Showdown! The Best of the Best

Chapter Thirty

A pillar of earth the size of a skyscraper erupted from nowhere, throwing dozens of Kriegbots into the air. The Fire Nation Princess, eyes wide like that of a fleeing ibex, darted to and fro to evade the falling metal husks. Grinding her teeth, she glanced up, watching a duel of alien princesses that blazed with green fire. A Kriegbot tried to intervene in the duel between Starfire and her sister, but was swatted aside with the ease of their extraterrestrial might. Azula grinned wickedly as she got an idea.

She wove the necessary forms like a spindle, bending her arms and twisting her body. Lightning flickered through her fingers and danced around her. Azula focused sharply, inhaling, preparing to send the energy catapulting toward Starfire in order to kill her. She put one foot forward and bent to send the lightning shrieking forth.

"RYUJIN NO KEN WO KURAE!!!"

Something struck her with the force of a locomotive, hurling her backwards. The lightning arched wildly, blasting off into the air with no effect on the battlefield. Azula regained her composure quickly, somersaulting in midair and landing deftly. When she glanced up to see who had dared interrupt her, she snarled.

This figure had been with the fighters from the beginning. He wore metal armor with a green visor, and wielded a katana that glowed with an ethereal pulse. Now, he drew three shuriken, and skillfully brandished the blade with his free hand. Azula was sure that if she could see his eyes, they would be narrowed hatefully.

"You possess no honor," he said accusingly, "interrupting a duel between siblings."

"'Honor,'" Azula spat, "'duel between siblings.' You sound like Zuzu. You make me sick."

She raised her hands in challenge, one clenched into a fist, the other an open palm for deflecting attacks.

"You are a lost soul," Genji sighed pityingly, crouching and bringing his sword up in a guard stance. "Perhaps you will find absolution in defeat."

Azula charged forward without another word, only an animal snarl on her face.

On the opposite side of the battlefield, Muscular tore through a hastily erected earth wall between himself and two agile female fighters. Something hit him at a blistering pace, tripping him up and causing him to fall to one knee. Katara quickly blasted him with a wall of water, but it barely slowed him down as he rose back to his full height and brought his fist barreling towards her. Even with all the agility she'd perfected in her forms, Katara barely rolled out of the way in time.

Toph thrust her hands towards the ground, and a sturdy platform of earth elevated her above Muscular. The palisade shook as the fiend's fist struck it and created a shockwave. Toph bit her lip in frustration as Katara was thrown with the force of the impact, landing in a heap. Muscular ran towards her instinctively, raising his hand for an attack. Moving as quickly as she could, Toph summoned two more walls of earth, this time sending them both toward Muscular from each of his flanks. 

The earth chunks sandwiched him like a slice of choice meat. Muscular bellowed with fury, his eyes blank and froth flying from his mouth. Katara took the opportunity to stand, coughing, recovering gradually from her tumble. Dash came to a stop on a dime next to her, grinning. Panting, Katara gave him a look.

"Once Toph takes that wall down," she said, "he'll be on us again. You ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Dash nodded.

With one hand clenched to hold the rock prison, Toph used her free hand to lower herself back to ground level. With all the skills of the world's greatest Earthbender, she reached out toward a fallen Kriegbot, clenching her fist. The armor peeled off of it, flying through the air and clinging onto her body tightly. Toph's form swelled as the armor melded itself to her, tripling her size.