As each smokey wraith was dealt damage by the benders, it slinked backward toward the main cloud, and was replaced with another. Try as they might, the airbenders attempting to disperse it were making no headway. The smoke seemed to replace itself as soon as it was pushed away. The wraiths began to congregate around the stage, trying to deal with the four nation leaders. Yet for all their numbers, they were unable to actually defeat them.
Chief Darran was like a bear. His stance was firm and imposing. Each time a spirit moved in his direction to make an attack, it was met with a torrent of water that destroyed any hope it had of its offense ever connecting. His attacks were strong, powerful, and without an ounce of hesitation.
In contrast, Earth King Guo had an incredibly fluid, if unusual fighting style. He firmly gripped both arms behind his back, seemingly relying solely on his feet for his control over the earth. And yet even with that, he never took a step. With long, sweeping motions he erected curved archways of earth. As his foot and the woven arch reached the ground, it moved beneath his foot to reposition him and he repeated the action with his mirrored leg. Every so often, the earth fired spat up a platform to launch him into the air. With a spin, a set of twin arches erupted from the ground, weaving and passing beneath each other. As he approached the ground once more, the spinning sweep of his legs went from verticle to horizontal. At his command, the archways followed suit and spiraled into a massive ground-level attack.
Firelord Wu was at first glance, not much different from any other firebender. He simply fired off shots of fire at the spirits, but to the trained eye his movements were much more than that. He broached a wide stance, he arms at opposite ends to attack from all angles. His form contracted, an inhale entered his mouth, and a step was taken. Another shot of flames. With every move, his whole body was perfectly in synch. Each step led into the next. A low crouch. A forward craning strike. A spin into a two-handed strike. Each movement had intent behind it, and lined itself up perfectly for the next.
Sister Laan had become all but untouchable. A myriad of air small air spheres surrounded her. Each one moved independently of any others. To guard, to strike, it mattered not. Between her ring, she had all but detached herself from the fight entirely. Once suitably prepared, she encircled a wraith in the orbs and contracted them upon it. It was battered with by a hurricane moving in every direction at once. As it fell to the ground. two others swooped in to carry it away back into the smoke.
"We must retreat! We've sorely underestimated them..." Called a voice from within the smoke. At once, the wraiths retreated into the cloud and it widened, filling nearly an entire city block outside the palace before moving outward to the edge of Ba Sing Se.
"Find them. Do not let them escape!" Guo barked at his guards who nodded and ran off out the door. He rubbed his temples, clearly annoyed at the entire situation. "I'm too young for this..." He muttered to himself.
"Wh-what do you intend to do? How do you intend to capture spirits?" A frightened water-tribe chef said, having finally worked up the courage to peer out from behind the table. "I mean, aren't they supposed to be otherworldly?"
"Spirits? Is that what you think those were?" Asked Sister Laan.
"What else could they be?! I've never seen bending like that! The smoke and the glass...It...It wasn't normal!" He cried.
"Hogwash! Those were no spirits! The shout to retreat sounded as human a voice as any I've ever heard." Darran barked. He trudged over to the cowering chef. "Don't go filling anyone's heads with that nonsense ever again! Do I make myself clear?!" Meekly, the chef nodded. "And you-" His head shot toward Atia. "It's been a year since I've seen you and the first thing you make me worry about is whether or not you're about to get yourself killed! That stunt was far too reckless! If it hadn't been for this young man here...Who knows what would've happened!"
"Chief, that's enough!" Guo called out to him. "They helped defend my palace, my city, and our lives. For now, they are my honored guests with the same authority here as you, and I will not have you speaking to them thusly under any circumstances while in my city. Am I clear?" Darran sighed and regained his composure.
"My apologies. That was very unprofessional of me."
"Still though, the guy does have a point. If that was bending, it's new. No one here has ever seen anything like it. Though it's still just a theory, spirits do seem to be the most likely until we've got another lead." Wu rubbed his chin in thought.
"They were not spirits."
"Either way, an attack like that can't be overlooked. If they're not spirits, we'll find out who they are. But if it is true...Well, that could be a little trickier..." He turned to the group, fresh from combat. "And what do you all think? You saw them just as close as anyone else. Maybe you've got some insight we overlooked."
