Boss

The firebenders immediately raised their arms to us upon the sight of our approach, ready to fire at a moment's notice.

"Woah! Woah!" Called out one of the Fire Nation soldiers who had escorted us here called out with his arms outstretched. "They're with us!"

"Fuck you mean they're with us!" one of the soldiers called out. "It's them who are doing this shit, burning down our entire damned town!"

"Not these! They want to help! They're helping get the civilians out of there!"

He motioned then behind himself to the convoy of civilians we had endeavored to escort across Shibi to the capital building now. Many had been lost along the way, but if it hadn't been for Kiu's leadership, and the efforts of the benders, I had no doubt far more if not all would have been lost.

"Please," spoke up Kiu. "We can settle this afterwards, but right now, we have a common cause to protect the people here, and you need everyone you can get."

"And who the hell are you!" yelled the other firebending soldier, a woman at that, myself needing to work past the culture shock of being in the presence once again of a nation that valued the martial strength of its sons as well as its daughter.

Yet Kiu stood there then as he now displayed a renewed inner strength and courage.

"I'm Kiu. Leader of the Nip Sea Separatists, and we're here to help. However we can."

Behind the skull face mask, I could hardly see what the firebenders were demonstrating through their faces as Kiu spoke those words. Would I be so trusting either? I considered. In their shoes, it was a 50/50 chance, half saying we were there to help, the other that we were only there to stab them in the backs. The presence of their comrade with us was no guarantee either. He could have been at knife point for all anyone knew, and so the decision was one that took considering, but, in time, the first firebender lowered his arms, prompting his female companion to do the same. "Get 'em inside. Now! More are coming!"

That they were. We had practically led them here as they'd pursued us from a distance. We'd picked up quite the entourage, Earth Kingdom, Separatist, and even the occasional Revanchist, as we'd barged through half of Shibi with our caravan to make our way here.

Though quite a caravan it was. In our company were at least 3 dozen fighters with around two hundred civilians following behind. The smallest of fractions compared to those we couldn't save, those left behind.

Shibi was only descending deeper into chaos by the minute. If it wasn't bad enough as it was, then there was the loss of the fuel refinery that had only further kindled the fires of this already desolate town.

I had been there just under an hour ago, I realized, suddenly thankful for the choice I had made, that thankfulness immediately replaced, however, by the remembrance of those who had stayed.

I tried, I attempted to convince myself. I tried to get them to come with me.

Back at the housing complex, the idea of a safe haven to set up had been little more than a pipe dream strum up in the heat of the moment, but as we had come closer, fending off against a city occupied by murders intent on letting none of Shibi's inhabitants survive, seeing then the building that still stood tall, untouched by both artillery and fire, we knew there was some semblance of a chance.

And so that sense was reinforced as we were ushered inside, Chief Karnook hastily escorting the ten score civilians into the building as the threat neared once more, and very quickly, those we had travelled with found themselves rushing outside to contribute however they could, Chief Karnook particularly intent on doing so, me among them.

Or, at least, I would have joined them were it not for a call behind me. "Boss!"

Was it-?

I turned, the course of the day having immediately improved in the span of seconds. "Zek!" I called out, coming into an embrace with the man as others scrambled about into defensive positions. Behind him too was Ka'lira, myself calling her name in turn as we embraced as well.

Pulling away from each other, I had to ask, "How the hell did you get inside?"

Zek was the one to answer, saying with a sly smile, "Told them I was a Fire Nation soldier."

The smile was returned from me as I asked, "Even though you're not anymore?"

"Today, I am again, and we're stopping this here. I'm defending my people and my comrades."

"On that we agree," came a voice not my own, but that belonging to Kiu as he drew near, Zek going immediately into a panic as he scrambled for words, saying, "I mean…no, no. I'm not a Fire Nation soldier, I meant-"

"Relax, Zek," I chuckled, glad for the brief moment of levity that present circumstances had afforded us. "He knows. Has known for a while too."

"You-you do?" Kiu nodded. "Oh," Zek chuckled nervously. "Oh, well. That's-that's good, I think."

Kiu gave the man a warm smile. Any prejudice Zek may have born towards the man before on account of his allegiances was now moot. He was here, standing against the injustices that his forces were committing, and that was enough.

The 4 of us together, things were starting to look up, that much was true. What concerned me, however, was the lack of any others.

"Have you seen any of the others?" I asked him, knowing they had been part of the same team sent to join up with the infiltration team, those I now knew to have been at the start of this whole mess.

Zek and Ka'lira both shook their heads, equally disdaining the present state of affairs.

"Haven't seen them," Ka'lira started. "We lost track of Luke and Zare when the artillery started falling.

"We were with Gordez and Jadoh for a while," Zek continued, "But we lost track of them during the fighting."

Damnit, I thought to myself. We're separated, still scattered. It was by no means a good state of affairs, but there was the chance we could change things, provide the opportunity for things to improve. But for that, we had to take a stand.

"If they're still out there," I said, "then they'll know to come here. We need to hold the line here as best as we can for the people of Shibi and for our friends."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Kiu smiled, albeit sadly. He knew what this entailed. He was being put up against his own men, children he had watched over and quite literally raised for years now. And now, he had found himself turned against them. Some stood at his side, sure, but one could see that he felt no pleasure in what he was doing here. I pitied the man. I tried not to imagine myself in a similar situation with those I cared about most.

But Zek and Ka'lira were here, and they stood by me. The rest would come soon, I knew. They'd survived worse, and they would survive this as well.

