A/N: Hi there! I'm sorry for the lack of updates on my other story, "The Avatar State". As I said last week, I'm on vacation, so I haven't had much time to write. I have written a oneshot, but it's a bit depressing, even for me. If you guys would like to see it, then I'd totally release it, but it has some sensitive topics that may trigger some people. Also, my procrastination with this story has finally caught up to me. At this point, I only have 3 chapters prewritten to post. I'll be going home on Friday, so on the way, I'll make sure to get as much of the next chapter done as possible. Thank you all for your reviews, favorites, and follows on this story and my other one. It means the world to me.
Chapter 30 responses:
Vapor23: Hello, friend! I now understand what you meant when you said you'll try to make things easier for me. Your new stories are great! I'm glad you think that chapter was just as powerful as The Desert. And yes, Aang being in the depression stage of his grief is so sad. Katara is being so amazing in this episode, I agree. And yes, Kiri's panic attack was heartbreaking. I can confirm she'll have more of those as the story goes on. It was so sad to see her so heartbroken over not only losing Appa, but Aang too. I'm also glad they got their moment of reconciliation, I loved writing it :) Thank you for your continued support, and I can't wait for the next chapter of your stories!
Aang and I flew through the sky, my heart pounding with nerves as we headed back toward the group. The machine was coming quickly, so we had to act fast before it got to the wall. We dropped down from our gliders, landing in front of Katara.
"What are you guys doing here?" She asked, "I thought you were looking for Appa,"
"We were, but something stopped us," Aang replied.
"Something big," I added.
Aang and Toph had formed a piece of earth so that we could safely scale up the wall of Ba Sing Se.
"Now, what's so big that Appa has to wait?" Sokka asked.
"That," I responded, pointing to the drill ahead.
Once we made our way up the wall, we stood there, looking at the threatening sight of the machine.
"We made it to Ba Sing Se and were still not safe," Ying said, "No one is,"
Aang looked down, sadness coming to his features.
"What are you people doing here?" A voice behind us asked, causing me to turn around.
There were two Earth Kingdom soldiers, their faces stony and mistrusting.
"Civilians aren't allowed on the wall," One of them said, his tone harsh.
Aang stepped up to them, his voice confident and commanding in a way I had never heard as he spoke.
"I'm the Avatar," He stated, "Take me to whoever's in charge,"
"It is an honor to welcome you to the Outer Wall, young Avatar," The General, who was the man in charge, said, "But your help is not needed,"
"Not needed?" Aang questioned, confusion in his tone.
"Not needed," The General repeated calmly, "I have the situation under control,"
He then stood from his desk, walking through the large pillar exit.
"I assure you, the Fire Nation cannot penetrate this wall," He stated as we followed him.
When we reached the wall, I took a moment to look over at the view. It wasn't much, but we were so high up. For a fleeting moment, I took in the height, imagining myself soaring through the sky. I sighed deeply, pushing away my imagination and forcing myself back into the real world.
"Many have tried to break through it, but none have succeeded," The General said.
"What about the Dragon of the West?" Toph asked in annoyance, crossing her arms,"He got in,"
"Well, technically, yes," The General stuttered nervously, "But he was quickly expunged,"
"Nevertheless, that's why this city is named Ba Sing Se," He stated, confidence coming back to his voice, "It's the impenetrable city,"
"They don't call it Na Sing Se!" He joked, letting out a laugh, "That means penetrable city,"
"Yeah, thanks for the tour," Toph said sarcastically, "But we've still got the drill problem,"
"Not for long," The General replied, walking over to the other side of the wall, "To stop it, I've sent an elite platoon of earthbenders called the Terra Team,"
"That's a good group name," Sokka remarked, "Very catchy,"
Katara, Aang and I all stared at him.
"Is he gonna try and make up a stupid group name for us now?" I wondered in my thoughts.
We watched as the team of earthbenders took out Fire Nation military machines, attempting to also bring down the drill. The rocks they formed crumbled under the weight of an opening door, which revealed Princess Azula's two friends, but not Crazy Girl herself. I watched as Jabby flipped down from rope onto the ground, landing in a weirdly airbender-like stance. An earthbender moved the ground below her, but she evaded, flipping high into the air and landing behind him. She waved throughout his limbs, being untouchable as he failed to get even a singular hit on her. With two quick jabs, he crumpled to the ground. She flipped over his body, landing behind more soldiers and taking them out as well. I was in awe of her ability to evade, but also a bit jealous, because flipping over people and catching them off guard is usually my thing.
