5

For hundreds of years, Fort Tenpei had served as a bastion of the Earth Kingdom: as immovable as the mountain it was hewn into. Built back during the war against Chin the Conqueror, the military outpost had allowed the land for miles around to be kept free of banditry.

And now it stood in the Fire Nation's way.

Earthbending soldiers manned the walls in full force, piles of heavy rocks at their sides as they observed the army of common soldiers amassed in a defensive formation before them. In the distance the rhythmic pounding of thousands of men marching in unison heralded the coming arrival of the Fire Nation army. Scouts had reported that they were outnumbered two-to-one, but that didn't concern their commander. The Earth Kingdom was always better at fighting defensive battles, and with the fortifications of Tenpei to assist them he was confident that the Earth Kingdom would win this siege. The Fire Nation had made such headway into the Earth Kingdom because it used dishonourable tactics such as damming rivers, burning farmland and others forms of sabotage to force the Earth Kingdom soldiers out of their defensive positions before engaging them. There had been no sign of such cheap tricks here though, which meant their commander must have arrogantly believed he could take them in a straight fight. The foolishness of the Fire Nation truly knew no bounds.

It was as the first row of Fire Nation troops came into view, one of the watchmen up on the walls blew their horn in warning. The earthbenders manning the walls looked over to where he was pointing, and a chorus of fearful murmurs broke out across the troops as they spotted what had caused the alarm.

High up in the night's sky a pinprick of fast-moving light, like a shooting star, could be seen flying towards them.

The Devil of the South Sea was here.

For the soldiers of the Earth Kingdom she was something of a boogeyman; tales of her terrible deeds passed around in hushed, fearful tones during night watches. Though she had the appearance of a fairy-like little girl with hair the colour of spun sunlight, her eyes glimmered like hot coals with the heat of a soul that blazed with lust for violence. They said she arrived to battle on a flying chariot made of hellfire, and devoured the spirits of those she slew to fuel her unnatural powers. If you said her name three times while looking at your reflection in the water she would appear behind you, and at night she roamed the woods like a wolf, hunting for deserters and feasting upon their cowardly livers. Nobody truly believed such tales, but that didn't stop the sense of trepidation that would hang in the air whenever someone mentioned her name. There were many firebending masters across the world, but none who were both so young nor so infamous for their acts of violence.

As the fiery pinprick came close enough for the beginning of gold coloured hair to be made out, none of the earthbenders needed to wait for orders. As one they began firing the nearby rocks up towards her with the force of cannonballs, determined to remove the icon of dread before it could sap away at the morale of their soldiers.

High up in the sky, Tanya felt a sharp-toothed grin spread across her lips as the hail of stones came her way. Gravity was already doing the brunt of the work for her, slowing the projectiles down and pulling many of them off-course. While she was up here drawing the earthbender's fire, the vanguard of the Fire Nation army was just beginning to crash into the Earth Kingdom's front line without being pelted by an unrelenting hail or rock. Fear really could make even the most hardened soldiers act like novices. The flames spewing from her hands and feet grew brighter as she began to duck and weave erratically, swerving through the barrage of stone like a fly dodging clumsy hands.

To the Earth Kingdom's credit, it didn't take the earthbenders long to realise that their attention was misplaced. The barrage of stone grew lighter as more and more of them returned their attention to the battle below, and Tanya took the opportunity to press forwards. Projectiles came at her faster and more accurately as the distance between her and the earthbenders that still chose to target her closed, and after one boulder narrowly whizzed past her head Tanya decided it was time to strike back. A large fireball grew in the palm of one hand, and with a yell Tanya threw it down towards the wall.

As the fireball travelled it split apart, breaking down into smaller sized fireballs. One crashed harmlessly against the stone walls of Fort Tenpei, and another was blocked by an attentive soldier, but the other four struck earthbenders with enough force to knock them cleanly off their feet.

A bright flash of light flared out from Tanya's feet as she pushed her propulsion technique to the maximum, rapidly accelerating towards the wall, until she was close enough to make out the terrified expression of the nearest soldier. Then the flames cut off abruptly as she flipped around, now falling towards the quickly approaching ramparts legs first as if intending to drop-kick it. Moments before a bone-shattering impact flames burst from her hands and feet again: not aiming to counter her momentum, but push her up into a horizontal line. Like a professional football player she slide-tackled along the ramparts at the speed of a racing car, waves of fire spewing in the wake as her armour grated and sparked against the stone floor. Each earthbender she passed was blasted off the ramparts and down into the chaotic melee below, crashing like heavy sacks upon the defensive formations of their own troops.

Tanya's slide got her halfway along the ramparts before her momentum ran out, and with a spin that any breakdancer would be envious of she sprang to her feet in a swirl of flames. It was impossible for the other earthbenders manning the walls to not have noticed her now, yet their own defensive position now worked against them. The narrow ramparts were only wide enough to allow about three people to pass by each other at once, and since she was now positioned at one end of their line those on the other side could not fire at her without hitting each other in the back. Only three people could engage her at once, and only from the front.

It was a massacre.

Tanya moved like the demon she was nicknamed after, hacking and clawing away at them furiously with blades of flame. Where one earthbender fell another was quick to take their place, but what did that matter when they were all too slow to get a proper attack in before Tanya's burning hands found them? Like a furious hurricane Tanya tore through their ranks, claiming one new victim every second, until eventually there was nobody left to stop her. Gasping heavily for breath, Tanya pushed a lock of blonde hair out of her eyes and looked back at the now still ramparts behind her. The few earthbenders that hadn't been flung off it not lay unmoving.

Down below the Fire Nation soldiers issued a bellowing roar and surged forwards, emboldened by the strength of their captain and no longer hindered by a hail of rocks. Heavy tanks broke through the key parts of the Earth Army's formation, and with panicked cries the enemy's morale broke; their ranks scattering apart as soldiers turned and fled for their lives into the surrounding woods. One tank broke through the heavy gates, and like a tide of red and black the Fire Nation soldiers washed into Fort Tenpei, eliminating any last shreds of resistance with quick and brutal blasts of fire.