"Come on," I said, turning to Kiu. "Let's get out there."

From there, we had truly begun our defense. The civilians gathered within, the injured being tended to, those who could still fight now taking up defensive positions aside with the use of earthen fortifications such as trenches and barriers, our odds seemed not horrible at the very least.

And when the attack did come, which it eventually did, we held.

It began initially as them simply seeing those around as additional bodies to slay until the defense we put up served as a rather effective countermeasure, driving them away with relative ease to the point they held back, beyond our range of fire, earth, water, or arrows.

It was the only time it actually felt quiet and Shibi that night. Artillery still rained around us all, random and uncoordinated, still laying the town to waste one fireball at a time, but the madmen this battle had produced lay dormant, growing bored and instead turning their carnage towards the rest of the city.

I wanted to help them. All those within, I was sure, did as well, but it was vital we keep our priorities straight, and in that moment, that meant holding the line, and providing safe haven for the stragglers who did make it here, coming in either one at a time or in groups so high as the dozens.

The time passed, myself uncertain just how much had passed at that fortified capital building.

More came in, seeking the security we offered, the weight put on our shoulders growing by the minute.

But as the number of those within grew, so did the number of those outside.

A force was growing, and not simply as a mass mob of madmen craving their next kill. The banner of the Earth Kingdom hung there, and we knew that things were going to take a turn for the worse.

The illusions had been cast aside. There, surrounding the town, waiting at least 700 men in Earth Kingdom, Separatist, and even some scattered Revanchist uniforms. They were gathered in strength. This wasn't a rampage at the hands of psychopaths, no. This was an attack. So far as those gathered outside were concerned, this was the last remaining Fire Nation position of Shibi.

It was yet unclear to me when we had switched sides, but it was apparent to me now that the time had come, especially as a voice I recognized all too well boomed from beyond our trench line where the Earth Kingdom had established one of their own, troops already gathered within, ready to charge at a moment's notice.

"Those of you inside!" came Cholla's voice indicating instantly that he knew this was not the act of a single Nation, but the combined defense of all those who understood the horror of what was transpiring around them. "The town of Shibi burns around you. You have failed. It is clear to us that you believe your intentions noble, defending your people to the bitter end. I respect that valor. I myself endeavored to protect those around me as Jingping was burned to the ground. I know what it means to truly love those you protect. That is what it means to be a soldier. So I offer you this now. Surrender now, and your people within will face quick and painless deaths. I will not lie to you, they will be killed, but you can determine if you will surrender and make it quick, or fight, and doom them to a hell beyond your understanding. The choice is yours. This is my message to the Fire Nation.

"Now, to those who named themselves allies to our cause, those who have turned their backs on their Kingdom, I tell you this. You will not live to see morning, for you are traitors. However, there are those within who are not traitors, but are simply confused. I say to them now, stand for your Kingdom, and turn your arms against the true enemy. If you do so, you will be granted amnesty. If you do not, then you will suffer with the rest. You have 5 minutes to decide."

The boom of his voice came to a stop.

Kiu was at my side, a dead look in his eyes as the words of the man he had sworn to follow, had obeyed the orders of for years now, labelled him a traitor and sentenced him to death. If there was any justice in the world, then so far as Kiu was concerned, it was not here.

Zek and Ka'lira, to my other side, they were ready to fight. "That bastard," Zek grimaced. "I knew we never should have trusted him."

I was incapable of knowing what the last few weeks of their interactions with Commander Cholla had been, but if one thing remained consistent, it was their faith in his ability to have a plan. And here, that faith had been rewarded in a plan that he had kept from us all. A plan that now meant the deaths of us all, because we sure as hell were not laying down our arms.

Within, however, tension was brewing. If the presence of hundreds of soldiers outside was not a show of strength, I didn't know what was.

Separatists and Earth Kingdom personnel alike seemed ever more uncomfortable than they had before, sending no doubt of concern through the Fire Nation and Revanchist soldiers present, Karnook himself of particular note in his manipulation of water above him, ready at any moment to strike against the first to make their move, knowing damn well he was not about to let any more of his men fall prey to this battle that had ceased being his hours ago. Behind me, I could see that Keerick, already at his wit's end for a while now, was damn near close breaking himself. Don't do it, I thought to myself. You made it this far, Keerick, just hang on.

The tension could be sliced with a knife, watching and waiting for the first one to move first.

It was going to happen, we all knew, and it was going to be-

"I am afraid!" a voice called out, myself turning to ensure that it had indeed come from him. And sure enough, there Kiu was, turning around back inside the capital building from where he stood at the front entrance. What is he doing?

He continued. "Outside these walls, just beyond this threshold, an enemy in the hundreds waits for us, while those of us within are in the dozens. Our odds are not good, and I would not blame any man who decides to turn his blade against his comrade here and give in to unmistakable evil to save their own skin. I ask them this, however, why trade one death for another? All of us here have taken up arms for one reason or another. Be us Fire Nation, Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom, or Separatist, we all share a reason for being here—we believe. We believe that the horror that has transpired this night is something that cannot stand, and have thus taken our stand here. We all are afraid, we all have doubt, we all fear the high possibility of death that faces us all, but if we surrender now, that part of us that still believes, that still knows right from wrong, dies as well. So I ask again, why trade one death for another? We do not! We make our stand here, and we fight not for any one Nation, nor for ourselves, but for those that have stood as victims of this endless conflict for too long! We fight!"

With that, his speech ended, and there was silence.

