Battle of Rongor

Commander Macai and the 31st set sail toward the shores of Rongor. Rongor is a vital Earth Kingdom industrial city that offers important supplies that support the Earth Kingdom war effort. It is up to the 31st to clear the beachhead and pave a way for a massive Fire Nation army to flood the city. By sending Macai's marines who specialize in quick and brief attacks, they can minimize army losses when they siege the city.

It is around 9 am. There is a mist of air that flows over the sea. The sun is somewhat faint, but steadily rising. It is moderately warm outside but a steady cool breeze counters the heat. On the Rongor beachhead, hundreds of Earth Kingdom troopers lie in wait for enemy troopers. Roughly thirty meters behind the troopers is a massive fort.

The fort is a stone wall that stands about fifteen meters tall, ten meters wide, and forty meters long. There are several troopers on the wall and standing between them are two officers. One officer has medium-length grey hair, dark green eyes, pale skin, and a dark green uniform with gold stripes. The man is in his early fifties and the officer on his right is in his early thirties.

The younger officer has straight dark brown hair, thin eyebrows, light brown skin, and light green eyes. The Young Officer looks at his superior, "Major Hannock, enemy forces are rapidly approaching. Five ships are moving ahead with three in the back."

Captain Hannock smiles, "Don't worry Captain Guire. The heavy guns on this station are among the best in the Earth Kingdom. They have a range of 300 meters and they are totally accurate. Our station has five heavy guns and they each fire massive blasts of earth projectiles." Hannock isn't lying, these five massive guns are located in the middle of the structure. They are the color of sand and each gun is about ten feet wide, fifteen feet long, and ten feet tall.

The Prompt Adjudicator is not alone this time. Two light cruisers surround the ship. In addition to this, five smaller corvettes set sail ahead of the medium-sized ships in the fleet. Macai stands in the armory with his infantry team as they prepare for battle. Macai shouts, "This is a heavily fortified position. More fortified than the last beachhead we took."

Kett asks, "So what's the plan this time boss?"

Macai: "Rosh is going to lead our infantry forces while I remain here on the ship and bombard our enemies from the distance." Kett glares at Rosh. Macai continues, "You all are going to be deployed by war boats. I can't afford to move the ship onshore on the enemies will nail us in our exposed position. We will have to keep moving and will offer suppressive fire with our guns. The enemy's main guns have to charge up before they can be fired."

Rosh: "How long does it take to charge those main guns?"

Macai: "We expect that it will take fifteen minutes for them to charge them. We tried to come swiftly and while intelligence assumed they would be off guard. They may prepare before then and they have several standard cannons that they can fire in the meantime. Their heavy guns aren't explosive, they just fire massive stones at us. Each one is like eight feet tall and wide, unlike the average canons which are only about a meter long and wide but are explosive."

Dade gulps, "Eight feet?"

Macai nods his head, "They are also fired at incredible speeds so they can do some damage. The guns are also insanely accurate apparently. When you guys get on the shore, I want Rosh to take over and hold the offensive forces together. Asad will help Rosh as a sort of second in command along with others like Kanna, Basin, and Sonna. While that happens, Kett will take a strike team behind enemy lines."

Kett: "Who will be in my strike team?"

Macai: "Sixteen marines. Second-in-command will be Rosier for his experience. Ronin, Arret, and Dade will also go with you. You will have three firebenders in total, five swordsmen, five spearmen, and three archers. You will fight your way to the fort and work your way up there. Then destroy those guns before they rip our fleet to shreds. We are counting on your team but we are also counting on Rosh to keep the enemies busy."

Kett asks, "Why can't you just bombard the fort?"

Macai: "Because the fort has its own defense cannons that can block incoming shots. They also are a harder range to hit for our ships than the immediate shoreline. We may try, but your team could be a useful distraction."

Kett nods, "We won't let you down. Even if it costs us our lives."

Macai: "It's almost time." Macai leaves and enters the bridge. Macai looks at Hazo and Aiya. Macai: "Weapons ready!" Dozens of cannons are fired across the shoreline at the corvettes ahead. Two of the corvettes are rocked as one gets hit by two cannons. Another gets hit by one canon. Faint smoke emits from one corvette and moderates from the other.

Macai: "The next volley will be fired at us. All ships, return fire!" The Prompt Adjudicator unleashes a massive accurate volley of explosive shots across the shoreline. Several Earth Kingdom troopers are blown to bits as well as some stationary cannons. A volley of cannon shots are fired from the Rongor fortress toward the Prompt Adjudicator and its surrounding light cruiser.

Macai: "Evasive maneuvers!" The PA fires a third of its shots at incoming projectiles and hits many of the incoming cannons. The ship sways and evades other cannons. Macai looks ahead and notices that they are just thirty five feet from the shoreline. Macai: "Deploy the boats, we can't afford to go any closer then pull the ship back evasively."

In a heartbeat, the PA pulls back and several boats are deployed from its position. The light cruisers cover the PA and its boats as the boats move closer toward the shore. Dade shakes in his boat with Kett's squad. Rosier pats Dade, "Don't worry, it's going to be alright. I'll protect ya." As the 31st marines advance first, one of the lightcruisers deploys its boats. The PA and other lightcruiser cover the ship as they blast several incoming cannons heading in their direction.

One stray cannon hits the Prompt Adjudicator and shakes it. Two sailors are blown to scrapple as well as one gunner. Macai: "Stay focused." Another stray shot hits the lightcruiser left of the PA's position. The other lightcruiser deploys its boats while the PA and the lightcruiser on the right cover it, just as planned.

