Operation: Interception <Wilderness, EarthKingdom>

[prodigy]

All around her, the Daugher of the Fire Lord watched the forest come to life with the warm and haunting glow of fire as the dried leaves and sticks quickly took to the licking of the flame. The Princess brought her basilisk lizard to a halt allowing the troops and tanks to move beyond her and her entourage. The four women hung back, observing the fire as it moved forward with the troops, a surge.
Azula was disappointed that this was not the battle she had dreamed of. To be perched on a hill overlooking the battle in the valley below, to hear the screams of the Earth Kingdom men as they fell back indisbelief at the wave upon wave of Fire that rushed their lines. This would not be how the perfect battle would be fought.

"..We may find ourselves bored with this one Ladies, but.. " She paused for a moment to narrow her brows as the sounds of battle started to break. Yet there was something else that caught her attention.. something to the distance.. her head turned and her golden eyes searched the trees. "..It is better than staying in that camp.."

[mai]

The blaze around them grew, sending small ashes adrift into the air, floating around the princess and her companions as they watched. Crackling of the fire drowned out subtle changes in sound that may previously have been heard, making an ambush from enemy all too likely. Mai, whose heart was pulsing much more so than normal, was still bearing an expression devoid of feeling or warmth. Like a ghost, her pallid, seashell-white face gazed to her right slowly to peruse the surroundings, but that was when Azula interrupted the young noblewoman.

"..We may find ourselves bored with this one Ladies, but.. It is better than staying in that camp.."

As Mai's brow lowered slightly, she let out a deep breath from her nostrils. Being in the heat of battle would have been exciting, envigorating. Instead, her friend the princess had to blatantly point out the truth. All Mai could do was respond with the utmost irony. "Peachy."

[boragan]

The sound of marching feet could be heard from a distance. The time has come for Bora to embrace his long awaited destiny.

However, that destiny wouldn't be that straight forward, as Bora looked to the sky and saw the oncoming fireballs hitting the leaves of the forests. Fire spread through the trees with the quickness. Bora was a little worried; for the Kyoshi Warriors were positioned in that area.

"Suki, and the rest of you," Bora whispered in worry, "Stay safe."

"Sir!" one of the scouts called, "They are attacking!"
"Gee, ya think?" Bora called him back on his idiocy, "And to think, they didn't even wait for standards and practices, we were suppose to negotiate first, not like I would accept anything they offered anyways."

"What is the plan of attack sir?" the scout asked.
"Ready the men and ready the catapults with oiled boulders," Bora ordered, "It is time to show them why they call us Thunderfist."

Bora cued the drummers from the back ranks to play. They pounded on the drums with a low percussion. Each beat of the drum, a warrior would stomp his feet. Then the next beat would have more stomps. It kept going until the entire army stomped in unison and in rhythm. Their eyes developed a rage look to them, like they were on the verge of beaserking. The warriors could hear Bora chant, and they would sing along.

"Down from the sky. Into the fight. Heart full of rage, full of thunder and glory. Swords in the wind. Crossing the sky. Lords of Doom bring an end to the story.[/i]"

Bora took himself to the top of the hill to get a better view of the oncoming soldiers of the Fire Nation. He and his army continued to sing with the same lines.

Bora's heart felt a sensation that he hasn't felt in a long time. The feeling of excitement. The feeling of adrenaline. The feeling of ferocity. The chants got louder and louder with each verse, until the climax came to be.

"Today is the day we die in the fight. None shall remain to last one more night. Now our spirits now become Immortal! We are Gods Immortal! We are Gods of War![/i]"

Bora and his troops let out a fierce battlecry with weapons of all sorts in the air as their own ferocity took control. With a mighty swing of his tetsubo, Bora finally signalled what the warriors were waiting for; the command to charge. They all pushed forward with weapons in hand, screaming like wild animals as they charged to their enemy with pride, rage, and honor. Bora continued to watch from the hilltop as his mighty warriors took to battle.

[zilong]

Stone projectiles flew through the air as at the enemy attempted to strike back. Several were blown out of the air by firebenders, but just as many flew true. Soldiers dove out of the way to avoid them, but for some this was not enough. The line held despite this. The 502nd had been through worse. Besides, it seemed as though the projectiles would be ceasing soon enough, as the enemy started to mount a charge. Zilong felt his blood boiling with anticipation as he continued to fire of relatively small bursts of flame at the enemy with his off had as Wenyuan had ordered.