"We're doomed!" The General exclaimed, anguish in his voice.
"Get ahold of yourself, man!" Sokka shouted, smacking him in the face.
"You're right," The General replied glumly, rubbing the spot where Sokka had smacked him, "I'm sorry,"
"Maybe you'd like Aang's help now?" I asked, a sarcastic sweetness in my tone.
The General walked over to Aang, his head hung low in defeat.
"Yes, please," He said meekly.
"So the question is, how are we gonna stop that thing?" Aang asked.
My eyes immediately flicked to Sokka, knowing that he would most likely have a plan. Apparently, Aang and Katara looked at him as well, because confusion came to his face as he stared back at us.
"Why are you all looking at me?" He asked.
"You're the idea guy," I responded.
"So I'm the only one who could ever come up with a plan?" He retorted, "That's a lot of pressure,"
"And also, the complaining guy," Katara added.
"That part I don't mind," Sokka stated.
Later, we were in the infirmary. Katara was working on the soldiers who had been hit by Jabby, asking them about what happened. Water was held above a soldier's arm, the glow signifying the healing of internal wounds.
"What's wrong with him?" The General asked, "He doesn't look injured,"
"His chi is blocked," Katara responded.
She removed the water from the soldiers arm, looking at him with kindness.
"Who did this to you?" She asked, her tone strong but not fearful.
"Two girls ambushed us," The soldier responded, his voice strained with weakness, "One of them hit me with a bunch of quick jabs,"
"And suddenly, I couldn't earthbend, and I couldn't barely move," He continued, "And then she cartwheeled away,"
Katara's eyes widened, realization coming to her face.
"Ty Lee," She muttered, "She doesn't look dangerous, but she knows the human body and its weak points,"
"It's like she takes you down from the inside,"
Sokka's eyes became wide, excitement sparkling in his expression.
"Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh!" He exclaimed.
"Yes?" Katara asked calmly, standing up.
"What you just said," He responded, his excitement unwavering, "That's how we're gonna take down the drill, the same way Ty Lee took down all these big earthbenders,"
"By hitting its pressure points!" Toph exclaimed, excitement in her tone as well.
Aang walked over to a nearby window, looking at the drill in the distance. We all followed behind him, taking in the sight as well.
"We'll take it down from the inside,"
We were down by the drill, its spinning movements making me fear that it would crush us.
"Once I whip up some cover, you're not gonna be able to see, so stay close to me," Toph said.
She jumped into the air, landing out of the large hole we were in. I watched in awe as she raised her arms, the ground below rumbling like the stomach of a hungry sky bison. She stomped, the movement causing a shockwave of earth to rise. The jagged rocks that had formed from the blast flew across the battlefield, leaving a blinding cloud of dust in its place.
"Run!" Toph exclaimed, quickly moving forward.
I hopped out of the hole, beginning to run alongside the rest of the group. As we entered the dust cloud, my vision became increasingly impaired, until all I could see was a mix of grey and brown. I shut my eyes, running blindly and hoping I was still with everyone else. I felt an arm interlock with mine, the familiar fabric assuring me it was Aang. Suddenly, we stopped. I nearly fell forward, Aang's arm keeping me from continuing to run.
"Why'd we stop?!" I asked loudly, my voice barely being heard over the sound of mechanical whirring.
"I'm making a hole so that we can go under the drill!" Toph shouted, just loud enough to where I could hear her, "Everyone in!"
We all quickly hopped into the hole, darkness filling my vision. Aang had quickly found me and grabbed my hand, so I wasn't completely without guidance, but it still felt strange to walk and not know where I was going.
"It's so dark down here," I stated, "I can't see anything,"
"Oh no, what a nightmare!" Toph replied, sarcasm dripping in her tone.
I felt my cheeks get hot, feeling grateful for the darkness so nobody would see my blush.
"Sorry!" I exclaimed, embarrassment evident in my voice.
