Chapter 13: The Southern Raiders

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The sun had risen the next day. It had been a tiring night for Tera, Sokka and the others but they had managed to get to sleep relatively easily. Everyone was in their sleeping bags which were all arranged in a circle.

Tera shots awake, sitting up straight in her sleeping bag. Her ears twitch, sensing something. She crawls out of her sleeping bag and stands. Waking Aang in the process he yawns and starts to rub the sleep from his eyes. "Guys" Tera's shout wakes up everyone else from their slumber grabbing their attention. "Do you hear that?".

Suddenly the birds from the nearby fountain fly away. A bomb is launched their way, splashing through the waterfall fountain. Aang rises and uses his air bending to airbend the bomb away. Part of the temple explodes beside them and two more bombs pelt the building. Now everyone is fully awake. Aang races toward the edge of the building, glider in hand. A Fire Nation airship comes into view.

The airship, launches another bomb that sails through the air and crashes into a nearby bridge. Aang runs back to the campsite, Appa following close behind, and he uses airbending to force the large, ceiling-high metal doors surrounding their site to close. Several bombs continue to assail the temple. A portion of the ceiling roof begins to crumble and then it finally caves in. Katara standing directly beneath the crumbling ceiling. She looks up, alarmed, only for Tera to use her earth bending to stop the ceiling in mid-air giving Katara time to get out from under it.

Tera gently sets the broken roof on the ground, crumbling it into small pieces like sand, which soon covered the entire floor. Toph and Haru earthbend into the back wall of the room creating an exit leading away from the explosions and its dangers.

Toph points to the exit they had just made. "Come on! We can get out through here!" Everyone starts to enter the passageway. Aang stays behind trying to get Appa to leave with him through the trouble by pulling on the bison's reins. He spots Zuko and Tera standing facing the edge of the platform, facing the airships.

Aang asks them, "What are you doing?" Zuko turns and looks at Aang before answering, "Go ahead! I'll hold them off. I think this is a family visit." he runs towards the air-ship. "Zuko! No!". Tera just watches Zuko, her head hung low. "Oh come on! I thought you were joking about this." she sighs, extending the stump of her right arm toward the metal remnants of the previously standing door which had been blasted open by the bombs. The metal flies toward molding into a fully functional arm.

"Come on! We've gotta get out of here!" Sokka explaims as Aang, Katara, and himself begin to pull on the reins together in an attempt to budge Appa

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"Come on! We've gotta get out of here!" Sokka explaims as Aang, Katara, and himself begin to pull on the reins together in an attempt to budge Appa. Debris continues to fall to the ground as Zuko races toward the doors and leaps over to the other side just as another piece of the door falls and shatters. Tera following close behind. One bomb is launched and lands several feet before him but before Tera can bend it away it detonates. Thick grey plumes of smoke rise; after a brief moment, Zuko emerges from the smoke cover, unharmed.

He firebends a large blast from his hand towards the airship. Zuko standing near the edge of the temple, looking at the airships. Tera catching up to him, standing beside him on his left. Placing her newly constructed metal arm on his shoulder startling him a bit. A podium-like device suddenly rises from the top of the airship; standing atop it is Azula. The princess has an evil, maniacal grin on her face.

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