Tonight Fort Tenpei would be pillaged, and tomorrow razed to the ground as the Fire Nation took their spoils of war back to the nearby Pohuai Stronghold. With Fort Tenpei gone the Fire Nation now had control of the Earth Kingdom settlements for miles around, all ready and waiting to be assimilated into the Fire Nation colonies. The Firelord would be pleased.

And there was no doubting who would be credited with the victory.

"TANYA! TANYA! TANYA!" The soldiers below cheered as the final sparks of resistance were stomped out, signalling their complete and dominating victory. Spears were banged in rhythm against the ground, creating a drum-like tempo as the cheers turned into a resounding chant. It only grew louder as Tanya hopped up onto the edges of the rampart to get a better view of the scene below, her blonde hair whipping about wildly in the nighttime breeze.

She hated fighting directly on the front lines like this, but Commander Zhao had needed any threats to the nearby Pohuai Stronghold dealt with before he could request the assistance of the Yuyan Archers in their hunt for The Avatar. A prize like this would finally be enough to sate the disappointment that had been lingering between them ever since her failure to capture The Avatar back at the fire temple. And if it helped secure the Yuyan Archers among their ranks at the same time then all the better.

Yes, with them at her side, her next encounter with The Avatar would not end quite the same way as it had last time. She would make sure of it.

"Absolutely not! The Yuyan Archers stay here. Your request is denied, Commander Zhao."

Tanya could feel the beginnings of a headache coming on, and by the looks of things so could Zhao. It had been a day since she'd returned from the successful sacking of Fort Tenpei, and she'd been delighted when Zhao had invited her to join him for his meeting with Colonel Shinu, the man in charge of Pohuai Stronghold. It was a sign that her past failures had indeed been forgiven, and he was willing to have her back at his side once more.

Unfortunately the meeting was not going as well as they'd hoped.

"Colonel Shinu, please reconsider." Zhao pleaded. "Their precision is legendary. The Yuyan can pin a fly to a tree from one hundred yards away without killing it. You're wasting their talents using them as mere security guards."

He wasn't wrong. The Yuyan Archers were one of the most highly trained non-bender units at the Fire Nation's disposal, and now that Fort Tenpei was out of the way their considerable skill would only be used to patrol the area. What threats were around here that required the skill of the Yuyan Archers? There was nothing around here besides a handful of small villages and some crazy herbalist lady in the mountains.

"I can do whatever I want with their talents, they're my archers, and what I say goes." Shinu stubbornly replied. Tanya would have groaned aloud at his childishness were she not the lowest ranked individual in the conversation. Instead she settled for just groaning in her head. She'd worked with managers who refused to loan out their skilled employees back in her first life, and it always boiled back down to the same reason: they just didn't want to share. Why give away your top assets to someone who'd be competing for the next big promotion alongside you after all? That selfish mindset stunted companies, and would stunt the Fire Nation military as well if left unchecked.

Zhao was getting frustrated, so Tanya took that as her cue to try another line of reasoning. "Colonel, The Avatar is a danger to us all." She interjected. "The longer we leave him free to roam, the more powerful he will become. What happens if, one year from now, he comes here at the head of an Earth Kingdom army? Threats must be dealt with swiftly before they can grow into real problems."

"Your hunt for The Avatar is nothing but a vanity project!" Shinu spat, before turning back to Zhao. "We're fighting a real war here, and I need every man I've got, commander."

"But-"

"That's final! I don't wanna hear another word about it!"

Zhao was fuming at this point, and Tanya couldn't blame him. She'd very much like to deck this moron in the face herself. Real wars meant neutralising the enemy's super-weapons as soon as possible! Before Zhao could argue back however a squawk came from the sky, and all eyes turned to a messenger hawk as it swooped down and perched on Shinu's arm, presenting a missive tied to its leg. As Shinu read its contents his expression became evermore grave.

"News from Firelord Ozai?" Zhao asked shrewdly, picking up on his change in mood. In response Shinu gritted his teeth in frustration, and passed over the missive for Zhao to read. As his eyes scanned its contents a pleased grin spread across Zhao's face.

"It appears I've been promoted to admiral." He stated smugly. News about the successful destruction of Fort Tenpei must have reached The Firelord. "My request ... is now an order."

For a moment Shinu glared, but quickly realised that he could no longer win this battle of wits and bowed respectfully. As he turned to leave, Tanya bowed deeply to Zhao.

"Congratulations on your promotion, admiral."

"Thank you, Tanya." Zhao replied, placing a hand on her shoulder. "And with my promotion, I suppose that leaves my old position of commander empty. We can't have that now can we?" He smiled at her mischievously. "Congratulations on your promotion too, commander."

Commander! He was promoting her! Tanya had been worried for a moment that her debacle at the fire temple might have ruined her chances, but on reflection it had been foolish to think that. Zhao was a fair man, his treatment of the fire sages notwithstanding, and had never yet failed to reward those who were competent and loyal. It was gratifying to know that he still wanted her at his side. Now she was just one step away from becoming an admiral herself, at which point a cushy office in a fancy mansion back at the homeland awaited her. Zhao might be honourable enough to lead from the front lines, but she personally would be more than happy to stay as safe and comfy as possible and direct her subordinates from afar.

Listening in from the rooftop above, a figure clad all in black with a blue mask clenched his fists, before disappearing into the shadows.

Literally the next day Zhao's decision to take command of the Yuyan Archers was vindicated.

The Avatar, for whatever reason, had been spotted running up the mountain towards the herbalists. His timing could not have been better. The Yuyan Archers had been dispatched to apprehend him, and to say that they had done an amazing job was an understatement. They had gone above and beyond the call of duty, literally jumping off a cliff in their pursuit, and had successfully captured him unharmed.

