Yara flew up to meet the dragon with a fierce scowl on her face and her blades drawn. Closing in, she swung her hand and watched the sky explode in a thunderclap as vibrations split the morning sky and dozens of needles hurtled toward balloons behind him.

Samir's eyes went imperceptibly wider at the sight of her taking to the sky, and could only roar in vain as several war balloons full of troops plummeted to the sea floor. Several had the skill to exit their balloons before they crashed, but more than half fell to burning wrecks below and suffered a pitiful end.

'These wingsuits aren't half bad.'

Yara smirked. It was one thing to take a spin on the wingsuit on a breezy afternoon and another thing entirely to see it in action at war.

Samir tugged hard on the reigns of his dragon, and it roared fire, but Yara kicked the air fiercely, maneuvering out of the axis of the flame. Her fingers flared again, and 3 of the 5 remaining balloons that still floated started to lose air.

She nearly burst out in a wild laugh. It would take a lot more than that to touch the fastest of the Phantoms.

Several streaks of flew and missed, and a powerful air kick helped her avoid the homing attack of a particularly miffed combustion bender, but things were coming up her way.

She dragon roared again, and Yara dodged, but she found that the attack hadn't been aimed at her in the first place. A dozen pirate ships ignited in flames, sending hundreds of men to a screaming, watery grave.

Yara clicked her tongue and doubled back, settling on the command ships beside her brother.

"How did he get a fucking, dragon?" Harlan demanded as he scrutinized the scene with some pain in his voice. She sympathized with him. Though they were not born air benders, they were of the Air Nation.

"Your guess is as good as mine," she responded.

"I can't take ships with him flying up there. The Kid is more dangerous than all those war balloons put together."

"They're only two balloons left. You're giving him too much credit," Yara said. "All he has is tricks. He's a dead man once we remove the dragon."

Harlan chuckled. "And how do you propose we do that?"

"With class and a lot of speed, of course," she said, and Harlan laughed.

"Ooh, I like the sound of that."

Looking at Harlan, she scrunched her nose. "It's a shame you insisted on not wearing the wingsuit. It would've made the maneuver so much easier."

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Harlan waved. "I'll manage just fine. No self-respecting captain wears a skin-tight suit that fondles his balls. I like it loose like I like my air bending. I've gone 40 years without it. What's one more battle."

Yara's lips formed a firm line. "I hope you don't lose that confidence when the fighting starts. Order your men to withdraw; we're going to be pushing into the Fire Nation air space. If the boy wants to burn ships, let it be fire Nation ones.

Harlan nodded, then let out a sharp whistle. "Fall back. Let your King show you how you gut a dragon!"

Over 200 ships still buoyed below, and all the men gave a valiant shout as Yara and her brother charged the dragon.

Samir tugged the reins of his dragon, urging it forward.

It let out another roar of fire as they met. Yara banked low at the last moment, leaving Harlan to deal with the blast.

She spun under the belly of the beast, drawing four blades she pumped full with chi and air. Three knives went through the wing membrane of the mighty beast jerking it from the air, while the last struck at the wing joint, ripping out a good chunk of it.

The beast howled, seizing its attack, and Harlan shot out of the dying flame, a thick air shield wrapped around him. With a flick of his hand, he dismissed it and, with a vicious smile, slammed down on the beast's head, hand wrapped in Chi and wind.

The beast's head jerked downwards with a thunderclap, leaving Samir windmilling and wide-eyed.

'What else had he expected?'

Yara smirked.

He was severely underestimating the Phantoms if he thought a Dragon would've been enough.

Harlan struck out to seize the boy, but surprisingly, Samir's hand shot forward, releasing a torrent of blue flame. It would've scorched Harlan if he hadn't raised a windshield in time, and a heartbeat later, a tail came blitzing and thwacked him into the sea. The Dragon, it seemed, was still alive.

Drawing her short blades, Yara dashed forward to change that.

Charged with wind, she carved a bloody path up the Dragon's body, leaving it a whirling, shrieking mess. The beast nearly sent Samir flying, but not before she flew up to him and sliced off his right hand.

'You won't be bending or charming anyone else with that arm.'

Wracked with sudden pain, Samir's filled with horror and pain at the sudden loss of his arm. It was another moment before he saw her second blade swing low to claim his other.

With him in custody, the Fire Nation had already lost the war. The investment in the other traveller was already bearing fruit, and in a few short weeks, the Fire Nation would be faced with an army of highly trained ghosts.

They'd sack the capital in a week, and during that time, she'd be taking her time to teach him why it was a terrible idea to kidnap the daughter of a Phantom.

Just before her wind-infused blade kissed his skin, she felt a presence at the edges of her sense rapidly close in and a bolt of fire aimed at her head.

She could've dodged the attack or taken Samir's hand, but not both, so she chose to lean into Samir, bowl ripping him off his Dragon as it spun to the deep.

Before they crashed into the water, she sent a gust of air below, shifting their course until they came onto a burning Fire Nation vessel.

She spun to her feet before they ever touched the metal deck, her gaze sweeping out in search of their attacker.

Squinting her eyes, she saw something that gave her pause. Jon Jon, the deserter, floated side by side with a combustion bender on a war balloon.

There were three other benders she also recognised, dangerous cutthroats and pyromaniacs who'd been locked in the deepest freezers of the boiling rock. Somehow, Samir had sprung them all and bound them to his will.

Despite the odds, Yara was not as concerned. Harlan was taking his sweet time to recover from that love tap deliberately, and Father was watching through her eyes. Help was not far behind. Plus, her ghosts were scouring the Fire Nation ship for her daughter. All things considered; they had the situation well in hand.