Avatar; The Royal Firebender.

Element Ball Round Two

The whistle pierces the air sharply as Iroh tries once again to reign in the attention of the bickering benders (and Sokka). The shrill "tweet!" echoes out over the rooftops, cutting through the calm twilight like a flare. Within moments, the sounds of elemental chaos: stone grinding, water splashing, fire crackling follows. Rising like the heartbeat of some impromptu festival. Across the villa-lined streets of the Upper Ring, curious nobles peek out of their windows. Pedestrians pause mid stride. Children dart ahead of their chaperones to press up against the wrought-iron gates. Servants carrying bundles of silk stop and stare. The roar of laughter and cheers builds with each passing minute, drawing more and more eyes to the spectacle. Iroh, always one step ahead, strokes his chin with amusement as he watches the growing crowd. "Hmm... it seems we have quite the audience." He casually pulls out a lacquered coin pouch from his inner sleeve and clears his throat with that telltale salesman sparkle in his eye.

"Esteemed guests of the Upper Ring!" he calls out. "Place your bets! Will the Avatar survive the onslaught of six foes, or will his masters prove their mastery?" He fans out a small scroll of parchment and begins taking wagers like he's back of a Pai Sho gambling den.

Zuko, perched atop his pillar and stretching, glares down at him. "Really?"

"I am simply supporting the spirit of competition," Iroh says innocently, already jotting down odds with a brush pen. "Now hush. You're the underdog here, and that means better payout."

"I'm not even being paid!" Zuko grumbles.

"Then perhaps you should consider winning," Iroh replies with a wink. "Alright! All bets are off! Begin!" Iroh declares before blowing into the whistle again and launching the ball into the air.

The whistle pierces the air as a blade and Zuko lunges already on the prowl like a hungry predator. He doesn't target the ball, instead he targets Sokka. Zuko launches himself into the pillar in front of him, slamming into it with his foot and launching the entire top half towards Sokka's column. Sokka doesn't even have time to scream as the stone beneath him turns to dust. He lands in the water with a satisfying splash but Zuko doesn't even bother to look at him. Instead he targets Yue next, and a geyser of water erupts beneath her feet. He'd bent it fast and from behind. Yue yelps as her footing vanishes and she's swept off the pillar in a spiral of water, hitting the drink with a loud sploosh beside her husband. Zuko lands catlike on a lower pillar, unfazed, twisting his body and launching a whip of water toward the ball before it can finish falling. He snatches it in midair and spins it behind his back.

He grins. "Two down," he says aloud, loud enough for the rest to hear. "Four to go." The crowd around him roars and Katara narrows her eyes.

"Someone wipe that smug look off his stupid face." she mutters, water circling her arms like twin serpents.

"I'm on it," Toph cracks her knuckles. Toph stomps her pillar, sending a wave of tremors racing toward Zuko's feet but he's already airborne again.

He flips backwards off the stone post, catching a swirling updraft with practiced ease, his arms spinning in wide arcs. The water whip still coiled around his wrist unravels, and he uses it to hook the jade ball from midair. It circles his body once, gathering momentum. Aang reacts instantly, launching himself upward in a spiral of wind. Katara leaps beside him, twin blades of water slicing forward in tight arcs aimed at Zuko. He grins and watches as the two of them line up perfectly. "Time for some collateral damage." He thinks before kicking off the pedestal behind him and lunging forwards.

He spins his body like a corkscrew summoning a horizontal vortex around his form as the water whip extends outwards and orbits him still dragging the jade ball. He yanks the water in tight to himself causing the orbit to get tighter and faster. With an explosion of fire through his feet, Zuko suddenly rights himself mid air before he spins and lands a sidekick on the ball directing flames, water and wind into it. It launches off his foot like a cannonball, screaming through the air in a multi vortex tornado of wind water and fire. Aang realizes too late that he's made a terrible mistake as the ball slams into his stomach and launches him backwards. He grunts from the impact and is given zero time to recover. Behind him, Katara sees the incoming monk projectile but she too doesn't have time to react. Aang slams into her and them and the ball sails through the uprights before landing in the drink.