The other side of the hole then opened, and I saw light again. One after another, we all crawled out. Underneath the drill was large, the red lighting from inside giving it a more ominous look than just the machine itself. Sokka looked around, his eyes scanning for an entrance.
"There," He said, pointing to a spot overhead.
There was a pipe going across the area that we could get into the drill from. Aang and I could jump up just fine, but we'd need to hoist Sokka, Katara, and Toph up. Aang quickly hopped upward, latching onto the pipe with his feet. I jumped over as well, landing over the pipe.
"You need any help?" I asked.
"I'm good," My brother replied, "Guys, grab my hands and I'll lift you into the drill,"
Katara was first to go, interlocking her hands with Aang's. He pulled her up, and she flipped forward, landing on her feet. Sokka was next, leaping forward and landing less gracefully on his butt.
"Are you okay?" I asked, extending my arm out to him.
Sokka sheepishly smiled, taking my hand and letting me help him up.
"It's probably gonna leave a bruise," He stated, "But I'm okay,"
I looked over to see that Toph was still standing below, not making any advances to head up.
"Toph, come on!" I exclaimed.
"No way am I going in that metal monster," She responded, "I can't bend in there, I'll try to slow it down out here,"
"Okay," I said, "Good luck,"
Aang flipped into the drill, and we began walking around. Red light reflected from the copper pipes, a mechanical hum in the air. We walked through a door, being greeted with the sight of even more pipes. On each pipe, there was a small wheel, some pipes even having more than one. I wondered what they were all for.
"I need a plan of this machine, Sokka stated, "Some schematics that show what the inside looks like,"
"Then we can find its weak points," He finished.
"Where are we gonna get something like that?" Aang asked.
Sokka quickly pulled out his machete, swinging it at a wheel on one of the pipes. The top of the wheel flew off, and smoke began emitting from it.
"What are you doing?" I asked frantically, "Someone's gonna hear us!"
"That's the point," Sokka stated, "I figure a machine this big needs engineers to run it,"
"And when something breaks-"
"They come to fix it," Katara finished, happy realization in her tone.
We hid behind a wall, waiting for an engineer to come by. Just then, a big, burly man with a ponytail walked past. Katara popped out, turning the smoke around her into ice, freezing him.
"Hi," She said sweetly.
Sokka ran out from behind the wall, taking a map from the guy's hand.
"This'll work," He said, "Thanks!"
We went up some stairs that led to a room of even more pipes. Sokka put the map down on a pipe, unfurling it. An intricate drawing of the drill's insides revealed. I didn't understand what any of it meant, so I was very grateful we had Sokka to read complicated maps of machines for us.
"It looks like the drill is made up of two main structures," He stated, pointing to a spit in the map, "There's the inner mechanism, where we are now,"
He glided his hand across the page, pointing to another spot, "And the outer shell," He said, proceeding to move his finger in a circle around the drawing of the machine, "The inner part and the outer part are connected by those braces,"
"If we cut through them, the entire thing will collapse," Sokka finished.
Aang, Katara and I nodded, and we began running toward the braces.
When we made our way to the braces, I was surprised by how thick they were. They looked a lot thinner in the drawing, and much easier to cut through.
"Wow, it looks a lot thicker in person than it does in the plans," Sokka stated, seemingly reading my thoughts, "We're gonna have to work pretty hard to cut through that,"
"What's this 'we' stuff?" Katara asked, annoyance in her tone, "Aang and I are gonna have to do all the work,"
"Look, I'm the plan guy," Sokka responded, "And you guys are the cut stuff up with waterbending guys,"
"Together, we're Team Avatar," He finished, striking a pose.
I sighed in exasperation, putting a hand to my head.
Our plan was that Aang and Katara were going to slice each of the braces with waterbending. They continuously sliced at the brace, sweat forming on each of their foreheads after only a few swipes. Despite their wavering energy, they carried on, making a reasonable cut in the metal.
Minutes later, Aang and Katara were both doubled over, each of their breaths labored. They had made much progress with cutting through the brace, but we were still on the first one, so it seemed as if we were going to be there for hours.
"Come on, team!" Sokka exclaimed, putting his hands up in the air, "Don't quit now!"
"We're-"
Katara growled in frustration, bending water from her pouch and facing him viciously.
