Dawn of a New Prince (Star Wars/Avatar Crossover)

"Understood," Erv responded to Vader's comm as he he climbed up the cliffs. To his surprise, he saw that the two stormtroopers that survived the crash right above him. He drew himself level to them only to hear the tell-tale sound of blasterfire. He looked up to see a Dai Lee falling past them, a burning hole upon his chest.

"It would seem that the natives aren't going to make it easy for us," he noted dryly.

*

Sokka grimaced as he saw his first kill of the day. He turned to the others, "The Dai Lee are here and knowing them, more will come."

*

Ty Lee smiled brightly and hugged the alien tightly at the care in her words. She grinned, "Don't worry. We're not going to die so young!"

Azula

Azula slowly walked out onto the marble flooring of one of the temple rooms, grinning sickly as she saw one of the Fighters sitting in the room. If her hunch was right, then that meant Zuko was close. The Princess walked past a now destroyed statue of a female Airbender, presumably someone who was once important. But Azula didn't care about that.

"Zuzu!?" Azula shouted out to gain her Brother's attention, sensing that he had to be close. Perhaps he was on the other side of his ship? It was a pretty wide open space out there, the wall that mus have been there now destroyed. It offered a wide view of the other Temple that laid to the south, but once again, that was not what Azula cared about. There was only one thing on the Princess's mind right now. Revenge.
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Mai

"Heh. Like age matters in whether or not we die, Ty," Mai pointed out calmly. Someone young was going to die today, unless the Avatar won. Which was a laughable thought when Mai considered how powerful Vader was.

"Go ahead and let them," said Toph. She clenched her fist and stood firm. "They might think they're hot stuff, but I'm still the greatest earthbender in the world. I'll smash 'em into the ground."

"How about beauty? All three of us are too pretty to die too," Ty Lee announced before poking one of Zahanna's lekku, "I'm pretty sure the boys must love those headtails."

*

Sokka smiled at his friend's confidence, "Well, I would, Toph, but I'm supposed to keep them busy while you guys take out Vader. Any other time, though, and I'd love to watch you toss them around with your earthbending."

Helios

"I'm pretty sure Zuko asked you not to call him that," Helios said, coming into his sister's view. "But he's gone now, so what's it matter? I prefer Helios, you can curse it with your dieing breath." As he talked he lit up his sabers and leapt at her, slashing at her legs.

Toph glare in his general direction. "I already told you I'd watch your back. There's no telling what they'll throw at us. Besides..." She scowled a little, flushing. "I wouldn't be any use against Vader, or anyone with that mind magic. You know that. At least here I can be a little helpful."

Sokka's face softened, but he nodded his head at her, "Alright. And you'll be a great help here. You said it yourself. You are the greatest earthbender ever."

She nodded. "Right. Of course I am." Toph turned her head a little. "Speaking of which..."

She stepped forward, raising up her arm. A rock glove disintergrated in mid-air. Another motion of her hand sent a pillar crashing into the silent Dai Li agent's chest. He was flung back into a wall before crumpling to the rocky floor.

Mara

As Mara traveled with Zareal and Iroh, she suddenly felt a flash of warning from the Force. She backed up just in time, as pieces of rubble descended on the spot where she had been previously. The rubble continued to pile up until she was completely separated from Zareal and the old man. Mara stared at the pieces of stone blocking her path before heading in another direction. It seems she would have to meet up with Zareal and Iroh later.

Very briefly, Jade felt the presence of Vader's apprentice, not too far from her current location. After a moment of indecision, she decided to head over toward him first. Vader coud wait, for the moment. For now, she would deal with his apprentice.

Fi

Fi did his best to pull Lilith up and, after a bit of a struggle, eventually managed to succeed. Once she was safely on the floor, Fi collapsed from the exhaustion and the strain. He breathed heavily as he looked over at his possible friend.

"I...never thought....that women......would weigh so...damn much." he said, not caring if that came off as insensitive.

Zahanna

"D-Don't touch that!" Zahanna said as a light blush developed on her face. After a moment she regained her composure and tried to project an air of professionalism.

"Yes, well, either way, I don't want to see either of you killed. Now, let's be off."

Sokka smiled, "Did I ever mention how sweet it is that no one can sneak up on you?"