The moment The Avatar had been dragged back to Pohuai Stronghold he'd been chained up in the main interrogation cell, and a messenger had informed Zhao and Tanya. Which was how Tanya now found herself following along at Zhao heels as they made their way there. Zhao practically oozed satisfaction, his grin never slipping for even a second as they traversed the metal hallways.

"This is destiny, Tanya! Destiny!" He repeated for what must be the fifth time now. "Agni has placed The Avatar in our path so that we might capture him and earn what we are owed!"

He wasn't wrong: capturing The Avatar was all but guaranteed to make them heroes of the Fire Nation. Perhaps they'd even be promoted again on the spot? That would make Tanya the youngest admiral in Fire Nation history. More importantly however, an Avatar that was locked away in the dungeons couldn't learn to master the elements, and would never be able to threaten her as Being X intended. All they had to do now was transport him back to the Fire Nation and her every problem would be solved.

When they finally reached the cell Zhao opened the door and led the way inside. The room was fairly large, but bare of all furnishings besides two burning braziers and two pillars to which heavy chains were fashioned. Stuck in the middle of them stood The Avatar, small and meek compared to the thick restraints used to bind him.

"So this is the great Avatar." Zhao sneered, circling around the captive boy. "Master of all the elements. I don't know how you've managed to elude the Fire Nation for a hundred years, but your little game of hide and seek is over."

The Avatar looked up angrily. "I've never hidden from you! Untie me and I'll fight you right now!"

"Uhh, no." Zhao came to a stop in front of The Avatar's face. "Tell me, how does it feel to be the only airbender left? Do you miss your people?"

A look of hurt crossed The Avatar's face, and for a second Tanya felt a shred of sympathy for the boy. Not only was he the sole survivor of a genocide, but had only found out about it decades after it had happened. Quickly she clamped down on and buried that feeling. Now was not the time to empathise with the enemy.

If Zhao had felt any sympathy however he didn't show it. "Don't worry, you won't be killed like they were." He continued, deliberately ignoring The Avatar's glare. "See, if you die you will just be reborn and the Fire Nation would have to start searching all over again. So I'll keep you alive, but just barely."

The Avatar took a deep breath, and before Tanya could react blew a gale force wind at Zhao, knocking him over. His grin replaced with a scowl, Zhao picked himself up and glared at the boy. "Blow all the wind you want, but your situation is futile. There is no escaping this fortress, and no one is coming to rescue you." He snapped. "Tanya, make sure our guest is comfortable."

With that he stormed out, leaving Tanya alone with The Avatar. Now that he wasn't riding a flying hairy cow or leaping around the room, she could finally get a proper look at the one Being X has chosen to pit her against. He didn't look like much: small and gangly, really no more than a boy, yet some part of Tanya's mind could not help but overshadow him with the image of Roku, a premonition of what he would one day grow up to be. She also couldn't help notice that he smelt faintly like frogs for some reason.

When it became clear that she wasn't planning to say anything, The Avatar spoke up to fill the silence. "Not going to gloat as well?"

"No." Tanya replied disinterestedly. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to turn into Roku again and bring this stronghold crashing down on my head."

It surprised her when The Avatar actually had the decency to look a little sheepish. "Sorry about that. I never wanted to hurt you, I just didn't feel like I had a choice."

Tanya hummed dismissively, and began pacing around The Avatar slowly. "It's alright, I don't hold it against you. This is war after all: we all must do whatever we have to to survive, no matter how uncivilised."

"You sound like you don't approve of the war." The Avatar replied curiously.

"That's because I don't. It's a senseless waste of human resources."

"Then why support it?" The Avatar asked passionately. "This whole war is pointless! Nobody would have to suffer any more if we all agreed to put our weapons down and just talk to each other."

Tanya chuckled. Of course, The Avatar was still just a child, clinging to a naive view of the world. "If only diplomacy was enough to bring an end to this war." She said wistfully. "Personally I would like nothing more than to settle our nation's disputes with words. But how many people are alive right now who remember a time when the world wasn't at war? Ten? Twenty? For a hundred years both sides have spilled blood in the name of their nation, and wept for the sons and daughters they sent to the front lines who never returned. Do you think all that hatred can be brushed aside with just a few words?"

"I'm not saying it would be easy." The Avatar replied. "I know how it feels to lose your family to war. But as long as people cling to that hatred, the suffering will just continue for everyone. If the Fire Nation surrenders we can all turn our attention to reconciliation and healing."

"Oh? Only if the Fire Nation surrenders?" Tanya asked.

"Well, yeah… you are the bad guys after all."

A guffaw slipped out of Tanya lips before she could stop herself, and she flushed a little at the unseemly sound before regaining her composure. "We're the bad guys are we?"

"I mean, you are the ones who started this war..."

"So would we not also have peace if the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes surrendered? Would there be a war if the Fire Nation had nobody left to wage war against?"

The Avatar had no answer to that, staring at her blankly as he considered that other point of view for what was likely the first time.

"There are no good or bad guys in war, Avatar." Tanya reprimanded. "Look at Chin the Conqueror. Or any of the warlords that came before him. Worldwide unification is inevitable, whether than be at the hands of the Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom or even the Water Tribes. Wars will always break out once a population becomes large enough that it is forced to expand its borders, and will keep occurring until one day this world is successfully united beneath one government, leaving nobody left to fight against." She stopped her circling in front of The Avatar. "The Fire Nation offers technology no other nation can compete with. All would share in our prosperity and scientific knowledge, and it's not like we would treat the colonies badly. Unhappy workers are unproductive workers after all. The idea that our world must remain divided between four nations is an outdated concept. Imagine, Avatar, what the work would be like if the Fire nation was victorious. It would be a world of progress. A world without border disputes or petty international politics. A world with no wars left to wage."