Meanwhile, the 31st boats soar ahead of the others and are just ten feet from the shoreline. Rosh waits in his boat with Kanna, Samira, and Sonna. Rosh: "Alright, I know we haven't had a long time to get to know each other." Rosh shakes as a canon lands two feet left of their position and splashes water on the crew.

A loud crack is heard as a cannon flies directly into a boat behind Rosh's and blows it to pieces. The screams of the troopers can be heard as they are plunged to their deaths. Rosh can feel a chill on his back.

Rosh: "But no of that matters now. What matters now, is our survival. These Earth Kingdom jerks threaten our lives and our honor. They threaten our families and our ability to return home to them. So I say we take it to them and make them think twice before they threaten us. I say we fight so hard that every their forces point a gun at our ships or point an arrow at our foot soldiers, they feel a shiver down their spine and ask themselves if it's really worth it."

Rosh continues, "For our all brothers and sisters that died in this war. Within the 31st or in other units. For all our friends and family that we've lost along the way. Let's make them pay!" The crew cheers lightly. The boat slows down as the shore becomes shallower.

Sonna comments, "Looks, like it's time."

Rosh shouts, "Charge!" Rosh leaps out of his boat and onto the shoreline. Sonna stands behind her squad and launches an arrow into the neck of a distant earthbender. The other marines leap out of the boat and advance. Sonna hops out of the boat last and aims her arrow.

Several other boats press against the shore and dozens of 31st shock troopers advance. Rosh looks ahead and notices three marines clashing with enemy forces. The one on the left is a swordsman, the one in the center is a female firebender, and the one of the right is also a swordsman.

Three Earth Kingdom troopers move to engage them. The one on the left is a warrior with a morning star club, the one in the center is an earthbender, and the one on the right is a spearman. Earthbender: "It's playtime boys!" The swordsman on the right sprints forward and holds his sword left and low. The swordsman steadily raises his sword and lunges ahead with a sweeping horizontal strike at his enemy's neck.

The warrior pivots his club and blocks the strike. The man pivots his morning star and swings it downward. The morning star smacks the marine in his stomach and guts him. The warrior swings his morning star up and laughs. The firebender rapidly pumps two flames at the earthbender. The earthbender raises his right arm and a wall of earth intercepts the flames.

The earthbender extends his right arm and launches the wall at the woman. The firebender leaps over the wall. Then she presses her right arm forward and blasts an orange flame at him. The man raises his arms, and a shell of earth covers his body. The woman lands then presses both of her hands together, firing a stream of orange fire into the shell.

The man feels his shell shake as it steadily breaks into pieces. The earthbender raises his hands and chucks the fragments of the shell at the woman. The woman slides forward then the earthbender slams his right leg into her stomach. The firebender slides back two feet unconscious. The Fire Nation swordsman on the right charges at the spearman across him with his blade held high in the air.

The spearman lunges at the swordsman's stomach. The swordsman leaps right. The spearman lunges again and the swordsman pivots his blade left, knocking the spear in the other direction. The swordsman moves to strike at his exposed opponent. Then spearman kicks the swordsman in his right leg. The Fire Nation swordsman stumbles right and grunts.

The spearman leaps forward and thrusts his spear into the marine's right side. Marine: "Ahhh!" The spearman presses the cut deeper and then removes it. Rosh scowls at his enemies.

Then Rosh suddenly hears a marine right of his position say, "Sir." Rosh turns and looks at his alley. An arrow rapidly flies in the marine's neck.

Rosh: "No!"

Rosh turns again and looks at the three Earth Kingdom troopers across from him. An Earth Kingdom trooper points his morning star at Rosh, "Oh look, another one. Come on fool, you're next."

Rosh glances at them, "Be careful what you wish for." Rosh sprints forward his enemy and the earthbender stomps his right foot. A shockwave of dirt flies toward Rosh. Rosh leaps right between the earthbender and the enemy spearman. The earthbender raises his hands and several rocks flow around him.

Earthbender: "Die!" The earthbender presses his hands forward and fires multiple rocks at Rosh. Rosh sprints to the left away from the shots.

Earth Kingdom morning star trooper: "Hey, quit running! Stand and fight like a man!" The Earth Kingdom trooper vertically lunges at Rosh.

Rosh pivots right, "Hey, take it easy. It's my first mission."

The spearman leaps behind Rosh and lunges at his back. Rosh backflips behind the spearman. The earthbender turns and raises his hands, firing several projectiles at the Captain. Rosh turns and raises his right hand. A wall of red-orange fire rises and absorbs the projectiles.

The spearman lunges at Rosh and Rosh twirls backward. Rosh: "Just getting my leg work in." Rosh swivels his left leg and kicks a flame into the spearman.

Spearman: "Gah!" The earthbender slaps his hands together and two walls rapidly emerge around Rosh. The walls fly toward Rosh and Rosh rolls forward as they collide. The Earthbender pumps his right hand and another wall of earth slams into Rosh. Rosh falls and his forehead turs red.

Rosh: "Hey, I wanted to go to a dance next week!" Rosh leaps back on his feet. The earthbender shifts his right palm forward, launching the wall at Rosh. Rosh smacks his hands together and fires a massive red-orange burst of fire into the wall. The wall is blown to pieces and a moderate portion of smoke flows from it.

The earthbender starts coughing as he inhales some of the smoke. Rosh presses his hands together and fires a stream of fire at the bender. The earthbender dives right and stumbles on the ground. Meanwhile Rosh looks left and notices the morning star trooper sprinting his way. Rosh fires a flame into the trooper's chest.

