it's a jerk move" Toph admitted, scratching the back of her head now "And if I know you, it means you feel like you can be a jerk right back at him, huh?"
"Oh, you do know me" Azula sighed, smiling all the same "Zhao is here because his gladiator is supposed to keep the Millennium Dragon at bay. Granted, Sokka is an idiot and wants to be knocked out by Combustion Man if things get out of hand with the Millennium Dragon, but…"
"Oh. You want me to do it for him?" Toph said. Azula looked at her in disbelief "You know, I'd be nicer about knocking him out than Combustion Man, likely. Just give him a quick brain chi-block and…"
"Well, I'd appreciate it if you could do it more delicately than a man with metal limbs would" Azula admitted. Toph's ears perked at that "I'd prefer it if he doesn't have brain damage after this fight. But what I actually wanted to ask of you was… could you help out too, maybe? Keep the Millennium Dragon at bay, to some degree? I know Sokka ought to be able to fight him fair and square, but…"
"Eh, that gold-digger sponsor is being a jackass in the first place, two can play that game as far as I'm concerned" Toph shrugged "Besides, it's the only time I can be of help to you guys in a fight, outside of a Pairs Tournament, so why not?"
Azula sighed in relief and smiled, hanging her head for a brief moment. While Toph wasn't a guarantee of Sokka's safety either, she had a personal friendship with Sokka. Combustion Man might be less reliable as a partner than Toph would be, since she was more likely to help her friend than Combustion Man a stranger.
"I figure I kind of owe you guys after all this time, don't I?" Toph smiled "And if you think I don't, well… then I'm just doing my friends a favor, right?"
"Sounds about right" said Azula, nodding promptly.
"I can't have you marrying some sourpuss, really" Toph sighed, shaking her head "You're too much fun with the Dog, how could I tease you about being with some loser instead?"
"Heh, Sokka will be quite honored to know that you don't think he's a loser" Azula smiled. Toph chuckled.
"Now, come on, don't tell him that, he'll be all full of himself if you do" she laughed "Anyways, what else is up, Spicy? You're not going to tell me, for real, that you guys have been through nothing over the last months, huh? I mean, really, I've never met anyone who gets up to as much trouble as you do, so come on, now…"
"Well… I suppose we've had a few other happenstances" Azula admitted, smiling a little "I guess the one that concerns you most should be that Ty Lee and Haru will be getting married someday. You'll probably be invited, so I hope you'll be in the Capital by then, if just to attend the party…"
"Woah! They're getting married?" Toph exclaimed, eyes wide before snorting and cackling "Gee, I didn't think Haru had it in him! Or, wait, was it all Stretchy's doing?"
"It's a bit more complicated than that" Azula smiled, readying herself to share the less burdensome events Toph had missed out on during the past months.
In the meantime, Sokka had followed Zhao's directions as faithfully as he could. While some part of himself was determined to find Combustion Man, another one was strongly apprehensive about meeting him face-to-face for the first time. The combustion-bender had never met him before, even if Sokka had seen him from afar… and Sokka rather doubted he'd impress the man in any way. All the same, if Zhao was right, it meant his gladiator would remain silent and listen to whatever Sokka said, so, in a way, there wasn't much need for concern, was there?
Still, it was impossible not to feel apprehensive as soon as he laid eyes upon him, once he finally found him. Sokka froze, swallowing hard as he gazed at the tall man, who was resting against a wall. Up close it was easier to detail his tattoo: it was a vertical eye, it seemed, with three horizontal, elongated shapes behind it. His head was shaved, his beard wasn't. His muscles were massive, though, bigger than those of most gladiators Sokka had faced and definitely bigger than his own. Then again, he had to be strong if he was to lift two metal limbs with him: his right leg and right forearm were prosthetic, crafted to serve as the best metal replacements the current technology could provide him with.
But Sokka wasn't here to admire the man. Combustion Man had a relaxed stance as he rested against the wall, eyes closed, but Sokka doubted he had his guard down. If he had been an assassin before becoming a gladiator, it wasn't very likely that someone would be able to sneak up on him successfully.
"Hey" Sokka said, guessing it was better to get to the point quickly. Combustion Man didn't acknowledge him, but Sokka decided to stick to Zhao's advice all the same "I think you already know that your sponsor wanted you to join this event to help me out, and, uh, I'm glad for it. I just wanted to say, though…"
He froze when Combustion Man raised an eyebrow slowly, opening one of his black eyes gradually to assess Sokka quickly. Whatever he saw clearly didn't impress him, but Sokka wasn't expecting otherwise. He merely breathed deeply and continued.
"If things get bad between me and the Millennium Dragon at any point in time, knock me out before he does" Sokka said. Combustion Man's confusion increased visibly, as he opened both his eyes and stared at Sokka questioningly "Yeah, I know, I probably should be telling you to rip him to pieces, right? Well… I'd think if you could kill the Millennium Dragon as easily as that, you might have done it ages ago, so I'm giving you an easier option. Just, uh, try not to hit me too hard, if things do get to that. I kind of like it when I don't have any broken bones, you see…"
To his surprise, Combustion Man smirked slightly. Sokka raised an eyebrow, but the combustion bender closed his eyes and relaxed again. That he had smiled, though, probably meant he would do it, right? Sokka breathed deeply and nodded.
"Well, that'd be all, then. I'll leave you to, uh, your meditation. Or whatever it is that you're doing" he said, wandering away from the wall Combustion Man was resting against "Must be a pre-fighting ritual of a sort? And I guess the last thing he wants is some nobody rambling on and on about how he has to knock him out in the fight when he just wants to focus. Because no one wants to be around a weirdo who talks to himself needlessly, huh?"