“Central formation, hold!” ordered Wenyuan over the din, and the fire from the central unit stopped. “Prepare to meet their charge! On my signal…”

The enemy continued to charge forward, apparently uncaring about being caught in combat on three sides. The Fire Nation soldiers readied their weapons, taking fighting stances as they waited for their captain’s order. Closer and closer the enemy came, yelling like animals and waving their weapons about. Still, Wenyuan withheld his order. They needed to wait until the flanks could take full advantage of their position. It took all the control Zilong possessed to wait for the signal, his teeth grinded together, that sadistic grin imprinted on his face. His breathing grew quick, and his pupils wide. He wanted to fight, to kill. He couldn’t stand to wait any longer.

“Charge!”

At last, the order came, and with a furious bellow, Zilong burst forth with his guan dao held out to the side, his comrades following his lead. For several seconds, the armies ran towards each other, and at last they clashed in a great din of shouting and steel on steel. Zilong’s brought his weapon back in preparation, and he then swung it in a powerful arc towards a man’s head as he approached. The reach of his weapon prevented the man from striking back, and its weight and power allowed it to power through the man’s guard and slam into his helmet with a sickening thud.

That soldier flew to the side, never to rise again, but Zilong had no time to dwell on it. Another soldier a little to the right swung down towards him with a mace, but Zilong slapped it to the side with the flat of his weapon’s blade. His parry left the soldier exposed, and so, taking his left hand off of his weapon, Zilong shot his fist towards the man’s face. The man didn’t even have to scream before the flame that shot forth from Zilong’s fist had engulfed his face, and he crumpled to the ground as a smoking corpse. Another soldier made to attack with a spear, and Zilong’s hand returned to his weapon as he swung towards the weapon. The wooden shaft of the spear shattered, but the soldier remained unharmed. That was not to last, however, for Zilong followed the momentum of his swing into a spin, flames curling around his weapon as he did so.

The spin was slow, but the soldier’s broken weapon created enough hesitation to allow for an opening. As he came full circle, he swung his weapon again, and large wave of flame flew from his weapon as he swung it horizontally. The attack was wide enough that it attacked many of the enemies in front of him at once, but its slow speed allowed for them to defend themselves with a wall of earth. However, they could not anticipate the sheer force of the attack, and their hastily constructed defenses shattered upon the flame’s impact. This left the open, for, Zilong had continued into a second spin without hesitation, and another wave of flame shot forth towards the soldiers. Only a few could defend themselves in time, while over half a dozen others were engulfed in flame. Still more behind them were forced to raise their own defenses and halt their forward momentum.

Zilong came out of his spin, now starting to sweat and breath a little heavier. Still, without hesitation, he plunged into the ranks of the Thunderfirst, unleashing fire and steel upon whoever he encountered. These were good soldiers, to be sure, but it was not enough for Zilong. He wouldn’t be satisfied until his blade was rending the flesh of the very best they could offer.

“Where are you, you tetsubo bastard?! You gonna let me kill all your soldiers before you come out?!” Zilong yelled as he fought. “Come out! Come out so I can kill ya!”

[suki]

Suki peaked out from the edge of the tree that concealed her an she caught a glimpse of red-clad figures not too far off. The forest had thinned significantly to the point where it was practically a field not far ahead. "I think we found our target," Suki said to the others, her voice hushed to a whisper.

"Looks like some light cavalry," Hana added as she peered through the leaves of a low bush from her prone position on the ground. "And a small guard of soldiers," she clarified after from further observation.

"Too many to take on directly, Aoru concluded matter-of-factly from her position behind the tree adjacent to Suki.

"Then we'll take them in-directly," Suki decided. "Just like when the Fire Nation came to our village... They won't know what hit them." The leader of the Kyoshi warriors drummed her fingers along the bark of the tree as she considered the layout of the terrain and how best to use it to their advantage.

"Bait them into the woods?" Aoi offered as a suggestion from her crouching position behind Hana.

"Exactly," Suki replied. "I don't know how many will follow, but if two of us can pull that small contingent away from the cavalry then the rest can lie in ambush in the trees. With the element of surprise we can take out a good number of them. And if you can take down one of those lizards than even better... I'll bet their riders are officers."

"And if something goes wrong...?" Tsuya asked, almost hesitantly.