The earthbender leaps back on his feet and the ground shakes as he lands. Rosh briefly stumbles. The bender presses his hands forward and a massive stream of dust flows toward Rosh. Rosh raises his hands then enlongates them. A rectangle of fire absorbs the dust. Rosh presses his left hand forward and launches a third of the fire wall at the earthbender. The eartbender leaps in the air and fires two stones at Rosh.

Rosh raises a wall of fire to absord the shots as the earthbender lands. The earthbender presses his hands forward and fires two bricks at Rosh's lower body. Rosh lowers the stone of fire to block the shots then Rosh flings his left hand, firing the wall of fire at the earthbender. The earthbender raises his hands and a wall of earth intercepts the wall of fire.

The Ashes of Destiny

While this is happening, Kett's boat lands on the shoreside. Kett can see an intense battle on the beachhead. Kett: "Alright get out everyone." Kett's team disembarks from the boat. The marines form another nearby boat link up with Kett's squad. Kett: "Ok this is all of us."

Arret points at the massive fort ahead, "How do we plan on getting up that fort?"

Kett: "We are going to move on the left flank. It seems to be a bit less guarded. We'll try to let our friends do the fighting and not reinforce people in battle. But once we get to that past the initial beachhead that will be it. We'll be on our own and getting all of the attention briefly. The fort seems to be about twenty feet away from the main beachhead. I hear there is a long staircase that leads to it on the back the fort. So we will use that."

Dade: "Well, they haven't killed me yet. I guess I'll make it this time."

Kett and his troopers jog forward as they hear the battle around them. After about thirty seconds of maneuvering behind allies and up the beachhead his team gets toward the edge of the beachhead. Kett notices several enemy troopers heading in their direction. Kett: "Looks like we have company, battle positions!"

Arret and the archers load their arrows then promptly fire. Arret fires an arrow through the neck of an Earth Kingdom Lieutenant. Earth Kingdom Sergeant: "Sir!" Another arrow flies through the chest of an enemy spearman while an earthbender is shot in his stomach.

The eartbender bends before he falls, "Awww!"

Kett: "Benders, with me." Kett and the fire benders move ahead of the spearmen and swordsmen. Kett: "Get ready!" Kett, Rosier, and Ronin enter their battle stances. Kett commands, "Fire!" Kett presses his hands forward and launches a powerful stream of light orange fire into an incoming earthbender. Then Kett rotates his hand right and burns down two swordsmen.

Rosier launches an explosive orange flame into an earthbender who leaps across him. While Ronin fires two flames into incoming swordsmen. Earth kingdom Swordsman: "Oof!"

Kett: "Nonbenders, press forward!" The spearmen and swordmen charge forward and engage enemy forces. One spearman advances and chucks his blade through the chest of an Earth Kingdom swordsman. Dade advances and cuts down an incoming Earth Kingdom swordsman. Another swordsman lunges horizontally at Dade's head. Dade ducks then presses his right hand forward and lunges his blade into the man's stomach.

Dade pulls his blade back and his enemy falls. Another swordsman charges at Dade and Dade swiftly swipes his blade upward, cutting the man down. An Earth Kingdom spearwoman charges at Dade, "Arrrraah!" The woman vertically swings at Dade. Dade leaps right then the woman thrusts her blade at Dade's neck.

Dade leaps down and stumbles on his knees. The woman slashes at Dade while he's down. Dade turns his body swats the spear in the other direction. Dade leaps back on his feet and tackles the woman. Dade: "Raaah!" The hacks his sword down at her neck, but the woman pulls her spear up and blocks the strike.

Spearwoman: "Get off me!" The woman pushes Dade off her. The spearwoman rises and Dade does the same. The woman lunges in the air like a bird and the wind howls as she pulls her spear down diagonally at Dade's neck. Dade leaps backward and then leaps forward as he horizontally lashes at her neck.

The woman rotates her spear and blocks the strike. Then she leaps forward and lunges at Dade's stomach. Dade leaps back as the blade scrapes his armor. Dade gasps. Spearwoman: "Raah!" The woman charges at Dade again and swings at his stomach a second time. Dade rotates his blade and smacks the spear in the left direction.

Dade charges the woman and lunges at her stomach. The woman backpedals and his blade scrapes her armor. The woman twirls backward and readjusts her blade. Dade: "Impressive. My name is Dade, let me know your's before I kill you."

Woman: "Bethanya." The woman charges again and lunges her blade at Dade's left nipple. Dade pulls his sword and horizontally clashes it against Bethanya's spear. Dade latches onto the side of the spear with his left hand. The young marine yanks and pulls the woman back then buts the hilt of his sword against her nose, knocking her out.

Dade takes a breath, "That lady was crazy." Arret fires an arrow into the chest of the last Earthbender remaining in their direction. Dade looks up and notices they are only eight feet from the fort. Kett: "Come on guys. Let's advance, we're not far from the staircase now."

The Battle Continues

Both walls cancel each other out and evaporate. Rosh: "Not bad."

Earthbender: "I was going to say the same."

Rosh: "Unfortunately for you, I'm just warming up."

Earthbender: "We'll see about that." The earthbender raises his hands and swirls them around. Four logs rotate around the bender. The earthbender presses his hands forward and a log horizontally at Rosh. Rosh leaps over the log in the air. The earthbender swings his right hand horizontally chucks another log at Rosh.

