Capítulo 67: Weather Show Part 2
Eye of the Storm
Kett can immediately feel a ripple in the wind, he knows Zerrel is nearly finished with his practice. A cold breeze flows through the sky and dark clouds start to emerge. Several dark grey clouds emerge in the sky. A few raindrops suddenly transition into a downpour. Meanwhile, Hagenko and Irina prepare to engage two incoming enemies.
Hagenko warns, "Get ready." Irina nods with determined intent. The warrior with the shield and ax charges at Irina. Irina slashes her spear at the man but the trooper blocks the spear with his shield. Irina spins backward as the impact of the shield bump shakes her. The man charges forward and horizontally swipes his weapon at Irina's body.
Irina jumps backward as she struggles to hold off her opponent. Hagenko notices a spearman closing in on him. Hagenko swings at his opponent and the man rotates his blade horizontally to the left, blocking the veteran's strike. The spearman rotates his weapon as his opponent leaps forward and vertically lashes at him.
Hagenko horizontally blocks the attack. Then looks left and sees the shield warrior ram his shield into Irina's face. Irina falls in the mud and drops her spear. Hagenko clinches his teeth then moves his spear to the left, swaying his opponent's weapon in another direction. Hagenko wraps his spear horizontally around the man's neck and tightens his grip. The spearman struggles and elbows Hagenko twice in his stomach.
The marine shakes from the blows but keeps a hold of his enemy. The spearman's grip weakens until he chokes to death. The axman swings at Irina while she is down but the young woman rolls right. The ax manages to snap Irina's spear in half. Irina gets up and draws her dagger. The axman smiles then charges at her.
Irina rolls left as she attempts to flank her enemy. Irina rushes the man again but he rotates his body and horizontally swings his ax; knocking Irina's dagger out of her hand. Axman: "Come on stupid girl, fight me! Die with honor."
Hagenko charges at the axman from behind. The man hears Hagenko's movement and the 31st veteran swings his weapon at the man's neck. The axman turns around in the nick of time and blocks the strike. The axman moves his shield left as he blocks the attack, swaying Hagenko's spear to the left. The axman charges at Hagenko as he looks to close the distance.
Irina rushes at the axman from behind. The axman swings twice horizontally at Hagenko and the marine hops back twice. Irina lunges on the man's back and thrusts her dagger into his neck. The axman bucks her off as blood leaks from his neck. Hagenko slams his spear in the man's stomach and the axman falls.
Irina sighs from relief, "That was a close one wasn't it Hagenko?"
Hagenko holds his side, "Yeah it was."
Irina: "Are you alright?"
Hagenko responds, "Yes, I dodged the first hit completely but the second swing scuffed slightly."
Irina: "What is your advice?"
Hagenko: "Stay behind me. Especially now that your spear is severed."
Irina picks up a sword from a fallen warrior, "I can defend myself."
Hagenko: "Perhaps, but you specialize in spear combat."
Irina counters, "Doesn't mean I'm bad with a sword."
Rosh continues to battle Beruto. A DOJ waterbender lunges forward and fires a beam of water into a marine archer. The 31st archer flies backward into a tree. A firebender springs forward and kicks a flame into the 31st swordsman. Beruto taunts, "Look around you Rosh, your men are falling. The legend of the 31st ends here!"
Rosh defiantly looks Beruto in his eyes, "We'll see about that." Rosh backflips and kicks Beruto in his back while doing so. Rosh lands and pumps two red-orange flames at his enemy. Beruto raises his hands and a wall of earth blocks the shots then Beruto launches the wall at Rosh. Rosh pulls his hands together and briefly launches himself seven feet in the air just over the earth wall.
Rosh looks down at Beruto and punches an explosive fireball at the earthbending master. Beruto pulls his hands up and an incline of shield of earth emerges in front of him. The fireball cracks the shield in half and the upper half of the shield flies into Beruto's face. Beruto takes a back step and a red mark is left on his face from the hit.