"This is war," Suki replied evenly. Her steady gaze turned toward her comrade who'd asked the question. "We can't afford things to go wrong... So make sure they don't." The words were recieved with grim nods all around. With the seriousness of their task in mind, Suki set about the task of explaining her plan to the others.

[vu]

Switching from the surrounding vegetation, collectively the Lucky EIghth began targeting the Earth Kingdom soldiers themselves as they charged. Slowly halting their bombardment as the front line of the Thunderfist Battalion's charge began to meet the charge of their comrade-in-arms of the 502nd.

Observing from such a safe distance Vu held his breath as the tides of red and green neared one ather. In front of him, his front and rear driver jockeyed with one another. Wanting to view through the driver's rectangular viewport that was actually large enough for both of them to see through. Vu, himself, was leaning through his own forward viewport. Sweat beading on his upper lip as the two lines neared.

And in spite of the war crawler's dual engines, as well as the two engines from the one directly in front of Vu's, the world hushed itself for a mere moment.

"Shhiiiiiii..." simultaneously, the three man crew exclaimed.

"Watching this never gets old," one of them admitted after the two charging armies collided. A few men from the 502nd were immediately tossed into the air by earthbenders. Men from the Thunderfist on the other hand disappeared or erupted in bouts of flame. .

"Never," Vu sighed. Leaning back into his seat. "You will never catch me out there," igniting his palms.

"Damning straight," one of the drivers commented as Vu began tossing fireballs out his gunner's viewport. Aiming towards the rear of the Earth Kingdom's charging forces.

"Ha!" The other driver chimed in. "Why else do you think I signed on for artillery?"

[boragan]

Dust kicked into the air as both armies clashed into the fight of two powerful nations. One was from the Fire Nation, an invading continent that was trying to take over for decades now. The other was the Earth Kingdom, the nation defending themselves from the invaders for decades. Neither side will back down, and this battle involved the best of both sides.

The mighty roar of warriors and soldiers could be heard for miles. Wildlife fled from the scene and the spirits watched in curiosity for the outcome.

Bora Gan watched as the crimson haze over his eyes started to develop. He watched his warriors died and kill in the Earth Kingdom's name, hoping that their death will end in victory.

"Sir," a scout shouted, "The catapults are ready sir. The flames are a lit."

"Fire! Fire into the enemy ranks. Hit the tanks if possible."

"Yes sir," the scout yelled as he informed the earthbenders.

The earthbenders did a kata for spirituality purposes, like these boulders would be the difference in the outcome. The boulders, lit ablaze with furious flame. With a signal from the artillary, they fired the boulders. High they would go into the back ranks. The smoke trails were obvious from where they originated from. As the boulders got closer, the earthbenders gestured at the boulders, commanding them to explode, and they did. As it detonated, hundreds of smaller rocks flew to the ground, hitting any tanks and soldiers in the area. The area looked literally that it was raining fire.

"That's fighting fire with fire there!" Bora shouted in glee. As he took a little time to witness the beauty of the fight, he heard a shouting. Within the raging fight, he saw what appeared to be a lone soldier of the Fire Nation, screaming for the leader of the Battalion. Bora grinned as he looked down at the soldier.

"Try to lure me into the fight huh?" Bora scoffed, "Get to me instead, if you're worthy enough to fight me."

[prodigy]

Through the thicket of jade colored leaves, splotched with the golden rod plague brought by the dry weather, and through the curtain of russet, they were nicely concealed from the raging machines ahead of them. Less than pleased that she could not witness the battle unfolding, victory at hand, the Princess of the Fire Nation scowled. Seated squarely on the basilisk lizard she rode, Azula's face was dull and oddly Mai-like. Unimpressed so far, her eyebrows were relaxed, her saffron colored eyes neither sparkling nor cunning. And her lips, painted salmon pink, were folded into a frown.
She learned forward, her hands letting the reins go for the moment, pressing her palms into the pommel of the saddle, finger tips gripping the decorative rope around the edge.

"Mai..is this what constant boredom feels like?" Azula would quip in her sarcastic tone, perhaps more of a shot to their few guard than anyone else. As if it was their fault that Her Royal Highness was bored. She lifted her chin upwards, closing her eyes for a moment to listen to the sounds of battle, those long and thick tendrils of fine bistre toned hair just brushing her pale cheeks.