Rosh rotates his body as he swirls in the air and grabs a hold of the log. Then Rosh rotates his body and chucks the log back at his opponent. The earthbender chucks his third log into the redirected one knocking them both down. Rosh lands but stumbles forward as he does and the earthbender chucks the fourth log vertically at Rosh.

Rosh rolls right and kicks a low red-orange flame at his opponent's right leg. The earthbender leaps over the flame and lands two feet away from Rosh. Rosh: "You're going to get it." The earthbender moves his left arm and creates a massive hammer of stone.

The earthbender presses forward and swings at Rosh with a vertical strike. Rosh leaps backward and the earthbender extends his right arm and makes a second hammer of stone. Rosh comments, "Now that's ridiculous." The earthbender jumps at Rosh with a spinning vertical attack. Rosh leaps right. The earthbender swings his left hammer horizontally at Rosh's head. Rosh pivots behind the blow and rushes to get behind the earthbender.

The earthbender rotates his body and faces Rosh. The earthbender crosses his hammers and growls. Rosh: "Oh come on." Rosh pushes his hands together and fires a stream of fire at the man. The earthbender twirls his hammers and a swirl of dust blocks the fire. The earthbender hurls a stream of earth at Rosh. The marine officer leaps over the stream and behind the man.

An irritated Rosh responds, "Screw this!" Rosh kicks his right leg and fires a stream of fire into the earthbender's right wrist.

The earthbender drops his right hammer, "Ugh!" The man twirls his left hammer and dives at Rosh with a spinning attack. Rosh rolls left and the earthbender rises and repositions himself. The earthbender raises his charred right arm and launches a wall of earth at the young Captain. Rosh jumps on the wall then rapidly leaps off it toward his opponent.

Rosh lowers his left hand while in midair and swoops it down at his opponent. Rosh fires a massive stream of red-orange fire into the earthbender. Earthbender: "Ahhh!" Rosh takes a deep breath then Kanna pats him on the back and Samira moves left of his direction.

Kanna: "Good job." Samira points up as they hear a loud noise and the five big cannons take aim at the fleet.

Rosh: "Oh that's not good." The cannons open fire and five massive eight feet radius balls are launched at incredible speeds across the battlefield and into the seas. One ball lands directly in the center of the bridge of a corvette and breaks it in two. Another ball hits the front end of a lightcruiser left of the PA and immobilizes it. One ball barely misses the rear of the light cruiser on the right and splashes water in its direction. Another ball is fired at the corvette on the right, but the ship puts all power to its engines as it narrowly evades the shot.

The last ball flies directly at the bridge of the prompt adjudicator. Macai sees the ship heading toward the bridge. Macai: "Loop the ship around, Code Dark Blue." The ship makes a massive loop to the left and swerves away from the ball. But the ship doesn't move fast enough to evade the shot, instead if maneuvers to get a better positioning of its cannons.

Macai: "Fire!" The Prompt Adjudicator fires a volley of shots from its left cannons directly into the ball. The ball breaks into fragments and the ship swerves further to the left to evade some projectiles. Some of the fragments hits the bridge, but they are so small that they only cause minor damage. Macai can hear a few light thumps across the wall.

Hazo takes a deep breath and Aiya does the same. Macai: "Now, let's hope our allies can keep them from firing another volley."

Desperate Measures

Kett and his team charge up the staircase. Kett notices five Earth kingdom Troopers heading in his direction. One is a Sergeant. Right of the sergeant is a swordsman and left of him is an earthbender. Ronin moves on Kett's right flank and Rosier moves on his left. Kett fires a beam of light orange fire into the sergeant's chest. The beam sends the Sergeant flying ten feet back.

Rosier fires two flames at the Earthbender across him. The earthbender leaps over the flames and Kett extends his left hand, firing a rapid bright orange flame into the bender. The earthbender flies into the stone wall beside him and goes tumbling down. Ronin sharply extends his right hand and blasts his opponent in the neck. The swordsman covers his neck as he falls forward.

Arret fires an arrow into the face of a distant spearman while another archer shoots an arrow at the earthbender beside him. The earthbender slides forward and Kett fires a beam of fire at the bender. The earthbender leaps left and Rosier tosses an explosive orange flame into the man, knocking him two feet back.

As Kett and his team sprint across the staircase, five archers run across the side of the fort and look down at the advancing team. Three arrows and fires across the staircase. One hits a swordsman in the back of his head. Another arrow hits a spearman in the neck. Spearman: "Ack!" Another arrow hits an Archer on his shoulder. The archer collapses and is incapacitated.

Archer: "Uh!" Another arrow is fired at Dade, but Dade swiftly swats it aside. Another arrow is fired at Arret but Arret rolls right and fires the arrow into the throat of her attacker. The archer falls off the platform and lands on the staircase below between two marines.

Fire Nation Marine: "Yikes!" The other Fire Nation archer fires an arrow into one of the archers. The Two of the remaining three archers readjust their aim at the three firebenders closest to the top of the fort. Kett presses his hands forward and blasts one of the archers aside with a stream of bright orange fire. The archer near him flinches from the attack and is shot in the neck by Arret as he hesitates.

The last archer takes aim at Kett and opens fire. Kett slides forward and Rosier fires a blast of fire at the archer. The archer takes cover and retreats from his position. Kett looks back at his advancing allies, "Keep an eye out for any ambushes or flankers. Follow behind quickly, we'll take the lead."

Kett charges up the platform with Rosier on his left and Ronin on his right. Kett: "Showtime boys." Kett notices several earthbenders, swordsmen, and spearmen across his position and can see one of the cannons a few feet away from them. 