His words, they were not of hope, not of victory, not of persevering, but of sacrifice. His message was clear. We stand here knowing we may die, but we stand regardless.

It was not an easy message to follow, and so silence dominated.

Until it didn't.

I started with just a clatter, that of a spear shaft hitting the ground. Once, twice, again, again, and other joined in. Once, twice, again, again, then a pounding against a wall, once, twice, again, again, and a sword against a shield, again, again, and the noise only grew. Spears, swords, shields, armor, hands, feet, anything that could make noise, it did, in that same undying beat. Keerick was among them I saw as I looked up to face him, the fear in his eyes having faded, replaced now only by a grim acceptance of what we faced, but a dedication still there in those eyes as he slammed his spear shaft against the ground. Once, twice, again, again. We were no exception, my fisted hand clattering against my Fire Nation chestplate. Once, twice, again, again. Zek's foot stomped on the ground. Once, twice, again, again. Ka'lira hand clapped on Zek's shoulder. Once, twice, again, again, and soon, all were following suit.

Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, Water Tribe, Separatist, it made no difference to anybody in that moment. We were not people of our nation, but simply that, people. People fighting for what they believed, unified in these few moments here in an anticipation of the end for a dream worth fighting for. For a hope that our lives could purchase for those we swore to protect a chance.

Once, twice, again, again.

It was a constant, steady beat, not just those of war drums, or whatever amounted to them here, but that of something greater, of the beating hearts and each man and woman here who was prepared to give everything they had in this moment.

The beat banged louder, and louder, and louder, able to be heard, I was sure, across the field of war in front of us all, especially as the same war beat spread to the trenches our men occupied.

None had wavered, none had surrendered to their fear, and all had stood their ground.

This was a victory in it of itself, and I was sure Cholla knew just that.

And so none of us were surprised when he had decided that 5 minutes was too long.

And all at once, artillery rained down, no longer scattered across the town of Shibi, but now possessing one single definite target-us. The force of our enemy raised their voices in a cry calling for our blood, and they charged. Our voices rose as well, amidst the beat of our hearts, and we raised our own weapons, and we held.

And so, just like that, it began.

It was a clash of steel against steel, element against element as our two sides collided against one another.

Watching as the forces of this world came to head, danced in the sky, it was almost beautiful, the only shame being that we knew the display we witnessed was responsible for lives being lost every second.

At the very least, the direction of lives being lost seemed to lean towards those we opposed.

They were organized, yes, had more troops at their side, had us surrounded, and were constantly bombarding us with artillery, forcing us into cover as we endeavored to battle the hordes of Earth Kingdom soldiers making their advance, but the power of the full moon was undeniable, especially now as I observed.

Chief Karnook had organized his water benders and his warriors, and it was then made clear to me how it was that he had survived fighting a guerilla war with the Fire Nation for so long.

Individually, a waterbender was a force to be reckoned with. But together, they were unstoppable. I suppose that was something I should have learned earlier during our naval invasion of the city as the sea itself had risen, but now, there could no longer be any claim to the contrary.

Water was torn from the sky itself as the plains were flooded, impromptu waves casting aside squadron after squadron of Earth Kingdom fighter.

Fighting on the front lines as I was, sharing a trench with Zek, Ka'lira, as well as a few Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom soldiers, I was able to appreciate firsthand what Karnook and his men were doing for us, keeping the Earth Kingdom away.

Of course, the enemy still did possess the numerical advantage, and we were reminded of it easy enough.

Those who had been scourging the city, looking for an outlet to satiate their bloodlust, they now became aware of the war being fought here, viewing it as the chance to shed some blood, and so it was not only the organized we fought, but the chaos and insanity as well.

They laid into their assault, and while for every man we lost, they took a dozen, their numbers still were enough to push us back, but we did not relent in doing so. Every trench line lost cost them at least 50 men, and any retreat we did suffer, we took our time in doing so.

As grim as it was, we found ourselves waiting for day to strike, for this moon to end. While it gave us what we needed to hold out for now, away from the sea as we were, what we needed was for the Fire Nation's sun to help us finally push the tide and finish this, for so longer as the moon reigned and the Fire Navy believed the Water Tribe still stood against them, they would not send reinforcements to retake Shibi. Only then would the Earth Kingdom finally relent.

A Fire Nation soldier to my right lost his head to a discus of earth that I just barely ducked in time to avoid, him having not been so lucky.

They were pushing, and closer.

Zek, Ka'lira, and a few other soldiers still stood here beside me, and I had a choice to make. I would not be responsible for their deaths.

I fired a crossbow bolt, hitting nothing, but coming close enough to suppress the fire of an earthbender long enough for me to exclaim, "Fall back! Fall back now!"

The benders in our trench line provided cover as we pulled back, falling behind to the next line of trenches. We were nearing the capital building once again, and the enemy was growing smarter. They'd zeroed in on our positions and the Earth Kingdom was playing conservative now, understanding that an all out charge would cost them needless lives, and so they dug in, advancing inch by inch. And I was damned to say that it was effective.

I turned to a relay man who inhabited the trench we had retreated to, luckily without any casualties, and said, "Trench line C has been lost! Send the word!"

The man nodded, quickly navigating through the trench on his way back to Kiu to relay the news. The defense Kiu had been organizing alongside the Fire Nation personnel had been effective thus far, but there was only so much we could do, especially as the enemy's numbers swelled, and ours slowly diminished.