Rosh kicks his legs at Beruto before he lands, firing another beam of red-orange fire into his enemy. Beruto flies several feet back into the dirt. Smoke flows from a wounded Beruto. Rosh: "I can't say I'm impressed." The DOJ waterbender bobs in front of Rosh and the firebender flips behind him. Rosh: "Hold up, maybe we can talk this through."
The firebender fires two orange fireballs at Rosh and the waterbender shoots a gust of ice at the captain. Rosh rolls right and the shots intercept each other. Rosh turns and chucks a brick of red-orange fire into the waterbender's left side. The firebender kicks a beam of orange fire at the vulnerable captain. Rosh looks back in surprise, being blind sided by the shot.
Hagenko dives in front of Rosh and gets pounded in his chest. Hagenko falls backward in Rosh's arms. Irina screams, "Noooo!!!" Irina charges at the firebender but the man swiftly hurls two orange flames at her. The marine dives on the ground to avoid cremation. Rosh briefly lays a critical Hagenko down and fires a surge of red-orange fire into the man. The firebender screams as the front part of his flesh turns black and peels off.
Beruto gets up and yells, "Arrraaaggaaahh!!" The earthbender raises his arms and rapidly fires a storm of twigs, stones, rocks, dirt particles, and leaves at Rosh.
Rosh raises his arms and stands his ground then yells back, "Aaaaahhaaahhaaahhaaa!!!" A gulf of red and orange flames collide with the earth elements as both benders deadlock each other. Steam flows from Rosh's arms but he stands his ground. Both benders grow weary but keep firing at each other. Beruto starts to press forward with his greater strength and push Rosh back.
Rosh starts moaning, "Ugggghhhgghgh!!!" Beruto starts smiling then Rosh maxes out and the contest becomes 50/50 again. They both stop at the same time then Beruto punches a dozen earth bricks at Rosh. Rosh punches several flames into Beruto's bricks. The bricks shatter as the flames split them into pieces. Rosh stretches out his hands and shoots a beam of fire at Beruto's face.
Beruto weaves left then pulls his hands down and launches a shockwave of earth at the captain. Rosh dashes right and the fight rages on. Irina runs toward Hagenko who has a large third degree burn on his chest. Irina: "Hagenko, it's going to be alright."
Hagenko shakes his head, "No it won't, you know better than that." Irina's eyes become heavy and Hagenko holds her hands. Hagenko: "You have become more than I could have imagined in such a short time. Your potential is high, I am glad to have worked with you. Take my spear, fight with it valiantly and let me be at peace. It's all up to you now, you are ready." Hagenko subcumbs to his wounds and Irina weeps.
Meanwhile, Macai notices Haresh emerge. Haresh smiles and has two brutes as bodyguards. One brute has a massive battle hammer and the other has a long yet powerful war ax. Dengo, and Kavenda stand beside Macai with a marine swordsman close behind. Macai: "Haresh, I've always wanted to crack your skull."
Haresh: "Give it your best shot. I prefer a challenge. Your death will only make Zerrel's impending victory sweeter. You are too late, he has already won."
Macai counters, "I still have Rosh and Kett on the mission to stop him."
Haresh: "Our forces found Rosh as soon as he touched down in the forest. We sent Beruto to deal with. And now I have you. Kett is no match for Zerrel, you should know that."
Macai points at Haresh and stomps the ground, "Don't ever underestimate the Vindicated Avenger, don't underestimate Captain Rosh, and certainly don't underestimate ME."
Haresh shows his teeth as he laughs erratically, "Cute, but that won't win fights."
Macai squares up, "I'm done talking!" Macai extends his right hand and pumps a volatile white flame at Haresh's face. The warlord shifts his hands forward and an orange-yellow fireball collides with Macai's. The commander kicks a flame at Haresh's stomach. The former major kneels down to block the shot and Macai kicks a second flame at his face.
Haresh rises again and blocks the white blast. Haresh pulls his right hand horizontally and swings an orange firewhip at Macai's neck. Macai ducks then spins forward and shoots a fire brick at Haresh's chest. Haresh opens his mouth and breaths a massive gust of orange-yellow fire through Macai's brick. The flames fly toward the teen and Macai rolls right.