Earth Kingdom sergeant: "Stop them! Don't let them attack the cannons! They are our key to victory."

Kett sprints forward and rapidly shifts his hands ahead. A volley of four bright orange flames takes down two Earth Kingdom Swordsmen. Rosier presses his hands together and fires an explosive flame into an earthbender across him. Ronin fires a stream of fire into a swordsman across him. An earthbender sprints toward Kett and presses his hands forward, launching a piece of the floor at Kett.

Kett leaps in the air over the attack then extends his right arm and creates fires a beam of bright orange fire. Kett rotates his arm left and burns five Earth Kingdom troopers in his direction, including the earthbender who just attacked him. Kett turns and faces the cannon across him. One Archer takes aim at Kett on his right flank, Kett extends his right hand and fires a flame in the archer's chest.

A swordsman behind Kett raises his blade but Rosier shoots him down. Kett fires a stream of light orange fire into the cannon. The back of the cannon explodes and the cannon collapses. Kett: "How the heck do these things even work?"

Rosier: "I heard they have a drill in the ground that extracts the elements below to generate these attacks. Within this fort. It's not good for the environment though."

Ronin: "I doubt our nation cares what's good from the environment when we make our weapons."

Rosier: "Ok focus." Rosier turns and notices several more Earth benders taking aim at them.

Kett yawns, "We'll never beat them all in time." An arrow flies in the neck of one of the Earth Kingdom troopers.

Arret: "Don't be so sure." The other archer opens fire and takes down another Earth Kingdom Trooper. Rosier fires two flames into two of the Earth Kingdom Troopers. Kett rapidly fires two light orange flames into two troopers across him. Ronin presses his hands together and fires an explosive flame into an Axman across him. Then Dade and several marines with swords and spears advance into the fight on the platform.

Meanwhile, Rosh kicks a rod of red-orange fire into an Earth Kingdom swordsman across him. Kanna leaps forward and fires two dark orange flames into two incoming Earthbenders. Earthbender: "Uh!" Samira leaps forward and slams her spear into the neck of an enemy spearman. Asad lowers his hands and blasts himself in the air.

Asad smiles, "I just learned jet propulsion." Rosier extends his right hand and blasts away two Earthbenders with a beam of orange fire.

Kanna: "Congratulations Asad." Kanna leaps forward and kicks a massive dark orange flame by extending both of her legs forward. The flame smacks a brute ahead of her and knocks him into another two earthbenders. Rosh looks up and notices the fight on the fort.

Rosh points, "Look, Kett's team is up there."

Sonna shakes her head, "But they're taking too long. The enemies are probably charging their guns as we speak." While they are talking, Macai moves the Prompt Adjudicator closer to the shoreline. He knows this is a risky move because it exposes his ship to enemy fire and his ship has to concentrate to get a clear shot a the enemy without blasting their forces on the beachhead."

Hazo: "Are you sure you want to do this? It gives us less time to react to those heavy cannons."

Macai: "If any ship has the range and skill to pull this off, it's us. Our forces know the drill for defense and it looks like Kett took out one of those cannons. His team seems to have their hands full. They're going up against at least a platoon's worth of enemies with less than two squads of troops. They're also doing it in close quarters with almost no room to maneuver."

Hazo: "They are going to be busy for quite a while."

Macai: "That's why we're going to help them. But we don't want to risk killing them. Fire a third of our guns at the right side of the fort. We'll try to take out the two heavy cannons on the right, leaving the two in the center but it will put their ranks in disarray. Then pull back before they counter-attack and fire those heavy cannons again."

The Prompt Adjudicator fires a chilling volley of shots over the beachhead. Both the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom troopers look up as they notice the attack. The shots fly directly into the right side of the fort and reduce that side of the fort to rubble. The two right cannons are blown away. The fort quivers.

Earth Kingdom Major Hannock and Captain Guire shake as they wait near the center cannon. Guire turns around and notices, "Sir, our exit is gone. We're stuck here."

Major Hannock: "We can still win! Stand your ground men! Tell our forces ahead to shut down that squad and reload those cannons. Fire both at Macai's ship!"

Kett hears a loud noise while his team fights. Ronin: "Sounds like they're charging those guns." Kett notices the two remaining guns point at Macai's ship.

Kett: "There is no way he can take them both down in time. Team, let's take out the gun next to us. On the count of three, we blitz and punch through the guys depending it." Kett: "One." Rosier notices a Spearman charge at him and extends his left hand. An orange flame flies into the man's left shoulder.

Kett: "Two." A swordsman charges at Dade and swings down at his head. Dade raises his blade horizontally and blocks the attack. Kett: "Three." Dade rotates his sword and horizontally cuts the man down. Ronin presses his hands forward and shoots two Earth Kingdom Troopers down. Kett leaps a few feet across the cannon.

An Earth Kingdom swordsman charges behind Kett, "Raaah!" Kett leaps away from the attack launches himself on top of the canon. The Earth Kingdom Trooper looks up in surprise, "Archers shoot him down!" Two distant archers take aim at Kett.

One arrow is fired directly at Kett's face. Kett ducks then a second arrow is fired at his right side. Kett catches the arrow and drops it. Then Kett leaps off the canon and presses his left hand down on the platform below. Kett keeps himself in the air with a stream of fire from his left hand. Kett struggles to keep his balance and hold himself up with one hand. But he extends his right hand and fires a beam of fire into the cannon.