How many more men can they have? I wondered. We'd landed with over two thousand men, but so many had to have died so far. They must have been nearing the end, especially after the damage we'd done. Why don't they just end this, damnit?! Even if they kill us, they have nothing! Shibi is a ruin and their own force is decimated! They've lost and they haven't even seen it! Damnit, Cholla! End this!

Across the field, their banners burned, their men lay dead by the hundreds.

So many dead. And for nothing. We could have won. If we had stuck to the plan, we could have actually won here! This could have been a day for the Earth Kingdom.

Who am I kidding? That's not what war is—victory or defeats. It's about death. That's all there is to it.

And I was intent on preventing as much of it as I could, and so we continued to fight, until suddenly, everything seemed to change around us.

It was subtle at first, just the slightest shift in the world around us. The rain grew the smallest bit weaker, I observed, thinking the waterbenders were simply placing more attention of the battle than the weather. Then more things began to chance.

An ice barrier protecting a Fire Nation soldier suddenly burst, and the man took an arrow in the neck immediately beneath where him helmet ended.

A spurt of water weakened and collapsed mid air, allowing the enemy soldiers it had been targeting to leave cover and push their advance once again.

The rain weakened even more, becoming reduced to a trinkle.

We weren't even capable of realizing what was happening around us until the Earth Kingdom had forced us into a retreat once again, and so we fell back, wondering how it was we had barely held trench line B for 5 minutes when we'd held C for nearly half an hour.

Then a waterbender to our right panicked, looking desperately around him, scanning the other waterbenders surrounding him as though desperate to know that it was not only him. He did not receive an answer in time, a boulder reducing him to a bloody pulp before he could understand his circumstances.

Interestingly enough, it seemed to be the enemy that understood our abilities or lack thereof sooner than we had.

There was a momentary pause in the air as both sides of this battle endeavored to comprehend what it was that was transpiring around them.

And unfortunately, it was those who thirsted for our deaths that understood first.

A horn blew, and that was all it took. The Earth Kingdom was down with their inch-at-a-time policy. They saw their advantage, they saw their chance, and they took it.

They were on us before we even knew, and just like that, our retreat to the final trench line had become a retreat to the building itself. They were on us before the others even were capable of knowing what was happening.

But I saw, saw as they directly stormed over trench line B and had not come to a single stop, but were advancing still, directly towards us, with a fervor I had not seen since the battle began.

When had it changed, what had happened? What the hell was happening?

There was only one thing I knew, and it was that we could not hold.

"Fall back!" I called, and my cry was not alone. Across the field, calls of retreat sounded, and so we were sent into a mad dash back to the capital building, myself doing whatever I could to usher the others along, but it was too little too late.

They were directly on us, an Earth Kingdom soldier I was trying to evacuate pierced through the heart by one of his own.

Damnit, I grunted to myself, raising my own blade to cut straight through the attacker's head, at least being more fortunate in getting Zek and Ka'lira out of their trench and ordering them inside and to find Kiu where he was organizing the defense on the third story, myself in hot pursuit.

Our retreat was hardly the only one. The defensive lines on all sides of the building were being broken, Karnook himself endeavoring to get as many men back as he could. Our efforts could only go so far. I don't know how many we had lost in that single retreat, but by the time the minute was out and we had boarded ourselves within, more had been killed just then than in the last hour and a half of fighting for our lives.

What had changed? What had gone wrong? We were holding! We were pushing them back even! We were going to make it!

We were surrounded by new injured, civilians poking their heads out of the rooms they were huddled inside, horrified by the sight of their protectors now here as well, the battle outside having been lost.

This was it, they knew. They'd lost.

Were they wrong? I wondered. Was this really it? Was there no other way?

I looked around me, searching for answers, but finding none, only despair. Soldiers alike were reaching their wits end.

"This is the end," an Earth Kingdom soldier siding down a wall into a sitting position sighed.

"We're-we're all going to die!" another cried.

"I don't want to die here! Please, don't let me die here!"

"Where are our reinforcements? They're supposed to be here by the now! Where the hell are they!"

"Boss?" a voice came beside me, myself wondering if it was that of Zek. I turned to face him, seeing then that it wasn't, but Keerick. "What's happening?" he asked. "I thought-I thought we were winning here."

Keerick. And suddenly, a horrific pain in my stomach. He's only here because of me, I remembered. I had forced him to leave.

Don't do that, I told myself. If he'd stayed, he would have been killed in that silo explosion.

Only for him to die here? Why trade one death for another?

Because we won't die here, I tried to convince myself. Because we can still get through this.

"I don't know," I answered him truthfully, "But I'm going to find out. We're going to be fine, Keerick. Don't worry."

Of those around, only Karnook seemed to be maintaining his wits, fragile a grip though it was. He was mumbling to himself, something about how, "It wasn't supposed to be like this." How it was "just his luck it had to be today."

"Karnook?" I interrupted as I approached, turning his attention to me. "What the hell is happening here?"

He turned to face me, gulping, "I'm so sorry," he said. "I had no idea. I had no idea it was going to be today."

He knew what this was?

"What? What was going to be today?"

"The night of the Red Moon, the Lunar Eclipse."

A lunar eclipse? The shrouding of the moon in the Earth's shadow, so…

"Us waterbenders. Our power comes from the moon, Tui, her name is. She grants us our strength, but…sometimes, her power fades, and that day is today it seems."

"Today?" I asked with a chuckle I could not control. "Today of all days she decides to abandon you?"