There! Her eyes snapped open, as through the canopy of leaves, fireballs were shot upward. ...From the Earth Kingdom's side. The Princess scoffed, her upper lip curling in disgust at the mis-use of their revered element. "What Scum.." She muttered, "to use scacred fire." One of those fireballs would strike into the ground, shaking the earth, just mere feet infront of them. They were safe for now, though the Princess's penchant for staying close was a liabiltiy. The Basilik lizard reared up on it's hind legs, strong muscular tail whipping back and forth as it's head fought the bit. Clenching down to the saddle with her sighs, Azula pulled the reins down to her hip, leaning her body forward to regain control of the stupid beast.
Her eyes narrowed, the buff glow returning to their surface and her nose and forehead crinkled in frustration, a look she didn't exactly care for.

[zilong]

There’s a funny thing about fighting fire with fire. It tends to only make the flames worse. As the fiery rocks took flight, Captain Wenyuan took action. Calculating where the boulder was going to land, he sprinted ahead of that location, his Jian slicing through the jugular of a Thunderfist soldier as he went, and leapt high into the air. As he flew, he did a flip, extending one foot while tucking the other back, and timed it so that his foot skimmed just under the boulder’s flames as it flew overhead. Now on his descent, he brought the foot down in an axe kick, and suddenly the flames were following his lead instead of the boulders. A long trail of fire crashed down into the surprised Thunderfist before him while the boulder sailed past, but without its flames.

As it turned out, his timing could not have been more perfect, for the fire from the rear tanks was also concentrated in this area, and lastly, Zilong had just fired off a large, two fisted jet of flame. The former two attacks were placed where they were for tactical reasons, but Zilong had other motivations. As the boulders had been fired into the air, he had looked in their direction, where he finally saw what he was looking for. A large Thunderfist warrior was standing on a hill near the artillery to overlook the battle, and he was holding a tetsubo. If the coward wouldn’t come out and fight, Zilong had decided, then he would cut his way towards him, so he had taken a step back and fired off the aforementioned attack. The result of the combined bursts of fire was that it cleared a small, if fiery gap in the enemies ranks. It would not last long enough for any significant amount of Fire Nation troops to make it through, but Zilong didn’t care. Strategy was the last thing on his mind. All he wanted to do was destroy.

Immediately, Zilong charged down the gap, flames licking his armor dangerously as he charged through, and his guan dao flailing from side to side to knock aside the enemies that got in his way. Wenyuan called for him to halt, but his yelling was lost on Zilong. He was too focused on the hill. Blades nicked his armor and flesh as he charged through, but the rear off the line was not prepared for a soldier crazy enough to charge this deep into enemy lines. He wounded several soldiers and killed at least one on his way through, but his charge wasn’t about causing damage. At last, he’d broken through the formation, his armor singed and blood seeping from multiple flesh wounds across his body, surviving through a combination of luck, his own strength, and the fact that the Fire Nation formation had forced the Thunderfist line to spread somewhat thin. He did not stop yet, however. He kept charging right up that hill.

As he neared the top, he slowed down to a walk. There was only one enemy in front of him now. One soldier had tried to give chase, but a backwards stab from the weighted spike at the end of Zilong’s weapon pierced his throat just as he caught up to the large man. Panting, Zilong removed his weapon from the soldier and turned to look at the Thunderfist commander. He grinned toothily, assumed a two handed grip of his guan dao and got down into a fighting stance.

“Hope you’re as strong as you’re supposed to be,” he said with a look in his eye that seemed quite close to insanity. “Cause I’m real tired off killing all those pieces of trash you call soldiers.”

Several soldiers had started to move over to the area, shifting their gaze between their commander and the battlefield. Zilong didn’t care if they tried to interfere. That just meant more of a challenge for him. However, they seemed to be waiting for a word from their leader.

[boragan]

Bora Gan looked down at his warriors with sme concern. He knew that there will be deaths in his army. However, he didn't expect everything to happen this soon. The Fire Nation steadily gained the upper hand in the fight. Even with the rigorous training that the Thunderfist went through, the Fire Nation soldiers had a little more cunning in this opposing battalion. He looked around in concern.

"Where are the Kyoshi Warriors? We need a counterattack," Bora thought in worry.

His concern soon turned to anger as a Fire Nation soldier slowly climbed his way to the top of the hill. His last guard fell in death as the guan dao exits the wounds.

