Hours slipped by as the group avoided detection and made secret passages using earthbending before finally finding themselves in a vast underground coliseum that held their friends. Aang was standing in front of a man in a goofy robe looking like he was bent over with age in a way that reminded Ranma of both Cologne and Happosai. The balcony before them was next to the one that Aang and the old man that must be the king stood Katara and Sokka were also there trapped in crystals of green and blue that seemed to be growing by the second. Ranma was about to move to counter the actions of the made king when he was stopped by Cologne.
"I think that there is more to this then what we are seeing as I think that the king's madness is more cleverness than dementia. I want to see what the king is planning before we have to find a way to fight out of a palace filled with guards and earthbenders." Cologne said as she motioned him to stay in the shadows of the hallway that they used to keep out of sight as they watched the action.
Ranma watched as the king told Aang that the final task was dual between an opponent of his choosing, which could be anyone on the balcony that the Avatar stood on. Noticing that the two men that approached the Avatar looked like trained fighters the new airbender figured out which choice would be the wrong one. He thought to himself, 'Aang you can't choose the king. That's what he wants you ta do, cause he's going to be like the old ghoul or the pervert and be some kind of super fighter.' But Aang made the wrong choice and the king soon revealed himself to be solid muscle gained from being the most powerful earthbender in the entire city. Ranma could only shake his head in remembrance of all of the times he faced old timers, only to discover that they were super masters of the martial arts. The King knocked Aang into the ring and the fight began between the two of them.
The dual gender boy noticed that Cologne had moved forward to the two members of the Water Tribes and pulled them back to the locations that they were hiding shushing them before they could speak as she tried to keep them quite. The old woman spoke in a whisper, "Shampoo keep an eye on the king and see how he is earthbending. Memorize that so that you can do it later when we have the time. Sokka, Katara, I am glad that we managed to find you."
"Are we glad to see you! Do you think that you can get us out of these crystals?” Sokka asked immediately as he was trying to keep from falling over from the weight of the crystal. Ranma noticed that while Katara's crystals had grown heavier on the bottom than the top, Sokka's crystal had grown in the opposite direction. It would have been humorous if it wasn't the fact that crystals looked like it was going to smother them in rocks.
"I'm more worried about Aang, he's fighting the king and it looks like the king is an expert earthbender." Katara said as she looked over at the battle that was occurring between wind and land. Shampoo was also keeping her eyes on the action as the two bending styles collided.
"I am more curious about the king’s pervious actions, if I was to know that I might be able to come up with a plan to free all of us. Then I might be able to use a variant of an Amazon technique called the breaking point to shatter the crystal at it's weakest point." Cologne answered as she waited for the answers that she wanted from the brother and sister. Ranma turned back to the fight while that was going on.
First the king tried throwing boulders at him as Aang dodged the attacks as a Ba Gua user would have normally avoid the attacks of another martial artist, before the young man was hit by stones knocked loose from the ceiling. The arrow headed boy lost his staff as the king then started to turn and stomp as pillars of rock blocked the boy's way before the boy had been hit by a pillar and launched into the air. Ranma had been watching the king long enough to recognize the martial arts style that the king was performing, 'It's Hung Gar, just as the old ghoul said. That is good ta know since now I know all of the fighting styles of the different elements. That gives me an edge since I known the basics of those schools and can predict the actions of these fighters even if I don't know how the element parts work except for the airbending that Aang taught me.'
The Avatar countered that by bending a ball of wind beneath him and riding it, a trick that Ranma really liked since it helped you move over a good distance of land when used right and could give you a boost of speed when you needed it. Plus it was so much fun to use which was only a bonus when it came to something connected to martial arts. The arrow boy rode on the walls of the arena that they were in till he was close enough to launch a gale force blast at the king, that had Ranma holding back a "Go get'em, Aang! “ But the king managed to block that attack with a wall of stone that diverted the wind, before popping up from behind it to make a remark about it being drafty in there due to an open window.
Aang left his air ball as the king kicked the earth once again to cause the earth in front of him to rise as a solid sheet of earth that had Ranma impressed, 'I guess that I'll have to be careful if I fight an earthbender and make sure that he doesn't lift the land that I'm fighting on.' It also gave him an idea about how powerful Shampoo could be if she managed to become a master with her natural element. The rock sheet was thrown at Aang causing him to retreat closer to the other side of the arena than the one that the King was standing at. Then the leader of Omashu stomped his foot causing a minor tremor that force the Avatar to do a back flipped that forced him to the very rear of the forum. Aang was now looking like he was going to loose this fight.
"How are you going to get me from way over there?" The king asked as he looked confident of his next move.
(Posted Mon, 16 Apr 2007 13:33)
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