"I mean you're almost there!" He corrected, nerves in his tone.
They continued bending the water, each ding of metal bringing them closer to breaking the brace. With one final swipe, the brace was fully cut. An ear splitting creak echoed throughout, but the brace didn't fall. It slid the edge, stopping just before it would have fallen.
"At this rate, we won't do enough damage before the drill reaches the wall," Katara sighed exhaustively. Suddenly, the entire drill began rumbling.
"Do you hear that?" Sokka asked, "We took it down!"
"We better get out of here fast,"
Just as we were about to walk out of the area, a voice came from the talking tubes above us.
"Congratulations, crew!" It said, "The drill has made contact with the wall of Ba Sing Se,"
"Start the countdown to victory!"
We all looked to each other, concern etched into our faces. This was bad. This was really, really bad.
"I have an idea," I stated, "Maybe Aang and I can try to blow it over,"
"We'll go behind it and push it with air!" Aang exclaimed in excitement, "Great idea, Kiri!"
We both flipped over to the brace behind the damaged one, getting ready to start hitting it.
"I don't know how much left I have in me, so you're probably going to be doing most of the work," My brother stated, "Are you okay with that?"
I nodded, and we began getting to work. After just a few strong blasts of air, I was already feeling tired, and the brace had barely moved. Sokka ran over to the brace, attempting to push it with just his hands.
"Come on, brace!" He shouted through gritted teeth, "Budge!"
I let out a heavy breath, leaning against the brace that separated Aang and I.
"Sokka, stop it," I sighed, exhaustion heavy in my voice, "It's not gonna work,"
"We're putting everything we've got into busting these braces, but it's taking too long!" Sokka exclaimed, frustration in his tone.
Aang's eyes shifted to the ground, a thoughtful look coming to his face.
"Maybe we don't need to cut all the way through," He stated, his eyes widening in realization.
He flipped back over to Sokka and Katara, and I followed closely behind.
"Toph has been teaching me that you shouldn't give 100% of your energy into any one strike," He explained, "Sokka, take a fighting stance,"
Sokka responded by putting himself into the weirdest, most unnatural fighting stance I had ever seen. I struggled to not laugh.
"You've gotta be quick and accurate," Aang said, kicking Sokka's foot to break his weird stance, "Hit a series of points and break your opponent's stance,"
He then proceeded to hit various points on Sokka's body, causing him to lose balance.
"And when he's reeling back, you deliver the final blow," He continued, hitting Sokka on his head and causing him to fall.
"His own weight becomes his downfall, literally," He finished.
"So we just need to weaken the braces instead of cutting all the way through," Katara said.
"Then I'll go to the top of this thing and deliver the final blow," Aang added, pointing upward.
"And boom, it all comes crashing down!" Sokka exclaimed.
"Everyone inside that wall, the whole world, is counting on us," I stated, a somber sense of realization in my tone.
"The whole world minus the Fire Nation, that is," Sokka corrected, causing the rest of us to give him an exasperated look.
Aang and Katara would go brace to brace, weakening each one. Once the brace was weak enough, I would give it one last push with a large gust of wind.
"Good work, Team Avatar," Sokka said, "Now Aang just needs to-"
"Duck!"
A raging blast of blue fire zoomed past Sokka's head, missing him by mere inches. I looked up to see Azula, Ty Lee, and Knife Girl all standing on a brace above us. Azula then sent another blast at Aang, which he quickly ducked under.
"Wow, Azula, you were right!" Ty Lee exclaimed happily, "It is the avatar…"
Her eyes laid on Sokka, a weird look coming to her face.
"And friends,"
"Hey," Sokka said, waving with a dopey smile on his face.
Taking a closer look at Ty Lee, I realized how similar her features were to mine. Big grayish brown eyes, dark brown hair, even the way she fought. Maybe some Air Nomads survived, after all…
Katara grabbed Sokka by his hand, dragging him away. The girls quickly began advancing toward us. Knife Girl threw daggers at me, which I ducked under. I watched as Ty Lee began flipping towards Aang, who used airbending to push her away. We began running. When we reached a turning point, Aang suddenly stopped.
"Guys, get out of here!" He exclaimed, "I know what I need to do,"
"But, what if-" I began, worry in my voice.