The commander sprints and pumps three white flames at his opponent. Haresh sways his arms right to left as he blocks the first two flames but the third one hits his right side. Haresh groans and Macai smiles, "Not so sharp now, are you?" Macai points his hands and fires a beam of white fire at Haresh. Haresh raises his hands and a wall of orange-yellow flames blocks Macai's attack.
Haresh nods his head and his brute bodyguards charge at Macai. The brute with an ax comes first and vertically swings at the prodigy. Macai skips left by accident and moves toward the brute with a hammer. The hammer brute strikes vertically at Macai and Macai leaps backward toward the axman. The axman hacks diagonally at Macai and the commander jumps backward again toward the hammer brute.
The heavy trooper with the hammer swings horizontally at Macai's upper body but Macai ducks and launches two white fireballs into his opponent's legs. The hammer trooper falls hard and the ground shakes as he lands. The axman lunges horizontally at Macai while he seems vulnerable. The commander backflips and launches himself in the air over his foe. Macai enhances his jump with white flames which blind his enemy.
The axman covers his eyes and Macai lands directly behind him. Macai extends his arms and blasts the man in his back with a beam of white fire. Macai: "The bigger they are, the harder they fall." Haresh shouts and jumps toward Macai. Haresh fires two large volleys of orange-yellow fire at Macai and Macai pounds of his own white flames into Haresh's.
Dengo sees a DOJ swordsman charge at him and horizontally slashes his opponent. Kavenda extends her left hand and pumps an orange flame into a spearman. Then Kavenda kicks her right leg, blasting an orange fireball into a waterbender right of her position. An earthbender rolls forward and launches a stone at the woman.
Kavenda leaps over the stone and kicks an orange flame into her enemy's abdomen. A warrior with a flaming torch charges at Dengo and swings at his head. Dengo ducks then slashes the man with an upward strike. The man drops his torch and a cascade of orange flames flow toward the marine. Dengo runs backward and dives left as he frees himself of the flames.
Meanwhile, Zerrel looks at Kett and shouts, "Guards, don't him. Don't let him halt our progress. Cupe dole!" As Zerrel speaks the unknown language, the storms around the world become more intense. Several homes with the fire nation capital start to shake heavily and a few are ripped in the air by the ensuing tornado.
In the earth kingdom, several earthquakes behind to occur though the city. Dai li agents, earth bending masters, earth kingdom commandos, Toph's metal bending instructors, and other elite forces rally through Ba Sing Se to limit the damage. Evacuations begin to take place as people try to avoid the danger but a powerful sandstorm erupts around the city. Keui flees with Toph and her metal bending instructors when they suddenly sees a large gust of sand flying at about 90 miles an hour.
Keui complains, "How will we deal with this?! Can you make it stop?"
Toph replies, "The storm is becoming too strong. We can only hold off direct attacks for now, but the storm has only been getting stronger and stronger. If this madness doesn't stop, this whole city will be reduced to rubble along with everyone in it."
Keui asks, "So we're trapped?"
Toph nods, "I sure wish Twinkle Toes was here." In the Southern Water Tribe, a massive winter storm takes place, freezing several people who were traveling in the rural areas to death. People are forced to stay home as snow pounds up to about thirty inches outside. Waterbenders push the snow back and away from homes but are steadily becoming fatigued from the constant bending.
In the Northern Water Tribe, the hailstones continue to rain down on the city and they start to rattle homes. Some of the less advanced sheds and ice homes outside of the city collapse from the damage. All of the capitals around the world declare a state of emergency and are placed under marshal law. As Macai, Kett, and Rosh's team fight the sky begins to swirl around with several thin clouds. The sky also becomes dark grey and lightning becomes intense.
Flashes of lightning start to fly dangerously low towards the ground and the thunder becomes obnoxiously loud. Winds become heavier and the warriors can feel strong gusts of wind blowing against their bodies. Kett looks at Zerrel, "You're going to get us killed!!"