The Avatar was silent for a moment. Then, in a surprisingly calm voice, he spoke. "A world with nobody to stop The Firelord from doing whatever they wanted."

That… that was true. Upon winning the war, The Firelord would be the absolute ruler of the world; an unopposed dictator who could decide the laws of every nation without fear of consequences. Tanya trusted Ozai, Azula, and to an extent Zuko to be benevolent dictators, but as the old saying went, absolute power corrupted absolutely. Who was to say that the descendants of Ozai's bloodline a hundred years from now would be as disciplined?

Realising that her prolonged silence was proving The Avatar's point, she struggled to quickly come up with a clever reply. "How naive Avatar, if you think-…"

"Aang."

"What?"

The Avatar looked up, directly into her eyes, and for a moment Tanya was stunned by the flickers of wisdom she could see within them. "You keep calling me Avatar. But that's not my name. It's Aang."

She knew that. Zuko had mentioned it during his questioning that day he'd limped into Zhao's port, and Tanya would never forget information about such an important enemy in case it ever provided her with an advantage over them. Yet now that she thought about it, even in her head she only referred to The Avatar by his title. Calling him by his title was a reminder of his power, his history, and the threat he presented to her nation. Calling him by his real name was a reminder that he was…

… That he was human too.

No! Tanya shook her head, trying to physically dispel the thought from her mind. This wasn't how the conversation had been supposed to go! He was playing mind games with her, trying to undermine her commitment to the cause her entire life depended on! She took a step backwards, scowling as she realised that her best option was to cut this conversation short and just leave. Yet as she turned her back and stormed away, Aang's voice rang out one more time.

"What's your name?"

Tanya froze at the door, unsure why she found herself affected by such a simple question. What would he do with that information? Put a price on her head? Send Earth Kingdom assassins after her? Try some spiritual witchcraft to steal her identity? No, she was being ridiculous. It was a simple question, and refusing to answer it would be a sign of cowardice.

"Tanya." She said simply, not turning back to face him. A second later she pulled open the door and, without another word, disappeared down the hallway.

Aang watched her go, continuing to stare at the door even as it slammed shut behind her. Even since he'd been awakened from the ice, a part of him had been curious about the Fire Nation's perspective on this whole war. It seemed alien to him how an entire nation could believe that the war was something that should be continued despite all the pain that fighting it had caused them. It was gratifying in some way to get confirmation that they hadn't all just turned into cold-hearted killers overnight; they were just being led astray by a few evil people in position of power.

If he could bring an end to this war there was still a chance that the Fire Nation he'd once known, the one that had produced his best friend Kuzon, could be reborn once again.

Sleep would not come easily to Tanya.

It wasn't that she was doubting her loyalty to The Firelord, but Aang's words were enough to make her ponder the ramifications of the Fire Nation winning the war from a broader perspective. And something about the tone of the speech Zhao had delivered to the soldiers moments ago; a prediction that this would be the year The Fire Nation burnt Ba Sing Se to the ground, struck a wrong cord with her. The Firelord being an unelected dictator was something she hadn't really thought about before, as monarchies were a common political structure seen during the equivalent of this time period in her original world as well. However even after living two very different lifetimes, she had never before caught a hint as to what would happen if one dictator gained control over the entire planet.

She turned over and buried her face into a pillow, seeing if that wouldn't suffocate the unwanted doubts. This was absurd! Why should she care if some dictator another hundred years in the future proved unworthy of their power? There were flaws in any political system, and by that time she'd be long gone. The next couple of generations could wage their own civil wars if that was a problem. All she should have to worry about was surviving the war she'd been forced into.

Suddenly the ringing of alarm bells chimed loudly around the stronghold, causing Tanya to sit up, wide-eyed and alert in an instant. An emergency now?! This had to be Aan-… The Avatar's doing! It was too much of a coincidence to think otherwise! Within the minute her uniform had been thrown on and she was halfway out of the door, rushing in the direction she could hear the most commotion coming from.

It did not take long to find the source.

She had to hand it to him: Aang was gutsier than he first appeared. That or he was insane enough to honestly think that using airbending to throw his own friend at high speed towards a wall was a good idea. Speaking of which he must also be more cunning than he appeared, because the black-clad figure in the blue mask assisting him in his escape was most certainly a covert agent of some kind? An assassin perhaps, if the skill with which he wielded those dual swords was anything to go by? It had been clever to keep this mysterious companion of his hidden for a moment he was really needed.

The man in the blue mask successfully landed atop the innermost wall, and Aang was quick to follow with his own air-powered leap. A second later flames blossomed from Tanya's feet as she propelled herself into the sky as well, shooting through the night sky like a shooting star. If The Avatar really thought that he was the master of the skies around here then he was in for a rude awakening.

Spinning a spear pole above his head like a helicopter and grappling blue-mask between his legs, The Avatar had almost reached the middle of Pohuai Stronghold's three walls before Tanya was in effective firing range. She decided to announce her presence by spewing a wide fan of flames out of both hands, aiming to completely envelop both targets and burn them enough to shut down this escape attempt without killing them. It was her misfortune that, in the dark of the night, such a spread out wave of fire generated a lot of light. No sooner had it left her hands than blue-mask noticed, and tapped The Avatar's foot to get his attention. As the attack was about to crash upon them Aang twisted and spun his pole to create a shield of air, protecting him and his accomplice even as the force of the attack pushed them the rest of the way towards the middle wall.

As they hit the top of the wall and skipped across the dusty stone like tumbleweeds, Tanya's hard won battle instincts screamed that now was the time to finish them off while they were down. However Zhao had already made it clear that he wanted The Avatar alive, and if this blue-mask agent was an operative of another nation he was sure to know some useful intelligence. A different approach was needed here. Whilst the soldiers atop the wall engaged Aang and blue-mask, Tanya changed course and touched down daintily a few feet away, patiently waiting for the melee to finish. She crossed her arms and leaned against the brickwork, content to watch for the moment as the two would-be escapees fought.