He fired a few more blaster bolts at another approaching group of Dai Li, but they quickly bended a wall to block it before sending a boulder at him, thankfully missing his head by an inch.

"And that Dai Li suck at aiming?" he added before firing again.

She just grunted and took a small step forward, flicking wrist. She sent a wave of rubble crashing down on the Dai Li's barrief. It was flimsy and ill-formed, and she crushed it easily.

Now they were open to attack, and more specifically by an attack from Sokka's blaster.

Azula

Azula inhaled quickly while leaning back from Zuko, knowing that she would have to time herself perfectly if she wanted to avoid losing a foot. Within a second, a massive burst of fire flew out of Azula's mouth and hands. It filled up the room in seconds, burning every flammable object to a crisp and destroying the TIE Fighter as well, which made the explosion even bigger.

Despite the fact that the flames would likely fly over Zuko's head and just singe the monster, Azula still knew she had made the right move as the sheer force and size of the flames coming out of Azula flew the Princess back away from her Brother and towards a pillar behind her. Her back hit the stone, causing Azula to grunt in pain before she quickly steadied herself for her Brother's next attack.
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Mai

Mai rolled her eyes at Ty lee's overly bubbly personality. Though she did smirk at her friend's antics.

"It looks like the fights started without us," Mai stated, not sounding disappointed at all. Parts of the temple were falling right now, an earthbenders fault for sure. A massive jet of fire streamed out of one side of the temple, catching Mai's attention. It was blue.

The facade of boredom that Mai had been holding dropped for a few seconds as she guessed what was going on. It was Azula, there was no doubt about that. The only other people that Azula would use that much wasted power on besides Zuko would be Vader, herself, or Ty. Vader would have stopped a move like that before it could have even happened, Mai had seen enough to know that's how the Sith Master worked.

"Whatever," Mai muttered in agreement with Zahanna's order.
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Lilith

Lilith's face turned red at Fi's words, feeling very embarrassed.

"I'm wearing full battle armor and I have three weapons strapped onto my back," she excused herself quickly after catching her breath.

"We should find a way past the natives to Lord Vader. This is obviously a rear guard," Erv noted, ignoring Lilith's embarrassing situation.

*

Sokka grinned and took down the Dai, "Thanks Toph."

He took aim and fired at another group. It seemed things were going to be easier than he thought they would be.

*

"Oh, sorry," Ty Lee told the alien. She paused for a moment, eying the blue fire. Were they going to face Azula in the battle? If so, she was glad she had Mai and Zahanna with her. She wasn't keen on facing her alone.

Helios

The apprentice shielded himself from the fire, he expected nothing less from Azula. He threw his right saber at her, guideing it with the force, it headed straight for her head. There was no need to rush, she would dodge this move, but he would always have control. She could not hurt him, and he could end it any time he chose. Plenty of opportunities to break her, mentally and physically.

Zareal/Iroh

Rocks had fallen behind them, they had only managed to avoid them in time. Mara was not with them, but Zareal sensed she was still alive. "She'll have to catch up," Zareal said. "Shouldn't we wait for her, we need her to fight Vader," Iroh said. "There's no time," Zareal snapped, "he's alone, I can feel it, we'll never have another chance like this!" He hurried back, and after a small sigh, Iroh joined him. The old general had a bad feeling about this.

Mara

Mara raced through the temple until she finally came upon the scorched remains of a TIE fighter, then spotted Helios himself. The Emperor's Hand smirked as she saw the sister of the boy keep him busy. Good, at least she proved herself useful now.

Dozens of sharp shards created from their attacks lifted into the air at Jade's command. And, as one, they launched themselves straight toward the apprentice.

Let's see him dodge that....

Fi

Fi nodded briefly at Lilith before turning his attention to Erv. "I'm open to suggestions, Commander."

Zahanna

"Follow me, then." the Twi'liek said as she took off.

Azula

Azula quickly launched herself away from Zuko once again, using her firebending to propel her. The Princess was using airbending forms and fighting style, having spent the past four days in the temple studying the Airbenders methods. Azula had thought that it would give her an advantage in fighting the Avatar later. Now Azula was using her knowledge and firebending to dodge Zuko's attacks. Who would've thought that Firebending and Airbending could be combined so easily? Azula wasn't going to admit to anyone that she had learned anything from the Nomads though, if she survived, that is.

