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

Helios

Think like a Sith, Helios told himself. He jumped up to avoid both fireballs and rubble, snatching his lightsaber on its return trip, feeling this game becoming somewhat boring and repetitive. He looked around and an idea sprang to his mind when he landed. "Time to bring it all down," he muttered, and held out both hands, blades extinguished. He started to shake the support beams, and with enough time, the building would collapse. All he had to do was get out before it did.

Zareal/Iroh

Zareal felt the blade nick him, and he spun away from the Sith Lord's reach. A small incision, had barely gone in, but it had hurt him. There was little he could do now, his strength was starting to give in. A jedi's life is sacrafice, he thought, and his resolve set. He couldn't win, but if he could get enough time for Aang to control his power, his death would be worth something. He stepped forward, and made a few quick jabs at Vader.

IC: Mai

She could feel the room rumbling all around her. Zuko had his hands raised. Was he the one doing this? Mai frowned, not knowing what to think of it.

***

IC: Toph

"Something is going on in the temple," said Toph. She could feel the vibrations. "It's like a whole section of this place is about to collapse."

Fi

Fi could feel the vibrations that Helios was causing. He wondered just what the Sith were doing out there, but he dismissed the thought. They had to know what they were doing, and hopefully whatever it was wouldn't get either Lord Vader or Lord Helios killed. Whichever of them was doing this.

The clone glanced toward the Dai Li, who had patched up those who were able to fight again while others carried away the critically wounded. It was getting time for another assault. But what could they do this time around, to finally kill these brats?

"I believe we will be needing this, soldier." Erv said as he walked over to him and Lilith. Vader's servant was brandishing, to both of their astonishment, a slightly dented rocket-launcher. Erv handed it to the clone.

"I had a feeling we might need this. I'm not properly trained to fire this, so I'll leave it up to you. You'll likely get only one good shot, so make it count."

Fi nodded dimly to his commander and beheld his new weapon. It'd been years since he last held one of these babies, but his training in rocket-launchers soon came back to him. He heard Long Feng shouting orders for the Dai Li to get into position, while Erv went back into cover. The clone soldier looked over at the giant wall of earth the girl had erected earlier, to shield her and her companion.

Fi raised slightly from his cover, aimed his new weapon, and fired the rocket. It flew out and, a few seconds later, made contact with the earth wall. With a fierce explosion, the wall crumbled and likely pelted the children behind it with shards of rock and shrapnel. At the same time, the Dai Li renewed their attack.

Vader

Darth Vader easily blocked the jabs the Jedi sent his way. He pushed Zareal back with his saber, and briefly held out one hand to send out a Force Push toward Iroh, hoping to knock the old man off of the temple. The Dark Lord turned his attention back to his other foe and made a swipe to bisect him.

((Now would be a good time for Mai to step in and shot Azula, Big T. Her entrance could briefly distract Zuko, making him stop the collapse of that section of the temple. Then they would quickly team up to attack Mara. Or something like that.))

OOC: Gotcha. ^_^

***

IC: Mai

The temple continued to ache and moan. Mai struggled to ignore it, and the nearly overwhelming desire to escape the crumpling, falling debris. Years of training kept her poised, cool and collected.

She couldn't leave Zuko here, even if he was the one responsible for the collapsing temple.

She aimed her weapon at Azula's backside. Once she might have hestiated, but no more, not when she could help Zuko.

She fired.

***

IC: Toph

She could sense the agents and soldiers bustling around from their corner of the standoff. "They're up to something," she said. She could only hear faded whispers, and it frustrated her. "Get ready for anything, Sokka, 'cause--"

A strange scream interrupted her, and then the entire world exploded.

Her rock shield simple blew to pieces. Rubble and shrapnel flew in all directions, but the force continued forward. It slammed into Toph and Sokka, sending them careening backward with all the debris.

Toph slammed into the turf, hard. The breath was knocked from her lungs. She tasted blood. White noise rang in her ears; worse, her senses were muddled and fuzzy, disjointed. She could not "see" much of anything.

Her head spinning, dazed and confused still, Toph tried to sit back up. She went to check on Sokka.

A stone hand grabbed her good arm. It wrenched her back and away form Sokka. The power behind the grip nearly ripped her arm from its socked. Hissing with pain, Toph smashed it to pieces, only to be on the receiving end of still more of the Dai Li's projectile bending.

Sokka's eyes widened when he saw something flying towards them. Instinctively, he knew that this couldn't be good and he shouted to warn Toph.

"Look out!" he called, but it was too late. He held up his arms to block the debris, but with a sharp pain and a snap, he felt one bend in an unnatural angle and the other one didn't feel much better.

He was happy to see Toph looking for him, but felt his heart drop at the sight of her injuries. When the Dai Li attacked her, he ran in front of her, taking some of the projectiles sent at her to the chest.