Besides a whole lot jumping around back at the fire temple, Tanya hadn't seen any airbending forms before. Watching a master, albeit a young one, fight was an informative experience. After his makeshift staff was kicked away early on in the brawl, Aang switched to an unarmed style that mostly incorporated open-palmed strikes to throw enemies around the battlefield, and lots of light, agile motions that allowed him to quickly spin away at the first hint of an incoming attack. He was always on his toes, letting his enemies unbalance themselves with their clumsy attacks and only then providing the final gentle push needed to take them out of the fight.

Blue-mask however was far from non-violent. He fought like a machine: a constant whirlwind of motion that aimed to cause the greatest effect with the least amount of effort. It was efficiency in motion: a form that was fluid, powerful, and honed to a razor-fine point. Headhunters would be salivating if a guy like this walked into a recruitment office back in her first world. This individual must have received high-quality professional training for years to obtain such a level of skill.

Before long the melee was over, the fire soldiers having been tossed around like rag dolls. She was going to have to draw up a stricter training regimen when she was done here. Down below she could see more soldiers approaching with siege ladders, but before they could set foot on the wall Tanya raised a finger and sent a spark of sizzling flame, like a firework, up into the sky.

All at once the soldiers froze wherever they were, watching silently with rapt attention.

The firebending style the sages had taught her back when she was a child was a variation designed for ceremonies. It traded efficiency and damage for spectacle and control, using displays of flashing lights and finely-honed flames to awe an audience rather than annihilate an enemy. Tanya had long since streamlined the style back into something more combat effective for her own use, yet a handful of techniques she'd never altered were the ones designed to produce a variety of firework-like flares. At the beginning she'd used them as decoys and distractions when under attack whilst flying, but as Zhao rapidly entrusted her with higher and higher positions of command she'd soon adapted them for another use. Each unique flare had a message known only to soldiers under Zhao's command: backup required, advance on this position, retreat, the list was about thirty pages long by now, and each flare allowed her to give quick order to all her soldiers that could see the sky for miles around without having to waste time writing message or shout over the roar of combat. In a world that had yet to invent the telephone, her ability to adapt her orders so quickly in response to problems was invaluable.

And the flare she had just sent up was one of the earliest she'd ever drilled into her soldiers heads.

Hold your position.

Sensing the shift in atmosphere, Aang and blue-mask turned to face her, ready and waiting in their fighting stances. Tanya smirked, and with a mocking air of indifference sauntered towards them.

"I'm impressed." She called out casually, making a show of checking her nails. "Can't say I've ever heard of two people trying to fight an entire stronghold. Your courage is commendable."

"Commendable enough for you to let us go?" Aang asked hopefully, though the way he stayed firm and ready in his stance made it clear what he suspected the answer would be.

Tanya's only answer was to let a grin settle across her face and sink into her own fighting stance.

A second past, then two, then three. It seemed like they were happy to wait for the first move. Tanya's grin only widened.

Never let a firebender strike first.

One moment she was completely still, and the next she crossed half the distance between them, sweeping forwards with both arms to unleash two huge wings of flames that spread out to the left and right and then closed in on the duo, enveloping them from every direction. The Avatar twirled, beckoning a mild hurricane around himself and his ally that dissipated the flames into a sea of sparks.

Yet as the sparks faded, Tanya was nowhere to be seen.

Meanwhile, along the side of the wall, Tanya ran as quickly and quietly as she could manage without her feet slipping. Her left hand was pointed down towards the ground, creating enough jet propulsion to counteract the gravitational force acting upon her and thus run alongside the wall without falling. Once was behind The Avatar's position she turned to face upwards, throwing back her other hand with a second jet boost, and sprinted straight back up the wall. Neither target saw it coming as she suddenly skipped over the wall behind them, briefly flipping in the air and shooting out a bolt of fire at blue-mask's unguarded back before she landed.

Blue-mask had good instincts, and rolled forward with the blow as it struck between his shoulder blades. It mitigated the damage somewhat, but nowhere near enough to prevent a nasty burn. However Tanya did not care, as before the bolt had even hit blue-mask she had turned to Aang and unleashed a constant stream of fire at him. The Avatar, having had a little more time, was able to hop to the side to avoid it, and scrambled into a panicked run as Tanya twisted towards him, rotating at the hips to bring her jet of flames chasing at Aang's heels.

Yet blue-mask refused to stay out of the fight for long, and rushed back over to attack, forcing her to end her fire stream in order to defend herself. Twin swords rushed down towards her torso in a powerful cross slash, which Tanya intercepted early with the elbow plates of her armour. She kicked out, foot wrapped in flames, at blue-mask's stomach to force him to back away.

Yet to her surprise, blue-mask did not back away. He tanked the kick, ignoring the flames licking at his stomach apparently through sheer force of will, and grabbed Tanya's leg by the shin. Tanya yelped in shock as she suddenly found herself dragged up and over blue-mask's head and slammed bodily into the ground on the other side of him. It was both painful and humiliating.

Before blue-mask could repeat the manoeuvre she kicked out with her other leg, the blast of fire she unleashed this time far more intense, and forced blue-mask to let go and dodge or risk having a hole incinerated through his chest. She spun, beginning a technique designed to send a wave of fire across the ground to burn her enemy's feet, when a wall of intense wind shot out around blue-mask's side and struck her, doing little in the way of direct damage but easily picking her up and sending her tumbling uncontrollably along the ramparts.

For a good ten seconds her world consisted solely of a series of sickening spins, shapes and colours swirling rapidly past her eyes, and sharp bumps as she rolled uncomfortably across the stone floor. When at last the wind list enough force to relinquish its grip on her Tanya was sprawled out of her back, her hair a wild mess and her eyes spinning with dizziness. A deep groan escaped her lips: not one of pain, but of frustration at realising an unfortunate truth.