The cannon is destroyed and smoke flows from it. Kett yanks his second hand down and flies ahead with his jet propulsion technique. Kett flies forward and burns ten Earth Kingdom troopers under him while doing so. Kett promptly lands to avoid being a target for archers and his teammates move behind him.

Ronin: "Good work Kett."

Kett: "Thanks. Only one left now."

Major Hannock looks at Captain Guire, "Fire cannons!"

Captain Guire: "Sire we lost the other one."

Major Hannock: "What, how?! We just had troopers all over it. Whatever, fire the other one then!" The cannon rapidly fires a massive ball at Macai's ship.

Macai: "Evasive maneuvers!" This time the ball flies and soars right in the middle of the PA before gravity pulls it down. Macai: "Actually, just fire all guns directly at it. It's in an easy spot for us to hit." All of the PA cannons fire into the ball and obliterate it.

Hannock looks at Guire, "What?! You idiot! Why didn't you fire low at its bridge or something!"

Guire: "I didn't fire it, sir the gunner did. You also didn't order him to."

Hannock hisses, "Ugh!"

Guire: "Would you like to surrender sir."

Hannock: "What?!"

Guire: "Surrender... Sir we can't win now." Kett fires a distant blast into the last remaining cannon. The fort shakes as Hannock turns and notices the explosion. Hannock looks back at Guire.

Hannock: "You're a disgrace." Hannock pulls his right fist back and engulfs it with stone. Then Hannock pounds Guire in his stomach and knocks him off the platform.

Guire screams, "Ahhhh!"

Hannock shouts, "All troopers, charge! We will go out fighting." One of the earthbenders looks back at Hannock like he's crazy. Hannock: "Or do you want to die too?" The earthbender turns around. Hannock: "That's what I thought, charge!"

Ronin: "They're charging."

Kett: "What? I would have expected a surrender by now. An unnecessary amount of their troops will die this way."

Rosier: "I guess they want to take us out with them." While this is happening, the main battle rages on below. Rosh leaps forward and thrusts his arms frying two Earth Kingdom troopers with a stream of red-orange fire. Kanna leaps forward then points her right hand, smacking two Earth Kingdom swordsmen aside with a whip or dark orange fire. Sonna fires an arrow into the neck of an Earth Kingdom Swordsman.

Kedo fires an inflamed arrow into the neck of an airborne earthbender. The Earth kingdom troopers on the beachhead drop their weapons and put their hands up. Kanna: "Yeah, we won!"

Samira looks at Rosh, "Nice job, Captain."

Rosh: "Thanks, but it looks like the people on the fort aren't stopping."

Samira: "That's odd. I hear this guy Hannock is hardcore. Apparently more hardcore than most of his unit. Usually, the officers will save themselves at this point, but I guess he'd rather go out fighting."

Cosal walks between them, "Hey youngsters, I overhead the convo."

Rosh: "Creep."

Cosal: "Well, you were talking loudly. Anyway, I heard Hannock was once a prisoner of war. Before he led a revolt and escaped a Fire Nation prison. He brutally killed many of the guards and showed them no mercy. He was harshly tortured and interrogated before that."

Cosal continues, "He also went to one of the most brutal camps where Earth Kingdom soldiers were regularly humiliated and beaten. But that was about ten years ago when Boiling Rock had a major competitor called Konaka. Now Boiling Rock is the worst place around and I promise you it's nowhere near as brutal as Konaka was."

Rosh: "Do they still use Konaka?"

Cosal: "No, Azulon shut it down to punish those who failed to keep the prisoners. The traitor Jeong Jeong took part in that liberation project. Apparently witnessing the atrocities committed there turned him away from the Fire Nation among other events."

Rosh: "I never heard that story."

Cosal: "There are a lot of stories they don't tell people at the academies. There are heroes and villains on both sides. But our side is better of course." Rosh looks back up at that platform and Cosal does the same.

Kett presses his hands forward and knocks an incoming earthbender aside with a beam of light orange fire. Ronin presses both of his hands forward and shoots down two incoming Earth Kingdom troopers away. Rosier fires an explosive flame at an advancing spearman and the spearman leaps over the flame and toward Rosier. Rosier slides forward and the spearman lands behind him.

Rosier tilts his right hand behind him and blasts the spearman. An Earth Kingdom swordsman charges at Rosier and swings vertically at him. Rosier extends his arms and latches onto his opponent's hands. Then Rosier shifts his arms right and chucks his opponent off the fort. Earth Kingdom swordsman: "Aiiiyyyyyeeee!"

Ronin looks ahead and notices Major Hannock slowly walking toward him. Ronin's eyes widen, "Major Hannock."

Major Hannock: "Spare me the ceremony." Hannock raises his hands and several objects emerge around him. Then Hannock launches the objects at Ronin, Rosier, and Kett. Kett leaps left away from the shots and behind the damaged cannon for cover. Ronin extends his right hand and blasts one incoming brick. Ronin ignites his left hand and evaporates another object.

Rosier raises a wall of orange fire over himself, which blocks incoming objects. Hannock continues to spam several objects at Ronin. Ronin shifts his arms and makes a bubble shield of fire around him body. Hannock laughs then extends his right arm, causing the part of the fort where Ronin and Rosier are standing to cave in.

The marines behind the firebenders fall back to avoid plunging to their deaths. Rosier douses his shield and leaps ahead a few feet left of Hannock's position. Ronin suddenly doses his shield and desperately sprints forward. The ground below Ronin collapses and he jumps as he narrowly lands on the edge of the fort. Ronin slowly pulls himself up as he struggles to hang on the ledge.