It would seem that one of the jedi was here to fight Zuko now, Azula noted as she saw Mara appear at the edge of the room. Whether or not Zuko sensed the other woman's presence, Azula didn't care. As Mara launched the shards towards Zuko's body, Azula made a split second decision and extended her hands to shoot two blasts of fire to both the sides of Zuko. Just in case he tried to escape Mara's attack, Azula thought.
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Mai

Mai grunted in reply as she ran after Zahanna. Though Azula stayed on the Bounty Hunter's mind even as she ran.
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Lilith

Lilith nodded in reply to Erv's statement, not having any suggestions to give herself.

"I suggest we wait for the Dai Li to begin their next major charge. We will then run to to the side towards where Lord Vader last commed us. If he is not there, we will sneak into the Temple and engage the Avatar," Erv explained.

*

Ty Lee followed after Mai, glancing at flashes of blue fire every now and then. This was her greatest fear. She and Azula were both on opposing sides on a battlefield. She'd have to stick with Mai and Zahanna if she wanted to survive.

Helios

Helios watched as his sister dodged, propelling herself with fire. He would have continued his blade to her, but he felt the Hand approaching, and he caught his saber just as shards shot at him, presumably her attack. Azula had trapped him with fire, but neither of them could possibly know how strong he was. The fire blocked his view, but he could sense the shards coming. With a huff he began slicing, each shard met his blades, each fell, no longer a threat, as he continued to meet them with his blades.

One nicked his arm, and he glared before diving through the fire, shielding himself, and ran for Mara, the more dangerous of the two lesser beings. He began a relentless assault of slashes at her, rage driving his speed and strength.

Azula

Azula growled as Zuko assaulted the female jedi, Mara, and turned his back on Azula. It was an insult towards her, the Princess knew. One that better be fatal to her brother.

Azula inhaled deeply as she tried to balance the chi in her stomach, before girl got a steady flow of energy. Lightning began to crackle around the Princess, an unsteady and frightening glow flickering around herself as Azula tried to maintain control over the energy.

"Block this with your damn sword, Zuzu!" Azula shrieked across the room while chuckling in a way that made the Princess look insane almost. But then, Azula released the energy and the bolt flew across the room towards Zuko (and Mara).
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Mai

Mai stopped in place as a loud cracking noise disrupted her focus. Someone was bending lightning. A lot of it, it sounded like. The Bounty Hunter looked up towards where she was sure Zuko and Azula were fighting, and began to contemplate what to do. But Zahanna was still running ahead, Mai noted as she looked down and saw her frie-associate.

"She'll be ... well so will he. For Agnis sake...." Mai thought as she glanced between the higher levels of the temple and Zahanna. Mai bit her lip and nodded in decision, before she took off running once again.
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(This is long, but I decided to tie up this characters in a slightly optimistic manner.)
Anwar

"... So what experience do you have in serving tea?" Anwar asked as he looked down from the girl's short list of previous employments. Anwar had found out two days ago that, while he would have to get a new apartment, the Tea shop was still under Anwar's name. At first the Water Tribe boy had not thought much of it, but now, Anwar knew that this was how he would start a new life. A better life then his last, hopefully.

So here he was now, interviewing a young woman, a rather attractive woman, Anwar noted as he looked at the girl's large green eyes. Anwar had already managed to hire two other employees, but the boy was still looking for a third. With Iroh gone, Anwar would have to make the tea, which meant someone else would have to do all the serving. But Jin seemed capable, at least Anwar hoped she was.

Jin smiled as she tried to remember what her Sisters had helped her memorize to say for this interview. It came to her suddenly as Jin replied, "Well I've worked at two tea shops before. One of them I actually helped make sandwiches and stuff, it was really fun and I just love tea so I thought this would be a good job. I mean, why not?" Jin asked rhetorically as she straightened out her posture.

Anwar nodded as stood up. "Very well then, you're hired. ... You've got the job," Anwar stated as he handed Jin's information back to the girl.

"Oh my... Really!?" Jin asked in delightful shock as she jumped up as well, knocking over a small cup of tea that was on the table. "Oh my gosh! I am so sorry, I'll get this cleaned up right away and-" she began to apologize as quickly as possible.

Anwar raised his hand, a polite reassuring smile on his face as he shook his head. "No, no, I'll get it. This happens all the time. My former business partner bought the tables because they were pretty and matched the other decor, not because they're always stable," Anwar reassured as he grabbed a cloth off of the table and soaked up the little bit of tea that had fallen.