She was weak against airbending.

The issue lay with the body Being X had foisted upon her. It was small, naturally delicate and very, very light. In a world without magic, bending or any other supernatural powers it would have been a terrible body for any would-be warrior to be born with, as it meant that Tanya had to maintain a rigorous strength training routine to be able to punch just as hard as your average civilian. Fortunately in both of the supernatural worlds she'd been incarnated into, Tanya had been able to rely on her huge reserves of magic power to deal damage for her, and use her small body to her advantage by nimbly dodging most attacks.

Against earthbenders her body was perfect. Earthbending was the naturally slowest form of ending: favouring sturdy defences that would not crumble easily over quicker, flimsier alternatives. Against earthbenders she could easily dart her way across the battlefield, avoiding their attacks and bypassing their defences, then hit them hard from an exposed angle. She was average against other firebenders, and waterbenders too she suspected, who struck a balance between speed and power.

But airbending, thanks to the pacifist ideals that shaped it, focused on speed rather than dealing direct damage. It was a difficult style to dodge unless you were an airbender yourself, and Tanya's light body made it far easier for each gust of pick her up and throw her around like a dog's chew toy.

Great. I'm weak to a style literally known by only one person in the entire world, and that's the guy I get tasked with capturing.

As the world slowly stopped inconsiderately wobbling around her, Tanya sat up in time to watch Aang and blue-mask leap off the wall again, using one wooden siege ladder like a giant pole vault, then switching to another as the first reached the height of its arc, as if walking on a set of gigantic stilts. It was a ridiculous idea, so outlandish only a madman would think of it, and yet by some miracle it almost worked. The escapee's hands just brushed against the final outer wall before they fell down to the gate.

They haven't escaped yet. There's still time.

Before she'd even consciously thought about it Tanya had taken to the skies again, and if she wobbled ever so slightly none of the soldiers were brave enough to mention it. Outside the final gate blue-mask and The Avatar fought a small horde of encircling soldiers, slicing and breaking the wall of spears that tried to surround them one by one. Building a large fireball in one hand, Tanya chucked it towards The Avatar like a grenade, gambling that the unexpected attack from above would catch them by surprise.

Yet blue-mask's warrior instincts seemed sharp enough to sense something was amiss, for no sooner had the fireball left her grasp than his obscured face flicked up to look at it. He jumped, vaulted off the shoulder of a nearby soldier for extra height, and as the fireball approached he used the flat of his blade like a tennis racket to bat the projectile at the gate. Flames exploded against the gate, fortunately not blasting them open but spooking the nearby soldiers into taking a step back.

Tanya landed hard, eschewing grace for intimidation factor as she bent at the knees and slammed a fist into the ground, emitting a small flare of sparks in time with her impact. A tense, reverent silence settled over the soldiers again as they sensed their commander's foul mood, and without needing an order they shifted slightly to form a ring of spears, trapping The Avatar and blue-mask in a makeshift arena with her.

Slowly Tanya stood up, fixing her golden eyes upon the convicts with a look of such fury that The Avatar gulped nervously.

"Okay, I'm done being impressed." She hissed. Settling back into her fighting stance. The ring of soldiers around them flinched back nervously. "Now I'm pissed!"

She lunged forward with one hand, fingers extended out like talons, and scraped them ferally through the air. From each fingertip a thin but intense whip of fire lashed forwards, screeching through the air towards The Avatar like a flying tiger claws. Aang yelped and leaned backwards like a limbo dancer, allowing the flying slices to pass so closely over his head that they evaporated a bead of sweat dripping down it, and watched in terror as they struck the gates and carved gashes as deep as axe swings into the wood.

Tanya struck out again with her other hand, then again, and again, until her arms were a frenzied blur of slashes. Aang and blue-mask ducked, dodged and weaved like dancers, taking a few scrapes here and there but otherwise doing a remarkably good job of evading. When it became clear that Tanya had no intention of relenting and that they couldn't keep dodging forever, Aang dropped low and spun around, sending a wave of wind to knock Tanya off her feet.

If dodging airbending was a problem, then she'd just force her way through! With an axe kick wreathed in flames she split the oncoming gust in two, then spun around and unleashed her own wave of fire across the ground in retaliation. Aang and blue-mask jumped to avoid it, yet while their feet were off the ground Tanya quickly double-jabbed, sending two quick bolts of fire to strike them each in the chest.

Aang took the hit badly and fell onto his back, but blue-mask seemed to brush it off easily enough and charged her with his blades at the ready. Now it was Tanya's turn to duck, weave and dodge as she snaked her way through the onslaught of steel. Yet as skilled as blue-mask was, Tanya was skilled, livid and could breathe fire, and slowly but surely her dodges became laced with more and more counterattacks, until before long she was the one pressing the attack and blue-mask was giving ground.

Suddenly blue-mask swayed to the side, revealing the powerful blast of air that Aang had been gathering behind his back and had just unleashed in Tanya's direction. But Tanya had seen this trick before, and no tactician worth their salt took a hit like she had before without developing a counter for it as soon as possible. Tanya's foot shot out like a snake, hooking blue-mask's ankle as he tried to get out of the way. Mid-sway, the masked man was off-balance, and with her own footing secure Tanya was able to drag him back into the air blast's path, using him as a shield. Realising that he was about to hit his only ally, Aang threw his hands up and forcibly redirected the powerful gale upwards at the last second, lifting blue-mask up into the air rather than pushing him into the awaiting sea of spears surrounding them.