Zerrel responds, "After I destroy the capitals, that is a price I will be willing to pay. To ensure no other humans find and utilize this deadly facility. Then we will have long term peace. And don't worry, I'm also sending deadly storms to all the major industrial and technological centers in the world. They are starting to be ravaged one by one from different natural disasters!! The average person would never know how to operate this facility and no one has even been to it in several decades."
Zerrel continues, "I studies this place for over twenty years. I've been planning so long for this moment. Now my dreams will finally be realized, a world free from the monopoly of the use of force!!"
Kett: "Except you missed one big detail in your plan."
Zerrel: "And what's that?"
Kett shouts, "ME!" Zerrel nods and several of his liberation guards surround the Vindicated Avenger. One guard with a spear charges at his right while another with a sword charges at his left. The spearman lunges at Kett and Kett rolls right as he dodge the strike. Kett smoothly rotates his right hand and blasts the man away with a beam of light orange fire.
Then Kett turns his body and launches a brick of fire into the sword liberation guard near him. Konbo moves behind Kett and Duvenki moves left of his position. Kett charges toward Zerrel but a liberation guard with dual swords and another with a sword and shield charge at the Vindicated Avenger. Kett launches himself in the air over the guards with a blaze of light orange flames.
Duvenki shoots a beam of water into the guard with dual swords, knocking him several feet back but not neutralizing him. The warrior with the shield and sword charges at the waterbender. Duvenki turns and fires a beam of freezing ice into the guard's shield. The shield suddenly turns to ice, forcing the guard to drop it. Then Duvenki hurls an ice torpedo into the man's face, laying him out.
Kett leaps in the air and fires a beam of light orange fire at Zerrel. Zerrel pivots left and Kett lands on the other side of the panel. Zerrel: "You're too late, the work is already complete."
Kett: "I don't know all of your fancy commands, but I still have one idea in mind." Zerrel leaps in the air and fires a beam of yellow fire at Kett. Kett crosses his hands and is knocked seven feet from the panel. Kett hits his head on the steel floor as he slides back. Zerrel lands five feet in front of him and engulfs his hands with yellow fire as he hopes to finish his opponent.
Zerrel: "You're out of your league. No one on this planet can beat me now."
Kett gets back on his feet, "Keep lying to yourself, it will make no difference." Kett fires two light orange flames at Zerrel.
Zerrel spins right, "Oh you're faster than most, but not fast enough." Zerrel moves forward like a flash and flicks a dazzling yellow flame at Kett's face. Kett ducks and realizes that Zerrel's flames are blinding. However, Macai's flames are more blinding. Kett fires a beam of light orange fire at Zerrel's stomach.
Zerrel rolls left then kicks his left leg, launching a flame at Kett's chest. Kett crosses his arms and blocks the flame before pumping another two light orange flames at the DOJ leader. Zerrel zooms right and blasts a stream of yellow-white fire at Kett's chest. Kett rapidly presses his hands down and launches himself eight feet in the air.
Zerrel warns Kett, "Careful getting up there, you might get zapped by the lightning." Kett believes his best chances of beating Zerrel are using his own advantages and not fighting in a way that Zerrel is familiar with. As far as Kett knows, Zerrel isn't known for using jet propulsion and no one has relied on using it to fight against him. Kett releases light orange flames feet and keeps himself airborne.
Zerrel raises his hands and fire a bright beam of yellow fire at the Vindicated Avenger. Kett soars forward and the light orange fire from his legs flow toward Zerrel. The DOJ figurehead gallops left then gets back on his feet. Zerrel realizes he's having trouble hitting Kett in the air, but he has a backup plan, "I warned you."
A rod of lightning flies just 30 feet above the ground and a few feet left of Kett's position. Zerrel comments, "I haven't yet shown you all my abilities." Zerrel stretches his left hand out and suddenly grabs a rod of lightning from the sky. Kett's eyes widen and Zerrel hurls his hand right. The lightning rod suddenly flies toward the Vindicated Avenger.
