Luke

Over the years, I had heard hundreds of stories about the Rough Rhinos.

Never once had they been the same.

In the slums of Citadel, they were a myth, a name to be thrown around akin to the grim reaper, a warning, a threat, however one pleased to use it. Nobody believed them to be real, now that I thought about it. The name, however, had been spoken enough that it had taken a power in itself even if nobody knew from where that power came.

In the inner city, they were the stuff of legend, heroes. Younger children carried around toys of them as they walked, made them fight miniature versions of one another or Earth Kingdom soldiers in elaborately arranged displays of juvenile imagination. It was Yeh-Lu, I believe, that I saw most in action figure format, something about the menacing helm he bore never ceasing to inspire awe in the hearts and minds of young Fire Nation children.

In the army, they were detested. Rogues, vagabonds, little more than raiders. I believe the common referral to them was that they were "sons of bitches, but they're our sons of bitches."

As of late, however, they were not myth. They were not legend. They were not even detested. They were feared. If there was a town that had gone off the radar, a caravan that had met a grizzly end, a pile of bodies that now lay where civilization once had, it was commonly believed that the Rhinos were associated one way or another.

We'd been in their wake for the last few weeks, seeing the scars on the Earth they left behind, praying our paths didn't meet, praying that we wouldn't need to verify the existence of these objects of myth, legend, hatred, or fear.

And now, they were right before us.

If we hadn't seen them, we definitely had heard them-the 3 horn blare announcing their presence to the dismal assortment of desperate survivors that still inhabited the Xiahu military base.

From where we were, it was only shadows we could observe atop that hill, but we knew. A smaller unit than a Fire Nation cavalry unit, a bigger one than a scouting party. They were none of the above. They were the real deal. And they were heading directly towards us.

None of us could bear to utter a word. It was dead silent. Our artillery had ceased firing, as had the Fire Nations' apparently as they paved the way for their true force to charge directly into us.

The first words that broke the silence were those that were spoken directly to me, Zare's words just barely audible above a whisper. "We need to run."

"It's-"

"We need to go. Now."

I allowed myself to be deceived for the briefest of moments as Cholla ordered men to the walls, armed with bows and shards of Earth alike. The wall will hold them. The soldiers will hold them. They have to.

The soldiers were atop the wall, ready to face the threat storming down the hill, torches attached to their beasts lighting the way. This wasn't about stealth. This was about fear. And I'd been foolish enough to let that fear for the brief moment that they disappeared behind the wall, and the Earth Kingdom soldiers, possessing only one singular purpose opened fire. I actually let myself believe, for a single second, that everything would work out.

But the second after that, assisted by Zare's words, they reminded me of the truth. No. Those men. They will be dead within seconds.

And sure enough, only a second later, the Rhinos were atop the wall. 3 of them. One on each flank and one in the center, guiding the way.

There had been at least 20 Earth Kingdom soldiers atop the wall, and not 10 seconds later, they had all been cut or burned through. Only a second after that, a ball of fire erupted where the wall had been, and out of the smoke came pouring 6 more Komodo rhinos, 3 bearing rhinos, the rest empty for but a moment longer until their masters leaped from atop the wall back onto their beasts of burden, charging straight towards us, splitting into 3 routes. They were going to surround us.

I shook my head. Just like that? It was going to be over just like that.

"Soldiers are landing on the beach!" came a voice from atop the wall.

"Adjust the gun to fire on the beachhead now!"

The gun, however, was unmanned. The corpses of the men lay at the foot of the gun, one of whom found himself split at the midsection, entrails painting the dirt beneath him a deep crimson, reflecting the glare of the fires that raged around the fortress. At his side was his companion, face beat to a pulp, myself struggling to make out just which way his head would be facing were it still in one piece. Above the dead crews' mutilated corpses, one of the Rough Rhinos stood tall, a weapon that was half warhammer and half axe gripped tightly in his hands, bearing the fresh blood of its last prey. He was staring at us, sizing up his next targets, his eyes a vivid yellow, or perhaps that was just the mirror-image of the fire that now dominated our surroundings, but they were bloodthirsty one way or another, the dominating feature on his hardened face.

We were surrounded. The wall was breached. The gun was lost. The only option was clear. And what an option it was.

