The Outsider- Avatar Fanfic

Chapter 20 - A Test, Take Two

My eyes narrowed, and a sneer twisted my lips.

'Lucky for me, I don't need a prince.'

I yanked my leg upwards, slamming it into Zhou's crotch. It was stupid of him, not thinking of covering all of his weaknesses. Yes, I was young and small, but I was a fighter, and I had no qualms about hitting below the belt.

Zhou doubled over instinctively, his grip loosening on my wrists has he struggled to breathe. I pressed my advantage and immediate shoved him in the chest, causing him to stumble back just far enough for me to summon the air around me and bring my hands together and shove them forward, slamming the Navy Commander into a wall. I bolted, not wasting time by glancing backwards. I heard Zhou's furious roar, yelling at any Fire Nation soldiers who could hear him to chase after me.

I was sprinting down the narrow street, my breathing barely there as I focused on avoiding crates and various obstacles that lay in my path. I could see the end of the street, as it joined onto what looked like a larger road full of people. My heart leapt; maybe I could sneak in and blend in with the crowd before Zhou could catch up with me. The possibility of Zuko and his men running into me was pushed to the back of my mind, and any thought of Zhou soon joined him as two soldiers appeared at the end of the street, fists raised and feet firm. After a second's hesitation, I sprinted towards them, and just before they could react I jumped clean over them, performing a perfect somersault and landing without missing a beat. Grinning, I continued on, turning left towards the docks. 

But more of those bloody soldiers showed up, forming a line across the road as they spotted me. They began to shout orders at me, commanding me to stop. I rolled my eyes and cut across the crowd of people, who were now thoroughly confused. As I weaved through the crowd, I kept a layer of air around me as a buffer, allowing me to run straight through the mass of people without having to shove my way over to the adjacent street. But I was still going too slowly. I could hear Zhou's voice again, as he ordered the local people to get out of his way. My breath was coming sharply now, and terror was starting to burn in my chest. I couldn't keep this up. My feet were beginning to slip on the cobblestones of the street as I slowly tired out, and I knew I would have to make my escape soon, or else I never would be able to. 

That was when I heard the roar of flames, and felt heat prickle at my back. I glanced over my shoulder, and my eyes widened in fear as I saw a wall of flame heading towards me, the street acting as a tunnel. 

'Shit!'

I slammed my hands down and leapt, vaulting myself high above the flames as they roared underneath me. Bringing my arms up, I quickly circled the air around, just like I had seen Aang do, so that I was hovering above the streets of houses below me. All I could hear was the sound of my laboured breathing as my eyes shifted around me, looking for a way out. I realised with a start that I had run back in the direction of Zuko's ship, which now seemed a mere stone's throw away. But I couldn't go there. 

I was only vaguely aware that people below me had caught sight of the girl hovering above the docks, and that the street I had escaped from was now on fire and spreading to buildings across the road. People were beginning to scream and shout, drowning out the orders of the Fire Nation soldiers. My roving eyes caught Zhou's, and he looked furious. Without hesitation he let loose a volley of fireballs in my direction, not caring if they landed on houses surrounding him. I managed to manoeuvre enough to avoid them, but my arms were beginning to shake, and my lungs were starting to fill with smoke. I couldn't last.