Gliding towards our final line of defense, where every surviving Air Nomad resided, I was about to land, but I suddenly felt myself plummet to the ground, prompting me to glance at my glider, only to see sparks of fire happened to land on the flaps that kept me afloat. Inwardly cursing at my predicament, I closed my glider and fell to the ground, though before I crashed onto the stone floor, I manifested a powerful gust of wind, which dispersed most of the force as I landed in the middle of the group.
Glancing around, I took a moment to gaze at my fellow brothers and sister's condition, though what I saw only caused me to clench my bo-staff while I shook my head; cruel as it sounded, now wasn't the time for this, I needed to remain focus, only when we survived this whole ordeal can I take in everything.
Switching my focus to above us, I saw the massive wall of flames attempt to creep beyond the wall that kept most of the flames at bay. However, they weren't able to reach us, as several used their bending to create a sort of ceiling that prevented the deadly flames from touching us. While the ceiling wasn't of concern, the wall was; the intense and overpowering heat from the flames was turning the stone wall red, slowly melting the only thing that separated us from the army.
'If that wall breaks, we'll be done for.' Thought Aang with a deep frown, inwardly berating his lackluster earth-bending skills.
If I could Earth bend, our situation would still be a problem, but it would be much easier to deal with; while I've picked up a few things from watching Bumi Earth bend, it wasn't enough to make a big enough difference.
Not knowing what to do, I commanded a wide gust of wind to hit every inch of the stone wall by thrusting both palms forward, hoping my actions would slow the melting process. However, it didn't take long for me to realize I was just needlessly wasting valuable strength; my air wasn't doing anything against those raging flames that sought nothing but destruction.
'If I could see, I could try something different, but with these flames… It's impossible.' Mused Aang with an ugly expression as he helplessly stared at the raging flames, only to glance at the wall when he heard cracking.
Seeing cracks form across the stone wall, I knew I had to do something fast; I couldn't have them break through.
Running backward, I dropped my bo-staff and grabbed another from one of the many unfortunate victims before leaping into the air and swiftly gliding through the sky; once I reached a far enough distance, I curved around, making sure I avoided the flames as I headed towards Sozin.
Landing on the roof of one of the Temples's many stone buildings, I spotted Sozin in the distance, and without any further ado, I twirled my bo-staff before slashing it towards him, launching a mighty gust of wind toward him. Given how air is practically invisible, Sozin didn't notice it, but since my attack happened to knock down several of his soldiers in the process, he managed to dodge out of the way before I hit him; however, that was fine, I just wanted to get him to stop.
Eyeing Sozin, I saw him narrow his eyes at me before commanding the army behind him, prompting them to all step forward as they spewed powerful flames towards the wall, yet even their combined might was pale in comparison to Sozin himself. However, I was quickly forced to avert my eyes as I noticed a massive wave of fire heading right for me; completely disregarding my instinct to divert the incoming attack, I instead slammed my bo-staff on the roof I was standing on, creating a force of air that propelled me to the side, allowing me to just barely evade the flames.
I knew fighting him head-on was an absolutely foolish idea, especially since I couldn't fully focus on him as I was wary of the other soldiers, but I needed to keep him from shifting his focus back to the wall.
Leaping from roof to roof, I constantly evaded Sozin while retaliating the very few times I could, yet I was more concerned with surviving since just getting hit once would spell the end for me; however, never before in my life have I so generously thanked my childish body.
Landing on the roof, I saw Sozin attack once more, causing me to jump towards another nearby rook with the help of my bending, but halfway through the air, a second wave of flames enveloped the roof I was approaching, and although they weren't as powerful, they were still just as deadly.
Clutching my bo-staff, I commanded the wind to spin me in the air as I slashed towards the roof, manifesting a large gust of wind that dispersed the flames, though only briefly, just enough for me to land and immediately jump away.
"Argh!" Said Aang in pain as the bottom half of his right leg was enveloped within the flames, burning whatever hair and scorching his skin.
Experiencing such intense for the first time in my life, I was left slightly muddled-headed, causing my body to slam onto the roof, though before I fell, I managed to grab the edge yet at the cost of my bo-staff; however, that was the last thing on my mind as I tried to fight through the pain I was feeling.
Though my enemies wouldn't give me that time, seeing a massive fireball heading right for me, I wasn't given time to think, so I released my hand, prompting me to plummet to the ground. Yet, before I hit the ground, I was suddenly swooped onto Appa's back as he speedily flew through the air.
"A-Appa!?" Exclaimed Aang in slight anger as he wiped his tears while latching onto Appa's fur.
"Roar!" Yelled Appa loudly, his pain-filled voice causing Aang to widen his eyes as he rapidly searched, only to spot roughly half of his tail was on fire.
Quickly moving, I stood up and thrust my palm forward, snuffing out the flames that ravaged Appa's tail, though I couldn't help but wince as I gazed at his tail. Before I could do anything more, Appa started to rapidly descend to the ground, causing me to latch onto his back lest I fall to my death.
Seeing that we were heading for our final defensive position, which was being engulfed with flames, I quickly touched my fists while gritting my teeth, forming a spherical vortex that protected Appa and me as we flew through the flames. However, after flying through the flames, Appa couldn't keep us in the air anymore and crashed into the ground, causing me to go flying as I soared through the air while Appa skidded across the ground; luckily enough, I happened to land on his stomach, saving me from death.
"Ouch." Muttered Aang lightly as he rubbed his head before quickly landing on the ground.
Just as I landed, I dropped to one knee while grunting as I grabbed my injured leg; just using it filled my mind with pain; it was already taking a considerable amount of strength not to scream.
"Aang!?" Exclaimed Gyatso in concern as he limped towards Aang, having suffered a few injuries from the invasion.
Raising my head, I glanced at Monk Gyatso, who quickly kneeled down towards me while inspecting my injury, though he didn't say anything and simply winced; my injury shouldn't be that bad as I was only burned for not even a second, but I'll be lucky if my leg will ever return to normal.
"I-I'm fine, Monk Gyatso; w-we need to stop the Fire Nation." Said Aang softly as he glanced at Gyatso while trying to stand up, only for him to push him back down.
"No! You're to leave!" Stated Gyatso sternly in anger as he glared at Aang, who prompting ignored him.
"Now isn't the time for this, Monk Gyatso! This is essentially a wa–" Remarked Aang in annoyance as he stood up, side-glancing Gyatso while limping towards the stone wall.
I wasn't able to finish speaking as the stone wall was finally broken through, along with a massive wave of fire that surged toward the many injured and exhausted Air Nomads. They all attempted to slow down the advancing fire, but it was too powerful and quickly enveloped many helpless of my fellow brothers and sisters.
Pushing Monk Gyatso to the side, I quickly limped toward the advancing flames that threatened to consume more Air-Nomads.
"AANG!" yelled Gyatso in both fear and anger as he chased after Aang, tripping in the process.
Arriving before the powerful flame, I clasped my palms and created two spherical vortexes. The first one was just big enough to envelop me, while the second blocked the entire pathway. When the flames approached me, they could only make it a few feet before they suddenly vanished into nothingness. I had created a void of air within the vortex, and without any air, the fire would be forced to stop.
Though this was merely a temporary solution, besides, it only worked against fire; I could do nothing against stone or water; still, anything that could buy us time was worthwhile. After a while, the neverending wave of fire eventually died down, allowing me to see a gaping hole in the stone wall, which now had a deep reddish tint thanks to the heat, though now soldiers started to step through the breach and approach us.
'Just a little bit longer.' Thought Aang weakly as he looked at the sky, glancing at the Great Comet, which was nearly beyond the horizon.