Hannock smiles, "It's over ash maker." As Hannock plans to finish Ronin, Rosier charges on his right flank. Hannock turns right and launches a sharp blade into Rosier's stomach. Rosier lowers his eyes as he can feel the sting on his gut and sees blood flow from it.

Rosier: "Ah." Rosier stumbles backward.

Ronin's voice cracks, "Rosie!" Ronin almost losses his grip as he struggles to keep a hold. Hannock frantically laughs.

Hannock: "This is what you scum deserve. As long as the Fire Nation exists our hate will always survive. Then people like me will keep killing people like you. No matter how hard you fight, no matter how many lies you tell, and no matter how many of us you kill. We will always come back, stronger than before."

Ronin: "You're insane!"

Hannock laughs, "Insane? Perhaps. But I am also enlightened!"

Kett runs across the damaged cannon and fires a beam of light orange fire at Hannock. Hannock ducks and Kett leaps across the ledge onto the platform. Kett lands a few feet left of Hannock's position and a few feet ahead of Ronin. Hannock: "You're next!"

Hannock extends his right hand as he pulls a fragment of the platform from the ground below and swings his hand left. The object flies toward Kett. The teen leaps backward, but stumbles as he nearly falls off the ledge. Hannock chuckles, "Goodbye, Kett." Hannock pulls his hands up and causes the part of the platform that Kett and Ronin are on to collapse. They both plunge down and Ronin screams. Kett swoops down and grabs Ronin.

Kett steadies himself as he holds them both straight. Kett: "Now hold onto me." Ronin wraps his arms around Kett. Kett fires his hands into the ground below and launches them up. Kett: "This is a great height, this is going to drain me, so I need you to fight him when we get up there."

Ronin murmurs, "With pleasure." Kett launches them both back onto the platform a few feet across Hannock. An exhausted Kett passes out as Ronin rises to his feet and moves a few feet right of Hannock.

Hannock: "Well, I'm impressed. But he should have let you die. That's not the resolve typically of one of your ash makers. He had a better chance against me than you. Now I will kill you both and escape."

Ronin: "That remains to be seen."

Hannock fires four sharp objects at Ronin. Ronin slides right and presses both of his hands in Hannock's direction. A powerful orange explosive flame is fired at Hannock. Hannock leaps over the flame and directly in front of Ronin. Hannock swings at Ronin with a vicious left hook. Ronin ducks and can hear the wind cry from the powerful strike.

Hannock pounds his right fist into Ronin's left side and Ronin's feet buckle from the hit. Hannock pulls Ronin forward and headbutts him (slamming his forehead into Ronin's nose). Blood flows from Ronin's nose and Ronin's grip loosens as he struggles to keep a hold of his opponent. During the struggle Arret attempts to take aim at Hannock from the distance.

Then Hannock pushes Ronin off the platform again. Kett slowly rises as he sees his friend's demise. Kett's heart sinks and he still has not regained his strength. Hannock taunts, "Stupid boy."

Kett tightens his fists and they are engulfed with light orange flames. Kett: "Want to try that on me?"

Hannock responds, "With pleasure." An arrow is fired from Arret at Hannock's neck. Hannock nonchalantly tilts his arm left and an object intercepts the arrow. Hannock: "Where were we?" Kett advances and Hannock launches the object at Kett's face. Kett dives left, a few feet from Rosier's critical body. Kett rises back on his feet and sprints at Hannock.

Hannock raises his arms and two stones from the ground below rise and hit Kett in the face. Kett's face turns pink from the blows and he backpedals. Hannock raises several other stones and chucks them at Kett. One stone hits Kett's right shoulder. Another flies at his head and Kett ducks. Another stone hits Kett's left side, but Kett sprints forward.

While this is happening, Ronin's body plunges toward the ground but Ronin suddenly wakes up as he is almost at ground level. Ronin thinks, Oh, I'm dead. Wait a minute? I can't manage jet propulsion I don't know how to do that. But maybe I don't need to. I can't keep myself in the air, but if I fire a blast into the ground before I hit it then maybe it will slow down my fall and keep me from dying. Worth a try.

Ronin straightens his body and gathers all of his strength. As Ronin is just ten feet from the ground he uses all his might to fire orange flames from his hands into the ground. Ronin briefly launches himself three feet higher in the air but stops the momentum of gravity. Then Ronin's arms get tired from the over-exertion of force that he used.

Ronin's arms feel tight and his flame stops. Ronin falls again but this time only from twelve feet in the air rather than forty-five. Ronin falls and lands hard on his feet. Ronin feels a great sting as his hands hit the sand below. But the sand at least is not as hard as the grass. Ronin feels his leg bones pop as he collapses.

(Music stops)

Kanna looks in the distance and pats Samira, "Did you see that?! Someone feel and briefly stopped his fall with firebending."

Samira: "Must have been a good firebender. But a rookie or one not good enough to stay in the air for long. Or manage a proper landing. He took a big hit and will need medical attention, but he'll live." Samira sprints and finds him.

Kanna: "Oh it's Ronin."

Samira checks his pulse, "Yeah he's alive, but he passed out."

Kanna: "Don't worry Roni, yell get you medical attention."

Samira: "Please don't call him that. It's cringe Kanna."

Kanna: "Awww, whatever." Kanna and Samira drag Ronin away.

Ryse: Son of Rome OST- Desire for Vengeance (Music Starts)

Meanwhile, Kett continues his battle with Major Hannock. Kett: "I'm going to make you pay for what you've done."