"She does not control the moving of the heavens. That is something even beyond the spirits. They only react, as do we. I'm sorry, but my waterbenders will no longer be of any use to us here. There is only one thing we can yet do?" With those words, he removed his club from where it hung by his side, in traditional Water Tribe ornamentation. In his other hand, a hand-axe, and he stood there, facing the door.

What?

"What are you talking about?"

"Get the others upstairs. Defend yourselves as long as you can. Me and my warriors, we'll hold them off here."

"No!" I yelled before I even had time to think otherwise. "This isn't even your fight! Get out now while you still can!"

"Stop that, Boss."

"This isn't how you die! You still need to fight for your Tribe, reclaim your home!"

"Don't."

"Why should you have to fight here for a war that isn't yours?!"

"I said 'stop'! This is my war! It is now at least. Kiu, his words, he was right. There are no nations, no sides, no allegiances, only people. And my people are here, and if I'm to die here, then I'll die fighting for them. Your people are out there too, Boss. Live for them. We'll buy you time. Now go."

There's no arguing with him, is there? It was a lost cause. He turned back to face the door. This was it. This was how he chose to make his stand.

His warriors joined him to stand by their chief's side. This was it, they knew. They had accepted their death. All that was left was the family that stood with them here. They didn't need to worry about never seeing home again. It was right here. And so long as they died standing beside one another, they would die fighting for what mattered most. For home. For family.

Goodbye, Karnook.

I honored his final words, and gathered as many of the others as I could before the doors burst in, and the enemy assault began. I had tried. Tried getting as many civilians out of their rooms and as many soldiers up as I could, Keerick included, but there was only so much I could do.

We retreated.

Below, all descended into chaos. They were hot on our trails, I already knew, the enemy already storming up hot on our trails.

I turned in time to cut one down, an Earth Kingdom soldier. He was not alone, however, accompanied by a Separatist. He would have gotten his hit on me too had it not been for Keerick's spear plunging into his stomach, dropping him to the ground.

He retracted his spear, horror in his eyes. He recognized the man he had killed, didn't he?

He looked to me, and I returned the gaze, and the horror in his eyes softened. I did it, it felt as though he was saying.

Yes, I wanted to return. You saved me.

I would have said just that too, but his blood splattered against my face before a word could come out.

The bolt drove right through his face were his nose, right eye, and right ear should have been, tearing off a portion of his head as it drove through, and he fell, slumped against me as he did, myself catching him instinctually, turning to see the culprit, another Separatist, hatred in his eyes as he loaded another bolt.

I recognized the boy, I realized. Shohe, the one who had led the attackers against the Patriot in the mock exercises. And he recognizes me, I saw.

I was still in that moment, still clutching onto Keerick's lifeless corpse, only able to watch as another bolt struck the man in his neck, dropping him there with a grotesque explosion of his jugular, sending a stream of blood onto the ground as another soldier rushing up the stairway nearly tripped over him.

I was then grabbed swiftly, raised to my feet by Zek, I saw, Ka'lira not far behind him, crossbow in hand, responsible for Shoho's fall.

I rose to my feet, not able to afford such an abandonment of my senses, and certainly not wishing to put the others in danger because of it.

"Kiu's upstairs!" Zek yelled to me as I let go of him, now on my own two feet. "We can try and hold them there."

I nodded. Good thinking. "All men!" I called out. "Get the civilians upstairs now! We hold the line there!"

The order was clear, the translation dawning on them all: 'This is it. This is our last stand. It's all or nothing here. Good luck.'

They understood, as did we all. The enemy were already upon us, charging up the stairway, the fighting still going on below, I was sure, but these individuals simply those wishing to claim the blood they so desperately sought.

And they came in strength. We were out of time, but still, our allies rallied, and stood facing the enemy, holding their ground. They were giving their lives to buy us time.

They wouldn't make it, I knew, but it was the least I could do to gather as many I could and bring them upstairs. When next I turned around, they had already fallen, and the enemy was pushing along just as I myself ascended to the final front, where it would all come to an end one way or another.

They had the manpower, they had the bloodlust, and they had the momentum. It was up to us to stop it in the last and only place we could.

An Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation soldier gave themselves the task of defending the stairway as we navigated past the highest and smallest story. Ahead was what was left of our strength—a half dozen soldier and only around twice as many civilians.

Even if we hold here, even if we make it, this will be what's left of Shibi. Can we truly call that victory?

No, but it's better than none at all.

Around Kiu were a Separatist and a Fire Nation soldier, gathered around for what final orders there were to be heard.

Kiu's eyes turned up to face me, and perhaps it was the recognition that hurt the most. If I was here, he realized, then we truly had been pushed this far back.

This was it.

He lowered his head but for a moment as the facts dawned on him. "I'm sorry," he said, the statement seeming to be more aimed towards the civilians and few Fire Nation soldiers present. "I brought this war here, and I'm sorry. I know dying by your side will not fix anything, but thank you for giving me the chance to try."

There were no words of response. Nothing needed to be said. We knew, and the silent nods followed as the screams from below could be heard and the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation soldiers were summarily slain, the enemy now engaging us as they entered that single-room third story.

This is it, I told myself. This is not where we die, not matter what Kiu says. This is where we hold them back!

I lunged forward, slicing through the abdomen of the nearest Separatist attacker, a burst of fire from a firebender claiming an earthbender, blowing a hole straight through his chest, and a bolt from Ka'lira's crossbow claimed another Earth Kingdom soldier.

Zek pushed past us, slicing in an upward arc straight through an earthbender's outstretched arm, sending blood into the air against the ceiling, his offensive however costing him a slice along his side from a Separatist's blade. The wielder was promptly put down, however, by an Earth Kingdom soldier.