He smirked sarcastically at himself before sighing, approaching a nearby window. They hadn't taken off yet, but if the airships functioned as planned, it wouldn't take so long to reach the north of the desert. Sokka breathed deeply, closing his eyes as he wondered if he had the strength to achieve the impossible today. Every time he found an obstacle that was beyond him, it took a lot of work and training to overcome it. On several occasions, he had failed to overcome them at all. Would it be the same today? Could he stop Aonu's menace before he could finish springing it on Azula, or would he merely delay the inevitable for a few more months? The thought chilled him, as though he had swallowed his own knife. He didn't want to envision the possibility of a future where Aonu could barge in between himself and Azula, but…
"You don't look so good"
Sokka frowned as he glanced down at the man who had spoken to him. It was a man near his age, brown-eyed and brown-haired. He wore a steel armor clad with Komodo rhino leather, and he had weapons that sat beside him on the floor: a steel shield, a sharp spear, two knives and a jian sword. He kept a helmet tucked under his arm, as though he was already preparing himself to put it on and jump out to fight, despite they weren't on their way just yet.
"Uh… well, you look perfectly fine, even if a bit melancholic" Sokka answered, with a sarcastic grin "But no worries, I won't pry into your problems…"
"Well, I'll tell you why, even if you don't care to hear it" said the man, scoffing "I just saw you, chatting with that mad destroyer…"
"Oh, Combustion Man?" Sokka said, biting his lip "It's not like we're good buddies or anything, if that's what you thought. If anything…"
"I don't know if you're buddies, I don't know if you're not. What I do know is the rest of us are doomed" said the man, dropping his head against the metal wall behind him "I saw the Millennium Dragon climbing another airship earlier, that was a bad sign. Then it was Combustion Man. Then, the Blue Wolf. And if you glance over there… that's the Blind Bandit, isn't it?"
"Woah, Toph is here?" Sokka asked, eyes wide as he looked in the direction the other man had pointed him towards, spotting the green and yellow of Toph's outfit as she stood at a corridor's threshold "Heh, I had no idea she'd come too…"
"And you don't seem worried in the least" said the gladiator, staring at Sokka in disbelief "See? That's the problem"
"W-what do you mean?" said Sokka, glancing back at him with unease "I'm friends with Toph, sure, but she always wants to kick my ass. If you think she's going to be nice to me just because we get along these days, you'd be in for a surprise"
"Sure, because you four are just going to take each other out and the rest of us will have a chance to grab victory?" said the man, raising an eyebrow. Sokka froze "Only five people get to go home as winners in this event, in case you don't know. I've never succeeded, even though I've joined it four times as it is. If I've never won, even when you four weren't participating, what do you think will be my odds today?"
"Eh… okay, I kind of see your point" said Sokka, with a weak grin "But hey, I'm not some juggernaut like those three. I've improved over time, sure, but I've lost plenty of times and I'm nowhere near their level of skill, so…"
"Please" said the man, sighing and shaking his head "I've heard you haven't lost a fight for over a year, and you've beaten one of those three juggernauts, while being close to beating another of them. How many people can claim they defeated the Millennium Dragon, huh?"
"Two, as far as I know" said Sokka, sighing before dropping next to the guy "But if you want the truth, it wasn't because I'm on par with him, in terms of skill. At least, I sure wasn't the first time I fought him, and I honestly doubt I've caught up with him by now. He's the second-best gladiator in the League, for crying out loud…"
"Only in name" said the man, eyeing Sokka skeptically "He's only the second gladiator because he's been here longer than you or the Blind Bandit. Hell, it's not going to be long before the Light Bearer outdoes him. The last time my sponsor checked the ranking she said so, at least…"
"She?" Sokka repeated. The gladiator swallowed hard.
"Well, yes. You're not the only man sponsored by a woman" he said. Sokka smiled.
"Hey, I'm not complaining about it. Just a little surprised" he said "Have you been in the League for long?"
"Longer than you" said the man. Sokka frowned.
"But Azula was…"
"The first female sponsor? Yes" the man interrupted him "At first, my current sponsor's father was in charge of me. But once he got busier, he handed me down to her, since she was more involved in my exploits in the League than he was. Still, it only happened sometime after you and the Princess came along, so we didn't beat you to it"
"Well, I hope it was an upgrade for you" Sokka said, nodding in his direction "Say, you haven't told me who you are, have you?"
"No, I haven't" said the man, closing his eyes "My gladiator name is the Sentinel Knight. My real name is Ruan"
"Ruan, then" said Sokka, nodding "Well, I'm Sokka"
"Should we be fraternizing this way when we'll be beating each other to a pulp in no time?" Ruan asked, with a disbelieving smirk. Sokka chuckled "I've seen alliances forged and broken over this event many times before, Sokka. It's easier to backstab someone when they expect they can trust you enough to fight side-by-side with you…"
"You'll mean, back-to-back…?"
"Well… no. Because then you'd have to twist your arm in a weird angle to backstab, and…"
"True enough" Sokka chuckled "Ah, well, you're free not to join any alliances with me either way, but I'll just let you know… I'm not really here to win. I'm here to, well… deal with something unpleasant for my sponsor"
"Oh?" said Ruan, raising an eyebrow.
"It's probably common knowledge by now that guys who want her hand in marriage are supposed to find their own gladiators to defeat me with them" Sokka said "It's not exactly fun… but I've been helping her dodge unwanted marriage proposals for years now. Thing is… this time it's the Millennium Dragon's sponsor who's after her. And as I told you before, I didn't defeat him under the best circumstances. If anything, we both figured I need more time to be ready to take him out. But when the Princess tried to dodge the challenge by joining this event, the Millennium Dragon's sponsor snuck behind her back and joined it just the same. So, uh…"
"Now you have to beat him here to keep that guy away from her?" said the Sentinel Knight, and Sokka nodded. Ruan grimaced "Is she… good to you?"
"What, Azula?" Sokka said, blinking blankly as he gazed back a Ruan. There was something earnest in the man's eyes right now "Well… yeah. She wasn't always, but… we're partners, have been for years. She respects me, much more than I ever thought she would"
Ruan lowered his gaze, his brow furrowed. Sokka waited for a moment, wondering if Ruan was going to say something else, but after the silence lingered longer than expected, Sokka breathed deeply.
"Well, I'm just trying to let you know, you don't have a lot to fear from me" said Sokka, smiling weakly "The Millennium Dragon is my main concern, I won't be much of a threat for any-…"
"Do you want me to help you?"