"Get to the ships!" Cholla declared. "Now, Damnit!"

"No!" Hanief retorted, further away from the crowd, his entourage already in tow in the midst of his own privatized retreat. "Hold the line, Captain! We cannot let-"

Where his neck had been, completely untouched, him just so, now spurt out a pool of blood as a rider came past, a bloodied guandao at his side, turning in time to see his quarry fall to his knees, his entourage already dead, killed by the trampling of the rhino, not even given the dignity to die by a blade rather than by a ravenous beast.

Hanief stood there a while longer, the shock in his eyes indicating that he still did not understand what had just transpired. He learned soon enough however when he brought his hand up to his neck, returning it to his line of sight, soaked in blood, the sudden realization in his eyes the last expression he would make before collapsing to his knees, and promptly completely to the ground where his life would pain the field as long as he still had any blood left to give.

The Rough Rhino nodded, satisfied to himself as he lifted his head away from his quarry, and towards us. He was bald, but possessed a thick brown beard that he wore as a braid. He was standing between us and the armory, the direction in which Hanief had attempted to flee.

He's dead. The commander is dead. The chain of command-

It was obvious to everyone who had seen the man cut down before them. "All men!" Cholla yelled now again, unopposed. "Retreat to the ships!"

There was no argument to be had. 'Retreat' was the word at the top of every man's mind at this point in time anyway. Who in the right mind would dare argue?

But Zek, and Ka'lira. They were still back there, cut off from us.

I felt a hand grab at my wrist, finding it to be Gordez, tugging me along towards the direction the others were fleeing in. "Come on!" he yelled.

"Save yourself first! We have to go!"

A barricade of Earth was bent between us and the two Rough Rhinos, granting us the luxury of a few seconds to begin our retreat. The effort was destined to only disturb them rather than stop them. They were around in no time, Cholla wasting not a second to order a contingent of his men to stay behind and buy us time.

I only had to turn but a few seconds later to find them in the midst of cutting down the soldiers. There was no effort from it. It was a game to them, and they were enjoying ourselves, but it was buying us time, time to go around between the wall and the barracks along the path that led to the docks.

The ships were there, 2 to be exact, by some miracle having not yet been fired upon. I suppose we had the mist to thank for that, shrouding them in contrast to the rest of the seaside fortress.

The soldiers were being loaded aboard at Cholla's request. Only aboard one by the looks of it. Cholla was putting all of his eggs in one basket. Did he plan on using the other as a decoy?

Zek still isn't here.

"Gordez," I pleaded, turning to him where he was by my side. I tore off my mask, the gas in the air gone by now, daring him to look me in the eyes while forbidding me to go back for our friends. Our family.

"Get on!" he demanded, I would say unphased, but no part of him was happy about his order.

"Not without the Zek and Ka'lira!"

"I'll find them!" he answered.

"Like hell are you going alone!"

"Luke!"

"Gordez!" It wasn't my voice that called out, nor was it Zare, or sadly Zek or Ka'lira. Rather it was Cholla. "I need you on the gun aboard the ship."

"No can do!" Gordez simply yelled back before turning his attention back to me.

"Gordez!" Cholla called back at him, but my old friend paid him no mind.

"I'll get them back, Luke."

"They need you on the gun," I retorted. "None of us are getting out of here if you don't."

"Luke!"

"Do you trust me."

He hesitated. I suppose I had to take that as a compliment. It would have been easier for him to say no, to just turn me down right there and then, but he knew this had to be done, and he knew where he was needed.

I didn't have time to wait for an answer. "I'll get them back." I had to. "I promise."

Gordez closed his eyes. He knew he couldn't argue. If he didn't do what he had to, we would all meet out ends here. He nodded. "Go. And get the hell back here. We're about to leave. I'll have Cholla hold the ship as long as I can."

I nodded and turned to leave. The rush the soldiers were in, I knew the time I had to fetch my friends wouldn't be long. "I'm coming too!" came Zare's voice from behind me. I didn't have time to argue before she was already hot on my heels. It would have taken long to dismiss her than to simply accept her company anyway, and so the two of us found ourselves dashing straight back into hell.

"The armory!" I called behind me to Zare. "Only place they can be!"