Kett flies forward with a gust of light orange fire and shoots two explosive light orange flames at Zerrel. Zerrel spins right then fires his own surge of yellow fire at Kett while he's in the air. Kett is forced to launch himself to the right and down toward the ground to avoid getting burned to a crisp. Kett goes down quickly, meaning he can kill himself when he hits the ground.
To break the momentum, Kett fires another beam of fire into the ground from his legs just as he is five feet from the ground. Zerrel extends his left hand and flicks a yellow fire torpedo at Kett's body. Kett raises his legs and launches himself three feet forward before landing on the ground again. Zerrel pulls his hands back and swirls an aura of yellow flames around himself.
The old firebending master shifts his hands and fires a storm of yellow flames at Kett. Kett points his hands to the left and blasts himself away from the shot with a beam of light orange fire. Kett lands about eleven feet away and hits the hard floor yet again. Kett's entire body is sore from all of the falling.
As Kett engages Zerrel, Rosh's battle with Beruto continues. Beruto charges forward and hurls two bricks at the captain. Rosh pumps two red-orange flames into Beruto's shots. Rosh kicks a flame at Beruto's groin, but Beruto stomps the ground, and a wall of earth blocks the shot. The wall breaks in half from Rosh's fire then Beruto rotates his right arm, launching the remains of it at the captain. Rosh kicks his right leg and blasts the wall remains.
Rosh spins forward and shoots a beam of red-orange fire at Beruto's stomach. Beruto elevates himself eight feet in the air with a column of earth. Rosh's fire flies into Beruto's earth column and the earthbending master leaps off the falling column. The DOJ enforcer extends his arms and fires a beam of soil at Rosh. The 31st captain dives right then shoots a two rapid red-orange flames at Beruto.
Beruto launches his own two chunks of earth into Rosh's shots. Then Beruto raises his hands and pulls vines around Rosh as he attempts to tie him down. Rosh ignites his arms and legs with fire then punches and fires the vines off him. The DOJ enforcer becomes irritated and then yanks his hands to the left horizontally. A gust of dirt blows Rosh over but the captain leaps out of the dirt and kicks a red-orange beam of fire at his enemy.
Beruto raises another wall of earth, once again blocking the shot. As the fight continues, Macai and Haresh also go at it. Haresh pumps his hands forward and blasts a beam of orange-yellow fire at the 31st commander. Macai flips right then Haresh fires an additional beam of fire at him. Macai flips left and Haresh pumps two orange-yellow flames at the 31st commander.
Macai slides right and shoots a beam of white fire directly at Haresh. Haresh blocks the fire beam but slides three feet back and smoke flow from his arms. Macai's intense attack still makes Haresh's arms somewhat sore. Haresh fires two more orange flames at Macai but the commander blocks both of them then kicks a white flame from his left leg into a fatigued Haresh's right knee cap. Haresh falls on his back and sighs.
Macai looks Haresh in his eyes, "It's over Haresh." A rod of lightning suddenly flies toward Macai's head.
Kavenda yells, "Macai look out!" Macai jumps out of the way as the lightning rod strikes a hole in the ground. Macai turns his head and Haresh is gone. Macai sighs wishing he could have killed the man then and there.
Meanwhile, Kett gets up and shakes his head and Zerrel fires a yellow fireball at him. Kett leaps out of the way and back on his feet. Kett pounders, Wait a minute, why am I wasting time fighting this guy. Maybe I should just destroy his panel and call it a day. Kett worries that destroying the panel might risk destroying the world or causing a spiritual imbalance. However, the alternative of letting Zerrel succeed is unacceptable.
Kett fires four rapid light orange fireball as Zerrel to keep him busy. The warlord shifts his hands side to side as he blocks each flame. The Vindicated Avenger backflips and beside the panel again. Zerrel shouts, "Nooo, what are you doing?!" Zerrel fires a beam of yellow fire at Kett but the United Way enforcer rolls behind the panel before looking at it again. Kett then shoots a light orange fireball into the panel.