Erv smiled grimly in satisfaction as he approached the scene, his blaster pistol raised incase he needed to knock the two brats out. He probably would, if only to spare them the pain of their injuries for now. He had to admit that they impressed him. Lord Vader might be interested in them as prisoners.

"Dammit, Sokka." Toph stood just behind him. As close as he was, she could "see" him despite her muddled, foggy senses. She favored one leg, but most of her concern was directed towards him. He had already been in bad shape. The blast had to have made matters worse. "Stop trying to kill yourself."

She thought she could hear someone approaching them. It was hard to tell. Her stomach turned. Was this it? She didn't think she or Sokka had anything left the give.

"Hey, I'm not trying to kill myself! This is... just a bad day," Sokka told her with a frown as he saw someone approach them.

Erv smiled and held up his blaster pistol so it was aimed at Toph, "You are defeated. Surrender now, and you will receive medical attention."

Sokka grimaced. Great, they were being cornered by Vader's men and the Dai Li and he couldn't lift his arms to fight back.

Helios

The Sith Apprentice heard the blastfire, and held his lightsabers out to block the bolt by instinct. It hit Azula though, and Helios looked over to see Mai with the weapon that fired. Thanks to her, he could now fight Mara unimpeded.

Zareal/Iroh

Iroh was pushed back, over the side of the temple. He fell a little before clinging onto the cliff. He slowly started to climb, after catching his breath, hoping he wouldn't get back up too late.

Zareal dodged the blade, momentarily distracted by his partner's fall. He couldn't worry now, he had to focus his mind. He was growing tired and slower, in a few minutes he would be done for.

IC: Mai

She spared a momentary smile. She knew she had helped Zuko, however little. For now, though, she held back. She kept her blaster aimed at Azula. If her old friend tried to attack Zuko again, she would be ready.

***

IC: Toph

She drew in a wheezing breath. Toph knew Sokka was in rough shape. She could both feel and hear it. She knew she was not much better off than him. She wanted to fight on, never to give up, but...

Should she really do that?

It did not take her long to make a decision. She could not risk Sokka's life by being stubborn. Toph held up her arm, a clear sign of surrender.

"Wait, what?" Sokka gasped, surprised. He was pretty sure that Toph would fight rather than surrender, but, in retrospect, they were both in very bad shape, him especially. He looked down shamefully.

"I'm sorry, Toph," he told her softly as they were both cuffed by the Dai Li. Erv for his part, merely nodded and signaled for them to be taken aside as the rest of the Dai Li and Vader's allies approached the interior the temple.

"Why are you sorry?" she said. "This wasn't just you, or just me. It was both of us, for better or worse."

Now that she wasn't running on adrenaline, she could feel her injuries. The pain of it nearly knocked her out. Toph fought through it, however. She didn't want to worry Sokka more than he already was.

"I know. I just wish I was a little stronger," he confessed, frowning a little as he watched Vader's allies enter the Temple. He hoped Aang reached the Avatar State soon.

"We were outnumbered, and they have weird weapons. We did pretty good for a while," she said, smiling weakly at him. "That includes you, Snoozles."

"Yeah, we did. Must have been humiliating for them to be taken down by a couple of kids," he told her with a wry smile, "Whatever happens, though, I just want you know that you're a great friend."

He flushed slightly, "You know, just incase."

Toph nodded. She hated to think about it, but she knew as well as Sokka did that they could die at any moment. Now that they had been captured, they were at the mercy of these people.

It was hard for her to swallow.

But she still leaned against him. "You're the greatest friend I've ever had."

Aang

Deep within the Eastern Air Temple, the eyes of the Avatar flashed open from his meditation. A blue hue overtook his normally gray eyes, and his tattoos lit up at the same time. Slowly the Avatar lifted himself into the air, and without a word to either the Guru or Katara, burst out of the room and soared to where Toph and Sokka were.

The blocked door keeping the Dai Li from entering the temple further was instantly destroyed as Aang continued his journey. The agents, busy taking in the two children, were caught unprepared by the sudden entrance. Aang took only a second to take in the situation before sending out a large, fierce gust of wind. The Dai Li struggled to remain attached to the ground, but in the end most of them were tossed out of the room by the force of the wind.

"Leave my friends alone!" the Avatar cried with a thousand voices.

Vader

The Dark Lord prepared the final blow to strike down Zareal, but he was momentarily distracted by the surge of Force energy that he sensed.

"The Avatar." Vader spoke aloud. For a moment, he found himself amazed at the shear power the boy seemed to wield. He would be a challenging opponent to kill.

Darth Vader then returned his attention back to the Jedi. Before Zareal could take advantage of his slip, the Sith swung his saber again.

Mara

Mara's eyes flashed to Azula as she saw her companion get struck by a blaster bolt, and then tumbled to the ground. Once the shaking of the temple stopped, Mara slowly backed away from Vader's apprentice and his new ally. Hm. Well, this complicated things. How--

Then she felt a flash of warning as a large, almost overwhelming spike of Force energy was emitted from the temple's center. Ah, the Avatar was finally ready. Excellent. Perhaps their was hope yet.