Not all Earth Kingdom soldiers had been able to rally under Cholla's orders. A good many, deemed not worth the time and manpower to go back and recover, now fought for their lives in a field flooding with Fire Nation personnel, proper infantry having already destroyed the rear gate and now flooding in.

Zare pulled me aside, out of the way of the path we had taken in, instead directing me towards the stairway that would lead up atop the walls. I didn't disagree. It was certainly the far safer alternative, though it wouldn't last. We'd be more than visible, and it would only be a matter of time before we started taking incoming fire.

We made the most of the situation as we could, however. We sprinted atop the walls while, to our right, 3 Fire Nation battlecruisers still sat perfectly still, facing the crumbling fortress, one more well-placed barrage guaranteed to reduce everything to rubble, and below us, to our left, meager Earth Kingdom infantry was being torn apart, be it by the far better organized Fire Nation army or the ravenous Rough Rhinos, me turning just in time to watch as a chunk of one soldier's face was torn off by a well-placed swing of a meteor hammer wielded by a man of dark complexion and bearing the traditional garb of an engineer.

I avoided thinking on just who the hell these Rhinos were as we continued sprinting along the top of the wall.

Scattered cries indicated we'd been spotted, and it wasn't long until arrows and bolts of fire began being thrown our way. We were lucky enough to have always sprinted the majority of the wall's length, now descending behind the stone structure of the armory that hostile soldiers would be rounding at any moment.

Raava, please have there be a back entrance.

We turned a corner of the building, sure enough finding a maintenance entrance, but right beside it, 2 Fire Nation soldiers who had just turned the corner as well.

It was hard to tell who had been more prepared, me or them, but our blades-my shortsword and one of their own clashed with an ear-shattering clang of steel. I drew back, pushing away from our lock just in time to avoid the thrust of the spear of the second. Both men now turned to face me, a poor decision on their part as one suddenly recoiled in pain to find Zare's dagger lodged into the small of his back.

The assault on his ally captured the attention of the swordsman, providing me the opening to bring my sword into a slice along his leg, cutting between the armor plates, sending him to the ground with a scar and embarrassing story to write home about.

The second whom Zare had stabbed was still reaching behind himself to dislodge the object from his back. He was unable to react before the hilt of my sword collided with the side of his face in a bloody squelch, exiling him to a state of unconsciousness in an instant.

I looked down at the bodies. They'll live.

"Watch out!" Came Zare's voice from my side. I turned to see another Fire Nation soldier, no, a Firebender emerge from the corner, ethereal weapon in hand, ready to strike before he suddenly collapsed to a knee, the flame dissipating in his hand. Zare rushed forward, treating her bow now as a bludgeoning weapon, sending it smashing along the man's helmet, sending him to the ground, rendered unconscious by the blow. He was mid-descent as Zare, in couth fashion, effortlessly removed the arrow from his knee, returning it to her quiver, turning back now to face me.

Without effort.

Her mask now removed, I had the privilege of seeing her green eyes, partially hidden by the disheveled auburn bun she wore, her face, where it may have been fear and guilt before at having shown her hand, now showed only grim acceptance. There was no time to hold back.

I nodded. We can deal with this later.

I tried the door that left inside, finding it locked, and took a step back before charging it with a foot immediately directed towards the lock, successful in snapping it and sending the door flinging aside.

Zare shut it closed behind us, but the hinges were already snapped. It wouldn't shut, but it was better than nothing, possibly able to elude the unobservant soldier for a few vital moments.

"Where were your quarters?!" I yelled between breaths, knowing they had been set up in an abandoned storeroom in the armory.

She was still familiarizing herself with this entryway, clearly not having entered or left via the back entrance before, but she adjusted quickly, stating, "Down that hall at the right I think!"

There was no time to question her judgement call, and so I followed down the abandoned corridor, past the bodies of Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation soldiers alike.

Please be alive, Zek, Ka'lira. Both of you, please be alive.

"Right again!" Zare called out, now taking the lead, and I followed, sword in hand, ready to rush ahead of her if the need arose.

My heart jumped at the sight of him there. Zek was standing in the hallway, uninjured by the look of him. Where's Ka'lira?

"Zek! What the hell are you doing?!"

He turned his head towards me. "Luke?" he asked, half-dazed by the sound and sight of him.