Ever-prepared to take advantage of an enemy's weakness, Tanya spotted her golden opportunity. Blue-mask was out of the fight for a few seconds, and The Avatar had lost his footing from his own rushed redirection. She darted forward, extending one arm with a single finger pointing toward The Avatar like an arrow tip. From that finger burst a tiny flame no bigger than the tip of a pencil, but containing fire condensed so tightly that the heat of it could melt through a few inches of solid metal. She would pierce a hole through the airbender's stomach: not big enough to kill him, but enough to cause such crippling pain that he wouldn't be standing up for weeks.

With her speed enhanced by jets of flame from her feet, Tanya was in front of The Avatar in the blink of an eye. Aang's footwork left him no opportunity to dodge, and he could only watch in horror as the superheated finger closed in on him.

Tanya grinned wickedly. Checkmate.

"Nobody would have to suffer any more if we all agreed to put our weapons down and just talk to each other."

Tanya froze, finger a mere centimetre from The Avatar's flesh. Aang stared back at her, frozen by fear and the tense silence. In all honesty Tanya wasn't entirely sure herself why she had hesitated. She had never hesitated to inflict much worse injuries than this in any life she'd lived. So why then did her instincts tell her that she didn't need to do this?

It's unnecessary violence. The Avatar is completely surrounded and knows that he's been beaten. Anything more than this would just be cruelty for cruelty's sake.

Tanya knew she could be cruel in an efficient, ruthless way. She was the sort of person who'd deliberately stationed soldiers she disapproved of to defend locations she knew were about to be attacked by forces they could hope to defend against. But that cruelty had always been in the name of fighting for her country, not in the service of her own personal pleasure.

"Yield." She hissed icily, glaring at Aang. The nomad nodded silently in acceptance, and Tanya slowly drew her finger away and extinguished the flame upon it. "Take him back to his cell. Double the guard around him." She ordered the surrounding soldiers, and when the sound of someone hitting the ground hard next to her revealed that blue-mask had returned to earth she nodded her head in his direction. "And take this one to a cell too."

Aang slumped his head in defeat as the surrounding soldiers cautiously advanced, and Tanya turned her back, ignoring the faint trace of guilt she felt settle in her stomach. She was just in time to see Zhao push his way through the crowd, ready to retake control of the situation. He looked pleased, smug even, as he regarded the downbeat nomad.

"Excellent work Tanya." He all but purred, reaching out to pat her shoulder in a fatherly fashion as she came to stand beside him. "I knew my faith in you would be rewarded."

"Is he dead?" Colonel Shinu, who had just succeeded in pushing his own way through the crowd, asked.

"No." Tanya replied, turning to face Zhao. "Captured alive, just like you wanted."

Suddenly the ringing of steel and cries of surprise caught their attention, and in unison both the admiral and commander whipped their heads back around to spot the cause. Blue-mask had been able to shrug off the soldiers that came to arrest him and darted towards The Avatar.

But not to protect him.

The sharp blades of the twin swords now rested against The Avatar's neck, an unspoken promise of blood about to be spilled. Some of the soldiers made to attack, but with a gesture Zhao commanded them to stop.

"He knows we want The Avatar alive." Tanya thought. "He's using him as a hostage."

But was he bluffing, or serious? Without a face and eyes to look at, Tanya found herself unsure. At first glance it seemed ridiculous that a man who'd nearly succeeded in breaking The Avatar out of a heavily guarded stronghold would then execute the one he'd worked so hard to liberate. Then again, his skill at stealth and swordsmanship suggested some level of intelligence service training. A captured Avatar would not be able to aid the war effort again until he died of old age, which considering Aang's youth might be another hundred years. Kill him however, and he would be reborn in the water tribes; able to be raised and trained to fight again in about ten years. Sure he'd likely never find an airbending teacher, but better an Avatar with three elements than one with none.

For a moment the tense silence lingered, both sides watching and waiting for the other to make a mistake. Eventually it was Zhao who spoke first. "Open the gate." He growled through gritted teeth.

"Admiral, what are you doing?" Shinu asked.

"Let them out, now!" Zhao demanded, his tone making it clear that heads would roll if he had to say it again. Slowly, reluctantly, the soldiers manning the gates got to work, and inch by inch the heavy door of the stronghold creaked open. The moment it was wide enough blue-mask began walking backwards through them, taking his hostage with him.

"How could you let them go?" Shinu hissed. Tanya shot the colonel a dirty look, about to sarcastically ask what he'd do differently in such a situation, but was beaten to it by Zhao, whose expression was strangely calm.

"A situation like this requires… precision."

Without explaining himself he turned and began to walk to the stairs leading to the top of the wall. Confused, Tanya and Shinu glared briefly at each other before following.

"Do you have a clear shot?"

The Yuyan Archer did not reply verbally to Zhao's question, but the way he tensed his arms seemed to be a silent gesture of confirmation. Blue-mask was still within arrow range, and had yet to release his threatening hold on Aang, assuming that from such a distance any attack would present too much risk of hitting The Avatar.

Clearly he'd never seen the skill of the Yuyan Archers himself. But Tanya had. She stood tense at the edge of the walls, ready to take to the air at a moment's notice.

"Knock out the thief. I'll deliver him to the Fire Lord along with the Avatar." Zhao commanded. A second later the arrow flew, soaring through the sky with the swiftness of a bird. A wooden crack resounded through the air as the projectile struck true, and as blue-mask fell backwards, fire roared from Tanya's feet as she rocketed towards them like a bloodhound.

Yet she wasn't the only one who could bend. As blue-mask hit the ground Aang waved his hands, and a gust of wind kicked up a wide cloud of dust that concealed the surrounding area. It only took a few seconds for Tanya to arrive, and when she did a wide blast of fire dispelled the cloud of dust.

But no sign of The Avatar, or his accomplice, remained.

The other soldiers arrived shortly after and fanned out, hunting for any sign to suggest which way they'd fled. But airbenders knew better than anyone how to escape, and something in her gut told her that they wouldn't find hide nor hair of blue-mask either. Tanya turned back to the stronghold just in time to see Zhao glare at her in disapproval and turn away.