The breaks and the glowing paintings on the steel flours suddenly become dim again. When the wall breaks a vibration causes Kett to fall off the panel and the storm suddenly stops. The clouds become clear again and the rain stops. In the Earth Kingdom, Keui and Toph look up as the earthquakes suddenly cease. In the Fire Nation Capital, Zuko slowly raises his head after hiding under a table when the wind stops. Ty Lee steps a few feet behind Zuko, "Did we make it?"
In the Northern Water Tribe, the hail stops falling. The man and his wife who were hiding in the home look outside. Woman: "Our prayers have been answered!" In the Southern Water Tribe, the snow suddenly stops and fatigued waterbenders sigh in relief. People outside of Ba Sing Se who were confounded in their homes because of the sand storms can finally go outside again. People all over the world start to celebrate the end of the natural disasters.
Kett looks at a disappointed Zerrel, "The Disciples of Justice are hypocrites. How can you speak against the monopoly of power, then try to use it to bring an end to the monopoly of power? This weapon was too powerful to remain intact. It needed to be destroyed."
Zerrel replies, "You young fool. I only use this weapon as a means to justify an end. Once I did away with the governments, I would have destroyed it myself."
Kett: "It's not your place to decide."
Zerrel dimishes Kett's statement, "You know nothing. I'll let you live today, but next time I will gut you for this." Zerrel departs. Meanwhile Rosh and Beruto cease fighting when they notice the change in the sky.
Beruto: "Impossible."
Rosh: "You see that, you've lost. Give up Beruto, the DOJ's winning streak is over. It only goes downhill from here."
Beruto: "I remember when we sacked your capital. Your people were so helpless, begging for their lives like children!! The DOJ is not finished and we still have other plans." Beruto pulls his hands together and his body rapidly submerges into the ground.
Rosh moans, "Oh, not again." Macai, Dengo, Kavenda, and a 31st swordsmen find Irina sitting next to a lifeless Hagenko.
Irina chirps, "He was like a father to me."
Macai hugs his friend, "Irina, I'm so sorry." Kett looks ahead and notices Konbo pounding his spear in a liberation guard's right leg. The guard falls then Konbo knees the man in his chin, knocking him out. Another guard is frozen by Duvenki. The water tribe spearwoman thrusts her blade in another guard's stomach but Kett notices that another swordsman fell during the battle. He briefly sighs at the sight, knowing that the fighting still isn't over.
Kett: "Good work everyone."
Duvenki looks at Kett. Kett asks, "What is it?"
Duvenki: "I don't know, I just don't feel right about this."
Kett: "About what?"
Duvenki: "We keep fighting and giving our all. We keep having hard battles and taking heavy losses. And we still haven't gotten far enough."
Kett: "I remember when my people pillaged the earth. The Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe fought my ancestors for nearly a century and seemingly to no avail. Failure after failure, disappointment after disappointment yet they still didn't give up. And look how that turned out."
Duvenki: "You're right and many of my people would agree with you. But what you are missing is that we fought all those years, but what have we gained from it? Look at all the destruction that is taking place after our victory. It seems the peace we fought to maintain was fragile."
Kett: "Peace is always harder to maintain in a new system. Especially when it first emerged on shaky ground and after a major conflict. But give it time and things will get better. Zerrel's forces can't keep this game up forever. They aren't a real military and they aren't a government. Their resources are more limited. Yes, they're putting up a good fight but they're trading a lot of losses with us. Eventually, they are going to be hurting too much and their system will collapse."
Konbo adds, "That's true. Our forces have been cracking down on members of that group not so long ago. The Earth Kingdom had a bust due to the work of some Dai Li agents. Now they have arrested several people who have been suspected of working with the Disciples of Justice. They can't keep this game up forever. While we are taking big losses, we are slowly getting better every time. Today was still a victory, though a costly one. We just have to keep trying and fighting."
Kett looks up the horizon and sees a beautiful sunset as the day nears its end.
Status de energia semanal
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