"Where's Ka'lira?!"

"She's-she's inside," he turned his head towards the door that I assumed to be her and Zare's quarters. "She won't come out!"

What the hell? I made no effort to hide the scowl that rose to my face. There wasn't any time for this. Every second we wasted here was putting us all at risk, damnit!

I shoved past Zek making my way to her door despite his attempts to warn me otherwise. I wouldn't have them. I slammed my fist on the door hard enough that I could feel it splintering where my hand collided, the outcome of shoddy craftsmanship.

Ka'lira!" I yelled out. "We have to go. Now!"

There was a silence. "Just go!" she called out.

"The Fire Nation is here, damnit! They're going to kill us all!"

"Then get out of here! Leave me here!"

What the hell? I pounded on the door again. "Damnit, Ka'lira. Get the hell out of there. We have to go!" I turned to Zek. "Get her the fuck out of there!"

"I tried!"

Zare was at the door now, nudging me aside, and she knocked, softer than either of us had. "Ka'lira?" she asked out. "You there?"

"Zare?" the woman's voice came back. "You shouldn't be here, you shouldn't."

"Please. Just open the door. I need to see you're okay."

Another silence followed, just quiet enough for me to hear movement within the building. We're running out of time.

There was a click from the door, and the knob turned, the door opening ever so slightly for Ka'lira to reveal herself. It was enough. In a feat that neither Zek nor I had been expecting, Zare flung the door away from the exhausted-seeming Ka'lira and gripped her by the collar of her shirt with the other, yanking her outside.

"No!" the woman yelped while Zare ordered either me or Zek to grab her.

I was closer, and so it fell on me to do so despite the woman's thrashing and yelling at us to stop. If the Fire Nation didn't know where we were before, the sure as hell did now. "Come on!" ordered Zare, heading out in front of us. "There's another exit this way, I think."

I followed along, maintain a grip on Ka'lira as her thrashing died down, replaced with her nearly going limp, forced to drag her along, Zek stumbling along behind. What the fuck is going on?! I wondered to myself, asking just what the hell it was between these two that had nearly gotten us killed.

Voices were nearing behind us. I don't know if we'd turned the corner into a separate hallway quickly enough to evade their line of sight, but the voices were drawing all the closer.

I saw the exit Zare spoke of, still closed. If my orientation was correct, it would be on the building's South side, not directly facing the battlefield, but certainly in line of sight. Exit from this way, the only worse suicide would be the main entrance. We wouldn't make it like this. Not when their attention would be on all sides of the building.

"Wait!" I called out quietly enough to only be heard by our assortment of runaway as Zare's hand drifted to the knob. "They'll see us leaving. We won't get anywhere going that way."

"Well, we can't turn back! We'll have to take our chances."

I knew what I'd have to do. Whether I'd get out alive, that was something else, but it was the only way as far as I could see that we wouldn't all die here.

"No," I countered, letting go of my grip on Ka'lira. She managed to retain her own footing luckily enough, but still seemed completely out of it. "Get yourselves to the ship. I'll distract them."

"Like hell you will!" countered Zare.

"They'll slaughter you!" Zek chimed in, suddenly brought back to life by the seeming realization of everything around him.

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve." The comment, as I expected, fell on Zare's deaf ears, but Zek understood well enough. He submitted, the act of doing so seemingly disgusting Zare who was now appalled by him giving up on fighting so soon. He wasn't giving up. He knew. If anyone had a chance of doing this alone, it was me. "Wait two minutes, then go!"

"What happens in 2 minutes!?" Zare asked, still confused about everything around her.

"You run!" I responded, having no time to spare, already turning around to leave. The voices were drawing closer to the corner. I couldn't be on this side when everything went down. There was nothing more to say despite the muffled voices behind me as I rushed forward, praying I could turn the corner before they emerged. The footsteps were close, the voices had stopped, they knew they were near.

We'd be face to face the moment I turned that corner.

And so, charging forward as fast as I could, I did turn that corner first, and came face to face with them. They hadn't been ready. They hadn't expected this—a suicide charge. And they certainly didn't expect the blast of fire that emerged from my hands.

Those in the hallway, be it by the blast or desperation to get out of the line of fire, scattered to either side of the hallway as I dove through, conjuring a ring of fire in my wake, sprinting beyond those had been present, now finding themselves either warding off the flames consuming them or struggling to rise.

