At Aang's desperation, the two Water Benders were about to resume cutting through the support brace when I raised a hand.
"Hold on."
I crouched beside the brace and ran my fingers along the steel.
"Look."
A tiny crack had formed across the weakened section.
It was so small you had to squint to notice it. Sokka practically pressed his face against the brace before he finally saw it.
It was insignificant on its own. But...
"... We don't have to cut all the way through."
Aang's eyes widened.
Then he slammed a fist into his palm.
"Toph's been teaching me something."
He looked down at the brace.
"She said you shouldn't put one hundred percent of your strength into a single attack. You keep striking the weak points, breaking your opponent's stance, and when they're off balance—You deliver the finishing blow. Their own weight becomes their downfall."
Katara caught on immediately.
"So we only need to weaken the braces instead of cutting all the way through."
Aang nodded.
"Then I'll go to the top of this thing and deliver the final blow."
"And boom!" Sokka smacked his fist into his palm. "The whole thing comes crashing down!"
Aang's expression hardened.
"Everyone inside that wall... the whole world is counting on us."
"The whole world minus the Fire Nation," Sokka added with a crooked grin.
...
My attention drifted back toward the entrance leading into the drill.
"Aang, Katara, weaken every brace you can find. Sokka, keep an eye on them."
Sliding a hand into my makeshift utility belt, I started heading back toward the inner section of the drill.
"Where're you going?" Sokka called after me. "If you stay here, we'll finish a lot faster!"
I gave a small wave without stopping.
"It's just a feeling I have, but I don't think we have that kind of time."
I glanced back over my shoulder.
"Just weaken the braces as fast as you can."
A grin spread across my face as I pulled something from my belt and held it up for them to see.
"I'll buy you the time you need."
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"War Minister! An engineer's been ambushed! His schematics were stolen!"
The War Minister looked up in surprise as the message echoed through the speaking tubes.
Beside him, Azula's eyes narrowed.
Before anyone could react—
"War Minister! One of the starboard support braces has been cut clean through! It's sabotage!"
A second report blared through the tubes.
Azula immediately rose from her seat.
"Let's go, girls."
Without another word, the three of them sprinted through the drill's maze of hallways alongside a squad of Fire Nation soldiers.
Steam hissed from the pipes overhead as boots thundered across the metal floor.
The lead soldier rounded a corner.
"Woah!"
He suddenly stumbled backward, crashing into the soldier behind him.
One after another, the front ranks toppled like dominoes.
"What happened?" the War Minister barked from the rear. "Report!"
"A-A barrier, sir!" one soldier stammered after scrambling back to his feet. "There seems to be... some kind of invisible wall!"
The War Minister frowned and pushed his way to the front.
He cautiously reached a hand forward.
The instant his fingers brushed the empty space—
He jerked his hand back with a hiss.
A thin line of crimson slowly welled across his palm.
The War Minister stared at the cut in disbelief before looking forward once more.
"... Wire?"
Pushing the War Minister aside, Azula stepped to the front.
She narrowed her eyes before flicking her wrist.
A bolt of blue fire shot down the hallway.
For a brief instant, the blazing projectile illuminated the corridor.
Dozens of nearly invisible wires crisscrossed the passage at every imaginable angle and height, woven together into an intricate web.
The fireball struck the steel wall beyond, leaving only a shallow, molten scar.
Azula ignored the damage to the drill as she launched another burst of blue flames.
This time, she watched carefully.
The wires were anchored around steam valves, pressure pipes, and structural supports.
Destroying the web with brute force would risk rupturing the drill itself.
A sharp smile slowly spread across her face.
"...Interesting. The Avatar and the Water Tribe girl wouldn't think of this. The Water Tribe boy... Perhaps, but my instincts doubt it."
Her golden eyes gleamed.
"And that blind Beifong girl wouldn't even be inside the drill."
There was only one answer.
"... Renji."
Her smile widened into something almost predatory.
"He anchored every wire around critical valves and pressure lines. Burn them haphazardly, and I risk damaging the drill. Cut them by hand, and I lose precious time."
A quiet chuckle escaped her lips.
"How very interesting."
"So you're trying to buy them time."
Taking a slow step back, she closed her eyes.
A heartbeat later, they snapped open.
She surged forward.
As though she could see every strand, Azula twisted, ducked, and slipped through the web with flawless precision. Not even a single strand of hair brushed against the wires.
Less than a minute later, she emerged from the other side of the corridor without a scratch.
"Mai. Ty Lee. Follow my route. The rest of you, start cutting."
As Mai and Ty Lee carefully followed her path through the wires, Azula continued studying the hallway ahead.
"More wires."
Her blue flames briefly illuminated the hidden traps, revealing their positions. Her eyes narrowed.
"But these aren't as carefully placed. He must have been forced to rush after realizing we were heading toward the outer shell."
"Ugh, more wires?" Mai groaned as they regrouped.
Ty Lee simply hummed, watching Azula's expression with a curious look.
"Logically, he should be with his band of misfits, helping them with whatever strenuous task forced him to leave these traps behind."
She narrowed her eyes.
"However, that could also be a deception. Keep your eyes open. He may be nearby, waiting for us to clear the traps before striking."
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