Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee sat in the control room. After the first wave of earthbenders, no more soldiers came their way. Mai sighed from her chair, her voice carrying her usual boredom.
"This is boring."
Ty Lee kept looking through the spyglass and said, "The soldiers all left, they all climbed the wall. Maybe they gave up?"
Azula narrowed her eyes. "They gave up too quickly. They might be planning something. Keep watching, Ty Lee, and let me know if you see anyone coming toward us."
Ty Lee answered with a happy tone, "Sure!"
The war minister spoke confidently. "You have nothing to worry about, Princess. Those soldiers must have realized the futility of their attempt to stop our great drill."
Azula didn't reply. She sat there doubtful. She didn't believe the Ba Sing Se defenders would just give up like that, not with their city's fate on the line. But despite her doubt, for the next few minutes as they approached the wall, nothing happened.
It was not until they made contact with the wall and the drill began digging through it that rocks started falling upon them. Even then, the attacks were too pitiful. With each passing moment, the war minister grew more confident in their success.
But when the drill was more than halfway through, the reports began coming in. The first mentioned the ambush of an engineer and the loss of the schematics. The next reported one of the giant metal support beams had been cut clean through. It was clear that it was an act of sabotage.
The minister looked both shocked and horrified, while Azula stood up quickly. "That's what they were planning. Ladies, with me."
Both Ty Lee and Mai followed Azula outside of the control room. Ty Lee asked, "Where do we start the search?"
"The outer layer, of course," Azula replied sharply. "The infiltrators are attacking the support beams to weaken the drill, maybe hoping the raining rocks will cause the body to fail under its own weight if the beams are damaged enough."
Azula accelerated her pace, her eyes glinting with focus. "We must hurry. We don't know how many individuals we are dealing with or the extent of the damage they have caused."
Mai and Ty Lee picked up their speed as well, keeping close behind Azula. The trio quickly arrived at the outer layer of the drill and began moving from one location to another, searching for the intruders. Eventually, they heard voices coming from behind the beams ahead. Azula narrowed her eyes, then surged forward faster than before. She dashed down to the lower level and there, she saw them.
The Avatar and his two Water Tribe friends were cutting into one of the beams. The Avatar and the water tribe girl were passing water back and forth, chipping slowly at the massive support.
Without a word, Azula thrust her fist forward, launching a blazing fireball toward them.
The Water Tribe boy, who had been cheering the girl and the Avatar on, suddenly screamed, "Be careful!" His warning gave the Avatar just enough time to dodge the attack. The three immediately turned and ran, while Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee charged after them.
The Avatar team bolted into the inner layer of the drill, the narrow corridors echoing with their hurried footsteps. At the end of one corridor, the group split, Aang darted one way while the Water Tribe siblings fled in another.
"The Avatar is mine. You follow the other two," Azula ordered sharply as she kept running.
The trio split, and the moment they did, Ty Lee glanced at Mai and said, "I'll go catch them!" Then she accelerated, her speed surging to a level far greater than before. Mai blinked, unable to even attempt to keep pace. There was no way she could catch up to that.
[Tai Lung's training did wonders to Ty Lee] Mai thought as she continued at her own pace.
Katara and Sokka stumbled into a pipe full of mud and rocks, Sokka pointing quickly. "This must be water mixed with rocks from the wall!"
"Then it must be leading outside," Katara said, her face lighting with hope.
But before she could say anything more, Ty Lee appeared behind them like a shadow. Before either sibling could react, she unleashed a barrage of precise strikes. Both Katara and Sokka collapsed onto the floor, their bodies paralyzed.
Ty Lee stood over them, hands on her hips, and said brightly, "Your escape ends here."
Seconds later, Mai arrived. Her usual monotone voice carried no excitement as she noted, "You caught them. Yahoo."
Ty Lee smiled wide. "Of course! I won't let the ones who hurt you escape!!"
For once, Mai's expression softened, a small smile tugging at her lips.
——————
The Avatar on his own was much faster, his airbending carrying him across the drill's surface with incredible speed. Even so, Azula pursued without hesitation, her cold determination driving her forward. When she finally burst onto the top of the drill, she spotted him in the distance near the city wall, his back turned as he worked something feverishly at the drill's outer shell.
Azula's eyes narrowed. She charged.
The Avatar's small pet screeched sharply, warning him of her approach. In the same instant, Azula unleashed a barrage of fire, punching forward again and again, blue flames streaking across the drill's surface. Aang spun and quickly bent the broken rocks scattered across the drill, raising a makeshift wall.
Her flames smashed against the stone again and again, searing heat flaring but failing to break through. The Avatar retaliated at once, rocks rose in the air and hurtled toward her. Azula twisted and weaved, dodging some, kicking others aside, all while firing back with her relentless flames.
Their duel came to an abrupt halt as the sky above them seemed to darken. Enormous chunks of rock rained down from the top of the wall, forcing both combatants to break off and dodge for their lives. The deadly falling rocks left no room for attacks, only dodging for survival.
When the rain of rocks finally ended, the two faced each other once again. Both dropped into stance, ready for the second round, when suddenly the entire drill shuddered violently beneath their feet.
The drill's outer shell expanded outward with brutal force, splitting the ancient wall. Ba Sing Se's outer wall cracked and then broke apart.
The Avatar froze, staring wide-eyed through the new opening. He could see the sprawling city beyond. His voice dropped in dread "Oh no…"
Azula's laughter rang sharp and triumphant. "It's too late now, we have succeeded."
But Aang's face hardened, determination igniting within him. He lunged back into the fight, this time attacking with every element at his disposal. Air whirled around him, water surged from the flask he carried, and stone leapt from the drill surface. The onslaught came swift and fierce, and for the first time, Azula began to falter beneath the Avatar's storm.
Yet the drill didn't stop. It pressed deeper, grinding through the city wall.
By the time half its bulk had forced through, the massive machine came to a halt and then unleashed chaos. Its belly opened, and hundreds of Fire Nation soldiers poured out into Ba Sing Se, attacking civilians and soldiers alike. Through the enormous breach, the flanking tanks thundered in, joining the invasion.
Aang's eyes widened. He turned away from Azula, desperate to protect the innocent people now under attack.
Azula's gaze sharpened. She raised her hand, her fingers curling as sparks of blue danced at the tips of her fingers.
The Avatar heard the crackle, and noticed the flash of blue behind him. He spun around just in time to see Azula release the bolt. It lanced toward him, aimed to kill. With a desperate twist, he dove aside, the lightning seared past him, missing by a hair's breadth.
Azula clicked her tongue, annoyed by her failure, her golden eyes narrowing at her prey.
The Avatar rose again, eyes locked on her, when a familiar voice called out from behind Azula.
"Azula!!"
Both turned.
Mai and Ty Lee had arrived with a squad of Fire Nation soldiers. Bound between them, struggling helplessly, were Katara and Sokka.
Aang's face collapsed into horror.
Azula, however, smiled cruelly, satisfaction dripping from every word as she gestured to the captives.
"Look at what my friends brought with them. What a pleasant surprise, don't you think, Avatar?"
The Avatar clenched his fists and screamed "Release them, your fight is with me!!"
Azula laughed "No, this is a war not a duel. Surrender yourself or your dear friends die"
The water tribe girl, Katara, said "Don't listen to them Aang!! Run and defend the city!!"
One of the soldiers holding Katara pulled her roughly and slapped her while saying "Silence!!"
Katara screamed in pain while Sokka screamed "Bastard!! Don't touch her"
Strong wind blasted, catching the attention of everyone, The Avatar's eyes and tattoo were glowing.