It won't kill them. I was merely attempting to draw their attention. And at that, I had succeeded. They had forgotten all about their original target. Their eyes were on me now, the limited number of them to rise already in the midst of pursuing me.

The rest of the hallway was empty as I sprinted through the stone confines. I need to get outside. Need to draw the attention of the rest.

Then what?

One thing at a time.

I returned to the intersection of hallway that Zare had guided me through before, now turning right to take the straight path that would take me into the armor and the main entrance.

2 Fire Nation soldiers, unaware of what was transpiring, encountered me there, simply guarding the door. I had no doubt that they had not expected me in the slightest, and so it was a simple matter to down the two of them with a single arc of fire that knocked both to the ground.

I found myself panting once I was back into a fighting stance. I was rusty. I hadn't practiced in too long. Shades of blue no longer danced in my flames. And as rusty as I may have felt, there was more to it than that. There was control, life flowing through me, it felt good.

And it was a good thing it did. I was outside the main door, and as I expected, they were waiting.

Infantry, archers, benders, and 2 rhinos.

Fuck.

I only had time to notice one of the Rhinos, a man with a traditional Fire Nation topknot, an ornate beard, and 2 ear piercing before an arrow seared along my left shoulder, only not penetrating my heart by my last-minute noticing of it.

The shot had been intended to kill, I realized as I looked ahead of me at the army of soldiers ahead.

I noticed the second Rhino, a Yuyan archer by the look of him, explaining the expert shot. The infantry had their weapons raised, the archers were nocking arrows, the firebenders preparing blasts aimed directly towards me, and I considered, in those vital half seconds, my options. I could dash to the wall, retreat back inside, but those would lead the enemy to the others. I could charge ahead, but I'd die before I could buy any proper time. Then there was the pantry to my right. Cover. Minimal, but still cover. From there, well, I'd worry about that if I got there.

I had one trick up my sleeve for them, and it was one that the soldiers within the armory knew of, but the assortment out here was still unaware of. I took the chance while I still had it.

I bent a wave of fire, letting it dance across the ground in grow in size as it dashed towards the firing squad ahead of me. Soldiers reared, archers lowered their arrows, but the Rhinos remained unphased, a blast of firing heading directly towards me in conjunction with an arrow that both narrowly missed me, landing in the selfsame spot that I'd stood in half a second ago.

I dashed to the wooden pantry, sliding behind cover, lowering to a ground just in time for the top half to be reduced to flying splinters lit ablaze.

The spectacle was cause enough to move again, a destination still unknown to me as I emerged from cover and shot a blast of fire directly towards the Yuyan archer, knowing it was him I needed to concern myself with most. I could deflect fire. Arrows, now so much.

I realized then I had been overconfident about my ability to handle the man's flames as the first of which, despite my effort to ward it away from me, sent me to the ground in a roll as I struggled to regain my footing.

The stables!

I dashed forward, kicking another blast of fire towards the pair, preventing them from firing their next volley as I fled behind the stable. A horn blared. The others were coming.

It took only a second for me to turn and see that the stable was already ablaze, the animals within realizing their predicament and erupting in horrified screams as some were consumed by the flames and others yelped in preparation of their fate.

They hadn't been released.

I threw myself into the burning stable, intent on not hanging behind. I didn't enter out of intent to free the animals, or rather, I did, but not for something as simplistic as it being the 'right thing' to do. I unsheathed Danev's dagger, cutting through the ropes tethering the animals as I stalked through the burning stable, warding the flames around me.

As I proceeded through, animals fled, now freed, some already ablaze, and while I felt pity for the poor creatures, such was not my concern. I needed the distraction. I could see as the animals fled the stable, scattering in every which way.

That'll- My thoughts were interrupted by the sudden shadow that rose on the support beam ahead of me. A shadow that wasn't mine. Oh shit.

I ducked, and the support beam ceased to exist as it was cleanly cut through above me, flaming splinters falling atop me and to the ground as I turned to see the axeman there, a dark black beard littered in embers standing out the most to me as he stood above me. I stumbled back, just barely avoiding the falling hammer end of his weapon as it crashed to the ground.

