On that same night, chaos reigned in Republic City. With the declaration of martial law, the citizens were out of control, flooding the streets in protest against the government.
Robberies, murders, and all forms of violence were happening on a large scale.
Metalbending police officers tried to calm the population, but nothing seemed to have any effect. The violence from the police in attempting to quell the revolt only led to more conflicts and hostilities.
A police officer, with a blood-stained metal uniform, ran towards his chief, who was trying to apprehend some Triad members looting a store.
"Chief Lin, what do we do? They're going to break the blockade and invade the palace," the soldier spoke, choking on his own words
Lin Beifong, for the first time in her life, upon hearing those words, didn't know what to say. She was as desperate as the soldier.
"Calm down, everything will be fine. General Iroh is coming. His presence has been announced," Lin said while using her metalbending to capture a gangster.
As the Chief of Police spoke, a masked figure emerged from the darkness of an alley, accompanied by dozens of other masked individuals following him.
"Amon," Lin said as she prepared her metal whip to capture the masked man.
On the other hand, the man walked out of the darkness with an open chest, as if he didn't fear the woman in front of him.
Several figures appeared behind Amon, completely masked and wearing war uniforms. They carried gloves capable of generating electricity.
"The revolution has begun. Join me, citizens. For the reconstruction of the world. For the end of the Avatar," Amon declared as he ran towards the police officers.
The crowd of ordinary people, upon hearing Amon's declaration of war, exploded in excitement, breaking through the metalbending police officers' barricade with their own bodies as a shield.
The police officers were knocked down and crushed by the crowd, and all that could be heard from the mouths of the people was one word: revolution, revolution.
Lin, seeing her officers being massacred, anger visible in her eyes.
The scene was utterly grotesque; as the police officers fell, the ordinary citizens, not the Equalists, pulled knives from their clothes, attacking the officers and driving the knives into their skulls.
When Lin was about to use her metalbending, she felt her body paralyzed.
"Bloodbending," were her last thoughts when Amon appeared in her vision, and all she saw next was eternal darkness.
------
On the other side, Gale stood on top of the Avatar Aang statue, which had been built. He was sure that Republic City's ships would arrive and be ready to embark with more soldiers to quell the revolution.
And that's why he was there; they would have to pass by him before boarding the city.
He knew they would have to pass by the statue to enter the city's harbor.
Soon, Gale's assumption came true. On the horizon, six warships emerged.
[GENERAL IROH'S POV]
As Iroh observed the city from afar, he noticed its ruins. Fire covered the entire city, giving the feeling that the apocalypse had unleashed.
Soon, a soldier arrived by his side.
"Sir, we've just received information that the citizens broke through the police blockade. They're heading towards the palace," the soldier spoke, his voice faltering, showing total panic.
Iroh nodded subtly as something caught his attention. Someone was on top of the giant Avatar Aang statue.
Grabbing a short telescope nearby, he tried to see who was there.
Upon finally focusing his sight on the man, he noticed someone in clothes he judged to be from the Equalists organization. Everything matched.
"It's just an Equalist, move forward," Iroh said, but he felt a tremor in his ship that made him stagger. "What is this?"
The soldier responsible for the ship's movement came running towards him.
"Sir, the ship, the water is lifting our ship," the soldier spoke.
Iroh ran towards the edge of his ship, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Turning around to look at the man on the statue, he knew what was happening.
"It's a waterbender!" Iroh shouted towards the man.
Everyone at that moment turned to look in the direction Iroh was speaking.
"Fire at him, bring him down. It doesn't matter if it destroys the statue," Iroh said as he walked through the increasingly swaying ship.
Boom.
Huge cannonballs flew towards Gale.
Gale smiled as he witnessed the scene and, with a wave of his hand, controlled the seawater, forming a protective barrier in seconds.
Upon seeing a massive water wall being created, the soldiers couldn't believe what they were witnessing.
"That looks like 500 meters." the soldier said, tears streaming from his eyes.
The cannonballs, flying like a large red dragon, hit the giant water wall, in which the wall emerged victorious.
Realizing that their attack had failed, fear enveloped the young general's heart.
Gale, upon realizing that the general whom the Fire Nation councilor so much praised in his presence, let a smile form on his face. Deep down, he wasn't as grand as he seemed.
Using his waterbending again, Gale controlled the massive wall to advance towards the warships.
Molding the water at his will, he formed a massive wave.
Contemplating the imposing mountain approaching, a serene smile drew on Iroh's face. At the same time, expressions of fear took hold of his soldiers' faces.
As he glanced back, he noticed the apprehensive looks on his soldiers. The moment he tried to turn back to face forward, an imposing wave hit him head-on.
Watching the completely shattered ships in the vast ocean, while the crew succumbed to drowning, Gale removed his mask, revealing an expressionless face.
"I doubt the Fire Queen will appreciate the news that I killed her son," Gale murmured as he turned to face the city plunged into complete chaos.