"Kiri, I'll be fine," My brother interrupted, "Just go,"
"Here, you need this water more than I do," Katara stated, throwing her pouch to him.
Aang caught the pouch before running away, and I quickly caught up to Katara and Sokka. At the end of the hallway was some sort of tank.
"Slurry pipeline?" Katara read, looking at the sign above the handle, "What does that mean?"
Sokka opened the lid with a grunt of effort. Inside was a mixture of remnants from the wall and water.
"It's rock and water mixed together," I stated, "It's our way out,"
"Are you sure?" Katara asked, hesitance in her tone, "It looks pretty gross,"
I turned around, seeing Ty Lee and Knife Girl behind us.
"Just go!" I exclaimed.
Sokka and Katara quickly scrambled into the pipeline. I quickly sent a blast of air at the girls, knocking them far away. I leaped into the pipeline, shutting the lid with airbending as I did. We traveled down the pipeline, the gross mud water threatening to drag me under as I struggled to keep my head afloat. I grabbed onto a rock, using it as an anchor to not drown. Finally, covered in slurry, we made our way out of the pipeline. Sokka screamed, wiping the slurry off of his tongue. We stood up, seeing Ty Lee riding through the slurry. Katara used waterbending to move the slurry, backing it up so it would be trapped in a never ending loop of spinning. Ty Lee began struggling, flailing her arms around to try and escape.
"Why don't you try blocking my chi now, circus freak?" Katara asked tauntingly.
"Katara, keep that up," Sokka said, "The pressure will build up in the drill,"
"Then, when Aang delivers the final blow, it'll be ready to pop!"
Then, an idea appeared in my mind. I quickly created a large ball of air around Ty Lee, pushing back the sludge even further.
"Yes!" Sokka exclaimed, "Keep doing that, Akira!"
A few minutes later, Katara and I were still holding back the sludge. Exhaustion began pulling at my arms, as holding up a large ball of air for a long time took a lot of effort in moving them.
"Good technique, guys!" Sokka exclaimed, "Keep it up!"
"I appreciate the efforts, Sokka," I began, my voice filled with strain, "But honestly, you're making it hard to focus,"
"Okay, sorry," Sokka responded, "Don't forget to breathe!"
"You know, I am just about sick and tired of you telling us what to do all day," Katara snapped, "You're like a chattering hog monkey,"
"Just bend the slurry, woman!" Sokka shouted, earning him some slurry to the face.
"You guys need some help?" Toph asked, waking up to us.
I remembered that she had been trying to stop the drill from the outside, and wondered what she had been doing the whole time.
"Toph, help Katara and I plug up this drain," I responded.
Toph stomped a foot in the ground, moving her hands in a motion that caused the slurry to move back so far that Ty Lee and the sludge became out of view. My arms still felt tired, but not nearly as much as before due to the extra assistance. Suddenly, I saw sludge fly from the drill in various places.
"Here it comes!" Toph shouted.
She lifted the ground below us, sending us upward on an earth pillar. The slurry Katara, Toph, and I had been backing up quickly came out, Ty Lee in tow. Sokka and Katara held each other close as the sludge rushed around them, while I just watched in awe. Eventually, the drill broke down, stopping its rein of terror on the wall of Ba Sing Se completely.
We watched as the sun dipped low in the horizon, its light casting on each of our faces. The beauty of silence after the chaos of battle was calming to me.
"I just wanted to say good effort out there today, Team Avatar," Sokka said.
"Enough with the Team Avatar stuff," Katara groaned in annoyance, "No matter how many times you say it, it's not gonna catch on,"
"How about the Boomerang Squad?" Sokka suggested enthusiastically, pulling out his boomerang, "See, it's good 'cause it's got 'Aang' in it,"
"Boomer-Aang," He added, putting a hand on my brother's head.
"I kinda like that one," Aang said.
"Let's talk about this on our way to the city," Katara replied.
"The Aang Gang?" Sokka suggested.
"Wait, what if we mix them?" I asked, "The Gaang,"
"Guys," Katara groaned.
Sokka and I laughed, the mood light as we made our way into Ba Sing Se. The journey ahead was long, and most likely tiring, but I knew my friends- The Gaang, would be there the entire way.