I just barely regained my footing as his hand found my back, a massive fist clenching me there. His grip, while strong, was insecure, granting me still enough movement to twist and turn, a directed kick sending an arc of fire into his arm. Rather than simply dropping me as I'd hoped, he practically tossed me as though I weighed little more than a hand weight, sending me flying through a flaming wall into the second half of the stable where more animals still waited for their turn at freedom. No time.

I stumbled through the stable, knife in hand, turning behind me to see as the man stepped through the hole he had made in the wall by throwing me, stepping through the flames as though they were nothing.

Who the hell are these people?

He was already directly behind me before I could think otherwise, and in an act of desperation, I cut through the harness of yet another ostrich horse, sending it loose directly behind me.

The poor beast was practically cut in half then by the swing of the axe that had been meant for me. In a fashion that, while grizzly, was helpful to me, the blade of the axe lodged itself in the ribcage of the animal, giving me the opportunity to truly regain my balance and flee, sending another kick of fire towards the man, turning before I could see the fruits of my labor as the stable was collapsing around me.

Please kill him, please kill him!

The world outside of the stable was hardly an improvement. Soldiers were flocking to intercept me, and I could already see the shadow of two more approaching Rhinos.

Their attention is certainly on me, at least.

The primary building of the fortress was near, the way there offered cover by tenement housing aimed at providing shelter for passing caravans and for servants. At this moment, though, they had no other purpose than to shield me from flying arrows and blasts of fire that soon began alighting the world around me once again.

Fire Nation soldiers moved through the alleys between the simple wooden shacks to intercept me, one receiving a knife in his knee, the other being sent to the ground with a fiery fist to his chest, myself fleeing all the while, not turning back to check on them, wanting to think I hadn't killed them.

I was nearly at the barracks now, fleeing towards the same door Zare and I had emerged from not long ago. So close.

I felt a searing pain rise from my back of my right calf, midway between my knee and foot. I already knew I'd been shot, but dared not investigating, using all adrenaline I had to push myself further, regardless of the appearance of the man I knew to be Yeh-Lu, the gleam of the fire reflecting blindingly off of that crimson helm that was the eye candy of so many a young boy.

I only had time to notice the ignition of two of his trademarked grenades before I dived into the barracks, landing at such an angle that forced the arrow deeper into my leg. Damnit!

I rose, seeing as how I was immediately in front of a wide-open entryway and immediately raced to shut the doors, barely managing to do so and bar it before the approaching horde of infantry reached it. Try fitting your rhinos in here, fuckers!

I took the brief second of respite to lean over and snap the rear end of the arrow off, not deigning to remove it as such would take too long and only get the blood flowing.

It was well enough I didn't take my time as the door was already being blown apart by blasts of fire, a helmeted Firebender revealing himself just beyond the door, casus belli enough for me to fire a ball of flame towards him and the door, shattering the rest, I was sure, and hopefully temporarily dispatching him along with it.

I fled down the halls I'd traversed through with Zare what had likely only been minutes ago, but had felt like hours. The bodies still lay there, just as dead as they'd been when last I checked. The foots were rising behind me, and a moment's glance allowed me to see the assortment of soldiers hot on my tails, the same engineer-looking Rhino from earlier leading them.

Damnit!

I turned, tossing a firebomb towards the cluster of soldiers, only effective in warding off the soldiers who were thrown aside by the blast, but doing little to stop the Rhino and the reserve force of Firebenders who followed behind him. He was using the infantry as a meat shield to protect the firebenders.

I grimaced but kept on running, praying there was another exit somewhere, anywhere, but before I knew it, I was back at the entrance of the barracks.

I'd gained some distance on my pursuers, but only minimally. They were close behind, I knew that much, and I was trapped in the barracks.

No. I shook my head. I'd bought enough time, sure, but still, I didn't want to die here.

I heard them behind me. They'd reached the rubble and were working their way past it.

Damnit!

I turned to fire a second firebomb at the soldiers, seemingly only firebenders passing through, the Rhino likely not intent on letting himself be the first to take the blow.

And effective it was as the first firebender to try and pass through met nearly the full brunt of my attack, sending him barreling against the rubble, thankful, I was sure, for his armor that would likely save his life, but just barely.