Toph gasped. She could feel the power thrumming in the air. Strong winds pulled and tugged at her clothes and hair. The multitude of voices rebounded inside her head.

It was a lot like the moment in the desert, but somehow worse.

This was not Aang. This was the Avatar.

And it was frightening.

But she knew Aang was only trying to protect them. She would have laughed at the Dai Li, had she not been so caught up in the power that swirled all around her.

Zareal

Zareal hadn't had the chance to take advantage of Vader's surprise, for he too was caught offguard. He raised his blade and locked it with Vader's. "This, Vader, is the power of the Light side," Zareal said, feeling renewed. He spun back, and made a series of slashes at Vader.

Helios

Helios felt the shift in the Force. "The Avatar," he said, once again feeling the terror in the wake of his foe's power. He glanced toward Mara and held his hands, gathering the Force and unleashing it in a bolt of Sith Lightning. This girl would have to be defeated, then he and his master could take down the Avatar together.

Sokka gulped as he looked at Aang, the boy's tattoos, eyes, and mouth glowing with supernatural light. No matter how many times he had seen Aang in this state, he was always both in awe of it and afraid of it at the same time.

He gripped Toph's arm protectively so that the smaller girl wouldn't be blown back by the strong gusts of winds surrounding the Avatar.

"It's about time," he said, trying to sound happy but still managing to sound a little awestruck.

Erv frowned as he was pushed back with the rest of the Dai Li agents. Nonetheless, the man was brave by nature and held up his blaster pistol in front of him, firing at the figure above him.

(I'm guessing that Aang would make short work of Erv, but based on his biographry on wookieepedia, that's what he'd do.)

Toph drew closer to Sokka, her hand clutching his shirt. "We need to find some sort of shelter, or we'll get blown away too!" she shouted over the winds.

***

Katara had been shocked to see Aang in his Avatar State. She knew it was powerful, and apart of him, but she still hated it somewhat. It hurt her to see him that way, since fear and hurt and pain usually drove him into such a state. She hoped he would be okay.

Had he mastered the Avatar State?

((Hey, AI, mind having Azula react to that very painful blaster bolt?))

Aang

The Avatar swiftly dodged the bolt and sent a large gust of wind at Erv to knock him back further.

Vader

The Dark Lord blocked each strike, but one slash managed to nick the armor of his artificial right arm before he could stop it. Vader simmered with anger and pushed the Jedi back. He struck back with heavy, fierce-some blows that he hoped would end the Jedi once and for all.

"And this, Jedi, is the power of the Dark Side!"

Mara

The Emperor's Hand curved her saber in an attempt to block the lightning and absorb it into her energy weapon. After a moment passed she succeeded in this, though her lightsaber almost short-circuited. Mara snarled at Helios and rushed at him, swinging her blade to chop off his head.

(Oh, sure.)

Azula gasped as he felt something hot pierce her armor. She looked down at a smoking wound and then at Mai, surprised. She had never thought Mai could hurt her so. She fell to the ground, desperately trying to cling onto her life.

*

Erv grunted as he was thrown against the wall, his blaster falling to the ground. His eyes widened. He had never seen something so powerful.

*

Sokka nodded, not letting go of Toph as he led her towards the inside of the Temple, setting her and himself behind a crumbling but still stable wall.

"I just hope Aang finishes this soon!" he told her.

Zareal

Zareal couldn't stand against this onslaught, the blows were too powerful, and soon his strength was gone. With one blow, his lightsaber spun out of his hand, deactivating and went over the cliff. Zareal fell back to the ground, no strength left to fight and no weapon to defend himself with.

Helios

Helios brought his sabers in front of him, and leaped as she ran toward hiim. As he went over her, he carved a path with this blades to decapitate her.

Mai slowly approached Azula. She stared down at her former friend. Something approaching guilt came over her. Azula had not always been this person, and once they had been close. Times changed, but memories did not.

She would have done it again, but all the same...

"Stay down. I did not hit you with anything life-threatning," she said. "But you'll make it worse if you move around."

***

"Same here." Toph continued to press herself against Sokka. The sheer power of the Avatar State was messing with everything, including her earth-sight. Sokka was the only person she could "see," and she needed that comfort.

She quickly realized something.

"Sokka, your arm... It's broken!"

Azula gazed at her former friend, a look of betrayal as well as a frown marring her scarred face. She glared at her.

"Traitor..." she whispered angrily, wishing she had the strength to end her life at the moment. She looked to the side and felt an unfamiliar emotion upon seeing Zuko fight Mara. She whispered, "Zuzu has changed, hasn't he?"

*

Sokka frowned, wrapping his good arm around Toph tightly. He replied, "I'm trying not to move it. I'm sure Katara can fix it up once this is all over."

He smiled weakly at her, not wanting her to be worried about him.