We stood still.

The next wave came.

Me and Zek took the vanguard, slicing through a soldier and separatist respectively, dropping them instantaneously, however not noticing the archer who stood behind him. He loosened his arrow, and it flew, striking not any of us, but further behind, hitting Kiu in the shoulder, bringing him down to ground.

No!, I yelled to myself as I lunged forward, plunging my blade into the man's heart. It was been a foolhardy action, however, as a spearman waited behind, piercing forward and catching me in my right thigh, dropping me to a knee as one of Ka'lira's bolts sailed overhead, taking him in his own.

I drew back, and the firebender took my place, sending an arc of flame down the stairway as he helped Zek carry me back and get me back onto my feet.

The firebender had made the mistake, however, of turning his back to the stairwell, and through the fire, an explosion of earth occurred, sending a flurry of earthen spikes into his back, dropping him instantly, the weight of his armor sending me down with him.

The Separatist took to the stairway now, actually managing to drive his spear into the earthbender's neck with Zek's assistance in running interference, and the other Earth Kingdom spearman intercepting the next hail of earthen spikes with his shield, quite valiantly at that.

The Separatist was pushed aside, however, as another group of enemies barged in, a group no doubt not lacking in number. I counted at least a dozen. And how many are left of us? 5 capable of fighting?

No. There were more. The civilians had seen the lack of other options presented to them, and so came a choice—death, or to take a stand. 4 remained huddled where they could by the wall, mostly women and children, but a remaining 2 women and 5 men saw their chance in reaching for the weapons of the fallen, and they took their stand beside us.

Our enemy, however, was one that had, just like us, been fighting for hours now. They were tired, weary, but perhaps most of all, angry. They wanted this to end, and the deaths of civilians had left them unfazed since this invasion began, and it would not faze them now.

One of the women was immediately cut through by an Earth Kingdom soldier's axe as a contingent of the dozen hostiles turned to face them, seeing the easy pickings and going for it.

A man, likely the woman's husband, called out in grief, but was summarily decapitated as well.

We had to intervene.

Zek was the first to do so, managing to circle the crowd and send a cut to the man's arm that sent his next strike aside, allowing the friendly Separatist spearman a chance to impale his spear into the man's head.

The Separatist received a cut of his own, however, drawing back as I now intervened, stabbing the man through the back.

Seeing us as a threat finally, the soldiers turned their attention to us. More will be coming soon. We have to make this quick.

2 of them were dead, and around 10 remained. One made a slash for the friendly Earth Kingdom soldier's next, but the shot went wide as 2 of the civilians tried and tackle the man aside, succeeding in throwing him off his footing, allowing me to finish the man off.

In rising, one of the civilians was caught by a hostile spear, falling dead to the ground. The other took a sword to the leg, a grizzly cut at that, and fell, being hauled away by one of the other men, dropped when his carrier received an arrow to the face.

The archer responsible was immediately stabbed in the neck by Ka'lira, utilizing her crossbow bolt as a melee weapon rather than ammunition, seeing as how it would take too long to reload.

As the battle progressed, it became clear that what drove some of our attackers was not orders, but the same bloodlust that had dominated their minds for so long, and 2 broke off from the fight to approach the civilians still huddled in the corner of the room, screaming at the top of their lungs for help.

I was quick, but not quick enough to have prevented one of the huddling women to be smashed with a falling hammer, dying alone as she pushed her child aside.

I shoved my sword into the man's back at an upward angle, entering through the small of his back, and exiting with pieces of his heart still coating the blade.

The hammerman's compatriot turned to me, and with my sword still lodged into my target's back, I was sure I would not be able to defend myself in time.

I was proven wrong, however, as the man suddenly stumbled, and I turned down to see one of the women holding a knife that had been shoved into the man's ankle.

He brought his hand down upon her face, hitting her aside, but the momentary distraction was enough for me to dislodge my blade and claim his life next, dropping him to the ground in front of the group of huddled civilians.

It seemed that, in the process, however, another's attention had been drawn to our scuffle, and so a searing pain roared across my leg, and I fell to a knee, my left pant leg suddenly wet from blood, the pain isolated to just behind the joint where my upper and lower leg met. I was crippled.

I would not be walking any longer.

The man's attention left me. I was out of the picture.

Perhaps I was fortunate that my vision left me as the rest of the civilians were slaughtered. I prayed for the ability to rise, to get up, just one last time, but the remaining woman and 2 children would die there, screaming for help, myself unable to do a thing about it.

And when my sight came back, I knew that I was to be next. There the soldier stood, spear aimed directly down at my throat. All it would take was that single application of pressure, and I would be dead. That would be it.

But for what must have been the 4th time today, he died in my place.

Another close call, I thought to myself. The same thought I had had so many other times today, yet, different this time. And how many more? How many more until my time is up and I stop getting lucky?

I looked down at my leg as Zek helped me up to my feet, his words muffled in my haze of a mind, only able to comprehend him asking me if I was alright, and that I had to get back up.

Standing did some good, in spite of the horrific pain it sent through my leg, but I was on my own two feet, and finally, my head was beginning to clear. On the ground, the bodies of the fallen, those of the enemy, and the Earth Kingdom soldier and the Separatist who had stood beside us to the very end. Only Zek, who kept his arm near me to ensure I could still stand, and Ka'lira who watched the doorway with a reloaded bow, remained.