I could only hold my own for so long. They knew this much, and a second wave was passing through, one I just barely deterred with a stream of fire that forced them back through to the other side.

I looked around me, trusting the flames to only deter the passing soldiers for a few seconds longer. The bodies of dead Earth Kingdom soldiers littered the floor, myself recognizing some of the faces that I'd seen just earlier this night as they'd choked on their last breaths around me, remembering as they did all they could-ran, begged, screamed, climbed-climbed!

I looked up to the window, remembering the soldiers who had attempted to escape through there only to find it yet another entry point for the gas. Such was no longer an issue, however. I turned back to the rubble. The Rhino was done playing. He was emerging through along with 2 other firebenders.

I turned to face the window, taking a few steps back. I knew what I had to do. I knew it was possible. I had never tried it, I had never seen it done, but I knew the basic principle. I just needed enough power to propel me upwards.

A burst of fire singed my right arm as it narrowly went beyond me.

Now or never.

I took one last step back and rushed forward, the clattering of the moon hammer behind me providing that extra bit of adrenaline needed to make that jump and force all parts of me-hands, feet, arms, leg, mind, heart, and most importantly, breath, to dedicate themselves to this move.

I felt the fire leave me, the heat unmistakable, and felt no ground return to meet me. I was in the air, mid-jump. The propulsion of the blast, much like how I'd used it to slow my falls before, now lifted me into the air, towards the window.

I was going to come short. No. I reached forward, just barely catching the edge with my right hand. I gasped in surprise. Don't celebrate too soon. You're not up yet.

I turned my head to see the Fire Nation soldiers still below me. I pivoted my torso to afford my left arm a shot at them. I went wide, but was enough to discourage them from carrying out their shots as they ducked to avoid the blast.

The Rhino was less deterred, and despite not being a firebender, he seemed the most capable of stopping me here. He bounded towards me, leaped atop a table, using it to rise to the top bunk of a bed, providing him a worrying height from which he could jump at me from, and so he did, moon hammer in hand, already mid throw.

If it struck me, I knew there would be no way to maintain my grip.

It was a moment's decision, but it was all I had. Using my left hand, I desperately unsheathed the shortsword from my side and threw it towards the Rhino. It did not strike him, no, but it did what it had to do, intercepting his weapon, knocking it aside, myself just barely able to, out of the corner of my eye, catch the sight of him landing on the ground, empty-handed without his quarry, a glare painting his eyes.

I was sure he was readying another throw, but it mattered little to me. I had brought my left arm to the windowsill and lifted myself to get above and over, already dropping to the other side of the building near the wall.

No enemies awaited me below. I turned to my right, seeing the same path that led towards the ships. I wasted no time, knowing the alert would be raised that I was out, and sure enough, a horn blared.

Please be back already, I prayed to nobody in particular. Zek, Ka'lira, Zare, please have made it.

I was sprinting as fast as I could. There were yells behind me. I ignored them. The alley was too narrow for the rhinos to pass through. They'd have to circle the entire building first, but judging by the sound of it, they weren't far off.

The dock was in sight. The right ship was already departing, nearly out of the wharf. The decoy.

The right itself was already in motion, steam emitting from the funnels. It was unmoored, already in the process of heading away. No. I didn't slow. Every fiber of my being went into running ahead regardless of the weight on my back, the arrow in my leg, and I put everything, every hope I had of living into putting one foot in front of the last.

Soldiers were present at the open hatches of the ship, level with the dock as it moved away. I can make it. I can make it.

I sprinted forward, spurred by their yells, their cheers, and I saw them standing there as well, Zek and Zare. They made it. And perhaps that's what it had been that gave me the extra strength I needed.

My foot came in contact with the wood of the dock, and I didn't stop. The open door was about to leave the side of the dock. Come on!

The ship was still moving, gaining speed at that. Come on! I ran, the hatch was now beyond the extent of the dock, but I didn't stop. I still just ran. I can make it. I have to make it.

I was running out of dock to run on. I put everything I had into those next few bounds, and felt my foot reach the end of the platform, putting everything into launching myself off, arms outstretched, coming in contact with the surface of the ship, sliding down, doomed to fall, until a hand clutched my wrist.