She'd failed to capture The Avatar. Again.

"What makes our nation great?"

It had been an hour since The Avatar's escape, and on Zhao's command all soldiers had gathered in the main courtyard, where a wooden stage had been hastily set up. In neat, uniform rows the soldiers stood at attention, each wearing their full armour and helmets so that, from where she stood beside Zhao on a balcony overlooking the courtyard, they seemed to Tanya like an army of identical, faceless pawns arranged on a chessboard.

Zhao had not shared with her what the purpose of this assembly was. In fact he'd barely said a word except to set this gathering up. Truth be told it worried her. Zhao was the type to rant and rave when he was angry, then move on when he got it all out of his system. This unusual behaviour was making her nervous.

"Is it that we are stronger than our fellow men? That we are braver? More intelligent?" Zhao continued. "Many would say yes, and I would not disagree with them. But what is the reason that we possess these qualities, while the other inferior nations do not? Is it because of blood? Because the spirits smile upon us?"

He slammed a hand down on the balcony railings, creating a metallic ringing that resounded across the courtyard. "No! It is because we see a truth that the other nations refuse to accept. That we are part of something bigger than ourselves! While the other nations feud between their petty tribes and kingdoms, grasping for their own personal satisfaction, we alone stand united under the guiding hand of The Firelord! Every one of us, from the humblest farmer to the richest noble, freely gives the fruits of our labour, not for personal gain, but as a contribution to the greater good of our nation! That is why we succeed! Because we offer our skills, our service, even our very lives, to something bigger! And one day, when all corners of our world are united beneath The Firelord's loving rule, we shall all share in the rewards of a world without conflict! Our utopia!"

The soldiers below erupted into roars of approval, and Tanya found herself clapping along with them. Zhao could be a very charismatic leader when he was in the right frame of mind.

Zhao made a gesture, and the cheers of the soldiers slowly shifted into murmurs of confusion as Zhao's personal guard walked out from the fort, dragging with them figures in tatty brown robes with sacks over their heads and ropes binding their wrists. The guards stepped onto the wooden platform and began tying the captive's hands to the wooden platform.

"But there are some within our nation who possess rotten hearts. Who eat the fruit of others' labour and contribute nothing themselves. They are parasites in the skin of men: thieves, cowards and traitors." Zhao continued, his voice taking on a graver tone. "They fester in every dark nook of our nation; every shadow cast by The Firelord's light. They might be the urchin who begs for your money, the colonial who works in your shop, even- …" He glanced back at Tanya for a split second, his eyes wide and dark with suspicion. "... the soldier you trust to watch your back."

Down below Zhao's guards ripped the sacks off the prisoner's heads, and Tanya let out an involuntary gasp as she recognised them. The sages Zhao had arrested back at the fire temple! And not just them, but the four soldiers she'd assigned to stand guard outside The Avatar's cell! All were gagged and fearful, tugging unsuccessfully at the ropes as Zhao's guards stepped off the platform.

Zhao turned back to the crowd. "Those you see before you are such traitors. The Fire Sages, who aided The Avatar in contacting the spirit of his past self! And the soldiers who, through their idleness, allowed a single man in a mask to free The Avatar and abscond from this very stronghold! Because of them, The Avatar remains at large! Because of them, a threat to our beloved Firelord walks free, gaining more and more power with each day that passes! Their selfishness had robbed the rest of us of the rewards we all struggled together to achieve! And how shall we deal with this treachery? Should we forgive them? Welcome them back into our fold, knowing that they will continue to feast upon our hard work? NO!" He raised an arm, and down below his guards settled into firebending stances.

"WE SHALL REMOVE THEM!"

Zhao dropped his hand, and all at once his guards punched, launching streams of flames at the wooden platform. In mere seconds the wood caught alight, and the prisoner's screams of fear turned into howls of agony.

"Admiral! Stop this!" Tanya hissed urgently, mind racing to come up with a way to stop what was undoubtedly a war crime! And one committed against their nation's own people no less!

But Zhao ignored her. "LET THIS BE A REMINDER TO ALL OF YOU!" He roared, voice carrying easily across the crackling of the flames and the dying wails of the prisoners. "TO FAIL THE FIRE NATION IS TO BETRAY THE FIRE NATION! AND THIS IS HOW THE FIRE NATION DEALS WITH TRAITORS!"

As if to highlight his point the screams of the prisoners trailed off with pitiful, gasping whimpers, leaving not a sound besides the hiss of the flames to carry across the fearfully hushed courtyard. Zhao turned around and made to leave, but stopped as he passed Tanya and put a hand on her shoulder, leaning down to whisper in her ear.

"Twice now you have had The Avatar in the palm of your hand. And twice now you have let him escape. I would think you incompetent, had I not personally seen you level ships, raze fortresses and massacre enemies by the dozens. So I ask myself why, despite your power, one peace-loving ten year old continues to evade you?" Zhao's eyes flashed dangerously in the firelight. "One would almost think your heart wasn't in it."

For the first time since she'd met him, Tanya felt a tinge of fear writhe in her stomach as Zhao's eyes bored into hers. She'd known that Zhao could be vicious, even downright bloodthirsty, but had only ever seen it directed at the enemy before. Now she felt it turned upon her, and as if a curtain within her mind had been drawn back she realised the truth.

Zhao did not see her as a protege, nor a friend, nor even as a comrade with a shared dream. He saw her as a weapon. His favour was reliant upon her achieving results he could bring before The Firelord. And if she proved incapable of providing them, he would dispose of her.

Zhao stood up straight once again. "I am generous to have allowed your two previous failures to go unpunished. But the next time we find The Avatar and you fail to capture him, it will be you standing on that platform." He said, as casually as if discussing the weather, then continued to walk back into the stronghold. "Third time's the charm, right? I hope it is anyway. For your sake."