The civilians in the corner, those I had tried to protect, they did not. I couldn't protect them. There were just too many. It's over, I understood. I can't do it. I can't fight this any longer.

They must have seen the look in my eyes. Never in the time I had known them had I seen Zek or Ka'lira look this dismal. They knew. It was over.

I can't protect them, but I can save them.

Footsteps from the stairs.

More were coming.

I turned back where Kiu lay, motionless. Had he bled out? I wondered. It made little difference. He wouldn't make it out of this room, and neither would I, but Zek and Ka'lira, I could still do one last thing for them.

I placed a hand firmly on Zek's shoulder where he stood still there. "Go," I said through labored breaths. "Get out of here."

"No," he answered immediately, horror in his eyes as he desperately shook his head.

A soldier emerged up the stairs, and Ka'lira spun around instantly, firing a bolt directly into the hostile soldier's heart, dropping him immediately, stumbling down one step at a time.

"We can still hold here," Zek said again, foolish confidence as brough about by the fact they still stood.

But for how much longer? Think, Zek. Think.

"No we can't. We've lost, Zek."

"Then we can get you out!" he yelled, his sword having dropped to the ground as he placed both hands on my shoulders, shaking me as though he would knock me back to my senses. The sad truth was, my mind hadn't been in so clear a state since this all had begun.

My time was up, but not his. Not if I had anything to say about it.

"No, Zek," I answered, motioning down to my leg where blood ran down in a constant stream, it being a miracle that blood loss hadn't yet claimed my conscience. "I'm done here."

Tears were rolling down his cheeks as he saw it to be true, and behind him, Ka'lira was shaking, the crossbow in her hands rattling as she labored to load another bolt, no longer finding the strength to do so as she faced me, despair in her eyes.

I'm so sorry.

"You two," I said. "All of you, I'm so proud of you. You are some of the best soldiers I've ever had the pleasure of fighting with. Tell the others that. Tell them when you find them."

Zek nodded, desperately, his hands still on my shoulders, shaking, but not nearly as powerfully. "I-I will."

I left his grasp, using what little strength I still had to crouch down to the ground and clasp onto the hilt of his sword, rising to hand it back to him. He would need it.

"Go," I said in a choked voice, ordering myself not to cry, for them not to waste their time on pity for me, but to get out of here.

And they did. They turned one last time as I stood there, sword barely in hand, ready to meet my end, whatever it may be. I gave them one final nod, and with that, something I did not expect in return—a salute. The first time in over a year, not since our days in the Fire Nation, had I been saluted, yet there he stood one final time, hand to his forehead, stood in attention, a look of grim determination in his eyes.

And there was no other thing to do than return it.

We stood there for what we knew was only a second, yet it felt as though minutes had passed there, standing just like that before he broke off, and as did I.

The time had come. He and Ka'lira turned, descending the stairwell, and so it was. There, it ended.

The realities of the world around me came back one at a time. The fire crackling below, the explosions sounding across the structure, and the renewed footsteps up the stairs.

My last fight, I already knew. I clenched my sword. I would not go down without a fight.

Those who rose were two separatists, an Earth Kingdom soldier, and an earthbender, caked in blood doubtlessly from the hundreds of lives they'd been complicit in the loss of throughout the night.

I was injured, that much was obvious, and as their dashes slowed to walks, it seemed they'd grown rather confident in their chances.

That proved to be their mistake. At least that of the Separatist who thought he would take the credit for my death, approaching with a dagger in hand, switching between hands as though debating which best to end me with.

He was too cocky for his own good.

My sword slid across his stomach before he could settle on a hand, hot blood spouting from his abdomen as he slumped forward, leaning against me, which was fortunate enough as I was able to use his body to absorb the blow of the Earth Kingdom soldier's downward slice with a hand axe, something seemingly taken as a trophy from a Water Tribe warrior he'd have slain, or at least stumbled across the body of.

The weight of the blow, while not piercing me, still caused me to stumble back, especially with my bad leg. I was sure I would have fallen over too if it hadn't been for the desk behind me, acting as support for me to regain my footing, standing still.

The soldier's axe was still lodged into the back of his comrade. I wonder if it's Karnook's.

In that moment, I told myself it was. I needed every ounce of strength I could get no matter where it came from. And sure enough, it was enough. I threw the body aside, freeing my sword hand to stab into the side of the soldier, perfectly exposed as he'd still been attached to the imbedded axe.

He fell now beside the first man I had killed, and I recovered to claim my 3rd strike until a sudden force was experienced in my side, knocking me to the ground as a rock crumbled to the ground.

The earthbender, I already knew, spitting out a worrying amount of blood, feeling the horrific pain in my side that I knew would be the death of me if not anything else. Much of my body was scrambled in the inside, I knew. Such was the force of a boulder being thrown by unearthly powers.

However, I still had something left. I was not done. Not yet.

The Separatist believed otherwise, however, and he charged, meeting my blade as it cut halfway through his ankle, dropping him to the ground beside me.

I worked to a stand, now ready to face the earthbender down until a pain emerged from my side, finding a dagger lodged within when I turned down to investigate.

The soldier whose leg I had cut through, he lived still, hand clutching onto the dagger there. I had taken my attention off of him too soon. That had been my mistake. I would not make it again. I inverted the orientation of my sword in my right hand, and turned my torso to be able to plunge it straight into his stomach, lodging within just then and there, killing him.

Not any later, however, did I feel another horrible bludgeon of pain within me, and was hurled across the room by yet another blast of earth as the earthbender had repurposed the scattered stones across the room into an additional weapon for himself.