Sokka froze. He blinked a few times before turning to look at Ruan, utterly confused. The earnest determination in those brown eyes was stronger now.
"I… thought alliances weren't a good idea?" Sokka said. Ruan swallowed hard.
"They usually aren't. But, well… if some unwanted bastard tried to marry my sponsor against her will, I wouldn't want to let them get away with it either"
"Then I figure she's good to you too?" Sokka asked, with a small smile. Ruan sighed.
"Too good, compared with most" he said "So, well… if you want to protect your Princess, I can try to help you, if just a bit. I doubt I'll be much help against the strongest fighters, but… considering this is Gladiator Brawl, maybe they won't be that much of a problem"
"Say what?" Sokka raised an eyebrow, just as a loud, jarring sound creaked across the airship.
The noise startled most people, but it took them a moment to realize what it meant: they were in motion, at last. Sokka stood up again to glance out the window: they distanced themselves from the ground gradually, moving towards the southern end of Ba Sing Se's Outer Wall.
"Well, it is Gladiator Brawl" said Ruan, shrugging "It's quite likely that Combustion Man, the Millennium Dragon and the Blind Bandit will crush all the competition… but there's around forty competitors every time. If they were to work together against them, well… it's possible they'll help keep the most dangerous fighters at bay"
"I've thought about it too, actually. Since the Millennium Dragon has only been beaten by two people, and Toph and Combustion Man have never lost…" Sokka reasoned "Everyone wants to be the first to break a victorious streak…"
"And both the Blind Bandit and Combustion Man have plenty of rivals eager to knock them down from their pedestals" said Ruan "As for the Millennium Dragon, being the third person to beat him is still noteworthy, right?"
"Then… there may be hope. Maybe" Sokka said, breathing deeply. Ruan nodded.
"Either way… I'd say we could strike a bargain if this is the situation, unless you'd rather not" he said "It shouldn't hurt to stay on the safe side, would it?"
"Nah. The more help I can get, the better my chances will be at keeping Azula safe from Aonu" said Sokka, smiling a little "Thanks, Ruan"
"It's… it's not a problem" sad Ruan, lowering his gaze "Though this is definitely not how I thought this event would go. I figured I'd be out quickly, now I'm allied with the Blue Wolf?"
"If we get lucky, we might just be amongst the last five standing. You never know" Sokka smiled. Ruan grinned too, weakly.
"That'd be something" he admitted, nodding.
Half an hour later, the airships had landed in the barren lands of the Si Wong Desert. The staff for the Terra Jewel were already hard at work, setting up poles, it seemed, to mark the perimeter of the Arena. Sokka raised an eyebrow as he watched from the window, realizing the open desert enabled the fighting ring to be subject to size changes, something unthinkable in any other Arena he'd visited.
There were stands on one end of the Arena's territory, just like in the Ring of Ash, but it would be difficult for the public to watch the fights properly, seeing as the Arena extended further than any Sokka had seen. Those poles were positioned around an area of half a mile, maybe more, and that meant a lot more fighting freedom than what could be found elsewhere. It could be a good thing, no doubt… just as it could be a terrible thing all the same. Still, it meant he might have a chance to run away from Renzhi, if he could barely hold his own against him otherwise…
"I guess I'll meet you down there" said Ruan, who had remained with Sokka for most the journey. Sokka would have returned to Azula's side, but after how irritable she'd been earlier, he wasn't sure she'd want his company as they were. Still, he had to go find her by now.
"Sure thing" Sokka told Ruan, nodding "In case there's more than just forty fighters and we can't even find each other in that mess, good luck"
"Heh. Then good luck protecting the Princess" said Ruan, nodding towards Sokka before buckling in his helmet and picking up all his weapons. Sokka watched him go with uncertainty, hoping he had actually made a new friend rather than the opposite: that backstabbing comment was slightly worrisome. Still, Ruan sounded genuine when he had said he would help him, so Sokka would have to cling to that.
He breathed deeply as he made his way to where he had last seen Azula. By the time he finally found her, in that corridor slightly emptier than the main deck, the ship had already landed and the many tripulants were already climbing down into the scorching desert.
"Well, there you are" Sokka said, smiling awkwardly before turning to Toph, who was standing in front of Azula. His smile grew more genuine "I heard you were around, Toph. It's been a while, huh?"
"Sure has, Dog. Been a while since I kicked your butt!" she beamed. Sokka's eyebrow twitched as his smile waned, and to his surprise, Azula laughed softly.
"And it will continue to be so, won't it?" she said. Toph snorted.
"Now, now, I can beat him up after I help him take down the Millennium Punk, right?" she said, smirking. Azula rolled her eyes and looked at Sokka pointedly.
"As you can see, I've somewhat recruited her to help you too" she said. Sokka nodded.
"I met some guy too, called the Sentinel Knight" he said "I don't know how strong he is, but he's somewhat agreed to be allied with me"
"That easily? Even though you just met him?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Hey, you have another friend, too? What if I don't like him?" Toph asked, smirking "Can I bury him alive if I don't want to work with him…?"
"No" both Azula and Sokka said in unison. Toph only chuckled and waved a hand in their direction.
"Come on, lighten up, you two… can't take a joke, I swear" she said, shaking her head as she made her way to Iroh "I'll catch you down at the ring, Dog!"
"Right" said Sokka, sighing before looking at Azula "So… are we okay?"
"No, we're not" Azula said, and he grimaced "No doubt talking with Toph helped with my mood, but I'm not happy either way. I suppose it's good that you recruited some more help, but… I can't say I'm comfortable with the idea of Combustion Man, Toph, this Sentinel Knight and the Millennium Dragon all vying to knock you out at the same time. Because that's what you told this new friend of yours to do, right?"
"Uh… no. Azula, that's not what I expect to have happen immediately" Sokka sighed. She shook her head though, as she led him to the airship's ramp.