"Oh well thank you, I really- just ... thanks a lot," Jin responded, stumbling over herself in excitement before she suddenly hugged Anwar. The tension in Anwar melted away quickly as he felt Jin grab onto him. "Sorry, I just like hugging. I'll have to-" Jin tried to reply as she quickly let go of Anwar.

"It's fine," Anwar reassured as he took a step back from Jin. The young man was blushing as a thought suddenly occurred to him. "So umm, are you busy tonight?"

Jin looked at Anwar for a few awkward seconds before she suddenly broke out into another wide grin. "I'd love to," she replied knowingly.

"Meet you here at... seven then?" Anwar asked, breathing quickly as he steadied himself out by holding onto one of the chairs.

"It's a date. ... I better go get ready then," Jin responded before bowing lightly, grabbing her bag, and quickly walking out of the tea shop.

"Yeah ... see you then," Anwar whispered with a pleased smile on his face. The first one that he had actually meant in quite a while.

Toph sensed another group of Dai Li agents. They were skittering across the wall like insects, trying to take she and Sokka from above while they were preoccupied with the other agents on the floor.

Well, she wasn't preoccupied, and she could "see" them.

Toph slammed her hand against the wall close to her. It rumbled, and the agents there were violently knocked off. They screamed as they fell, landing hard and painfully on the ground. The other wall she touched with her bending, thanks with a swift tap of her foot, and the agents there suffered the same fate. They landed on their already fallen comrades.

Sokka felt himself blink, again taken by surprise by the Dai Li's innate ability to sneak up on him. He shook his head and kept firing his blaster pistol, however, careful to duck when earth gloves and other projectiles were sent at him and Toph.

*

"I believe we should begin our attempt to rendezvous with Lord Vader, now," Erv told the two troopers as the Dai Li sent another wave after the Natives. He stood up and gestured them to follow him as he brought himself up the cliff and ran towards the side of the Temple. Lord Vader should be near the back of the Temple by now.

Toph drew up a wall of dirt and stone. The Dai Li's attacks simply pattered against them, uselessly. "Use it as cover," said Toph. "I'll rebuild it whenever they manage to knock it down."

She moved her feet and flicked her wrist. Even if the agents could not see her or Sokka behind the shield, she could still "see" them. She took advantage of this, and continued to pelt the agents with odds and ends of rocks.

"Good idea," Sokka told her with a grin as he stood up and carefully crouched behind the wall. Carefully, he aimed his blaster pistol over it and began to fire again with his blaster pistol, taking down three of them in about five seconds.

(Perhaps Vader should do something soon?)

((He knows Zareal and Iroh are heading for him. Thus, he is waiting for them. Oh, and I'm assuming Mai ran away from Zahanna, Alec. I wasn't entirely sure. And that sure is a nice ending for Anwar. Here's to hoping he can get Jin!))

Zahanna

The bounty hunter glanced back briefly as she noticed Mai running away from her, and toward the fire blasts in the upper levels. She shook her head.

"Good luck, kid. Take care of yourself."

Mara

Mara did her best to block all the strikes Zuko sent her way. He was good, she had to admit. He'd gotten better since their last real battle. But she'd still take him down either way.

Then she noticed the lightning Azula was send at her brother, and the Hand as well, by accident. Mara snarled briefly at the crazied girl before diving out of the way.

Fi

"Perhaps we should help the Dai Li with their assault on the natives, instead? With our superior weaponry, we should be able to keep them on the ropes. Perhaps buy the Dai Li enough time to take them down, if we don't do it ourselves." Fi suggested.

(Yeah, Mai left Zahanna and Ty lee for now. And I hope so, I felt like giving him a happy ending. Cheap as it may be.)

Lilith

Lilith bit her lip as Fi suggested his plan. On one hand, she wouldn't have to worry about being caught up in the danger of Lord Vader's attacks. But this meant they would be going after the Avatar's allies most likely. Which consisted of children and snarky teens. Not exactly the deadly adults and terrorists that Lilith felt comfortable fighting against.

Nevertheless. Lilith nodded her agreement with Fi's plan, not wanting any one to think bad of her. If they did, they might very well shoot first instead of ask her what was wrong. Which would really suck.