2. Nanuq V Kang Fera@

Kang listened, sympathizing with Nanuq.

"Why i fight... I fight to raise money for the orphans I take care of back in Ba Sing Se. I haven't seen them in almost a year, but i still send money back to them." He paused, picturing the misadventures Gav and Gend were probably having. It wasn't fair to them that he had left, but all the same, he couldn't live with the memories of Anwe.

Kang sighed. "It seems that we are at an impasse. One of us will have to win, and we both have worthy causes." He shook his head slowly. "The next exchange ends it then? Or would you like to give the crowd what they want and continue at full force?"

Nanuq smiled, "Instead. Split it down the middle; the loser has to support the other in the rest of the tournament and treat the winner to dinner" he concluded, extending his arm out to make a deal, "Man of my word. After all, what kind of man would i be to take money from orphans?" he asked rhetorically. Inside of his mind, two forces pressed up against his conscience about what to do if the young man chose to accept the deal and shake his hand. Morally he chose to let the deal proceed but keep a defensive mind if he chose to attack him upon shaking Nanuq's hand.

Kang pondered the deal a moment. "Wait," he said, "shouldn't the winner treat the loser to dinner? The winner is the one with all the money." He smiled.

Kang stepped forward, still smiling, hand extended.

Nanuq shook the young man's hand and returned his smile with his own before backing up and glancing around the arena, "Better get to it then?" he said, quickly getting into his stance and once more freezing over his hands. But this time the ice seemed to grow on it's own as it encompassed Nanuq's full body until only his eyes where visible through a small rectangular slot. As though skiing, Nanuq propelled his body from right to left then back again to get his body some momentum as he awaited Kang's move.

Kang watched as his opponent turned into a living snowman. He chuckled.

Kang crouched slightly, then tossed 4 of his lightning rods at the massive ice block. At the same moment he jumped, shooting lightning below himself and riding the thunderous boom high into the sky, placing himself between Nanuq and the sun.

Nanuq skated to his side, the friction between the arena floor and the bottom of his frozen boots eventually smoothed out so it become easy to rush across the floor and speed around. The rods struck the arena ground, two of them missing Nanuq by inches, and were immediately dosed with water that Nanuq bent from the pits. As the lightning struck the floor of the arena floor, it skid past Nanuq's frozen heels as it was unable to travel upwards and attack his pressure points as it had done before. The conduction of ice was very low opposed to its liquid form of water which was very high; a fact that Nanuq pondered while the two opponents made their deal. Nanuq gazed up at the hovering Kang as he was high in the sky; the shinning behind Kang's armor; getting an idea, Nanuq bent four spikes of water, which quickly froze upon the touch of his frozen armored hand. Watching Kang falling down from the sky, Nanuq calculated where he may land and prepared to throw an ice spike; aiming for his armor and or attire, not wishing to kill him.

Kang watched from high above as his lightning rods were blocked. He watched too as Nanuq made spikes of ice. He hovered high above, nearly motionless for a moment and he scanned the arena. He noticed a trees scattered about, no doubt for a plant bender to use. He saw the water pits that Nanuq was drawing his water from. He saw large fires kept lit in their hearths. He saw the metal spikes that lined the upper walls. He saw the ground below, waiting for him.

How does one electrocute someone who is completely insulated?

By turning up the heat.

Kang fired bolts of energy at every tree and hearth, scattering flames about the arena. He watched as every flammable object caught, spreading the mad flames erratically.

Then he began to fall.

He fell, faster and faster, watching the ground rush up to meet him. He saw as Nanuq threw the spikes of ice right where he was going to land. Then he saw the tree.

It wasn't completely burned down yet. He angled himself toward it, pulling out his whip.

He flicked the barbed chain toward the only bough left, latching on and swinging forward at the last second, his boots aimed directly for Nanuq's face.

The amount of water based objects Nanuq had created began to melt and released steam causing it to rise up, giving Nanuq an idea as Kang set his trap and counter. Doing the opposite of every single water bender out there, Nanuq threw everything he had at the fires, turning them to ice before hitting them so they would melt and quickly, the arena filled with vapor and smoke. The smoke from the fire mixed with the steam to create a denseness around the arena; the same denseness Nanuq used to shield himself as Kang flew at him with his boots first. Nanuq's ice armor melted and turned to steam causing the visibility to grow more and more horrible within the arena.

Nanuq sneaked around the dense fog/smoke that had condensed around the arena; taking out a decent amount of water he had in his canister as he walked around. Inhaling, Nanuq bent the water molecules inside of the steam and moved it just enough for him to see where Kang was before exhaling and releasing it back into the arena. Predicting that his opponent would more than likely expect an attack from the back and maybe an attack from the front at the same time, Nanuq shot out three water balls, each from different directions as he walked around. Then, forming his water into a whip of his own, Nanuq quietly pulled around the side, tossed a water ball at Kang from where he was at then sent out his whip.

Kang's visibility dropped to zero as the arena filled with steam. He looked around frantically, searching for his suddenly hidden opponent. He took a deep breath, calming his nerves. He listened carefully for anything, but no sound penetrated the fog except the sound of his breathing.

Then he remembered something from his days as a sailor. He calmed his mind. Sharks can sense prey through the electrical currents in the ocean, so Kang would do the same. He sent out an electrical pulse, searching high and low.

He found another life form nearby, as well as a couple of moving anomalies. They were headed straight for him too. Kang spun, his whip splashing through the water balls and slicing through the liquid whip. The whip reformed though, and Kang ducked.

He was fighting blind, but so was his opponent. Then he realized something else: if his mini-pulse traveled through the fog, then so would more electricity.

He built up a major charge, then let loose megawatts into the fog, the lightning traveling along the water vapor in all directions.

Kang realized something else: you can potentially redirect a bolt of lightning because it travels in a straight line, but his pulse would hit from all sides. Perfect.

The sound of pulsating electricity echoed through the fog and reached Nanuq's ears, just seconds before the pulse reaching him which only gave him enough time to built up a moderate ice wall that blocked the pulse. Pondering his opponent's next move, Nanuq realized his venerability in his current position, seeing how easily his opponents pulse traveled through his fog. Slipping down to the ground, Nanuq scooted back and into the water pits themselves where he submerged himself in the cooling, refreshing water. The feeling of the water gave him a great and overwhelming feeling as he popped up out of the water, as quiet was he possibly could, and gazed out onto the still foggy arena. It's like the judges purposely set me up against someone they knew would be tremendously difficult for me to defeat. Lightning and electricity is waters biggest elemental enemy as water compliments lightning and electricity and does not damage it. Nanuq thought to himself as he swam under water to the opposite side of the arena where the trees stood, still burned furiously. Pondering the situation for a moment, Nanuq chose to allow the trees to burn down to a crisp before pulling himself partially out of the water and exhaled. Immediately all of the fog containing water molecules to freeze over to where it now snowed upon the arena; the water that was already on the arena began to freeze along with the water pits.

Nanuq smiled wickedly as he went down underneath the freezing water and began to force the water to freeze faster as snow continued to fall.