"You just never learn" she said. Sokka gritted his teeth "Why do you think I'm mad, Sokka? Please don't be as blind as Zhao and assume it's because I expect you to win, because…"
"I know why, Azula" Sokka huffed, the two of them climbing down the ramp and into the sunlit desert "But you also know that I…"
"That you hold my safety and wellbeing well above your own? Why, yes, I do. And I also know I've told you thousands of times to stop doing that, but you simply won't" Azula growled "You're supposed to want me happy too, aren't you? Why, the best way to do that would be to start holding your life in higher regard than you do. It's really not some concept beyond your grasp, Sokka…"
"And it shouldn't be a concept beyond yours that I'd be willing to go to any ends to ensure that you won't be stuck in a disgusting marriage with someone you don't care for" Sokka said, looking at her sternly "Neither of us likes this situation, Azula. I get where you're coming from, but honestly, your priority should be…"
"Whatever you think my priority should be, it clearly isn't that" Azula declared "It's more than apparent that we have very different priorities when it comes to… well, anything, really. And we both know that, as you're the one who has to handle the fights directly, your priorities will win over mine. So…"
"Azula…"
"Just… don't be an idiot, okay?" Azula said, her voice softer now. His heart lurched at the sound of it "I'll get you patched back together if… if need be. But really, Sokka… I don't enjoy worrying about you, just as you don't enjoy worrying about me. We can agree on that, at the very least, right?"
"We can" he finally said, gritting his teeth "I will do my best, Azula. What I asked of Zhao and Combustion Man… it's not going to happen unless I'm as good as defeated. And I'll do everything in my power to avoid that"
"You'd better" she said, glancing at him earnestly as they reached the border of the Arena.
The posts were in place, and most the gladiators were already inside the massive ring. Big fighters, small ones, heavily-armored ones, lightly-clad ones, firebenders, earthbenders and non-benders alike: all were crowded together within the sand pit, regardless of their positions in the ranking. The one event where everyone would be equaled, fighting one another to prove their true might. Ruan had it right: Toph had long ways to go to reach the top of the ranking, but she could easily prove she belonged amongst the top-ranked fighters if she triumphed here today.
Combustion Man would be in danger, though, as was apparent as soon as he stepped into the sand. Glares of all sorts were shot at him, for countless gladiators were eager to defeat him. Could any of them do it? Sokka doubted it. But could they do it if they joined forces for that common cause? He wasn't sure, but he didn't dare rule out the possibility entirely. He ought to give his opponents some credit, after all.
Still, the one rival he had to focus on was the Millennium Dragon. And there he was, stretching under the sun, his usual good mood nowhere to be found. Sokka swallowed hard at the sight of him, frowning in the firebender's direction. Azula sighed audibly beside him and prompted him to focus back on her.
"Be careful" she whispered "You're no use to me dead, as I've always told you. For all the reasons you already know"
"I won't be in that much danger" Sokka said "I… I hope I've improved enough to avoid that kind of thing, at least"
"I hope so too" Azula said, nodding in his direction "Go, then. Try to make me proud, but if it means you have to…"
"Yes, yes" said Sokka smiling a little "I'll try not to make you too proud, then. No need to worry"
"I hope so" Azula whispered, closing her eyes before moving to the stands. Sokka watched her with yearning before focusing anew: whatever happened next, he intended to protect her from her enemies with everything he had.
Sokka walked into the sand pit, where he was supposed to wait with the rest of the gladiators for the instructions on how the event would unfold. Azula kept an eye on him as she moved through the seats, up until she found a near empty bench… the only person occupying it was the source of her current predicament. Despite herself, Azula actually found it fitting to take her seat beside him.
"Such an important event, held at a desert of all places…" Azula said, sighing as she folded her arms over her chest. She sensed Aonu's tension, even when her eyes were set on the large ring before her "Do you think your gladiator is better suited for this environment than a volcano? His track record when fighting in extreme heat isn't exactly the finest…"
"Your gladiator's is so much better, of course" Aonu huffed, glaring at her from the corners of his narrow eyes "Seeing how he won out of technicalities against my gladiator in the Slate, and afterwards you challenged some irrelevant non-bender who would hardly pose a threat for you…"
"She was slightly more threatening than you'd expect. If she fought with a steel blade she'd probably kill more opponents than Combustion Man" Azula said, with a small smile "But indeed, my gladiator's track record is better. Do you truly believe it was wise to come here, Aonu? Why didn't you wait until the right time to challenge me on better terms?"
"Because you'd refuse, over and over again, as many times as you could" Aonu growled "You'd find whatever loopholes you could reach, twist reality as you pleased, hell, you might have even traveled to a warfront just to avoid me, for all I know…"
"Now, now, you may be inflating your importance, Aonu" said Azula, smirking "There's not a lot of people I'd run away from in such a manner, and frankly, you're not one of them"
"Then why did you sign up for this event after talking to me?" he asked "After I challenged you?"
"Because I had already agreed with my gladiator that we'd sign up for it after that day's fight" Azula lied, shrugging "It hardly needs to be more complex than that, Aonu. Honestly, not everything in the world is about you. Have you ever considered that?"
Aonu scowled, turning his glare fully on her, but his irritation dwindled upon noticing two more people were going to join them at their bench. He swallowed hard at the sight of Admiral Zhao, but right in front of him walked General Iroh, who sat beside Azula with a joyful smile on his face. With just that, Azula's demeanor shifted quickly, if not too noticeably.
"What a day for this event, eh?" said Iroh, beaming "Is the Blue Wolf ready for it, Princess Azula?"
"I would hope so. Otherwise, training him with ten Imperial Guards for weeks will have been a waste of time" Azula said, with a dry grin. Iroh snorted.
"Well, now, that sounds like you went overboard. Poor young man" he said, shaking his head. Zhao chuckled.
"It surely will be worth it. I have the feeling the Blue Wolf has a lot to show us today" he said.
