"You weren't kidding... this thing is HUGE!" Sokka exclaimed, his hands clutching his head.
I couldn't even argue.
Sure, the hybrid steam-powered tanks were cool and all...
But this drill?
This thing was AWESOME.
It was nearly the size of three Beifong estates put together. Just imagining how much power it took to keep something that massive moving made my heart race. And the way it advanced, planting those enormous support spikes into the ground before extending each section of its body forward in sequence...
And that colossal drill at the front...
Thanks to Zero's memories, my inner mecha enthusiast was screaming that this was every man's dream.
Whoever designed this thing was a genius.
"Get a grip."
Toph let out an exasperated groan before smacking me across the back, snapping me out of my thoughts.
She then grabbed me by the collar and dragged me back toward Team Avatar.
The Earth Kingdom general, seated in the middle of the command room, stared at me with a bewildered expression before clearing his throat into his fist.
"...As I was saying," he continued. "It is an honor to welcome you to the Outer Wall, young Avatar, but your help is not needed."
"Not needed?" Aang gave him a skeptical look before turning toward the window, where the colossal drilling machine steadily approached the wall.
"Yes, not needed," The general—Sung, according to the nameplate pinned to his uniform—replied calmly. "I have the situation under control. I assure you the Fire Nation cannot penetrate this wall. Many have tried to break through it, but none have succeeded."
"What about the Dragon of the West?" Toph raised a finger. "He got in."
General Sung hesitated for a moment.
"Well... technically, yes. But he was quickly driven back."
He cleared his throat before continuing with renewed confidence.
"Nevertheless, there is a reason this city is called Ba Sing Se. It means 'The Impenetrable City.' They don't call it Na Sing Se."
He let out a small chuckle at his own joke.
I leaned toward the others and lowered my voice. "Na Sing Se literally means 'Penetrable City' in Old Earthen."
That earned a chorus of quiet "Ahh..."s from everyone except Toph.
Toph remained unconvinced.
"Yeah, thanks for the tour, but we've still got the drill problem."
"Not for long." General Sung folded his arms confidently. "To deal with it, I've dispatched an elite platoon of Earth Benders known as the Terra Team."
Looking out toward the trenches, Sokka gave an approving nod.
"In fact," the general said with a confident smile, "please, watch as my Terra Team demonstrates why they are Ba Sing Se's finest by reducing that machine to rubble!"
...
They were thoroughly dismantled by two familiar Fire Nation soldiers in less than five minutes.
General Sung stared blankly at the battlefield, watching the remains of his so-called elite team.
He took a slow, deep breath.
"We're doomed!"
Smack!
A loud slap resonated through the command room as Sokka snapped the general back to reality, grabbing his collar.
"Get a hold of yourself, man!"
"You're right." General Sung blinked, regaining his composure. "My apologies."
"Maybe you'd like the Avatar's help now?" Toph snorted, giving him a condescending look.
He glanced toward the massive drill that continued crawling steadily toward the Outer Wall. Turning back to Aang, he gave him an awkward smile.
"Yes, please."
============================================
"The question is, how are we going to stop that thing?" Aang asked, glancing between the wall and the approaching drill.
I looked over the edge of the wall, studying the massive machine below.
For a brief moment, I couldn't help but admire the engineering behind it. Creating something this large, this complex, and still making it capable of moving was honestly impressive.
... Unfortunately, it was currently being used to destroy a city.
I quickly pushed the thought aside and focused back on the problem.
We all turned toward Sokka.
He stood there with his arms crossed, staring at the drill with narrowed eyes, clearly deep in thought.
A few seconds passed before he turned around.
"What?"
"You're the idea guy," Aang said encouragingly.
"That's a lot of pressure." He gave Aang a deadpanned look before looking at me. "Why not ask Renji? He usually has good plans."
I immediately raised my hands in surrender.
"Hey, man, don't even look at me. I don't even know where to start with this."
I'm more of a "point me at the problem, and I'll go punch it until it stops being a problem" kind of guy. Sure, I could come up with ideas here and there, but when it came to actual tactics, Sokka was much better.
"And you're the complaining guy too," Katara added with a smile.
Sokka glanced back at the massive drill before shrugging.
"Now that I don't mind."
============================================
Without any ideas on how to deal with the metal beast approaching the wall, we decided to escort Katara down to the medical tents beneath the Outer Wall, where the Terra Team was currently recovering.
"What's wrong with him?" General Sung asked as Katara used her Water Bending to heal one of the injured soldiers.
"He doesn't look hurt."
Katara frowned as she examined the Earth Bender, carefully analyzing the problem.
A moment later, she found something.
"His chi channels are blocked."
She continued healing until the soldier's condition stabilized before pulling her hands back.
"Who did this to you?"
The soldier hesitated.
I raised an eyebrow. "It was Ty Lee and Mai. Didn't you see them when they fought the soldiers?"
"Wait, those two did this?"
Everyone immediately turned toward me.
"What? Ty Lee was cartwheeling all over the place while Mai was throwing knives at the soldiers."
Plus, ahem, Ty Lee's figure was quite recognizable and hard to miss.
"That happened kilometers away," Aang explained. "And with all the dust everywhere, there was no way we could see what was happening."
...Huh.
"Sorry, who?" General Sung asked, clearly lost.
"Ty Lee," Katara explained. "She doesn't look dangerous, but she understands the human body and its weak points."
"It's like she takes you down from the inside—"
"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!"
Sokka suddenly interrupted her, practically bouncing in place.
Everyone stared as he turned toward the massive drill outside the wall, his eyes widening with realization.
"What you just said! That's how we're going to take down the drill!"
He looked back at us, excitement building.
"Just like Ty Lee took down all those huge Earth Bender!"
"By attacking its weak points!" Toph snapped her fingers as she caught on fast.
With an idea slowly brewing, Aang looked out toward the approaching drill, determination returning to his expression.
"We'll take it down from the inside."
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