“Hope you’re as strong as you’re supposed to be,” he said with a look in his eye that seemed quite close to insanity. “Cause I’m real tired off killing all those pieces of trash you call soldiers.”

Bora looked at him in disgust. With his tetsubo in hand, he knew what he must do.

"You're right," Bora responded to ferocity, "They aren't soldiers. They are warriors. We may die, but even in death, we will still be stronger than you ever will be!"

With a stomp of his foot, a large chunk of boulder jumped into the air. As it stopped mid-range, Bora readied himself as he launched his tetsubo with his full weight into the huge boulder, exploding it into little pieces as they were hurled toward Zilong's direction.

"YOU WANT ME? FINE, BUT IT WOULD BE A COLD DAY IN HELL BEFORE YOU BEAT ME!"

His vision hazed crimson as the ferocity took over his body, a sight that was fearsome to behold, and even more fearsome to confront.

[zilong]

Not being a particularly speedy individual, there was pretty much nothing Zilong could do to avoid the shards of rock sent in his direction. Fortunately, what he lacked in speed, he made up with strength and fortitude, and so by simply covering his face with his armored forearms and crouching down defensively, he managed to avoid real damage. It was certainly an odd attack for such a large man to make, but Zilong wasn’t about to complain.

"YOU WANT ME? FINE, BUT IT WOULD BE A COLD DAY IN HELL BEFORE YOU BEAT ME!"

“Beat you? I’m gonna freakin’ annihilate ya!” Zilong yelled back as he rose to his feet.

Charging forward, Zilong raised his guan dao high above his head with both hands and swung it down as hard as he could as soon as he got within range of the Thunderfist commander. A tetsubo was a big, heavy weapon, but the guan dao had a reach advantage. Zilong was by no means a clever strategist, but pole-arm fighting technique had been drilled into his head so well that he used it almost instinctively at this point, albeit quite recklessly. However, as his weapon swung downward, he released his left hand from the weapon and pulled it back into a fist. This warrior was about to witness his lethal fighting style firsthand.

Meanwhile, the battle raged below, with no side having yet gained a clear advantage. The Thunderfist fought fiercely, and man to man, they perhaps outmatched the 502nd Infantry Division. With some help from the Lucky Eighth, however, they might not have to, or at least that was the plan…

[vu]

"Close the hatches!" Vu slammed his forward hatch shut. Seconds after the earthbender launched rocks exploded in mid-air.

"Close them now!" Exclaiming even after his two drivers had already shut them.

Seconds later. Immediately, the war crawler's front sounded with multiple pings and louders thuds as rocks struck the contraption. The attack was nothing that could seriously damage either of the six machines but they were still dangerous nonetheless if they flew inside the hatch. Even if the rocks were not on fire.

Don't attach your face to the damn hatch, quickly recalling one of his earliest training lesson from years ago taught to all crew members, bending and non-bending alike.

Back before they were using these new model war crawlers. A lesson retaught to you by veterans in the field later on. There was always the chance of forgetting that. Keeping your face so close to the hatch you had no time to fully react when the hatches were attacked. Too slow to close the hatch and too close to move your head out of the way.

Such was a case example he also began recalling. Trying to remember where exactly. Back in Zhy or Tachi Dai or some village around those parts. A few years back, back when he was still a lieutenant. They rolled into the area around fifty strong. Almost a dozen war crawlers and a small platoon of infantry at least thirty deep. No one to defend them and unwilling fight, the Earth Kingdom civilians had simply surrendered.

Save for one supremely stupid boy.

Trying to play hero the child announced himself as Wai or Wei or Way or something close to it. He dared to oppose their occupation of the village by himself. Even called them out to a fight. In a hearty mood and laugh one of his fellow lieutenants took up the child's challenge and attacked him in the war crawler.

Vu shook his head while rocks still resounded on his crawler. The kid had gotten in a lucky shot. Earthbending two spike of rocks right at the hatches. The driver was sitting back far enough to avoid it, careening the machine into the nearest building. The lieutenant in command of the machine however had his face impaled. The boy's attempted heroics were quickly put to an end by his own crew. In return they quickly impaled the with one of the grappling hooks. And this in turn led them to running over the corpse with the crawlers spiked wheels. Ripping, cutting and tearing the body off the hook in a bloody pulp. It only came later to Vu that there were cleaner methods in removing the body from the hook. But the display made a point to the civilians.