His words could have seemed poised to flatter Azula, but she knew they were actually a taunt aimed at Aonu. And Aonu didn't take kindly to it. He scowled at Zhao before turning to the fighting pit again, his fists clenched. Renzhi was better than most the fighters out there… but he wasn't better than Combustion Man, hadn't been for almost a decade. Was he better than the Blind Bandit? Hopefully he was. But all things considered, the trap he had thought he had set for the Princess had backfired on him entirely. The Princess's insinuation that he should have held back until after Gladiator Brawl was, no doubt, meant to hint at these developments: Aonu had chosen to fight her in circumstances where she couldn't shirk him off, without considering she could have found support in numbers for her gladiator…
Sokka stretched as he paced in the sand, glancing about himself and analyzing the gladiators around him. Some looked strong, deadly, while others looked utterly terrified. He couldn't help but wonder how many of them were newcomers to this event, just like himself. Either way, the top two gladiators of the ranking had joined the event too, and that couldn't be good news, whether for newcomers or veterans of Gladiator Brawl…
"Well, well. Look at you. You've gotten a brand-new layer of muscle since we last crossed blows, eh?"
Sokka had been flexing his knees before pushing himself to his full height. Even then, he had to gaze up to find Renzhi's eyes below his shaggy brown hair. The man was smiling at him, something Sokka hadn't expected today, even if Renzhi had always seemed to be such an agreeable man.
"I'd say I've had to" Sokka said, smiling back despite himself "Good to see you again, Renzhi"
"Likewise, kid" he said. That he would continue to call him that, after all this time, wasn't at all displeasing, for reasons Sokka wasn't entirely sure about "Say, why do we always fight in places where it's ridiculously hot?"
"That's something we ought to ask our sponsors" Sokka smiled "Maybe next time I'll tell Azula to challenge you guys at the South Pole?"
"Ah, but there's no Arenas down there" said the Millennium Dragon, smirking "You just want some sort of elemental advantage on me, eh?"
"Hey, you always have one over me. What's wrong with me trying to even the score?" Sokka smiled.
Renzhi chuckled, shaking his head. It was that genuine grin of his that made Sokka's heart clench: this was not Renzhi's fight. It was Sokka's, no doubt… but not Renzhi's. Sokka wanted to keep Azula's unwanted suitors at bay, both because she deserved her freedom and because he wanted to protect the woman he loved, but Renzhi wasn't here to gain something from this arrangement. He was fighting for Aonu, much like Sokka fought for Azula, but did Renzhi want Aonu to marry Azula? If he did, would he be as easy-going and nice to Sokka right now as he had been on their previous encounters?
Well, there was one way to find out, wasn't there?
"You know why we're here, right?" Sokka asked. Renzhi's mood shifted quickly, as his smile faded away "I mean, your sponsor told you…"
"Yeah, of course I know, kid" he said, nodding. His voice was grave, far more serious than Sokka had ever heard him "I'm sorry for it, really. Aonu is just… not thinking straight"
"Because you know it'd be a terrible marriage?" Sokka asked, swallowing hard. Renzhi sighed.
"For more reasons than you'd know" said Renzhi "Aonu wants people to see him as more than just his bending type and as his father's bastard, but… this world was built to hate everything about him, you see. So, he'd rather hide who he really is, to pretend he's just like every Fire Nation noble, but that's not Aonu"
"People want acceptance" said Sokka, sighing "It's not that rare. We've all wanted to be acknowledged for one reason or the next, I guess. Azula isn't too different, she told me so herself"
"Yeah, well, she's a Princess" said Renzhi, shrugging "That's a little easier than being a noble's bastard boy. And hell, she's got to put up with people like Aonu, trying to marry her to advance in life"
"Have you talked about this with him?" Sokka asked, frowning "Maybe if you reasoned with him…"
"I've tried more times than you can imagine, kid. He's sure this is his only way out" said Renzhi, shrugging. Sokka huffed.
"Why now, though?" he said "I mean, I don't mind entirely, because I'm stronger than I would have been a year ago, but… why? He'd never made his move, and suddenly…"
"I don't think it's my place to say" Renzhi sighed "But, to put it simply… recently, Aonu understood something else about himself that would turn him into a pariah for good, if it was known. He's doing his best to bury that, like I said… and to find a new place in the world, even if it's a world he hates"
"And he's making it your job to help him find that place" said Sokka, sighing as well "Even if you don't agree with what he's doing"
"It's not my job to agree with him, sad as it is" said Renzhi, shaking his head "I'm here to fight for him, whether he deserves to win or not. And that's what I intend to do today"
"Well… I'm not going to take it easy either" said Sokka, gritting his teeth "Whatever Aonu may want from this apparent marriage really isn't my concern. Because my priority…"
"Is your own sponsor, yeah" said Renzhi, finally smiling again "That's what I like about you, kid. You care about other people's battles, without losing sight of your own"
"O-oh. Well, I guess that's true, somehow" Sokka smiled too, shrugging as an amplified voice rang through the Arena.
"Welcome, welcome! All gladiators, gather near the stands, if you'd be so kind…!" exclaimed the Terra Jewel's own megaphone man.
It was some time before the group of gladiators gathered, and by the time they did, Sokka spotted Toph and slipped to stand beside her. She smirked upon recognizing his footsteps and she bumped into him with her shoulder lightly. Sokka smiled and patted her back.
"Ready for this mess? Sounds like we're in for a crazier event than the Scavenger Hunt" he said. Toph snickered.
"That's just fine by me, Dog" she said "I liked the Hunt. You know, except for the part where you cheated me off the last two objects…"
"Heh, you're still salty about that?"
"You're a jackass, is what…"
"Such a sore winner, because that's the worst part, really. You won, and you're still mad…"
"Because I should've won properly rather than…!"
"Thank you for gathering around, everyone!" exclaimed the megaphone man, beaming. Toph pouted, mumbling a quick 'this isn't over' to Sokka before focusing on the man's speech. Sokka merely chuckled beside her "As is customary, I shall recite Gladiator Brawl's rules for all of you to abide by during this contest. First things first, only five of today's fifty-six participants will be considered the winners of this event…!"
"Fifty-six…" said a voice behind Sokka. A quick glance told him it was the Sentinel Knight again "That's a record"
Sokka smiled at the gladiator in the friendliest manner he could before turning to listen to the megaphone man again. He wasn't sure if a bigger number of participants would be good or bad news for his purposes.