The landing had been the most painful part, rolling to a stop beside Kiu, settled atop the dagger still lodged into my side.

I heard the footsteps before I saw them, knowing he drew ever closer.

This is it.

I searched desperately for my sword, wherever it was, finding then that it was nowhere to be found. I turned over desperately to try and catch sight of my weapon, or, if anything, my coming end.

My sword was across the room, no way reachable to me.

Damnit.

The earthbender stepped over Kiu's lifeless body. There was, however, a sword there, just beyond the earthbender where he now stopped.

I can…I can reach it. Maybe, if I just-

I tried crawling forward, but a kick immediately sent me onto my back with a horrific jolt of pain searing through my entire body.

No. I wouldn't.

And that was my draw. I'd killed 3, made it far enough, but that was going to be it for me.

I couldn't help but feel proud. Even with my odds, I'd lasted this long.

They'd be proud of me, I thought.

Huh. That's funny. I haven' t thought about my parents in years.

I looked up to watch him as he did it, as he siphoned the different debris across the room into a single rock above him, ready to bring it down atop my head in a single blow.

At least it'll be quick.

I closed my eyes. I didn't want to see it, didn't want to die with my eyes open

Instead, there was a crash next to me, and then another, louder even.

Oh, don't tell me. Again?

My eyes opened, and he was gone. No, not gone, next to me, face down, eyes wide open, dead. Instead of him standing there, a bloodied blade rested in the air, my head turning to see Kiu where he held it, his shoulder still bleeding profusely, but consciousness seeming to have been restored to him.

Of all the miracles in the world…

I was still alive. I hadn't been killed. What in the hell?

It started first as a scoff, then a chuckle, and then I was laughing even.

The blade clattered to a stop in the distance. Or, at least, it sounded like the distance. The way my senses were behaving, so close to cutting off altogether, it was difficult even to know what was what. I did hear his voice however, and I knew that at the very least was real.

"What are you laughing about?" Kiu asked, rolling back onto his back, arms falling down by his sides.

It was difficult to come to a stop, painful as it was, more blood escaping belonging from my destroyed organs escaping through my mouth, myself just barely able to stifle the coughing fit that tried to follow.

"It's just that," I coughed. "That's gotta be the fifth time somebody's saved my life like that today."

"Huh," Kiu sighed. "So I guess I did something right at least, then. Not…that it'll mean much. I don't think you'll be getting a sixth."

I let out an airy scoff, the adrenaline wearing off, making me all the more aware of the state my destroyed body was in. "Yeah…you're probably right."

Then there was a silence for a while, nobody saying anything. I wondered if he had lost consciousness once again. I prayed that he wasn't. I didn't…I didn't want to be alone just then.

I then considered myself the luckiest man in the world when he spoke once again, saying, "I'm sorry. I never…I never should have dragged you into all of this. It never was-"

"Kiu…" I sighed out. "Stop it. You're not responsible for this."

"I am," he coughed, a bloody one at that. "I never should have gotten you involved. Never should have started all of this. Never should have-"

"Never should have what? Fought?" I let out a dry heave, the pain of it tearing at my insides as I did so. "Never say that, Kiu. You were fighting for your home, to protect those you cared about."

"And what did it amount to? I have, the people who've followed me, we've killed so many, and for what? For them to do this, betray everything we fought for?"

"Some lost their way," I said before losing my breath, needing to pause as I fought desperately to recover, not yet done with my thought. "But others…you helped show them what it meant to protect. What happened here…it wasn't your fault, Kiu."

"But still…to think so many of them went through with it…I thought I'd taught them better than that."

And there, I was afraid I had no answer for him. I wondered how I would feel in his shoes…if Luke, Zek, Gordez, Ka'lira, if all of them had done this, or hell, even just one of them. I could not imagine the position Kiu was in.

He coughed another chunk of blood. "Don't pity me. I'm just an old man who wishes he could have done more."

"You've done all you could. You tried. Tried to show them different, tried to protect them, -"

"And tried to defend this town. And looks like I've failed at it all."

"But you tried. That's more than most can say. In this world of war and hate, you still tried to make it better. Most can't say the same."

"Is that…is that supposed to make me feel better?"

I let out another deep breath. It was odd, knowing that the number of such breaths I still had left in me likely numbered in the single digits now.

"No," I admitted. "I just want you to know that…well…thank you."

"Thank me?" He scoffed. "The hell for?"

"You showed me what it meant to believe in something? Before, I left the Fire Nation and decided to 'fight for the people' because I knew it was what I was supposed to do. I knew it was the right thing, but that's it. But you…you showed me what it meant to believe in a cause, and you let me believe what I fought for. So…thank you."

He was looking at me now, his head turned to face me, looking into my eyes for a few moments there before the effort proved too much and he rested back on his back.

"Well," he let out. "I suppose…that has to be worth something."

And we waited there as a new silence passed over. I could no longer even heard the fighting below. In fact, I could hear nothing at all. Not from me, not from the world, not from Kiu. I knew he was gone.

And I was still thankful. Thankful that I could be there for him in his final moments. It was the least I could do for the man.

I myself, I felt it coming for me as well.

So this is really it. This is how it ends.

I looked to the ceiling, and allowed the sense of peace to come, allowed my mind to wander, waiting for my life to flash before my eyes as everybody said it always ought to.

The fact was, I was in peace in that moment, and so I allowed the memories to flood inside.

I welcomed them.