Behind the Flames .:H2OVanoss:.

.:Chapter 23:.

"Turn around! We need too get back to the mainland as fast as possible!" Brian grit his teeth as the bison swung roughly to the side.
Luke shook his head. "No, we need to do something about those ships! Those are military cargo ships, they could have some really deadly weapons on them! As well as an army! We can't let them get to the Earth Kingdom and overtake more land!"
"He's right, if those ships make it to the beach, our home could be one of the first ones destroyed!" Brock shouted to Tyler.
"But how the hell can we fight them all?! It's a suicide mission! We need help!" Marcel argued back as the bison veered to the side to dodge another fireball. "We can't defeat them all when it's just us!"
Everyone looked expectantly at Tyler for answers. He kept his gaze back at the ships with a glossy stare. Then, he ordered, "Turn the bison around and head for land! We can gather reinforcements before they make it to the beach!" Luke wanted to argue but he understood Tyler's logic. The airbenders pulled tightly on the reigns to help steer their bison out of the way of the flying fireballs.

Arlan shook in his panic. His bison roared in terror as the flames barely scathed its fur. The bender quickly looked up to make sure Lui and the others were ok, but at the last moment he saw a flash of blue light and flinched under the boisterous thundering cracks. He couldn't breath when the traumatizing caterwaul his bison emitted reached his ears. His heart was beating so loudly he couldn't even hear himself scream into the explosion. "DIO!!!"

Evan gripped the saddle with all the strength he could muster. He ripped open his eyes the moment he heard the crack of a lightning bolt, then grabbed at the air when he felt nothing beneath him. Flames were everywhere, singeing the tips of his clothes and blinding his vision. His head rang and everything seemed to fade in and out. Smoke stung his eyes, but through the dark gray clouds, he saw the ocean rapidly approaching beneath him. Luke plummeted unconsciously and Craig was screaming beside him. Tyler too leapt off the saddle, which was now unattached from the bison and in free fall towards the ocean. It rained with them blood and fur and fire.

"NO!!!" Tears streamed down Lui's face. He watched helplessly as Arlan's bison was consumed by cerulean fire. His chest tightened to where he couldn't breath and his body shook with panic. Dio's eyes shut against the smoke as it lost its flight, and the saddle disconnected, tossing his friends like rag dolls. "Go, Squee!!" Now he was sobbing and urging her to go back for them. She roared in fear but did as she was told, flipping around and diving towards them, with more pillars of lightning blazing past them. They got below the wreckage and caught the four that were falling, screaming for Arlan as he still hold tight to his bison when they impacted with the water.

Everything was numb. He couldn't feel the bone-breaking snap when he hit the ocean like it were a concrete floor. He couldn't feel the frozen waters against his skin as it swirled around him. He couldn't taste the overwhelming salt of the ocean when it filled his lungs to the brim. He couldn't feel the pain that came from being unable to breath. The only thing Arlan could feel was the agonizing pain in his chest at the sight of his beloved companion drowning in its own blood.

          Dio and Arlan met eyes, as if to admit a painful defeat. The bison's agony was unbearable; he couldn't feel anything behind his shoulders, but at the sight of his human drowning alongside him, he pushed all pain away and swam with the only two feet he could still move. He nuzzled Arlan gently, slowly pushing them to the surface, where they breached gently and Arlan choked out the water. He gripped her fur like his life depended on it.

          "Dio, h-hang in there, we are g-going to get out of this!" He stuttered, shaking with sobs. He heard his best friend's growl gurgle beneath the water, crying out from the pain and the agony of the blast. The water fogged with crimson and swirled with the crashing waves.
"Don't worry, you're going to be fine, I promise it'll be ok!!" Why won't the tears stop flowing? His bison tried to make another sound, but all that came out was a choking breath and a cough of blood. "Dio please, don't give up! You're going to make it!!" A fire ball sizzled into the ocean next to them, but Arlan wouldn't break eye contact with his bison. He only did once, when he looked up as Squee approached. "PLEASE! Help me get him out!" The desperation in his voice made Lui flinch.
          "Arlan..." The other airbender's eyes overflowed with grief. There was no hope for the bison, and they all knew it.
          "Lui, please!!" Another fireball exploded into the ocean nearby, trailed by another even closer. He turned his head back to Dio when he heard a soft gurgle. He lifted his head to place a soft lick on Arlan's cheek, then began to sink. "No! Dio, Dio please!! Keep going!" The bison's eyes slowly began to close. "No, oh please, spirits no, please! Don't give up! Please!!" His bison sank into the water, though the air bender tried to desperately to keep the beast afloat, but to no avail. Arlan screamed and cried and kicked in desperation, but there was no response.
"DIO!!!!"
As the mammal's head sunk below the red surface, Arlan's hopeless scream rung out for the empty ocean to hear. His best friend, his companion for life, his other half, disappeared into the red waters like the sun behind the clouds. His mind went completely blank, losing all sense and focus. He felt his body give up, wanting nothing more than to accept the same fate.