"Bring us up alongside," commanding after the sounds had of falling rocks had quieted. Slowly the forward driver opened his viewing hatched and peeked out while the other took his seat in the rear.

In one quick spurt Vu's war crawler had pulled up alongside the one in front. The side hatches for the turrets of each machine opened.

"How is everyone, lieutenant," questioning the head of the other war crawler.

"We're fine, Just enjoying the lovely weather, sir. Me? I prefer my sky clear, sir," he replied.

"This is a good reason you shouldn't trust weather diviners. Pull up alongside our boys on the flank and see how they're doing. I'll take the other flank. Get them ready to move out." Vu prepared to issue orders.

"Not sure if the 502nd will take too kindly to us charging in on them sir," his subordinate replied and then smiled. "The plan, captain?" Taking enjoyment in whatever thunder they would be stealing from their infantry comrades. They may take offense to being helped out given their pride as others have before them when it came to these new war machines. But the 502 and Lucky Eighth were fighting a battle, not some silly duel.

"We'll drive along the perimeter, single file. You take center spot. Everyone is to strafe when as they and we'll meet at the rock's rear before charging in. Clear them out and we'll wedge formation into the main force's backside. If you face any troubles give a signal and we'll just three-man wedge through their center. Now roll out!"

The lieutenant's hand rose in front of his own face to a salute before both hatches closed. The two war machines then turn in opposite direction of one another. Each driving up alongside the two war crawlers that occupied the rear of either flank.

[boragan]

Bora Gan could see the excitement in Zilong's eyes. He knew the taste of blood and the taste of battle. He wasn't no rookie soldier. He's killed before, and he would kill again. However, Bora wasn't going to go so easily. With recklessness comes weakness, and using that weakness, no matter how strong the opponent mostly wins out in the end.

He saw the point of his guan dao coming forward. It took him by surprise wwhen Zilong let go of his weapon like he did, so he knew his next move. Using his heavy armor to deflect the tip of the dao, he puts the top of the tetsubo down into the ground and with his right fist, he plunged his large right armed fist into the chest of Zilong, hoping to catch him off his breath cycle which could help him become useless upon impact.

"Where the hell are those damned Kyoshi Warriors?" Bora thought in his head worried. He knew the reputation of the Kyoshi Warriors. He just didn't expect this much of a delay in their actions. Still, he continued to be optimistic and thought of other things to help him in his fight.

“Beat you? I’m gonna freakin’ annihilate ya!” Bora thought in his head the words of Zilong.

"BRING THAT $#!+," Bora screamed to intimidate his opponent as he continued to fight.

Meanwhile, the rain of fire continued to plague the skies as both sides continued their fireball throwing. Both sides were starting to slowly thin in numbers as both sides suffered casualties from the fight. Still, both sides continued to rage on, especially the Thunderfist.

[suki]

Suki and Tsuya gave each other one final glance from their positions behind the nearest trees to the clearing where the Fire nation officers were watching the battle. They looked back, further into the woods to where the rest of the warriors laid in waiting, and then stepped out from their cover. They started off at a jog, without their swords by their sides and with their fans tucked behind their back. They were in plain sight now, and as they cleared the shade of the trees the two skidded to a stop, at which point Tsuya let out a shrill scream.

If the soldiers hadn't noticed their approach, that certainly got their attention. One of the Fire Nation officers sitting atop a komodo-rhino stared with surprise and confusion at the two girls. "Stop right there!" he shouted.

"Tsuya, Run!" Suki said, sounding distressed. The two girls back-pedalled for a moment and then broke into a run back into the woods where they came.

"Stop!" the officer yelled one more time, even going so far as to throw a burst of flame after the green-clad female warriors. He wasn't sure exactly who they were, but they were dressed like the enemy. If they were allowed to lead more troops back to their position, that could put the Princess, and therefore himself, in danger. "You four," the officer barked at the soldiers around him, "Apprehend those two... They could be scouts."

"Yes, Sir!" came the unanimous reply. The soldiers, haf benders and melee warriors, charged into the woods after the girls. Suki and Tsuya had conveniently slowed their pace just enough to allow the Fire Nation soldier to keep sight of them as they entered the more densely wooded area. Along the way Tsuya managed to snag her foot on a log and took a hard fall right as they passed a cluster of trees. Suki stopped and came back to help her, and the two limped on as the Fire Nation soldiers continued to close in.