"… Participants will be disqualified through three different methods: one of them is by leaving the denoted area within the posts, which signal the border of the fighting grounds. The second is by being knocked out, and the third is by dropping out!"
"Dropping out?" Toph said, raising an eyebrow "Since when's that allowed…?"
"Must be for this event only" Sokka muttered to her. Toph sighed.
"Each of the five winners takes fifteen hundred points home, so keep that prize in mind!" exclaimed the man now "Now, if you're ready, the final rule: you'll have no time limit, but you'll have one minute of preparation before the whistle is blown! Run to a corner of the ring, bury yourselves in sand, track down that gladiator you wanted to defeat…! But remember, you're not allowed to attack anyone until the whistle blows, or you'll be disqualified immediately! As soon as it does, the fights will begin and won't stop until there's only five gladiators standing! Now, are you ready?!"
The gladiators roared an aggressive sound of approval. It seemed enough for the megaphone man, who had a small hourglass with him.
"Then… the preparation minute begins now!"
Sokka grimaced as the gladiators around him rushed away quickly. He wasn't sure where to go, or what to do, other than to instinctively run in the direction opposite to wherever the Millennium Dragon would go.
He turned around, hoping to assess where his main rival was, but he was surprised to find both Toph and Ruan were still near him. He blinked blankly.
"U-uh… aren't you guys going to prepare yourselves?"
"Well, I don't know who this guy is, but I was told to wipe your butt for you because you can't deal with anything by yourself" Toph smirked. Sokka's eyebrow twitched "It's okay, Sokka, really! Some people just need help in life!"
"Says the girl I've been helping frequently for the last couple of years?" he said. Toph opened her mouth but closed it after a moment "Yeah, I thought so"
"Uh, guys…?" said Ruan, his voice tone revealing something unpleasant was happening. Sokka frowned and raised his eyes…
To find all three of them were surrounded. Sokka grimaced, instinctively withdrawing his two swords while Toph snorted. She was assessing the men and women standing opposite them with near contempt: there was only five of them, and they didn't look so strong…
Until there was ten. And then there was fifteen. Sokka grimaced, knowing, as soon as they had been surrounded, that they wouldn't be able to break out of the circle the other gladiators were drawing around them, unless Toph catapulted them into the sky… which, knowing her, wasn't exactly an outlandish idea.
"What do we do?" Ruan asked, lifting his shield warily in front of him. Sokka sighed, eyeing the hourglass and noticing it was near finished by now.
"We just have to keep them at bay, that's all" he said "Or, you know, you and I could try to shrink and then slip past them while they come after Toph. I'm pretty sure they just want to be the first ones to ever beat her, so…"
"Pfft! Like that's going to happen!" Toph roared, lifting her hands into position quickly. No one would knock her down if she had a say upon the matter.
The Millennium Dragon wasn't amongst the gladiators surrounding them, though. As he was tall, towering over most other gladiators except for Combustion Man, it wasn't hard to spot him within the sand: he appeared to have a sizeable group of gladiators surrounding him as well. Another glance in a different direction told Sokka most the remaining fighters were surrounding Combustion Man as well.
"Is this normal?" Sokka asked Ruan. The man shook his head.
"Not really. This is what you all get for being so famous and popular, I guess" he said, swallowing hard "Time's almost up…"
Sokka breathed out slowly, his grip on the leather hilts steady and strong. He had enough to worry about with the Millennium Dragon: everything else in this event was secondary.
The long, shrill blast of the whistle tore through the air, and the gladiators didn't wait for it to end before their attacks began.
But Sokka and Ruan missed out on all attacks, for a tall, fast wall of sand had risen around all three of them: Toph had made her move at vertiginous speed, using the sand as a sturdier shield than the one wielded by the Sentinel Knight. Even so, weapons were thrown at them, and some tips of daggers and other blades protruded through the cylindrical wall, dangerously close to their heads and armors.
Sokka gritted his teeth before turning to look at Toph. Going by the look on her face, she was making more efforts to bend that sand cylinder than Sokka had seen her make before, at least when it came to earthbending. But it wasn't hard to understand why: she wasn't just bending the sand, but wrestling for its control with whatever earthbenders were outside their cylinder. That alone had to make matters more complicated than usual, for at least four of those people had looked like earthbenders…
"Toph!" Sokka called her, but she huffed as a response.
"Just hold your horses, Dog!" she yelled, gritting her teeth before stretching her arms out fully.
With that, the cylinder shot out from where it stood, at full speed. Its diameter increased radically after Toph's move, and it ran over every gladiator surrounding them. The walls collapsed before long, but they had effectively knocked down most their rivals and even blinded some of them when the sand had fallen into their eyes.
"Good job!" Sokka yelled, smiling before raising his weapons. Ruan swallowed hard.
"And now…?" he said, as one of the earthbenders moved to attack him.
"You can thank me later, both of you!" Toph laughed, readying herself to fight more easily now, with so many disoriented opponents "Let's do this!"
Sokka didn't wait for Toph's approval to join battle: a firebender had already shot a blast of fire at him, and he did away with it in a quick sweep of Wolf's Bane. Within moments he had pushed that firebender back, and he had used Space Sword to hold off a dao swordsman who had attacked him from his flank. He controlled both fights with surprising ease, despite being outnumbered two-to-one.
But just before that could turn into three-to-one, Sokka had jumped out of the way of the earthbender who tried to sink him down into quicksand: his attack caught the other swordsman instead. Sokka took advantage of the confusion – and the firebender's nervous scrambling away from the quicksand – to slam the hilt of both his weapons into the temples of both the earthbender and swordsman, leaving one of them buried to the waist in the sand, the other flopping down right in front of him.