Major Hannock: "Do you know how many young Firebenders told me that? Before I killed them and their friends. You're not special, kid."

Kett glares at Hannock and Hannock scowls at him. Hannock rapidly presses his hands forward and fires two stones at Kett. Kett rolls forward and knees Hannock in his stomach. Hannock backhands Kett and Kett stumbles a foot back. Hannock retrieves the blade from Rosier's stomach and swings the bloody blade at Kett's neck.

Kett shifts left then Hannock rotates the blade and horizontally swings it at Kett's neck. Kett ducks and Hannock swings again at Kett's stomach. Kett extends his left arm and intercepts the blow. Kett desperately uses all of his strength as he holds the Major's right hand back but Hannock slowly overpowers him with his greater strength.

Hannock comments, "After I'm done with you, I'm going to kill Macai. And then that Princess."

Kett knees Hannock in the stomach and amps his knee with light orange flames. Then Kett headbutts Hannock and blood flows from Hannock's nose. Kett: "I don't care about the Princess, but Macai would crush you." Kett twirls behind Hannock and presses down on his right arm.

Hannock moans but keeps a hold of his blade. Kett tightens his grip and Hannock eventually drops the blade. Kett then grabs a hold of Hannock's other hand with his right arm. Hannock moves side to side rapidly, "No!" Hannock wiggles his right arm free then aggressively elbows Kett twice in his stomach.

Kett trips Hannock then wraps his legs around Hannock's legs. Kett grabs a hold of Hannock's neck and tightens his grip. Hannock: "What?! Are you wrestling me! Unhand me you coward!" Hannock wiggles as he attempts to free himself but Kett pins him down and tightens his grip. Hannock: "Ahhh!" Hannock starts coughing.

Hannock says, "I will not go to prison again. I'm taking you with me then." Kett feels a vibration around him as he feels that section of the fort collapse. He falls forward with his hands wrapped around Hannock and Hannock promptly passes out from the lack of circulation. Kett lets go of Hannock as he prepares to free himself. But Kett loops up and notices several objects flying toward him. Kett sways his body left to avoid being crushed by incoming debris.

(music stops)

Kett also sees Rosier's body falling and a tear flows from his right eye. Kett presses his hands right and launches himself toward Rosier. Kett latches onto his body Kett notices several objects are flying around him and there is a good chance he will be crushed. Now Kett is just a few feet from the ground.

Kett looks at the beachhead across from him. Then the firebender extends his legs and launches his body several feet away from the fort toward the beachhead. Soon no debris are flying over Kett. Kett straightens his stance and shoots light orange fire from his feet into the sand below. Kett launches himself a few more feet in the air and further along the beachhead. Kett steadily lowers himself and lands safely on the sand.

Kett briefly puts down Rosier and asks himself, "How did I survive that?" Kett notices three marines advancing toward him. The one on the right is a female spearwoman, the one on the right is a swordsman, and the one in the center is a firebender.

Firebender: "Kett, is that Rosier?" Kett harrowingly nods. Firebender: "I see. Well, I'm glad to see you back.

Meanwhile, Macai meets with Rosh and they wait for survivors from the Fort attack. Rosh notices Dade, Arret, and several marines arrive. Rosh: "Glad to see you all. Where is Kett?"

Dade shakes his head, "The part of the fort he was on, collapsed."

Rosh regretfully says, "Yeah, I saw that section of the fort go down. I was hoping the enemies were the only ones on it."

Kanna responds, "We also found Ronin on that side before the whole thing went down."

Kett: "Who's dead?" Kanna smiles and everyone looks. Kett emerges with the three marines he recently met. Kett: "I made it out of there. But it wasn't easy."

Macai: "If anyone could do it, it was you."

Kett: "Sadly, we lost Rosie." A tear flows from Macai's right eye.

Macai: "What?"

The marines drag Rosier's body. Kanna lowers her head and Samira gets teary-eyed. Sonna, Cosal, Aiya, Hazo, Basin, and several others emerge to see their fallen friend. Later that day, the team has a funeral as they bury their friend in the beachhead.

Macai: "Eventually, our allies will come to dig up the bodies and transport them to our country. Where they will be brought to their families and they can have proper funerals. But in the meantime, I wanted to have some words for Rosier. One of our good friends and most trusted veterans in this unit. Someone we could trust with our lives."

Macai struggles to hold his tears back, "A great warrior. But more than just a warrior. A great father, a great countryman, a great friend, a brother in arms! Let us remember him for all he was and strive to make a world where others like Rosier won't have to die. Don't let his death be in vain! Let us fight valiantly every time our enemies rise against us remembering the friends we lost along the way. Let us keep on fighting in everything that we do remembering champions like Rosier and taking down lunatics like Major Hannock!"

Xmen: Magneto Super Theme Song (Music Starts)

Macai continues, "But let's not make this about him. He doesn't deserve that attention. Just let them be a reminder of why we fight. You will be missed, Rosie." Macai kisses two of his fingers then touches the spot where his friend is buried.

Kanna, Samira, Sonna, Arret, Rosh, Dade, Ronin, Kett, Basin, Kedo, Cosal, and the rest of the 31st does the same. Kett looks up to the sky after he does, "I know everything happens for a reason. So let me do the right thing. For good old Rosie."

Cosal pats Kett in the back, "Now I lost my buddy. It was nice having another old guy to talk to and school you youngsters with. My time will come one day, perhaps before this war is over. Perhaps not. But whatever happens, we will always be brothers in arms." Cosal and Kett cross elbows.

Kett: "Always, brothers in arms."