"Stop running and your lives will be spared!" came the shout of one of the masked benders as they passed by the cluster of trees. Suki and Tsuya came to a stop, breathing heavily as they leaned against a tree for support. The firebenders kept their fists raised as the spearmen slowly approached.

"Please," Suki pleaded, "We were just passing through! We don;t know what-" The brief rustle of leaves was the only warning the firebenders had before a pair of green forms dropped out of their branches with flashes of steel. One of the soldiers was nearly cleaved down the middle with the force of a sword slicing straight down through his collarbone while the other was quick enough to side-step the initial blow. However, he seemed a bit too shocked to avoid the second assault from a third form dropping out of the trees. This Kyoshi warrior forwent the sword all together and simply landed shield-first on top of the man's head. He collapsed like a sack of hammers while the remaining spearmen turned just in time to see their comrades dispatched.

Meanwhile, a Suki and Tsuya had taken out their fans while a final Kyoshi warrior dropped drown from the tree beside them.

"AMBUSH!" cried the soldiers as the six warriors closed in from both sides. However, their cries were lost to distance and the background noise of war. Their princess would have had to be a shirshu to hear their warning.


***********************************************************************************

"The Princess is our primary target," Suki whispered to her companions shortly thereafter. The Kyoshi warriors had taken up much closer positions, though they were still a safe distance from the Fire Nation contingent. "If we can take her out, that will be a major blow the army's morale."

"What about the commander?" Aoru asked. "Even if the princess is a big symbol, taking out the guy in charge of this battle will help those Earth Benders immediately." Suki hummed slightly in thought, and after a moment of weighing the options and recieving a few hushed opionions from the others she consented to Aoru's statement.

"All right," she said, "we'll use the spears from those soldiers to try and take the commander out first. After that, we stay in formation and try to force the princess into the woods where her mount can't maneuver."

"What if more soldiers come when they see us attacking their commander?" Aoi asked. Suki thought for a moment, and then Tsuya provided an answer.

"We could use the smoke bombs Major Bora gave us."

Suki grinned. "Good idea... If we set one of those off then we should have some cover to work with on our approach. Just keep it low so it doesn't attract the Thunderfist to our aid. If we shoot these over the tree line, they might think it's a call for help. Just stay close once we're our their, and when I call for shields, for the Wall. Understood?"

A groups consensus indicated that the plan was understood by all. The Kyoshi warriors slinked their way even closer to the edge of the tree line. There, they waited for several long moment until a suitable opportunity arrose. That time came a few moments later when a blast of artillery fire landed not far off from the position of their targets. As the commander lifted a hand to shield his eyes from the light and debris, Suki and Hana stepped forward from the treeline and let their spears fly. At the same instant, Aoru pulled the cord of her smoke rocket to ignite the fuse. The spears flew toward the commander as he sat atop his komodo-rhino and reached the peak of their flight just as the fuse ignited the powder of the rocket. It shot out of Aoru's hands and hit the ground in the middle of the clearing, almost instantly filling the area with a cloud of thick grey smoke.

Suki lost sight of the commander as the cloud obstructed her vision, but she and the other Kyoshi warriors charged forward with shields unfurled and swords drawn to ensure their kill.

[zilong]

Zilong was unsurprised that Bora Gan had managed to allow only a glancing blow, and in no way would he let it slow him down. If this man thought that avoiding one blow and yelling a lot was going to intimidate Zilong, then he had another thing coming. You see, while recklessness could be a weakness, it was also a strength in that it made Zilong a little hard to predict. For example, one might have expected him to block or avoid the fist flying at his Chest, but Zilong made no such attempt. Instead, he let flames curl around his fist and stepped into the blow (hence causing it to miss its intended target) while throwing a fiery punch under Bora Gan’s own attack towards the large earthbender’s abdomen. Just as the man’s fist collided with his left breastplate, Zilong’s own attack released a large burst of flame point blank at his opponent’s stomach. Apparently, he was willing to trade blows until one of them dropped, even with a man that was actually around his own size.

The blow sent Zilong stumbling backwards a few steps, a feat that not many had managed to accomplish considering his size and strength, and it dented his armor a little, but he remained largely uninjured. Bringing his guan dao back up into a two handed grip and resuming his fighting stance, Zilong looked for the result of his attack with wolfish glee...