"Well, that was easy" Sokka said, with a nervous smile. No doubt things wouldn't be as simple as that once the rest of the confusion cleared…
For a fleeting moment, he allowed himself to wonder if he was the first to knock out other gladiators in this event. Did that count for something? He doubted it, but it would be great if only it did…
Still, one glance at Toph told him she had already dealt with two gladiators of her own, and more than that, Combustion Man had already gotten started: a massive explosion, not too far from them, was the source of many chaotic screams right now. Sokka grimaced at the sounds, but he focused on the firebender again. She seemed ready to run away at first, but within moments she began attacking anew. Perhaps her firebending could have served as a good defense, but not when Sokka was her enemy. His white sword dealt with all the fire deftly, and within less than a minute, she lay flat on the sand, twitching after Sokka had struck her down effectively.
The Sentinel Knight was doing well for himself as well, Sokka noticed: the man was holding off enemies expertly with his shield, bashing them with it if they came too close, stabbing at them with his spear if they were keeping their distance. His fighting style was unusual, but once he slammed the shield into someone's face to knock them out, it was apparent that it was an effective style just the same.
Yet he wasn't invulnerable, despite his shield: one of Toph's pursuers decided to change targets, as did another gladiator who rushed at Ruan from the opposite direction. He wouldn't be able to defend himself properly this way, and he had little time to properly assess which gladiator was more dangerous while he defended against a third fighter…
Until he didn't have to worry anymore, for Sokka tackled one of the gladiators to the ground with a shoulder, and then he slammed his knee into the other one's poorly protected stomach. The latter lurched forward, against Sokka's knee, while Ruan concentrated on the remaining gladiator.
"You're good with that shield!" Sokka called out. Ruan laughed.
"You sure we should be talking like this in the middle of a fight?!" he asked.
"Oh, you'll get used to it" Toph called out. Ruan raised an eyebrow, surprised to hear she was talking to him "That's what the Dog's always like!"
"I… see" said Ruan, smiling a little before breathing in and fighting more boldly against his current opponent. "Well, thanks! Your swords are really good too!"
"I kind of wanted a shield sometime ago!" Sokka called out, as Toph tossed an earthbender at him. The earthbender flopped before Sokka, attempting to toss dirt into his eyes, but Sokka jumped out of the way before attacking the rising earthbender again "Just, well, the Princess thought it was better for me to use her sword!"
"That's… charitable of her?" said Ruan, grimacing as he shoved off his current opponent, keeping him at bay. An arrow shot off from the distance, and he leapt to receive it with his shield before it could hurt either Sokka or Toph.
"We had no idea it could do what it does with firebending back then" Sokka laughed "She said a metal shield could be a problem at the Slate, so…!"
"Not much of a problem if you have padding that serves as heat insulator!" Ruan responded, using his guandao to capture an opponent's chain whip against the sand: with another harsh shield bash, the rival gladiator was down on the sand, his nose bleeding.
"Heh, I should've thought about that!" Sokka responded, amused as Toph wrapped their current opponent in a small hill of sand and smacked the back of his head quickly, chi-blocking him into unconsciousness.
Still, some of the first opponents were rising up now. They had been stunned, rather than knocked out, despite what they had originally believed, although some of them were unwilling to return to the battle by now and left the fighting area, outright. Most of them got back to business, though, groggy as they were.
"They just don't learn, do they?" Sokka growled, as the same firebending girl from earlier lashed out at him again.
Even though he held his own as best as he could, Ruan couldn't help but be amazed by what both Sokka and Toph could do: the Blue Wolf grew more inventive as his irritation increased, it seemed, for he was using his agility to rush towards his enemies unexpectedly, sometimes striking them hard under their chin, sometimes outright grabbing their heads and dunking them into the sand. On first glance, the opposite fighters hardly seemed to be trying to stand up to him, but they were: it was impossible for them to overpower the Blue Wolf now that his patience was wearing thin.
But Toph was more remarkable yet: Ruan's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when the small girl rushed up to two heavily armored gladiators and clasped their shoulders hard: with just that, the armors crumpled together, crushing their owners. The two men roared in pain, dropping their weapons and begging for mercy: it was as close to a surrender as she was bound to get from the two men, so Toph decided to toss them over the edge of the ring for good measure. It wasn't going to be much trouble for the healing teams to help the two men out of those damaged armors, or was it?
Either way, they had much to worry about outside of contestants who were already out of the fray: it seemed that more and more fighters were throwing themselves at Combustion Man, hoping to outdo him and, unbeknownst to them, they were preventing him from fulfilling his task of keeping the Millennium Dragon at bay. The Millennium Dragon only had a few other rivals to handle before he could shift his focus to the actual fight that he had been told to deal with today.
"That metalbending is truly remarkable" Zhao said at the stands, shaking his head as he watched Toph tearing off a man's chest plate outright "To think the Blind Bandit was already a menace as she was…"
"Well, gladiators are bound to gain new skills over time" said Iroh, smiling proudly at Toph "I have spent the last months helping her refine her metalbending, and it is an art with immense potential…"
Azula didn't respond to Iroh's flaunting of his gladiator's skills, though she still frowned in disapproval. Whatever Iroh might have done for Toph after returning to her in the Slate didn't negate that he had abandoned her first and taken her for granted from long ago. The idea of helping her develop new skills hadn't crossed his mind until after she had discovered her metalbending by herself, as far as Azula could tell.
Still, she wasn't going to meddle between Iroh and Toph. As much as she disliked her uncle and was displeased by how matters had unfolded between them, she didn't dare intrude in a bond between a gladiator and a sponsor, especially if the two of them had decided to preserve it. If others had known about all the times when she and Sokka had hurt each other in the past, they would have thought her relationship with him was beyond salvation. But she would have never wanted anyone to stick their noses in their personal and professional relationship, so she wouldn't do it to others either.
And Toph's skills were impressive, no doubt, but Azula could only spare every other glance at her before focusing on her gladiator instead. Sokka was dealing with his every rival expertly, wielding his blades in a deadly whirlwind that always seemed to result in his opponents being knocked out by his hilts or flung out of the Arena's territory, if possible. But while it was good that Sokka would be closer to being part of the final five, it wasn't remotely as important as dealing with the Millennium Dragon was. And the more Sokka tired himself with the other fighters, the less likely he was to overcome the second-best gladiator of the League.