I looked up, damn near ready to have puked out my heart, and met the face of Zek and Zare, both of them reaching out to aid me inside, myself gladly accepting their aid as they pulled me up into the vessel as arrows and blasts of fire began landing around me, the other soldiers hurriedly clearing the way, giving space for me to stumble inside as quickly as possible.

The moment my feet touched the wooden floor beneath, I collapsed to the ground, barely saved from colliding with the floor by the combined effort of Zek and Zare alike.

"Close the hatch, close the hatch!" I could hear a soldier calling, followed by the metallic creaking of the hatches closing, only left open for my hopeless return. But I'd made it, I chuckled. I did it.

I let my eyes open to be met by the faces of Zare and Zek above me, struggling to my feet, assisted by the two. The ship was still alive with activity, soldiers shuffling all about the decks.

"Holy shit," I heard Zare exclaim to my side. "How the hell-"

"I told you," I chuckled. "Got a few tricks up my sleeves."

I looked around. It was only the two of them. Where is she?

"Ka'lira?" I asked.

"She's fine," answered Zek. "She made it.

I nodded. Thank Raava.

"Get me up to the main deck. They might need our help."

"What you need is to sit down," retorted Zare. "You're beat the hell up."

"Get me up there," I demanded, and I guess the two figured there was no use in saying 'no'. The two helped guide me up the stairs onto the main deck that was alive with activity, and so I could see why. This was far from over.

The decoy ship was in front of us, headed on a straight course.

It would leave the mist first. It would take the first volley from the Fire Navy ships and go down. I shook my head. No. No, it won't do. It'll only buy us a few seconds. If they pursue us, and they will, we'll go down all the same.

"It's not going to work," I muttered, watching the ship ahead of us as it travelled ahead, now out of the wharf. "They'll know it's a decoy if it just heads on a straight course."

The other two was silent, and I wondered why until I understood. The ship steered right, further into the Nip, towards the direction I had expected us to go. It's not unmanned.

Sure enough, the Fire Navy had been waiting ahead of the wharf, just barely visible beyond the mist as they turned to gain a line of fire on the distraction. Who the hell is piloting it?

The Fire Navy ships were in position we could now see as we drew ever closer, and in conjunction with the boom of the Fire Nation guns and catapults firing, our own vessel made a hard left. Left? Closer to the blockade? No, it made sense. The Earth Kingdom had one last coastal holding. After that, there was nothing. It was our last shot.

The shots rang out, and the attention of all survivors aboard the ship turned to witness what transpired as the decoy ship was hit full force. The first volley had only been launched by a single Fire Navy ship, but it had been enough to set the ship ablaze, destroying nearly the entire deck, puncturing the hull, already sending the ship headfirst into the sea before the next volley completely tore it apart. The ironclad vessel could take no more and it collapsed at the midpoint, splitting in half and listing to the side until completely capsizing, a flaming wreck cut completely in half, gone, having done its job, having taken the beating that should have been reserved for us.

Us, on the other hand, I suppose the Fire Navy had not expected us to turn left. I suppose they had simply missed us as we were not pursued. We all held our breaths, waiting for a volley from another Fire Nation cruiser, but it never came. We set out through the night's mist, untouched, more lucky than we would ever know.

I learned later from Gordez that just a normal soldier had volunteered to give us the distraction we needed. Nobody special, I learned, just a volunteer from Heigou. Heigou, of all places. He had lost his home, lost everything of his old life, and now, he had given his life for his only other home, his only other family. His name was Baihang, and he was one of the 237 Earth Kingdom soldiers who had died in that single night.

There were only 298 of us left, and we sailed through the night only a fraction of the force we had been just an hour ago.

We had barely escaped with our lives. Just how? I still couldn't really comprehend. Only that we had.

We made it, I realized. Somehow, we had all gotten out alive. Me, Gordez, Zek, Ka'lira, and Zare. We had gotten lucky. Even as my wounds were tended to, the arrow removed from my leg, my other cuts disinfected, and gauze applied to my burns, I had no doubt that I had been one of the lucky ones. I survived an encounter that not many could boast to have seen the end of. And the people I cared about, we all lived too. Why had we been so lucky where nobody else had been?

I shook the thought aside. There was no use in dwelling on the past, but there was in dwelling on the future, and I wondered to myself just what the odds were that we would get so lucky a second time.