The lightning, it was quick and it was strong; Azula was mad and that made her all the more dangerous. Zuko found he could not predict her movements for she had lost her style of fighting. There was no rhyme nor reason to anything she did. Her laughter echoed along the courtyard and Zuko spread his feet apart, raising his hands up in a defensive stance. Behind him, he knew Katara still lurked, and he could not help but to steal a quick glance her way. She was standing tall, her hand gripped into a fist at her chest, her sapphire hues wide in her face. But then their gazes met and her eyes softened and a smile fell into place upon her lips. He found himself longing to speak but Azula was laughing again and this time he could hear the distinct crackle of the lightning.
As he turned back to face his sister, the blue lightning was already on her fingertips. She had her eyes upon him but then her gaze traveled to Katara and a smirk slowly spread across her lips. Azula released the bolt of lightning, but Zuko could see in an instant that he was not the intended target. "Katara!" Her name was on his lips and he knew she could not get out of the way in time. It didn't even occur to him that what he was about to do could easily cost him his life… No, all he could think of was getting in front of her and not allowing her to get struck down.
The lightning was coming right for her; but Katara found her legs to be frozen in place. There was no time for her to try and block or even escape. No, all she could do was watch as the blue light came for her, her hands rising up in a worthless attempt to protect herself. Her eyes closed as she braced for the impact… But it never did. She heard the sound of it making contact and her eyes snapped open just in time to watch as Zuko attempted to redirect it, but was instead struck and thrown some distance. "Zuko!" She cried out his name and made to rush to his side, but Azula had other plans. A wall of lightning came crashing down, preventing Katara from getting to him. She staggered backwards, managing to get away without injury; she knew now it was her turn to take over this fight.
On his stomach, Zuko outreached a hand, as if he might actually be able to reach her. The pain was great but he struggled on until his body gave out. As he fell back down, his eyes caught one last glimpse of her, dark hair flying as she ran and dove, dodging yet another blast of the wicked blue lightning.
Katara threw herself around a column, sinking down with her hands covering her head as the fire blast rushed past her. She could feel the heat and knew she had to act fast; Azula had gone mad and her powers were escalating, her powers were uncontrollable. The fire bender turned her sights away from Katara then, her voice ringing out as she spoke to her brother. "Zuzu, you don't look so good!" This was her chance! With a great, sweeping motion Katara pulled up a wave of water and spun, slamming it down upon the roof where Azula had just been standing moments before. To her shock, the fire bender was gone and she heard the crackle of her lightning as she crept up on her from behind. Katara took off at a run and then threw down her water and it froze, and she was swept along with it, her feet expertly sliding along the ice. From behind, Azula melted it as quickly as Katara created it, until she finally caught up and Katara was thrown forwards.
She landed on a grate and at once the sound of rushing water filled her ears; blue eyes widened as she looked up, seeing the chains that hung around one of the nearby columns. It was all coming together now. She just had to hope she could get Azula close enough. Rising up, she dashed behind the column, disappearing from sight. She could hear Azula approaching and she ran back out, coming to stand across from the Fire Nation princess. "There you are, filthy peasant," Azula sneered and at once Katara was reacting, her water whips shooting out. Azula had barely enough time to dodge and she had to give it to the water bender that she was quick. Rolling out of the way, Azula landed over the grate and at once Katara knew she'd won.
Sweeping her arms up, the water from beneath the grate shot up and engulfed them both, immobilizing them both. Katara let out a breath through her nose and she swam upwards and behind, grasping the chains from the column and quickly as she could attached them to Azula's wrists. Unable to hold her breath any longer, she released the water and both girls fell to the ground, coughing and sputtering as they tried to catch their breath. Still breathing hard, Katara was up and grasping the ends of the chains, yanking them down to where she locked them in place on the grate itself. Azula, realizing she'd been trapped, let out a shrill scream but Katara did not have time to think about her.
Instead she raced back into the courtyard, dropping to her knees at Zuko's side. He groaned as she lifted and turned him over, giving her access to his wound. He was moaning softly as she reached out her hand and gently lay it over the burn to his chest; within moments he felt the pain dispersing and her hand was pulling away. Her face swam before his eyes and he felt something warm flooding his entire body. "Thank you, Katara…" He murmured and at once she was laughing softly, tears trailing the length of her cheeks.
"I think I should be the one thanking you," she said as she helped him to still sit up. Though she'd healed the wound, she could not heal him completely, and he'd still be sore a few days longer. But the wound would give him no more trouble. Standing up, she offered him her hand, which he took and allowed her to help him up onto his own feet. They both turned at the sound of a terrible scream and across the way, Azula was beginning to fall apart. She screamed and thrashed, fire escaping her mouth with every shriek. She finally fell back and they could both hear her strangled sobs as she rolled back and forth, the chains around her wrists clanking loudly against the metal grate.
Zuko sighed heavily and bowed his head, unable to look upon the sight of his sister any longer. He felt the touch of a hand and he turned back to Katara, who had reached out to place a hand against his shoulder. She knew there was nothing she could say to him in this instant, nothing but one thing. "It's over," her words were soft but as his eyes turned back to Azula one last time, he could only nod. It really was over. He reached for her then, slipping an arm around her waist as hers slid around his. Together they walked out of the courtyard and towards Appa, who would take them to the last leg of their journey.
The end of the war was finally upon them.