Toph was completely enraptured by the violent fighting eventually, especially once the more talented opponents stepped forward: firebenders were keeping her on her toes, while other earthbenders seemed to work quite well as a team against her. The more they attacked her, though, the more the broke her away from Ruan and Sokka: soon enough the two non-benders were as good as fighting back-to-back while Toph was halfway to where Combustion Man was unleashing his explosions.
"That… isn't a good thing" Iroh said now, frowning at last. Zhao bit his lip, watching as Combustion Man flung a woman over his shoulder without a care in the world before attacking a man with a backhand from his metal prosthetic. Meanwhile, Toph was crafting another defensive cylinder expertly.
"I didn't instruct him to be too deadly today, if that eases your fears in any way…" Zhao said "But your gladiator is talented, too. Surely she could…"
Zhao fell silent when Combustion Man aimed a blast straight at where Toph's scuffle was taking place.
Iroh yelped, and Azula paled. As much as Sokka was her main concern, she didn't want any harm to come to Toph. The girl was her friend, and…
And Zhao proved to be correct: all the fighters around Toph were either knocked out by the explosion or running around in panic, trying to muffle out their burning clothes: the man who had been too close to the explosion was screaming hysterically as he stared at his hand, which was missing several fingers now.
Toph definitely didn't enjoy the noise and pandemonium around her, the screams as good as painful for her sensitive hearing. But the earthbender hadn't been genuinely damaged by the blast: she had crafted her earthen armor, as she had when fighting Azula. Upon sensing the incoming danger, she had repurposed the earth she had been bending into the armor she now sported, and even though her face was fully covered, it was easy to guess that she was smirking.
"I thought you were the biggest and baddest gladiator in the League…" Toph said, allowing her armor to crumble slowly, revealing her face and small size to the behemoth before her.
Combustion Man stared at her, even though he still was aware that a few fighters lingered in his area. But either those gladiators were too daunted by the firebender to keep attacking, or the combination of the two fearsome benders rightfully terrified them.
"But I've dealt with much hotter fire than that, big guy!" she smirked again "Care to try it again? Might be you'll land a hit this time!"
Iroh's jaw had dropped, and his eyes were wider than Azula remembered seeing them. Well, if she still feared that he didn't care for her, those fears had now been dispelled. Clearly, Iroh didn't want his partner going up against the deadly Combustion Man, let alone riling him up into fighting her…
And frankly, Azula didn't want that either. Her heart sank upon realizing that two of the fighters meant to back up Sokka were turning against each other instead.
For Combustion Man didn't waste time attacking again, and Toph avoided the blow by catapulting herself forward with her bending: his explosion didn't reach her, for she was too fast. She zig-zagged, in a way that echoed Sokka's evasive maneuvers, keeping Combustion Man on his toes until she reached him. And even then, his attempts to strike her with either of his metal limbs failed: he resorted to traditional firebending instead, catching Toph with a fist of fire from his left hand.
It might as well be the biggest showdown in the Gladiator League, Azula wasn't about to claim otherwise… but her attention had been drawn elsewhere now: Sokka was dealing with two powerful earthbenders… just when the Millennium Dragon was on his way to meet him in the sand pit.
Next to her, Aonu seemed tense still, even though hope glowed in his eyes. Azula wanted nothing more than to crush it, but it wasn't in her hands to do so. All her attempts to craft alliances for Sokka had failed, and seeing as the Sentinel Knight wasn't as powerful as either Toph or Combustion Man, it was unlikely that he would be much help against the Millennium Dragon.
Sokka fought hard, doing his best to outdo the two earthbenders attacking him now. His best solution was to pit them against each other, rather than fighting them thoroughly: he unleashed his boomerang after sheathing Wolf's Bane, and he worked on agility over power as he sought to trick the pair into fighting one another.
It seemed to work after Sokka ducked to avoid a large boulder: it slammed into the opposite earthbender's head, knocking him out cold after the many wounds he had already sustained by Sokka's hand. The other bender was left to use streams of sand, but as he wasn't as talented as Toph with those, he failed to use them as dangerously as the Blind Bandit could: Sokka tossed his boomerang at full speed, and all the attempts by the earthbender to catch the projectile, or block it out of the way, failed him: the boomerang cut across his shoulder and left him to shout as he dropped on his knees, the pain excruciating and blinding.
Sokka glanced at the Sentinel Knight, wondering how to help him shake off the firebender and non-bender attacking him, when a voice called out to him.
"I guess the muscles aren't for show, then! Good to know"
The Blue Wolf swallowed hard as he turned to face the Millennium Dragon. Renzhi didn't look like a man who had just defeated around fifteen fighters on his own, but he did seem a little ruffled, as opposed to his usual easygoing self. Still, he was ready to fight. And truth be told, so was Sokka.
"You can just give up, you know. Make this easier on the both of us" said Sokka, putting away his boomerang again and unsheathing Wolf's Bane once more. Renzhi smiled.
"You wouldn't give up, kid, so why would I?" he said. Sokka breathed deeply.
"Well… you had your chance" said Sokka, with more confidence than he felt. Renzhi breathed in as well, taking a bending position now "I'm not holding back"
"You mean you were holding back the first time, kid?" Renzhi chuckled "Then… do your worst, Blue Wolf"
Sokka took another deep breath, and another. From what he could see, most the opposing fighters were already out of the fray: Toph and Combustion Man were entangled in a violent clash, and there were only a couple more scuffles left, aside from the Sentinel Knight's own. No one would come to his rescue… just as no one would interfere either. This was as good as it would get for a personal duel held in the midst of Gladiator Brawl.
He couldn't waver, though, he couldn't even spare a glance at his sponsor. Neither could Renzhi. All they could do was build their resolve to fulfill their duty, and focus completely on the task at hand: neither one would hand victory easily to the other, as was clear by the scowls on both their faces.
Azula raised a hand to cover her mouth, Aonu fisted his own over his knees. And as they sat next to one another, the two men they had sent into battle rushed forward, weapons and firebending unleashed for the most meaningful battle unfolding within the Terra Jewel…