Welcome to Gaia! ::

(Actually, that wasn't even Toph's idea. ^^; We were wondering how that machine even works in the avatar universe, and came up with it during that time.. So yeah. Sometimes a formidable opponent in one universe, such as naruto, is a weak one in another.)

Zuko backed up a bit and used his left hand to neutralize the burst of flame, raising it. As it was raised he felt a tingling and unusual sensation. It was a negative and painful, and suddenly there was a liquid feel trickling down his wrist. He couldn't stop himself from neutralizing the flame, it was now too late to do anything else. He tried, but the chi flow was improper and the flame continued, hitting him and knocking him down. He sat up and realized there was a dagger caught in his hand. Nothing short of completely horrified he tried to pull it out, only causing more bleeding.

Well that would explain why I couldn't block properly. He rolled his eyes at his own obviousness before standing and keeping his attention divided between Rage and the terrifying wound he'd recently caused.

Katara's eyes narrowed as the flame sliced the dragon in half. It took quite a bit of effort to keep both halves formed, but when Rage ran back through, she managed to bring the dragon back together again.
The Waterbender stepped forward and made flowing motions with her arms. The dragon slithered around to try and cut Rage off from his course. It opened its mouth, and three icy spikes shot forth from it's fanged maw, heading at quick speeds towards the swordsman.

Katara gasped as she lost all control over the form of the dragon when Rage began to bore his way through. She hissed angrily and restreamed the water to her sides, forming two large ribbons of water that curled around her. She threw them forward towards Rage, doing her best to keep him at a distance.

:Rage dodged left and right around the whips of water, his pace towards Katara hardly slowing for an instant. He was focused on her, trained on her, taking damage across his shoulders but grunting through the pain. There seemed to be nothing more in his moves but hatred and determination for this target. A scowl had no longer paid homage to his expression and was replaced with clenched teeth in a snarl. It was as if he wasn't human or even conscious of his actions.:

:Goes out like a light.:

Katara saw Rage come at her with fear in her eyes. She didn't know what to do. She had never seen a look like that in another human before, and now...
Then Zuko came, and a sharp smack on Rage's head was all it took to take him down. The Waterbender watched in shock as the swordsman fell. She stared in disbelief, and barely registered Zuko as he stood before her.
"Are you okay?"
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she looked into his eyes and gave a weak nod, "I...I think so...my legs..." they shook uncontrollably, and she collapsed against him, "I'm not sure how long Demona's cure will work...I need to heal them properly. We have to get everyone and leave now."

Azula stood beside Rage's unconscious body with a look of irritation on her face. The traitor and the water bender were both hurt, so how Rage couldn't take care of them was beyond her. She studied their weaknesses before they even had a chance to notice her and quickly threw a blue fireball at Katara, who appeared unable to move as she leaned against Zuko. She hoped to hit both, but just Katara would also suffice.

"Oh, and where do you think you're going?" hissed Sakura. A circle of flame rose around her, keeping her from the view of everyone. In this circle, she drew a scroll from her pack. This would have seemed quite silly, but this was an exception. In it was a gigantic mace, pefectly preserved by the scroll. She tested it's weight, swung it, and canceled the fire surrounding her. Then, she examined the shard of metal protruding from her chest. She would deal with it later. Now, she must attack, though the wound was serious. The mace ignited. And she swung it at Toph, determined to hit her face.